Cross-Cultural Piagetian Research: A Summary

TLDR

Recent cross‑cultural studies on Piaget’s theory are highly heterogeneous. The review classifies studies as descriptive or quasi‑experimental and calls for more research linking findings to specific cultural factors. Studies are categorized as descriptive or quasi‑experimental and further subdivided by three interpretations of Piaget’s stages: global stages, horizontal decalages, and sub‑stages on specific tests. Qualitative aspects of Piaget’s stages are generally verified, but cultural factors slow operational development, often preventing many non‑Western participants from reaching the concrete operational stage.

Abstract

The large number of studies which have been published recently on the cross-cultural implications of Piaget's theory are extremely heterogeneous. This summary attempts to classify them into descriptive and quasi-experimental studies; the former are seen as attempting to verify Piaget's stages in non-Western cultures. They are further subdivided according to three interpretations of Piaget's stages: 1) the three global stages (sensori-motor, concrete operational and formal); 2) horizontal decalages; 3) sub-stages on particular tests. Whereas the qualitative aspects of Piaget's theory (the stages and individual reactions to the tasks) are verified in most cases, the rate of operational development is affected by cultural factors, sometimes to the extent that the concrete operational stage is not reached by large proportions of non-Western samples. A great deal of further quasi-experimental research is needed in order to link these findings to specific cultural factors.