Psychology

Cognition comes from the Latin word cognescere which means to come to know (Merriam-Webster). Theories concerned with cognition focus on processes of thought and behavior resulting from the said processes. These processes deal with aptitude and capacity to learn, learning styles and is also the basis of the educational approach known as constructivism (Atherton, 2009). There are several theories on cognitivism but none have the capacity to fully explain the process of cognition. Two important theories that explain much of our approaches to learning and educating children are that of Piaget and the informational processing theory. These cognitive theories contribute much to our understanding of cognition and has had a great impact on learning and education.

Piaget  An Introduction to the Big Figure
When one would try to find any information on theories of cognition, more often that not, the first name that would turn up would be that of Jean Piaget. Jean Piaget was a Swiss theorist who has contributed much to our understanding of how children think or reason. Piaget opted to take the organismic view wherein the development of cognition was thought to be the result of a childs attempts to understand and perform action in his or her environment (Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p. 35).

Piaget trained under the disciplines of biology and philosophy and was most concerned with the biological influences on how we come to know and believes that there is a line drawn that separates us from animals and it is the ability to perform abstract symbolic reasoning (Huitt  Hummel, 2003). Piagets interest in the way children think started during his employment at Alfred Binets IQ test lab in Paris. Piaget made use of a clinical method that combined observation and questions as well as follow-up questions to illustrate the thought processes of children. With his study, one of his significant observations was that of when he found that an average 4-year-old child would think that objects arranged in a line were greater in number than when objects were arranged in a pile. It is through such observations that Piaget built his theory on cognitive development (Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p. 35).

Piagets Processes of Cognitive Development
Because of Piagets training in biology and his favor of the organismic view, he was fascinated with how one adapts to his or her surroundings. Piaget believes that the innate ability to adapt to the surroundings is where cognitive development begins. Piaget proposed that cognitive development happens through three interconnected processes, namely organization, adaptation and equilibration (Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p.36).

The first of the processes is organization  the inclination to incorporate knowledge into systems to form schemes (Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p.36). These schemes are set patterns of behavior one uses in a certain situation. As the said schemes increase in complexity, they would be termed as structures and as these structures increase in complexity, they would be structured in a hierarchical manner (Huitt  Hummel, 2003).

The second process mentioned is that of adaptation. Huitt  Hummel (2003) say that Piaget proposed two parts to the process of adaptation  assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is taking new information in and integrating it with existing cognitive structures. A popular example of assimilation would be the action of sucking for an infant. Accommodation on the other hand is altering the said cognitive structures to house new information. So, to apply accommodation to the previously mention example would be shifting from sucking on a nipple by the infant to something similar like a pacifier (Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p.36).

Branching from the process of assimilation and accommodation is that of equilibration. Papalia, Olds  Feldman (2004) say that equilibration takes from the word equilibrium it is an unwavering search for balance and marks the transition from assimilation to accommodation (p.36). It is when children cannot handle the said transition that they experience disequilibrium. To counteract disequilibrium, children find balance between what they know and what situations they experience by coming up with a new pattern of behavior in reaction to the situation so that they could handle it better (Psychology Campus). In this light, we find that assimilation and accommodation are essential for integration and cognitive development.

Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development
Through adaptation, cognitive development occurs which leads to Piagets stages of cognitive development, the first stage being the sensorimotor stage apparent from birth to about two years of age. At this stage, the child explores his or her surroundings through sensory and motor interaction (Funderstanding). Papalia, Olds  Feldman (2004) explain that Piagets sensorimotor stage is divided into six substages namely the use of reflexes, primary circular reactions, secondary circular reactions, coordination of secondary schemes, tertiary circular reactions and mental combinations (p.156). With the first five substages mentioned, babies learn to make use of Piagets processes  organization, adaptation and equilibration. At the sixth substage, they shift from learning through trial-and-error to that of using concepts and symbols to resolve simple problems.

Following the sensorimotor stage is that of preoperational thought which occurs from two to about seven years of age. The stage is called such because the child has yet to be able to perform operations that demand logical thinking (Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p.238).

During this stage, there are developments in the use of symbols, understanding identities, causality, classification and number while concepts such as empathy and theory of mind begin to develop. Limitations on the other hand are manifested through centration, irreversibility, focus on state rather than information, transductive reasoning, egocentrism, animism and inability to distinguish appearance from reality. All this could be summed up with the idea that a childs thinking is centered or focused on his or herself (Meyerhoff, 2006).

Following the stage of preoperational thought is that of concrete operational stage that is said to coincide with the period of when the child is of seven to eleven years of age. While logic was not apparent for preoperational thought, it is present during the concrete operational stage and is used as the child interacts with his environment (Meyerhoff, 2006). Logical thinking is demonstrated through the use of operations. They gain a knowledge in conservation in number, length, liquid, mass, weight, area and volume, and the apparent egocentrism declines (Huitt  Hummel, 2003). There are also advances in inductive and deductive reasoning (Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p. 317)

At twelve years old and onwards, one falls under the formal operational stage. This is the stage when one learns abstract reasoning and how to make use of problem solving (Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p. 402). Through this new ability, one is able to think and feel in a different way or see in other perspectives (Psychology Campus).

Piagets Theory Evaluated
Thought Piaget may be the biggest figure for cognitivism and there were little challenges to his theory, Lourenco  Machado were part of the small population who questioned Piagets theory (as cited in Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p. 404). Many of Piagets writings document examples of children displaying some behavior expected for the next stage, specifically that of scientific thinking apparent well before adolescence. Flavell et al. also claimed that other times, Piaget would overestimate older childrens capabilities making him fail to fully consider gradual buildup of knowledge and proficiency in specific areas, and the role of metacognition (as cite in Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p. 404). In later years, Brown, Metz  Campione (as cited in Papalia, Olds  Feldman) noted that Piaget himself saw a flaw in his theory as it was unable to capture the essential role of the situation in influencing and constraining childrens thinking (p. 405). Also, Piagets theory may not give much importance to mature intelligence that plays as experience, intuition and wisdom to cope.

However, because Piagets theory covers a persons formative years extensively, it has its great and valid contributions to learning and education. Because of his theory, parents as well as educators would know what to expect of children of different ages, thus having a guide to generate age and skill-appropriate curricula (Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p. 403). Also, in terms of instruction, school teachers must understand the role interaction has in student learning (Funderstanding). Piagets theory has taught instructors to make use of discovery learning as well as the approach of supporting the developing interests of a child, as two main instructional techniques (Huitt  Hummel, 2003). Piaget proposed that educators as well as parents present challenges to a childs ability but not to a point where it would be too much for the childs level. The used of a variety of concrete experiences were also recommended to help children learn.

Another Side  The Information Processing Approach
After Piagets significant contributions to cognitivism, other theories sought to explain other aspects of cognitive development or points thought to be lacking in Piagets work, another popular theory in particular is that of the information processing theory. Papalia, Olds  Feldman (2004) say that the information processing theory in reality is not one single theory at all, but rather a set of assumptions following extensive research (p.37). The information-processing approach focuses on understanding how information is processed differently by children of different ages and has a big role in looking at memory. Such information considered are those of perception, learning and memory, language skills and problem solving (Psychology Campus). Some of the many concepts belonging to this theory are concerned with habituation, early perceptual and processing abilities, information processing as a predictor of intelligence and violation of expectations.

The first concept is that of habituation which taps most from the perception part of the information processing theory. It is a kind of learning where increased exposure to a certain stimulus reduces attention to it or causes a decline in interest. Rheingold explains that as infants are continuously exposed to stimuli, or in other words, when they habituate, the novel becomes familiar and the unknown transform into the known (as cited in Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p.165). It is when an infant has an increased response to a new stimulus that he or she experiences dishabituation.

The second concept, which is related to perception just like habituation and is also concerned with memory, is the concept of early perceptual and processing abilities. It talks of visual preference. Studies by Fantz and his colleagues show that babies less than 2 days in age prefer certain shapes to others (as cited in Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p. 166). It is with visual preference that we see evidence in habituation and when an infant prefers novel stimuli, we see the event of novel preference. Because there is apparent novel preference, the infant must be able to remember the old stimuli, hence the presence of memory and learning.

The next concept is that of information processing as a predictor of intelligence. Kopp  McCall have found that originally, because there was a weak link between infants scores on developmental and IQ tests, many, Piaget included, would think that cognitive function in infants had little relation to that of older children and adults. However, McCall  Carriger noted that when researchers studied cognitive processing by infants and toddlers, it was apparent that certain aspects of mental development seem to continue since birth (as cited in Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p.166-167). Children who show proficiency in perception perform well on intelligence tests.

Finally, there is the concept of information processing as a predictor of intelligence is that of the violation of expectations. Research shows that infants begin to think and reason much earlier than Piaget has proposed. During the violation of expectation phenomenon an infants dishabituation tendency shows that the infant is able to comprehend surprises. Researchers under this concept argue that while Piaget believes that object permanence, number and causality develop towards the end of the sensorimotor stage, they actually occur much earlier. Baillargeon says there are claims that infants are born with innate learning mechanisms that help them acquire abilities early on (as cited in Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p.167).

Information Processing Theory Evaluation
Like Piagets theory, the information processing theory also has its implications on learning and education. Since the information processing theory is largely concerned with memory, it is connected to types of knowledge or forms of memory. There is declarative memory, facts we know in general. It is divided into two  semantic memory which are much like common knowledge, and episodic memory, which consists of personal experiences. Last, there is procedural memory or our knowledge on how to perform tasks (Papalia, Olds  Feldman, 2004, p.171)

Application of the information processing theorys findings can be done through nine classroom principles. One approach is to catch the students interest and an example would be to use cues to signal the beginning of class or the use of different tones of voice to call attention. Another is the recall of important details prior to learning that takes form in class review or discussion of previously learned topics. Pointing out important information is another important principle and it is what gave birth to providing handouts to students or writing down important points on the chalkboard. Presenting information in an organized manner also hails from this theory and would account for when instructors would show a logical string of concepts or a flow of discussion from simple to complex instead of teaching topics at random. Connected to the previously mentioned principle is that of chunking information for better retention through classifying categories or making use of inductive reasoning for better retention. Letting students learn on their own is also included as they are made to expound on their own by comparing and contrasting novel and existing information.  There is also the use of pneumonics as well as repetition for easy memorization.  Finally, providing chances to practice skills enhances them, thus giving us the simple principle of practice makes perfect that we can see through drills or games (Huitt, 2003).

Cognition  A Synthesis
Like all theories, the cognitive perspective has its flaws as well. Behaviorists would call its arguments as weak because of its abstract nature and difficulty to define. Also, there are no set parameters for the theory and it has little implication on personality because it is fairly new even though it has had a great deal of research devoted to it. Though the cognitive approach is definitely effective, there is no solid understanding of the development apparent.

Despite its apparent flaws, there undoubtedly has been extensive research to support the points of the cognitive theory. Also, because of all the positive findings, the cognitive approach has gained much popularity both in the professional field and in pop psychology (AllPsych, 2004).

There are several theories on cognitivism but none have the capacity to fully explain the process of cognition. However, it is undeniable that its teachings are apparent though its goes unnoticed to many individuals. Piagets work and the informational theory have given much to our techniques for learning today. The cognitive approach impacts education in such a way that it continuously seeks improvement in the teaching and learning process. All the strategies we do today to learn, be it from kindgarten, preschool or even college branch from findings from concepts belonging to the cognitive theory.