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Cognitive Development
Cognition is a thinking process that permits an individual to organize and make sense of experience. Solving problems, analyzing complex tasks, and interpreting a statement or information are examples of cognitive processes. Cognitive development is the construction of thought processes, such as problem solving, decision making, and remembering, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. There are numerous theories of cognitive development, with Jean Piaget’s theory being dominant, although there are new theories, many of which are information processing models of cognitive development. All theories conceptualize cognitive development as a process that advances over time for most individuals. Individuals who have developmental and/or intellectual disabilities generally follow the same trajectory of cognitive development but do not reach the same final result as unimpaired individuals, because there are differences in executive functioning. Executive functioning, or the management of cognitive abilities, including thinking skills such as inhibition and shifting from one task to another, follows a sequential trajectory. Individuals with lower cognitive abilities tend to have less developed executive functioning. Individuals who are diagnosed with high-functioning autism may not follow the same developmental trajectory as other individuals and can have executive functioning that is unevenly developed and possibly high in some areas; this nevertheless results in impaired reasoning. The impairments vary on an individual basis. This entry offers an overview of the main theories on cognitive development and further explores the implications for individuals with developmental and intellectual disorders.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget’s training as a biologist guided his approach to cognitive development, with logical thought unfolding according to fixed stages. Similar to biological capacities, cognitive capacities seek equilibrium. Piaget’s conceptualization is distinguished from conceptualizations of other theorists because he paid attention to how a child arrived at an answer. Key elements of his theory include the concepts of schemes, adaptation, assimilation, accommodation, egocentrism, and stages of development. Piaget’s theory continues to influence contemporary theory and research.
Schemes are meaningful and organized groupings of images, feelings, or actions that determine how one interacts with the environment. Schemes guide actions and link sequences of action. Development and refinement of schemes occur throughout one’s lifetime. Knowledge is the result of adaptation, a gradual modification of existing schemes because there is new information. Adaptation includes assimilation and accommodation, which are the processes of taking in information and the modification of familiar schemes to account for new dimensions, respectively. Knowing guides an individual’s approach to new situations.
Description of the Piagetian Stages of Cognitive Development
Stages of development encompass abstract processes that could be applied to many content areas. The stages are invariant and occur across all cultures. Each stage must be mastered before the child can move to the next one. According to Piaget, there are four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. The nature of a child’s limited perspective at each stage of cognitive development is referred to as egocentrism. The nature of egocentrism changes as a child passes through the stages of cognitive development. The overall result of the process of proceeding through the stages of cognitive development is that individuals organize their environment into an integrated and coordinate system; this is an innate capacity of individuals that occurs at physical and psychological levels that include behavior and cognition. Individuals with intellectual disabilities will not reach all stages. Individuals with autism may develop some formal operational skills, but they are likely to encounter difficulty with the reasoning demands, given that seeing multiple perspectives and solutions is a key feature of formal operational thought.
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