Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky :: Theories on Cognitive Development Process

Cognition is the process involved in thinking and mental activity, such as attention, memory and problem solving. In this essay on cognitive outgrowth I will compare and contrast the theories of Pi maturet and Vygotsky, who were both important in forming a more scientific approach to analyzing the cognitive development process of the tyke active construction of knowledge. (Flanagan 1996 P.72). I will because evaluate the usefulness of these theories in understanding a childs development.Both Piaget and Vygotsky hold that childrens cognitive development took place in stages. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.149). However they were distinguished by different styles of thinking. Piaget was the first t reveal that children reason and think differently at different periods in their lives. He believed that all children progress done four different and very distinct stages of cognitive development. This theory is cognize as Piagets Stage Theory because it deals with four stages of developm ent, which are sensori repel, preoperational, cover operational and formal operational. (Ginsburg, Opper 1979 P. 26). In the first stage sensorimotor, which occurs from birth to the age of two is the time in an infants life when the child basically deals with what is presented to him. They learn about physical tendencys and are concerned with motor skills and the consequences of some of their actions. (Thomson, Meggit 1997 P.107). During this stage children will learn the concept of object permanence. This is where an object will continue to exist even if it is out of sight. (Ginsburg, Opper 1979 P.48) The preoperational stage resist from two to seven years. In this stage it becomes possible to carry on a conversation with a child and they also learn to wager and use the concept of numbers. This stage is divided into the preoperational phase and the intuitive phase. Children in the preoperational phase are preoccupied with verbal skills and try to make nose out of the world but have a much less sophisticated mode of thought than adults. In the intuitive phase the child moves outside(a) from drawing conclusions based upon concrete experiences with objects. One problem, which identifies children in this stage, is the inability to cognitively conserve relevant spatial information. This is when, when a cloth is manipulated and no overnight matches the cognitive image that a child has made, that child believes the amount of material has been altered instead of just its shape. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.