Cognitive & Emotional Development
Birth – 1 Month |2 – 7 Years | 7 – 11/12 Years | 11/12 - 19 Years
These tasks are based on Piaget and Erikson’s theories
- Infants are exploring their world through sucking, grasping, gazing, etc
- Need consistency and will develop trust if they can rely on their parents
- Aware that objects exist even when out
of sight (object permanence)
- Example: when a toy is placed under a blanket, child knows that the toy is still there
- Child mirrors another person’s behavior after it has occurred (deferred imitation)
- Can move around and explore the world, giving him/her more independence (autonomy)
- The control the child has can give him/her self-esteem
- Becomes curious about people, models adults, and becomes aware of gender differences
- Takes on new responsibilities and learns new skills
- Thinking is based on how the child sees the world; children believe that everyone thinks like they do (egocentrism)
- Begins to play by pretending an object
is something else (symbolic play)
- Example: a block can be used as a telephone
- Focuses on one part of an object at a time (centration)
- Begins school and wishes to succeed
- Learns important skills and gains status among classmates
- Thought becomes more organized
- Can understand that something can have
the same properties, even if it looks differently (conservation)
- Example: an equal amount of water is poured into a tall, skinny glass and a short, wide glass. The glasses look very different, but they still hold the same amount of water.
- Can reverse the steps he/she has taken
(reversibility)
- Example: 5 + 2 = 7 and 7 – 2 = 5
- Can sort dissimilar objects into groups that make sense (classification)
- Can put items in a particular order (seriation)
- Example: arranges toys according to height
- Concerned with appearance
- Development of a personal identity
- Thinks about the future (goals, occupation, a partner, etc.)
- Capable of identifying a problem, coming up with several suggestions, and testing them
- Uses planning to think ahead
- The adolescent can put together all the possible outcomes before beginning the problem (abstract thinking)