Differences between Bruner and Piaget

Bruner and Piaget

Jerome Bruner (b. 1915) is an American psychologist. Although influenced by Piaget’s theory of cognitive development he was also critical of it. (Lev Vygotsky also influenced him).

BRUNER AGREES WITH PIAGET	BRUNER DISAGREES WITH PIAGET
1. Children are PRE-ADAPTED to learning	1. Development is a CONTINUOUS PROCESS – not a series of stages
2. Children have a NATURAL CURIOSITY	2. The development of LANGUAGE is a cause not a consequence of cognitive development
3. Children’s COGNITIVE STRUCTURES develop over time	3. You can SPEED-UP cognitive development. You don’t have to wait for the child to be ready
4. Children are ACTIVE participants in the learning process	4. The involvement of ADULTS and MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE PEERS makes a big difference
5. Cognitive development entails the acquisition of SYMBOLS	5. Symbolic thought does NOT REPLACE EARLIER MODES OF REPRESENTATION