Background Information
No matter how charming the child, eventually parents find themselves exasperated with their child's behavior. Sometimes it is easy for a parent to assume intentional misbehavior when other motives actually may be at work. By watching his own children, Piaget gave us some cognitive concepts to reexamine what "bad" kids may really be up to. See if you can identify a cognitive concept from Piaget that explains each child's cognition and behavior. Choose from the following list of Piagetian concepts:
Assimilation Accommodation Primary circular reaction Secondary circular reaction Intentional, goal-directed behavior Object permanence Organization
Scheme
Situation # 1
"Stop doing that!" screamed the exasperated mother in response to her infants irritating habit of throwing his bottle from the high chair to the floor. She must have stooped over at least twenty times during this meal alone and her child just wasn't learning! Why should the child's behavior not be surprising?
Question # 1 (25 points)
For the above situation:
Identify a specific concept from Piagets theory that would explain the behavior of child # 1. Describe the concept in your own words. Do not copy the definition out of the book. Explain why that concept could account for the behavior of the child.
Situation # 2
Although the parents spent $300 on holiday toys for their 1-year-old daughter, she spent more time playing peekaboo by sticking her head in and out of a box that one of the toys came in. Question # 2 (25 points) For the above situation:
Identify a specific concept from Piagets theory that would explain the behavior of child # Describe the concept in your own words. Do not copy the definition out of the book. Explain why that concept could account for the behavior of the child.