The developmental psychology of Jean Piaget: A quinquagenary retrospective

Abstract

Reviews the book, "The Developmental Psychology of Jean Piaget" by John Flavell (see record 2007-02163-000). According to the reviewer, the author' monograph, along with that of Joseph McVicker Hunt's (1961) Intelligence and Experience,was transformational for American psychology. The book was based on notes Flavell wrote when he taught a course in his first year as an assistant professor at the University of Rochester in 1956. The book itself is organized into three parts: (1) theory [250 pages]; (2) experiments [133 pages]; and (3) critique [41 pages]. The first section, on theory, covers key features of Piaget's system (e.g., structure, function, content, stages, methodology) and basic properties of cognitive functioning (e.g., assimilation, accommodation, schemas); it provides a lengthy summary of the sensorimotor period; and it summarizes the organization of concrete operations and formal operations, with heavy emphasis of the logical structures characteristic of these stages. It then concludes with a relatively short description of the equilibrium model, and presents some key ideas of genetic epistemology. The second section, on experiments, provides a straightforward synopsis of Piaget's empirical work. It starts with the early work on egocentric speech, judgment, and reasoning, and ends with learning studies conducted by Piaget and colleagues in the 1950s. It also includes a discussion of some of the validation studies conducted by outsiders. The third section presents Flavell's evaluation of Piaget'swork, highlighting what he considers valuable for developmental psychology and raising a number of criticisms. According to the reviewer, this work popularized Piaget’s work in a way that no previous book had, while at the same time presenting it in a way that made Piaget digestible and acceptable for North American audiences. At the same time, Flavell’s harsh criticism of Piaget’s theory and his puzzlement about the rules by which Piaget plays suggests that he did not fully grasp the purpose of Piaget’s genetic epistemology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)