Contrast two theories of cognitive development.

Refer to the paper 2 assessment criteria when awarding marks. These can be found under the “Your tests” tab > supplemental materials.

The command term “contrast” requires candidates to give an account of the differences between two theories of cognitive development.

Theories may include, but are not limited to:

• Piaget’s (1936) theory of cognitive development
• Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of sociocultural cognition
• Bruner’s (1956) theory suggesting that thinking is the result of cognitive development
• the information-processing approach to cognitive development
• neurobiological explanations
• Kohlberg’s (1958) theory of levels of moral development.

Contrasting points may include, but are not limited to:

• cultural contexts
• gender differences and considerations
• strengths and limits of the theories
• empirical support and criticism of the theories
• application of the theories.

If the candidate provides only an implicit contrast, the response should be awarded up to a maximum of [2] for criterion D: critical thinking. All remaining criteria should be awarded marks according to the markbands independently, and could achieve up to full marks.

If the candidate chooses a theory that is not specific to cognitive development (eg Bowlby, Erikson), award up to a maximum of [4] for criterion B: knowledge and understanding.

This was a very popular question in the option Developmental Psychology. The majority of candidates chose to address Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theory. Only a few candidates chose Kolhlberg’s theory and some incorrectly chose Freud’s and Erikson’s theory. Many candidates were well taught in terms of understanding the two competing theories, and incorporated research designed to support each theory. If there was a problem for candidates, it was in terms of a lack of contrast between the two theories.

In some cases, candidates provided only a brief contrast at the very end or more often candidates evaluated each theory separately.