Jean Piaget:
"Equilibration of Cognitive Structures" (University of Chicago Press, 1985)
(Copyright © 2022 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )

TM, ®, Copyright © 2022 Piero Scaruffi

Piaget's theory of knowledge (or genetic epistemology) Knowledge is constructed by each individual through her interaction with the environment, knowledge is a developing relationship between the individual and her environment. Knowledge is not simply absorbed, but it is also organized, for the purpose of adaptation. Knowledge develops through a process of self-organization based on feedback from the environment. The goal is to reach a sequence of progressive states of equilibrium through a process of "equilibration". Development is viewed as a progressive equilibration leading from a lesser to a higher state of equilibrium, i.e. as a progressive increase in equilibrium. The passage from one equilibrium state to the next is driven by maturation (physiological growth of hereditary structures), experience and social transmission, besides equilibration.
At different ages (developmental stages) the child exhibits different knowledge structures. The stage of sensory-motor behavior include: a stage of hereditary reflexes, a stage of acquired adaptations (one to four months), a stage of circular reactions (four to eight months), a stage of intentional behavior (eight to twelve months), a stage of directed groping (twelve to eighteen months), a stage of symbolic representation (eighteen to tweentyfour months). Through them the individual develops from a biological organism to a social one.
At this point the child is beginning to symbolize. Thoughts are actions that take place in the mind, and Piaget calls them "operations". At this point cognitive development begins. From concrete operations (seven-twelve years) the child moves on to formal operations (twelve-fifteen years) and eventually to the hypothetico-deductive thinking of adults. The construction of stages proceeds according to a law of temporal displacement, i.e. it is a nonlinear process of continous reconstruction of the constructions of earlier stages (relearning) at a higher level. This reconstruction provokes reflective abstraction, or reorganization of knowledge at a higher level.
Cognitive structures are forms of equilibrium between the individual and the environment. At each stage of development the process of equilibration is repeated. At each stage of equilibrium there is an urge toward adaptation based on feedback from the environment. At every cycle the structures of thought ("structures d'ensemble") become more sophisticated. Progress is driven by the need to find solutions to current problems and anticipating possible ones.
In the process of cognitive development a number of events occur: decentration (the individual becomes less and less egocentric), internalization (of action), temporal displacement, reflective abstraction, and awareness. Following Claparede, Piaget thinks that as long as the individual can cope with the environment she does not develop self-consciousness.