Review_Author: Qingfeng Liang
Book_Author: Lev Vygotsky
Book_Title: Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological
processes
Reference: Havard University Press
Date: 3/7/00
Time: 1:31:36 PM
Remote Name: 128.175.34.122
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This is a collection of essays by the late Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky, best known to readers for his book Thought and Language. L. S. Vygotsky died of tuberculosis in 1934 when he was only 38 years old.
Vygotsky ‘s work is of interest to biological, linguistic, historical and cultural psychology because he focuses on the higher (mediated ) psychological processes that distinguish human being and animal. The book discusses memory and intelligence, tool use, sign operations and speech in play, drawing, writing, etc. One of his most interesting ideas is that symbol use arises in play from the separation of meaning from action as occurs when a child uses one object(e.g., stick) to perform actions associated with another object (e.g., a rocking horse), and hence makes the first object represent or stand for the second.
Vygotsky argues for the developmental combination of two independent lines: thought and speech. At first, speech represents external activity and accompanies action; later, it precedes and directs action. Interpersonal communication is transformed during development into intrapersonal communication. Intrapersonal communication, talking to the self, allows the internalization of cultural values.
In the second part, Vygotsky discusses three major theoretical positions concerning about learning and development in children. Vygotsky did not agree with these three positions. He thought that learning should be matched in some manner with child's developmental level. So, he suggested that we determine at least two developmental levels. Thus, he proposed his new method: Zone of proximal development. Zone of proximal development refers to the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or collaboration with more capable peers. He uses the phrase, “zone of proximal development” to describe the arena of learning under training, in which children transcend their independent and spontaneous level of achievement under social stimulation. In Vygotsky’s view, interactions with social environment, including peer interaction, are important ways to facilitate individual cognitive growth and knowledge acquisition.
Vygotsky’s development theory comes from Marx’s philosophy, but he took Marxism very seriously. He considers development as: (1) qualitative transformations in logic and symbol use during stages of development. (2) the origin of thought in action, such as the internalization. (3) interaction between internal factors and external factors and the important of socialization in cognitive development. (4) the spiral-like recapitulation of achievements at higher levels during development.
I highly recommend this book because it gives us a different view of child development, learning and teaching. It is also important for us to know about Vygotsky’s theory systematically. However, due to reasons of translation, something are difficulty to understand and also confusing.