Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

    When you think about how you have changed since you were born, it probably blows your mind! You have changed physically, cognitively, socially, morally, and in so many different ways. Developmental Psychologists are interested in how people change throughout their lifespan, and usually focus on one (or two) area of change. How do our brains and bodies change as we age? How does the way we think and act evolve as we get older? There are 3 general debates (Links to an external site.) in developmental psychology: 1. Stages or continuity - how do we change over time? Critical periods (Links to an external site.) are part of this debate. 2. Nature versus nurture - what is the source of our changes? 3. Stability and change - how much do we actually change or stay the same as we age? There are 3 general methods (Links to an external site.) used in developmental psychology: 1. Cross-sectional method - measure changes in people of different ages; cohort effects (Links to an external site.) are important to consider when using this method 2. Longitudinal method - measures changes in the same people across time 3. Cross-sequential method - measure changes in people of different ages across time