The Child's Conception of the World: A 20th-Century Classic of Child Psychology

Piaget provides a developmental model of human intelligence. He outlines distinct stages beginning with the sensory- motor stage and shows how in each stages the child integrates what has been previously learned in order to expand and develop his powers. Instead of focusing on 'inherent and deterministic drives, or on archetypal eternal patterns, he focuses on capabilities which emerge through interaction between the changing inner world of the child and the world he meets. Piaget puts emphasis on Mankind as a 'creating and constructing creature'. His writing is complex and often abstract and difficult. But his ideas have been basic to the whole study of child development.