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Theories of Cognitive Development: Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky

1083 Words5 Pages
Schemes are “mental categories of related events, objects, and knowledge.” They are known as the basic units of an intelligent demeanor. It is believed that schemes tell the individual how to react to specific situations. Lev Vygotsky was a psychologist and helped to lay the foundation for cognitive development. He is widely known for his contributions to the Social Development Theory. Vygotsky believed that social interaction plays an important role in cognitive development. He stressed the idea that a community greatly contributes to the “process of “making meaning”” (McLeod). He believed that a child’s development primarily appears socially. Children use what they learn from their parents and other people. Children see and hear the interaction between their parents and use that as an example for their own development. They also further this development through play. “Through child-centered play, children take on different roles and try out different language uses, all of which help them on the journey from being externally regulated to internally regulated in cognition. Through play, children become more competent in their language use and begin to regulate their own thought processes” (CDM). Vygotsky based his theory solely on the social interactions of children within the world and households. Jean Piaget was also a psychologist who is known for his contributions to child development. “Piaget 's (1936) theory of cognitive development explains how a child constructs a
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