In 1997, I argued that with the loss of Piaget's theory as an overarching guide, cognitive development had become disjointed and a new metatheory was needed to unify the field. I suggested developmental biology, particularly evolutionary theory, as a candidate. Here, I examine the increasing emphasis of biology in cognitive development research…

Jean Piaget became a veritable institution unto himself in education and psychology, largely as the result of his developmental-stage theory advanced over the second quarter of the twentieth century. Not until Piaget was 73 did he make mention of John Dewey's work at Dewey's laboratory school, founded in 1894 at the University of Chicago. But here…

The study of development vacillates between a focus on change (i.e., studying how and why infants are so different from adults) and excitement about early competence and continuity (i.e., studying how capable infants are, and marveling at how similar they turn out to be to adults). The study of memory development has been no exception. This…

Bhatt and Quinn (2011) review evidence indicating that learning plays a powerful role in the development of perceptual organization, and provide a theoretical framework for studying this process. The fact that prominent researchers in diverse areas of cognitive development and adult cognition have commented on this paper (Aslin, 2011; Goldstone,…

The argument of this paper focuses on the relationship between cognitive structures and structures of interaction. It contends that there is still a place in moral development theory and research for a concept of moral stages. The thesis, in short, is that moral stages are not structures of thought. They are structures of action encoded in…

This commentary endorses J. Kagan's (2008) conclusion that many of the most dramatic findings on early perceptual, cognitive, and social competencies are ambiguous. It supports his call for converging research operations to disambiguate findings from single paradigms and single response indices. The commentary also argues that early competencies…

The authors offer a detailed and systematic critique of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, examining it in relation to other theories of development. Chapter 1 points out some of the problems in building and evaluating scientific theories and considers contrasting approaches to cognitive development (including those which focus on…

Describes three unique characteristics of adult thought: (1) an understanding of the relativistic nature of knowledge, (2) an acceptance of contradiction as a part of reality, and (3) an integrative approach to thinking. Analysis of the philosophical foundations of these characteristics is followed by critical examination of current studies of…

Outlines a life-span model which extends Piaget's theory of cognitive development to adulthood. (SS)

Examines the relationship between class inclusion and age and indicates that class inclusion frequently appears to develop at a much later age than is suggested in Piaget's writings. (Author/MP)

Deals with the changes in imagination that take place from childhood to adulthood. (CB)

This commentary on the article by Demetriou et al. in this monograph focuses on three problems in neo-Piagetian theory, namely, the problems of (1) developmental domains; (2) reflective abstraction, or metacognition; and (3) representation, which involves considerations of what knowledge consists of, how it emerges, and how it relates to reality.…

Attempts to clarify issues related to three problems in neo-Piagetian theory, namely, the problems of developmental domains; reflective abstraction, or hypercognition; and representation, or knowledge. Concerning domains, answers three questions: (1) What is a domain?; (2) How are domains identified?; and (3) What happens to domains as they…

Children's acquisition of developmental milestones is examined within the framework of a developmental-interactive system. Piaget's stages of cognitive development are reviewed and developmental aspects of language acquisition including inner language and expressive language are discussed. (JMB)

Explores the relationship between Piaget's work on awareness and aspects of language development, pointing out continuities and discontinuities between the two areas of development. (Author/RH)