Jean Piaget Child Development Theory. Piaget s theory is mainly known as a developmental stage theory. He disagreed with the idea that intelligence was a fixed trait and regarded cognitive development as a process which occurs due to biological maturation and interaction with the environment.
He believed cognitive development the emergence of thinking and memory functions to be the key element of the whole process with language development for instance contingent upon the acquisition of knowledge and understanding via cognitive advances. Jean piaget s theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through four different stages of mental development. Other theories of his time placed importance on environment or biology.
In his theory he breaks down development into 4 stages based on the child s age.
Piaget observed how children learn and adapt to their environment. Piaget s stages are. Piaget believed that cognitive development began at birth and lasted through adulthood. Jean piaget was a psychologist who focused on child development.