Option A: Piaget’s theory on cognitive development has contributed a unique perspective to our understanding of how children think, reason, and solve problems. Examine and identify the main tenets of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (i.e., schema, assimilation, and accommodation) describing them in your own words.  
Examine the cognitive factors Piaget presents in relation to human development. Briefly identify and describe his stages of cognitive development by illustrating the cognitive tasks that infants, children, or young adults are capable (or not capable) of performing.  

Alternatively, instead of describing the stages, you may create a chart in which the abilities that define cognitive development in Piaget’s theory are plotted against the age at which they are acquired. Identify at least one aspect of Piaget’s theory that has been criticized and mention the evidence upon which this criticism is based.

Option B: Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development has contributed a unique perspective to our understanding of how children think, reason, and solve problems. Examine and identify the main tenets of Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development (i.e., zone of proximal development, scaffolding, relationship between language and thought) describing them in your own words. In addition, you will need to examine the cognitive factors Piaget presents in relation to human development. Briefly identify and discuss Vygotsky’s view of cognitive development by illustrating the cognitive tasks that infants, children, or young adults are capable (or not capable) of performing.  Identify at least one aspect of Vygotsky’s theory that has been criticized, and mention the evidence upon which this criticism is based.

Your initial post must be at least 300 words and use a minimum of one scholarly source located in the Ashford University Library or on Google Scholar that is cited and referenced according to APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Before completing this discussion, be sure to review Chapters 6 and 7 of your text, the article “On Major Developments in Preschoolers’ Imagination,” and the Remembering and Forgetting video. After examining the research in human development presented in your required resources, complete the following discussion:

Information processing in the human mind/brain changes as we age. Identify and examine an aspect of the cognitive factor of human development. Choose an ability (i.e., memory, attention, or thinking) and describe how the selected ability changes from infancy to old age. Describe at least one disorder that may affect the selected ability and its typical time of occurrence across the lifespan. Explain the known causes of the disorder by citing the available scientific evidence.

Your initial post must be at least 300 words and use a minimum of one scholarly source located in the Ashford University Library or on Google Scholar that is cited and referenced according to APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.