Behaviorism, nativism, Piaget, Vygotsky, and neo-Vygotskian theories

Cognitive Development

Nativism

Nativism refers to the cognitive development theory expounded by Fodor (1983) and others. He claimed that children are born with Universal Grammar (UG) that helps them form hypotheses about the world which are later tested by the environment. He felt that brain had a modular function to perform and specific areas of mind were reserved for specific functions. The child is believed to possess innate learning devices that help them learn just about everything. Take the example of language. A child born in any part of the world can learn the language of that area without any significant effort. This according to atavists is due to UG that is embedded in child's brain from birth. Fodor (1980, 1983) doesn't believe in the development theory for he maintains that modularity of brain doesn't allow for development. The child is born with all the learning devices he needs and these may not be acquired later in life. The theory has significant limitations. For one, it has no specific evidence to support the claim that child forms hypotheses about the world which are later confirmed or rejected by the environment. If brain is modular, how does UG which is meant to develop language can help a child form theories about the world around him.

Behavorism:

Behavorism is at the extreme end of the spectrum on which nativism occupies the other extreme. This cognitive development theory maintains that a child learns from the environment and is essentially born with no knowledge or organization. They feel that as a child grows, he learns from the environment, develop his own views and form various hypotheses. Behaviorism is in sharp contrast with Nativism. Nativists believe in deductive manner of learning while Behaviorists support inductive mode. Behaviorists such as Skinner (1953) and (Bijou & Baer, 1961, 1965) reject Nativism on grounds of inductive learning. They argue that a child forms association with the environment and this environment is his sole means of interaction and inductive learning. Development however is rejected in both theories. Both maintain that development cannot occur. Behaviorism has serious flaws too. It fails to explain its internationalization process. If a child learns everything from the environment, how does he internalize it and how may it differ from person to person. Secondly when a child learns something without having any knowledge previously, it means he has developed. How can behaviorists then support their claim against development?

Piaget and Vygotsky:

Piaget and Vygotsky are often mentioned side by side since their theories of cognitive development are in sharp contrast to each other. Piaget believed in the child to society association whereby children have the skills to organization information they receive from the society. He felt that children make sense of the world around them with the innate organization skills they possess. As the child grows, his views might undergo a change and his association with society might also alter depending on his age. While in his theory, innate knowledge is important, Piaget never discredited environment's role in the development process:

There are no more such things as societies qua beings than there are isolated individuals. There are only relations.... And the combinations formed by them, always incomplete, cannot be taken as permanent substances (Piaget, 1932, p. 360).

A there is no longer any need to choose between the primacy of the social or that of the intellect: collective intellect is the social equilibrium resulting from the interplay of the operations that enter into all cooperation (Piaget, 1970, p. 114)

Vygotsky maintained that a child learns from the society and needs the guidance of adults, parents and others to form a concept or organize information. He did not support Piaget and their findings collided because of the direction of development. While it went from child to social environment in Piaget, it took the other route from social environment to child in Vygotsky's theory.