EMPOWERING CHILDREN’S COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL CAPACITY

EMPOWERING CHILDREN’S COGNITIVE
AND EMOTIONAL CAPACITY
Claudia Elisa Saquicela Novillo
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efore examining the topic in depth, I need to briefly recall the characters of the
psychological world under study, in order to satisfy the need for a contextual frame.
Jean Piaget was born in 1896 in Neuchatel, Switzerland, and died in September 1980 in
Geneva. He studied in the Faculty of Science at the University of Neuchatel, where he obtained
a Doctorate in Natural Sciences. He continued his studies in Zurich, developing an interest in
psychoanalysis, before moving to Paris to work in the laboratory of Alfred Binet, where his
studies focused on the development of intelligence. From 1940 to 1971 Piaget worked
successively as Professor of Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy of Science, History of
Scientific Thought and Experimental Psychology. He was the only Swiss professor ever invited
to lecture at the Sorbonne, which he did from 1952 to 1963. In 1955, Jean Piaget created the
International Centre for Genetic Epistemology, which he directed until his death. His work in
Genetic Psychology and Epistemology searched for an answer to the fundamental issue of
knowledge building.
His broad research on the topic of children’s thought developed
into the theory that children’s logic not only builds up
progressively following its own rules, but also develops in life
through different stages before reaching adult’s levels. The key
contribution of Jean Piaget to knowledge was showing that
children have specific ways of thinking that distinguish them
from adults. Jean Piaget was awarded over thirty titles of
Doctor Honoris Causa by different international universities
and numerous other distinctions.
John H. Flavell was an American psychologist born in 1928,
specialised in child cognitive development. Through the
discovery of new developmental processes and the analysis of
Jean Piaget’s theories, Flavell changed the course of
developmental psychology in the United States. In 1955, Flavell earned a Bachelors’ Degree
in Psychology at Clark University. In 1984 he was recognized with an Award for Distinguished
Scientific Contributions from the American Psychological Society, and in 1994 he was elected
to the United States National Academy of Sciences. He is currently emeritus professor of
Developmental Psychology at Stanford University.
Flavell has carried out exhaustive research in the fields of metacognition, child’s theory and
the mind. One of his most famous contributions in this field is his work on the development of
B
INTRODUCTION

understanding through childhood of the distinction between appearance and reality. Given this
background, I hereby state that the work of Claudia Saquicela Novillo, young professional in
psychology and awarded a Master in Education and Thought Development, immerses with
temperance in the comparative study of the cognitive development theories of Jean Piaget and
John H. Flavell in pre-school children. This study is organised in three chapters – the first lays
the bases of the psychological and epistemological conception and covers the mechanisms of
cognitive development and its steps and stages, as well as the origins of thought, arriving at a
solid argument comparing the theories held by Piaget and Flavell. Claudia takes part in favour
of John H. Flavell and states – “I defend that the origin of this investigation is the conception
of stages in cognitive development. Piaget conceives them as lineal, rigid, with strong
biological influences, explained only with the mechanisms of adaptation, accommodation,
assimilation and equilibrium. Meanwhile, Flavell conceives them dialectically, and rather
than stages he explains cognitive development as states of intellectual development,
allowing for the possibility of steps forwards and backwards”. Chapter two undertakes the
educational guidelines derived by the approaches of Piaget and Flavell, in particular Piaget’s
teaching strategies, the approach that empowers the development of thought and strategies, and
the different factors of the process of teaching and learning according to the theory of John H.
Flavell.
The third chapter develops a micro-curricular design and
states: “This micro-curricular design was born from the
analysis and comparison of Piaget and Flavell’s proposals
and from the identification of their educational guidelines;
these are the sources I used to elaborate the current
proposal of micro-curricular design”. And she concludes
her work declaring that “this investigation has contributed
to resolve the question – how does cognitive development
occur in pre-school children?”. Besides, she lays out a
critique to Piaget’s theory, in the acceptance that “This micro-
curricular design originates from the author’s partial
divergence from Piaget’s ideas and has been created in
agreement with the theoretical conception of Flavell, for
whom there are capabilities or cognitive states that are the
base of ulterior developments, as it was amply developed in chapter two”.
“...One of the key advantages of Flavell's approach is the absence of a division into age periods
characteristic of Piaget, which would make it difficult to plan the learning process of mental
operations. Therefore, with the goal of arriving at a suitable plan, the theory of Piaget has been
chosen, despite the fact that Flavell's approach contributes to the explanation that cognitive
development is a spiral-shaped process”. This work involves a significative contribution to
learning processes, in the development of values for the integral development of children in
pre-school age such as tolerance, respect, solidarity, patience and motivation. For this reason
I'd like to congratulate this initiative, laid down here in a solid piece of work, because it will
aid in the basic processes of education. Being given the opportunity to achieve the development
of emotional competence, children in pre-school ages are better prepared for a society in
constant change as well as for a better tomorrow. My apologies.
In Loja, 28th June 2010

AUTHORSHIP DECLARATION
The ideas expressed throughout the final report
of this investigation are the
author's sole responsibility.
(signed).......................................................
Claudia Elisa Saquicela Novillo

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge God, my parents, my dear grandad Ildefonso Novillo, the House
of Culture Núcleo de Loja, Eric Van Vleet, the DIUC, Nelson Novillo, Mónica Cordero, Oliver
Rickards Dilorenzo, Florencia Novillo, Cristian Rodas, Carolina Flores and all the people
whose support and coordination helped to complete this book. Thank you from the bottom of
my heart.
Claudia Saquicela Novillo

I dedicate this work to my parents María Eugenia y Fernando Octavio, as well as to my two
nephews Adriancito and David for having inspired this research. I would like to also dedicate
this book to all those parents who undergo the difficult job of educating their children so that
throughout their lives they can become worthwhile people. Finally, I dedicate this book to all
those people who believe that through education they give love.
Claudia Saquicela Novillo

INTRODUCTION
his book is a comparative and contrasting analysis between the theories of Piaget and
Flavell on the cognitive development of pre-school children, aimed at understanding the
theory of Piaget's ideas as well as those proposed by Flavell regarding four conceptual
categories: stages of cognitive development, the genesis of thought, mechanisms and strategies
of cognitive development. This is followed by the introduction of certain implications and
educational guidelines that arise as a consequence of the theoretical analysis. I personally share
the approach of Flavell, that children's intelligence resembles a spiral in shape and structure.
The conclusion of the study is that most of the neuronal conexions that children will use during
their life are already formed up to the age of ten (Flavell, Cognitive 35).
The final chapter covers the proposal of a micro-curricular design containing the theoretical
contributions of both authors, aimed at improving the process of teaching and learning through
the acquisition of mental operations. A key part of this design is the presentation of multiple
educational experiences aimed at achieving not only the transfer of knowledge but also for this
knowledge to be of significance. The proposal emerges due to the need to create lesson plans
according to the context of pre-school cognitive development. Waiting till the age of seven,
also known as the age of reason, would delay cognitive as well as emotional development in
the children (Flavell, Cognitive 42).
Summary
T

The objective of this book is to theoretically compare the two
different conceptual approaches of Jean Piaget and John Flavell
on the cognitive development of children in pre-school age. It
aims to answer two questions: What educational practices are
applicable in the context of cognitive development in pre-
school age?Which approach to cognitive development could
contribute to improve the educational practise in this stage?
The key motivation for this research has been the need to give
alternative and adaptable answers to early childhood education,
because the current reference for curriculum plans for pre-
school education follows a generic layout and answers to a
Piagetian approach to education. A dialogue will be established,
analysed and interpreted between the two abovementioned
theories, and as a result of the ideas obtained from both authors,
a set of educational guidelines will be elaborated. Recent
studies have demonstrated that children develop 80% of their cognitive capacity till the age of
three, providing theoretical evidence for the fact that children's intelligence is formed and being
shaped at early ages, resembling a spiral (Flavell, Cognitive 35).
This comparative study is based on a bibliographic investigation aimed at analysing four
conceptual categories developed by both authors – mechanisms of cognitive development,
stages of cognitive development, genesis of thought and cognitive strategies – in order to
find similarities and differences between them and to infer educational implications. After this
analysis the investigation contributes by focusing on the shaping of a micro-curricular
educational plan targetted to the development of pre-school thought while keeping in mind
moral and ethical values (Flavell, Cognitive 42).
Piaget's theory has served a base for
educational and pedagogical practise in
almost every level of our education.
Neo-Piagetian authors like Flavell
discuss a different approach on
cognitive development thanks to the
use of more trustworthy research
techniques other than the sole use of
methods such as the clinical interview.
In view of Flavell cognitive
development is irregular, moving
forward and backward, and these
discoveries are founded on the new
techniques of neuropsychology and the
use of brain imaging. It has been
proposed by some authors that the
difference between the mental
processes of children and adults is
determined in large part by differences
in the use of the working memory,
which gains efficacy and power with practice and experience. One of Flavell's most important

findings is the ability to inhibit children's cognitive impulsivity in order to improve the
efficacy of short-term memory, attention, concentration and as a consequence the learning
processes as well as the children's emotional development. I consider that the main point of
this investigation is the conception of cognitive development stages. For Piaget, this evolves in
a linear and rigid fashion, is strongly driven by biology and explained by mechanisms such as
adaptation, accommodation, assimilation and equilibration. Meanwhile, Flavell's conception
of cognitive development is dialectic, stages being replaced by states of intellectual
development, allowing for the possibility of backward-forward steps. The qualitative changes
of intelligence become fundamental. An example would be the learning of languages, which is
much easier at an early age because cognitive structures are in the process of forming in the
first stage of life. The other essential contribution of this investigation is the presence of
specific strategies for cognitive development. Piaget conceives them according to age,
whereas Flavell considers that the same cognitive strategies can be utilised for older or younger
children, and this has been applied to thought development programs such as those of Lipman's
philosophy for children, Edward de Bono's lateral thinking and psycholinguistics.
The last part of this book contains my proposal of micro-curricular design, which includes
a comparative analysis and applies the educational implications obtained in chapters one and
two. This micro-curricular design consists of detailed lesson plans containing a variety of
activities based on Piagetian and Flavellian ideas in the context of cognitive development of
pre-school children. It achieves a transfer of knowledge and provides answers to the concerns
that motivated this research in the first place. They involve the application of some of the

consequences for children's learning extracted in the previous two chapters from the theoretical
comparison between Piaget and Flavell. The method followed for the design of the plans
consists of four stages aimed at promoting the process of teaching and learning: modelling,
guided practice, independent practice and transfer. The final appendices provided are a
source of support activities for the teacher which are faithful to the principle of respecting each
student's learning pace as well as diversity in the class. An explanatory analysis on theory of
mind is also included as well as its strong link to metacognition and the urgent need that exists
for the processes of metacognition to be applied in the classroom.
The author

Chapter1
PIAGETANDFLAVELL
Creativity is more important than knowledge.
Einstein

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN THE THEORIES OF COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT OF PIAGET AND FLAVELL
Introduction
n this chapter I will explain the most important topics of cognitive development presented
by Piaget and Flavell regarding these four conceptual categories:
1. Mechanisms of cognitive development.
2. Stages of cognitive development.
3. Genesis of thought.
4. Cognitive strategies.
A comparative analysis of the four abovementioned categories will follow, contrasting what
has been proposed by both authors on cognitive development at the pre-school stage.
At the end of the chapter I will present a summary and the conclusions that arise from the
comparative analysis of the theory of cognitive development of Piaget and Flavell.
I

1. MECHANISMS OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN THE THEORIES
PROPOSED BY PIAGET AND FLAVELL
iaget's conception of intelligence is linear and resembles the construction of a building floor
by floor. The basis is that each stage in cognitive development is characterized by the
appearance of structures built up in a progressive and successive manner, the way a lower
degree structure assembles on a higher degree structure (Flavell, Cognitive Development 45).
Piaget describes seven mechanisms of cognitive development, namely: assimilation,
accommodation, cognitive adaptation, equilibrium, schema, structure and organization.
They try to explain – how does a subject advance from a rudimentary act such as a reflex arc
to a complex act? how does the subject know?. To partially answer these questions, Piaget says
that there are four fundamental factors for the development of intelligence and that each factor
depends on the other:
1. Organic maturation. Without it, it is impossible
to know. It is the biological process, genetically
programmed, that allows the development of systems of
organs necessary for life.
2. Experience acquired by interacting with
objects. I achieve knowledge by means of action.
3. Social transmission. Referring to learning,
which itself has to do with the notions of
accommodation, assimilation and adaptation.
4. Internal mechanism of self-regulation. It takes
the organism to a state of motive, psychological,
biological and social equilibrium. Equilibrium between
adaptation and organization, between stimulus and
response. The last factor can subdivided in the four
cognitive mechanisms explained by Piaget which will
be briefly presented as follows:
1.1 Mechanisms of cognitive development according to Piaget.
ccording to Piaget, the first mechanism of cognitive development is assimilation. It
means that no conduct, no matter how new it is for the individual, represents an absolute
beginning. It is always INTEGRATED into prior schemas. Things and people are joined
in to the subject’s own activity, and as a result the outer world is assimilated into previously
built-in structures. Assimilation is comprised of three aspects:
1. Repetition
2. Generalisation
3. Recognition (Piaget, Six Psychological Studies 32).
P
A

The second mechanism, accommodation, refers to any modification within any assimilating
schema or structure caused by the elements that are assimilated. It is a transformation of the
current organisation in response to
the requirements posed by the
environment.
The third mechanism, cognitive
adaptation, refers to the balance
achieved between assimilation and
accommodation. It may lead to
stability in some instances and to
change in others. Adaptation allows
the subject to approach the
environment and to achieve a
dynamic conciliation.
The fourth mechanism is balance.
Piaget describes the beginning of
development as the period when the
child achieves an internal balance
between that which has already been
accommodated and the context that
surrounds them, thanks to the
assimilation made into their mental
structures. For Piaget, balance is
established in three levels:
1. Between the subject’s schemas
and external events,
2. within the subject’s own mental
structures and
3. balance as an ordered integration
of different schemas.
Besides, in order to have a clear idea of how a child develops concepts and organises them in
their cognitive structure, it is important to define the concepts of schema, structure and
organisation.
The fifth mechanism is the schema. A schema is a specific structure of the mind that can be
transferred and generalised. A schema can arise at many different levels of abstraction. One of
the first schemas to appear is the permanent object, which allows the child to answer to objects
that are not available to the senses. Later on, the child achieves the schema of a class of objects,
which allows them to group them into classes and understand the relationship that exists
between objects in different classes. In many aspects, Piaget’s schema resembles the traditional
idea of concept, except that it refers to mental operations and cognitive structures instead of
perceptual classifications (Piaget, Six Psychological Studies 34).
The structure, or sixth mechanism in cognitive development, is the group of answers that take
place when the subject of knowledge has acquired certain elements from the exterior.
The organisation, or seventh mechanism, is a feature of intelligence, formed by stages of
knowledge that lead to different conducts in specific situations. For Piaget an object can never

be perceived or learned in itself, but through the organised actions of the subject who perceives
or learns.
1.2 Mechanisms of cognitive development according to Flavell.
lavell’s view of the mechanisms of cognitive development is different from Piaget’s,
because it focuses on four mechanisms: automation, codification, generalisation and
strategy construction (Flavell, Cognitive Development 75).
Automation. It is the way in which mental processes become progressively more automatic
with practise. Children that develop more sophisticated automation strategies are capable to
solve problems and test their hypotheses. The more automated their mental processes are, the
more effective and efficient their thoughts will be. From an early age, children can use a range
of cognitive strategies that allow them to achieve a certain level of automation in their mental
processes. Automation is reached thanks to careful and constant practice.
Codification. Small children usually focus
on a single aspect, perhaps even wrong or
irrelevant, of a problem, whereas those
capable of problem solving are more able to
select all relevant information. The process
of codification refers to those aspects of a
situation that receive attention. For example,
when children encounter different types of
birds and are able to realise that despite
having specific characteristics, it is those
essential characteristics that define a
specific object and, in the process of coding
these aspects, children are finding the
essence of the concept of bird.
Generalisation. This is the ability to use
evidence to make generalisations, an aspect of inductive reasoning that is essential for thought
development. Clear examples of the ability of children to generalise are – awareness that the
ability to grow is a distinctive characteristic of life, that all living things grow, that biological
growth is by law predictable, that organisms can increase their size as they age, that a change
in appearance does not imply a change in basic identity, whether it is that of a newborn or an
octogenarian.
Strategy construction. This mind operation is characterised by being explanatory in its way
of facing problems. Children need to be given the necessary practice to progressively acquire
more information on that specific area, to increase in experience and advance from a stage of
perception only. This will lead to logical and regulated thought mediated by a series of
strategies that will allow them to solve problems and transfer the knowledge learned in a
gradual manner during the whole process of cognitive development (Flavell, Cognitive
Development 78).
A few principles of numerical reasoning are described as follows. They contain the application
of the four mechanisms of cognitive development proposed by Flavell – automation,
codification, generalisation and strategy construction – including their respective
methodological strategy and suggested activity.
F

The principle of one by one. Someone who can count successfully must assign one and only
one distinctive number to each object or item being counted. This principle of numerical
reasoning involves the mechanism of automation. For example, the first item will received the
number one, then two, three and so on until the whole set of objects is counted. The one who
is counting must not skip any objects nor count them more than once, and must count precisely
when the last object in the set has been numbered.
Methodological strategy. Based on the principle of one by one, with the aim of exercising the
mechanism of automation, children should count many objects and it should be emphasized
that it is only one object each time. Suggested activity: with 2 to 4 year old children, count
series of up to three objects with the objective of reinforcing the principle of one by one.
The principle of the stable order. As a set of items is counted, the name of the numbers should
also be counted in
the same
sequence. Here,
the cognitive
mechanism of
automation is
also required, to
encourage the
children to count
in a sequence
(Flavell,
Cognitive
Development 80).
Methodological
strategy.
Children need to
know that they
always need to
count following
the same order or
sequence or
otherwise the
result obtained
will be different.
Parents can help
children so that
they always count
the same way.
Suggested
activity: in the
game of
hopscotch,
children may
place objects such
as colour counters or pebbles and then count them in the same order, keeping in mind that they
must do it one at a time and following the same order.

The cardinal principle. At the end of a counted sequence, a value will be assigned that is the
total number of items counted in the set. The mechanism of codification is applicable because
children need to focus on the relevant information to assign a final numerical value to what has
been counted (Flavell, Cognitive Development 80).
Methodological strategy. When a child finishes counting, they need to assign a total number
of objects. This is a
basic form of
processing the
numeric information
that they have
acquired. The child
needs to be asked
how many objects
there are in total in
order to help them to
acquire this
principle. Suggested
activity: a child may
count the number of
windows and doors
in one floor of a
house. This will help
them add this mental
practice to their
cognitive archive
with the aim of
giving the final
numerical result.
The principle of
abstraction. Unlike
the other principles
that describe how to
count, this principle
states that anything is
potentially
countable. The
mechanism applied
here is that of
generalisation,
because of the fact
that the child needs inductive reasoning (Flavell, Cognitive Development 81).
Methodological strategy. This is a generality principle because it allows children to become
aware that any object can be counted because object classes are very diverse and any of them
is susceptible of being counted. Suggested activity: the child may select diverse objects –
branches, stones, leaves or flowers – and count them to exercise the learned principle.
The principle of order irrelevance. It establishes that the order in which objects are counted
does not matter. For this principle, the child applies the mechanism of strategy construction

because they become aware that despite there being different ways to count, they will always
obtain the same result.
Methodological strategy. The order of the factors does not affect the result, because no matter
where they begin the result will be the same. It is essential for children to be aware that
beginning on the doll or on the car does not affect the final result if the previous principles are
respected. Suggestedactivity: the children may be given a few sets containing different objects
and encouraged to count various times, each time initiating the process on a different item.
Principles of numerical reasoning. Children acquire principles of numerical reasoning as well
as a capacity for numerical abstraction during early childhood. Hence, at the end of this period
most children have learned that changing the colour of a set of counters does not affect the total
numeric value of the set. They have acquired the knowledge that adding objects to a given
quantity increases the numeric value and that when taking off items this value diminishes, as
well as the knowledge that if an item is added and at the same time subtracted, the final value
remains the same. This principle integrates the four abovementioned mechanisms (Flavell,
Cognitive Development 82).
Methodological strategy. This principle brings together and consolidates the abovementioned
principles, and for this reason it is essential for children to acquire experience by training in
activities in which they add one or more objects to an established group to appreciate that the
quantity is modified. It is the responsibility of the people in care of children to achieve this
learning and to mediate the understanding of the principles. Suggested activity: the
abovementioned piagetian activity can be practised by changing the counters to chocolates or
lollies on which the children will acknowledge a perceptive change in amount. Another activity
may involve the use of jigsaw puzzle pieces which the children can count and acknowledge the
change in number as they perform activities. All this will support their skills and numerical
abilities.

2. STAGES IN COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO PIAGET
AND FLAVELL
2.1. Stages in cognitive development according to Piaget.
2.1.1. Sensorimotor stage.
he initial elements are for Piaget the reflexes of the newborn child from birth. They then
transform into a complex structure of schemas that allow an exchange between the subject
and reality, allowing the child to be aware of the difference between itself and the world
of objects. The child begins to acknowledge that objects continue to exist even if hidden from
them, and reflex actions turn into operations acting towards an aim. The sensorimotor stage
can be divided into six substages of cognitive development, advancing every four months up
to two years of age. At birth, the child’s responses are simple reflexes, such as sucking a nipple,
holding a finger or blinking at a light. These responses will progressively become more
adaptative, hence anticipating the effects of the child’s actions on the environment. At the end
of the sensorimotor stage the child has almost developed a representational ability over the
surrounding objects, as well as the ability to think of objects even in their absence. Piaget
emphasizes the fact that children at this stage see things from their own angle, that is, in an
egocentric way, and that generally they focus only in one aspect of a problem (Piaget, Six
Psychological Studies 48).
Under the double
influence of
language and
socialization,
intelligence
suffers a
transformation
from purely
practical or
sensorimotor to
actual thought.
Language
enables the child
to talk about past
and future
events, and to
substitute it all
with words
without
performing any
action; this is, therefore, the origin of thought. Thanks to this channel, concepts and notions
belonging to the collective thought are communicated and known.
Below I will describe the six substages of cognitive development, which span from birth to 24
months of age approximately, and correspond to the sensorimotor state:
Substage 1. It involves reflexes, inherited montages, intuitive tendencies and early emotions.
It spans the first month of life. The organism is active and present in global and spontaneous
activities with a rhythmic shape. The newborn’s reflexes (sucking, palmar reflex, etc.) give rise
to reflex exercise, which is a consolidation by functional exercise. Life within the mind of a
T

newborn is limited to the reproduction of reflex movements that despite being inherited are the
foundations of practical behaviours for the assimilation of the environment (Piaget, Six
Psychological Studies 51).
Substage 2. Begins at one month and lasts until four months of age. This stage features the first
motor habits, organised perceptions and distinguishable feelings. The key achievement is the
development of the first acquired structures, namely habits. Characterised by habits and
perceptions, this substage is characterised by the existence of feelings in relation to motor
activity, displaying a contrast between what is pleasant and unpleasant. Using psychoanalytic
terminology the child must be described as narcissistic, because they care solely about their
own body’s needs and reactions.

In psychoanalytic terms, affectivity is known as the ability to choose an object driven by an
objectivation of feelings and their projection towards other activities that have nothing to do
with the self. Those other objects are people, who can induce a series of feelings that range
from joy to sadness, from success to failure, etc. This marks the appearance of interpersonal
feelings. Those feelings are first for the mother, the father and those who are affectively closest
(Piaget, Six Psychological Studies 52).
Habits have their origin on reflexes, but they are not yet intelligence. A basic habit can be based
on a global sensorimotor scheme, but the difference between means and ends does not exist
from the point of view of the subject. Motor coordination begins to appear in the form of:
 Inter sensorial coordination: it marks the onset of the first responses to attention.
 Sensorimotor: it is oriented towards sound and visual control.
 An integration of sensory information begins, which is a requisite for the elaboration
of representational schemes.
Substage 3. It has its origin at four months of age and lasts until eight months of age. In this
substage there is in the child coordination between vision and understanding. The sensorimotor
stage of intelligence appears before language, and in it appear the first affective regulations and
early fixations of affectivity on external objects. These early stages correspond to the first two
years in the life of the baby. For example, a four month old child grabs the string from which
his rattle hangs and then repeats this act a number of times revealing a circular reaction. A
circular reaction is a new habit whose finality was previously independent of the means used.
Piaget states that it only takes a new object hanging above the child for them to start searching
for the string, which constitutes a principle of differentiation between the end and the means.

Substage 4. It spans from eight to twelve months of age. In it, more complete acts of practical
intelligence can be observed. It involves three key achievements:
1) An increase of attention for what happens in the environment.
2) The
appearance of
intentionality.
3) An
intuitive stage,
characterised by
spontaneous
interindividual
feelings and social
relationships.
This stage shows
the first examples
of instrumental
coordination, from
means to ends.
The sensorimotor
schemes will not
attempt to
reproduce an
effect caused at
random, but
instead to gather
all the necessary
means to achieve
the intended
objective.
Coordination of
representational
schemes begin to
show in order to
allow an easy
understanding of
the relationships
between objects
and facts, which
allow the child to “know” what is going to happen next. For example, if a child takes an adult's
hand and brings it to the object he/she aspires to get, he/she becomes aware that there is no
difference between the preparation of food and food itself.
Substage 5. It spans from twelve to eighteen months of age. This stage marks the addition of
an essential reaction to the child's behaviour, which is the search of new means through the
differentiation of known schemes. New attempts stemming from “I wonder what happens if...”
allow the child to elaborate instrumental practical schemes marked by the realisation that their

schemes are not so motive or reversible anymore. Thus this is a stage of new discoveries thanks
to the diverse experimentations carried out by the child with their own senses and their body.
Substage 6. It spans the ages of eighteen to twenty-four months. This is the last stage of the
sensorimotor stage and drives a transition to the following period. The child is capable of
finding new means, not just by searching for external or material things but now also by
interiorising combinations that result in a sudden understanding or insight.
Early sensorimotor knowledge of objects is provided by action schemes - how are they from
the point of view of perception and what can be done with them on the motor side?
Sensorimotor progress acquires a new dimension and intelligence operates with the aid of
representations, effects are anticipated and action is not needed (Piaget, Six Psychological
Studies 57).
2.1.2 Pre-operational stage.
he pre-operational stage is the second of four stages. It follows from the sensorimotor stage
and spans from two to seven years of age. It is a stage of thought and language and displays
an ability for imagination and dreaming as well as being characterized by object
permanence, conversation, mimicking behaviours, playing symbolic games, intuition,
drawings, mental images, the development of the spoken language, the importance of a life of
affectivity and animism. Besides, there are also two substages, preconceptual and intuitive. It
begins with the understanding of object permanence, and it occurs between the ages of two
to seven years old. During this stage, children develop a more complex way to interact with
their environment, through the use of words and mental images. A key feature of this stage is
egocentrism, the belief that everyone sees the world in the same way as oneself. Children also
believe that inanimate objects have the same perceptions as them and are able to see, feel,
listen, etc.
Conservation. It is the ability to understand that changes in form do not mean changes in
quantity. That is, if water that is contained in a short wide glass is poured into a tall narrow
glass, children in this stage will believe that the taller glass contains more water only because
the water level is higher. This is due to the fact that children are incapable of understanding
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reversibility, as well as to the fact that they consider only one aspect of the stimulus, for
example water level, disregarding other aspects like the width of the glass.
Symbolic play. The thought of children at this stage is egocentric and shows traces of
imagination and dreaming. Playing with dolls or make-believe meals are two examples of this,
showing a deformation of the real world adapted to the self, as intuition is the logic of early
life and is linked to perception. In addition, common thought is a kind of extension of the
mechanisms of assimilation and accommodation of the previous stage.
Animism. It is a characteristic of child thought by which
they endow with movement every object in nature, such
as tables, rocks, trees, etc. It allows the child to think of
extraordinary things, full of fantasy, like being in the
company of the moon, which may even have a
connection with the mother if they misbehave. There
exists a relationship between primitive thought and
children's thought, and it originates from the
anthropological origin of our genetic inheritance.
Natural law is mixed up with moral law as determinism
is with obligation (Piaget, Six Psychological Studies
60).
Artificialism. It is a feature of child behaviour by which
they think that man, or a superior divinity, is responsible
for everything created. Children may believe, for example, that cities were created before lakes,
that spaceships gave origin to clouds or that fruits originate from blenders, therefore endowing
objects with artificial characteristics.
The pre-operational stage comprises two substages:
Pre-conceptual substage. It begins at four years of age, when children are able to get by with
notions and have recently acquired the use of language. This stage is characterised by an
interiorisation of the relationships from the previous stage which generates mental actions that
cannot yet be categorised as operations due to their vagueness, inadequacy and/or, lack of
reversibility.
Intuitive substage. Some characteristic processes of this stage are symbolic play, centration,
intuition, animism, egocentrism, juxtaposition and irreversibility (the inability to realise that
properties can be conserved). Below I will describe intuition, the way in which a child
compensates for his lack of logical thought.
Intuition. An essential characteristic of this stage is the fact that children constantly affirm
without prove of any of their affirmations. This is based on their egocentric thought, which
does not require proofing to oneself what one is saying. It is easy to see children showing
deficient evidence of that which they have affirmed; they even find it difficult to reconstruct

facts due to the great difficulty they have to found their affirmations, making it hard to explain
the notions employed. Children advanced in practical intelligence can still display some
primitive behaviour, hence the existence of a thesis defending that a child at this age is more
practical and shows a link to the sensorimotor type of intelligence (Piaget, Psychology and
Pedagogy 34).
This means that intuition is the internalisation of perceptions and movements in the form of
images and of simple mental images. An example of this is when children are presented with a
group of counters in different colours and arranged in rows. When there is visual
correspondence the child is able to reproduce a row. However, when the counters in a row are
crowded together and the child is asked which colour shows more counters, then the child
replies that the lined-up row is the one with the most counters. The question arising from this
is “Why is it that children cannot think logically but are nonetheless able to learn more
quickly than adults?”
The reversion of intuition, thanks to the fact that it is not
only focused on the perceptive, marks the transition to the
next stage. It is essential for the child to begin anticipating
the reconstruction of elements in order to achieve this
reversibility in their mental schemes. Intuition is a less
stable balance of the lack of reversibility when compared
to logic, but when compared to the mechanisms of the
preverbal reflexes it becomes a significant achievement.
In conclusion, in the pre-operative stage one must
consider the child’s affective life with regards to: interest,
emotional motives and the child’s values (Piaget, The
Development of Thought: Equilibration of Cognitive
Structures 23).
Affective life in the pre-operational stage.
Intellectual development and emotional development occur in parallel, the reason being that
no act is purely intellectual. Important factors are emotional motives, the regulation of interests
and the value that the child gives to different types of lies. Meanwhile, affectivity is driven not
just by feelings and emotions, but also by comprehension. Interests are defined as an extension
of one’s needs, meaning that an item is interesting as long as it satisfies a need. An interest is
also the mental assimilation of an object, and in this stage a child shows multiple interests that
generate a dissociation of energy which determines the interest brought about by the selected
activity. Interest is a regulator of energy, meaning that if the child is interested in an activity,
fatigue diminishes and it becomes an easy task. But interest also responds to a system of values.
People who respond to a child’s interests and who value the child will receive affection. Early
MORAL VALUES, arisen from moral feelings, will appear at this stage. They will include the
concepts of what is compulsory and of duty, which do not simply arise from likes or dislikes
but from the respect for the rules as such (Piaget, The Development of Thought: Equilibration
of Cognitive Structures 25).
2.1.3 Concrete operational stage.

t spans from seven to eleven years of age. The main features of this stage are a gradual
decrease in egocentric behaviour and a growing capacity to focus the attention on more than
one aspect or stimulus. Imagined or unseen, unheard or untouched objects continue to have
a mystical quality for children at this stage, and abstract thought still needs to develop. The
child is not only able to use symbols, but can use them in a logical way through the ability to
conserve in order to arrive at correct generalisations (Piaget, The Origins of Intelligence in
Children 39).
As symbolic function or proper thought emerges, children begin to think about facts or objects
that cannot be perceived but are evoked or represented through symbols, using the game of
symbolic imagination, drawings and in particular language. At this stage, a child finds it hard
to consider another person’s point of view. This stage is divided in three substages:
- Substage 1: around six to sevenyears of age.The child acquires the intellectual ability
to conserve numerical quantities such as lengths and liquid volumes. By conservation
we understand the ability to understand that quantity stays the same even if shape varies.
On the contrary, a child in the pre-operational stage was convinced that a tall thin bottle
holding a litre of water contained more water than a short wide one.
- Substage 2: around seven to eight years of age. The child develops the ability to
conserve materials. While handling a ball of clay to break it up into smaller balls, the
child is now aware that if the smaller balls are joined back the resulting amount of clay
will roughly be that of the original ball. This capacity receives the name of reversibility.
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- Substage 3: around nine to ten years of age. The last step in conservation, namely
surface conservation, is achieved by the child. An example of this is the fact that they
can notice, when faced with some paper squares, that the total paper surface is the same
whether the squares are piled up or dispersed.
2.1.4 Formal operational stage.
t occurs from age twelve to adulthood. It is the final stage in cognitive development, when
children begin to develop a more abstract vision of the world and to use formal logics. They
are able to apply reversibility and conservation to both real and imaginary events. Their
understanding of the world and of the idea of cause and effect also increases.
It is
characterised
by the ability
to formulate
hypotheses and
test them in
order to find a
solution to a
problem,
without the
need to check
the specific
and current
solution itself.
This structure
of thought is
built during the
pre-
adolescence,
when the
systematic combination of objects begins (Piaget, Psychology and Pedagogy 43).
As they combine ideas or hypotheses in the form of affirmations and negations, they develop
scientific thought. They develop an interest for social topics and for their own identity. With
the onset of the ability to reason against the facts, they can achieve tasks such as using a given
statement as the basis for discussion. It is from the age of twelve that the human brain is
potentially capable (from gene expression) to formulate truly abstract thought, or thoughts of
the hypothetico-deductive type.
2.2 Flavell’s stages of cognitive development.
will now explain in detail the meaning of cognitive development according to Flavell,
though the analysis of the five stages configured as a spiral, in contrast to the lineal stages
of the Piagetian theory (Flavell, Studies in Cognitive Development 24). According to the
author, this development occurs irregularly with forwards and backwards steps, and it is
essential for children to develop that they understand their mind as well as that of others. For
example, a three year old girl can comprehend that her friend wants a toy from her box and that
she is capable to find out; this common sense shows that she understands what her friend is
thinking. One of the issues regarding this description of stages of cognitive development is the
lack of explanation about the adolescent and adult stages, which specifically refers to the
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fundamental conception of cognitive development. Below I will explain the five stages of
cognitive development according to Flavell:
2.2.1 Stage 1: the mind exists.
t refers to the child’s awareness that they are a thinking being, that they can predict the
behaviour of others who can appear to have different states of mind. As they progressively
change their own conceptions of themselves, children will strengthen their ability to know
their own minds. There is no specific period for this stage to develop.
An example of this is when children interpret their parents’ facial expressions as a prediction
of a given event. Another example shows how children communicate differently with objects
and with people, the latter being objects of persuasion and attempts to comfort, calm, amuse or
pamper them. This does not mean that babies want to induce mental states in adults, but simply
that they are intuitively aware of the ability of adults to respond to their wishes. Babies learn
that they can predict the behaviour of others and affect their emotional state when they comfort,
hurt or tempt them.
When a child speaks to a banana as if it were a telephone, but knows that it really is a fruit, this
differentiation between what’s real and what’s not is a mental representation. Small children
pretend that dolls have their own behaviour, their way of acting and thinking. A two year old
child can even share games with a sibling in which they pretend to be in an internal mental
state which influences their behaviour (Flavell, Studies in Cognitive Development 31).
Later on, children will make more precise distinctions between their language and the
phenomenon of mind such as guessing versus knowing, believing versus fantasizing, focusing
on an objective versus having no objective. This awakening continues through childhood, as
demonstrated in the way children change their conceptions of themselves and others.
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2.2.2 Stage 2: The mind is connected to the physical world.
t refers to the rudimentary understanding of the entry-exit relationships of mental objects
between the cognitive entity and a physical phenomenon such as behaviour, an object or
event. Another feature of this stage is that children know that people are cognitively
connected to events and objects of the environment in different ways such as sight, hearing,
taste, wish or fear. Besides, it is understood that cognitive connections can change over time,
like if something can be seen which could not be seen a minute ago. Certain stimuli lead to
certain states of mind and these in turn lead to certain behaviours. A state of mind can
encompass emotions, motives, intentions, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and personality traits.
Children in pre-school age possess a rudimentary form of this knowledge, as for example they
know if someone is hiding in a box an item that they wish for.
But besides knowing this, an older child
knows that information comes from the
world and that they often cannot
completely ascertain the complexity of
this information (Flavell, Studies in
Wishes and needs allow for the prediction
of a person’s behaviour to a certain extent,
but things become difficult when this
prediction is attempted based on the
persons’ beliefs. However, there are still
rudimentary attempts to achieve this that
provide evidence of being in an adequate
mental process. Children in this age tend
to give explanations which are real to
themselves, like when they say for
example that they are going to paint their own hands because they are sheets of paper.
2.2.3 Stage 3: The mind separates and differs from the physical world.
he previous postulates describe the capacity of the mind to connect to the physical world,
so certain things can be thought of without a need to touch them. However, a child can still
make a mistake, as Piaget already mentioned the differentiation of head and mind. It has
been proved in other studies that pre-school children are aware of the fact that mental
representations are not physical things (Flavell, Studies in Cognitive Development 33).
A pre-school child who hears that someone has a biscuit and that someone else is thinking of
a biscuit is aware that having a biscuit and thinking of it are two different things. Children also
talk about states of mind, and they can for example realise that thinking is a purely intellectual
activity, because they know that people can think of things without a need to see them or touch
them. Small children also know that thoughts are neither external nor public entities, and by
the explanations they give they demonstrate that they understand that one cannot see an image
because one cannot see someone else’s imagination. Children know that they can change things
in their imagination, but that a cup in a box cannot be changed solely by thinking of it.
Small children know that they can daydream of things that do not exist, such as Martians,
dragons, ghosts or a singing cockroach. They know that the mind can transcend reality, they
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can have fantasy dreams, and they can be scared even if they know that monsters and other
scary things do not exist. A study showed that a child pretending to be a monster in order to
scare other children got so scared that he cried because everything seemed too real (Flavell,
Studies in Cognitive Development 34).
Experimental studies have demonstrated that children in pre-school age, despite knowing that
monsters are not real, are not completely sure that a monster cannot cross the barrier between
fantasy and reality. When children imagined that there was a monster in a box and a puppy dog
in another, even if aware of the fact that they were not real, they chose to put their own finger
in the box with the puppy and a stick in the box with the monster.
2.2.4 Stage 4: The mind can represent objects and events adequately or inadequately.
nfants in this developmental stage have
mental representations and their mind can
generate alternatives and external
representations in pretend games. Many
children in pre-school age are aware that a
mental representation is not something real.
Even two to three year old children talk about
the fact that they understand the states of mind
that can generate people’s behaviour. Here is
where the greatest cognitive jump in the
child’s mind occurs, the mental operation that
allows one to comprehend what is a mental
representation. This is the essence of the
human mind. In particular, they understand
why an event and an object are different from
a mental representation. Some children think
that events and objects appear in only one
form, and therefore these mental
representations can be wrong, due to the fact
that the link established with the real world is
also wrong (Flavell, Studies in Cognitive
Development 35).
An example of this is what happens if a chocolate a child was drinking is hidden from them. A
three year old child would probably not realise that the chocolate was moved to another place;
however, a four year old child can infer this action because they possess the knowledge that
people can act in accordance to their beliefs. Children understand both the existence of false
beliefs and the fact that despite not being reality they can lead us through a specific behaviour.
They know that people's behaviour is not always driven by reality but instead it can be driven
by beliefs.
False beliefs. The explanation of this concept comes from the representational understanding
of change. Let's assume a three year old child is shown a box of sweets and asked what they
think there is inside the box. Knowing that this is an experiment conducted by a psychologist,
you will probably think that there are sweets inside, but if once the box is opened you find not
sweets but pencils, you will find it hard to predict what other children will say when asked the
same question (Flavell, Studies in Cognitive Development 36).
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Another example of false beliefs and the difficulty one has to assimilate them appears when a
child thinks that it is fine to go to school in their pyjamas or when they think that a friend's
toothbrush is theirs and take it home.
2.2.5 Stage 5: The mind actively mediates between the interpretation of reality and experienced
emotions.
Flavell considers this as the last stage in childhood cognitive development, because it marks
the acquisition of the ability to mediate, select, organise and transform information about the
environment, with the consequent distortion and enrichment of reality.
Mental activity, however, does
not become apparent until the
age of six years. Certain
indicators of notions can be
found in the understanding of
false beliefs because they
imply a distorted reality. It has
been proposed by some
researchers that children build
and interpret reality from an
entity of notions in order to
process it (Flavell, Studies in
The child's mind is a cognitive
receptacle that acquires
information in an automatic
and correct form without modifying it. Before the age of six, children have almost no idea of
mental processes and produce many false beliefs, illusions, inferences and elaborate concepts.
Children also find it hard to understand that mental abilities are responsible for making
different people understand differently. For example, experiments have shown that some eight
year old children believe that preverbal babies understand verbal messages that come from
adults. As a result, cognitive researchers have proposed a new interpretation of egocentrism
based on the relationship between what the small child assumes and what they think, feel,
perceive and know. Egocentric behaviour could explain the lack of knowledge about what
people know, feel and interpret based on the available specific knowledge, because each one's
experience has origin on their perceptions (Flavell, Studies in Cognitive Development 39).
Children aged two to six were made in a study to watch a movie with their mother. During the
movie, the volume went down and the mother left the room, and then returned to continue
watching the movie. At the end of the experiment the children were asked which parts of the
movie the mother knew, and they assumed that she knew the whole movie. Older children were
able to tell exactly which segments of the movie the mother ignored because she was not in the
room during those segments. It is important to note that pre-school children can very well
follow the thread of information, even from one mind to another. What they find difficult is to
discern the different contributions of reality to the mental process. They are, however, aware
that knowledge has its origin in the exposure to reality, and from the age of four or five they
understand that information belongs to different types of mental representations. They known,
and begin to understand, that knowing comes from smelling, tasting, touching, hearing what
others tell them, and such is the origin of inferences. This means that the leap from a passive
mind to an active mind marks the appearance of the main experiences of knowledge, which at
that time will cause an effect on states of mind, emotions and social inferences.

3. THE ORIGINS OF THOUGHT ACCORDING TO PIAGET AND FLAVELL
3.1 The origins of thought according to Piaget
The concept of origin implies the existence of a beginning, the initial stages of thought, which
Piaget interprets as the appearance of language. I will explain below the evolution of language
for this author, for whom the egocentric language marks the initial stage followed by the
different phases of social language. Piaget highlights the relevance of language for reason,
acknowledging language as one of the components of the superstructure of the human mind,
and consequently of the origins of thought. Language appears as an instrument of the cognitive
and affective capacity of the individual, indicating that a child's knowledge of the world
depends on their linguistic abilities. Piaget aims to explain how thought is born from a child's
language configuration, from early babbling to logic and fluent language. His view of the
origins of thought is based on the function played by language for the child, and he focuses in
the classification of
the different phrases
said by children. And
as such these phrases
belong to two main
groups, egocentric
language and social
language, which can
be further
subdivided.
a) Egocentric
language. It is the
language of the child
unaware of who they
are talking to or if
anyone is listening to
them. It is egocentric
because the child
talks about
themselves and most
importantly because they do not attempt to take the place of their listeners. It comprises
echolalia, monologue and collective monologue.
b) Echolalia or repetition. Children repeat syllables or words they have heard even if they
mean nothing to them. They repeat them just for the joy of talking, not intending to direct them
to anyone.
c) Monologue. Children talk to themselves as if thinking aloud. Because they do not talk to
anyone else, these words lack social function and only serve to accompany or replace actions.
The link between words and actions is much stronger in children than in adults.
d) Social language. It implies the adaptation of information. Children aim at communicating
their thoughts, informing the listener of something that could be of interest or influence their
conduct, which can lead to exchange, discussion or collaboration. The information is directed
to a specific listener, and it comprises:
a. Orders, requests and threats. While orders and threats may be easy to recognise, some
relevant distinctions must be made. A “request” is defined as any petition not made as a
question, as any petition made as a question belongs in the class of the questions.

b. Questions. Most of the questions made from one child to another require an answer, so they
are considered to be within social language. But one must be aware of those questions that
imply no expectation for an answer because they may be answered by onself and as such
constitute a monologue (Piaget, The Origins of Intelligence in Children 39).
3.2 The origins of
thought according
to Flavell
To explain the
origins of thought,
Flavell's theory
begins by explaining
the representations
and processes used
by children during
symbolic play, while
assuming that
evolutionary changes
during this cognitive
activity appear in a
continuous and spiral
form.
The origins of
thought, symbolic play and child reasoning codify the children's ability to learn from
experience and lead to the development of rules and heuristics of thought.
a) Symbolic play. The elements present in this mental activity allow the researcher to detect
thought in the child before the verbal phase, thanks to the presence of complex mental
mechanisms that evolve from the initial schemes of action and imitation to games with rules
and guidelines. This allows for socialisation as well as verbalisation of ideas, and implies that
thought can be measured (Flavell, Cognitive Development 83).
Symbolic play can also contribute to form and exercise childhood creativity, because thanks to
their spontaneity and curiosity children possess an innate imagination that facilitates the
recreation in their mind of their own worlds. The relationship present between symbolic play
and the origin of thought exists even before the ability to communicate verbally. This is,
therefore, the key argument used by Flavell to found his thesis that thought exists before
language does. Even if there appears to be an innate difficulty in measuring and quantifying
this aspect, current advances in neuroscientific techniques such as magnetic resonance are
shedding light on the subject and contributing interesting evidence in relation to this.
b) Metacognition.It is the ability to think about one's own thought. The more metacognitive
ability one has, the better the mental processes are, because metacognition allows for self-
monitoring and self-control and for the knowledge of one's strengths and weaknesses as well
as of the ways in which processes can improve.
Flavell thinks that the relationship between metacognition and the origin of thought with
symbolic play is due to the fact that the child begins to think of their own states of mind and
moods, as well as those of their toys and, later on, those of those of other people. The child
begins to adopt a new angle of view which takes part in specific patterns of behaviour for their

toys, and as a result their first hypotheses on reality are built (Flavell, Cognitive Development
82).
Early child play consists on being entertained by a dummy, a rattle or a music box. These toys
allow the child to acquire sensory information which aids in the generation of new neuronal
connections, a key requisite for the further development of thought.
The role of metacognition is to allow the child to
be conscious of their own mental mechanisms
which they use in their play, to later transfer
them to more abstract areas. The link between
the origin of thought and metacognition lies on
the fact that children execute rudimentary
metacognitive tasks during symbolic play.
c) The tendency towards cognitive balance.
The relationship with the origin of thought is due
to the fact that children have a tendency from an
early life towards cognitive and emotional
balance. A survival skill, this impulse towards
intellectual growth and emotional regulation
manifests itself by means of curiosity and an
enthusiasm for learning new experiences, ideas,
concepts, in order to increase their mental
universe.
Conditions may exist that prevent and block this
tendency to balance. Learning in an
impoverished environment may be one of the factors that block cognitive and emotional
development in pre-school age. It causes a number of ambivalent experiences, both cognitively
and emotionally, that block the child's progress and nourishing from the environment.
Therefore, there is a risk for the child to regress and stay fixed in a zone of intellectual and
emotional development that may not correspond to their real abilities (Flavell, Cognitive
Development 90).
d) Belief systems. There is a link between belief systems in childhood and the origins of
thought based on the needs of children to face a diversity of events, problems and sources of
anxiety from the moment of birth. This is how their knowledge and their information usually
complement with a set of newly acquired family and environmental beliefs which will
progressively increase and become more complex with time.
Children constantly require that which we know as “explanations” for everything that occurs
around them, and expect them to fit the hypotheses that they had already formulated in their
own mind. In Chomsky’s words “Our belief systems are those that the mind as a biological
structure is destined to build” (Chomsky, 1967). Chomsky’s words help us better understand
why our belief systems are linked to the origin of thought.
Both origin of thought and belief systems are formed from an early age and determine not only
the child’s manifest conduct but also the child’s subjective conduct, that is, their emotions, as
well as their cognitive processes and later on the presence of language. This means that a child’s
conduct is centred on the most immediate consequences or contingencies required for
adaptation to the environment, which in many occasions constitute instinctive impulses such
as hunger, tiredness, thirst or temperature.

e) Affective link. The connection between the origin of thought and the affective link resides
in the important influence of affectivity for the child’s mental development from the moment
of birth and through life. The affective link is the series of mobiles that influence and provide
nuances to the mental life of the child, and do so by determining their feelings, values and as
such are the path that guides their conduct.
The neuroscientist and Nobel Prize winner
Eric Kandel discovered that learning (the
construction of neuronal connections) is a
result of the action of serotonin and dopamine,
two neurotransmitters that are produced when
the person undergoes positive emotional
states. Consequently, children that are happy,
loved and well looked after learn better than
those under conditions of emotional and
cultural deprivation. Emotions, socialisation,
values and cultural beliefs form the mental
scaffolding on which children conceptualise
their experiences or reality. Besides, children
are born with cognitive schemes that could
remain “inactive” or otherwise latent through
their early years, and facing trigger events of
physical, biological or social origin these
schemes may activate and act through specific
situations producing cognitive distortions. This happens when a child states that the long glass
contains more water, so the Piagetian test of conservation of quantity amongst other situations
is an example of automatic cognition (Flavell, Cognitive Development 90).
4. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES ACCORDING TO PIAGET AND
FLAVELL
4.1. Cognitive development strategies according to Piaget.
Piaget regards cognitive strategies as a set of mental actions to be applied in a specific context
for a specific aim. There are different types of cognitive strategies:
4.1.1. Specific strategies.
Examples of these are inductive reasoning, classification or comparison. However, some
rudimentary strategies such as animism, syncretism or centration are used by children and are
present in pre-school thought (Piaget, The Psychology of Intelligence 14).
a) Invariant cognitive strategies. These are schemes that allow the individual to solve
problems through life. Both adaption and organisation continue operating throughout the whole
life cycle, but there is a change in the general cognitive styles used to handle information, and
specific strategies adopted throughout development keep changing and may span from very
rudimentary, such as syncretism, through to the most advanced strategies, such as transduction,
critical thought or synthesis.
These strategies arise from ideas related to the way we handle information about the
environment, and they can be applied to many different situations. Early strategies tend to be
mainly built by reflexes and simple actions. As people assimilate and accommodate new
information, cognitive strategies keep changing to allow more adequate ways to confront
reality.

Piaget describes cognitive development strategies as:
b) Syncretic thought strategies. According to these, children make reasoning mistakes by
trying to link ideas that show no relation. An example of this is when child who saw their
mother having a baby the last time she went to hospital may erroneously think that she will
also have a baby next time she goes to hospital.
c) Animist thought strategies. They involve the attribution to inanimate objects of qualities
specific of living beings. Children may do this with objects that represent living things such as
stuffed animals or dolls.
d) Centration cognitive
strategies. The inability of
children to think logically is
based on the fact that they can
only centre their attention on
one aspect or detail of a
situation at a time. This
inability to consider other
details is known as cognitive
centration.
4.1.2. Higher level cognitive
strategies according to Piaget.
a) Transductive reasoning. It
is the ability to obtain separate
portions of information and
join them to form a hypothesis
of to reach a conclusion.
Individuals in the formal stage
are capable of applying this
cognitive strategy.
b) Comparison. This cognitive strategy enables the determination of similarities and
differences between objects or facts according to their characteristics. For comparison to be
possible, the perception of objects needs to be clear and stable.
c) Classification. This cognitive strategy enables the grouping of elements in categories
according to their defining attributes. The group criteria are arbitrary and depend on the
individual needs; they may be natural or artificial whether they are based on things or from
elaborate criteria (Piaget, The Origins of Intelligence in Children 49).
d) Codification-decodification. It enables to establish or interpret symbols so that they do not
leave room for ambiguity. This mental strategy enables to widen the terms and symbols as
abstraction increases (Piaget, The Psychology of Intelligence 20).
4.2 Cognitive development strategies according to Flavell.
In contrast, Flavell understands childhood mental strategies as powerful intellectual tools to
allow for improvement in use, efficacy and efficiency of thought (Flavell, Cognitive
Development 99).
4.2.1. Symbolic representation.

It is the capacity to do one thing separately from another, and it is one of the essential
achievements of young thinkers. Recent advances in neuropsychology and
electroencephalography have made it possible to observe that young children in the pre-verbal
stage are able to create mental images. At the end of the second year of life children are aware
that an image, a word, a gesture or a toy, correspond to a real object or an event. These skills
in symbolic representation contribute to the language boost that occurs at this age. Children
also begin to acquire abilities such as artistic skills, symbolic play and numeric skills.
The three main representational skills are:
a) Models. They refer to the mental ability
needed to know that things can be the same even
if their dimensions change. When an adult shows
a kid a doll, a small dog or a large Sponge Bob
toy, and then explains what size room this model
corresponds to – e.g., the large Sponge Bob
belongs in a large room and a small Sponge Bob
belongs in a small room - he may explain that
these things are the same and only the size
changes. To solve the task, the child needs to be
able to consider the model as two things at the
same time (Flavell, Cognitive Development
101).
b) Pretend play. It is an intentionally pretended
situation about the current situation. When
pretending that a banana is a phone for the first
time, the child builds up a counterfactual
representation of the world. These
representations are animated from his factual
experience. Young children give away many
clues with their representational play to understand that they may be representing real objects.
And in fact, objects that pretend to be something else are real in their imagination (Flavell,
Studies in Cognitive Development 110).
c) The development of pretend play. It consists mainly of behaviour routines adapted from
real situations to an imaginary game. The child that is tired and goes to sleep, does it in bed,
whereas the child that pretends to go to sleep, does it at times disconnected from the normal
routine. It is obvious that the child knows they are pretending and they even instruct their
playmates on how the scenario of play is meant to be.
Imaginary game slowly becomes more socialised. The ability for dramatic play appears around
the five years of age and children achieve this without mistakes on the roles they play in the
game. Children can, therefore, relate better to those mental activities that involve simulation,
because they are more in accordance with their stage of cognitive development (Flavell,
d) Events of knowledge and scripts. Children represent events in their minds, and these
become powerful tools of thought because in the world of childhood people and objects do
things. This is how children begin to compose little scripts to understand the world.
Scripts allow the child to predict what could happen in the near future, and are also important
as the foundations of social interaction. It is much easier for children to organise their life
following those scripts than according to hierarchical taxonomic categories.

These scripts change according to the child’s priorities and needs, and they play a key role in
cognitive development. These scripts develop in relation to the representation of scenes and
causal physical relationships, and for this reason these scripts are used to satisfy children’s
wishes, which they achieve with the aid of imagination (Flavell, Studies in Cognitive
Development 115).
Scripts emerge before taxonomical
concepts, allowing and
promoting their development in
order to generate sequentially
organised events. It has been
explained in a number of studies
why causal relationships are
crucial for the child’s cognitive
development, because this is a
prior step to conceptual
generalisation. In short, children
possess complex cognitive abilities
that are thus far mostly unknown.
e) Concepts and categories. A
concept refers to an entity that may
be generalised in all instances of a
definition. That is, it is a mental
group in which all entities have
some similarities or things in
common. Concepts are used
to split the world, otherwise
impossible to manage, into useful
categories. A crucial question is
“What criteria do children use when
they think about things and how do
these criteria change during cognitive development?” (Flavell, Studies in Cognitive
Development 117).
f) Natural types of classes. It is essential that the child infers those characteristics that are
important and makes inferences despite being guided by perception. In studies regarding the
formation of a concept it has been shown that children frequently have difficulties to
distinguish reality from fantasy. Thus, they may get caught in classification criteria that are
superficial, and this tendency to generalise perceived characteristics results in difficulties in
conceptualisation.
g) Nominal classes. Defined by human convention, nominal classes have concepts that are
clearly stated in the dictionaries and also represent a category of artefacts that are objects
created by humans such as cups, chairs, cars or computers. The researchers GELMAN and
MARMAN use the knowledge of these categories to make inferences about the world. But not
all categories lead to inferences. Children need not only to make inferences but also to avoid
generalisations that are too wide. Natural classes usually carry within them the essence of their
nature (Flavell, Studies in Cognitive Development 118).
h) Levels and hierarchies. Concepts differ not only in the classes of entities but also in the
level of abstraction of the entity they represent. A dog, for example, can not only be included
in the class of “pets” but also in other more specific categories. The basic level of representation

is that which offers categories of similarities that are different from others (Flavell, Studies in

5. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN PIAGET AND FLAVELL
Intelligence consists not only of knowledge, but also of the ability to apply this knowledge to
practice. (Aristotle)
Based on the quote by
Aristotle on the
importance of
intelligence lying in
the application and
transfer of knowledge,
this section will
follow a comparative
analysis of the
theories of cognitive
development
according to Piaget
and Flavell based on
four fundamental
conceptual categories
– mechanisms of
cognitive
development, stages
of intellectual
development, the origin of thought and thought strategies – as proposed by each author. The
purpose of this section is to apply the knowledge acquired on the theories of Piaget and Flavell
with the aim to search for similarities and differences in the mechanisms, stages, origin and
cognitive strategies. This will allow the determination of agreements and disagreements
between them on a conceptual theoretical level, which will lead to the final conclusions of this
chapter. First, I will introduce the most relevant cognitive limitations encountered by Flavell
in the pre-school stage and the validity of his hypothesis regarding intellectual abilities that are
stronger than previously thought. I need to stress this vision because I personally share it and I
consider it much more relevant for the cognitive reality of childhood. Flavell’s interpretation
of the pre-school child’s thought may seem simplistic and too tied to perception, but this is due
to the little experience and limited short-term storage memory that pre-school children have
when compared to older children.
Some of the most significant limitations of childhood thought are: coding of the acquired
information, execution of mental operations and achievement of the objectives in the tasks that
they must accomplish.
Flavell’s position is that children are more competent than previously thought by Piaget. This
has been evidenced by a number of studies on cognitive development that used techniques such
electroencephalogram, magnetic resonance or other innovations from the neurosciences.
Notably, the secrets of the brain have begun to be revealed in the past two decades, thanks to a
fertile association between brain sciences and technology, and in particularly the use of
information technology for the development of neuroimaging and molecular biology. The
growing body of knowledge on brain development, biology, functions and malfunctions has
provided grounds to support the thesis that postulated a complex and irregular cognitive
development. Cognitive development is discontinuous and happens in stages that change
abruptly from one to the next, each showing quantitative differences. Besides, the part memory
plays on this is understated, and its relevance has not fully been reported.

Flavell defends that cognitive development is continuous, spiral-shaped, and as a result there
are no stages. Cognitive changes that occur are qualitative, and memory plays an essential part
in the cognitive performance of children. I will next develop these ideas, under a vision that
resembles the theory of information processing.
5.1. Researchmethodology
Much of Flavell’s work has been based on research data obtained by applying tests created by
Piaget. These data, however, underwent thorough analysis and experiments were carried out
by a greater number of researchers using some of the newest techniques in neuroscience.
As a result, the
research methods
used by Piagetian
researchers and by
Flavell are quite
different. Piaget
had trust on
observations –
mainly of his own
children – and on
the explanations
children gave on
how they solved
problems. He
recorded detailed
observations of his
three children,
which were used as
the grounds for his
books. Therefore, even if his data are naturalistic, they lack experimental rigour. Besides, his
research methodology was distinctly verbal, and consequently the cognitive capacity of pre-
verbal children was underestimated.
Flavell stresses the need to understand how changes occur in cognitive development, including
those processes of the mind that may occur without adult mediation because they are
interpreted as stages of mental development. Besides, Flavell suggests that cognitive changes
happen as a result of an irregular, spiral-shaped expansion of mental structures. This is in
opposition to Piaget’s theory of cognitive stages, according to which the child’s mental
development is similar to the metamorphosis that mediates the transition from caterpillar to
butterfly.
Researchers who followed Flavell’s approach have used controlled experiments to obtain
information on how cognitive development occurs on the pre-school stage. In numerous
investigations carried out on the theory of mind it was shown that small children assigned a
series of complex emotional and cognitive states to their toys. It was inferred from this research
that children are capable of predicting the behaviour of people based on their wishes, interests,
tastes, feelings and thoughts.
5.2. Mechanisms of cognitive development
Piaget understands the mechanisms of cognitive development as the practical means employed
by the individual in order to achieve an aim. Some of the key mechanisms employed are
assimilation and accommodation, which facilitate cognitive adaptation in order to assimilate

new learning with the aim to reach equilibrium. Flavell, however, associates the mechanisms
of cognitive development with the processes of automation (to improve mental efficacy with
practice), codification (to focus on the relevant aspects of a problem), generalisation (to
generalise by employing inductive reasoning) and strategy construction (recreation of new
strategies aimed at problem solving).
Despite the number of mechanisms remaining
equal – four – between the two authors, these
differ greatly in type and in the cognitive
functions each one accomplishes. Piaget’s
mechanisms appear in all stages of cognitive
development, and being genetic they are
adaptive. For Flavell these mechanisms will not
necessarily be available throughout the entire
life, but instead will become more complex or
simpler as determined by specific intellectual
needs.
The mechanisms of cognitive development
mentioned by Piaget are closely linked to
schemas and cognitive structures because they
are determined by the way the individual
organises their knowledge, by assimilating and
adapting it to previously existing intellectual
structures. Flavell, however, defends that the
processes of automation, coding, generalisation
and strategy construction, while contributing to
problem solving, can each time be recreated in
different and varied ways.
According to Piaget, these mechanisms will be present throughout the person’s life, while for
Flavell they become more complex, and may be modified qualitatively depending on specific
needs. In fact, these cognitive mechanisms will continue to improve during mid childhood and
adolescence as a direct consequence of formal instruction at school and formal learning at the
beginning of childhood. As a result, those cognitive mechanisms that were rudimentary and
imprecise in early childhood become more powerful and transferable at a later age.
5.3. Stages of cognitive development
There are for Piaget four stages of cognitive development, which are:
1) Sensorymotor stage. From birth to two years of age, the child is capable of acquiring
information about the world with the use of action schemas.
2) Pre-operational stage. From two to seven years of age, the child develops thought,
which is irreversible, egocentric and fantasy-based, and learns new notions with the
help of language.
3) Operational stage. From seven to eleven years of age, children utilize mental operations
and distance themselves from sensory information. Socialisation increases and thought
becomes more logical.
4) Formal stage. From the age of eleven onwards. Children develop abstract thought, are
capable of formulating hypotheses, inference, synthesis, etc.

The cognitive development progress determined by these four stages is lineal and grows in
step-like increments. The implication of this is that there is a great difference between what a
child can do in a specific stage and in the next. This sequence marks the evolution of the child
from physical action to a symbolic state of mental representations. Flavell, on the other side,
understands not stages of cognitive development but a dialectic development that appears
irregularly and that is formed by five stages or ways in which the mind becomes progressively
more complex. The first cognitive step in childhood is to become aware of the existence of the
mind – i.e., to be conscious that one is a thinking being – and the second step is related to the
fact that there are connections in the
mind – i.e., that the environment
provides influence and information.
The third stage is the understanding
that mind and physical world are
separated and different entities – the
child knows that thinking about
something is different from that thing
existing. Lastly, the fifth stage is
marked by the ability of the mind to
actively mediate the interpretation of
reality. In my opinion, under these
arguments, the fundamental difference
between both authors is that Flavell
tries to explain with his theory and
experiments that pre-school children
are intellectually capable, and that they
are able to achieve, if trained, many
cognitive operations of the higher
stages.
The theoretical foundations of a spiral
and irregular cognitive development
are in accordance with this statement.
Flavell gives importance to the
mediation of parents, teachers and relatives to create cognitive unbalances, but it is also
essential that children grow in an secure and affective environment that will allow them to
continue learning to be independent by assuming the responsibility of their own actions.
Piaget, on the other side, considers that these stages appear in a regular, steady, lineal form.
According to this theory, evolutive, biological and genetic processes impart diverse cognitive
capabilities of superior order to children simply with time. This is due to the consideration that
cognitive development is something innate and genetically predetermined that appears
gradually and naturally even without the mediation of adults, the environment or socialisation.
However, this often cannot be accomplished because many children present features of thought
that belong in previous evolutionary stages or, conversely, in later evolutionary stages, when
compared to children their own age.
As they appear, cognitive changes are qualitative, meaning that even young children may show
complex thought, but this is dampened by the lack of experience and information necessary to
give logical answers to the problems they face. According to Flavell there are no such stages
of cognitive development. Memory also has an essential role in the development of children’s

thought because they require a prime matter to be able to think, or, what is the same, storage
of information in their cognitive archives.
In conclusion, Piaget’s stages of cognitive development are consecutive and fragmented, and
they exist mainly as a result of biological processes. Flavell, on the other side, does not describe
stages that follow a lineal order but instead proposes that there are capabilities or cognitive
states that become the foundation for future development. One of the greatest difficulties and
advantages of this approach is that, unlike Piaget’s, it is not divided into age brackets, and this
makes it difficult to understand the sequence by which those capabilities appear. It is instead a
contributor to the theoretical explanation that cognitive development is a spiral-shaped process.
5.3.1. The origin of thought
Piaget believes that the origin of
thought is linked to language
acquisition. According to his theory,
pre-verbal children show reflex actions
that will then be assimilated into action
schemas and later on into thoughts that
will turn into words with the acquisition
of language. Piaget explains that thanks
to language the child is capable of
reconstructing and remembering facts
from the past, as well as planning and
anticipating future actions. These two
possibilities provide a range of
materials for children’s thought.
Moreover, the author emphasizes the
importance of social and spiritual
pressure for the appearance, the use and
improvement of language. Piaget
understands language and thought as
two sides of the same coin.
Contrary to Piaget’s proposal, Flavell rejects the thesis that links language to the origin of
thought. For him there is thought long before language appears, and the difficulty resides on
finding the adequate means to detect and measure thought in pre-verbal children. Recently,
thanks to electroencephalogram and magnetic resonance techniques, it has been possible to
prove that in children brains complex mental operations have been happening from birth.
This author explains that mental representations and images during symbolic play are essential,
as well as the ability to recognise certain types of objects based on a generic model.
Later on, with the acquisition of language, the child begins to script their games and their toys’
conversations. It should be noted that this author partially accepts the thesis proposed by Piaget
because it supports the existence of pre-verbal thought, however it also explains that cognitive
development accelerates with language acquisition.
In conclusion, Piaget links the origin of thought to language because the child is capable of
advancing in time with the help of words by acquiring new notions, concepts and their view of
world and reality. For Flavell, however, pre-school children show innate and genetic cognitive
abilities belonging to the human species, and consequently there is already thought in pre-
verbal children. Both approaches coincide on the need to prioritise on intellectual capabilities

to allow children’s thought development while improving their emotional and social
capabilities.
5.4. Strategies of cognitive development
Flavell understands cognitive development strategies as powerful thought tools. Some of the
main strategies used are symbolic representation (thinking in the absence of concrete support),
the use of models to acknowledge the elements belonging to certain classes, imitation, scripts,
nominal classes, levels, hierarchies, concepts, etc.
Flavell thinks it necessary to develop the
abovementioned strategies in order to teach
children specific steps to recognise the most
relevant aspect of a problem. At a later age, the
number of steps to be followed will increase as
their memory becomes strengthened with
practise.
Studies on the acquisition of strategies for the
development of thought have shown that
children learn a series of pathways for the
resolution of intellectual problems that they
were presented. Their mistakes are due to poor
performance, with logical errors, and this is
why they need more experience to be able to
perform correctly as well as to apply an
adequate cognitive strategy. Piaget groups
cognitive development strategies in three types,
including invariable strategies, which occur
throughout the person’s lifetime, and
preoperational thought strategies, such as syncretism, animism and centration, which describe
a thought that is unreal, fictitious and egocentric, focused on the sensorial and irreversible.
Finally, Piaget talks about superior order strategies, which are mental operations such as
classification, comparison, inductive reasoning and decodification. These abilities are
described from an accumulative point of view, from which it becomes necessary to develop
the more simple strategies mentioned above to arrive at these superior or more advanced ones.
Flavell concludes that even the youngest children possess the potential for cognitive strategies,
and it must be considered that these strategies appear following the child’s needs and are
developed by practise and transferred to other areas. A conclusion of Flavell’s is that children
are often unable to realise how insufficient their cognitive strategy is in order to solve a problem
because they do not decipher the relevant features of the situation. On the other side, Piaget
maintains that a necessary prerequisite for a strategy to appear is the control over earlier and
more elementary strategies.

6. CONCLUSIONS
Piaget’s interest on child
development arose from
his passion for biology and
for a branch of philosophy
named epistemology, the
study of the origin and
evolution of knowledge.
Piaget greatly contributed
to the understanding of the
child’s intellectual
development, and he
promoted the idea that
cognitive development
should be understood as
the succession of a series
of stages. First, these
stages are qualitatively
different. Second, the transition from one stage to the next is abrupt. Third, concurrence
assumption – a specific stage of development in which children apply the same type of thought
about the world to a wide spectrum of cognitive tasks. Piaget maintained that children’s
comprehension is limited by the stage of intellectual development they have achieved, and that
they cannot be taught to think and act at higher levels until the lower levels have been reached.
Piaget’s proposed notion of lineal stages has been recently challenged thanks to two types of
discoveries – firstly, that cognitive development cannot be pigeonholed in stages because it is
best described continuously with qualitative changes rather than being a lineal process that
happens in a gradual manner due to the influence of genetics.
Secondly, it appears now that pre-school children are a lot more competent than Piaget thought.
This hardly supports a cognitive development that responds to a series of stages that build upon
each other, but rather a spiral trend, in which an individual may or may not be able to perform
the cognitive operations expected of them regardless of their age. Besides, according to Flavell
there are two main issues with Piaget’s theory. The first one consists in the formulation of ideas
in itself. He sometimes states them in vague or very general ways, and sometimes they are not
even subject to experimental proof, and if they are, the data do not always support the reported
theoretical findings. An example of this is a key feature of Piagetian theory, the statement that
reasoning in different tasks will show characteristics of the stage in which the child is.
However, there are complications that the theory cannot explain satisfactorily, such as the tasks
of conservation of number, class inclusion or seriation amongst others. Another fundamental
problem of Piagetian theory is that it often finds support on unreliable empiric evidence. This
is because children’s statements are mainly based on informal observational studies that rely
on the children’s ability to verbally explain what they are doing and also because of the lack of
experimental controls. Piaget shows a tendency to focus on things that children cannot do at
particular developmental stages.
Flavell and other researchers, on the contrary, use more rigorous experimental techniques in
their later work, to show that children can be encouraged to solve problems that Piaget stated
that they could not solve.

These experiments show that children are cognitively more competent than previously thought,
and consequently they show conceptual understanding which could not be explained using
Piaget’s traditional experimental methods. The current experimental tendency is to decrease
the number of things they have to remember, giving them more simple and clear instructions
and eliminating false clues to facilitate problem solving and knowledge application by pre-
school children. Finally, I would like to note that I share and I identify with John Flavell’s
position, because his dialectic approach on intelligence and cognitive development takes on
one of the fundamental problems on the understanding of the mind that we currently have.
Understanding that thought development is spiral-shaped process, with steps backwards and
forwards, we comprehend its complexity. Because there are no recipes or stiff dogmas to
follow, I consider this approach much richer and contextualised. Besides, it answers many
concerns posed by those of us who dedicate ourselves to the beautiful labour of cultivating
minds and teaching them how to think.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA CONSULTADA
1. Flavell, J. Cognitive Development: Children. Knowledge about the Mind. CD-ROM.
California, Department of Psychology, Stanford University, 2001.
2. Flavell, J. Cognitive Development. CD-ROOM California, Dep. of Psychology, Publisher
Prentice Hall, 2000.
3. Flavell, J. Development of Knowledge about the Appearance-Reality Distinction. CD-
ROOM. Chicago, Publisher Edition Softcover, 2001.
4. Flavell, J. El desarrollo Cognitivo (Cognitive development). Tercera edición, Madrid,
Editorial Paidós, 2000.
5. Flavell, J. On cognitive development. &Child Development. CD-ROOM Stanford,
Department of Psychology, 53, 1-10, 1982.
6. Flavell J. y David Elkind. Studies in Cognitive Development: Essays in Honor of Jean Piaget.
CD ROOM. Edition Hardcover, Publisher Oxford University Pr., 2000.
7. Piaget, Jean. Seis estudios de psicología (Six Psychological Studies), International
Universities Press, Inc., Barcelona, 1983.
8. Piaget, Jean. The Psychology Of Intelligence, Publisher: Littlefield Adams & Co, New York,
2000
9. Piaget, Jean. The Origins Of Intelligence In Children, Publisher: International Universities
Press, Inc., New York, 1999.

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