Language depends on thought
- Piaget (1959) was (and arguably still is) one of the most influential researchers in the field of child development, particularly concerning the cognitive development of children
- Piaget’s cognitive development theory focuses on how children construct meaning from the external world, using schema to help them form mental representations of both abstract concepts (e.g. ‘freedom’) and concrete objects (e.g. ‘cat’)
- Piaget developed a stage theory of cognitive development which sets out the ages at which children learn specific cognitive skills, one of which is language
- According to Piaget, representational language precedes (comes before) thought i.e. a child’s understanding of objects/concepts must come before they can name those objects because the child initially explores the physical world and then ascribes labels to what they have experienced
- Piaget argued that if a child is taught a new word without any context being given then the learning is meaningless e.g. a child can be taught (and can repeat) the word ‘banana’ but if the child does not know that banana is a fruit that can be eaten then no real learning has taken place
- Piaget claimed that children will only learn new words or grammatical structures when they are ready - and that this will largely depend on age (his theory is known as a Maturational theory)
- Very young children (birth to the age of 2 - Piaget’s sensorimotor stage) cannot speak although they can communicate using sounds and non-verbal behaviours
- A child aged 2-7 years (Piaget’s pre-operational stage) builds on their schemas and uses symbols (e.g. words) to represent objects which is how language develops
- Symbolic play (a form of imaginative play where children use props to symbolise other things) and mental imagery help children develop language e.g. a child pretends that a mop is his friend Bobby and invents a conversation between them (which is also an example of animism)
- Piaget claimed that children up to the age of 7 years show egocentrism in their language which is evidence of their inability to take on the viewpoint or perspective of another person (this recedes during the concrete operational stage from the age of 7 onwards as their language becomes more sophisticated)
Does this child know what ‘banana’ means? And if not, will it spoil their fun?
Exam Tip
Be very careful to focus on Piaget’s theory of language and thought if that is what the exam question is asking you to do: don’t confuse this theory with his general theory of cognitive development which is covered in some detail as part of the Development topic of GCSE Psychology.
Evaluation of Piaget's theory of language & thought
Strengths
- Children do tend to ascribe labels to objects/people once they have a schema in place e.g. ‘Daddy cup’ could be said by an infant who understands who ‘Daddy’ is and which cup he tends to use i.e. language depends on thought
- Some evidence (Meltzoff & Moore, 1977) shows that very young babies are able to imitate adult actions,which supports Piaget’s claim that thought precedes language as children of this age are not yet able to speak using words
Weaknesses
- Not all children progress in the same way and at the same rate: some children’s language development will be affected by, for example, environmental factors such as poverty, nutrition, culture, education
- Piaget’s theory of language is very difficult to measure as there is no way of knowing when or even if a child’s specific schema has developed therefore the theory is not reliable
Worked example
Here is an example of a question you might be asked on this topic - for AO2.
AO1: You need to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key concepts, ideas, theories and research.
AO2: You need to apply your knowledge and understanding, usually referring to the ‘stem’ in order to do so (the stem is the example given before the question)
AO3: You need to analyse and evaluate key concepts, ideas, theories and research.
Shakira has noticed that her baby, Wyclef, often points at the fridge and makes a ‘mmmmm’ sound. Shakira also finds it very sweet that Wyclef refers to the family dog as ‘Woof-woof’.
AO2:
Question: Explain Wyclef’s behaviour using Piaget’s theory of language and thought. [3]
Model answer:
- Wyclef is not yet able to use words (verbal communication) due to his young age but he has formed schemas based on his experience of the physical world.
- Wyclef’s ‘food’ schema is linked to the fridge (he will have observed Shakira taking food from here) and the ‘mmmmm’ sound he makes may indicate hunger (and possibly enjoyment of the food e.g. ‘mmm, this tastes good’). Wyclef does not have the word for ‘dog’ yet so he uses the sound that the dog makes ‘Woof!’ to create a label for the dog.
- These points support Piaget’s theory that language is preceded by thought
