Fairy Tale Structures, Social Input and Cultural Guidance: a Psychonarratological Analysis of Cohesive Influences on Children’s Cognitive Development

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to examine how cognitive development in children is stimulated by their encounter with fairy tales, and which factors that are related to the reading of fairy tales may influence this interaction between the psyche and literature. To this end the cognitive development theory by psychologist Jean Piaget is described and components from the developmental stages he distinguishes are singled out and linked to the structure of fairy tales as Propp theorises. Additionally, the cultural and social factors that determine which fairy tales are encountered and how children’s reception of fairy tales can be altered are briefly outlined in an effort to demonstrate how multiple disciplines interact to establish an impact on cognitive development.