Psychologist Jean Piaget suggested that children constantly develop their cognitive development as they grow. He thus created his theory of knowledge, which is key to understanding children’s thinking.
Jean Piaget’s genetic epistemology or theory of cognitive development changed the way we understand child development. His approach proposed that children actively progress through stages of cognitive development, rather than just passively accumulating knowledge.
This Swiss biologist and psychologist focused on answering the question: how do we come to know and understand the world around us? His findings are more than interesting. Find out more below.
Bases of Jean Piaget’s genetic epistemology
Jean Piaget was a renowned figure in the first half of the 20th century. He studied how humans access knowledge , integrating biology and philosophy through a scientific method. Genetic psychology served as a key tool for him to do so. Below, we explain the most relevant concepts of his work.
Constructivism
This is the central idea of his theory. Constructivism holds that people do not receive an exact copy of the environment around them, but rather create their understanding of the world through interaction with it. We are active agents.
In education, this model encourages the active participation of students in the construction of their own knowledge, using strategies that promote involvement and critical thinking .
Mental schemes
Mental schemas are structures that we use to interpret information from the world. They are not innate, but arise from the generalization of past experiences that form a pattern of thinking.
From a young age, we develop these “cognitive filters” based on what we experience. However , life often presents us with new experiences that challenge such patterns, forcing us to modify them.
For example, a small child learns that drawers open outwards. This allows him to access his toys without any problems every day. Suddenly, his family replaces this piece of furniture with a cupboard that opens to the sides. At this point, the child faces what Piaget calls “imbalance”: the information he receives does not fit with what he knows. To resolve this, he needs to adapt and enrich his mental scheme.
Adaptation
These are processes through which patterns are adjusted. Balance and adaptation are achieved through the interplay between assimilation and accommodation .
Assimilation
Assimilation is the process by which we incorporate new information into a mental scheme without modifying it. It works if it is close to what we already know. That is, we use our previous thought patterns to understand new elements, adapting them to what we already know.
Imagine an elderly person who is used to using a traditional keyboard to type on a computer. His grandson gives him a tablet with a digital keyboard. The person can assimilate this new tool using his previous experience with the physical keyboard. In this case, his mental scheme on how to type does not change, but rather adapts to the new device.
Accommodation
Now, what happens when there is no way to fit new experiences into our existing schemas? Accommodation occurs when assimilation is not sufficient to understand new information. In this case, we need to modify or create new schemas to integrate it correctly.
Let’s look at an example: a child has seen many books and films about tigers. He has learned to identify them by their stripes. However, when he visits a nature reserve in Africa with his family, he encounters zebras for the first time, which also have stripes.
Initially, he tries to classify zebras as “tigers,” but soon realizes that they are very different. Instead of seeing stripes as something related to tigers, he learns that zebras are another type of striped animal, with different characteristics.
Theory of knowledge development: stages
Piaget’s theory of knowledge development is fundamental in genetic psychology that explains how individuals, especially children, construct and organize their knowledge throughout their lives.
Cognitive development occurs in a series of stages, each characterized by specific ways of thinking and understanding the world. These stages reflect how children move from simpler to more complex ways of knowing, and each stage must be mastered before moving on to the next.
1. Sensorimotor stage
The sensorimotor phase occurs from birth to about 2 years of age. During this stage, babies build their knowledge through their senses and motor skills. They learn through physical actions, such as touching, seeing, sucking, and manipulating objects.
A key milestone that Piaget places around 10 months is the development of object permanence , which is a child’s ability to understand that objects exist even when they are not in sight.
In the classic game of “where is it?” the baby learns that an object hidden under a blanket still exists, which shows that he has begun to form mental representations.
This advance in thinking sets the stage for symbolic function : the ability to use symbols and mental images to think about objects and experiences.
2. Preoperative stage
The preoperational stage extends to age 7. Symbolic thinking is more complex, allowing children to represent objects and events through language, imitation, drawings and role-playing games. For example, a child uses a cardboard box as a car, or plays at being a policeman, doctor or dad.
However, up to this point his style of thinking is still egocentric , that is, he tends to see things from his own perspective, as if everything revolved around him. He still has a hard time understanding that other people can think and feel differently than him. Other characteristics of this period are the following:
- Artificialism: they believe that everything that exists was created by man, even trees, lakes and clouds.
- Animism: Children attribute human qualities to inanimate objects. For example, they may think that a doll gets sad when they don’t play with it or that the sun hides because it’s tired.
- Irreversibility: They are still unable to understand the possibility of a sequence being reversed or discarded . They cannot reverse the process of an action to return to the initial state. For example, if they flatten a ball of plasticine, they would not understand that they can re-form the original ball.
3. Specific operational stage
This model indicates that the concrete operational stage is acquired before the age of 11. At this stage, children begin to think more logically or operationally, but they still do so primarily in relation to concrete objects and events that they can directly perceive. They solve addition and subtraction problems using physical objects or drawings, for example.
The most relevant achievements of this period are conservation (being aware that an object is the same, even though its appearance changes), classification (grouping objects according to categories) and seriation (organizing objects in a specific order according to a characteristic).
4. Formal operational stage
It is reached from the age of 11. At this stage, adolescents develop the ability to think in abstract terms . For example, they can reflect on philosophical concepts or complex scientific theories, formulate hypotheses and deduce logical consequences (hypothetico-deductive reasoning).
In addition, critical and analytical thinking becomes more predominant. Students develop the ability to question ideas and beliefs, critically evaluate arguments, and consider multiple perspectives.
How is knowledge acquired according to Piaget?
The Swiss epistemologist believes that the subject’s action in his or her interaction with the environment is fundamental to knowing. In other words, what promotes cognitive growth is action. It is not just about listening to, seeing or reading information; true knowledge comes when we are active, when we explore, manipulate and experiment with the world.
To learn how a toy works , a child looks at it, grabs it, turns it, touches it and sees what happens. In the same way, an adult interacts with a mobile application to understand it; he or she touches different buttons, explores menu functions and tries out settings. It is important to clarify that Piaget distinguishes three different types of knowledge.
Physical knowledge
Concerning the understanding of the physical world and the properties of objects in the environment. It is acquired through direct manipulation and sensory experience.
Logical-mathematical knowledge
It refers to the ability to understand abstract concepts and logical relationships. It includes skills such as classification, serialization and conservation.
Social knowledge
This is the understanding of the norms, codes and social roles that govern the interaction between individuals in a social context. Piaget separates this type of knowledge into the following:
- Unconventional social: refers to ideas, interpretations or social practices that the subject constructs. It can be more personal or specific to certain groups. Some examples are the notions of rich-poor and the representation of authority figures.
- Conventional social behaviour: This is produced by consensus within social groups. It is transmitted through other people (such as parents, teachers and peers). For example, a child learns to say “thank you” and “please” as part of the rules of social courtesy taught at home and at school.
These types of knowledge are intertwined and mutually influence each other in the process of cognitive development.
Strengths of genetic epistemology
Piaget’s theory of knowledge introduced innovative concepts that continue to influence educational and therapeutic practice.
He stressed that learning occurs through active interaction with the environment, an idea that led teachers, therapists, mothers and fathers to adopt teaching methods that promote active participation , rather than the mere passive reception of information.
Another important contribution is his proposal of cognitive stages, which offers a valuable framework for understanding how children’s thinking evolves. Today, this approach allows educators to adapt the content and the way it is presented, according to the level of cognitive maturity of the students.
Criticisms and Limitations
Like other theories , Jean Piaget’s genetic epistemology has also been questioned. A common criticism is that the psychologist did not take sufficient account of the influence of the social and cultural environment on cognitive development.
Furthermore, the universality of its stages was questioned by assuming that all people follow a similar developmental pattern. In reality, we observe that some children develop cognitive skills earlier or later than Piaget suggested, and even that not all adults reach the level of formal operations, for example.
A theory of value in psychology and education
However, Piaget’s theory is a fundamental pillar for educators and professionals in psychopedagogy and child psychology, not only for his innovative ideas, but also for his practical approach to teaching.
This psychologist’s emphasis on active learning prompted important changes in how we teach. And those changes are still in effect.