The Child's Conception of the World by Jean Piaget
The Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget’s The Child’s Conception of the World publication in 1896 to 1980, was the interesting event in the historical timeline. The publication prompted the study of cognitive behavior in growth and development. An insight in the criminal justice system affirms that most juveniles get into trouble for several reasons such as peer pressure and sheer negligence. Before Piaget’s survey, most adolescents were assumed to be less competent thinkers and were sentenced in the adult criminal justice system (McLeod, 2015; Juvenile Law Center, 2018). Children were thus prepared for criminality as opposed to adolescent lives (Juvenile Law Center, 2018).
Understanding Juvenile Minds
Piaget’s publication differentiated the young individuals from the adults as they both think strikingly different. He initiated various studies that are teaching us that juvenile minds are growing throughout their childhood, adolescence, and in early adulthood. In essence, there should be different approaches to punish a juvenile when it comes to criminality as they have a greater capacity to change (AACAP, 2016; McLeod, 2015). Piaget thus changed the way we study juveniles. Juveniles advance differently through different stages that are based on their interactions with others and their surroundings. Juvenile interactions decide how they confront conflicts relative to the cognitive stage they have developed (McLeod, 2015).
The Significance of Reasoning
In response to the enlightenment period, rational thoughts can lead to human improvement and is thus a legitimate mode of thinking. The ability to think is a significant and valuable aspect of human capacity. Reasoning beaks human arrogance and irrationality, and transform them to reasonable beings. It is, therefore, significant to aim at increasing knowledge and reasoning as opposed to eliciting an emotional response; hence the aim of the enlightenment theories and scientific researches.
References
AACAP (2016). Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making. Retrieved from https://www.aacap.org/aacap/families_and_youth/facts_for_families/fff-guide/The-Teen-Brain-Behavior-Problem-Solving-and-Decision-Making-095.aspx
Juvenile Law Center (2018). Youth in the Justice System: An Overview | Juvenile Law Center. Retrieved from https://jlc.org/youth-justice-system-overview
McLeod, S. (2015, February 05). Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development. Retrieved June 4, 2018, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
