Child Acquisition (Continued)

Jerome Burner Social Interactionist Theory

Bruner's theory proposed that social interaction played a key role in the development of language. He said that children use language to in order to communicate with the wider world, and also learn the linguistic code at the same time. He also argued that LASS (Language Acquisition Support System) should be used. LASS is turn taking during a conversation between a child & the caregiver, which is necessary for child development. This, when added to all the other theories gives an additional perspective of language acquisition.
He also added that no matter what age the learner is, they tend to learn better when they discover knowledge for themselves, and that students retain knowledge the best when they discover it for themselves. Bruner also argued that adults and children have conversations even though the child is unable to speak. The interaction between the two in non-verbal communication and games, builds the structure of language, long before the child can begin to communicate with a parent verbally.   

Jean Piaget Cognitive Development Theory

Piaget's theory helped with many central concepts in developmental Psychology  The theory concerns how one sees the world in "developmental stages", and acquiring new ways of representing information. Piaget stated that children go through 4 stages of Cognitive Development.

These stages are-

1-Sensorimotor Period-Lasts for the first 2 years of life, a child learns by using its senses & moving around. The sensorimotor is split into 6 sub-stages:- 1-Simple reflexes, 2-first habits & primary circular reactions, 3-Secondary circular reactions, 4-Coordination of secondary circular reactions, 5-tertiary circular reactions, 6-Internalization of Schemes

2-Preoperational Period-Last form 2-7 years of life,during which a child learns to use language. During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people.

3-Concrete Operational Period-From 7-11 years of life, is characterized by the appropriate use of logic. Children are able to transform different mathematical operations.

4-Formal Operational Period-Starts from age 11 & continues into adulthood,children become capable of applying mental operations to abstract concepts,and draw conclusions from the information available as well as apply all these processes to hypothetical situations. 

However, since Piaget constructed this theory, it has been attacked for numerous reasons such as-

Recent research has shown that he greatly underestimated children’s capabilities. For example, researchers have shown that babies achieve object permanence much sooner than Piaget said they do.

Children sometimes simultaneously develop skills that are characteristic of more than one stage, which makes the idea of stages seem less viable.

Piaget ignored cultural influences. Research has shown that children from different cultures tend to go through Piaget’s stages in the same order, but the timing and length of stages vary from culture to culture.

Some people never develop the capacity for formal reasoning, even as adults