Jean Piaget
Now known as one of the trailblazers of developmental psychology, Jean Piaget initially worked in a wide range of fields. Early in his career Piaget studied the human biological processes. These processes intrigued Piaget so much that he began to study the realm of human knowledge. From this study he was determined to uncover the secrets of cognitive growth in humans. Jean Piaget 's research on the growth of the human mind eventually lead to the formation of the cognitive development theory which consists of three main components: schemes, assimilation and accommodation, and the stage model. The theory is best known for Piaget’s construction of the discontinuous stage model which was based on his study of children and how the processes and products of their minds develop over time. According to this stage model, there are four levels of cognitive growth: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. While a substantial amount of psychologists presently choose to adhere to the constructs of the information processing approach, Piaget’s ground breaking cognitive development view is still a valuable asset to the branch of developmental psychology. Whether or not Piaget uncovered any answers to the mysteries of human knowledge is disputable, but one belief that few dispute is that Jean Piaget did indeed lay a strong foundation for future developmental psychologists.
The cognitive development theory is Jean Piaget’s attempt to explain how the human mind develops. A common description of Piaget’s view of the mind is that it is, an active biological system that (uses) environmental information to fit with or adjust to its own existing mental structures, (Adelani, Behle, Leftwich, and White, 1990). Now, to describe how this biological system develops, Piaget breaks the development process down into three main components: schemes, assimilation and accommodation, and the stage model of cognitive growth. Schemes, are the structures or
The cognitive development theory is Jean Piaget’s attempt to explain how the human mind develops. A common description of Piaget’s view of the mind is that it is, an active biological system that (uses) environmental information to fit with or adjust to its own existing mental structures, (Adelani, Behle, Leftwich, and White, 1990). Now, to describe how this biological system develops, Piaget breaks the development process down into three main components: schemes, assimilation and accommodation, and the stage model of cognitive growth. Schemes, are the structures or
Bibliography: Adelani, L., Behle, J., Leftwich, B., and White, C. (1990). Mathematical Readiness: What is it? How do you measure it? How is it used? Saint Louis, Missouri: Harris Stowe State College. Bringuier, J. C. (1980). Conversations with Jean Piaget. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Cohen, D. (1983). Piaget: Critique and Reassessment. New York City: St. Martin’s Press. Piaget, J. (1951). The Child’s Conception of the World. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Piaget, J. and Inhelder, B. (1969). The Psychology of the Child. New York City: Basic Books. Zimbardo, P. and Weber, A. (1994). Psychology and Life. Saint Louis, Missouri: McGraw-Hill Company.