Name ____________________________Piaget Meets Santa Claus
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget was a careful observer
of the cognitive patterns of children. Through
systematic observation and careful recording, he was
able to deduce stages of cognitive activity that became
apparent as children interacted with their environments
over time. One of his most well-established concepts is
conservation, the ability to recognize that even though
the shape of an object changes, its mass does not
change. To demonstrate conservation, researchers may form shapes out of equivalent amounts of
clay, perhaps rolling one mass of clay into a snakelike configuration and shaping the other into a
ball. A child who can conserve recognizes that the physical masses of the two objects are the
same despite their different shapes.
Although conservation demonstrations of Piaget are interesting to watch, we demonstrate our
ability to understand physical realities through the lifespan in other ways as well. An effective
comparison contrasts how humans in different phases of development react to cultural symbols,
such as Santa Claus.
Your task in this exercise is to develop the point of view of children who are dealing with Santa
at various stages of their own cognitive development. As you assume their perspective, try to
anticipate the kinds of observations and impressions an encounter with Santa would trigger. How
would your react in each stage of development? What features of Santa would be most important?
What would you believe about his existence?
To be successful in this task, you must develop an objective or unbiased way of looking at a
concept you already know quite well. Chances are good that you are a formal operational thinker
in relation to this existence of Santa Claus. But can you set aside what you know (and believe
and feel) in order to describe an encounter with Santa from the perspective of a child at the
stages targeted in this exercise? The characteristics of the stages as Piaget described them should
help you to identify with experience, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings of those whose behavior you
are attempting to explain. You may want to review the stages of cognitive development in your
text before you predict the experiences of children in the different stages.
Name ____________________________
EXAMPLE:
What are the general characteristics of the sensorimotor stage child (age 0-2)?
Children base their understanding of the world primarily on touching, sucking, chewing,
shaking, and manipulating objects. In the initial part of the stage, children have relatively
little competence in representing the environment by using images, language, or other kinds of
symbols.
On encountering Santa, what would the sensorimotor stage child…
…observe? Fluffy beard, soft coat, see bright red color
…think and feel? Frightened, curious and might cry at the sight of him
…believe? Belief in Santa’s existence is not an issue because they have no existing schema in
which to put him.
What are the general characteristics of the preoperational stage child (age 2-6)?
On encountering Santa, what would the preoperational stage child…
…observe?
…think and feel?
…believe?
Name ____________________________
The breakdown in belief in Santa Claus tends to correspond with a child’s transition into the
concrete operational stage.
What are the general characteristics of the concrete operational stage child (age 6-puberty)?
On encountering Santa, what would the concrete operational stage child…
…observe?
…think and feel?
…believe?
How do these transitional experiences differ from the characteristics of the formal operational
child and adult?
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