Nursing theories
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Vygotsky's
general
theory of cognitive development
Key points
- Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) is sometimes called the "Mozart of psychology" because of his prolific output of novel theories in a short period of time.
- Vygotsky’s theory has been applied to many fields of inquiry.1
- The two core principles of Vygotsky’s work are - the systemic approach to the study of the mind and the social origin of the mind.1
- Vygotsky’s cognitive development theory postulates that social interaction is fundamental to cognitive development.2
- Vygotsky explains that learning is an educational activity because it generates a zone of proximal development, a zone in which the child operates at the edge of her emerging abilities and approaches the expert cultural knowledge of the adult.3
- He explained the relationship between the brain and its environment, the cultural context.
- Vygotsky also focused on human primates and cultural things such as collaboration, communication and teaching.4
Major Concepts
- Systemic Approach to the Development of the Mind -Vygotsky stressed that it is a mistake to study psychological functions individually, e.g., to study development of memory or development of perception.
- He argued that researchers should address the change in the relationships between various functions.
- Vygotsky distinguished between elementary, primitive, lower psychological functions (LPF, such as memory and concept formation, and higher psychological functions (HPF) which include decision-making, speech and language, and cultural transmission of knowledge.5
- Vygotsky maintained that the structure of the mind cannot be understood by researching the mind of an adult, instead observe mind development in a child.
- The system structure and functionality can only be understood through system development.
References
- Vasileva O, Balyasnikova N. (Re)Introducing Vygotsky’s Thought: From Historical Overview to Contemporary Psychology. Front Psychol. 2019 Aug 7;10:1515.
- Moore M. Vygotsky’s Cognitive Development Theory. In: Goldstein S, Naglieri JA, editors. Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development [Internet]. Boston, MA: Springer US; 2011 [cited 2024 Sep 5]. p. 1549–50. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_3054
- Veraksa N, Pramling Samuelsson I, Colliver Y. Editorial: Early child development in play and education: A cultural-historical paradigm. Front Psychol. 2022 Jul 12;13:968473.
- Moll H, Tomasello M. Cooperation and human cognition: the Vygotskian intelligence hypothesis. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci. 2007 Apr 29;362(1480):639–48.
- Toomela A. What are Higher Psychological Functions? Integr Psychol Behav Sci. 2016 Mar;50(1):91–121.
This page was last updated on:
29/09/2024