INTELLECTUAL COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF RILEY’S CHARACTER IN INSIDE OUT (2015) - A CHILD PSYCHOLOGY STUDY

Aug 23, 2026

Uploaded by Finn

The paper identifies Riley’s cognitive development and the factors influencing the process in the film Inside Out (2015). Using a qualitative approach grounded in Jean Piaget’s Psychology of The Child, the study draws data from the movie script and the movie itself. Cognitive development is traced through Riley Andersen’s actions and experiences from birth through growth into adulthood. The findings present four stages of cognitive development and describe how specific factors shape each stage’s progression.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Methodology

Result and Discussion

Depictions of Riley’s Cognitive Developments

Sensorimotor Stage

INTELLECTUAL COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF RILEY’S CHARACTER IN INSIDE OUT (2015): A CHILD PSYCHOLOGY STUDY Rizki Dyah Koes Novitasari 1 Teguh Kasprabowo 2 Universitas Stikubank [rdyah64@gmail.com](rdyah64@gmail.com1 teguhkas@edu.unisbank.ac.id2)[1](rdyah64@gmail.com1 teguhkas@edu.unisbank.ac.id2)[ teguhkas@edu.unisbank.ac.id](rdyah64@gmail.com1 teguhkas@edu.unisbank.ac.id2)[2](rdyah64@gmail.com1 teguhkas@edu.unisbank.ac.id2) Abstract The purpose of this paper is to identify Riley’s cognitive development and the factors that influence the process. Riley was the main character of Pete Docter’s movie: “Inside Out” where the reseacher took data from. This is an animated-movie that describes the development process and way of thinking of every human being, so that it will form a character and action. In this qualitative study, the researcher used Psychology of The Child theory by Jean Piaget (1969) . The data used in this study is a movie script and the movie. The researcher found that the main character, Riley Andersen, has several stages of cognitive development based on her actions and experiences. Furthermore, there are factors that influence the cognitive development process in Riley. Finally, the researcher found four stages and factors that influence Riley’s cognitive development process. The process of cognitive development can be seen from Riley’s action when she was born until she grew as a good child. Keywords: Child psychology, Jean Piaget Psychology of The Child, Cognitive Development, The Stages of Cognitive Development INTRODUCTION As a material for research, I chose one of the best-animated movie, Inside Out from Pixar Animation Studios, which was distributed by Walt Disney Motion Pictures in 2015. Inside Out tells the story of Riley Andersen, a child's journey to adolescence with all her emotions and thoughts. This movie contains the concepts of thought or psychological which are portrayed into imaginative objects. There are also concepts of personality, concepts of memory, and concepts of cognitive development that are important for children's knowledge. The concept of cognitive development by applying intellectual knowledge can convey messages that are useful for parents in educating children. I use one theory to support the observation of the research object. The theory was put forward by Jean Piaget’s theory called the stages of cognitive development which related to a young girl who is the main character contained in the film that I examined. Cognitive development involves changes in cognitive processes and abilities. In Piaget's view, early cognitive development involves processes that are based on actions and then develop into changes in mental operations. His theory not only focuses on understanding how children acquire knowledge but also on understanding the nature of intelligence. It also says that cognitive development helps increase our understanding of children’s intellectual growth. Previously, there has been a lot of research on the movie that has been done, but few talk about cognitive development based on intellectual knowledge, especially in animated movie. Besides, research on the knowledge of basic emotions is done more in analyzing this movie than analyzing the intellectual cognitive development. This also becomes interesting for the writer to make it the object of research is seeing how the representation of the child's personality in the process of cognitive development in the movie and what influences it. Based on the description above, this study aims to review several problem statement of intellectual cognitive development in Riley’s character as follow: (1) How was Riley’s cognitive development depicted in the movie? (2) What factors influenced the process of Riley’s cognitive development? The expected objectives of this study are: (1) To identify how was Riley’s cognitive development depicted in the movie. (2) To analyze the factors that influenced the process of Riley’s

FAQs

What is the main purpose of this study on Riley’s character?

To identify Riley’s cognitive development and the factors that influence how that development unfolds in the film Inside Out.

Which theory is used to analyze Riley’s cognitive development?

The study applies Jean Piaget’s Psychology of The Child, focusing on the stages of cognitive development and how intelligence develops from action to mental operations.

What sources and data are used in the qualitative research?

The research uses the movie script and the movie itself, which were examined alongside Piaget’s cognitive development framework.

Aug 23, 2026

Uploaded by Finn