Cognitive development refers to a child’s ability to learn and solve problems that are encountered in life. It is a period in a child’s growth where he or she makes use of the assorted body parts to ascertain what is in the environment. The body parts that are used include the hands, eyes, and mind. The growth and development of an infant are normally presumed to be strategic and gradual from one stage to another. This is why you cannot find a young child who can think over issues and solve problems as adults do (Herrmann 56).
The cognitive-immaturity difference between infants and adults is normally beneficial to the growth and development of a child. It is of great power to the children’s growth and development. For a well-developed child, all stages of child development have to be adhered to. It enables a child to gain experience in life that would be useful in the future stages of development. A child needs to develop knowledge, starting from the understanding of simple things as sensory perception, before creating permanence of whatever has been seen in the brain for future recognition. It is the stage in which a child develops the mental image of objects as people so that he or she will be able to comprehend with time. Moreover, the stage of cognitive immaturity enables a child to develop the ability to speak and communicate with others. This is because speech development needs to be gradual so that the child can differentiate and be perfect in communicating with varied and different people (Eysenck & Keane 46).
Apart from developing the skill of speech, cognitive immaturity facilitates a child to develop the skill of focusing on one aspect of stimuli in the environment without having confusion of the same. For instance, a child can differentiate between a big and a small dog. Moreover, cognitive development permits a child to develop a skill that will enable him to have a more abstract view of the world. It is in this stage that a child can develop reasons for the causes and effects of everything in the universe. Therefore, cognitive immaturity is very crucial to the development of a child before he can take up the roles of adulthood. It enables a child to be dependent on the mother and the environment for every aspect of development. Cognitive immaturity in children is therefore of importance in growth and development. It is of benefit in the overall aptitude of the child (Anderson 12).
Egocentrism is very present and strong in the growth and development of the child. In the early stages of child development, a child is in a state where it is hard for him or her to take the perspectives and directions of other people within her presence. It is not that the child is selfish in some way. The fact is that the child seems to be possessive to many things and suggestions in what he does. He wants everything to revolve around him, even what seems impossible as far as his mental and physical capacity is concerned. When a young child feels sad or is sad due to one thing or another, he always cries. This is an indication of the egocentric nature that is in him. In my personal opinion, this stage is natural in all children as it is one of the processes of child growth and development (Herrmann 56).
In adolescence, the child is still being egocentric. But in this case, it takes another perspective in the mental understanding of the child. Here, it is deliberate as the child would want everything to be under his control. It is different from the childhood state in that it is intentional. The child may develop to be selfish if the stage of egocentrism does not come to an end. It is quite logical that the child has to progress from one stage to another before adulthood is approached. This case of egocentric nature can be adaptive in the child’s growth and development. This is because it is a stage where every child is supposed to portray in one way or the other. It can be adaptive in that the child may come to like the nature of the behavior that he is portraying. Moreover, this state of development may fail to come to an end as it is supposed to be for every growing and developing child. As the stage delays, the child may adapt to it hence becoming part of his behavior during the time of growth and development (Parkin 69).
Works cited
Anderson, John. Cognitive Psychology and Its Implications. New York: Worth Publishers, 2009, pp. 12.
Eysenck, Michael & Keane Mark. Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2005, pp. 46.
Herrmann, Douglas. Applied cognitive psychology: New York: a textbook Routledge publishers, 2006, pp. 56.
Parkin, Alan. Essential Cognitive Psychology. Psychology Press, Chicago: 2000, pp. 69.