Cognitive and moral development
Children do not just know less than adults; they think in different ways.
Piaget's stages
Jean Piaget described four stages. In the sensorimotor stage (birth to about 2), infants learn through senses and actions and develop object permanence. In the preoperational stage (2 to 7), children use symbols but are egocentric and lack conservation. In the concrete operational stage (7 to 11), they reason logically about concrete things. In the formal operational stage (12 and up), they can think abstractly and hypothetically.
Vygotsky and social learning
Lev Vygotsky emphasised social interaction and culture. His zone of proximal development is the gap between what a child can do alone and what they can do with help. Scaffolding is support from a more skilled person that is gradually withdrawn as the child gains skill.
Moral reasoning
Lawrence Kohlberg proposed stages of moral reasoning: preconventional (avoiding punishment, gaining rewards), conventional (following social rules and approval), and postconventional (universal ethical principles). Carol Gilligan argued that Kohlberg's theory overlooked an ethic of care that many people, especially women in her research, emphasised.
Flashcard
Understanding that objects still exist when out of sight
Check your understanding
A child insists a tall, thin glass holds more juice than a short, wide glass, even after seeing the same juice poured between them. The child lacks: