Swiss biologist and psychologist Jean Piaget worked primarily in the area of child development and his work on cognitive development has international reverence. This paper will look at how Jean Piaget helped shape psychology and poses three questions to Piaget in regards to his life and work.
Jean Piaget was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 1896. In 1980 he passed away in Geneva, Switzerland. As a young child he took a great interest in nature. This led to the publication of his first work, a paper on the sighting of an albino sparrow, at the age of ten in 1906 (Goodwin, 2008). In 1918 Piaget earned a Ph.D. in the Zoology from Switzerland’s University of Neuchâtel (Tuddenham, 1966). Piaget’s academic and professional focus then shifted to psychology. He spent several months studying in Zürich where he attended seminars conducted by analytical psychologist Carl Jung. He also took courses from the well known psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (Sheehy, 2004).
Piaget then worked as a research associate at the Ecole de la rue de la Grange-aux-Belles in France under the direction of Frances leading authority on intelligence testing, Théodore Simon. The Ecole de la rue de la Grange-aux-Belles, was a boys institution and intelligence testing laboratory founded. Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon found the institution in an effort to continue their work on measuring intellectual the ability of students (Sheehy, 2004). It was there that Piaget was given the task of developing a standardized intelligence test for children based on the work of psychologist Cyril Burt (Tuddenham, 1966). Burt, along with Simon and Binet, assessed intelligence assessment by measuring accuracy. In general, little consideration was given to why children answered questions correctly or incorrectly.
Piaget found that the reasoning of young children was qualitatively different from older children and adults (Sheehy, 2004). Piaget veered away from the standard norms in intelligence testing to address his certainty that intelligence should not be measured based on the accumulation of knowledge leading to correct answers, but rather by assessing an individual’s ability to draw conclusions based on his or her developmental age. He enabled psychologists to apply psychometrics in a manner that assessed intellectual ability qualitatively rather than quantitatively (Tuddenham, 1966).
Piaget focused strongly on learning how the mind grows and this led to the development of Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development. The theory ties biology and psychology together by describing how cognition develops in four stages. Stage one, the sensory motor stage occurs from zero to 24 months. During this time infant is becoming aware of its environment through visual and physical exploration and infants begin to develop an understanding of object permanence. From the ages of two to seven years children are in the preoperational stage. This stage is distinguishable by a child’s ability to express him or herself verbally and graphically. The concrete operational stage occurs between the ages of seven and 11. Children are able to complete operational thinking logical and tangible processes. The final stage is the formal operational stage and occurs from 11 to 15 years of age. During this period adolescents are gaining an understanding of abstract concepts and problem solving (Tuddenham, 1966).
Piaget’s work has not gone without criticism and controversy. Some critics claim that his theory of cognitive development is too rigid in its definition of when each stage occurs (Tuddenham, 1966). With this in mind, this author would like to ask Piaget the following question, “If you had the opportunity to apply current scientific findings in regards to brain development, how would you amend your theory of cognitive development?” Current advancements in technology have confirmed his concepts. It is the contention of this author that if Piaget was given the opportunity to draw on those advancements he would have the freedom to explore his concepts more comprehensively.
Another area of controversy that has surrounded Piaget’s work is in regards to the translation of this writings. It is well known that underlying meanings are often lost in the translation of one language to another. Piaget frequently used metaphors in his writing and these metaphors were changed to meet the mechanistic expectation of English literature. Many European thinkers call attention to the thought that through translation the metaphorical meanings of Piaget’s work have been diluted and altered. For example, a literal translation of Piaget’s work The birth of intelligence in children was changed to The origins of intelligence in children in the English translation (Jurczak, 1997). In recognition of this it would be wise to ask Piaget “How has the mechanical translations of your works changed the global understanding of your theories?”
As noted earlier in this paper Piaget attended several seminars conducted by Carl Jung. This author is disappointed that most writings on Piaget do not address Piaget’s association with Jung in more detail. Given the opportunity this author would ask Piaget “How did Carl Jung influence your perspective on human nature and development?” An understanding of Jung’s influence on Piaget may provide more today’s scholars with valuable insight in regards to Piaget and his work.
Piaget profound impact on psychology has led thought that critical thought about his writing, theories, and the affiliations that he gained throughout his lifespan. Piaget’s biological perspective was a revolutionary move that changed the way psychology viewed the cognitive development of children (Tuddenham, 1966).
References
Goodwin, C. J. (2008). A History of Modern Psychology. New York, NY: Wiley.
Jurczak, P. (1997). The language and metaphor of Jean Piaget. Educational Psychology, 9(3), 311-318. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
Sheehy, N. (2004). Fifty Key Thinkers in Psychology. New York: Routledge.
Smith, L. (2007, November 26). Jean Piaget Society – About Piaget. Retrieved September 20, 2009, from http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html
Tuddenham, R. (1966). Jean Piaget and the world of the child. American Psychologist, 21(3), 207-217. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
