Limitations and criticisms of Piaget's Theory of congnitive development

• Not a life span theory-stops at adolescence
• Not giving enough attention to the role of social influences on cognitive development
• Cognitive development occurs through an invariant sequence of cohort events
• Describing development but not really explaining development
• Blurring the distinction between competence and performances
• Underestimating the cognitive abilities of young children
• Relies on computer-like flowcharts to describe the human cognitive system.
• Children younger than age 5 pay little attention to the process of thinking.
• Underestimates the amount of mental activity that people engage in and are poor at interfering what people know or are thinking about.
• This theory puts an emphasis on the development of planning and attention but fails to describe how this is different in children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or other disorders.
• There is not a lot of examples of research done to support this theory.
• Suggests that academic success depends on whether or not a child is an expert in some area.
• Piagetian problems can be improved with training. Question Piagets's assumption that discover learning rather than adult teaching is the best way to foster development.
• Piaget's stagewise account pays innsufficient attention to social and cultural influences.
• When children are given tasks that are scaled down in difficulty and relevance to everyday experiences, their understanding appers close to older child or adult.