Lecture 14 Socialcultural Theories

Question 1

Key differences: Piaget vs Vygotsky

Answer 1

• Piaget: autonomous, active, self-motivated; constructivist; domain general
• Vygotsky: social&cultural context; joint activity; language

Question 2

Core principles of sociocultural theory

Answer 2

1. Child as eager learner, aduls like teachers
2. Culturally specific
3. Constructivist
4. Continuous development
5. Adults ftransmit the skills, practices, values of their culture

Question 3

Shared intentionality definition

Answer 3

• Collaborative activity with shared goals/intentions, could just for enjoyment
• early basis of communication (before words, eg. eye contact)

Question 4

Joint attention definition

Answer 4

• Focusing on the same object or event with another person
• switching gaze between object and person (‘Do you see what I see?’)

Question 5

Scaffolding in learning

Answer 5

Temporary support from experts that enables higher-level performance than learner could achieve alone

Question 6

Zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Answer 6

Difference between what learner can do alone vs. with expert guidance; where learning occurs

Question 7

Infant gaze following

Answer 7

Early ability to follow others’ eye gaze; foundation for joint attention and social learning

Question 8

Private speech importance

Answer 8

• Self-directed speech for self-regulation and problem-solving ;
• common in 4-6 years old;
• becomes internalized as thought later (Vygotsky)

Question 9

Vygotsky on language

Answer 9

• Language as foundation for higher cognitive processes (planning, problem-solving and resoning)
• helps children regulate own behavior

Question 10

Piaget vs Vygotsky on self-talk

Answer 10

Piaget: egocentric speech –> preoperational stage
Vygotsky: self-regulatory private speech that develops into thought

Question 11

Cultural specificity

Answer 11

Sociocultural emphasizes culture-specific skills vs Piaget’s universal cognitive structures

Question 12

Continuous development

Answer 12

Vygotsky: gradual skill acquisition vs Piaget’s discrete stages

Question 13

Shared Intentionality / Intersubjectivity

Answer 13

• Shared intentionality involves interacting with another person and understanding and sharing their psychological states, including their desires, intentions and enjoyment. Interest and attention is shared between the infant and adult
• basis for human cultural cognition

Question 14

Pointing in infants

Answer 14

Early communicative gesture to establish joint attention before language develops

Question 15

Human vs primate cognition

Answer 15

Humans uniquely share intentions for mutual enjoyment; primates understand goals but don’t share attention

Question 16

Internalization process

Answer 16

Transition from social speech → private speech → inner thought (Vygotsky’s sequence)

Question 17

Adult’s role in development

Answer 17

Transmit cultural skills/values through guided participation and scaffolding

Question 18

Modern sociocultural concepts

Answer 18

3 Interelated concepts:
1) Shared intentionality
2) Joint attention
3) Scaffolding (Tomasello & Carpenter)

Question 19

Face scanning in infants

Answer 19

Preferential attention to faces from birth; enables picking up emotional/social cues

Question 20

Language as cognitive tool

Answer 20

Enables categorization, planning, problem-solving through social dialogue (Vygotsky)