Читать книгу The Handy Psychology Answer Book - Lisa J. Cohen - Страница 82

Although other forms of information may be important, Piaget believed the initial and fundamental way that children learn about the world is through action. Through action, children explore and encounter their environment. The memories of these encounters are encoded in their minds as knowledge. These memories then shape their interpretation of later experiences, which in turn modifies their knowledge about the world. For example, a child is given a rattle. By chance the child shakes it and it makes noise. Interested, the child shakes it again. Later, another rattle is produced, which the child immediately shakes, now having a rudimentary concept of rattles as something to shake.

The Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget studied how the child’s understanding of the world develops from childhood into adulthood. Piaget has had a lasting influence on the field of education.