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Jean Piaget Symposium Series: Volume 26
CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT
Piaget's Legacy
Edited by
Ellin K. Scholnick University of Maryland
Katherine Nelson City University of New York
Susan A. Gelman University of Michigan
Patricia H. Miller University of Florida
This book examines a key issue in current cognitive theories--the nature
of representation. Each chapter is characterized by attempts to frame
hot topics in cognitive development within the landscape of current developmental
theorizing and the past legacy of genetic epistemology. The chapters address
four questions that are fundamental to any developmental line of inquiry:
How should we represent the workings and contents of the mind?
How does the child construct mental models during the course of development?
What are the origins of these models? and
What accounts for the novelties that are the products and producers of developmental change?
These questions are situated in a historical context, Piagetian theory,
and contemporary researchers attempt to trace how they draw upon, depart
from, and transform the Piagetian legacy to revisit classic issues such
as the child's awareness of the workings of mental life, the child's ability
to represent the world, and the child's growing ability to process and
learn from experience. The theoretical perspectives covered include constructivism,
connectionism, theory-theory, information processing, dynamical systems,
and social constructivist approaches. The research areas span imitation,
mathematical reasoning, biological knowledge, language development, and
theory of mind. Written by major contributors to the field, this work
will be of interest to students and researchers wanting a brief but in-depth
overview of the contemporary field of cognitive development.
Contents: E.K. Scholnick, Piaget's Legacy: Heirs to the House That Jean Built. Part I: How Should We Represent the Workings and Contents of the Mind? R. Case, Conceptual Development in the Child and the Field: A Personal View of the Piagetian Legacy. A.N. Meltzoff, M.K. Moore, A New Foundation for Cognitive Development in Infancy: The Birth of the Representational Infant. S.A. Gelman, G. Diesendruck, A Reconsideration of Concepts: On the Compatibility of Psychological Essentialism and Context-Sensitivity. F.C. Keil, K.L. Lockhart, Explanatory Understanding in Conceptual Development. D. Klahr, The Conceptual Habitat: In What Kind of System Can Concepts Develop? Part II: How Does the Child Construct A Mental Model During the Course of Development? What Is the Developmental Origin of this Model? R. Garcia, A Systemic Interpretation of Piaget's Theory of Knowledge. S. Oyama, Locating Development; Locating Developmental Systems. P.H. Miller, T.R. Coyle, Developmental Change: Lessons From Microgenesis. Part III: What Accounts for the Novelties Which Are the Products and Producers of Developmental Change? J. Voneche, The Origin of Piaget's Ideas About Genesis and Development. G.B. Saxe, Sources of Concepts: A Cultural-Developmental Perspective. K. Nelson, Levels and Modes of Representation: Issues for the Theory of Conceptual Change and Development. S. Carey, Sources of Conceptual Change.
0-8058-2500-2 [cloth] / May 1999 / approx. 336pp. / $59.95
