Jean Piaget's Social Theory

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Social Scientist Essay

Jean Piaget was a psychologist who studied theories on childhood development. He was born on August 9th, 1896 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland (Grimms, 2014) and lived until he was eighty-four years old. Jean Piaget started out with little interest in the sciences, but after he wrote many scientific papers and they were published and well known by the world, he went further into the study. He went on to study at the University of Neuchâtel and received his Ph.D. in natural sciences in 1918 (Grimms, 2014). Two years later, Jean evaluated results from a test that measured a child’s intelligence and also the connections between their age and their mistakes when tested (Grimms, 2014). The test made him very interested in the way children learn, so he went into more depth of this focus. After sixty years of having a career in child psychology, he had developed four stages of mental development, called the cognitive development (Grimm, 2014). Jean Piaget is well known for his field of scientific study that he developed. Jean Piaget was the first psychologist to study the development of children and the way they think. Over the sixty years that he studied childhood development, he was able to develop a study on cognitive development, studies of cognition in children and multiple tests representing cognitive abilities (Grimm, 2014). Jean’s work first started after he got his Ph.D. He was offered to work with Theodore Simon, and together they evaluated the results of a test that measured children’s intelligence and the connection between their age and (Grimms 2014). When Jean Piaget started doing this, he realized that he was very interested in the topic and it was what got him interested in child psychology. In 1921, Jean Piaget wrote his first article on the psychology of intelligence (Brainerd & Reyna 2005). He wanted to use his study to help people. He believed that just learning and repeating the same curriculum was not the right way for the next generations to learn in schools (Atherton 2013). Jean Piaget stated, “The principle goal of education in schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply just repeating what other generations have done” (Piaget, 1963). These works are just some of the many great things he has done with the field of child psychology. Throughout all of his work and studies, Jean was well known for the cognitive development he was able to develop. The cognitive development focuses on the process of acquiring intelligence and increasingly advanced thought and problem-solving ability from infancy to adulthood (Dictionary, 2014). He believed they thought differently then adults and it was not at a slower pace, or a less intelligent degree, it was just different (Singer & Revenson, 1997). For people to understand his theory better, Jean came up with four stages. The four
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His discoveries have allowed us to understand the way children develop and learn, and he has influenced psychology in many ways. His theories and developments have made a difference in the lives of many people and will continue to do this in the future. Many other scientists had tried to understand the concept of child psychology, but Jean was the first one who was able to understand it the most and develop theories from it. He has made it easier for us to understand the way children learn and how their learning develops. Without his theories or beliefs, people who have very little idea of how children’s brains process information. Jean Piaget’s theory also has a strong impact on Canada. Our education systems curriculums would not be how they are today if it weren’t for Mr. Piaget. The cognitive theory is well used through out other scientist’s studies’ in psychology, and also sociology, education and genetics (Brainerd & Reyna 2005). Now, in some preschools, the teachers are also referring to his theory of child development to help children learn in the most effective ways. For example, more children are involved with activities for learning (Jax 2014). This is because the activities they are participating in are more fit to their learning capabilities. So as you can tell Jean Piaget has had, and will continue to have, an impact on our society, as well as our

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