theory of growth and development

1. Growth and Development
Cognitive Theory

2. Many theories have been devised to
study the development of children
• Intellectual development: Jean Piaget
• Moral development: Jean Piaget and Lawrence
Kohlberg
• Emotional development: Erik H Erikson
• Psychosexual development: Sigmund Freud
• Spiritual development: James W Fowler

3. Psychosocial Theory- Erik H.Erikson

4. Psychosexual Theory – Sigmund
Freud

5. Piaget’s
Cognitive
Development
Theory - 1969

6. Introduction
• Children are born with inherited potentialities for
thorough intellectual growth.
• Development of potential occurs through
interaction with environment.
• The age related changes in mental activities are
called “cognitive development”.
• The term “cognition” means “understanding”.

7. Contd….Introduction
• It refers to mental development that includes not
only intelligence but also complementary
processes as perceiving, recognizing, recalling and
interpreting information as well as all forms of
reasoning.
• According to him, thinking of normal child is not
a simpler version of thinking of adults.

8. • Thinking is based on different understanding of
reality.
• It slowly changes according to maturation and
experiences.
• According to Piaget, children proceed through the
stages of mental activity in an orderly and sequential
manner.
• Children learn through assimilation and
accommodation

9. The sequences of cognitive changes are divided into
4 periods according to chronological age, as:
Sensorimotor (birth to 2 years)
Pre- operational thought ( 2 to 6 years)
Concrete operations (6 to 12 years)
Formal operations (12 to 15+ years)

10. Concept – Piaget’s Cognitive Theory
• According to Piaget, the baby is in the
sensorimotor stage between birth to 2 years.
• During the sensorimotor stage, the child
understands his world through sensory organs and
through his motor abilities.

11. Contd…Concept
• Piaget believed intellectual growth followed an
orderly progression based on the child’s
maturational level, experiences with physical
objects, interactions with caregivers, other adults
and peer.

12. SENSORIMOTOR (Birth to 2 years)
• At the beginning of his/ her life, the child is
concerned only with satisfying basic needs and
comforts.
• As the sense of differentiation occurs, with
increasing mobility and awareness, the mental
system is expanded.

13. Contd….Introduction
• The child develops a greater understanding
regarding objects within external environment
and their effects upon him/her.
• Knowledge is gained regarding the ability to
manipulate objects and experiences within the
environment

14. Three important events takes place during
the sensorimotor stage:
1. Separating of the infant’s self from other persons,
such as the mother or objects in the environment.
2. Perceiving the concept of object permanency or
constancy – that people and things continue to
exist even though they cannot be seen.
3. Using symbol to think of a situation or an object,
such as toy, without its being present in the
immediate environment.

15. II. Pre- operational thought
(2 to 6 years)
• The representational abilities become more
sophisticated and capable to communicate their
needs with language.
• They become social beings but child does not
understand the use of symbols and basic
operations hence the name pre- operational stage.

16. • The baby is only capable of making concept of a
single object and not a class of objects.
• The child views every object or situation as single
instances and will not understand the
dimensionality of objects.
• The child cannot think in terms of operations.
• Pre – conceptual thought is extremely concrete
and egocentric (child’s persistent self- centredness)

17. • Egocentrism is a major hindrance to cognitive
development.
• With egocentrism, the child is unaware of others
perspectives.
• The pre – schooler do not realize that other people
see things from a different view point..

18. Intuitive phase (4 to 7 years)
• Egocentric thought begins to give away to social
pressure and the child beings to accommodate
others (cognitive egocentrism).
• The pre-schooler’s thinking is static and focus at
one feature at a time. They are unable to combine
various features of an object. This is centration.
• Child is unable to decentre and his perceptual
evaluation is not developed.

19. • Piaget also used the transductive reasoning (a child
proceeds from particular to particular centring on
one salient aspects of an event and ignoring other
aspects.)
There are two forms of transductive thinking ;
namely – juxtaposition and syncretism.
• In juxtaposition, he described indiscriminate
relationship
• In syncretism, the child fails to relate various
observations into a consistent.

20. • At this stage, the children group items with
similarity
• From 2 to 4 years, the child lacks speech and the
egocentric speech which the child repeatedly uses
in his communication with others.
• With age 4 to 6 years, language becomes socialized
speech (you, she , he ) are added in conversations

21. • The child exchanges ideas with other persons,
which helps in socialization process.
• There is beginning of thoughts and the child
thinks internally by using words and signs.
• There is internalization of action and actions
become more symbolic rather than perceptual
motor

22. Common forms of imaginary experiences
in childhood are:
• Day dreaming Exaggeration
• Imaginary friends Dreams
• Imaginary illness Creativity
• Animism

23. • Ordering / Seriation: School age children are able
to arrange things or concrete objects according to their
size and relationships to other things. Ordering allows
them to solve an abstract problem when it deals with
concrete objects.
• Classification: Children are increasingly able to
classify objects in a more computer manner than they
could during the pre-school years

24. • Thinking and Reasoning: They can solve problems
because they can manipulate symbols. Their mental
ability permits them to carry on converse and reverse
processes. School children can think problems through,
a new world of logical operations opens before them.
• Time: During the school age period, children think not
only of the present but also of the past and future
• Egocentrism decreases, the ability to cooperate in
interactions with other children increases, and
understanding and acceptance of established rules
grow.

25. IV. Formal operations (12 to 15+ years)
• At this stage, the individuals is able to think and
reason in abstract terms.
• Individuals can solve problems that require purely
abstract thinking in a flexible manner.
• He/ she can make and test hypothesis using logical
and orderly problem solving.

26. • Adolescents can utilize “Hypothetical deductive
reasoning”, they may reject authority if they are not
satisfied with the rationale and logic.
• Current situations and reflections of the future are
idealized and a degree of egocentrism returns
during this stage
• Formal operations, however, enables the individual
to distinguish between the real and the ideal

27. Reference / Bibliography
 Sharma Rimple- “Essentials of Pediatric Nursing for BSc.
and P.BSc. Nursing students”; 1st edition; Jaypeee Brothers
Medical Publishers (P) Ltd; page no:68-70
• Yadav Manoj –“ A textbook of Child Health Nursing and
Procedure”; 1st edition; S.Vikas and Company (Medical
Publish); page no: 126-128
• Clement I-“ Psychosocial Foundation of Nursing”; 1st edition;
Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) ltd; page no:89-95
• T.M Assuma Devi – “Textbook of Pediatric Nursing”; 1st
edition ;Reed Elsevier India Pvt Limited; page no: 65-68
• Townsend Mary C-“ Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing”; 7th
edition; Jaypee Brothers Medical Publisher (P).ltd; Page no:
33-41
• Marlow Dorothy R and Redding Barbara A – “Marlow’s
Textbook of Pediatric Nursing”; 1st edition; Reed Elsevier
India Pvt Limited; Page no:110 – 111