PSY BEH 101D Lecture 14: Lifespan Chapter 1: Cognitive Theory (part 14)
14 Jul 2018
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Document Summary
A theory of human development that focuses on changes in how people think over time. According to this theory, thoughts shape attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Piaget realized that babies are curious and thoughtful, creating their own interpretations about their world. Developed the central thesis of cognitive theory: how people think (not just what they know) changes with time and experience, and then human thinking influences actions. Piaget maintained that cognitive development occurs in four major age-related periods, or stages. Intellectual advancement occurs lifelong because humans seek cognitive equilibrium , that is, a state of mental balance. (called assimilation ) to achieve this balance is to interpret new experiences through the lens of preexisting ideas. A new experience is jarring and incomprehensible. Resulting experience is one of cognitive disequilibrium an. Leads to cognitive growth because it forces people to adapt imbalance that initially creates confusion their old concepts (called accommodation )
