Theories of development: In dialog with Jean Piaget

• Piaget's theory: constructivism and stage theory.
• The post-Piagetian take on constructivism.
• The post-Piagetian take on domain-general developmental changes.
• The role of executive functions (a domain-general cognitive resource) in conceptual development.

Piaget's body of work had two major theoretical thrusts: constructivism and stage theory. Both constructivism and stage theories articulate modern work on conceptual development, albeit transformed by developments in cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience. A case study of conceptual change in childhood within a framework theory of intuitive biology illustrates these points.