Chapter 8: Child Development Piaget’s theory of cognitive development:   Stage theory: all humans go through a predictable series of changes in the way we think                        => Children think differently than adults do.   What initiates these changes is too much contradiction in currently existing schemas.       Assimilation: incorporation of new information into existing schemas.       Accommodation: modification of existing schemas to account for new information.              =>Constructivism: the child is an active thinker.   Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years): learn basic cause-effect relations by interacting with the environment.   Preoperational stage (2-7 years): form mental images that allow pretend play.           The child is egocentric: does not understand that others may perceive the world differently.   Concrete operational stage (7-11 years): can think logically about concrete objects.           Understand conservation: the nature of objects does not change even if their appearance does.   Formal operational stage (11-adult years): can think logically about abstract things. Piaget has underestimated the cognitive abilites of infants, but his theory is still valuable.   Theory of mind: understanding that what other people know may be different from what you know.       => Allows the ability to deceive others.