Mini-Lesson
Development
This mini-lesson covers the OCR Development topic: Piaget's theory of cognitive development and his core study , Kohlberg's theory of moral development, and how these ideas apply to education .
Work through each screen, answer the questions as you go and collect ⭐ stars. Every fact here is anchored to a named study or theory on the OCR GCSE Psychology (J203) Development topic. Press Start when you're ready.
Development · Piaget
Piaget's theory of cognitive development
Piaget said children build schemas and pass through four stages:
Sensorimotor (0–2) — senses/movement; object permanence .Pre-operational (2–7) — egocentric ; cannot conserve .Concrete operational (7–11) — can conserve and reason logically about concrete things.Formal operational (11+) — abstract, hypothetical thinking.
Quick check
Which stage?
? A four-year-old cannot see a situation from another person's point of view. This egocentrism is typical of which stage?
Sensorimotor ❌
Pre-operational ✅
Concrete operational ❌
Formal operational ❌
Development · Piaget core study
Piaget's core study: conservation
The OCR core study for development is Piaget's work on conservation :
Children were shown two equal amounts (e.g. rows of counters or liquid in glasses). When the appearance was changed (e.g. one row spread out), young pre-operational children thought the amount had changed . Older children (concrete operational) knew the amount stayed the same — they could conserve . This supported Piaget's idea of stages of cognitive development.
Quick check
Conservation
? A child watching counters spread wider says there are 'now more', even though none were added. This shows the child cannot yet:
Conserve ✅
Speak ❌
See colour ❌
Sleep ❌
Sort it
Sort Piaget's stages
Tap a feature, then tap the stage it belongs to. (Some apply to every stage.)
Development · Kohlberg
Kohlberg's theory of moral development
Kohlberg extended stage theory to moral reasoning — how we decide right from wrong. He proposed three levels:
Pre-conventional — morality based on rewards and punishment ('will I get caught?').Conventional — morality based on social rules and being seen as good.Post-conventional — morality based on personal principles and justice, even above the law.Moral reasoning develops with age, like Piaget's cognitive stages.
Quick check
Kohlberg's levels
? A young child says stealing is wrong 'because you'll get punished'. In Kohlberg's theory this is which level of moral reasoning?
Post-conventional ❌
Pre-conventional ✅
Formal operational ❌
Sensorimotor ❌
Development · education
Applying development to education
These theories have shaped teaching :
Piaget suggests matching tasks to a child's stage and using active, hands-on discovery learning . Understanding egocentrism and conservation helps teachers pitch lessons appropriately. Kohlberg's ideas inform how schools develop moral reasoning and discuss right and wrong.
Match it
Match the developmental idea
Tap a description on the left, then its matching term on the right.
Quick check
Applying Piaget
? Piaget's theory suggests teachers should:
Match tasks to the child's stage of development ✅
Only ever use rote memorisation ❌
Ignore the child's age ❌
Teach abstract logic to babies ❌
Development · evaluating Piaget
Evaluating Piaget's theory
Piaget's stage theory is influential but challenged:
Strength: shaped modern child-centred education.Weakness: later studies suggest he underestimated young children.Weakness: stages may be less rigid than claimed.
Development · evaluating Kohlberg
Evaluating Kohlberg's theory
Kohlberg extended stage theory to morality:
Strength: it captures how moral reasoning grows with age.Weakness: based mainly on hypothetical dilemmas , which may not match real behaviour.It links neatly to Piaget's cognitive stages.
Recap
The big ideas to know
Piaget: schemas + 4 stages (sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete, formal)
Core study: conservation — young children fooled by changed appearance
Kohlberg: moral development — pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional
Education: match tasks to stage; discovery learning; develop moral reasoning
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