Activity 3.1

According to Piaget's cognitive constructivist theory, the theory of learning would considered an active process, in which a person takes an active role in determining their own knowledge. Since, as Piaget believes, humans are born "without mind" and therefore completely unlearned, humans have to actively "construct" the knowledge attained throughout life. Also, as humans, we naturally desire a sense of cognitive equilibrium or balance; that is, humans desire that all of the perceived or sensory information coexist peacefully with actual reality. Since this is the most natural and comfortable of human cognitive states, cognitive constructivism projects that individuals are powerfully motivated to remain in equilibrium between their perceptions of their surroundings and reality. Often times, though, equilibrium is jeopardized by incoming perceptions, straining the relationship between sensory information and reality, which causes a feeling of being "off balanced" or disequilibrium.

This feeling of disequilibrium, this notion of being unbalanced cognitively, is what cognitive constructivists believe motivates humans to learn and adapt to their environments. Humans can either assimilate new information into existing knowledge structures (systems for organizing our knowledge) or accommodate new information by changing or modifying existing knowledge structures.

So, to sum it all up, Piaget followers would believe that learning is an active process in which humans try to correct disquieting feelings of cognitive disequilibrium by actively seeking and organizing new information into existing or modified knowledge structures, stabilizing the balance between our understanding of reality and its actuality.

Question:

1) To Piaget, is there any more powerful a motivator to action than personal disequilibrium?