NEO‐PIAGETIAN THEORIES: CROSS‐CULTURAL AND DIFFERENTIAL PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

The neo‐Piagetian theories represented in this special issue are examined from the cross‐cultural and differential perspectives. The goals, methods and achievements of these two approaches are briefly reviewed, and the similarities and differences between the two are pointed out. Six criteria are proposed that psychological theories should meet from the point of view of these perspectives. After a review of the few existing empirical cross‐cultural and differential studies inspired by neo‐Piagetian theories, the latter are matched to the six criteria, and the potential advantages of these new models over classical structuralist approaches are spelled out.