Editing Cognitive development (section)

=== Criticism ===
Many of Piaget's claims have fallen out of favor. For example, he claimed that young children cannot [[Conservation (psychology)|conserve]] numbers. However, further experiments showed that children did not really understand what was being asked of them. When the experiment is done with candies, and the children are asked which set they ''want'' rather than having to tell an adult which is more, they show no confusion about which group has more items. Piaget argues that the child cannot conserve numbers if they do not understand one-to-one correspondence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gelman, Rochel. |title=The child's understanding of number |date=1978 |publisher=Harvard University Press |others=Gallistel, C. R., 1941- |isbn=0-674-11636-4 |location=Cambridge, Mass. |oclc=3770717}}</ref>

Piaget's theory of cognitive development ends at the formal operational stage that is usually developed in early adulthood. It does not take into account later stages of adult cognitive development as described by, for example, Harvard University professor [[Robert Kegan]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kegan |first1=Robert |title=The Evolving Self |date=1986}}</ref>

Additionally, Piaget largely ignores the effects of social and cultural upbringing on stages of development because he only examined children from western societies. This matters as certain societies and cultures have different early childhood experiences. For example, individuals in nomadic tribes struggle with number counting and object counting. Certain cultures have specific activities and events that are common at a younger age which can affect aspects such as object permeance. This indicates that children from different societies may achieve a stage like the  formal operational stage while in other societies, children at the exact same age remain in the concrete operational stage.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Babakr |first1=Zana |last2=Mohamedamin |first2=Pakstan |last3=Kakamad |first3=Karwan |date=2019 |title=Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory: Critical Review |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1274368.pdf |journal=Education Quarterly Reviews |volume=2 |issue=3 |page=520 |doi=10.31014/aior.1993.02.03.84 |access-date=2023-03-21}}</ref>