Cognitive Psychology Essay
Student No.: 2013695
Vygotsky, Bruner and Piaget are a group of psychologists in the field of child development. In this essay I will compare and contrast their theories, placing emphasis on the similarities between Vygotsky and Bruner, and how they differ from Piaget’s theory. This is an important aspect of child development, and should be known by all childcare workers in order for them to understand child development, and give
Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist whose interests were quite diverse, but mainly based on child development. Vygotsky’s theory is called the social development theory and the three main themes were social interaction, the more knowledgeable other (MKO), and the zone of proximal development.
…show more content…
He was most widely known for his theory of cognitive development. He was intrigued by kids’ thoughts & behaviour, & worked to understand their cognitive development.
Jean Piaget pioneered the theory of cognitive development, and has been one of the most influential people within the area. Although he is very highly regarded, the work of Vygotsky and Bruner has often discredited the work carried out by Piaget. Piaget has influenced education, and child development in many ways some which are still being used in the education system today, and his theories and studies show that knowledge is acquired by active exploration. Jerome Bruner viewed learning as an active process that requires learners to develop their own ideas or knowledge using their current or prior knowledge. The most major influence on Bruner’s research was Jean Piaget. Because his early career focused on cognitive psychology, Piaget's theories played a large role in his initial studies. Over time, however, as he began to specialize more on learning, Vygotsky and his ideas on the Zone of Proximal Development and scaffolding came to be increasingly influential to Bruner's research (Smith, 2002). Each of Bruner's stages of representation builds off of the knowledge and information learned in the previous stage, or in other words, the stage before acts as scaffolding for the next stage. The theory
…show more content…
Both agree that adults should play an active role in assisting the child's learning. Bruner, like Vygotsky, emphasized the social nature of learning, citing that other people should help a child develop skills through the process of scaffolding. The concept of scaffolding is very similar to Vygotsky's notion of the zone of proximal development, and it's not uncommon for the terms to be used interchangeably. Scaffolding involves helpful, structured interaction between an adult and a child with the aim of helping the child achieve a specific goal. 'Scaffolding refers to the steps taken to reduce the degrees of freedom in carrying out some task so that the child can concentrate on the difficult skill she is in the process of acquiring' (Bruner, 1978, p.
Methods and approaches to teaching have been greatly influenced by the research of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Both have contributed to the field of education by offering explanations for children's cognitive learning styles and abilities. While Piaget and Vygotsky may differ on how they view cognitive development in children, both offer educators good suggestions on how to teach certain material in a developmentally appropriate manner.
clearly. Therefore, much about what experts know about mental and cognitive development is based on the careful observation of developmental theorists and their theories, such as Piaget's theory of cognitive development, which we discussed.
A well-known psychologist, Jean Piaget is most famous for his work in child development. In his theory of cognitive development, Piaget presents four stages of mental development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Piaget explains the adaptation processes that allow transition from one stage to the next. He also emphasizes the role of schemas as a basic unit of knowledge.
Children are like sponges, they absorb information as well as habits around them. Children have many interactions daily and these interactions affect a child’s learning development. For example, a child who is raised in a stressed environment is not as likely to succeed as a child who is not raised in that type of environment. That isn 't to say that a child wont, however they are less likely. Children learn through their environment whether it is good or bad. Children learn morals, values and even bias’s from the environment they are raised in. From my own experience, my parents shaped the person I am today. My interaction with them on a daily basis influenced my cognitive development. For example, as a toddler my mother explained she would put a book filled with shapes in front of me. My mother would play with me and show me a few shapes that would fit in the holes. She would leave me alone and I eventually figured out the different shapes and where they belonged. This is an example of interaction influencing the cognitive development of a child. Vygotsky also emphasized the importance of private speech and instead of calling it “immature” they were maturing. Children sometimes need to verbally explain to themselves an action they are doing. This can help the child understand better as well as be able to relate it to experiences later on. This private speech was a sign that children were moving to a stage of self-regulation. Vygotsky believed that children relate this with experiences. Whether it be from their parents or something they have watched on
Lastly, there is a zone of proximity that Vygotsky believes in. This goes along with his group aspect of learning. He believes that one learns better through life interactions. (Woolfolk, 2004) Similarities in Piaget and Vygotsky In the article we were supposed to read for class this week it says “there are seven similarities: 1) a genetic, i.e., developmental, perspective; 2) a dialectical approach; 3) a non-reductionist view; 4) anon-dualistic thesis; 5) an emphasis on action; 6) a primacy of processes over external contents or outcomes; and 7) a focus on the qualitative changes over the quantitative ones.”
Jean Piaget was a theorist which “who” focused on people’s “children’s” mental processes (Rathus, S., & Longmuir, S., 2011, p.10). Piaget developed (words missing) how children differentiate and mentally show(tense) the world and how there , thinking , logic , and problem solving ability is developed (Rathus, S., & Longmuir, S., 2011 , p.10). Piaget analyzed that children’s cognitive processes develop in an orderly sequence or series (Rathus, S., & Longmuir, S., 2011 , p.11) . But each stage show how children understand the world around them. – sentence fragment; should be joined to the previous sentence. Every child goes through the same development”al” steps but some are more advance(d) than others . Piaget described four stages of child
Furthermore, Vygotsky declares that knowledge is constructed by social interactions with people who surround the child. The author also presents the concept of “zone of proximal development” as the distance between what children do without any supervision and what they are not able to achieve unless a more knowledgeable person guides them through it. In other words, the zone of proximal development refers to activities children cannot do, though they manage to fulfill with certain level of difficulty by following their better skilled fellows' suitable guidance. In the educational field, teachers play an essential role on their learners’ developmental process. Educators serve as models and provide a vast range of learning opportunities that enable their students reach their next level of development and become more autonomous each
The differences these theorists have are how they view a child development just as the active role. For Piaget, the child is view as the constructor of knowledge where as for Vygotsky; the child is views as the co-constructor of knowledge. A child’s learning is subordinate to their development in Piaget’s opinion. In other words child are born with knowledge and learn on their own through what they experience by themselves. A child’s learning proceeds development in Vygotsky’s opinion. In other words, children learn from others as well with the help of a wiser and experienced individual. The similarities both these theorists have is that social interactions played an exceptional role in a child cognitive development. Piaget encouraged interactions and the most beneficial where the ones where the child interacted with peers their own age because children feel a basic equality. Vygotsky felt that social interactions leads development. Through interactions between children and adults cooperate in helping build meaningful constructions which learning therefore becomes a reciprocal experience where the children becomes the wise
Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory is focused on the belief that development precedes learning, specifically upon individual development of one’s knowledge through independent learning and experiences (Lourenco, 2012). Piaget’s theory discusses how an individual’s surroundings affect their development resulting in a series of changes in the understandings of their environment.
Jean Piaget is a Switzerland psychologist and biologist who understand children’s intellectual development. Piaget is the first to study cognitive development. He developed the four stages of cognitive development: the sensori-motor stage, preoperational stage, the concrete operational and the formal operational stage. Piaget curiosity was how children cogitate and developed. As they get mature and have the experience, children’s will get knowledgeable. He suggested that children develop schemas so they can present the world. Children’s extend their schemas through the operation of accommodation and assimilation.
Cognition is the process involved in thinking and mental activity, such as attention, memory and problem solving. In this essay on cognitive development I will compare and contrast the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, who were both influential in forming a more scientific approach to analyzing the cognitive development process of the child active construction of knowledge. (Flanagan 1996 P.72). I will then evaluate the usefulness of these theories in understanding a child's development.
For Vygotsky, children are seen as active beings on their development through social interactions with parents, teachers, and other adults, as well as by participating in their cultural activities. The interactions they have with other individuals and their culture opens their minds to new information and helps develop skills not previously attained. To further understand cognitive development in Piaget and Vygotsky’s theory, we must first look at the processes involved.
The two theories that will be discussed throughout this paper are Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development. The major themes and concepts of the two theories share both differences and similarities. Specific emphasis will be placed on the earliest years of life and will also be related to separation, individuation, and attachment theory.
The Critique of Piaget's Theories Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) was a constructivist theorist. He saw children as constructing their own world, playing an active part in their own development. Piaget’s insight opened up a new window into the inner working of the mind and as a result he carried out some remarkable studies on children that had a powerful influence on theories of child thought. This essay is going to explain the main features and principles of the Piagetian theory and then provide criticism against this theory. Cognitive development refers to way in which a person’s style of thinking changes with age.
We first need to know who created the Cognitive Development Theory. Jean Piaget was born in