Publisher Description

Piagets influence on psychology has been profound. His pathbreaking investigations and theories of cognitive development have set child psychology moving in entirely new directions. His bold speculations have provided the inspiration for the work of others. His studies have been the subject of many books and countless articles. And, significantly, his influence has spread to other disciplines and is having an ever-growing impact on the general culture at large.Here Jean Piaget, with the assistance of his long-time collaborator Brbel Inhelder, offers a definitive presentation of the developmental psychology he has elaborated over the last forty years. This comprehensive synthesis traces each stage of the childs cognitive development, over the entire period of childhood, from infancy to adolescence.

Author Biography

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was one of the major figures of twentieth-century psychology and a pioneer in the study of child development. Brbel Inhelder (1913-1977) was a Swiss developmental psychologist well-known for her collaboration with Jean Piaget.

Table of Contents

* Introduction The Sensori-Motor Level * Sensori-motor Intelligence * The Construction of Reality * The Cognitive Aspect of Sensori-motor Reactions * The Affective Aspect of Sensori-motor Reactions The Development of Perception * Perceptual Consistencies and Perceptual Causality * Field Effects * The Perceptual Activities * Perceptions, Concepts, and Operations The Semiotic or Symbolic Function * The Semiotic Function and Imitation * Symbolic Play * Drawing * Mental Images * Memory and the Structure of Image-Memories * Language The Concrete Operations of Thought and Interpersonal Relations * The Three Levels in the Transition from Action to Operation * The Genesis of the Concrete Operations * Representation of the Universe: Causality and Chance * Social and Affective Interactions * Moral Feelings and Judgments * Conclusion The Preadolescent and the Propositional Operations * Formal Thought and the Combinatorial System * The Two Reversibilities * The Formal Operatory Schemes * The Induction of Laws and the Dissociation of Factors * The Affective Transformations * Conclusion: Factors in Mental Development

Review

"A careful reading of The Psychology of the Child" reveals the fruitful intuition of one of the twentieth century's most imaginative scholars."--Jerome Kagan, Harvard University
"An outstanding introduction to Piaget's work."--Publishers Weekly
"Because Piaget asked new questions--cognitive-organismic questions--the whole train of developmental research has been turned in a new direction. A rare treat is in store for the reader."--American Journal of Psychiatry

Kirkus US Review

A reduction, rather than a simplification, of Piaget's findings and tenets in child psychology ("the child explains the man") which makes available in one short volume what has appeared in many longer predecessors. Important as a preliminary introduction and synthesis (but not intended as a "substitute for reading the other volumes") of the Swiss psychologist's exploration of cognitive development. (Kirkus Reviews)

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