Cognition and Development: Piaget and Vygotsky

A set of flashcards covering key vocabulary, theories, and critiques related to cognition, specifically focusing on the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky.

Clinical Method

A flexible question-and-answer technique used to discover how children think about problems, mostly used by Piaget.

Constructivist Approach

Piaget's theory that children actively create knowledge by building schemes from their experiences.

Cognitive Development

The process of growth and change in intellectual capabilities that influences a person's behavior.

Schemes

Organized patterns of action or thought that people construct to interpret their experience.

Assimilation

The process of integrating new information into existing schemes.

Accommodation

The process of altering existing schemes or creating new ones in response to new information.

Equilibrium

A state where current understanding of the world is consistent with external data.

Disequilibrium

An uncomfortable state when new information does not fit with current understanding, leading to cognitive conflict.

Zone of Proximal Development

The gap between what a learner can accomplish independently and with guidance from a more skilled individual.

Scaffolding

The support provided by a more skilled partner to help learners achieve understanding and skill.

Private Speech

Speech to oneself that guides thought and behavior, crucial in the development of mature thought.

Neuroconstructivism

The idea that new knowledge is constructed within the context of existing knowledge and influenced by genetic and environmental factors.

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Perspective

The theory that cognitive development occurs in a social context, varying by culture and mediated by social interactions.

Cognitive Conflict

The tension that emerges when new information contradicts existing knowledge, prompting cognitive development.

Individual vs. Societal Learning

The contrast between Piaget's view of development through individual exploration and Vygotsky's emphasis on social interactions.

Comparison of Piaget and Vygotsky

Piaget focuses on individual cognitive development, while Vygotsky emphasizes the social and cultural contexts of learning.

Critiques of Piaget's Theory

Underestimating young children's cognitive abilities and claiming broad stages of development exist.

Critiques of Vygotsky's Theory

Accusations of overemphasizing social interaction and assuming all knowledge comes from social contexts.