Cognitive Development

11 Pages 2830 Words

The study of childhood development is a fundamental part of facilitating our comprehension of how we grow physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively into adults. Theorists in all these areas have strived to explain the genetic and/ or environmental influences which sculpt us into the people we are. The objectives of this assignment are to focus on a theoretical explanation of how children develop cognition (namely the work of Piaget) and to discuss the implications of this knowledge for nursing practice. The author will further demonstrate how this knowledge was utilized to meet the unique and individual needs of a four year old child admitted to the A&E department, gaining consent from the family and maintaining confidentiality. Finally, concluding with a discussion on the important role of the nurse in promoting cognitive abilities.

Cognitive development has been referred to as the action of acquiring thought and understanding (Moules and Ramsey, 1980) (See appendix one). When working with children it is essential to determine their powers of comprehension. Children cannot be viewed as miniature adults, as their understanding and interpretations are different to that of an adult. Jean Piaget (1896-1990) was a leading Swiss biologist and psychologist and one of the main figures in the arena of cognitive development. Although his theories are dated, they still provide the cornerstone to our understanding of how children develop intelligence and subsequently, many other psychologists have build their theories on the basis of his rationalization.
Piaget concluded from his research findings that children do think in radically different ways. Piaget was concerned with the child’s cognitive processes, he sees the child as having cognitive structures or schema, that are central to how they function as human beings, as it allows them to adapt to changes in the environment through two mechanisms, assimilation and accommodation. A...