description: Encounters with the physical world are filled with miraculous puzzles--wind appears from somewhere, heavy objects float on oceans, yet smaller objects go to the bottom. As adults, instead of confronting a whole world, we are reduced to driving from one parking garage to another. The Child's Conception of Physical Causality, part of the very beginning of the ground-breaking work of the Swiss naturalist Jean Piaget, is filled with creative experimental ideas for probing the most sophisticated ways of thinking in children. The strength of his research is evident in this collection of empirical data, systematically organized by tasks that illuminate how things work. His data are remarkably rich. He had no grand theoretical aims, yet the book's simple power cannot be ignored. His great contribution to developmental psychology was his "clinical method"--a tactic that integrated relevant aspects of naturalistic experiment, interview &amp; observation. Thru this systematic inquiry, we gain insight into children's thinking. Reading him will encourage readers to think about the unity of psychological phenomena &amp; their theoretical underpinnings. His wealth of creative experimental ideas probes into the most sophisticated ways of thinking in children. Technologies change, yet the creative curiosity of children remains basically unhindered by the consumer society. His data preserve the reality of the original phenomena. As such, this work will provide a wealth of information for developmental psychologists &amp; those involved in the field of experimental science.
language: English
title: The Child's Conception of Physical Causality
titlecomplete: The Child's Conception of Physical Causality
genres: Psychology, Education
ratings_count: 12
publisher: Routledge & Kegan Paul PLC