Which of the following is a critique of Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?

Option 1 : Development of children is dependent on their socio-cultural context.

There is no doubt that the Swiss cognitive theorist Jean Piaget revolutionized the study of cognitive development in children. Although his theory received criticisms and has undergone various revisions over the years, it definitely provides a set of basic cognitive principles guiding much research even today.

• Piaget’s theory tries to unify how biology and experience shape cognitive development. He believed that like our physical bodies which adapt to the world, we also build mental structures which help us in adapting to the world.  

• Like many other theories, Piaget’s theory has also not gone unchallenged and gets criticized for the fact that Piaget overlooked the effect of cultural and social groups while studying cognitive development in children.
• For instance, in many cultures such as Wolof in West Africa, central Australia, and New Guinea, many of 10–13-year-old is not able to attain conservation successfully.

Some of the important ideas given in Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development include:

• Children are active beings:  Piaget saw the child as an active and independent learner. He believed that children actively and systematically try to make sense of their experiences to adapt to their environment.
• Children’s thinking is qualitatively different from that of adults: Piaget’s theory was born out of observations of children. When Piaget was analyzing the results of the intelligence test, he noticed that young children provide qualitatively different answers to older children. These observations reinforced his idea that young children and older children have qualitative differences in thinking.
• Development of children takes place by their acting upon the environment: Piaget stated that children construct their own understanding through interaction with their environment. He believed that the mind is the center of an organism changing and being changed by the environment.

From the above points, it is clear that the development of children is dependent on their socio-cultural context is a critique of Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.