Pioneers of the Social Sciences: Jean Piaget (By Zoey)

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

Life and Times:

• Born in Neuchatel, Switzerland
• Oldest child
• Attended the University of Neuchatel
• Piaget thought that his mother was a bit neurotic, which is why he was first interested in psychology
• He became so overwhelmed with studying and writing, he took a year off to recuperate
• In 1918 he received his Doctorate in Science and then he worked for a year in a psychology lab and in a psychiatric clinic
• He then taught psychology in Paris
• He helped mark Binet’s intelligence test, and realized that young children often gave wrong answers for certain questions that older children got correct; this is what got him interested in children’s psychology
• By the end of his career, he published over 60 books

Research:

• Worked in psychology, specifically developmental psychology (aka child development)
• Established genetic epistemology- the study of the origins of knowledge
• He focused on the development of knowledge in children from infancy to adolescence
• Developed new research methods because he was not satisfied with the results he received with a traditional method of data collection
• Used naturalistic observation, psychometrics (the measurement of mental abilities and psychological processes, i.e.- quizzes and personality tests), the psycholanalytic method developed by Freud
• He used these methods in order to get the fullest understanding that he could of the way a child’s brain works
• He studied his own children from infancy until adolescence
• He identified 4 phases of his research program, known as the 4 Piagets:

– The Sociological Model of Development

– The Sensorimotor/Adaptive Model of Intellectual Development

–  The Elaboration of the Logical Model of Intellectual Development

– The Study of Figurative Thought

Piaget’s main findings were the 4 stages of human development:

• Sensorimotor Stage (birth-age 2)
• Preoperational Stage (2-7)
• Concrete Operational Stage (7-12)
• Formal Operational Stage (adolescence-adulthood)
  

Piaget said on development of morality: “The child is someone who constructs his own moral world view, who forms ideas about right and wrong, and fair and unfair, that are not the direct product of adult teaching and that are often maintained in the face of adult wishes to the contrary” (Gallagher, 1978, p. 26)

Impact:

• Piaget’s finding gave us a better understanding of how the child’s brain works and develops
• Education systems were changed because of Piaget’s theories (More “child-centred” approach, ex: learning through interaction, constructivism)
• Other studies used and continue to use Piagetian terms
• The stages of development that he found are used outside of our species; some primatologists assess the abilities of primates using Piaget’s terms
• Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s ideas contradicted those of Piaget- Vygotsky said that child’s cultural background has a huge effect on the stages of development
• Piaget’s finding are still considered valid- they are extremely important in understanding child psychology

 

Bibliography

Boeree, Dr. C. George. (2006). Jean Piaget. Retrieved November 26, 2010, from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html

Smith, Leslie. (2000). The Jean Piaget Society- About Jean Piaget. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html
Jean Piaget. (2010). In Wikipedia the Free Encyclopaedia. Retrieved November 25, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget