Piaget

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This book report will focus on Piaget by Margaret A. Boden. It was published by the Harvester Press Limited in association with Fontana Paperbacks in 1979, in Sussex. It serves as an outline for Jean Piaget's theoretical work in psychology, biology and philosophy, and then offers a critique into the validity, importance, and influence of his ideas. This book report will offer a summary of the major themes outlined by Boden in her book, and then offer an analysis and critique into how the theory is presented.

Boden begins her book by discussing briefly some of Piaget's early life, background education, and inspirations. She explains that Piaget began his work in biology, receiving his doctorate at the age of twenty-two. Biology was considered his educational priority, but he also theorized and studied in the areas of psychology, philosophy and cybernetics.

Boden looks first at Piaget's contributions to psychology as this is what has garnished him the most fame and respect.

She outlines Piaget's successive psychological stages in the growth of intelligence, which are the sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and finally the formal operational stage. Piaget thought that from birth to the age of two, the child is a sensory being, and information is absorbed through sensory and motor activities. Piaget further broke this stage down into six sub-stages where in the first stage, month one, the child does not show any real learning, simply adaptation, and its primary concern is refining its reflexes. In the following stage the child refines its circular reactions, where they learn from repetition involving their own body. The third stage involves secondary circular reactions, where they enjoy repetition involving manipulation of their environment. At this point in their development, they understand that they are the ones causing the change in their...