Personality Theorists in Psychology - Jean Piaget - Term Paper Example

Personality Theorists of Psychology Affiliation Jean Piaget Jean Piaget was born in 1896 on the 9th of August. He is famous for his works linked to psychology particularly child psychology. He is credited for identifying Schema, the stages of mental development and cognitive theory. Piaget received his Ph.D. in natural sciences from the University of Neuchatel in the year 1918. He developed greater interest in psychoanalysis and went to study abnormal psychology in Paris. HE died in 1980 on the 16th of September in Switzerland. Piaget works included what is known as Piaget’s theory that comprised of four stages of cognitive development (Wadsworth, 2004). He spent one year working with Alfred Binet, who is known for coming up with the first intelligence test that the world ever had. Piaget’s father influenced him from his writings of history and medieval literature of Neuchâtel. He became more concerned on the value of systematic work. The mother was energetic, intelligent and kind but suffered a neurotic temperament that caused mental unstableness. This influenced Piaget to study psychoanalysis and pathological psychology. At an early age of seven, he already had characteristics of a scholar due to his interests in birds, mechanics, and fossils of secondary and tertiary layers. He is well remembered for his efforts as a ten-year-old boy when he published his first paper. One of his achievements was in 1925 when he became the chair of philosophy at the Neuchatel University. He taught philosophy, psychology, sociology and science. HE had his two children from 1927 to 1937 of both genders and spend considerable tie with the to observe their reactions to several experiments he was carrying out. The basis of the theories that Piaget came up with were from the many observations he made from his own children. Jean Piaget provided support that children and adults do not in any way think the same He was more concerned on the ideas of objective constancy, causality and intelligent conduct. In addition, he followed various symbolic behaviors such as play and imitation. These experiments made him learn how to modify his study in the direction of conversation to objects that a kid could possibly manipulate themselves. He concluded that children of the age of up to twelve years did not consider the constancy of material weight, quantity and volume of a lump of modeling clay. In addition, he noted that his own children between the ages of the first ten months did not have constancy and permanency of objects getting away from their view. His inner feeling made him put more effort in coming up with the various stages related to development of constancy that could not solely be studied through language but through use of concrete situations (Wadsworth, 2004).In his career, the main question that he wanted to provide an answer to was how the human knowledge develops. He was a genetic epistemologist; discovering the origin of different varieties of knowledge. Epistemology is a part of philosophy that is focused on getting the origin, extent, limits and nature of human knowledge. He was not only interested on the nature of thought but how it develops (Karplus & Lavatelli, 2003). Overview of Piaget’s Theory Before I discuss the main theory contents by Piaget, I will discuss some of the key ideas that helped him come up with the conclusions. They were nine key ideas; adaptation through assimilation and accommodation, classification, class inclusion, conservation, decentralization, egocentrism, operation, schema and stage. Adaptation included adapting to the world through accommodation and assimilation where assimilation is the process where individuals take materials to their minds from their surroundings. This means they change the evidence in their mind to fit it. Classification comprises the ability to put objects in groups using the basis of common features. Piaget used class inclusion to explain the understanding simple classifications of larger class. The idea of conservation states that the objects remain the same even after they are changed to have a new different look. According to Piaget, decentralization is the ability to change from one system to another system of classification as appropriate. Egocentrism includes a person believing that he or she is the centre of the universe, and all things revolve wound him or her. It is the inability to see the world of others and how to adapt to it. It is not to be confused as oral selfishness, but it is just another stage of psychological development. Piaget explained the process of operation that involved working something out in someone’s head. Children who are in the first two stages of cognitive development have to try things out, act, work out things literally as opposed to adults who can figure out things using their heads (Bee & Boyd, 2003). Schema, also termed as scheme, is the mind representation of a set of ideas, perceptions and actions that are interdependent. The last idea was stage which according to Piaget was a period of development where a child is capable of understanding certain things and leaving others, or all together (Krapp & Thomson, 2005). The theories of cognitive development that Jean Piaget is the pioneer were Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational and Formal operations (Karplus & Lavatelli, 2003). People try to understand the world through use of experiments and experiences. In the process of cognitive development, kids actively build knowledge as they explore and manipulate their world. In the transition from childhood to adulthood, they are able to apply all the learnt lessons and skills they require to survive in the world. Everyone has a stage that belongs to them among the four stages of cognitive development by Piaget (Wadsworth, 2004). Sensorimotor is the initial cognitive development stage. Sensorimotor, as the name implies, assists the infants to understand all the senses. It ranges from when a child is born to at least two years of age. It has six sub-stages. The contact of a child in this stage with the world is highly dependent on the movements and sensations they experience. When they come across a new thing or rather object, they probably shake it, put it in their mouth or throw it. The main avenue to understanding things is by trial and error. At the middle of the stage, the child seems to understand the aspect of object permanence. Piaget claims that an individual in this stage processes thought from sensory experiences through physical actions to comprehend their surrounding without judgment. Sensorimotor involves the child engaging in the environment through physical actions that include shaking, sucking, pushing and grabbing (Krapp & Thomson, 2005). It builds up the cognitive structures concerning the world and the various responses expected. The main lesson learnt in this stage is that objects still exist even when they go out of sight. Piaget asserts that the infant should come into terms with object permanence as they near the end of the sensorimotor stage at the age of two (Mooney, 2006). Preoperational stage is the second stage of cognitive development according to Piaget. This stage lasts from when a child is two years to when they are seven years. In this stage, a child makes use of symbols, words and language. There is limitation to the level of understanding the world since it involves egocentrism. A child, at this level, believes that all humans see the world they way they do. It becomes difficult to understand the idea of a perspective by another person. It also becomes a challenge to understand conversation. Children tend to be busy discovering themselves and their surroundings. The child seems to be oblivious that people have different feelings from theirs and the fact that objects do not have feelings. At pre operational stage, a child requires hand on experiences and representations that are visual to come up with conclusions. Experiences have to occur several times or rather repeatedly for a child to grasp the effect and cause of these connections. A child in this stage classifies objects by considering single features. Some children take toys as best friends and have so much and evident emotional connection to such things (Karplus & Lavatelli, 2003). The child starts to come into terms with spatial and numerical concepts and is able to distinguish between past and future. Much focus is however on the present and on physical situations and experience challenges in handling abstract concepts. There is a great assumption that other people view situations from his or her viewpoint. Concrete Operational is the third stage in cognitive development and last when a child is seven years to eleven years. They become less egocentric and start to view and understand things from other people’s perspectives. They use operation in thinking during concrete situation. Unlike in the first stage, a child can now comprehend conversation. At this stage, however, children remain tied to experience and may face challenges understanding abstract terms and deductive reasoning. At concrete operation stage, a child tends to be learning form the physical experiences and they begin to draw on the knowledge to conclude using sophisticated predictions and explanations. Having gone through various experiences, a child becomes more imaginative of events that are out of their lives (Mooney, 2006). They conceptualize and create the series of logical reasoning. It is also evident that a child acquires the capacity for abstraction. The last stage is referred to as formal operation and is experienced at the age of eleven and achieved by 15. It also sometimes extends to adulthood. At this stage, structures of development take the responsibility as the abstract way of thinking. It becomes possible to classify and combine items in a way that is sophisticated (Karplus & Lavatelli, 2003). The child or rather the adolescent develops an ability to communicate opinions regarding complex ethical issues. They are able to come up and test hypothesis and reason deductively. At formal operations, the child’s cognitive structures and knowledge base become ore similar to those of an adult, and there is increase of abstract thought. A child becomes more concerned with the future, hypothetical and ideological problems. A person at this stage believes that bad things and events did not happen to him or her, and they are unique, and all eyes are on them. The adolescents are now able to understand and their surrounding and ways to adapt to it (Mooney, 2006). Other feature of Piaget cognitive development stages claim that children have an invariant sequence. These stages are universal meaning that they do not vary from one culture to another. Each of these stages according to Piaget is logically organized as a whole, and the sequence is hierarchical. Each successive stage contains elements of the prior stage. The four stages do not merely show quantitative differences but represent qualitative variances in thinking modes. Working with children, Piaget came to conclude about what happens when a child develops all through these stages. He noted that the concept of equilibrium/disequilibrium was also significant in the stages of cognitive development. Whenever a child engages in an experience of interaction with their surroundings, a child yields results that reveal their mental model and possibility of assimilating the experience. The result is however regarded as disequilibrium if the experience resulted to something unexpected and completely new. Criticism Piaget’s theory has been subject of considerable criticism from various scholars and psychologists. Much criticism was directed to his research methods (Kanjirathinkal, 2001). He used his three children to carry out most of the studies regarding this theory. Scholars argue that Piaget used children who were from well-educated backgrounds and families that were of high socioeconomic status. The sample was underrepresented, and it cannot be used to generalize for the whole population. Another criticism was in the stage of formal operations. Researchers have argued that it is not possible for children to move to the next stage automatically. Various environmental factors play significant roles in the development of formal operations. Researchers have claimed that there is no existence of consistency of thinking in the various stages of development that Piaget compiled. An example is that of student who may be able to comprehend the conversation of numbers, but not able to comprehend the conversation of weight. According to Piaget, conversation occurs in the stage of operations regardless of the situations. Other studies have concluded that training programs can make students able to learn various concepts before they get to certain stages. This makes Piaget’s theory of development not relevant. The idea of egocentrism by Piaget has also face criticism since his experiments confused the children since it was not clear what he asked. Some critics say the experiments were so easy to understand since they had one or any relations to a child’s world (Marti & Rodriguez, 2012). On conservation, it has been argued that there are any challenges to interpret what a child is referring to in a situation when he or she answers that an object or action is more than something else is. Piaget’s work comprised of small samples, lack of controls and very less statistical analysis. This was criticized with the origin of logical positivism and empiricism that was in dominance during Piaget’s time (Marti & Rodriguez, 2012). Piaget identified the universal features of development of a child by observing their behavior in different situations. The small samples according to his were sufficient taking into consideration that the observer identified common structures to all people. It becomes reasonable to question the weight of Piaget’s observations because of how he generalized his results. Piaget used to little evidence to theorize his works. It focused on logical patterns of reasoning and did not consider other cognitive processes that are essential. In addition, his theory does not adequately talk on any social problem that seems to confront education today such as gender roles, equal opportunity, staff reduction and budget cuts (Marti & Rodriguez, 2012). Piaget is accused of underestimating the abilities in children. Most researchers claim that children have many abilities at an early age contrary to what Piaget states. An example is the theory of mind that asserts that a child at the age of four to five has a more sophisticated understanding of the mental process as the other individuals (Kanjirathinkal, 2001). Piaget used an action-oriented approach to come up with his theory. Piaget asserts that physical manipulation of external objects is significant for cognitive development. This has faced criticism as theorists claim that children who are born without physical capability are capable of experiencing normal cognitive development. According to Vygotsky, Piaget did not consider culturally driven influences as an aspect of growth of a child. Conclusion Piaget theory is highly respected ad applied in the psychological community. Other developmental psychologists have used the works of Piaget as part of their research. Without this theory by Piaget, most people would see children as smaller versions of adults (Karplus & Lavatelli, 2003). Due to his contributions, we are able to understand how a child thinks all through the stages of cognitive development. An examination of this theory proves that it is coherent, consistent and comprehensive. Piaget has provided much help to parents, and children and childcare workers to get solutions and be in a position of observing children development (Mooney, 2006). References Bee, H. L., & Boyd, D. R. (2003). The developing child. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Kanjirathinkal, M. J. (2001). A sociological critique of theories of cognitive development: The limitations of Piaget and Kohlberg. Lewiston, N.Y., USA: E. Mellen Press. Karplus, R., Lavatelli, C. S., & Davidson Films. (2003). Piagets developmental theory: Classification. San Luis Obispo, Calif: Davidson Films. Krapp, K. M., & Thomson Gale (Firm). (2005). Psychologists & their theories for students. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale. Marti, E., & Rodríguez, C. (2012). After Piaget. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers Mooney, C. G. (2006). Theories of childhood: An introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget, and Vygotsky. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Wadsworth, B. J. (2004). Piagets theory of cognitive and affective development. Boston: Pearson/A and B. Read More