INTRODUCTION
• 1896-1980
• Born in Neuchatel,
Switzerland
• Was the eldest child,
and as such was
precocious (bright for
his age)
• Strong interest in
seashells, initially
• He married Valentine Chatenay in 1923 and
together they had
2 daughters followed
by 1 son
BACKGROUND
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was one of
the 20th centuries most influential
researchers in the area of
developmental psychology.
He was a child prodigy who
published his first article in
a refereed journal at the
age of 11.
BACKGROUND
Piaget originally trained in the areas of
biology and philosophy and considered
himself a “genetic epistimologist.”
He was mainly interested in the
biological influences on “how we
come to know.”
He studied his own 3 children
BACKGROUND
While working in Binet’s test lab in Paris, Piaget became interested in how
children think.
He noticed that young children's answers were qualitatively different than
older children.
This suggested to him that the younger children were not less knowledgeable
but, instead, answered the questions differently than their older peers
because they thought differently.
Before Piaget…
• belief that child’s
mental ‘machinery’
same as an adults, just
lacking exposure to
the world
• a passive model of
education
• (filling up empty
vessels)
Piaget Introduction
6
“Cognitive Aliens”
• Piaget’s idea…
• the child is
profoundly
different from
adults in its
thinking
Piaget Introduction
7
PIAGET’S THEORY
• Child’s intellect develops in
steps/stages
• (like evolutionary theory in
biology)
• Child must pass through each
stage in order
• Each stage depends on the
one before to develop
Piaget Introduction
8
Piaget’s main 4 stages
•
•
•
•
SENSORI-MOTOR (age 0-2)
PRE-OPERATIONAL (2-7)
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL (7-11)
FORMAL OPERATIONAL (12+)
Process of Cognitive Development
As a biologist, Piaget was interested in how an
organism adapts to its environment (Piaget
described this ability as intelligence.)
Behavior is controlled through mental
organizations called schemes that the individual
uses to represent the world and designate action.
Process of Cognitive Development
Piaget described two processes used by the
individual in its attempt to adapt:
• assimilation
• accomodation.
Both of these processes are used thoughout life as the
person increasingly adapts to the environment in a more
complex manner.
Process of Cognitive Development
Assimilation
The process of using or
transforming the environment so
that it can be placed in preexisting
cognitive structures.
Process of Cognitive Development
Assimilation
Example: an infant uses a sucking
schema that was developed by
sucking on a small bottle when
attempting to suck on a larger
bottle.
Process of Cognitive Development
Accomodation
The process of changing cognitive
structures in order to accept
something from the environment.
Process of Cognitive Development
Accomodation
Example: the infant modifies a
sucking schema developed by
sucking on a pacifier to one that
would be successful for sucking on
a bottle.
• According to Piaget:
Assimilation + Accommodation = Learning