Comparison and Contrast of Piaget and Vygotsky’s Theories

Abstract

Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are the two most influential developmental psychologists. Their contributions to the field of developmental psychology, though different, are still similarly remarkable and unique. In spite of such resemblances, there exists a crucial, and generally unnoticed, the difference between Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories, and that this difference underlies the way each author addresses the concept of cognitive development. In short, which theory is more correct? Throughout this paper, we will discover what informs both psychologists' theories, how they are similar, how they are different, and why they have both remained so prominent throughout educational textbooks. Although never in direct competition with each other, the theories developed by Piaget and Vygotsky are often used in contrast with one another, since both offer learning theories with a significant difference, but still impacting on understanding cognitive development. Ultimately, discovering that neither Piaget or Vygotsky's theory is actively correct, but both are highly important to be aware of when education early learners.