Vygotsky Vs Piaget

Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development. Piaget’s work includes a detailed observational study of cognition in children. Piaget showed that young children think in different ways to adults. According to Piaget, children are born with a very basic mental structure (genetically inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent knowledge is based.

In Vygotsky’s sociocultural development theory, social interaction plays an important role in the process of cognitive development, which is different then Piaget’s understanding of child development. Vygotsky believed children are active knowledge

Jean Piaget is a key figure for development, focusing on cognitive constructivism – that being that we must learn from experience and development, building on knowledge that has already been developed. The strengths and weaknesses of Piaget 's cognitive development theory will be discussed.

Vygotsky may have overplayed importance on social influences because he suggests that child’s cognitive development occurs through social interactions, for example children do internalisation of problem solving via mutual interactions. However, if social learning is the essence of cognitive development then learning would be a lot faster than it is. Thus Vygotsky ignores the biological aspects that aid or restricts the cognitive development such as the development of brain and maturation. Therefore Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is different to

Jean Piaget’s theory believed that cognitive development involves changes in cognitive processes and abilities. Piaget believed that early cognitive development is based upon actions and later progresses to changes in mental operations. Jean Piaget’s interest in cognitive development in children was first influenced by watching his 1-year-old nephew at play. Piaget observed his nephew playing with a ball. When the ball rolled to a place where the boy could still see it, the infant simply retrieved the ball and continued playing. When the ball rolled out of his sight, however, the child began looking for it where he had last seen it. This reaction surprised Piaget and struck him as irrational.

Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky both agree and disagree in the area of the Nature/Development of Intelligence. Piaget and Vygotsky agree on the idea of constructivism, the certainty that cognitive development happens by accumulation to and building from what is previously recognized and learned. Piaget was a trivial constructivist, he believed that individuals acquire knowledge by interacting with their environment and building on their knowledge and understanding of their environment. On the other hand, Lev Vygotsky was a social constructivist, believing individuals acquire knowledge through social interaction and learning from others. They also both agree that the restrictions of intellectual growth are defined by social interactions. Individuals acquire knowledge from interactions that they have already been exposed to and what other people can teach them, whether if it other children that are older than they are, adults in the life, or teachers. Jean Piaget believed that individuals acquire their knowledge by interacting in their environment, and it comes as a direct outcome of the individual’s actions on to their environment. Piaget believed that individuals must learn before they develop (Educational Psychology). According to Jean Piaget’s theory, the order of acquiring knowledge is an individual acts upon their environment, learning from the consequences of their actions, and then developing knowledge and understanding of

Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development was one of the first steps in understanding how children become who they are as adults. In early childhood, children begin to understand symbols and representations (Berk, 2014, p. 227). Their learning shifts from sensing the world as in the sensorimotor stage to trying to find commonalities like symbols. According to Berk (2014), Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory focused on “social context of cognitive development” (p. 234). Vygotsky incorporated social context and social interactions into childhood development; in other words, who, how, and what children interact with in their everyday social environment contributes to their mental and emotional development. When it comes to both of these cognitive theories, there are many similarities and differences between Piaget and Vygotsky.

B. Blake & T. Pope. (2008). Developmental Psychology: Incorporating Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s Theories in. Journal of Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives in Education, Vol. 1, No 1,, 59-67. Retrieved from http://jcpe.wmwikis.net/file/view/blake.pdf

Cognitive development is the term used to describe the construction of thought process, including remembering, problem solving and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. In this essay I will compare and contrast the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, both of which were enormously significant contributors to the cognitive development component to/in psychology. In addition to this I will also weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of each theory and outline how they can be applied to an educational setting.

Piaget believe that children are active thinkers. He recognized that the mind develops through a series of irreversible stages. He also acknowledged that a child’s maturing brain builds schemas that are constantly assimilating and accommodating to the world around them. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is split into four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to nearly two years of age. At this stage, infants learn about the world around them by sensing it and interacting within it. It is also in this stage that the idea of object permanence develops, that is, the awareness that things continue to exist even when they are not being observed. In my personal life, I am certain that in this stage of development I would have enjoyed peek-a-boo, because if I didn’t see it, to my developing mind, it wasn’t there at all. The second stage, preoperational, lasts from two years of age to seven years of

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development and lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory delve into the utmost specificity of a child's cognitive development. Each theorist developed knowledgeable understanding as to how children learn cognitively. Piaget observed how children would solve problems and believed cognitive development was influenced by social transmission.

Piaget believes that a children’s cognitive development was based off of how a child thinks by using logical thinking. Piaget believed it made a difference and it was important in how children and adults think. Vygotsky's theory on cognitive development is similar to that of Piaget’s because it can be based off of an environmental experience which includes Vygotsky's theory on social interactions with peers and their environment. Both theorists agree that children develop when they are active learners.

Piaget *Missing Works Cited* Piaget work has received world wide acclaim and recognition , as well as having a positive impact in areas such as education and social curricula. Though he had made an impact on understanding of the child cognitive development , his theory of cognitive development has suffered a great deal of critics that it neglects the social nature of human development.(Hook, Watts and Cockroft ,2002).So the following essay will discuss on whether this critic is valid or not based on detail discussion of Piaget theory. The theory of Vygotsky shall also be discussed to prove that indeed social factors play a role .

Jean Piaget is considered to be very influential in the field of developmental psychology. Piaget had many influences in his life which ultimately led him to create the Theory of Cognitive Development. His theory has multiple stages and components. The research done in the early 1900’s is still used today in many schools and homes. People from various cultures use his theory when it comes to child development. Although there are criticisms and alternatives to his theory, it is still largely used today around the world.

The first stage of Piaget’s development theory is the sensorimotor stage which takes place in children most commonly 0 to 2 years old. In this stage, thought is developed through direct physical interactions with the environment. Three major cognitive leaps in this stage are the development of early schemes, the development of goal-oriented behavior, and the development of object permanence. During the early stages, infants are only aware of what is immediately in front of them. They focus on what they