Cognitive development by Vigotsky

Cognitive development by Vigotsky

1. Fundamental concepts:

   • Mental functions
     • These functions can be manifested thanks to our brain and hot it works, which we can understand more effectively with the parietal and extraparietal motor system; which expresses how our body works with the brain, and how it fullfils its function of sensations, emotions, motor movements, among others.
   • Psychological abilities
     • The superior mental functions develop and appear in two moments:In the first moment, psychological abilities or higher mental functions are manifested in the social sphere and the second moment is the individual sphere. Internalization or internalization designates the process of building internal representations of external physical actions or mental operations.
   • Language and development
     • For Vygotsky, language is the psychological tool that most influences cognitive development. He distinguishes three stages in the use of language: the social stage, the egocentric stage and the inner speech. In the first stage, that of social speech, the child uses language fundamentally to communicate. Thought and language meet independent functions. The child enters the next stage, egocentric speech, when he begins to use the he speaks to regulate his behavior and thought. Talk out loud to yourself when you do some tasks Children internalize egocentric speech in the last stage of speech development, that of inner speech, in this phase, they can reflect on problem solving and the sequence of actions manipulating the language “in your head”.
   • Zone of proximal development
     • Vygotsky assumed that interactions with adults and peers in the personal development zone help the child reach a higher level of functioning. The zone of proximal development representes a gap, the gap is what a child can do by himself and what he can do with help. If a child knows how to add but needs a little help from an adult, that would be the zone of proximal development. With practice and support. he will eventually do it on his own.
   • Thinking tools
     • Vygotsky described from the technical and pyschological tools that children use to interpret their world. The first serve to modify the objects to dominate the environment. The second tools serve to organize or control thought and behavior. Every culture has its own technical and psychological tools that they transmit to children through social interactions
   • Sociocultural perspective
     • Vygotsky's sociocultural theory views human development as a socially mediated process in which children acquire their cultural values, beliefs, and problem-solving strategies through collaborative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society. Vygotsky's theory is comprised of concepts such as culture-specific tools, private speech, and the Zone of Proximal Development.