Development Of The Cognitive Process

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Topic: Development of the Cognitive Process Background The process of cognitive development involves various changes in the thinking process, which begin at infancy and improve progressively as an individual develops. During this period, an individual attempts to adapt to the immediate external environment through two major processes, which include assimilation and accommodation (Santrock, 2010). Here, assimilation involves the use of the external environmental cues to change the pre-existing cognitive structures relative to different situations. Conversely, accommodation entails the process of restructuring the pre-existing cognitive structures to fit the experience obtained from the environment. As a result, Jean Piaget proposed the cognitive development theory, which states that most children develop different ways of thinking through interacting with the environment (Santrock, 2010). According to Piaget’s theory, cognitive development occurs in four stages. The sensorimotor stage occurs in the period between birth and age two. Here, children start to learn from the environment and develop different aspects of language (Santrock, 2010). In addition, most children learn how to use different sensory and motor functions of the body. Subsequently, the pre-operational stage begins at age two and lasts until age seven. During this period, children are capable of using mental structures to comprehend different concepts, interact with people, learn different languages, and participate in various games. Additionally, the concrete operational stage starts at age seven and ends at age 11. Here, children are capable of thinking, solving problems, and processing different information (Santrock, 2010). However, most children are incapable of comprehending and working with abstract information. Therefore, during the formal operational stage, which begins at age 11 and
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