Piaget as scientific diplomat
Exchanges between the Geneva School and Soviet psychologists during the 1950s–60s
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7155136 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Luciano Nicolás García (0000-0002-6556-2763, Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität, corresponding author), Ramiro Tau (0000-0002-1721-6639, University of Geneva), Marc J Ratcliff (0000-0003-3296-8596, University of Geneva) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 52-67 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History of the Human Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0952-6951 • E-ISSN: 1461-720X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/09526951251343796 |
| PMID | 41589121 |
| OpenAlex | W4411428778 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 31 |
It is known that Jean Piaget visited the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and other socialist countries during the second half of the 20th century. However, these trips are usually mentioned in historical works as one more episode referring to Piaget’s international circulations or as a marginal information in the general plan of discussing divergences, complementarities, or incompatibilities between Lev Vygotsky’s psychology and Piagetian genetic psychology. In this article we intend to provide some arguments and archival evidence to open new avenues of reflection on the links between the Geneva School and Soviet psychology, based on the exchanges that Piaget and his Geneva research team had with several Soviet colleagues between 1954 and 1966. For this purpose, we have analysed some unpublished material from the documentary collection of the Centre Jean Piaget at the University of Geneva. In particular, the personal and institutional correspondence between the Swiss and Russian teams, promoted around Piaget’s visits to Moscow and Leningrad in 1955 and 1966. These documents show Piaget’s efforts to engage in scientific diplomacy in order to articulate his research programme, with his institutional positions and the international exchanges, while navigating the political tensions of the Cold War
Cognition · Cognitive development · Diplomacy · Epistemology · International relations · Piaget's theory of cognitive development · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Soviet union · International Science and Diplomacy · Law · Philosophy, Science, and History · Psychology · Twentieth Century Scientific Developments
From Newspeak to Cyberspeak
Piaget, diplomat of educational internationalism. From the International Bureau of Education to Unesco (1929–1968)
Celebrating Divergence
Vygotsky and Piaget
Piaget and Vygotsky Revisited
The social origins of logic
Soviet Scientists Take the Initiative
Commentary on Vygotsky's criticisms of Language and thought of the child and Judgement and reasoning in the child
Some impressions of a visit to Soviet psychologists
Some glimpses of Soviet psychology
XVIII International Congress of Psychology
Origins, Trends and Perspectives of Historical-Epistemological Research on Piaget
Réseaux et revendications
From Vygotsky to Vygotskian psychology
The 1950 Joint Scientific Session
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |