What is cognitive development in a child?

Many parents, reading books and articles on child development, wonder what cognitive development is, is it the same as intelligence? What does cognitive development include, what cognitive skills are key in a child's development from birth to school age? 

In today's article we will describe one of the basic concepts of children's mental development, i.e cognitive development according to Piaget, which clearly helps to understand what cognitive development is, including: what does the cognitive development of an infant, preschool child and the development of cognitive skills look like at later stages of life.

What is cognitive development and what does it include??

You're probably wondering what cognitive development is?

In the simplest terms, it is the foundation of intelligence, the ability to learn, explore the world and deal with new situations (problems).

What does cognitive development involve??

It's not just the ability to memorization, but also ability to observe and analyze reality, ability to focus attention, and speed of thought processes. Language skills, as one of the key cognitive skills, also constitute an important indicator of intellectual abilities (especially in the first years of a child's life) and are related (but not only) to later reading skills.

Basics of cognitive development according to Piaget, or a description of the most important cognitive skills from birth to adulthood

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist and scientist who devoted much of his work to understanding and elaborating concept of child's cognitive development. 

Even though the theory of cognitive development according to Nowadays, Piaget has as many supporters as opponents, it allows parents, teachers and guardians to better understand how the development of cognitive functions takes place at particular stages of a child's life.

I: Stage of sensory-motor intelligence (0-2 years of age of the child): practical intelligence

At the beginning child's cognitive development depends primarily on the ability to receive and process sensory stimuli and motor skills. The child explores the world, developing basic concepts of space and time. What does cognitive development include during the sensory-motor stage?

Basic cognitive skills include:

• the concept of object permanence (when something disappears from view, it does not mean that it is gone forever);
• basics of symbolic thinking;
• language understanding;
• first attempts at communication.

II: Stage of pre-operational thinking (2-7 years of age): representational intelligence

Including stadium cognitive development according to Piaget children think intuitively, impulsively and concretely, starting from the detail to the overall subject/task. Children begin to use symbols (e.g. a stone as a car). It becomes particularly important for the child to imitate objects and events and copy the behavior of other people.

The cognitive skills of this period are dominated by egocentrism, which means difficulties in understanding other people's perspectives. Attention is still involuntary, but the child's cognitive development at the end of the preoperative period allows him to focus on a task/play for longer and longer periods of time.

III: Stage of concrete operations (7-12 years of age) 

At this stage, the child begins to develop the ability to categorize and think logically about specific situations (verbal-logical thinking).

According to theory cognitive development according to Piaget the stage of concrete operations is a breakthrough in developing cognitive functions. From this stage, the child is able to completely externalize his thought processes. This is an introduction to logical and operational problem solving.

IV: Stage of formal operations (from age 12 upwards) 

Last etap child's cognitive development according to Piaget is characterized by the ability to think abstractly and formulate hypotheses, which the child then verifies through action and/or thought processes (from general to specific). This opens the way to more advanced cognitive processes.

What does the cognitive development of a preschool child include: an issue that is of particular interest to parents

Cognitive development of a preschool child in accordance with theory of cognitive development according to Piaget includes the stage of pre-operational thinking - and therefore dynamic development:

• speech;
• symbolic games;
• viewing events in a time perspective (past – present – ​​future).

Although the cognitive development of a child at this age is characterized by egocentrism, he or she increasingly begins to notice the benefits of cooperation and working in a group.

The development of a preschool child also includes: centration. The child pays attention to what is most obvious (what attracts attention), and therefore often fails to notice other important aspects of the situation/task. He attributes to inanimate objects the characteristics of living beings (animism, e.g. a teddy bear's paw hurts) and is often unable to distinguish fiction from reality (realism).

In the cognitive development of a preschool child, it is important to gradually increase the role of memory and voluntary learning.

This process involves moving from spontaneous activities tailored solely to the child's needs and interests (involuntary), to act and think to an increasing extent controlled and intentional. Thanks to this, cognitive skills allow the toddler to cooperate better with others and follow the teacher's instructions.

What does the cognitive development of preschool children include: a summary

Little ones get their bearings in the past, present, seasons and space. From year to year, the child's cognitive skills allow him to talk more precisely about his experiences, solve puzzles, learn rhymes, numbers and numerals, and see simple cause-and-effect relationships. Developing a preschooler's cognitive functions makes play more complex and structured.