Cognition is the process involved in thinking and mental activity, such as attention, memory and problem solving. In this essay on cognitive development I will compare and contrast the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, who were both influential in forming a more scientific approach to analysing the cognitive development process of the child active construction of knowledge. (Flanagan 1996 P.72). I will then go onto evaluate the usefulness of these theories in understanding a child's development.
Both Piaget and Vygotsky agreed that children's 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 Secondly Language - which human social and psychological processes are fundamentally shaped by cultural tools. Lastly the developmental method Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which is the concept that the potential of the child is limited to a specific time span. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.149-150).
Vygotsky believed that it was adults and the Childs peers, which had the responsibility in sharing their greater collective knowledge with the younger generations. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.149-150). This type of learning supports a discovery model of learning and places the teacher in an active role while the students' mental abilities develop naturally through various paths of discovery. Vygotsky argued that through social activities children learnt cultural tools' and social inventions. These included language, rules, counting systems, writing, art, and music. 3 Language for Vygotsky was a system of symbolic representation, which had been perfected over many previous generations and allowed the child to "abstract" the world. It provides the symbols for the child's equations concerning the world; Language came into three separate categories, which were Social, Egocentric, and Inner. For Vygotsky language was what made thinking even a possibility. Language is the difference between thinking on an elementary level and on a higher level.
