Cognitive Theories of Human Development

Cognitive Theories of Human Development

Jean Piaget, known as the most important theorist; started the most comprehensive theory of intellectual development. Piaget was born in 1896, in Neuchatel Switzerland, and lived a full and significant life, he passed away at age 84. His father was a medieval historian, and his mother was a homemaker; she was highly emotional and her behavior disrupted the normalcy of their home. Piaget married Valentine Chatenay, and they soon welcomed three girls; Jacqueline, Lucienne, and Laurent. The Paiget’s spent much of their time observing the girls childhood development. Paiget’s success began early in life.

At the age of 10 years, Piaget published an article about a sparrow. By the age of 21 years, he earned his doctorate in natural sciences. In the 1940s and 50s, he studied children and adolescents. He focused on children’s understanding of mathematical and scientific concepts; he also continued to study cognitive development and philosophical questions in epistemology. Paiget initially faced objections from his peers; by the late 1960’s and the decades to follow, many psychologists began to recognize the importance of his theories. Another significant contributor to the cognitive development theory was Lev Vygotsky.

Vygotsky was born in 1896, in Tsarist Russia, to a middle-class Jewish family; sadly he died at the young age of 38, due to tuberculosis. His father was banking executive and his mother was a teacher; although most of her time was spent raising their eight children. In school he was known as the “little professor.” As a young adult, he attended the University of Moscow, but his Jewish decent proved to be a struggle. Vygotsky studied law, but also dabbled in many ...

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...speech”. For Vygotsky, learning preceded development.

Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children's egocentric speech was an important part of their cognitive development. The two differed in how they viewed the purpose of egocentric speech. The main difference between social and cognitive is that cognitive development involves the construction of thought processes, including: remembering, problem solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood.

References

Crain, W.C. (2011). Theories of development: Concepts and applications (6th ed.).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Craig, G.J., & Dunn, D. (2010). Understanding human development (2nd ed.). Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.