This research project explores the place of Jean Piaget in developmental psychology because he is the founder of genetic psychology, and a scientist, whose works have made an important step in the development of psychology as a science. A well-known paradox says that the credibility of a scientist is best determined by the way of how he slowed down the development of science in the field. Modern psychology of child thinking is literally blocked by Piaget. Perhaps, he has no equal among modern psychologists by the number of written books and articles, set of problems, the impact on research in various countries and the number of followers and opponents of his ideas.
In particular, the research focuses on Jean Piaget’s theoretical views. His main theme was the study of the origins of scientific knowledge. He studied the patterns of the child thinking and concluded that cognitive development is the result of successive stages of personality development. Piaget’s concept is the most developed and the most influential of all known theories of intellectual development. His theoretical views have been widely investigated. Many studies concerning the specification of empirical facts and almost no works devoted to the analysis of his theory. There are many Piaget’s interpreters, but none of them can escape outside the system developed by him. Using the appropriate methods, any researcher can reproduce the facts obtained by Piaget. Therefore, according to the American psychologist D. Elkind (1981), this is the most reliable facts in children psychology.
Piaget first realized, researched and identified specific and qualitative features of the child's thinking, showed that child's thinking differs from adult’s thinking. His method of investigation of intelligence is widely used in modern practical psychology. However, the main achievement of Piaget, which made him world famous scientist, was opening of the children's egocentrism. Thus, one can conclude that the Piaget’s doctrine is the highest achievement of the psychology of the XX century.
References
Elkind, D. (1981). Children and adolescents: Interpretive essays on Jean Piaget. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 250.
