Final answer:
Jean Piaget is known for his theory of cognitive development, which proposes that children's thinking capabilities progress through four distinct stages as they grow and interact with their environment.
Step-by-step explanation:
Jean Piaget's Theory of Development
Jean Piaget is noted for his theory of cognitive development. Piaget, a renowned developmental psychologist, proposed that children's ability to think and reason develops through four progressive stages: the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages. His cognitive theory of development suggests that as children grow and interact with their environment, they construct and refine schemata—mental models that are used to interpret and categorize information. This happens through the processes of assimilation, where new information is incorporated into existing schemata, and accommodation, where schemata are modified in light of new information. Cognitive development is seen as happening in discrete stages, rather than being a continuous process.
Jean Piaget's focus was not just on how children think, but also on how their thinking changes over time due to biological maturation and interaction with the environment, which includes social experiences. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is: C. cognitive development.