The Theories Of Jean Piaget And Lev Vygotsky

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When one thinks about the major influencers and contributors in the field of developmental psychology, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky comes to mind, for they had great impact as influential developmental psychologists. Both psychologists studied the cognitive development of children and resulted in many resemblances as well as many fundamental differences. For Piaget, he developed a theory called the Piagetian Theory, influenced by Kant’s Philosophy and the Evolutionary Theory, where development leads to learning, indicating that the “individual constructs his or her knowledge individually or solitarily” (Lourenco, 2012, p.282), completely in contrast to Vygotsky’s theory, called the Sociocultural/Sociohistorical Theory, “based upon Marxist ideas of political economy” (Sugarman, week 2 lecture, pg.2), where learning leads to development, believing that “one only develops as one participates in various forms of social interaction, using then tools and signs, tools and signs which are also social in their very nature” (Lourenco, 2012, p.282). In addition to both of these theories having similarities and differences, the two theoretical propositions come with implications, issues and considerations. According to Susan C. Nurrenbern (2001) in her article “Piaget’s Theory of Intellectual Development Revisited,” Piaget’s view on cognitive development was that “learners are active participants rather than passive receivers of knowledge” (p. 1107). Nurrenbern (2001) stated that