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Musical Development as a Cognitive Ability

Cognitive Psychology

Abstract

This discusses theories of cognitive development and its relationship to musical development . Cognitive development is closely related to musical development and learning . Jean Piaget developed theories of the cognitive development in children . Musicologists have developed theories on how musical development has cognitive components Cognitive development is acquired through interaction with an environment , just as musical development is acquired through interaction with a musical environment

Jean Piaget on Cognitive Development

Cognitive development is the investigation of how mental skills build

br and change with increasing physiological maturity (maturation ) and experience (learning (Sternberg ,

.444 . Cognitive development involves qualitative changes in thinking , as well as quantitative changes , such as increasing knowledge and ability (Sternberg ,

.444 . Most cognitive psychologists agree that developmental changes occur as a result of the interaction of maturation (nature ) and learning (nurture (Sternberg ,

br 444

According to Sternberg , despite the differences in theoretical approaches , there are some basic principles that that crosscut the study of cognitive development (Sternberg ,

.446

First , over the course of development , people seem to gain more sophisticated control over their own thinking and learning . As people grow older , they become more capable of more complex interactions between thought and behavior . Second , people engage in more thorough information processing with age . Third , people become increasingly able to comprehend successively more complex relationships over the course of development . Finally , over time , people develop increasing flexibility in their uses of strategies or information (Sternberg ,

.446

He explains that as people grow older they become less bound to using information in just a single context , and they learn how to apply it in a greater context (Sternberg ,

.446

One of the most influential contributors to developmental research is Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896- 1980 . His theory of cognitive development is one of the most comprehensive in the field (Sternberg br

.446 . Piaget believed that the function of intelligence is to aid in adaptation to the environment (Sternberg ,

.447 . In his view the means of adaptation form a continuum ranging from relatively unintelligent means , such as habits and reflexes , to relatively intelligent means such as those requiring insight , complex mental representation , and the mental manipulation of symbols (Sternberg ,

.448 . Piaget further proposed that with increasing learning and maturation , both intelligence and its manifestations become differentiated- more specialized in various domains (Sternberg ,

.448

Piaget believed that development occurs in stages via equilibration , in which a child seeks balance (equilibrium ) between both what they encounter in their environments and what cognitive processes and structures they bring to the encounter , as well as among the cognitive capabilities themselves (Sternberg ,

.448 . Sternberg explains that in some situations , the child 's existing schemas are adequate for confronting and adapting to the challenges of the environment the child is thus in a state of equilibrium (p .448

However , at other times , the child is presented with information that does not fit with the child 's existing schemas , so cognitive...