Piaget Versus Vygotsky

Piaget Versus Vygotsky W. T. LeGard (2004) The Open University

Jean Piaget Piaget (1896(1896-198 1980) 0) and Lev Vygots Vygotsky ky (1896(1896-193 1934) 4) propos proposed ed the classica classicall constru constructi ctivis vistt theori theories es of cognit cognitive ive develo developme pment. nt. Althou Although gh often often compar compared, ed, the conc concep epts ts diffe differr signi signific fican antl tly. y. Inde Indeed ed,, the the purp purpos osee of this this essay essay is to argu arguee that that Piagetian theory marginalizes the social contribution to intellectual development and that that,, con conseq sequent uently ly,, the the Vygo Vygots tsk kian ian appr approa oach ch offer fferss a more more accu accura rate te and and comprehensi comprehensive ve analysis. This paper will begin with an explanation explanation of the theories of  cognitive development propounded by Piaget and Vygotsky followed by a definition of constructivist and social constructivist theory. The superiority of Vygotsky’s theory will will be estab establi lish shed ed via via a crit critica icall exam examin inat atio ion n of Piag Piaget et’s ’s stag stages es of inte intell llect ectua uall development, his perspective on language acquisition, and the methodology of his classic tests. Piag Piaget et main mainta tain ined ed that that cogn cognit itiv ivee deve develo lopm pmen entt is a cont contin inuo uous us prog progre ressi ssion on of  assimilation assimilation and accommodatio accommodation n and that these complementary complementary processes processes lead to adaptation adaptation.. Knowledge Knowledge is constructed constructed progressively progressively via a sequence sequence of behaviours behaviours or  mental operations, what Piaget termed schemas. Piaget proposed that children develop mental mental representatio representations ns of the world based on physical physical or mental mental actions, actions, which they execut executee on the enviro environme nment. nt. These These initia initially lly reflex reflex behavi behaviour ourss are repeat repeated ed while while intrinsic motivation encourages the child to apply schemas to different situations. Assimilation occurs when the new experience is incorporated into an existing schema. The The exist existin ing g schem schemaa then then adju adjusts sts itse itself lf to corr corresp espon ond d with with evid eviden ence ce from from the the environment. Piaget called this accommodation. Finally, the schema adapts to the objects and circumstances, and is replaced with a constructed schema, producing adaptation. The child then achieves a state of (temporary) equilibrium (Smith et al., 1998). Piaget (1990) described four stages of intellectual development: the sensori-motor, the  pre-operational, the concrete operational, and the formal operational stage. Thus, knowledge is constructed sequentially and the child – regardless of social background − must pass through each stage of cognitive development in succession. These stages dictate the child’s cognitive ability. Children at the pre-operational stage, for example, are said to be unable to conserve. They fail to recognize that a quantity will remain unch unchan ange ged d if it is pres presen ented ted diff differe erent ntly ly.. More Moreov over, er, Piag Piaget et clai claime med d that that youn young g children’s egocentrism prevents the realization that other people possess a different mental perspective. This egocentrism can be observed in young children’s use of  language. The pre-operational child is unable to decentre and therefore participates in egoc egocen entr tric ic spee speech ch.. For For Piag Piaget et,, lang langua uage ge assis assists ts the the deve develo lopm pmen entt of conc concep epts. ts. However, it is insufficient to create the ‘mental operations which make the formation of concepts possible’ (Lovell, 1969, p.106).

Vygo Vygotsk tsky y agre agreed ed with with Piag Piaget et regard regardin ing g the the cons constru truct ctiv ivee natu nature re of inte intell llect ectual ual development. However, for Vygotsky, cognitive development occurs within a social contex context. t. Rather Rather than than constru construct ct method methodss of cognit cognition ion as an indivi individu dual, al, the child child approp appropriat riates es ways ways of thinki thinking ng throug through h social social interac interactio tion. n. A societ society y is produc produced ed through the construction and use of cultural tools, e.g. language. These tools are acquired during a culture’s development and forwarded to subsequent generations. As a culture develops, new generations may adapt a cultural tool. This is known as appropriation. Vygotsky perceived the child as a social being who is able to appropriate new patterns of thinking when learning alongside a more competent individual. He called this concept, the Zone of Proximal Development. This is the expanse between the child’s level of development and their potential development level, in collaboration with more more compet competent ent indivi individua duals. ls. Social Social interac interactio tion, n, theref therefore ore,, suppor supports ts the child’ child’ss cognitive development in the ZPD, leading to a higher level of reasoning. Vygotsky stated that language has two functions. Inner speech is used for mental reasoning and external speech is used to converse with others. These operations occur  separat separately ely.. Indeed Indeed,, before before the age of two, two, a child child employ employss words words social socially; ly; they they  possess no internal language. Once thought and language merge, however, the social language is internalized and assists the child with their reasoning. Thus, the social environment is ingrained within the child’s learning. Constructivist theory, then, proposes an exploratory approach to learning, focusing on the indivi individua duall learne learnerr and their their compre comprehen hension sion in relatio relation n to stages stages of cognit cognitive ive development. The teacher is not a distributor of knowledge but a facilitator who  provides an appropriate learning environment and encourages the child to formulate ideas, discover concepts and think independently. Social constructivism maintains that knowledge is constructed by an understanding of social and cultural encounters and  by the collaborative nature of learning. Social constructivist theory emphasizes the significance of adult tuition with the teacher occupying an active role. Piagetian theory does not advocate that children perform tasks that are beyond their  cognitive capabilities. The teacher merely prepares the environment for the child’s developmental level of mental or motor operations. Thus, the child is limited by their  developmental stage. The ZPD, however, challenges the child to work beyond their   potential. It may be argued that Vygotsky’s developmental concept is flawed and, indeed, the ZPD does have its critics. Foot et al. (1990) suggest that children working collaboratively with their peers are unproductive and remain off task for long periods. Certainly, the point is a valid one. That said, theirs is not a completely convincing argument. argument. Vygotsky Vygotsky cannot be held responsible responsible for the misapplication misapplication of his theory. Indeed, employment of the ZPD stimulates developmental processes only when the child child interac interacts ts with with the enviro environme nment nt and collabora collaborates tes with with their their peers. peers. It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure this occurs. Piaget, in accordance with Vygotsky, proposed that interaction with peers assists cognitive development. Such interaction – which requires the ability to decentre − allows the child to experience cognitive conflict, which may compel them to reevaluate their individual knowledge. Although this type of setting brings together  children at different developmental levels, cognitive conflict cannot be guaranteed,

2

nor, claims Piaget, can pre-operational children achieve it. Further, the developmental gains are not as significant as those that are attained through the ZPD because the disputes merely relate to opinion rather than to a specific cognitive task. For Piaget, the initial acquisition of speech is unrelated to cognitive development; it is simply an indication of intellectual progress. As the child ages, egocentric speech  begins to fade away. Piaget considered this evidence that the child was simply  becoming less egocentric (Oates, et al., 2005). This self-communication, however, can  be regarded as social-language imitation, not merely an indication of the child’s egocentricity. Vygotsky did not regard young children’s speech as egocentric. Rather, he perceived private speech as social and communicative. It is, he suggested, the  beginning of the internalization of external social speech. This communication with the self initiates inner speech and social dialogue. Inner speech is used to guide the child’s actions. Certainly, children and adults are known to partake in private speech when experiencing experiencing difficulties. difficulties. Indeed, re-evaluatin re-evaluating g Piaget’s Piaget’s egocentric egocentric speech, Vygot Vygotsky sky establi establishe shed d that that langua language ge is fundam fundament ental al in shapin shaping g though thoughtt and is an instrument of contemplation in ‘planning the solution of a problem’ (1986, ( 1986, p.87). Following various developmental tasks, including the ‘Three Mountains’ experiment, Piaget claimed that the pre-operational child was unable to decentre. Indeed, this conclusion is supported by Sheehy’s reproduction of the classic experiment. Mountain ranges, however, are not culturally significant to most children. Certainly, such a task  ignore ignoress the social social backgr backgroun ound d of the partici participan pants, ts, and this this suppor supports ts Donald Donaldson son’s ’s (1982) (1982) assertion assertion that the test is an unusua unusuall activi activity ty for young young childr children en who are unlike unlikely ly to have have much much familia familiarity rity with with model model mounta mountains ins.. Borke Borke (1975) (1975) replac replaced ed Piaget’s mountains with socially recognizable objects such as a house and a lake, and concluded that children as young as three are able to decentre. Hughes devised a similar point-of-view task to that of Piaget’s ‘Three Mountains’. The ‘Police Officer’ task is, however, socially relevant. Most children will not have been pursued by the  police. Nevertheless, children are familiar with the concept of hiding from another  individual individual.. Moreover, Moreover, they understand understand that punishment punishment is a consequence consequence of capture. capture. This comprehension derives from the social world of play and family interaction. As Donaldson proclaims, the task makes ‘human sense’ (1982, p.25). Young children, therefore, are not as egocentric as Piaget supposed. Pre-operational children, averred Piaget, do not have the ability to conserve. Piaget made made this this claim claim follo followi wing ng his his cons conser erva vati tion on expe experi rime ment nts. s. Howe Howeve ver, r, vari variou ouss researchers have argued that the types of question asked of the children are not soci social ally ly mean meanin ingf gful ul.. McGa McGarri rrigl glee (quo (quote ted d in Dona Donald ldso son, n, 1982 1982)) re-p re-phr hrase ased d the the custom customary ary questio questions ns and discov discovered ered that that childr children en were more more likely likely to respond respond correctly. correctly. Similarly, Similarly, McGarrigle McGarrigle and Donaldson Donaldson (1974) revealed that the setting and social context of the experiment can affect a child’s ability to conserve. Psychological research is best conducted conducted in a familiar and natural environment. environment. Indeed, Indeed, any formal assessm assessment ent or observ observati ation on is primar primarily ily devoid devoid of social social realism realism.. McGarri McGarrigle gle’s ’s ‘Naughty Teddy’ was introduced to lend social meaning to the situation and a greater  number of children were able to conserve c onserve when compared to those who participated in the traditional Piagetian task (McGarrigle and Donaldson, 1974). It has been established, established, then, that a significant significant number of Piaget’s Piaget’s claims, claims, pertaining pertaining to the cognitive development of children, must be disputed and, indeed, rejected once

3

the social aspect of development is considered. Piaget’s intellectual stages restrict the child’s child’s cognitive cognitive development development while while the collaborative collaborative nature nature of Vygotsky’ Vygotsky’ss ZPD motiva motivates tes the child child to work work beyond beyond their their potent potential. ial. Moreo Moreover ver,, cognit cognitive ive confli conflict ct necessitates the child to decentre – dictated by the particular stage of development –  and and gene generat rates es less less signi signifi fica cant nt deve develo lopm pment ental al gain gains. s. Piag Piaget et dism dismiss issed ed speec speech h acquisition as irrelevant to cognitive development. Vygotsky, however, established inner speech as a social tool that is used by the child to regulate action and thought. Various researchers have confirmed that devising and implementing experimental tasks that are culturally significant fundamentally affects children’s ability to conserve and decentre. Comparing the constructivist theories of Piaget and Vygotsky reveals the significance of the Vygotskian approach to socio-cultural aspects of development. Certainly, a social social constru constructiv ctivist ist method method presen presents ts a more more accurate accurate examin examinatio ation n of cognit cognitive ive development than a constructivist approach. Indeed, any study of child development must must cons consid ider er the the soci social al and and cult cultur ural al pers perspe pect ctiv ive. e. As Das Das Gupt Guptaa decl declar ares es,,  psychological theories must ‘acknowledge the influence of social context both within and across cultures’ (2004, p.39).

References

Smith mith,, P. K., K., Cowie owie,, H. and and Blad lades, es, M. (20 (2003) 03) Understand Understanding ing Children’s Children’s  Development , Oxford, Blackwell Publishing. Piaget, J. (1990) The Stages of the Intellectual Development of the Child , in Lee, V. (ed.) (1990) Children's Learning in School , London, Hodder & Stoughton. Vygotsky, L. S., (1986) ‘Egocentric Speech’, in Oates , J., Wood, C. and Grayson, A. (eds) (2005) Psychological (2005) Psychological Development and Early Childhood , Oxford, Blackwell/The Open University. Foot, H., Morgan, M. and Shute, R. (eds) (e ds) (1990) Children Helping Children, Children , Chichester, John Wiley. Donaldson, M. (1978) Children’s Minds, Minds, London, Fontana. Vygotsky, L. S., (1978)  Mind and Society, Society, Massachusetts, MIT Press. Bork Borke, e, H. (197 (1975) 5) ‘Pia ‘Piage get’ t’ss Moun Mounta tain inss Revi Revisi site ted: d: Chan Change gess in the the Egoc Egocen entr tric ic Land Landsca scape pe’, ’, in Smit Smith, h, P. K., K., Cowi Cowie, e, H. and and Blad Blades, es, M. (200 (2003) 3) Understanding  Children’s Development , Oxford, Blackwell Publishing. Oates, J., Sheehy, K. and Wood, C. (2005) ‘Theories of Development’, in Oates, J., Wood, C. and Grayson, A. (eds) (2005) ( 2005) Psychological  Psychological Development and Early Childhood , Oxford, Blackwell/The Open University.

4