What do you think?
Rate this book
The Psychology of the Child
The definitive account of renowned psychologist Jean Piaget’s work on children’s cognitive development.
Jean Piaget’s influence on child psychology is unmatched. His pathbreaking investigations and theories of cognitive development sent psychological research in new directions, and his influence has an ever-growing impact on the culture at large.
In The Psychology of the Child , Jean Piaget and his long-time collaborator Bärbel Inhelder offer a definitive presentation of Piaget’s research and theories of how cognitive processes develop. Through intensive interviews and observations, Piaget realized that cognition develops over time, in response to one’s environment, and with exposure to new information. Through his exemplary descriptions of a child’s cognitive development from infancy to adolescence, this classic book gives readers a broad and nuanced understanding of how intelligence unfolds.
Jean Piaget’s influence on child psychology is unmatched. His pathbreaking investigations and theories of cognitive development sent psychological research in new directions, and his influence has an ever-growing impact on the culture at large.
In The Psychology of the Child , Jean Piaget and his long-time collaborator Bärbel Inhelder offer a definitive presentation of Piaget’s research and theories of how cognitive processes develop. Through intensive interviews and observations, Piaget realized that cognition develops over time, in response to one’s environment, and with exposure to new information. Through his exemplary descriptions of a child’s cognitive development from infancy to adolescence, this classic book gives readers a broad and nuanced understanding of how intelligence unfolds.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
230 people are currently reading
5520 people want to read
About the author
Jean Piaget
351 books668 followersJean Piaget (1896 - 1980) was a Swiss philosopher, natural scientist and developmental theorist, well known for his work studying children, his theory of cognitive development, and his epistemological view called "genetic epistemology." In 1955, he created the International Centre for Genetic Epistemology in Geneva and directed it until his death in 1980. According to Ernst von Glasersfeld, Jean Piaget was "the great pioneer of the constructivist theory of knowing."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
March 13, 2012
Hard going, especially when reading it while raising a couple of high energy children. Best used as a reference book. It is dense and the language somewhat archaic, but I did gain some very useful insights into the child's cognitive development through persevering through this work. An example, the development of abstract concepts...where do dreams come from? Very young children might say "my pillow" or similar external source. What are thoughts? Dr Piaget traces the child's responses to this and many other concepts through stages of cognitive development from infancy to adolescence. This helped me enormously in terms of understanding what my children could handle at various stages. It was exciting when I recognised in them, thanks to this book, that they had reached another milestone of development, particularly the leap from concrete to abstract abilities around age 9-11 yrs. Many other books are based on this work and it may well be that these would be easier references for busy parents, but I found this a solid base for the challenging role of parenting.
June 7, 2023
By today's standards, this is an old book on cognitive development until adolescence. Basically it describes the 4 stages of cognitive development, postulated and researched by Jean Piaget and collaborator Barbel Inhelder.
A more advanced view would include a post-formal stage (or stages*). We know that, however, the sort of "experimentation" Piaget took recourse to, had received some criticism, as well as the logical or mathematical theory under which he formalised this sequence of stages.
To me, he was a kind of philosopher, who, trying to overcome both the rationalist and empiricist positions in Epistemology, created a new view point: Genetic Epistemology. Pertinent, still.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postfor...
May 23, 2009
After reading Margaret Donaldson's wonderful 'Children's Minds,' I wanted more immersion in the source material covered second hand in my teaching credential program. Piaget was a god, but we never read him. Now, after struggling through this summary of his work produced for a broader audience, I can tell you Piaget is very, very challenging to read, even in 'dumbed-down' form. In the future, I might use excerpts from this as an example of dense prose requiring full engagement when I tell children that adults often have trouble understanding what they read, too. The effort sometimes rewarded me, but it was a real and serious effort.
February 26, 2022
I am so glad this was not a long book as I don't think I would have finished it. I have worked in developmental intervention for almost 30 years and have a degree in Psychology. I finished this book and not sure if I comprehend anything from it. I know it was translated but this book certainly is not a causal read and I understood the general concepts presented only from my degree and experience but the level of complexity in writing of this book is unbelievable. It was a gift from my daughter so I was determined to finish it.
December 18, 2024
Apesar de ser um livro curto e introdutório, é muito técnico e de difícil compreensão para um leitor comum como eu. Grande parte dele é voltada à descrição de experimentos, e a edição brasileira seria bem melhor se fosse enriquecida com ilustrações e fotos dos procedimentos. Em todo caso, o tema é fascinante.
April 7, 2016
Definitely more academic than practical use-oriented, so keep that in mind. It is a short lil book though, and not horrifically dense as academic things go.
I liked this because I love psych (one of my undergrad minors), and because I'm working with kids right now. It's fun to read Piaget's classic theories on how their methods and pathways of thought are foundations upon which specific, future methods of thought will build.
Here's a quote on symbolic play in young children, and about how it essentially allows them to make sense of reality on their own term before incorporating the world's rules on it, that I really liked:
I liked this because I love psych (one of my undergrad minors), and because I'm working with kids right now. It's fun to read Piaget's classic theories on how their methods and pathways of thought are foundations upon which specific, future methods of thought will build.
Here's a quote on symbolic play in young children, and about how it essentially allows them to make sense of reality on their own term before incorporating the world's rules on it, that I really liked:
"Play transforms reality by assimilation to the needs of the self, whereas imitation is accomodation to external models.... The symbols characteristic of symbolic play are borrowed from imitation as instruments, but not used to accurately picture external reality. Rather, imitation serves as a means of evocation to achieve playful assimilation. Thus, symbolic play is not merely an assimilation of reality to the self, as is play in general, but an assimilation made possible (and reinforced) by a symbolic "language" that is developed by the self and is capable of being modified according to its needs."
June 20, 2017
Cok teorik cok. Profesyonel ugrasmiyorsaniz konuyla ilgili yeniden dusunun kitabi okumak icin.
February 11, 2012
A dry, highly technical and formalized schematic primer of Piaget's attack on behaviorism and associationism, etc. Not the general survey I was looking for...
April 20, 2023
En väldigt konkret genomgång av barns tänkande. Om man är intresserad av ämnet är det inte ett tidsslöseri.
December 6, 2014
كتاب رائع حقا ولكن كما تعودنا من العملاق جين بياجيت قمة في الصعوبة و الدقة العلمية....يطفوا على اسلوبه الاستخدام الغزير للمصطلحات العلمية مع الاحتفاظ بالتفاصيل الدقيقة للعمليات العلمية...
كتاب صعب جدا علميا ولغويا...والترجمة الدنماركية لم تساعد في تبسيط هذا الجانب علي...بل العكس لان ليس لدي المام مقبول بالمصطلحات النفسية والمنطقية في هذه اللغة....ولكن مع هذا استطعت ان اهضم محتوى الكتاب واخرج بفهم ابهرني وشوقني على الاستمرار في الغوص في عالم بياجيت الساحر...
يناقش بياجيت التطور المعرفي, العقلي والادراكي لدى الاطفال وكيف مرورها بمراحل عمرية محددة....ومدى تاثير العمليات الحسية والحركية في نضوج هذه العوامل...
_________________
Great and solid book, and as I already known with the style of the Giant Jean Piaget this book is a pinnacle in difficulty and scientific rigor....
His style floats with heavy use of scientific terms while retaining the precise details of scientific operations ...
A very difficult book scientifically and linguistically....and the Danish translation did not help simplify this side.... Actually it gave the opposite results, because of my lack of knowledge in the psychological and logical terms regarding this language......nonetheless I was able to digest the content of this book and successfully grasp the essence of this marvelous teaching....
Piaget discusses the cognitive and mental development in children and how they mature gradually upon passing some specific age stages .... and also the crucial impact of senso-motor processes in the maturation of these factors...
كتاب صعب جدا علميا ولغويا...والترجمة الدنماركية لم تساعد في تبسيط هذا الجانب علي...بل العكس لان ليس لدي المام مقبول بالمصطلحات النفسية والمنطقية في هذه اللغة....ولكن مع هذا استطعت ان اهضم محتوى الكتاب واخرج بفهم ابهرني وشوقني على الاستمرار في الغوص في عالم بياجيت الساحر...
يناقش بياجيت التطور المعرفي, العقلي والادراكي لدى الاطفال وكيف مرورها بمراحل عمرية محددة....ومدى تاثير العمليات الحسية والحركية في نضوج هذه العوامل...
_________________
Great and solid book, and as I already known with the style of the Giant Jean Piaget this book is a pinnacle in difficulty and scientific rigor....
His style floats with heavy use of scientific terms while retaining the precise details of scientific operations ...
A very difficult book scientifically and linguistically....and the Danish translation did not help simplify this side.... Actually it gave the opposite results, because of my lack of knowledge in the psychological and logical terms regarding this language......nonetheless I was able to digest the content of this book and successfully grasp the essence of this marvelous teaching....
Piaget discusses the cognitive and mental development in children and how they mature gradually upon passing some specific age stages .... and also the crucial impact of senso-motor processes in the maturation of these factors...
January 25, 2010
Piaget was a genius, for sure. Thank goodness for a condensed volume of his theories, because I doubt I will ever get through his other stuff. This is an incredibly dense little volume that requires a great deal of concentration to follow (and even then certain parts eluded me entirely - like every time the subject was mathematical concepts). Beyond commenting on the writing itself I can only say there is a reason Piaget's work (as well as the man himself) is venerated.
January 3, 2016
The development of our being starts since we were a child, this means that every experience counts, one question might be How can we help a child to have a correct development?
In this book, Piaget teaches the different stages of the psychology development of a person, from birth to adolescence, a well understanding of this we'll give us the tools to raise our kids in a better way.
In this book, Piaget teaches the different stages of the psychology development of a person, from birth to adolescence, a well understanding of this we'll give us the tools to raise our kids in a better way.
September 1, 2014
This is the seminal book on modern childhood education and development. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is entering or considering to enter into the field of education. I still have my well-worn, original copy with all my penciled commentary in the margins.
February 3, 2016
Very dull. I know Jean Piaget is a master of child psychology, but this book was too theoretical and difficult to read since its writing style was so archaic. It might work as an academic book, but I was looking for something more practical for my line of work and this did not help very much.
February 6, 2021
Piaget is very challenging to read. Even in this slimmed, summarized version it was difficult for me to make it more than a few pages in a sitting. The early chapters (corresponding to earlier in a child's life) are better: easier to understand, more succinct, and personally more revelant. The later chapters about development of intelligence and socialization I found nearly incomprehensible and a little out of date.
Most interesting to me was how frequently I found myself remarking, "wow they have to learn that" when reading a section. We all know about the development of object permanence and how consequential that is but I did not know just how many stages there are. The child must learn not only that the object still exists when it disappears behind a screen, but that it exists behind the screen. If you take a object from behind screen A and then put it behind screen B, at first babies will look for it at screen A because that is where it came from last time. Solving this "tunnel problem" is just one of many steps in what I know as object permanence.
One thing completely missing from this book and indicative of it's age is any discussion of the emotional development of the child. In the 60s when this was written and the 30s-50s when much of the research was done this may not have been seen as revelant but today it is perhaps the most studied aspect of the field. Piaget also focuses far too much I think on the child's grasp of scientific concepts: conservation of volume, mass, and logical structures of thought. Development of these has to be correlated with levels of wealth and schooling at home. There is no discussion of the impact of school or the disparities of race and class on development.
Overall it's fine. Best used as a reference if at all. I was interested in where child psychology started and this is the abbreviated Bible of the field. Piaget pioneered the idea that children think in a fundamentally different way than adults and much of his writing is proving that difference. If you come assuming that as truth then much of his work seems repetitive.
Most interesting to me was how frequently I found myself remarking, "wow they have to learn that" when reading a section. We all know about the development of object permanence and how consequential that is but I did not know just how many stages there are. The child must learn not only that the object still exists when it disappears behind a screen, but that it exists behind the screen. If you take a object from behind screen A and then put it behind screen B, at first babies will look for it at screen A because that is where it came from last time. Solving this "tunnel problem" is just one of many steps in what I know as object permanence.
One thing completely missing from this book and indicative of it's age is any discussion of the emotional development of the child. In the 60s when this was written and the 30s-50s when much of the research was done this may not have been seen as revelant but today it is perhaps the most studied aspect of the field. Piaget also focuses far too much I think on the child's grasp of scientific concepts: conservation of volume, mass, and logical structures of thought. Development of these has to be correlated with levels of wealth and schooling at home. There is no discussion of the impact of school or the disparities of race and class on development.
Overall it's fine. Best used as a reference if at all. I was interested in where child psychology started and this is the abbreviated Bible of the field. Piaget pioneered the idea that children think in a fundamentally different way than adults and much of his writing is proving that difference. If you come assuming that as truth then much of his work seems repetitive.
October 26, 2024
I wanted to give this book five stars so badly just on the basis of the invaluable information presented. Piaget and Inhelder’s empirical interpretations of the psychological structure are incredibly insightful and well constructed.
My biggest and only gripe with the book is that it was not a very enjoyable read. While the translation is able to synthesize many complex ideas down into basic principles and all encompassing developmental stages, the language is archaic and difficult to get through for someone without a comprehensive understanding of psychoanalysis. The reward for pushing through the dense language definitely made this read worthwhile but I just can’t justify five stars for such an exhaustive reading experience.
Now for the things I did enjoy. The best thing about this read by far was the incredible experience of relearning how I thought the mind worked. The inner workings of the brain are mostly unconscious to us in our daily lives and therefore elusive and abstract. The compounding nature of the stages from sensorimotor to formal operations gives incredible insight not only into how children view the world but how it evolves into the complex thought which is so inseparable from ourselves as adults. It is easy to apply our adult viewpoints to those of the young children in our lives but through studying the stages of development, I can separate my point of view from the young child’s and better aid them in reaching mental equilibrium. This book has also made me super excited to have children of my own to be able to identify with their worldview in a way I would never have been able to before. The stages of child development are important to the adult as well due to the fact that the stages are not merely sequential but they build upon the previous stages. The sensorimotor structures of infants remain in the brain until death but they are elaborated through the subsequent stages and formal thought. I never would have thought I would learn so much about myself while studying the psychology of the child.
My biggest and only gripe with the book is that it was not a very enjoyable read. While the translation is able to synthesize many complex ideas down into basic principles and all encompassing developmental stages, the language is archaic and difficult to get through for someone without a comprehensive understanding of psychoanalysis. The reward for pushing through the dense language definitely made this read worthwhile but I just can’t justify five stars for such an exhaustive reading experience.
Now for the things I did enjoy. The best thing about this read by far was the incredible experience of relearning how I thought the mind worked. The inner workings of the brain are mostly unconscious to us in our daily lives and therefore elusive and abstract. The compounding nature of the stages from sensorimotor to formal operations gives incredible insight not only into how children view the world but how it evolves into the complex thought which is so inseparable from ourselves as adults. It is easy to apply our adult viewpoints to those of the young children in our lives but through studying the stages of development, I can separate my point of view from the young child’s and better aid them in reaching mental equilibrium. This book has also made me super excited to have children of my own to be able to identify with their worldview in a way I would never have been able to before. The stages of child development are important to the adult as well due to the fact that the stages are not merely sequential but they build upon the previous stages. The sensorimotor structures of infants remain in the brain until death but they are elaborated through the subsequent stages and formal thought. I never would have thought I would learn so much about myself while studying the psychology of the child.
June 15, 2025
It was a good read, the jargon is specific which can sometimes make comprehension challenging, and some diagrams or photos of the experiments would have made it easier to visualize the studies done, this is an fascinating read. It is not a book, it is more like a paraphrased compilation of Piaget's volumes of empirical studies compressed into one book for everybody to get a grasp on the range of Piaget's work without actually reading all the actual volumes.
I loved it, even though I could not visualize some of the experiments described.
I loved it, even though I could not visualize some of the experiments described.
January 15, 2020
NOTE: This review particularly focuses on the Turkish translation version. The English edit deserves a much better grade (4 to be exact) as it conveys Piaget's words far more successfully.
Düşük not vermemin sebebi kitabın içeriğinden ziyade çevirmenin, dolayısıyla editörün başarısızlığıdır. Çeviri tam anlamıyla bir rezalet. Bu yetmezmiş gibi, kitabın neredeyse her sayfasında dilbilgisi hataları ve tamamlanmamış cümleler mevcut.
Düşük not vermemin sebebi kitabın içeriğinden ziyade çevirmenin, dolayısıyla editörün başarısızlığıdır. Çeviri tam anlamıyla bir rezalet. Bu yetmezmiş gibi, kitabın neredeyse her sayfasında dilbilgisi hataları ve tamamlanmamış cümleler mevcut.
November 30, 2023
Çocuklarla anlaşmak için bence onlara ilk etapta güven duygusunu vermeliyiz bunu başardıktan sonra zamanı eğlenceli geçirebileceğimiz aktiviteler yapmalıyız. Bu kitapta bunları daha teorik bir şekilde anlatıyor eğer profesyonel uğraşmıyorsanız yeniden düşünün kitabı okumak için.Kesinlikle pratik kullanım odaklı olmaktan çok akademik bir kitap bu yüzden bunu aklınızda bulundurun. Yine de kısa bir kitap ve akademik konularda korkunç derecede yoğun değil.
December 4, 2024
2.4
this is not to say the groundwork that piaget created was not unimaginably principal for so many elements of child psychology to this day; just think if you really want to learn more about the psychology of the child it would be more efficient to read something more recent.
although, i do think i would want to revisit this again in the future because of the extensive terminology -probably would be a more enriching read if i wasnt searching something up every 5 lines lol.
this is not to say the groundwork that piaget created was not unimaginably principal for so many elements of child psychology to this day; just think if you really want to learn more about the psychology of the child it would be more efficient to read something more recent.
although, i do think i would want to revisit this again in the future because of the extensive terminology -probably would be a more enriching read if i wasnt searching something up every 5 lines lol.
Read
December 6, 2019I chose not to rate this because in terms of entertainment value (how I usually base my ratings), it offers next-to-nothing. That said, in terms of groundbreaking and informative scientific research, it is exceptional. Was it a joy to read? No. Could it be something to which I later refer? Absolutely.
May 24, 2021
I have read this books in Turkish to learn psychology vocabularies also to understand it in my native language. This is heavy book and I finished it in a month and a half. This is some sort of in a form of Piaget’s thesises. If you don’t know much about how to read scholarly articles and studies this book is not for you.
July 24, 2021
The guru of cognitivism doesn’t disappoint as he empirically shows us why Behaviorism didn’t fully explain a child’s development. The 4 stages of Piaget’s theory is very relatable and explains how a child retains learning as they move from one stage to the next. A must read for any learning theorist.
September 19, 2024
DRYYYYYYYYY but informative
Had to read this for a PhD class. Now I understand why we don't read Piaget in undergrad psych classes. Very boring overall, but systematically presented. The parts about language and some of the developmental stages were interesting but overall I'm glad that's over with.
Had to read this for a PhD class. Now I understand why we don't read Piaget in undergrad psych classes. Very boring overall, but systematically presented. The parts about language and some of the developmental stages were interesting but overall I'm glad that's over with.
January 29, 2025
This was the most vapid read I’ve done in a long while. Honestly it could be edited down from 160 pages to 50. So many filler words. So many empty sentences. I had to skim it. At first I thought it was dense for a good reason, and i was wrong, but I still finished it because I refused to let the book win.
February 13, 2020
While his ideas are brilliant, his writing is not easy to follow. He (they) writes in a very abstract manner. However this book lays out the foundation for Piaget's stages. As the subtitle states "the definitive summary of the world's most renowned psychologist."
May 30, 2023
How badly I wish Piaget's works were easier to digest (exception: To Understand is to Invent). I crawled through this book, and yet, I am indebted to his brilliant mind for providing the bases for genetic epistemology and constructivism.
September 4, 2023
Dense read. Fantastic for study purposes. If you are a layman parent trying to be better or understand your child this book is far outside that scope. It is a fantastic read to understand child psychology and developmental stages in cognition.
August 3, 2018
Probably better to read someone else's synopsis of his work, really. He's kind of a d-bag.
August 3, 2019
Es muy interesante todo lo que se habla en el libro pero siento que fue un poco confuso y tedioso, esperaba que fuera más informativo y fácil de comprender
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews