Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s Theories
Understanding the learning process in human beings has always been a mystery of great interest to philosophers and theorists. Many theories have been formulated in an attempt to explain the process, which has led to the explanations of cognitive development that are currently accepted among scholars. There are two noteworthy theories in the field that were formulated by Vygotsyky and Piaget. The two theories are widely accepted despite the fact that they vary significantly. This essay aims at exploring what informs these theories, their similarities, as well as differences.
Jean Piaget developed a theory of “childhood cognitive development” in which he claimed that the surrounding environment impacted on childhood learning and understanding. Upon conducting several studies, Piaget determined that children are born with a basic foundational structure upon which they learn everything else. Vygotsky’s theory, on the other hand, was the basis of constructivism. He claimed that consciousness came as a product of social behavior. He further noted that it is through the communication and writing skills that humans develop higher intelligence levels (Thomas n.p).
One of the notable similarities between the two theories is that children learn actively developing from the already existing information. The authors are also in congruence that cognitive development is bound to decrease with time. Additionally, they both believe that conflict is the starting point of cognitive development. A notable difference is that of the role played by the culture or medium. While Piaget believes that learning is an individual process, Vygotsky credits the social aspect of the process. Piaget also advocates for universal stages of cognitive development while Vygotsky associates cognitive development with the duality of interaction (Mcleod n.p).
Irrespective of the differences exhibited in both theories, it is clear that they both present logical and congruent arguments. They not only explain the childhood learning and understanding process but shed more light on cognitive development witnessed in human beings. It can, therefore, be concluded that the theories play a significant role in informing the human learning process.
Works cited
Mcleod, Saul. “Lev Vygotsky.” Vygotsky | Simply Psychology, 2018, www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html.
Thomas, Gavin. “Piaget vs. Vygotsky: Similarities and Differences between Their Theories ~ LORECENTRAL.” LORECENTRAL, 26 Oct. 2018, www.lorecentral.org/2018/06/piaget-vs-vygotsky-similarities-and-differences-between-their-theories.html.