Child development is an important field in science that deals with the “biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in a human being between birth and the end of childhood”. And a psychologist who has had a big influence in this field is a Swiss clinical psychologist called Jean Piaget. Such has been his influence that he is considered to be a “pioneer” in this field.
Piaget’s personal and professional background:
To begin with Jean Piaget was born in Neuchâtel in the Francophone region in Switzerland. He was the eldest son of Arthur Piaget, a professor of medieval literature and Rebecca Jackson a Frenchwoman. From an early age Piaget developed interest in biology and in the natural world. In 1923 he married Valentine Châtenay and had three children.
As for studies he initially educated himself at the University of Neuchâtel. He also for a short period of time studied at the University of Zurich. It was during this period that his deep interest in psychoanalysis slowly began to develop. He then shifted base from Switzerland to Paris after graduation and taught at the Grange-Aux-Belles Street School for Boys. This school was administered by Alfred Binet, the inventor of the Binet Intelligence Test. It was while working with Binet on the tests that he observed that young children consistently gave wrong answers to certain questions as compared to young or matured adults. It is from this observation that he formed the theory that the “cognitive processes of a young child differs from those of adults”. This then led to Piaget proposing a universal theory of cognitive development in children.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, what is it:
According to this theory reality is supposed to be a dynamic system that is constantly changing. This theory also states that reality includes two concepts called “transformations and states”. So while transformation means changes that can occur in humans. States essentially refer to the condition or appearances that a human can be found in between transformations. Additionally, this theory also proposes that if human intelligence is to be adaptable it must possess both transformational and static characteristics of reality. The theory further states that it is operative intelligence that is responsible for representation or manipulation of dynamic or transformational features of reality while, it is the figurative intelligence that represents the static aspects of reality. It is this theory that then gave rise to Piaget developing a four stage cycle. These four stages are known as “Piaget stages”.
The Piaget Stages, what is it?
The Piaget stages include Sensorimotor (birth to about age 2), Preoperational (child begins to talk to about age 7), Concrete (first grade to early childhood), and Formal operations (early childhood to mid/late childhood). According to the cognitive theory formed by Piaget all these four stages represent the development of a child at a particular period of time. These stages in turn serve as a guide to understanding the basic behavior of a child at various stages of life.
Although the Piaget’s Cognitive Theory in general is a path breaking theory in clinical psychology, there are limitations to it. With Piaget once admitting that cognitive development is a complex concept and it does not always progress in a smooth way as suggested by his theory. So under such circumstances it would be prudent to use Piaget’s theory more as a template to child psychology rather than as a holy book.
