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Greatest and Most Influential Psychologist
Angel Rodriguez
Research Paper on Jean Piaget
PSY 205- History of Psychology
11/21/2024
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Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who was known as one of the founders of the field
of child development. Born in 1896, Piaget's research focused on understanding how children
think and acquire knowledge, leading to his development of a theory of cognitive development
that has profoundly impacted educational psychology. He proposed that children progress
through distinct stages of cognitive development, including sensorimotor, preoperational,
concrete operational, and formal operational, each marked by different ways of thinking and
making sense of the world. Piaget's work stressed the active role of children in constructing their
understanding through interaction with the environment, shaping modern views on cognitive
development and learning. Jean Piaget is best remembered for his groundbreaking work in the
field of developmental psychology, in particular, his theory of cognitive development. He
researched how children think, reason, and view the world in their own ways as they grow older.
He identified discrete stages of cognitive development through which all children pass, although
the rates differ. Piaget's major contributions are highlighted below.
Stages of Cognitive Development: He proposed that children pass through four stages of
cognitive development: Sensorimotor Stage (birth to 2 years): Children learn through sensory
experiences and motor actions. Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 years): Children begin to use
symbols (e.g., language), but their thinking is still egocentric and lacks logical reasoning.
Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years): Children start to think logically about concrete
events, understand the concept of conservation, and organize objects into categories. Formal
Operational Stage (12 years and up): Adolescents develop the ability to think abstractly, reason
logically, and consider hypothetical situations. Concepts of Cognitive Development: Piaget
introduced key ideas such as schemas (mental models of the world), assimilation (fitting new
information into existing schemas), and accommodation (adjusting schemas to incorporate new
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information). Constructivism: Piaget is also famous for his constructivist theory, which states
that children actively build their view of the world through interaction with the environment.
Piaget's work greatly influenced education by helping to form the basis of modern teaching
methods that emphasize active learning and the need for developmentally appropriate practices.
A good example of Piaget’s cognitive developments is a child who would use a banana as a
pretend telephone. Here, the child is well aware that the banana is both a banana and a telephone.
Piaget asserted that in the concrete operational stage, children make more intentional and
calculated choices, or informed choices, to show that they are indeed aware of their decentering.
Jean Piaget is probably one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century
because of his far-reaching work on the cognitive development of children. Not everyone who
knows about his stages in cognitive development also knows these lesser-known, rather rare facts
that add more depth to his legacy: For one, Piaget's early interest in biology Interestingly, Piaget
did not start his academic life in psychology but in biology. Indeed, when he was just 11 years
old, his first published work concerned the observation of a white albino sparrow. He had very
early interests in the observation of animal behavior and in animal classification that later
inspired his theory on children's cognitive development. He was also influenced by the work of
Alfred Binet. Piaget is best known for his work regarding cognitive development, but his theory
was developed based on his work alongside Alfred Binet, who developed the first intelligence
test. Piaget worked with Binet's team in the early 1900s and helped develop questions that would
go on the intelligence tests. During his work creating test questions, he noticed how the children
thought differently compared to adults. He Developed the Theory of Cognitive Development
Called "Constructivism" Piaget's theory of constructivism was based on the view that children
are active builders of their own understanding of the world and do not passively receive
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knowledge. This view was quite revolutionary in its time and opposed traditional views of
education that assumed children passively acquired knowledge from adults. Piaget spoke four
languages. Piaget was also multilingual. He mastered French, his mother tongue, and German,
Italian, and English. This ability enabled him to explore the vast expanse of philosophical
traditions and theories from the different parts of Europe. Lastly, Piaget's Early Interest in
Philosophy: Piaget had initially expressed a strong interest in philosophy before entering
psychology. He studied philosophy and epistemology, which is the theory of knowledge. Piaget
was a great admirer of Immanuel Kant. For Piaget, the development of knowledge was
essentially a dynamic process, and this philosophical underpinning informed his work on
cognitive development.
Jean Piaget's contributions to the study of psychology—especially cognitive
development—made great impacts on education and society. Through his theory, elaborating in
detail four stages of cognitive development, namely sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete
operational, and formal operational, he revolutionized our way of thinking about learning and
intelligence. Piaget viewed children as active constructors of knowledge rather than being mere
passive recipients. This led to more practical, exploratory teaching and curricula geared toward
the developmental stages of children. Piaget's work influenced research into child development
and parenting and the science of psychology with the mental development of children. A few
more interesting facts I found is that Piaget was teaching at an all boys school and that is also
what helped him found the Cognitive theory.
In conclusion, Jean Piaget has done groundbreaking work in developmental psychology
and has greatly advanced our current understanding of how children think, learn, and grow. His
theory on cognitive development—that children progress through distinct sensorimotor,
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preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages—has shaped both educational
practices and psychological research. Piaget's emphasis on the child's active role in constructing
his knowledge has influenced how we look at learning as an active process. Although certain
parts of this theory have been modified or rejected due to criticism, his work remains a
cornerstone that brings a wealth of insight into the intricacy of human cognitive development and
inspires continuous research in the field. Piaget also emphasizes how biology and experience
interact in the building up of cognitive abilities, thus opening the way for more subtle approaches
regarding the question of how children acquire knowledge. His ideas have proved especially
influential in fields like education, where his notions about developmental stages helped in the
provision of age-related curricula appropriate to the cognitive levels of children. Though Piaget
has been criticized for the inflexibility of his stages and the underestimation of the role of social
and cultural influences, his work continues to provide a valuable framework from which to study
cognitive growth. Generally, his research has left an indelible mark on developmental
psychology and has encouraged further exploration of how cognition evolves and how best to
support it across the lifespan.
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Citation Page
Kendra Cherry, Mse. (2023, November 13). Jean Piaget’s life and contributions to
psychology. Verywell Mind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/jean-piaget-biography-1896-1980-2795549
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Schema. Encyclopædia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/science/schema-cognition
