the psychology of intelligence by jean piaget

In the final stage of formal operations (12-15 years), thinking involves abstractions.Ĭognitive structures change through the processes of adaptation: assimilation and accommodation. The cognitive structure during the concrete operational stage (8-11 years) is logical but depends upon concrete referents. Intelligence in the preoperation period (3-7 years) is intutive in nature. In the sensorimotor stage (0-2 years), intelligence takes the form of motor actions. There are four primary cognitive structures (i.e., development stages) according to Piaget: sensorimotor, preoperations, concrete operations, and formal operations. Cognitive structures are patterns of physical or mental action that underlie specific acts of intelligence and correspond to stages of child development (see Schemas). The concept of cognitive structure is central to his theory. Piaget had a background in both Biology and Philosophy and concepts from both these disciplines influences his theories and research of child development. Piaget called his general theoretical framework “genetic epistemology” because he was primarily interested in how knowledge developed in human organisms. Over a period of six decades, Jean Piaget conducted a program of naturalistic research that has profoundly affected our understanding of child development.

The psychology of intelligence by jean piaget