Importance of Piaget's Theory

The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget is considered the greatest exponent of cognitive theory, which focuses on the study of mental processes associated with knowledge and is based on the biological structures that operate the mind human.

Thus, the object of his study are the fundamental mechanisms involved in cognition: perception, memory and learning. These three dimensions constitute the essential pieces that allow the elaboration of the rational thought of human beings.

theory of cognitive development

According to Piaget's model, the human mind develops in stages, which allow the creation of increasingly sophisticated logical structures. Piaget raises the different cognitive levels that occur in the mind from childhood to adulthood. adolescence.

In a first stage, between birth and two years of age, the sensorimotor capacity develops. In it, children begin to understand the information provided by their senses. During this period, children basically learn to manipulate objects and assimilate signals from their environment as long as what they perceive is within the reach of their senses.

The preoperational stage ranges from two to seven years. In her the boy He begins to interact with everything that surrounds him and assimilates the idea of ​​the permanence of objects. This phase is marked by egocentrism and by a greater mental complexity, since the words and images allow you to understand the world around you.

The stage of concrete operations begins around the age of seven and ends at approximately 11. During it, reasoning processes are consolidated, sociability is developed and abstract concepts are assimilated, such as causality, space, time and speed. It could be said that children become logical and are already prepared to solve real problems.

From the age of eleven onwards, the stage of formal operations develops. In this way, inductive and deductive thinking become two intellectual tools to understand reality. Likewise, they strengthen the feelings idealists and moral concepts.

The influence of Piaget's Theory in education

His theoretical contributions have been especially important in the educational field. In this sense, educational systems have incorporated new learning techniques based on cognitive development developed by Jean Piaget.

His proposal has been decisive in knowing when a child is mentally prepared to incorporate new knowledge and skills.