Theories Of Vygotsky's Theory Of Cognitive Development

Vygotsky may have overplayed importance on social influences because he suggests that child’s cognitive development occurs through social interactions, for example children do internalisation of problem solving via mutual interactions. However, if social learning is the essence of cognitive development then learning would be a lot faster than it is. Thus Vygotsky ignores the biological aspects that aid or restricts the cognitive development such as the development of brain and maturation. Therefore Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is different to

Lev Vygotsky developed a theory of cognitive development in children and young adults. His theory of cognitive development states that people’s mental structures are based on their interactions with OTHERS. Basically he says that other people create our thinking processes and cognitive structures as we interact with them, which begins particularly at a young age. Vygotsky supported sociocultural theory, “which states that the role of development in children happens through their community and interactions” (Woolfolk 59). This is referring to peoples ways of thinking and behaving in other words. Vygotsky notes three themes that explain how these social interactions dictate people thoughts. The three themes are co-constructed, cultural tools, and private speech. “Every function in a child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and later on the individual level; first between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relations between human individuals” (Woolfolk 59). Higher mental processes and thinking through problems are first co-constructed during activities between children and another person. The child internalizes the process and it becomes part of their activities with other people. It means that together they figure something out, then later on the child can use that interaction to regulate their own behavior. This can be applied in a classroom for a lot of problem solving situations. For intense if I gave a math word problem, and asked the class a serious of questions as to help them figure out the problem, they would be able to answer the question. This would help them to answer this kind of math problem in the future, without my help. Vygotsky believed that children’s cognitive development happens through interactions with people who have a higher, more advanced thinking, people such as PARENTS or TEACHERS. This could be applied in the classroom, because children learn from their teachers, who have a more advanced thinking and they help their students solve problems, and questions, and

Unlike Piaget, Vygotsky alleged that adults play a fundamental role in the development of children as they nurtured their learning in a premeditated way (McDevitt et al, 2013), rather than entrusting it to natural processes. Vygotsky also believed that language played a primary responsibility in a child’s development, while Piaget excluded this from his theory (McDevitt et al, 2013). The social experiences a child encounter along with conversations they have with others and themselves (self-talk), greatly influences their capacity to grow and learn. One of the benefits of Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development is the Zone of Proximal development. Where children are frequently being pressed to the limit of their comfort zones within learning in order of forward progression (McDevitt et al, 2013).

The second theory that deals with adolescence transition into early adulthood is propounded by Kramer (1983, 1989). He noted that human cognitive development takes three stages that include; absolutist, relativist and dialectical stage. According to Kramer, early adulthood begins with absolutist stage. At this stage people believe that at all times

Cognitive development is the term used to describe the construction of thought process, including remembering, problem solving and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. In this essay I will compare and contrast the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, both of which were enormously significant contributors to the cognitive development component to/in psychology. In addition to this I will also weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of each theory and outline how they can be applied to an educational setting.

Cognition is the process involved in thinking and mental activity, such as attention, memory and problem solving. In this essay on cognitive development I will compare and contrast the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, who were both influential in forming a more scientific approach to analysing the cognitive development process of the child active construction of knowledge. (Flanagan 1996 P.72). I will then go onto evaluate the usefulness of these theories in understanding a child's development.

4. I relate most with cognitive theories of development. Piaget provides the foundation by explaining the distinct stages of development. His insights allow teachers and parents to have a basis of what children are capable of during each stage. If the child drastically strays from these stages, it allows the caring adults to take action to help the child to reach the appropriate stage. With an understanding of these stages, the theories of Vygotsky can then be successfully utilized. Vygotsky stresses that with the

The essay is going to introduce short overviews of Piaget (1926) and Vygotsky’s (1978) theories to indicate their different approaches when considering cognitive development. Piaget (1926) developed a constructivist theory which is the basis for the other cognitive development theories that followed. He proposed the definition of schema which refers to children’s construction of shaping their thought and actions through the set of cognitive processes as assimilation, disequilibriums and accommodation. When encountering new experiences, children try to interpret them in terms of known cognitive schemas. In case of failing, they need to adjust their interpretation to the reality (Schaffter & Kipp,8th ed). Based on his assumptions, Piaget (1926) proposed that child as a lone individual progress through four main stages of cognitive development. On the other hand, Vygotsky (1978) presented sociocultural theory. Vygotsky (1978) concentrated on the social interaction between child and adult considering

Outline the main similarities and differences between Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s explanations for cognitive development in children.

This essay concerns the psychology of cognitive development. Cognitive development can be explained in terms of the acquisition, construction and progressive change in thought processes such as memory, problem-solving and decision-making that occurs from childhood to adulthood (in Smith, P.K., Cowie, H & Blades, M. 2003). Major pioneers in this area and whose work has been the foundation of much research in cognitive psychology are among Jean Piaget’s (1926) and Lev Vygotksy’s (1978). A common understanding between the two rest on the idea that cognitive development in children occurs through stages, however, their approach in identifying these stages highly differ (in Smith P.K. et al., 2003).

Although Lev Vygotsky’s main field of work was developmental psychology, he also had come up with a theory for higher cognitive functions in children (Lev Vygotsky. (2013). Encyclopedia of World). It was in this development that Vygotsky began to see the arrival of reasoning in a social environment through practical activity. In the beginning stages of his career, Vygotsky stood firm in his belief that the development of reasoning was brought about by the use of signs and symbols, and was contingent on cultural practices in addition to universal cognitive processes. Lev Vygotsky also conceived the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development, this happens when the student is able to complete tasks without any assistance. This fills the void for what learners can accomplish on their own and what they need support with (Blake&Pope,2008, p60).

Lev Vygotsky was a theorist in child development who believed environment and culture have a major impact on a child’s learning and social development. His insight on how something as a bedroom or house can influence how a child will think and what they will think made Vygotsky be crucial to Child Development. Lev Vygotsky was born in Russia and came from a Jewish family, which meant as a child his life was limited when it came to housing, school, and work. Vygotsky’s background relates to child development seeing as at a young age he was exposed to a life where he was segregated simply for religion, which takes a tole on a young child.

Every child is unique and different and develops at different rates, but there are certain milestones and stages that all children go through from birth to the age of eight. Children’s cognitive development does not stop at this time, but the first years are the foundation of their cognitive development. Cognitive development has to do with the knowledge children learn and the tasks they are able to perform. As children grow, they gain a better understanding of the world around them and increase their cognitive development. There have been many theories and numerous people who have spent their entire life observing how children develop cognitively such as: Jean Piaget – Theory of Cognitive, Erickson’s Psychosocial Stages and Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development. These theorists have slightly different perspective on how a child develops. The following paper will take a look at the most important cognitive milestones a child goes through from birth to eight years of age.

Justification of this critique was also provided by Vygotsky theory of development .Vygotsky (1929) believes that adults and child’s peers are involved in shaping cognitive development of the

With the passing of time, the development of thought and language has been the object of study for psychologists such as Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. The former drastically influenced the study of thought and speech with his theory of cognitive development and his clinical method. The latter also made his contribution with his sociocultural theory. Although language and thought may be analysed as associate one to the other, both of them may be considered as independent and dynamic processes which belong to different roots. Considering the book Thought and Language by Lev Vygotsky, it might be possible to debunk the fundamental concepts of Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories and to expand on their main differences.