Comparing Piaget And Vygotsky s Theory Of Cognitive...

Compare and Contrast Using APA Style In the world of psychology, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are considered to be very prominent figures in the area of cognitive development. Both of these men considered themselves a constructivist, which entails a viewpoint that is concerned with the nature of knowledge. In their lifetime, both of them made contributions in the area of education and even after death, their theories still influence teaching methods. The purpose of this paper is to show some similarities as well as differences in the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky and what can be gained by having a better understanding of their theories. A Brief Summary of the Theories of Piaget and Vygotsky Piaget’s theory focused on†¦show more content†¦Piaget also theorized that each child acts on his own environment for learning, thereby constructing his or her own knowledge. He also believed that hands-on activities provide aid when learning future complex skills. Consequently, children will repeat these activities until they understand them. Vygotsky’s Theories Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of development suggested that to develop cognitively, children must have social interaction. He also â€Å"believed that this lifelong process of development was dependent of social interaction and that social learning actually leads to cognitive development† (Riddle, 1999). Vygotsky believed that children s social learning must come before social development. Vygotsky also believed that human activities take place in cultural settings and cannot be understood apart from these settings (Woolfolk, 2004). Therefore, our culture helps shape our cognition. Similarities in the Theories of Piaget and Vygotsky Lourenco, 2012 states â€Å"the main argument is that there are considerable resemblances between Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theories and that their differences can be relatively ignored. Among the similarities are a genetic, developmental perspective, a dialectical approach, a non-reductionist view, a non-dualistic thesis, an emphasis on action, a primacy of processes over external contents or outcomes and a focus on the qualitative changes over the quantitative ones.† In the developmental perspective, children move throughShow MoreRelated Cognitive Theories of Human Development Essay1183 Words   |  5 PagesCognitive Theories of Human Development Jean Piaget, known as the most important theorist; started the most comprehensive theory of intellectual development. Piaget was born in 1896, in Neuchatel Switzerland, and lived a full and significant life, he passed away at age 84. His father was a medieval historian, and his mother was a homemaker; she was highly emotional and her behavior disrupted the normalcy of their home. 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