Summary of Piaget’s theory
Piaget made the study of children’s cognitive development central to
psychology.
How?
After more than fifty years studying children, Piaget left us with:
The most detailed and comprehensive account of cognitive development that
currently exists.
Which was?
The child moves a long way in 15 years.
Children move from very rudimentary abilities to represent themselves with
images and words, to classifications to conservation to abstract deductive
logic.
, Overall Strength’s – Piaget’s work
1. Detailed observational studies of cognition in children have provided
us with a rich and detailed account of cognitive development.
Who did Piaget make detailed observational studied of?
Children made careful, detailed observations of children.
These were mainly his OWN children and the children of friends.
Often the behaviour observed was stimulated by Piaget himself, intervening in the
child’s play.
How is this a strength?
His interview technique was essentially an open-ended conversation in which he
studied children’s responses to problems he gave them.
Both Ginsberg (1981) and Dasen (1994) see Piaget’s methods as a superior way of
exploring the subtleties of a child’s abilities, since they are tailored to an individual
child’s requirements.
2. A series of simple but ingenious tests to reveal different cognitive
abilities.
How is this a strength?
Piaget’s extensive work paved the way for further research, and he made cognitive
development a core aspect of developmental psychology.
The results of his observations and experiments are among the most replicable in
the whole of psychology.
Piaget made the study of children’s cognitive development central to
psychology.
How?
After more than fifty years studying children, Piaget left us with:
The most detailed and comprehensive account of cognitive development that
currently exists.
Which was?
The child moves a long way in 15 years.
Children move from very rudimentary abilities to represent themselves with
images and words, to classifications to conservation to abstract deductive
logic.
, Overall Strength’s – Piaget’s work
1. Detailed observational studies of cognition in children have provided
us with a rich and detailed account of cognitive development.
Who did Piaget make detailed observational studied of?
Children made careful, detailed observations of children.
These were mainly his OWN children and the children of friends.
Often the behaviour observed was stimulated by Piaget himself, intervening in the
child’s play.
How is this a strength?
His interview technique was essentially an open-ended conversation in which he
studied children’s responses to problems he gave them.
Both Ginsberg (1981) and Dasen (1994) see Piaget’s methods as a superior way of
exploring the subtleties of a child’s abilities, since they are tailored to an individual
child’s requirements.
2. A series of simple but ingenious tests to reveal different cognitive
abilities.
How is this a strength?
Piaget’s extensive work paved the way for further research, and he made cognitive
development a core aspect of developmental psychology.
The results of his observations and experiments are among the most replicable in
the whole of psychology.
