cognitive social-historical theory Flashcards
purpose of theory
for understanding development of higher mental processes from simple to complex
Mastery of cultural tools and symbol systems allows for individuals to alter environments, guide, regulate, and redefine themselves
mental processes
higher: emerge from interactions with social, historical, and cultural contexts as well as the biologic maturation in the form of language and meaning
culture and children are linked through ________
social interaction
how does understanding develop?
interaction and coordination with other individuals
ex. child and caregiver
metacognition
understanding one’s own though process
who are the 2 philosophers that inspired the theory? What are the factors of each philosophy used in the theory?
marx - historical materialism
- changes in human behaviour are caused by changes in society and material life
- production is a social process that requires collaboration
- values, ideas and beliefs stem from material life
- dialectical process: conditions produce change over time creating social, economic changes, and new beliefs and values
engels - tools and evolution
- lead human consciousness and create new needs for communication and social interaction
- environment is altered to meet needs
- lead to development of cultural tools
who are the concepts of the theory compared to
Darwin, Piaget, and Freud
key concepts
- culture as a mediator
- intermental to intramental
- inner speech
- ZPD
culture as a mediator
- settings, tools, tech, system of customs, beliefs, info, social relationships
- tools are human inventions that shape thought by changing organization and worldview
- technical tools: machines
- psychological tools: signs, symbols, counting systems, problem-solving strategies
language and word meaning
social process that links individuals and becomes a tool that guides mental activity
- language is a form of cultural mediation
the single unit of analysis that links speech and thought
stages of cultural tool use
- no systematic use of cultural tools is made
- make use of tools like pictures connection to words but cannot create a picture they have not been given
- create their own link between pictures and words to remember and find new strategies to remember and categorize
- internalizes prompts, no longer need help in work, and mediate task to support new levels of behaviour
intermental to intramental
- context where subsequent higher mental processes
- intermental coordination between 2 individuals evolves into an intramental process
- improved with language helps decide action
how does speech influence social interaction?
through guidance and informing
inner speech
complex cognitive designs require language to understand and comprehend
- egocentric speech (piaget) has no social intention
- speech develops from interaction, to egocentric, to inner speech
- affects self-regulation, self-directed goal attainment, and problem solving
- promotes freedom, flexibility, and control in overcoming tasks and working towards a goal
Zone of proximal development
- distance between actual development level and potential development level (range of potential performance) that expands upward
- learn by observing peers problem solving and imitation of strategies
- exposure to new ideas (learning) causes development
- promotes reorganization and internalization of existing competences
- prompted by instruction from peers and pretend play
pretend play
- children behave beyond developmental level
- practice areas they feel incompetent in
- enforce rules and commit to function and role
cognitive development - use symbols to make sense of experience
social development - develop empathy, perspective-taking, and cooperation
cultural historical activity theory
- cognitive development is influenced by activities, peers, cultural practices, artifacts, and institutional practices that give context to activities
- different contexts for development at each stage
- activity is the unit of analysis
- findings cannot be generalizable across cultures due to cultural differences
emotional development - develop self-regulation
symbolic play as a central activity
- role determines interaction and behaviour/actions
- pretend actions promotes adaptation and actions related role
- props reflect symbolic or real objects
- coordination with other players promoted rules and structure
- promotes goal-directed behaviour, perspective taking, cognitive skills, and self-regulation
developmental levels of symbolic play
- basic, stereotyped actions between playmates
- roles are not defined
- no set rules
- no interaction or coordination - children define roles before play begins
- roles shape interaction
- props and language follow rules of play
- problem solving and adaptation
integration of the individual, interpersonal, and cultural levels of analysis
- levels are interconnected and operating together
- cannot understand development without examining levels in relation to each other
sociohistorical study of cognition
- how people in a cultural community engage with one another to achieve a specific goal
- generalizable in field studies, not empirical studies
- proved there are cultural differences in scientific method and tools
Sociocultural approach to studies
- symbolic play as a central activity
- integrates individual, interpersonal, and cultural levels
- difference in development between cultures
ex. cognition is nurtured through observation in some cultures compared to western development through exploration
relevance of early experiences on later development
- social experiences (community and culture) are important for forming cognitive abilities
Ex. children learn words from adults
Ex. word learning shifts from intermental to intramental
direction and patterns of change in lifespan
- intermental to intramental
- cognition first develops at a social/interpersonal level and is then internalized as integrated concepts
- influenced by cultural values and scientific knowledge
- metacognition and self-regulation are important
mechanisms that account for growth
- cultural tools affect participation in society
- interaction between cultural tools and values promotes higher mental processes
- symbolic and psychological tools promote cognitive development as a mediator
- collaborative problem-solving
- ZPD connects learning and development (symbolic play)
testable hypotheses
- development of languages causes use of inner speech as a means to regulate attention and behaviour
- more complex = more reliance on inner speech
- engaging in advanced symbolic play exhibits greater cognitive complexity
environment and social contexts that affect development
- Cognition is understood by the interaction between child and development
- Drives development - Child’s influence on environment (and vice versa) create meaningful experiences that drive development
- Social dynamics drive development
risk factors
- Limited interaction and guidance from peers
- Lack of social interaction can cause underdeveloped language and cognitive abilities
strengths
- Higher mental function is a social factor that becomes internalized
- Collaboration in learning
- ZPD explains relationship between development and learning
- Educational applications
- Diversity in development
- Focus on culture
- Meaning of behaviour varies on situation and setting
- Activities mediated by social interaction
weaknesses
- ZPD has multiple definitions
- No guidance of how to support to promote development in ZPD
- No clear amount of improvement is to be expected
- No age baselines
- Overstates role of language
- No impact level for features of social/historical/cultural context
- Overestimates benefits of nature collective
- Underestimates power of separate cultures
- Underestimates power of individuality
- No concepts to account for individual and group differences
