Piagetian Stages Research Articles

Learning How to Believe: Epistemic Development in Cultural Context

Learning How to Believe: Epistemic Development in Cultural Context

¿Pueden interpretarse las preconcepciones a la luz de las teorias del aprendizaje?

Students do not come to our courses whíthout any idea about Physics. Indeed, they manage a set of not very precise ideas about some physical concepts and laws, that are not compatible with scientific knowledge. Such a set of ideas has been termed as Misconceptions. In this paper some characteristics of the origin and resistance to their change is intended, in the conceptual framework of Behaviorism, Ausubelianisrn and Piagetian theories. As a result, only the last of those theories is capable of satisfactory interpretation of misconceptions as exemplars of «deforrnant assimilation». This result is also supported by a previos work in wich it is shown that misconceptions in some topic of Physics have a hierarchical structure wich correlates strongly with Piaget's stages.

Developmental Concepts of Nicotine Addiction

Piagetian interviewing techniques were used to explore concepts of nicotine addiction among 96 children and adolescents aged between 5 and 17 years. Verbal probes elicited each subject's most sophisticated level of reasoning about smoking and addiction. Responses were scored using the six developmentally ordered categories of the Developmental Conceptions of Addiction scoring system. Data indicate progression in conceptual reasoning about addiction consistent with Piagetian stages of cognitive development and physical causality. Age was associated with but not predictive of Developmental Conceptions of Addiction scores. Findings provide information that may be useful in designing more effective smoking prevention and cessation interventions.

A Comparison of Paediatric Occupational Therapy University Program Curricula in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada

Comparisons were made of the paediatric content of professional entry-level occupational therapy university program curricula in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada using an ex post facto survey methodology. The findings indicated that in Australia/New Zealand, paediatrics made up 20% of the total curriculum, but only 13% in Canada. Canadian reference materials were utilized less often in Canadian universities than in Australia/New Zealand. Theories taught most often in Australia/New Zealand were: Sensory Integration, Neurodevelopmental Therapy, Client-Centered Practice, Playfulness, and the Model of Human Occupation. In Canada, the most frequent theories were: Piaget's Stages of Cognitive/Intellectual Development, Neurodevelopmental Therapy, Erikson's Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development and Sensory Integration. The most frequently taught paediatric assessment tools in both regions were the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and Miller Assessment for Preschoolers. Paediatric intervention methods taught to students in all three countries focused on activities of daily living/self-care, motor skills, perceptual and visual motor integration, and infant and child development.

Humor Development

The purpose of this article is to describe McGhee's (1979) stages of humor development from 18 months to 12 years as they relate to Piaget's cognitive stages (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2001) and social development. Humor develops in stages just as other aspects of child development. It parallels and enhances physical, cognitive, language, and psychosocial skill attainment (Franzini, 2002; Robinson, 1991). Knowledge of humor development will provide therapists with an additional tool to facilitate communication with their pediatric clients by helping therapists consider children's developmental levels when using humor in therapeutic contexts.

Engaging a dynamic environment: A review of Novak and Peláez's (2004) “Child and adolescent development: A behavioral systems approach”.

Abstract Behavior analyst teaching child development courses would do well to look into this book as the main text for the course. It represents the most comprehensive attempt to date to try and integrate the developmental literature with the study of basic mechanisms of learning. The book is written in a clear and concise manner that can be understood by the average undergraduate. It is also comprehensive enough to be enjoyed by graduate students. This review looks at the book in greater detail. Key words: Book review, behavior analysis of child development, systems theory, principles and mechanisms of child development ********** Since the seminal work of Bijou and Baer (1961), attempts have been made to explain traditional developmental concepts in terms of basic learning principles. Novak and Pelaez offers the most sophisticate attempt at this process to date. The most important thing to be said about the book is that it is excellent. This book is well researched, concise, and demonstrates a strong command of traditional and the behavior analytic approach to child development. The scholarship is superior. As the authors of the text suggest, it is important to look beyond what develops to why it develops. This is a central argument for both behavior analysts and developmental psychologists (Rovee-Collier, 1996). We live in a dynamic and explosive environment. Novak and Pelaez integrate basic behavioral principles into dynamical systems theory to produce a unique view of how children become adults. Looking form birth through adolescence, the book looks at traditional behavioral areas such as language learning and more unique areas such as adolescences falling in love. In addition, the book attempts to look at deviations form normal development studying anorexia, bulimia, conduct disorder, autism, depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and mental retardation. In the area of autism, the authors explore the conflicting forces of science, pseudoscience and antiscience in autism treatment. Overall, Novak and Pelaez's selection of chapter topics is very appropriate, providing up to date information theory and research. On specific chapters, the book is divided into 15. They are an introduction, modern development theory, behavioral genetics, prenatal, birth and post natal periods, habituation and respondent learning, operant learning, cognitive development, development of communication, personality and self, social and emotional development, development of antisocial behavior, the family system, schools, adolescence, and behavioral disorders of childhood. Some chapters are worth specific mention. Chapter 3 is on behavioral genetics. While any discussion of behavioral genetics seems to inspire controversy, Novak and Pelaez (2004) present the factual information in the chapter and how genes work in a fair and balanced way. On cognitive development the book presents a great overview of Piagetian. While many problems have been found in Piaget's stages (1), such as conservation, the approach is still a very informative one and an excellent approach to contrast with learning based approaches such as Fischer's skills model and the research on stimulus equivalence and relational frame theory. The work on stimulus equivalence is particularly well done. On communication development the chapter presents a solid argument for input and feedback's role in language development. I enjoyed this chapter. If I were to add anything to it, I would think that since behavior analysts have done so much work on language intervention then maybe a section on language intervention would be helpful. Behavioral studies have provided basic techniques for and range of speech and language phenomena. These phenomena include building articulation (e.g., Elbert & McRenyolds, 1987; Bierut, Elbert, & Dinnsen, 1987) and more complex language skills--some with limited generalization of grammatical construction taught such as syntax training for Broca's aphasia (Doyle, Goldstein, & Bourgeois, 1987) and some with profound long-term changes (Warren & Kasier, 1986 a,b; Goldstein & Hockenberger, 1991). …

Association between formal operational thought and executive function as measured by the Tower of Hanoi-Revised

Executive functions have been defined in the neuropsychological literature as those cognitive processes that underlie future-oriented, goal-directed behavior such as planning, working memory, inhibition, and self-monitoring. Piaget's final stage of cognitive development, formal operations, involves a systematic approach to problem solving that appears to overlap with many cognitive skills associated with executive function. The current study was designed to assess the degree to which formal operational reasoning, as measured by the Logical Reasoning Task (LRT; Burney, 1974) predicted performance on one measure of executive function, the Tower of Hanoi-Revised (TOH-R; ( Welsh & Huizinga, 2001) [Welsh, M. C., & Huizinga, M. (2001). The development and preliminary validation of the Tower of Hanoi-Revised. Assessment, 8 (2), 167–176]. A sample of 47 college students were administered the TOH-R, LRT, as well as tests of working memory, procedural learning, and fluid reasoning. The results indicated significant associations between formal operational thought and both fluid reasoning and TOH-R performance. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis confirmed that formal operational thought as demonstrated on the LRT was a stronger predictor of TOH-R performance than was fluid intelligence. These findings suggest that both inductive reasoning and the hypothetico-deductive processes characteristic of formal operations contribute to executive function.

Humor Development

The purpose of this article is to describe McGhee's (1979) stages of humor development from 18 months to 12 years as they relate to Piaget's cognitive stages (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2001) and social development. Humor develops in stages just as other aspects of child development. It parallels and enhances physical, cognitive, language, and psychosocial skill attainment (Franzini, 2002; Robinson, 1991). Knowledge of humor development will provide therapists with an additional tool to facilitate communication with their pediatric clients by helping therapists consider children's developmental levels when using humor in therapeutic contexts.

Piaget's stages: the unfinished symphony of cognitive development

After a period during which Piaget's work in developmental psychology went into serious decline as a central force in the field, it has once again gained considerable interest to theorists and researchers. The purpose of the current discussion is to reconsider Piaget's stage construct so that a revised version is viable within the psychological part of the theory. The premise of the discussion is that Piaget fully intended his stages to remain at the heart of his psychology, but had difficulty meeting the objections of critics: that the stages as proposed were too vague, too broad, and too dependent on faith in a “miraculous” transition process. By shifting stage transitions to the midpoint of each stage, by adopting recursive transition processes from neo-Piagetian theories, by embracing decalage as systematic and necessary, and by using Piaget's idea of the taking of consciousness, some of the main problems of his stages can be resolved in a satisfying way. Although still not fully specified, the Piagetian stages can retain their place as general guides to cognitive development and as sources of constraints on what structures and functions are available to the developing mind.

Commentary on: “Piaget's stages: the unfinished symphony of cognitive development” by D.H. Feldman

Commentary on: “Piaget's stages: the unfinished symphony of cognitive development” by D.H. Feldman

Commentary on: Piaget's stages: the unfinished symphony of cognitive development

Commentary on: Piaget's stages: the unfinished symphony of cognitive development

Do stages belong at the center of developmental theory? A commentary on Piaget's stages

It is my conviction y that I have drawn a quite clear general skeleton, but one still full of gaps of such a kind that, in filling them, one will be lead to differentiate its connections, in various ways, without at the same time altering the main line of the system y. My secret ambition is that the hypotheses one could oppose to my own will finally be seen not to contradict them but to result from a normal process of differentiation (Piaget in Bringuier, 1980, p. 144).

Piaget's stages: a response to the commentaries

Piaget's stages: a response to the commentaries

A commentary on D.H. Feldman's essay on Piaget's stages

A commentary on D.H. Feldman's essay on Piaget's stages

Blueprint for Incorporating Service Learning: A Basic, Developmental, K-12 Service Learning Typology

Citing the need for a basic, K-12 developmental framework for service learning, this article describes such a model. This model, an inclusive typology of service learning, distinguishes three levels of service learning: Community Service, Community Exploration, and Community Action. The authors correlate this typology to Piaget's cognitive developmental stages tying in Bradley's three-factor Criteria for Assessing Levels of Reflection. Two types of service, direct and indirect, are explained. Implications for education, research, and the community are discussed.

Culture and knowing in childhood for mathematical understanding

Continuing work in modern algebra, also termed abstract algebra, serves to illustrate the importance of form over content. A metalinguistic bridge from gestural language, with additional examplars from the dance and musical expression, are postulated as creating abstract schema that form the basis for the development of the Piagetian stages of cognitive growth which then provide the basis for our understanding of algebraic formulae. Thus even though innate neurophysiological centres for mathematical comprehension have been discovered, experiential perceptual development is shown to be necessary for acquisition of mathematical school readiness. Should the dance, gymnastics, musical expression and computer languages be incorporated as a mandatory portion of the elementary school curriculum world-round, these curricula should provide for the development of the imagic schema which form the basis mathematical understanding in this exegesis. Ethnolinguistic description and understanding are also seen as essential for adapting a course in mathematical instruction to a given cultural milieu.

Object permanence in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus).

A series of 9 search tasks corresponding to the Piagetian Stages 3-6 of object permanence were administered to 11 common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Success rates varied strongly among tasks and marmosets, but the performances of most subjects were above chance level on the majority of tasks of visible and invisible displacements. Although up to 24 trials were administered in the tests, subjects did not improve their performance across trials. Errors were due to preferences for specific locations or boxes, simple search strategies, and attentional deficits. The performances of at least 2 subjects that achieved very high scores up to the successive invisible displacement task suggest that this species is able to represent the existence and the movements of unperceived objects.

Implicit cognitive development in cultural tools and children: lessons from Maya Mexico

Zinacantec Maya weaving tools and apprenticeship practices contain an implicit theory of cognitive development that corresponds to Piaget and Inhelder’s explicit theory of cognitive development [The Child’s Conception of Space, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1956]. A set of preoperational and concrete operational spatial problems from the weaving domain provided empirical support for the ethnotheory of cognitive development implicit in Zinacantec weaving tools and their developmental sequencing. A structurally similar set of preoperational and concrete operational spatial problems were adapted from Piaget and Inhelder’s Swiss research. Both sets of problems were presented to children aged 4–13 in Nabenchauk, a Zinacantec hamlet in Chiapas, Mexico, and in Los Angeles, CA, USA. While the sequence of operational development was the same across both domains and both cultures, Zinacantec children were more precocious with the weaving problems, whereas U.S. children were more precocious with the spatial problems adapted from Piaget and Inhelder. After a brief instructional procedure, children in both Nabenchauk and Los Angeles improved on the weaving problems only, within the maturational constraints typical of concrete operational development. Nonetheless, the brief learning experience could not reverse the advantage of long-term cultural familiarity with backstrap-loom weaving. Our conclusions are threefold: (1) An implicit ethnotheory of cognitive development, built into the sequencing of cultural tools, can be as developmentally valid as an explicit formal theory. (2) Culture-general Piagetian stages are harnessed in culture-specific situations. (3) Maturational readiness interacts with both long-term cultural experience and short-term learning experience to actualize concrete operations in a specific context. Cross-context generalization of Piagetian stages is far from automatic; it requires cultural learning.

Developing conceptions of authority and contract across the lifespan: Two perspectives

Kohlberg’s moral stage scale is but one of a number of “Piagetian” developmental scales proposed during the latter part of this century. Kohlberg claimed that his moral stages fulfilled the criteria for “hard” Piagetian stages—invariant sequence, qualitative change, and structured wholeness. He also argued that his scoring system measures a dimension of thought with a unique structure. To explore these contentions, we compare the concepts that define Kohlbergian stages with those associated with orders of hierarchical complexity as determined with the Hierarchical Complexity Scoring System, a generalized content-independent stage-scoring system. We conclude that the sequence of conceptual development specified by Kohlberg generally matches the sequence identified with the Hierarchical Complexity Scoring System, and that contract and authority concepts identified with a methodology that employs the Hierarchical Complexity Scoring System match the concepts that define theoretically analogous Kohlbergian stages above Kohlberg’s stage 2. However, we argue that Kohlberg’s stages 1 and 2 do not accurately describe the development of moral concepts in young children.

Experimenter instructions as a mediator in the effects of culture on mapping one's neighborhood

In study 1 children, aged 6 and 12 years from southern India and mid-west USA were asked to construct a map of the neighborhoods around their schools. Performance on map making was measured in three ways: (1) the number of features depicted; (2) cognitive maturity in map representation (using Piaget's stages) and (3) furthest point represented. Significant main effects for performance was found for cultural context. Indian children depicted more features than American children while American children had more coordinated maps and depicted features further away from their school. In the second experiment, a different sample of same aged children in the same region of the USA and India were given differing instructions about the purpose of the mapping task. It was found that children tailored their maps for the purpose for which they had to construct it. The cultural differences in Piagetian stages disappeared; Indian children continued to exhibit a more intimate knowledge of their neighborhoods while American children depicted landmarks further away.