Discussion Post:
“Briefly explain Shaie’s perspective on stages of development and how it differs from Piaget’s approach. Are you often more concerned with how information is used differently as you age or only in how you change in your preference for gaining information? “

Discussion Post Requirements:
*  Your INITIAL Discussion post must be 2 substantive paragraphs answering the topic, with citations for your sources underneath – if you use information that is not your own – which is most of the time. A substantive paragraph is at least 5-8 sentences. 
* REPLIES TO CLASSMATES should be in response to a classmates post in which you further the conversation by adding a personal anecdote, asking a question, or adding more facts from the readings to your classmate’s post. Response posts to classmates must be substantive in nature, meaning at least four sentences and not simply, “I agree.” One and two sentence replies to classmates garner 1/2 credit. “I agree” garners NO credit.

Reply to Classmate 1:
Piaget’s approach argued that by the time an individual left their adolescence their thinking in relation to the standard of something had kind of hit its peak. He knew that the individual’s knowledge would accumulate over time, but the way they interpret their knowledge would not change in the long run. Piaget focused on the understanding of new information which is why he set stages and sensorimotor stages from when a child was born till they were twelve. The four stages are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. These four stages were focused around egocentrism which only utilizes one individual’s point of view.

Just like Piaget Schaie also suggested that adults follow a set of patterns throughout stages. Schaie’s main focus was how information would be utilized through adulthood. Postformal thought for Schaie was broken down into five stages including acquisitive, achieving, responsible, executive, and reintegrative. The main cognitive development would take place in the acquisitive stage where information is stored away for future use. In my opinion information can only be gained from a few things such as a person, electronically, or through a book and article. Information itself can be used in various ways. Just because I’m given directions to build something per say a bed frame doesn’t mean that if i don’t follow the steps in the order that are provided hat I won’t get the same result. The interpretation of information will always very because as we grow older we tend to listen to other’s opinions.

Reply to Classmate 2:
Unlike Piaget, Shaie believed cognitive development occurred throughout a person’s life in a series of stages. He believed that development did not stop after adolescence but continued from birth through old age. Piaget’s perspective was different in that he believed that people only experienced four stages of cognitive development that reached its limit at adolescence.

I would say for myself, I am probably more concerned with how information is used as I age.  In your late 40’s, most people have families, kids, careers and bills to manage.  It makes more sense to me to use knowledge and learned lessons gained through real life experiences.