Developmental theories of Jean Piaget

development theories of Jean Piaget.

Jean Piaget has long been the most influential figure in the field of child development. His vast volume of contributions was most notable in three particular aspects. First, his ideas were innovative with an awareness of problems which has never before been investigated. Secondly, research in child development has revitalized and reoriented the field, challenging it anew. Third, the research of Piaget is most thoroughly and appropriately founded upon the study of children (Ginsburg and Opper., 1969, p. IX).

Piaget is perhaps best known for his theory of cognitive

development. He defined cognition as:

a form of biological adaptation - the organism's constant

effort to bring about a harmonious interaction between his own schemata and the outer world. It is a system of living and acting operation that strives for equilibration or a balancing between what the individual knows and what he perceives in the world (Ambron, 1975, p. 125).

Piaget saw cognitive acts as organization of and adaptation to the perceived environment. These two acts were inseparable in the functioning of the total person. In developing this theory of cognitive development which defined intellectual organization

and adaptation, Piaget required the application of four basic concepts: "schema, assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium" (Wadsworth, 1971, p. 10).

Schema are cognitive structures. These st

. . .
intellectual processes. According to Ambron, (1975, p. 239) the preoperational period of cognitive development can be subdivided into a preconceptual stage, about two to four years, and intuitive stage, about four to seven years. The second stage begins with the appearance of symbolic representation. In the overall period, the child evolves from functioning primarily in sensori-motor modes to that of a conceptual-symbolic one. Symbol representation give the child the ability to think (internally represent events) and thus to become less dependent upon sensori-motor abilities to effect behaviors. The child most notably develops language and socialization of behaviors. However, thinking in adult terms is limited because of certain thought characteristics during this period. They are: "egocentrism, centration, irreversibility, and inability to follow transformation" (Wadsworth, 1971, p. 64). During the preoperational period the child engages in symbolic thinking, coordinates schemata, and makes novel responses as new abilities emerge. The child uses representational thought more quickly and effectively. He/she is capable of reflection and the reexamination of knowledge a well as having the ability to contemplate. Numbers and quan
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