Behaviorism V Mentalism


"Behaviourism" Explains How Children Learn


Jean Piaget

Piaget believed that learning is a function of the environment. His cognitive theories could be described as post-behaviorist in the sense that they not only allow for mental structures, they actually demand it. The unpredictability of sentence structures and possible utterances is necessary to explain the logical sequences of learning he indicates. He argues that there must be an understanding of basic practical concepts before we can begin to put ideas into words.

Piaget discusses two initial stages that he believes must occur prior to language development:

Sensori-Motor Exploration

In stage one, children learn by using the senses to experience and categorize or identify objects and activities and coming to a conclusion from the experience. These activities build and develop mental structures, which is a key aspect of Piaget's theories. Children also develop an understanding for what Piaget calls "practical schemes of action," which may be more familiar to us as simple matters of cause and effect.

Pre-Operational

The second stage occurs during the period before the mind can carry out logical or mathematical operations. Once children understand the simpler concept of cause and effect, they can begin to develop what Piaget calls "relational schemes of action," which allows for a more complex understanding of the possibilites of effect within a certain cause. This is also generally the stage at which language develops.

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