3. Social Construction of Mind Flashcards
General genetic law of cultural development
The idea that cognition occurs on two planes, first the social, between individuals, and later the psychological, as it is internalized by the child
Guided participation
Adult-child interactions, not only during explicit instruction but also during the more routine activities and communication of everyday life; the process and system of involvement of individuals with others as they communicate and engage in shared activities; contrast with zone of proximal development; see also sociocultural perspective
Legitimate peripheral participation
From sociocultural theory, the idea that children acquire mature, culturally appropriate behaviors simply by observation of skilled members of their community
Microgenetic development
In Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, changes that occur over relatively brief periods of time, in seconds, minutes, or days, as opposed to larger-scale changes, as conventionally studied in ontogenetic development
Ontogenetic development
Development of the individual over his or her lifetime
Phylogenetic development
Development over evolutionary time
Scaffolding
An expert, when instructing a novice, responding contingently to the novice’s responses in a learning situation, so that the novice gradually increases his or her understanding of a problem
Sociocultural perspective
A perspective of cognitive development emphasizing that development is guided by adults interacting with children, with the cultural context determining to a large extent how, where, and when these interactions take place; see also guided participation, zone of proximal development
Sociohistorical development
Changes that have occurred in one’s cultural and the values, norms, and technologies such a history has generated
Tools of intellectual adaptation
Vygotsky’s term for methods of thinking and problem-solving strategies that children internalize from their interactions with more competent members of society
WEIRD societies
Acronym for Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic, the type of societies in which most psychological research is done. Much of the world, and our species for most of our history, lives under very different conditions, thus limiting what can be said about cognitive universals
Zone of proximal development
In Vygotsky’s theory, the difference between a child’s actual level of ability and the level of ability that he or she can achieve when working under the guidance of an instructor; contrast with guided participation; see also sociocultural perspective
