Piaget’s theory is about looking at the world and the different theories and understandings that children have about the exploration of the environment. Piaget had three main points he looked at these were:
- assimilation
- accommodation
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Equilibration.
Piaget believed that all babies, toddlers and children grow with the same skills and strategies of the environment. Because of his theory ‘Piaget proposed a fixed sequence of four major stages, each growing out of the one that preceded it, and each consisting of a more or less complete system or organisation of concepts, strategies and assumptions.’ According to Bee, H. & Boyd, D. (2004) The Developing Child. London: Pearson Education, Inc
Piaget’s stages of development:
Table found from: (Stretch, B. & Whitehouse, M. (eds.) (2010) Health and Social Care BTEC National Level 3 Book 1. England: Pearson Education Ltd.)
Kelly:
George Kelly (1905-1966) made a theory of his own called the ‘Psychology of Personal Constructs.’
Kelly saw a human being an individual, he would use a person as a scientist, testing them about the future and revising someone to gather information. Kelly uses someone to understand there meaning of the world through their personal experiences. Kelly wanted to see the world through someone’s own eyes and not using examples from other peoples.
‘Kelly’s dissatisfaction with both Freudian and behaviourist theories led him to propose a model of the human being which was radically different from any model previously put forward, namely man the scientist.’
If a person was to have a disability such as blindness in their teenage years then instead of seeing it as a problem, they could use it as an advantage, for example raising money for awareness, charity events or helping other people. By doing this they beat there disability instead of it taking over there life and going into a down ward spiral.
‘Kelly believed that we do not have to be constrained by our past history but can seek out new, alternative, more positive meanings.’
George Kelly believed that people believe who they are by how other people portray us. We do not have a positive meaning of which we are only what other people mention about us.
For example, if someone says that not smoking or drinking while at parties isn’t the ‘normal’ or ‘cool’ then people’s behaviour changes to fit in.
‘We build up a continuous and changing picture of ourselves out of our interaction with others.’
Information found from:
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(Stretch, B. & Whitehouse, M. (eds.) (2010) Health and Social Care BTEC National Level 3 Book 1. England: Pearson Education Ltd.)
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(Gross, R. (1999) Psychology, The science of mind and behaviour. Bath: Hodder & Stoughton. p.523).
