Nursing theories

Vygotsky's general theory of cognitive development

Key points

•  Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) is sometimes called the "Mozart of psychology" because of his prolific output of novel theories in a short period of time.
• Vygotsky’s theory has been applied to many fields of inquiry.¹
• The two core principles of Vygotsky’s work are - the systemic approach to the study of the mind and the social origin of the mind.¹
• Vygotsky’s cognitive development theory postulates that social interaction is fundamental to cognitive development.²
• Vygotsky explains that learning is an educational activity because it generates a zone of proximal development, a zone in which the child operates at the edge of her emerging abilities and approaches the expert cultural knowledge of the adult.³
• He explained the relationship between the brain and its environment, the cultural context.
• Vygotsky also focused on human primates and cultural things such as collaboration, communication and teaching.⁴

Major Concepts

• Systemic Approach to the Development of the Mind -Vygotsky stressed that it is a mistake to study psychological functions individually, e.g., to study development of memory or development of perception.
• He argued that researchers should address the change in the relationships between various functions.
• Vygotsky distinguished between elementary, primitive, lower psychological functions (LPF, such as memory and concept formation, and higher psychological functions (HPF) which include decision-making, speech and language, and cultural transmission of knowledge.⁵
• Vygotsky maintained that the structure of the mind cannot be understood by researching the mind of an adult, instead observe mind development in a child.
• The system structure and functionality can only be understood through system development. 

References