In the last two weeks we have defined the first two stages of cognitive development according to Jean Piaget: and .
This week we are going to briefly define the stage of concrete operations.
Stage of concrete operations
According to Baron, Byrne & Kantowitz (1980), the stage ranges from 7 years old to around 11 or 12 years old. For Piaget, the passage to this stage is marked by the mastery of the concept of conservation (see preoperational stage), some types of conservation are mastered before others: quantity of liquids, quantity and length of substance, weight, volume (Gross, 2005). .
In the stage of concrete operations, skills will emerge that the child did not previously possess, such as understanding serialization and relational concepts, additions, subtractions, divisions, multiplications, focusing on two dimensions of a problem at the same time (Baron, et. al. ., 1980; Rathus, 2007; Bee, 1985).
They also come to understand reversibility, that is, the fact that many things can be undone by reversing the original action, which enables them to solve new problems. In addition to this, the development of inductive thinking is observed (Baron, et. al., 1980, Bee, 1985).
On the other hand, they see the issue of past and future events more clearly and begin to take it into account. They are also less egocentric, meaning they can see the perspective of others and understand that other people see things differently because they have different experiences or live in different situations (Baron, et. al., 1980, Rathus, 2007).
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Finally, they begin to use logical thinking, but only with objects in front of them, not with abstract ideas. This is why many teachers use manipulative projects: seeing and touching things usually helps them understand abstract concepts. This is the reason for the name of the stage, operations concrete (Baron, et. al., 1980; Rathus, 2007).
Bibliographic references:
- Baron, R., Donn, B. & Kantowitz, B. (1980), Psychology. Understanding behavior 2nd edition. Holt, Rinehart and Winston: U.S.
- Bee, H. (1985), The developing child 4th edition. Harper & Row publishers: New York
- Gross, R. (2005), Psychology, the science of mind and behavior 5th edition. Hodder Arnold Publication
- Rathus, S. (2007), Psychology. Principles in practice. Holt, Rinehart and Winston: U.S.