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Is equilibration important?— A view from artificial intelligence
Author(s) -
Boden Margaret A.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1982.tb01800.x
Subject(s) - psychology , cognitive science , development (topology) , cognition , cognitive development , expression (computer science) , cognitive psychology , epistemology , computer science , mathematics , neuroscience , mathematical analysis , philosophy , programming language
The problem addressed by Piaget in terms of equilibration is the development of harmonious novelties, wherein genuinely new structures are created out of older ones without any impairment of the overall integration of the system. He posited a continuity between biological and psychological systems, such that structurally similar answers exist for embryological and cognitive development. ‘Equilibration’ differs from ‘feedback’ in stressing structural (not quantitative) parameters, and the self‐maintenance of systems whose parameters are changing. Piaget did not specify the concept adequately, but he indicated important questions that might be better addressed later. Computational ideas (which are significantly consonant with Piaget's approach) provide a more rigorous specification of structural and procedural matters, and are in principle suited to the expression of the issues addressed in terms of ‘equilibration’. As yet, however, learning and development are not understood in computational terms. Nor is it known whether there is some general, interdisciplinary, theory of structural development.