Piaget V’s Vygotsky

My interest in Cognitive Development led me to the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky. Both theorists address the role of language in cognitive development. Do children first master ideas and then translate them into words? Or does the capacity for language open new cognitive doors, enabling children to think in more advanced ways?

In The Language and Thought of the Child, Piaget claimed that language was relatively unimportant in stimulating the young child’s development of thinking. Piaget argued that major cognitive developments take place as children act directly on the physical world. The child discovers errors of their ways of thinking and modifies them to compliment their external reality.

In Thought and Language Vygotsky challenged Piaget’s conclusions. He claimed that human mental activity is the result of social, not independent, learning. According to Vygotsky, as children learn ambitious every day tasks, they engage in mutual dialogues with peers and adults, who assist them in their efforts. During these interactions, cognitive processes are socially, transferred to the child.

In order to evaluate these bold claims, it is essential to examine both Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s influential theories. Piaget (1896 – 1980) is recognized worldwide as one of the leaders, in the understanding of Intellectual and Cognitive Development. Piaget identified four stages of development as a child grows, namely, the sensorimotor stage; the preoperational stage; the concrete operational stage; and the formal operational stage.

Piaget also believed that individuals construct their own meaning (constructivism) through the interacting processes of assimilation, adaptation, accommodation and equilibrium, and the extension of schema, or ways of thinking.

According to Piaget the most important source of cognition is the child itself. The busy, self-motivated explorer forms ideas and tests them against the world, without external pressure.

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According to Piaget the most important source of cognition is the child itself. The busy, self-motivated explorer forms ideas and tests them against the world, without external pressure.

Vygotsky also believed that children are active seekers of knowledge however he didn’t view them as solitary agents. He constructed a theory in which the child and the social environment work together to shape cognition. Through Vygotsky’s studies, we can see how a child progresses through the stages of concept development and how adults, through the medium of language, provide the bridge of learning.

There are three underlying themes, which unify Vygotsky’s complex theory. The first being the importance of ‘Culture’, the second is the ‘central role of language’ and the third is what Vygotsky calls the ‘zone of proximal development’.

According to Vygotsky, in terms of development, the one thing that separates us from other animals is our use of tools and symbols. As a result of these we create cultures. Our cultures grow and change as we develop, and employ extremely powerful influences on all of us. They dictate what we have to learn, and the sorts of skills we need to develop. The second theme of Vygotsky’s theory, is the ‘Central role of Language’. Language is made possible because of our culture (tools and symbols). Social processes bring about the learning of language, and language ultimately makes thought possible. Therefore when a child is an infant, at the preverbal stage of development, his/her intelligence is a purely natural, useful capacity. As a child begins to develop so does his/her language. As a child begins to speak, his/her thought processes also begin to develop. At this stage, Vygotsky described three stages in the development of speech.

According to Vygotsky, language serves a dual purpose throughout life – for thought and social communication. Social processes shape language and thought.

The final theme within Vygotsky’s theory is the ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ (ZPD).

“The Zone of Proximal Development is the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. (Cole, 1962).

According to Vygotsky, the potential for cognitive development is limited to a certain time span, which he calls the ZPD. Full development during the ZPD depends upon full social interaction. The range of skill that can be developed with adult or peer guidance is far greater than what can be achieved alone.

There is little doubt that there is still much to be learned from both Piaget and Vygotsky, and in many cases the strengths from one theorist complement the weaknesses of the other. Both Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories are applied within the educational system which reflects the importance of their theories.

So without external pressure, can the child’s cognitive development, be explained by self-motivation? Or in contrast, do social interactions with adults and peers create cognitive development? This debate could undoubtedly be carried on for many years, however over the past two decades; researchers have carried out many studies to determine which of these two views are valid. Almost all the findings have sided with Vygotsky. As a result, children’s speech-to-self is now referred to as private speech instead of egocentric speech. Nevertheless, Glassman (1991) argued that it is wrong to see Piaget and Vygotsky as opposites, because they are similar in their central core. Piaget focused upon the natural laws of intellectual development while Vygotsky concentrated on the impact of social processes and culture. A union of both views might therefore be extremely worthwhile.