Live Life Team
Jean Piaget was a scientist and Swiss philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of psychology. Piaget became known for his theory of cognitive development, his view on genetic epistemology, and for his notable studies on children. He is considered to be “the great pioneer of the constructive theory of knowing.”
Jean Piaget was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1896. Piaget published numerous articles, books, and philosophical papers during his professional career. He taught at Grange Aux Belles, a street school for boys where he observed that children constantly gave erroneous answers to some questions. His observation led to his theory that children’s cognitive processes are naturally different from adults. He focused on the pattern of the children’s cognitive thinking, and proposed a global theory on children’s developmental stages.
Piaget’s four levels of development consist of infancy, pre-school, childhood and adolescence. His theory describes the four development stages: Sensorimotor stage, Pre-operational stage, Concrete operational stage and Formal operational stage. Each stage characterises a common cognitive structure that influences the children’s thinking and represents the child’s comprehension of reality. Transition from one stage to another is affected by the accumulated knowledge during each stage. Piaget’s genetic epistemology studies child development and explains scientific knowledge based on its history and psychological origins. Genetic Epistemology is divided into four stages: the sociological model of development; the biological model of intellectual development; the elaboration of the logical model of development; and the study of figurative thought.
Piaget’s contribution to psychology has greatly influenced the areas of education and morality, historical studies of thought and cognition, evolution, philosophy and even artificial intelligence. His theory and works also serve as a basis for other studies.
