The difference between Piaget and Vygotsky: A response to Duncan

Journal/Book: Develop Rev. 1995; 15: 525B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101-4495. Academic Press Inc Jnl-Comp Subscriptions. 473-482.

Abstract: In his paper outlining the differences between Vygotsky and Piaget, Duncan (1995) rakes the position that there should not be a rush to judgment in merging the two ideas, His major thesis is that the differences create a dialectical opposition between the two, and that the type of creative tension it brings about is worth more to the field than artificially merging two such obviously different theoretical paradigms. This paper responds that there are differences between the two theorists, including those that Duncan outlines in his paper. But that these differences do not suggest the type of absolute opposition implied by Duncan, As discussed in an earlier paper (Glassman, 1994), these differences are the result of a difference in general perspective brought about by the fact that Vygotsky felt it was imperative to posit a material primary cause for human development and Piaget did not. The paper goes on to explore in-depth this important difference, and the way the paradigms of the two theorists are complementary in spite of, or maybe because of, this difference.

Note: Article M Glassman, Univ Houston, Dept Human Dev, Houston, TX 77024 USA

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