Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology & Cognitive Revolution: Sensorimotor Intelligence Jean Piaget & Genetic Epistemology ✔Genetic Epistemology – Integration of Development with Philosophy (Biology & Psychology) ✔How Do We Come to Know, In ✔Large Community of Collaborators Development and History? ✔An Epigenetic Framework ✔3 Key Concepts ✔Key Figure: Defining Issues for Action & Adaptation ✗ Field ✗ Logic: Source of Necessary Truth ✗ Stage & Epigenesis ✔Stages & Equilibration Psychology 1202/H134 Kurt Fischer Genetic Epistemology Piaget’s Talent at Observation ✔"Genetic" as in Genesis: Development ✔Amazing Number of Surprising Findings ✔"Epistemology": that Replicate! The Study of Knowledge ✔Example: Conservation ✔Link to Kant & Baldwin: Universals of Knowledge Come from Acting in World. ✗ Universals are not simply innate but constructed by people. 1 Method: Clinical Interview Method: Clinical Interview ✔Qualitative Method ✔Goal: Relating to Individual ✔Piaget as Master Interviewer ✔Early Theory: Social Foundations of Development in Perspective Taking 3 Key Concepts Adaptation: Hand Grasping Pencil 1. Action: importance of Adaptation controlled transformation in world of action to objects/events (or represented in mind) adapted action 2 Adaptation in Knowing Person & World Are In Relationship. generalizing (assimilation) generalizing (assimilation) Person Person Using Object Using Object Scheme Scheme Scheme particularizing (accommodation) particularizing (accommodation) His Personal Background Personal Background: Religious Crisis ✔Born in 1896 in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Logic replaces Religion. ✗ Distant Cousins Founded Famous Piaget Watch Company. ✔Died in 1980 in Geneva at age 84. ✔Over 60 years of research and theory on genetic epistemology. 3 Logic replaces Religion Building His System as source of TRUTH ✔1. Biology & Philosophy If P, then Q. ✔2. 5 early books: "Working Papers“ -The Child’s Conception of the World -The Moral Judgment of the Child 5 + 7 = 12 -The Child’s Conception of Number -The Origins of Intelligence in Children 12 - 7 = 5 -The Child’s Construction of Reality ✔3. Theory built later, starting with Origins of Intelligence ✔4. Wealth of Observations Collaborations Key Concepts 2. Logic: ✔Good at Spotting Important Ideas, Discoveries a system that is internally consistent (& ✔Public Collaborators: reversible) & so avoids contradiction Inhelder, Sinclair, Bovet ✔Hidden: action: Valentine Piaget, Alina Szeminska 5 + 7 = 12 reversing 12 - 7 = 5 action: 4 Intelligence is Logic of the Mind Key Concepts 3. Stage descriptive slices of development 2 + 3 = 5 stage 4. formal-operational int. 5 - 2 = 3 stage 3. concrete-operational int. stage 2. preoperational intelligence consistency reversibility stage 1. sensorimotor intelligence Epigenesis: or stronger meaning of Stage Major Transformation major reorganizations— achieving a new Equilibrium arising from a new Logic action: 5 + 7 = 12 reversing 12 - 7 = 5 action: 5 as in construction of a new skill: 1 t n 2 e 4 periods m p 3 lo (stages) e v e d 4 Sensorimotor Intelligence Based in Actions Action & Perceptions Mammals & Birds Have S-M Intelligence. 6 Perception Preoperational Intelligence based in Representations "I see" (internalized actions & perceptions) Representations Include Language, Pretend, Images (Internalized Imitations) Concrete Operational intelligence based in Operations “Pick up teddy.” ✔ (internalized reversible actions), ✔“See teddy.” ✔Child makes teddy walk, eat, talk. including arithmetic: ✔Child pictures or imitates teddy in his mind. action: 5 + 9 = 14 reversing 14 - 9 = 5 action: 7 example: example: Multiplication of Classes Conservation (Multiplication of Triangles Squares Circles Relations/Amounts) Narrow Wide Red High = Not Blue Low Not = Yellow One of Piaget’s Favorite Examples Formal Operational intelligence of Operations on Operations based in ✔All possible combinations: Operations on ✗ Operating on the obtained combinations (concrete operations) to figure out all possible ones. Operations ✗ Such as combining coins: penny, nickle, dime, quarter. Example: Variable X is an unknown ✗ You must go systematically through all possibilities: 1,2, 3, & 4 at a time. operation, such as adding a number to get ✗ If you do it by trial and error, like an 8-year- old, a sum. you leave out some. Algebra involves operating on X to determine values. 8 example: Equilibrium for Each Stage? Operation on Operation (proposition about proposition) ✔Logic Provides Strong Equlibrium: ✔Sensorimotor: Logic of Action Yesterday, scientists found a 3-year ✔Preoperational: NO Logic, But Prototype of Non-logic (Illogic) old skull of an animal with 5 feet & ✔Concrete Operational: Logic of Experienced World, Concrete 2 heads that died 100 years ago. ✔Formal Operational: Logic of Hypothetical, Abstract, Formal What's wrong with this statement? Piaget: Action & Logic Dynamic Development – Equilibration: in Cognitive Development Person Acts to Coordinate & Regulate Many Factors & Attains Equilibrium. ✔Piaget & Genetic Epistemology ✔ Before, Many Scientists Found Concept Fuzzy & Ill ✗ Integrating Philosophy with Development (Biology Defined. & Psychology) Now Makes Sense in Terms of Dynamic Systems ✗ Building Collaborative Community ✔Cognition Based in Activity ✗ Van Geert (Psychological Review, 1991, 1998) • Formal Equilibration Model Produces Stages ✔Equilibration between Person & World ✔Basis of Intelligence in Logic & Mathematics ✗ Van der Maas & Molenaar (Psychological Review, 1992) ✔Epigenetic Stages • Stages as “Catastrophes” ✗ 4 Main Stages ✗ Equilibria of Logic 9 Video Chapter Complete • You have completed this video chapter • Use the bookmarks to review any portion of the chapter • Click on the download link to download a handout of the slides 10.