VYGOTSKY’S THEORY

VYGOTSKY’S THEORY OF

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Vygotsky (1896-1934) and Piaget were born in the same year but was Russian as Piaget was Swiss. Paget’s read Vygotsky’s in 1958.
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY Social interaction plays a fundamental part in cognitive development. First for every kid cognitive appears first at a social level (between kids and others) and later at an individual level (inside the kid).
MENTAL PROCESSES- ELEMENTARY AND MENTAL FUNCTIONS- Kids are born with elementary mental functions such as perception and memory
- Transformed into higher mental functions by influence of the culture
- Lower mental functions are biological and is a form of natural development
- Role of culture into transform elementary functions to higher ones and these are only
exclusive to humans.
PROCESS OF CULTURAL INFLUENCE
Role of others: experts-
SEMIOTICS AND THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE Vygotsky believed culture is transmitted by experts using semiotics I.e. signs and symbols developed within a particular culture.
Knowledge is an important semiotic system, maths is valuable too.
- Conversation with kids and adults transmits rich body of knowledge that
exists in the culture
- First dialogue with adult and kid (pre-intellectual speech)
- Then develop mental representation, kids communicate with themselves in the
Same way they would communicate with others
- Kids talk aloud when trying to solve problems (ego-centric speech)
- At 7 gives way to silent inner speech, inner dialogues continue to be a way of
Reflecting upon and solving problems
THE SOCIAL AND INDIVIDUAL LEVEL Converts social levels (between people then individual) into higher mental functions through mediation.
Language is most important form of (semiotic mediation) for the acquisition of higher mental processes, as it frees kids from constraints of their immediate environment.
ZPD (ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT)Vygotsky- believed learning precedes development unlike Piaget.
Cognitive development and learning does not take place in the area of current development (where the kid is) nor does it take place too far ahead of what the kid can do independently. In the former instance nothing new could be learned yet new challenges would be too far from the child’s current knowledge to be useful.
- Kid’s ZPD is the region where cognitive development takes place
- Learner is aided by cultural influences (e.g. experts and knowledge)
- At first learning is between social and later becomes internalised through process
called ‘internalisation’- mirrors distinction between the social and individual level
described above.

COMMENTARY

RESEARCH EVIDENCE
Role of culture-
The role of language- Vygotsky believed language and thoughts are first independent, but become interdependent.
Acquisition of a new word was the beginning of development of a concept.
+Carmicheal et al (1932)-
Gave participants one of twp labels for certain drawings-
Shown a kidney shape, and was told whether it was a kidney bean or a canoe.
When they drew the shape, it differed to the word given, showing that words can affect the way we remember things.
-Sinclair-de-Zwart (1969)-
Tried to teach kids who couldn’t conserve to use terms such as bigger and shorter terms they did not have in their vocabulary.
Found little improvement in their ability to conserve, conflicts Vygotky as he suggests that cultural tools such as language should lead to cognitive development.
The role of the ZPDLeyland (1990)
Observed young kids working with their mums on jigsaw puzzles of increasingly difficulty. Week later observed kids working on their own.
Kids reached a higher level of difficulty with their mums (potential ability) and working on their own (current ability) so defined their ZPD.
ZPD related to instructions by mum.
-When the kid did jigsaw too easy ~ Mums kept kids on task
- At ZPD level ~ Mums helped kids do it themselves
- Beyond ZPD level ~ completed puzzle on whatever level
Vygotsky predicted that the greatest teaching input will occur at the end of the ZPD level. Point lying between 2^nd and 3^rd level where the kid could still cope. Gredler (1992)- Papua New Ginea as an example of how culture can limit cognitive development. Counting is done by starting on the thumb of one hand and going down to the other fingers ending on 29. This system makes it very hard to add and subtract large numbers, a limiting factor for development in this culture. All people with greater knowledge are called experts. Person interacting with kid assumes most of the responsibility for guiding the problem solving activity, but gradually transfers to the kid. Kid learns through problem solving experiences shares with someone else.