Bell Work LeoLev Vygotsky Social Development Theory Importance

Bell Work

Leo/Lev Vygotsky • Social Development Theory – Importance of social interaction in the development of cognition (increasing thought; gaining and processing knowledge) – Community plays a central role in the process of "making meaning. “ • Two main principles of Vygotsky's work – the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) – the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

– the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) • Children/people need a teacher/tutor/MKO that can model activity/learning correctly – the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) • the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help.

Vygotsky vs. Piaget • Piaget-Child’s development must precede learning • Vygotsky-“Learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing“ culturally and psychologically. Social learning tends to come before development. • Piaget-Equilibration – The force that moves development along. – The idea that cognitive development doesn’t progress at a steady rate, but in leaps and bounds. – Equilibrium occurs when a child's schemas can deal with most new information through assimilation. However, an unpleasant state of disequilibrium occurs when new information cannot be fitted into existing schemas. • Cognitive dissonance – We do not like to be frustrated and will seek to restore balance by mastering the new challenge (accommodation). • Vygotsky-No single principle (such as Piaget's equilibration) can account for development. Individual development cannot be understood without considering the social and cultural context.

Cognitive Dissonance • A situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. • This produces a feeling of discomfort, leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort/restore balance/etc. • Example: Smoking (behavior) and knowing that smoking causes cancer (cognition). • Leon Festinger (1957) proposed the cognitive dissonance theory, which states that a powerful motive to maintain cognitive consistency can give rise to irrational and sometimes maladaptive behavior. • According to Festinger, we hold many cognitions about the world and ourselves; when they clash, a discrepancy is evoked, resulting in a state of tension known as cognitive dissonance. As the experience of dissonance is unpleasant, we are motivated to reduce or eliminate it, and achieve consonance (i. e. agreement). • Arose out of a participant observation study of a cult that believed that the earth was going to be destroyed by a flood, specifically what happened to its members — particularly the really committed ones who had given up their homes and jobs to work for the cult — when the flood did not happen. – While fringe members were more inclined to recognize that they had made fools of themselves, committed members were more likely to re-interpret the evidence to show that they were right all along (the earth was not destroyed because of the faithfulness of the cult members).

Vygotsky's theory differs from that of Piaget in a number of important ways: • Culture and Development – – – Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development. Vygotsky has no stages Piaget has a set of universal stages • Social Factors: – Vygotsky places considerably more emphasis on social factors contributing to cognitive development – Piaget is criticized for underestimating this • Language – Vygotsky places more (and different) emphasis on the role of language in cognitive development – Again, Piaget is criticized for lack of emphasis on this