PSY1004 WEEK 3

Question 1

define culture

Answer 1

customs, beliefs and habits of particular people at a particular time and their collective intellectual, material, scientific and artistic achievements over historical time

Question 2

define socioculture

Answer 2

bring together how society, social world of child and culture in which child is living at time may impact their development

Question 3

what key principles did Vygotsky believe

Answer 3

influenced by marxism so no clear separation between social and individual development
child’s thoughts are influenced by sociocultural contexts
children are collaborators in their own learning alongside adult
psychological tools are acquired through socio-cultural interaction
language most important tool for development

Question 3

what is the impact of socioculture on play

Answer 3

determines type of practical activity we engage in and learn, so imitate adults through pretend play
create imaginary situations from internal ideas and learn rules of society

Question 3

give a research example of the impact of socioculture, on play

Answer 3

children in Efe populations imitate work of adults but children in USA are placed in nurseries so do this alot less

Question 3

what is the impact of socioculture on problem solving

Answer 3

determines the activities we engage in so impacts our thinking and reasoning styles and our experience of these
socioeconomic status predicts later cognitive skill

Question 3

give an example of impact of socioculture on problem solving

Answer 3

Liberions better at estimating rice quantity than length as more common task

Question 4

describe the impact of socioculture on language

Answer 4

determines our native languages and subtle language difference affects cognitive development

Question 5

give research for impact of sociocultures on language

Answer 5

there are no words for >5 quantity in Amazonian and can solve math below 5 easily, however when learning a language including words for >5, become better at these math problems

Question 6

what was Vygotsky’s beliefs on inner speech

Answer 6

private speech is a mediating tool for thinking and for planning. child’s behaviour originally external (cannot keep thoughts and behaviours internally) and is controlled by adults instructions
progresses to private speech said out loud
then internal monologues at age 7
transition of language from communication tool to thoughts tool is essential for cognitive development

Question 7

give evidence for importance of self-speech

Answer 7

1. children engage in more self-speech in challenging task
2. those using external speech when facing challenging tasks are more attentive and perform better on cognitive tasks than quiet children
   children prevented from using inner speech perform worse on planning tas

Question 8

how can we study if a child has developed inner-speech

Answer 8

interrupt, see what happen to performance

Question 9

what is the zone of proximal development, as developed by Vygotsky

Answer 9

distance between actual developmental level and level of potential development

the increase in development that a child can reach using assistance by more competent person, compared to development without having help. however, only for things they cannot do by themselves

Question 10

briefly state ZPD 3 levels

Answer 10

lower level - actual level of development (independent ability)
proximal level
upper level - potential level of development (can’t yet do alone)

Question 11

what should adults do according to ZPD

Answer 11

provide guidance in challenging tasks to break down into more manageable pieces, offer instructions

Question 12

define scaffolding

Answer 12

(Bruner) learning can be enhanced when more competent people provide supportive framework to support child’s thinking at more higher level than they could achieve independently. adjust as competency develops

Question 13

what are the 5 aspects of scaffolding?

Answer 13

1. recruitment (engage interest)
2. reduction of degrees of freedom (reduce number of acts needed to arrive at solution)
3. direction maintenance (maintain motivation via encouragement)
4. marking critical features (highlight important feature of situation)
5. demonstration

Question 14

what makes effective scaffolding

Answer 14

move up the pyramid
1. general verbal prompts (suggest action, not specific)
2. specific verbal instructions
3. indicates material
4. prepare unit of task for child to then follow on
5. demonstrate

Question 15

explain contingency, regarding scaffolding

Answer 15

show contingence between decreasing control level if child improves, and if child fails then immediately move up pyramid

Question 16

how should scaffolding be used in the classroom

Answer 16

interactive, continually adjusted to child
fading: gradually withdrawing support as competency increases
transferring responsibility from teacher to child
bridging: connect existing knowlesge to new

Question 17

give examples of motor development (applications of Vygotsky’s theories)

Answer 17

Kokwet infants sat and walked earlier as sit up on mothers back during work

Beng infants sit up earlier but walk later (due to cultural belief)

comparisons to WEIRD sanmple

Question 18

apply Vygotsky beliefs to delayed gratification (marshmallow study)

Answer 18

impact of socioeconomic status on marshmallow task due to elements of risk taking, short-term reward and food security

Question 19

define socioeconomic status

Answer 19

measure of child’s social standing relative to others and is often measured using family income/parental education

Question 20

compare and contrast Piaget/Vygotsky on: inner speech

Answer 20

Piaget believed egocentric speech reflects difficulties with POV considerations
Vygotsky argued private speech is used in self-guidance, as well as eventually guided thoughts and behaviours

Question 21

compare and contrast Piaget/Vygotsky on: ZPD/scaffolding

Answer 21

PIaget believed no interventions
Vygotsky argued adult instruction aids development

Question 22

compare and contrast Piaget/Vygotsky on: active role

Answer 22

both agree active learning, world interactions important in development, both constructivist

Question 23

compare and contrast Piaget/Vygotsky on: cognitive stage theories

Answer 23

Piaget: distinct, discontinuous stages with qualitative shifts and no differences between children

Vygotsky: flexible, continuous, gradual quantitative improvements, influenced by differing factors

Question 24

compare and contrast Piaget/Vygotsky on: culture

Answer 24

Piaget: no impact
Vygotsky: important role

Question 25

compare and contrast Piaget/Vygotsky on: nature/nurture

Answer 25

Piaget: maturation is important (nature)
Vygotsky: socioculture important (nurture)