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Following the separation of his parents when he was young； Binet lived with his mother； moving to
Paris when he was 15； and entering law school in 1872。 Following receipt of his license to practice
law in 1878； he did not enter into practice and was seemingly not enamored with the profession；
menting； “As for the law； that is the career of men who have not yet chosen a vocation。” Binet
subsequently began reading psychology at the Bibliotheque Nationale； though he never acquired a
graduate degree in the discipline。
Following several years of “studying” psychology in the library； in 1883 Binet began working at
Charcot’s laboratory at the Salpetriere； one of Paris’s well…known hospitals； only to sever his
relationship with Charcot and his colleagues； following a disagreement in 1890。 He joined the staff
at the Laboratory of Physiological Psychology at the Sorbonne； became its Director three years later；
and remained in that position until his death。
During the 1890s； Binet turned his interests to the goal of understanding and measuring the
individual differences noted in intelligence； studying the relevant works of Galton； Spearman； and
Cattell。 In 1907； following the development of a test that would measure individual differences in
cognitive functioning； Binet wrote； “It was under these circumstances that our devoted collaborator；
Dr。 Simon； and I formulated a plan for measuring intelligence which we called “a metric scale of
intelligence” （Binet & Simon； 1909/1975）。
The scale that Binet and Simon developed had a great deal in mon with one of its latter…day
versions； the Stanford…Binet Scale； in that the prototype included tests of “digit span； vocabulary；
reproduction of block designs； paper folding； prehension； and similarities。” Binet and Simon
revised their scale in 1908 and 1911； expanding the size of the scale and including items making it
more socioeconomically and intellectually diverse。 Binet went on to establish an experimental
laboratory school； apparently the first of its kind in Europe； in which he discovered that 5 percent of
children experienced problems in school simply because they could not see the blackboard。
As a man； Binet was described as energetic and inclined to spend most of his time working。 His
collaborator； Simon； wrote of him that； “to examine patients with him was always an extreme
pleasure； for he brought to the situation so much imagination。” That seems a fitting tribute for a
man who contributed so much to the assessment and measurement of intelligence。
Jean Piaget （1896–1980）
Until his death in 1980 at the age of 84； Jean Piaget retreated to his cabin in the Alps each summer；
where he spent most of his days analyzing the mass of research data generated over the past year at
his Center of Genetic Epistemology。 During long walks along the mountain trails； he mulled over
the latest experimental results and； in the crisp evenings； he formulated his conclusions。 With the
approach of fall； he descended from the mountain with the manuscript for a book and several
journal articles in his hand。 This time…honored procedure of careful observation followed by
seclusion for thought and synthesis enabled him to bee one of the more prolific if not the most
famous psychologist of the century。
Piaget has been widely known in this country only since the translation of his works in the 1960s；
but in Europe he was recognized as an expert in the field of cognitive development in the 1930s。 As
a 10…year…old child in 1906； he published his notes on the habits of the albino sparrow he observed
near his home in Switzerland。 At the age of 16； he was remended for a curator’s position at the
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PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
natural history museum in Geneva； but declined in favor of continuing his education。 He studied
natural science at the University of Neuchatel； obtaining his doctorate at the age of 21。 His readings
in philosophy stimulated an intense interest in epistemology； the study of how humans acquire
knowledge。 Convinced that cognitive development had a genetic basis； Piaget decided that the best
approach to studying it would be through its behavioral and biological ponents。 Psychology
appeared； to Piaget； to be the discipline that best incorporated this approach。
Piaget sought training in several distinguished European psychology laboratories and universities；
gaining his first major breakthrough into the understanding of chronological stages of growth
while working at Alfred Binet’s laboratory school in Paris。 While designing and administering
intelligence tests to French children； he became intrigued with the characteristic wrong answers
that many of the children gave to his questions。 In pursuing these wrong answers； he came to the
realization that the children were employing a process of thought and interpretation that was
decidedly different in nature from that employed by adults。 Mindful of the concept of evolution
from his training as a biologist； Piaget proposed that mental development also evolves and that the
intellect passes through several stages of growth。
The theory of cognitive development Piaget was formulating centered on the stages of growth in
early childhood； thus it seemed natural to him to observe his own three children； as they grew from
infancy to preadolescence。 His careful experiments and conclusions based on these observations；
published in journal articles and then in book form； brought him immediate recognition in Europe。
While Piaget then expanded his experiments to enpass a much larger group of subjects； his
approach to research was not altered。 He observed； asked questions； uncovered new and sometimes
puzzling facts； and attempted to integrate his findings with what was presently known。
Eventually； he formed a theory from the whole enterprise of explaining his observations。 Piaget has
been criticized for disregarding the traditional methods of scientific inquiry。 He almost never
designed experiments to support preliminary hypotheses； and did not rely heavily on hard
statistical data for the conclusions he reached。 To his credit； Piaget responded with good humor to
scholarly attacks on his work； claiming that if he were to begin with a rigid plan and hypothesis； he
would be forced to ignore the fascinating phenomena falling outside of such narrow constraints。
He insisted on his freedom to look for the new and the unexpected。 Even in his eighties； he
continued to ask questions； to probe； and to integrate。 The disciplines of both cognitive and
developmental psychology benefited enormously from Piaget’s curiosity about how the child es
to understand the world and his or her place in it。
Harry Harlow （1905–1981）
Harry Harlow received his Ph。D。 from Stanford University in 1930。 He subsequently joined the
faculty at the University of Wisconsin； where he remained until 1974； when he left to bee a
research professor at the University of Arizona。 While at Wisconsin； Harlow established the highly
regarded Primate Laboratory； where he conducted much of his celebrated research on learning；
affective