Piaget and Developmental Learning
Jean Piaget, trained as a biologist, achieved recognition as a child psychologist studying the. development of intelligence. He spent thousands of hours observing children at play and questioning them about their actions and ·feelings. He did not develop a comprehensive theory of socialization but' concentrated on how children learn to talk, to think, to reason, and eventually to form moral judgments. 'Piaget believes that children think differently from adults and that humans are bio- 'logically programmed to move toward rational, logical thought through a predictable series of developmental stages. By "developmental" stages, we mean that the learning of one stage are·necessary,to move on to the 'next stage. Just as the small child must learn tp walk before it can 'learn to run, it must learn audience to external rules before it can .develop self-control based on moral values. ·:I'he small child can learn literal rules ("Wash you .hands before eating!" "Don't pull kitty's · tail!") but. cannot grasp the purposes behind 'there Bad" is measured by effect not by · intent;' thus, to break ,another's toy intention Son worse than to break it accidentally.
