ABSTRACT
Jean Piaget lays chief stress on proving the essentially different nature of thought in the child and in the adult. If the origin of individual judgment is to be found in a mental condition of startled "surprise", the same process may be repeated in the power of judgment gained. The child had associated the sensation of individual movement with the sight or hearing of actions so produced, and thus formed firm connections between his personal activity and its effects. Psychoanalysts believe that the question as to the origin of children plays consciously and unconsciously a part in the child's psychic inner life, such as adults never suspect. Piaget, who evidently only recognizes the last method of causal connection as causality, therefore designates the child's thought as "pre-causal". The child enquires, reflects, thinks over the matter, seeks for new light.
