Jean Piaget Cognitive Development
4. Piaget and Cognitive Development
Copyright © 2004, James Fleming, Ph.D. _______ During this [early childhood] period magic, animism, and artificialism are completely merged. The world is a society of living beings controlled and directed by man. The self and the external world are not clearly delimited. Every action is both physical and psychical. –Jean Piaget1 ________
Piaget’s Place in the History of Psychology
A ranking of the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century by professionals in the field listed the top three names as B. F. Skinner, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud (Haggbloom and others, 2002). These three names also occupy places of prominence in this textbook. But although Skinner’s impact on the field of psychology was enormous, interest in the kind of behaviorism he espoused has waned; and though many of Freud’s contributions still influence the theory and practice of psychology, many of his major ideas have been duly rejected by his successors. Of these three psychologists, Piaget’s ideas have probably fared the best over the years: they continue to influence research and theory in child development, and with some minor exceptions, his theories have stood the crucial test of time as well as any major theorist in psychology. Yet Piaget was not a psychologist by formal training. His two doctorates were in natural science (emphasizing biology; his early interests were in studying mollusks) and philosophy (emphasizing logic). But Piaget had many interests, including epistemology and the philosophy of science, both of which influenced his research. In 1920, Piaget had an opportunity to work with Theodore Simon (who was the co-creator of the first intelligence test, along with Alfred Binet; Binet & Simon, 1905). Piaget found his job of helping to standardize intelligence tests rather uninteresting, but he 4- 1
did become interested in studying the way that children reasoned when attempting to solve the problems presented to them by the
Copyright © 2004, James Fleming, Ph.D. _______ During this [early childhood] period magic, animism, and artificialism are completely merged. The world is a society of living beings controlled and directed by man. The self and the external world are not clearly delimited. Every action is both physical and psychical. –Jean Piaget1 ________
Piaget’s Place in the History of Psychology
A ranking of the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century by professionals in the field listed the top three names as B. F. Skinner, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud (Haggbloom and others, 2002). These three names also occupy places of prominence in this textbook. But although Skinner’s impact on the field of psychology was enormous, interest in the kind of behaviorism he espoused has waned; and though many of Freud’s contributions still influence the theory and practice of psychology, many of his major ideas have been duly rejected by his successors. Of these three psychologists, Piaget’s ideas have probably fared the best over the years: they continue to influence research and theory in child development, and with some minor exceptions, his theories have stood the crucial test of time as well as any major theorist in psychology. Yet Piaget was not a psychologist by formal training. His two doctorates were in natural science (emphasizing biology; his early interests were in studying mollusks) and philosophy (emphasizing logic). But Piaget had many interests, including epistemology and the philosophy of science, both of which influenced his research. In 1920, Piaget had an opportunity to work with Theodore Simon (who was the co-creator of the first intelligence test, along with Alfred Binet; Binet & Simon, 1905). Piaget found his job of helping to standardize intelligence tests rather uninteresting, but he 4- 1
did become interested in studying the way that children reasoned when attempting to solve the problems presented to them by the