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Related Concept Videos

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development from Childhood into Adulthood01:25

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development from Childhood into Adulthood

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development emphasizes the role of thinking in a child's learning process, suggesting that children are naturally curious about their environment. His approach to development is discontinuous, proposing that cognitive abilities progress through distinct stages, each with unique characteristics. Central to Piaget's theory is schemata—mental structures that allow individuals to understand and interpret the world.
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Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
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Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Published on: April 19, 2017

Action, the foundation for cognitive development.

Claes Von Hofsten1

  • 1Uppsala University, Sweden. claes.von_Hofsten@psyk.uu.se

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
|November 26, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Infants build cognitive skills through action and exploration. By interacting with their environment, babies develop foundational knowledge crucial for understanding the world and guiding future actions.

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Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Child Development

Background:

  • Action is fundamental to cognitive development.
  • It influences social understanding and problem-solving skills.
  • Cognition is shaped by the interplay of motives, goals, and the sensory-motor system.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the foundational role of action in cognitive development.
  • To understand how action shapes social understanding and knowledge acquisition.
  • To highlight the infant's innate predispositions for learning through action.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical analysis of action's role in development.
  • Examination of sensory-motor system's contribution to knowledge extraction.
  • Discussion of infant motives driving learning and action guidance.

Main Results:

  • Action is central to all facets of cognitive development.
  • The sensory-motor system facilitates learning about future events.
  • Infant motives transform innate predispositions into knowledge for action.

Conclusions:

  • Infants' active engagement with the world is key to cognitive growth.
  • Understanding action's role provides insights into early learning mechanisms.
  • This perspective emphasizes the embodied and motivated nature of infant cognition.