The Cambridge Companion to Piaget

Ulrich Müller · Jeremy I. M. Carpendale · Leslie Smith

Aug 2009 · Cambridge University Press

About this ebook

Jean Piaget (1896–1980) was listed among the 100 most important persons in the twentieth century by Time magazine, and his work - with its distinctive account of human development - has had a tremendous influence on a range of disciplines from philosophy to education, and notably in developmental psychology. The Cambridge Companion to Piaget provides a comprehensive introduction to different aspects of Piaget's work in a manner that does not eschew engagement with the complexities of subjects or debates yet is accessible to upper-level undergraduate students. Each chapter is a specially commissioned essay written by an expert on the subject matter. Thus, the book will also be of interest to academic psychologists, educational psychologists, and philosophers.

About the author

Ulrich Müller is Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Victoria. His research focuses on the development of problem solving and social understanding in infants and preschoolers. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Jean Piaget Society, and is an Associate Editor of New Ideas in Psychology. He is the editor of Developmental Perspectives on Embodiment and Consciousness (with Willis Overton and Judith Newman) and Social Life and Social Knowledge: Toward a Process Account of Development (with Jeremy Carpendale, Nancy Budwig, and Bryan Sokol). He received the Early Scientific Achievement Award from the Society of Research in Child Development in 2005.

Jeremy I. M. Carpendale is Professor of Developmental Psychology at Simon Fraser University. He has published in the areas of cognitive, social cognitive, and moral development. His work focuses on the nature and development of thinking about social and moral matters and the role of language and social interaction in such development. He is an Associate Editor of New Ideas in Psychology and author of How Children Develop Social Understanding (with Charlie Lewis). He is an editor of several books, including Social Life and Social Knowledge: Toward a Process Account of Development (with Ulrich Müller, Nancy Budwig, and Bryan Sokol).

Leslie Smith is a freelance researcher based in the Lake District in North West England and Professor Emeritus at Lancaster University. His main interests are in Piaget's theory, the development of children's reasoning, especially modal reasoning, and the psychology and epistemology of development with special reference to normativity. His published work includes a dozen books, most recently Norms in Human Development (as editor, with Jacques Vonèche). He is currently an Associate Editor of New Ideas in Psychology and is working on a monograph, Piaget's Developmental Epistemology, to be published by Cambridge University Press.