Piaget vs. Jung

Piaget

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• Piaget work has received world wide acclaim and recognition , as well as having a positive impact in areas such as education and social curricula. Though he had made an impact on understanding of the child cognitive development , his theory of cognitive development has suffered a great deal of critics that it neglects the social nature of human development. (Hook, Watts and Cockroft ,2002). So the following essay will discuss on whether this critic is valid or not based on detail discussion of Piaget theory.

The theory of Vygotsky shall also be discussed to prove that indeed social factors play a role . Piaget theory of cognitive development neglects the influence of social factors on child cognitive development. (Hook et al ,2002)As stated by Hook et al (2002,p. 190)in agreement with critics like Piaget theory gave insufficient attention to the ways in which children social interaction with their sibling or parents may influence their cognitive development” .

Justification of this critic is provided by the fact that Piaget (1952)saw children as lone scientist who sought to understand and build knowledge of their external world through interaction with the world . According to Piaget as stated in Siegel &Brainerd(1978)cognitive development depend on two factors , internal maturation and external maturation . That is children are incapable of learning some tasks until they reached a certain age When considering cognitive development , Piaget focuses on the mental processes that occur, rather than on the actual measure of the cognitive development.

Clearly justification to this critic of insufficient has been provided by the fact that Piaget sees children as the lone scientists who sought to understand and build knowledge of their external world their interaction with it (Hooketal ,2002). According to Piaget (1960)children actively construct their own cognitive world , he also stated that information is not just poured into children minds from the environment. Clearly this critic of insufficient attention to social factors was justified .

According to Piaget (1952)as stated in Hook et al (2002p180)”much of what child learns begin by accident –The child accidentally performs some action , perceives it , like it and then repeats the action assimilating it into her or his existing schemes . The above quotation provides evidence that Piaget theory neglected social factors that plays a role on cognitive development of the child. Piaget devised four stages of development pning from birth to adolescence.

The stages progress in an invariant sequence, a child moves systematically through stages and advancement into the next stage depends on the mastery of the proceeding one (1952) The succession of stages involves the movement through that four stages. According to Piaget (1952) Children must move through these stages during their childhood. These include Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concreteoperational, and Formal operational. Stage movement is an important factor of Piaget's definition of cognitive development, because Piaget (1960) states that there are a specific set of criteria that must be met and mastered at each stage.

In order to move from the first stage to the next, the child must master that specific set of criteria. (Siegel & Brainerd,1978) One may argue that Piaget uses biological approach, or biological adaption to discuss the cognitive development of the child. This includes our reflexes which occur when certain stimuli trigger an instinctive response. Piaget theory explains how child cognitive develops through an intellectual regulatory process geared by adaption to the environment. (Siegel & Brainerd,1978).

During this on going relationship with the environment the child exhibits certain organisations based upon assimilation, the taking in process of experience, accepting new encounters and fitting them into existing schemes, and accommodation , the reaction of the individual who encounters new experiences that are not consistent with existingschemes and so the person must change their scheme to accept or accommodate the new information(Hook et al, 2002,Siegel& brainerd, Piaget ,1960,Tryphon & voneche,1996 ,1978) .

Piaget felt that a baby is an active and curious organism, that reaches out and seeks to regulate a balance between assimilation and accommodation. This balance is what Piaget describes as equilibrium. Piaget considered the process of equilibrium an important factor in the cognitive growth and development of a child. (Piaget , 1952) This was the ground were he was criticize because he said that children must be allowed to do their own learning(Piaget,1952).

Lourenco & Machado (1996)in defense of Piaget theory realized that Piaget has took into consideration the fact that humans progressively develop or mature to higher states of cognitive development and realized that children acquire knowledge transmitted by parents, teachers ,and books, Piaget called this "social transmission. " Piaget believed that when a child hears contradictory statements that challenge established schemes, equilibrium is disturbed. Piaget called such a disruption in equilibrium cognitive conflict or disequilibrium.

When children experience cognitive conflict they set out in search of an answer that will enable them to achieve states of equilibrium. (Lourenco & Machado,1996) Justification of this critique was also provided by Vygotsky theory of development . Vygotsky (1929) believes that adults and child’s peers are involved in shaping cognitive development of the child. As stated by Vygotsky (1929) through social activities a child learns cultural tools and social inventions . These according to Vygotsky (1929) includes language, rules and counting.

Vygotsky theory is one theory that has provided justification to the critics that Piaget gave insufficient attention to social factors. Mentioned on the second page Piaget (1952) contended that cognitive development is constructed into four stages . The following paragraph will examine each stage individually focusing on social factors that he ignore on each and every stage. The sensorimotor stage is the first of the four stages Piaget uses to define cognitive development. Piaget designated the first two years of an infants life as the sensorimotor stage.

During this period, infants are busy discovering relationships between their bodies and the environment. Researchers have discovered that infants have relatively well developed sensory abilities. The child relies on seeing, touching, sucking, feeling, and using their senses to learn things about themselves and the environment. Piaget calls this the sensorimotor stage because the early manifestations of intelligence appear from sensory perceptions and motor activities. Through countless informal experiments, infants develop the concept of separate selves, that is, the infant realizes that the external world is not an extension of themselves.

According to Piaget(1952)

Infants at this stage realize that an object can be moved by a hand and develop notions of displacement and events. An important discovery during the latter part of the sensorimotor stage is the concept of object permanence. Object permananceis the awareness that an object continues to exist even when it is not in view. In young infants, when a toy is covered by a piece of paper, the infant immediately stops and appears to lose interest in the toy. After a child has mastered the concept of object permanence, the emergence of directed groping begins to take place. With directed groping, the child egins to perform motor experiments in order to see what will happen. (Hook et al, 2002) During directed groping, a child will vary his movements to observe how the results will differ. The child learns to use new means to achieve an end. The child discovers he can pull objects toward himself with the aid of a stick or string, or tilt objects to get them through the bars of his playpen(Hook et al,2002). The concrete operational stage is the third stage in Piaget's theory. This stage typically occurs between the ages of 7 and 12(Hook et al , 2002) During this stage, the child begins to reason logically, and organise thoughts coherently.

However, they can only think about actual physical objects, they cannot handle abstract reasoning. This stage is also characterized by a loss of egocentric thinking. During this stage, the child has the ability to master most types of conservation experiments, and begins to understand reversibility. (Piaget 1952,Maier,1978 and Hook et al , 2002). The concrete operational stage is also characterized by the child's ability to coordinate two dimensions of an object simultaneously, arrange structures in sequence, and transpose differences between items in a series.

The formal operational stage is the fourth and final stage in Piaget's theory. It begins at approximately 11 to 12 years of age, and continues throughout adulthood, although Piaget does point out that some people may never reach this stage of cognitive development. The formal operational stage is characterized by the ability to formulate hypotheses and systematically test them to arrive at an answer to a problem. The individual in the formal stage is also able to think abstractly and to understand the form or structure of a mathematical problem. Another characteristic of the individual is their ability to reason contrary to fact.

That is, if they are given a statement and asked to use it as the basis of an argument they are capable of accomplishing the task. For example, they can deal with the statement "what would happen if snow were black". Mental hospital in Zurich, a famous medical hospital. He studied under Eugen Bleuler, who was a famous psychiatrist who defined schizophrenia. Jung was also influenced by Freud with whom he later became good friends. Freud called him his crown-prince. Their relationship ended when Jung wrote a book called "Symbols of Transformation. " Jung disagreed with Freud's undamental idea that a symbol is a disguised representation of a repressed wish. I will go into that later. After splitting up with Freud, Jung had a 2 year period of non- productivity, but then he came out with his "Psychological Types," a famous work. He went on several trips to learn about primitive societies and archetypes to Africa, New Mexico to study Pueblo Indians, and to India and Ceylon to study eastern philosophy. He studied religious and occult beliefs like I Ching, a Chinese method of fortune telling. Alchemy was also one of his interests.

His book, "Psychology and Alchemy," published in 1944 is among his most important writings. He studied what all this told about the human mind. One of his methods was word association, which is when a person is given a series of words and asked to respond to them. Abnormal response or hesitation can mean that the person has a complex about that word. His basic belief was in complex or analytical psychology. The goal is psychosynthesis, or the unification and differentiation of the psyche (mind). He believed that the mind started out as a whole and should stay that way.

That answered structural, dynamic, developmental questions. I will attempt to restate the major ideas and terms in this book in a pseudo- outline. It will make the understanding a bit more clear.

STRUCTURE DYNAMICS

There are some channels into the psyche through which ene rgy can enter in form of experiences. If the psyche were a totally closed systems, it could reach a state of perfect balance, for it would not be subjected to interference from the outside. The slightest stimulus may have far-reaching consequences on one's mental stability.

This shows that it is not the amount of energy that is added, but the disruptive effects that the added energy produces within the psyche. These disruptive effects are caused by massive redistributions of energy within the system. It takes only the slightest pressure on the trigger of a loaded gun to cause a great disaster. Similarly, it may take only the slightest addition of energy to an unstable psyche to produce large effects in a person's behavior. Psychic energy is also called Libido. It is not to be confused with Freud's definition of libido. Jung did not restrict libido to sexual energy as Freud did.

In fact, this is one of the essential differences in the theories of the two men. It can be classified as actual or potential forces that perform psychological work. It is often expressed in desires and wants for objects. The values for things are hidden in complexes. The psyche is always active, yet it is still very difficult for people to accept this view of a continuously active psyche, because there is a strong tendency to equate psychic activity with conscious activity. Jung, as well as Freud, hammered away at this misconception, but it persists even today.

The source of psychic energy is derived from one's instincts and diverted into other uses. Like a waterfall is used to create energy, you have to use your instincts to turn into energy as well. Otherwise, just like the waterfall, your instincts are completely fruitless. For example, if you think that to get a beautiful wife, you have to be rich, so you direct your sexual drive into a business persona, which will bring you money. There are two principles of psychic dynamics. What happens to all that energy? 1. Principle of Equivalence. Energy is not created nor destroyed.

If it leaves something, it has to surface. For example, if a child devoted a lot of energy to reading comics, it might be redirected into a different persona, som ething like being Mr. Cool Dude! He then will loose interest in reading comics. Energy also has an inclination to carry tendencies of its source to its destination. 2. Principle of Entropy. Energy usually flows from high to low. If you have a highly developed structure (persona, for example), instead of equalizing, it may start drawing values from other systems to boost itself even higher.

Such highly energized systems have a tendency to go BOOOOM! So, entropy can destroy those high energy systems if they get too big. The operation of the entropy principle results in an equilibrium of forces. Just like two bodies of different temperatures touching each other would soon equalize temperatures. The hotter one will transfer heat to the cooler one. Once a balance is reached in your psyche, according to Jung, it will be then difficult to disturb. Tho se two principles influence the following: Progression and Regression.

Progression is the advance of psychological adaptation. For example, if you need a shadow (creativity, perhaps), you will try to develop one. When conflicting traits loose power, your psyche enters regression. Say, your persona and shadow are in opposition and because they are in opposition, they both would be suppressed, because neither would get enough libido, or energy.

DEVELOPMENT

During this stage, an individual establishes his/her position in life. His vocation and marriage partner are determined.

A person usually uses his Anima and Shadow to decide those things. Values are channeled into his establishment in the outside world. Once one is independent, even a small experience can influence him greatly. The Middle Age is the one often neglected by psychiatrists. Lots of people have problems in this stage. They usually don't know what to do with the energy left over that was devoted to establishing positions in society as youth. As the principle of entropy suggests, the energy is conserved, so once an adult put it to use, he must redirect it elsewhere.

Jung stated that those left-over energies can be usefully diverted into spiritual contemplation and expansion. Nothing much happens in old age. People have so much energy of experiences in their psyche that even a major experience won't upset their psychological balance. Often, society will force people to assume prefered types. Types are categories of classifications of psyches which are non-absolute and have no definite boundaries. There are eight "types. " Types are combinations of functions and attitudes . The following are the eight main types:

1. Extraverted Thinking Type. This type of man elevates objective thinking into the ruling passion of his life. He is typified by the scientist who devotes his energy to learning as much as he can about the objective world. The most developed extraverted thinker is an Einstein.
2. Introverted Thinking Type. This type is inward-directed in his thinking. He is exemplified by the philosopher or existential psychologist who seeks to understand the reality of his own being. He may eventually break his ties with reality and become schizophrenic.
3. Extraverted Feeling Type.This type, which Jung observes is more frequently found in women, subordinates thinking to feeling.
4. Introverted Feeling Type. This type is also more commonly found among women. Unlike their extraverted sisters, introverted feeling persons keep their feelings hidden from the world.
5. Extraverted Sensation Type. People of this type, mainly men, take an interest in accumulating facts about the external world. They are realistic, practical, and hardheaded, but they are not particularly concerned about what things mean.
6. Introverted Sensation Type. Like all introverts, the introverted ensation type stands aloof from external objects, immersing himself in his own psychic sensations. He considers the world to be banal and uninteresting.
7. Extraverted Intuitive Type. People of this type, commonly women, are characterized by flightiness and instability. They jump from situation to situation to discover new possibilities in the external world. They are always looking for new worlds to conquer before they have conquered old ones. 8. Introverted Intuitive Type. The artist is a representative of this type, but it also contains dreamers, prophets, visionaries, and cranks.

He usually thinks of himself as a misunderstood genius. Variations in the degree to which each of the attitudes and functions are consciously developed or remain unconscious and undeveloped can produce a wide range of differences among individuals. This book is an extremely valuable source of thought provoking logic. Jung wrote with common sense, passion, and compassion, and the reader experiences a "shock of recognition"; he will recognize truths he has known, but which he has not been able to express in words.

This book made me think about myself, and people in general. How people's minds work, including my own. I found a lot of "truth" or at least I though I did in Jung's teachings. I could relate some of the reading material to elements studied in class. One will be astounded by the number of Jung's ideas that anticipated those of later writers. Many of the new trends in psychology and related fields are indebted to Jung, who first gave them their direction. The book is also interesting, because of its challenging nature.

I suppose that not all people would enjoy reading such type of literature, since many people in this world are sensational types. I certainly did enjoy it, and have found out some things about myself in the process. The book is very well written. It has many good analogies and explanations which even the most sensational type would understand. The collection of information is tremendous. There is so much information bundled in 130 pages, that it makes you think that 500 pages would not be enough to really explain deeply the subject matter.

This book can be faultlessly us ed as a textbook, which could prove to be salutary in psychology classes. I strongly recommend reading this book to all audiences that want to. A person, content with the world around him, not wishing to challenge the puzzles of nature, should not. This book is a treasure for all who seek to explore the human mind. Our personality traits come in opposites. We think of ourselves as optimistic or pessimistic, independent or dependent, emotional or unemotional, adventurous or cautious, leader or follower, aggressive or passive.

Many of these are inborn temperament traits, but other characteristics, such as feeling either competent or inferior, appear to be learned, based on the challenges and support we receive in growing up. The man who did a great deal to explore this concept is Erik Erikson. Although he was influenced by Freud, he believed that the ego exists from birth and that behavior is not totally defensive. Based in part on his study of Sioux Indians on a reservation, Erikson became aware of the massive influence of culture on behavior and placed more emphasis on the external world, such as depression and wars.

He felt the course of development is determined by the interaction of the body (genetic biological programming), mind (psychological), and cultural (ethos) influences. He organized life into eight stages that extend from birth to death (many developmental theories only cover childhood). Since adulthood covers a p of many years, Erikson divided the stages of adulthood into the experiences of young adults, middle aged adults and older adults. While the actual ages may vary considerably from one stage to another, the ages seem to be appropriate for the majority of people.

Erikson's basic philosophy might be said to rest on two major themes:  the world gets bigger as we go along and  failure is cumulative. While the first point is fairly obvious, we might take exception to the last. True, in many cases an individual who has to deal with horrendous circumstances as a child may be unable to negotiate later stages as easily as someone who didn't have as many challenges early on. For example, we know that orphans who weren't held or stroked as infants have an extremely hard time connecting with others when they become adults and have even died from lack of human contact.

However, there's always the chance that somewhere along the way the strength of the human spirit can be ignited and deficits overcome. Therefore, to give you an idea of another developmental concept, be sure to see Stages of Growth for Children and Adults, based on Pamela Levine's work. She saw development as a spiraling cycle rather than as stages through which we pass, never to visit again. As you read through the following eight stages with their sets of opposites, notice which strengths you identify with most and those you need to work on some more.

Infancy: Birth to 18 Months Ego Development Outcome:

Trust vs. Mistrust Basic strength: Drive and Hope Erikson also referred to infancy as the Oral Sensory Stage (as anyone might who watches a baby put everything in her mouth) where the major emphasis is on the mother's positive and loving care for the child, with a big emphasis on visual contact and touch. If we pass successfully through this period of life, we will learn to trust that life is basically okay and have basic confidence in the future.

If we fail to experience trust and are constantly frustrated because our needs are not met, we may end up with a deep-seated feeling of worthlessness and a mistrust of the world in general. Incidentally, many studies of suicides and suicide attempts point to the importance of the early years in developing the basic belief that the world is trustworthy and that every individual has a right to be here. Not surprisingly, the most significant relationship is with the maternal parent, or whoever is our most significant and constant caregiver.

Early Childhood: 18 Months to 3 Years Ego Development Outcome:

Autonomy vs. Shame Basic Strengths: Self-control, Courage, and Will During this stage we learn to master skills for ourselves. Not only do we learn to walk, talk and feed ourselves, we are learning finer motor development as well as the much appreciated toilet training. Here we have the opportunity to build self-esteem and autonomy as we gain more control over our bodies and acquire new skills, learning right from wrong.

And one of our skills during the "Terrible Two's" is our ability to use the powerful word "NO! " It may be pain for parents, but it develops important skills of the will. It is also during this stage, however, that we can be very vulnerable. If we're shamed in the process of toilet training or in learning other important skills, we may feel great shame and doubt of our capabilities and suffer low self-esteem as a result. The most significant relationships are with parents.

Play Age: 3 to 5 Years Ego Development Outcome: Initiative vs. Guilt

Basic Strength: Purpose During this period we experience a desire to copy the adults around us and take initiative in creating play situations. We make up stories with Barbie's and Ken's, toy phones and miniature cars, playing out roles in a trial universe, experimenting with the blueprint for what we believe it means to be an adult. We also begin to use that wonderful word for exploring the world—"WHY? " While Erikson was influenced by Freud, he downplays biological sexuality in favor of the psychosocial features of conflict between child and parents.

Nevertheless, he said that at this stage we usually become involved in the classic "Oedipal struggle" and resolve this struggle through "social role identification. " If we're frustrated over natural desires and goals, we may easily experience guilt. The most significant relationship is with the basic family.

School Age: 6 to 12 Years Ego Development Outcome:

Industry vs. Inferiority Basic Strengths: Method and Competence During this stage, often called the Latency, we are capable of learning, creating and accomplishing numerous new skills and knowledge, thus developing a sense of industry.

This is also a very social stage of development and if we experience unresolved feelings of inadequacy and inferiority among our peers, we can have serious problems in terms of competence and self-esteem. As the world expands a bit, our most significant relationship is with the school and neighborhood. Parents are no longer the complete authorities they once were, although they are still important.

Adolescence: 12 to 18 Years Ego Development Outcome:

Identity vs. Role Confusion Basic Strengths: Devotion and Fidelity Up to this stage, according to Erikson, development mostly depends upon what is done to us.

From here on out, development depends primarily upon what we do. And while adolescence is a stage at which we are neither a child nor an adult, life is definitely getting more complex as we attempt to find our own identity, struggle with social interactions, and grapple with moral issues. Our task is to discover who we are as individuals separate from our family of origin and as members of a wider society. Unfortunately for those around us, in this process many of us go into a period of withdrawing from responsibilities, which Erikson called a "moratorium. And if we are unsuccessful in navigating this stage, we will experience role confusion and upheaval. A significant task for us is to establish a philosophy of life and in this process we tend to think in terms of ideals, which are conflict free, rather than reality, which is not. The problem is that we don't have much experience and find it easy to substitute ideals for experience. However, we can also develop strong devotion to friends and causes. It is no surprise that our most significant relationships are with peer groups.

Young adulthood: 18 to 35 Ego Development Outcome:

Intimacy and Solidarity vs. Isolation Basic Strengths: Affiliation and Love In the initial stage of being an adult we seek one or more companions and love. As we try to find mutually satisfying relationships, primarily through marriage and friends, we generally also begin to start a family, though this age has been pushed back for many couples who today don't start their families until their late thirties. If negotiating this stage is successful, we can experience intimacy on a deep level. If we're not successful, isolation and distance from others may occur.

And when we don't find it easy to create satisfying relationships, our world can begin to shrink as, in defense, we can feel superior to others. Our significant relationships are with marital partners and friends.

Middle Adulthood: 35 to 55 or 65 Ego Development Outcome:

Generativity vs. Self absorption or Stagnation Basic Strengths: Production and Care Now work is most crucial. Erikson observed that middle-age is when we tend to be occupied with creative and meaningful work and with issues surrounding our family. Also, middle adulthood is when we can expect to "be in charge," the role we've longer envied.

The significant task is to perpetuate culture and transmit values of the culture through the family (taming the kids) and working to establish a stable environment. Strength comes through care of others and production of something that contributes to the betterment of society, which Erikson calls generativity, so when we're in this stage we often fear inactivity and meaninglessness. As our children leave home, or our relationships or goals change, we may be faced with major life changes—the mid-life crisis—and struggle with finding new meanings and purposes.

If we don't get through this stage successfully, we can become self-absorbed and stagnate. Significant relationships are within the workplace, the community and the family.

Late Adulthood: 55 or 65 to Death Ego Development Outcome:

Integrity vs. Despair Basic Strengths: Wisdom Erikson felt that much of life is preparing for the middle adulthood stage and the last stage is recovering from it. Perhaps that is because as older adults we can often look back on our lives with happiness and are content, feeling fulfilled with a deep sense that life has meaning and we've made a contribution to life, a feeling Erikson calls integrity.

Our strengt h comes from a wisdom that the world is very large and we now have a detached concern for the whole of life, accepting death as the completion of life. On the other hand, some adults may reach this stage and despair at their experiences and perceived failures. They may fear death as they struggle to find a purpose to their lives, wondering "Was the trip worth it? " Alternatively, they may feel they have all the answers (not unlike going back to adolescence) and end with a strong dogmatism that only their view has been correct.

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