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The Role of Culture in Cognitive Development - Class Lecture

The document discusses sociocultural theories of cognitive development, which posit that cognitive functioning is strongly influenced by the social and cultural environment in which children are raised. It outlines Vygotsky's view that higher mental functions develop through social interactions and internalization of cultural tools. According to Vygotsky, cognitive development occurs within a child's zone of proximal development, where problem-solving can be achieved with guidance from others. The zone of proximal development emphasizes the difference between what children can do independently versus with assistance. Cultural practices around child-rearing and social interactions shape cognitive development in different ways across societies.

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203 views42 pages

The Role of Culture in Cognitive Development - Class Lecture

The document discusses sociocultural theories of cognitive development, which posit that cognitive functioning is strongly influenced by the social and cultural environment in which children are raised. It outlines Vygotsky's view that higher mental functions develop through social interactions and internalization of cultural tools. According to Vygotsky, cognitive development occurs within a child's zone of proximal development, where problem-solving can be achieved with guidance from others. The zone of proximal development emphasizes the difference between what children can do independently versus with assistance. Cultural practices around child-rearing and social interactions shape cognitive development in different ways across societies.

Uploaded by

angelica agao
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Role of

Culture in
Cognitive
Development
PSYC 353 Lecture
Dr. Schwartz

Sociocultural Perspective
How

we develop, particularly how we


learn and think is primarily a function of
the social and cultural environment in
which we are reared.
Emphasizes what makes people
different thinkers rather than what we
share in common.

Consider the differences between children


who grow up in a technologically driven
society and children who grow up in a
hunter-gatherer type of society in Africa

According

to Piaget, children will solve


problems relevant to their daily lives
using species-specific cognitive
mechanisms that develop according to a
species-typical schedule.

However,
Sociocultural

theorists see cognitive


development very differently

Cognitive

development is inseparable
from culture

Furthermore
Culture

is transmitted to children by
their parents and other members of
society.
Childrens intellectual processes are
developed to handle tasks and problems
important to the particular
surroundings.
Sociocultural theory addresses how
children come to understand their and
function in their social world.

Lev Vygotsky
Russian

Psychologist (1896
1934), died at 38 from
Tuberculosis.
His writing in the 20s and 30s
emphasized that development is
guided by adults interacting with
children, with culture determining
how, where, and when these
interactions take place.

Vygotsky
Proposed

that cognitive development


occurs in situations where a childs
problem solving is guided by an adult.
Cognitive development progresses
through the collaborations of members
of one generation with another.
Cognitive development is embedded
within culture.

Vygotsky - Genetic
Method
Another of Vygotskys key ideas is his genetic domains:
1.
Onto-genesis: Development by an individual over
lifetime
2.
Socio-historical: Development of the society
3.
Phylo-genesis: Development of the (human) species
4.
Micro-genesis: Creation of ideas & concept learning
Focusing only on the individual or only on the environment
cannot provide an adequate explanation of
development.
Therefore, his social theory involves the interplay between
1 and 2.

Tools of Intellectual Adaptation


Infants

are born with some elementary


mental functions.

Attention, sensation, perception, and


memory.

Transformed

by the culture into new and


sophisticated mental processeshigher
mental functions

Tools of Intellectual Adaptation


Thinking

and problem solving strategies


that children internalize from their
interactions with more competent
people.

Teach

children how to use their minds


how to think and what to think.

Vygotsky on Cognition
Cognitioneven

socioultural.

in isolation, is

Affected

by values, beliefs and tools of


intellectual adaptation transmitted to
individuals by their culture.

Varies

from culture to culture, therefore,


not universal as Piaget assumed.

Cognitive Development
Young

children are curious explorers

Active in learning and discovering new


principles

Importance

of social contributions to
cognitive growth
Higher psychological processes (involve
social awareness) have a social origin,
developing first on a social plane and then
later internalized on a psychological plane.

Dual Nature of Cognitive


Development
1.
2.
3.
4.

General Genetic Law of Cultural


Development
Social Plane
Psychological Plane
~
Between people as an
interpsychological category
Within the child as a
intrapsychological category

Culturally Constituted
Cognitive Activity
Cognitions

are not characteristics of


individuals, but are functions that can
be carried out between individuals.
Individual thinking is embedded within
the contributions of the social world.
Vygotsky suggested that individuals be
examined as they participate in
culturally valued activities.

Many

important discoveries that


children make occur within the context
of cooperative and collaborative
dialogues between a skillful tutor.
Child tries to understand the
instructions and internalizes the
information to regulate his own
performance.
Fosters cognitive growth.

Zone of Proximal
Development
The

difference between a childs actual


developmental level as determined by
independent problem solving and the
level of potential development as
determined through problem solving
under adult guidance or in collaboration
with more capable peers.

Zone of Proximal
Development
Actual developmental
level as determined
by independent
problem solving.

The
ZPD

Actual developmental
level as determined
through problem
solving under adult
guidance or in
collaboration with
more capable peers

Children learn best when they solve problems at a level between their
current ability and their ability when assisted by a more competent person

Zone of Proximal
Development

Zone of Proximal
Development
Instruction
Effective

should occur within the zone.

teaching should be focused

here.
Cognitive

growth occurs here.

Scaffolding
When

an expert is aware of the abilities


of a novice and responds contingently to
the novices responses so that the
novice eventually increases his or her
understanding of the problem.

In other words
Scaffolding

is an instructional technique
where the teacher provides the novice
learner with just enough assistance for
achievement of understanding.
Students receive help that enables them
to complete tasks that they cannot
complete independently.

Gradually,

as the learner becomes more


proficient, the scaffolding is removed.

However,

studies show that students do


not learn as well when told everything
to do, nor when left alone to discover on
their own.

Adult Child Interactions


Vary

with culture

What is taught depends on what roles the


child is expected to play eventually in
society

Rogof
The

transaction between adults and


children reflects an apprenticeship in
thinking.

Improving

skills and understanding


through participation with more skilled
partners.

Guided Participation
Extending

the Zone of Proximal Development

Refers

to adult-child interactions during


routine activities of everyday life. (not just
explicit instruction)
Going to the post office, dry-cleaners,
supermarket

Communicating

and engaging in shared


activities with others

Furthermore
It

focuses on the daily activities in


childrens lives

Chores, watching television

Rogoff

believed that childrens


cognitions are shaped from these
routine day-to-day activities more so
than in formal education settings.

Consider the differences between children


who grow up in a technologically driven
society and children who grow up in a
hunter-gatherer type of society in Africa

Tribal-type

cultures may involve children


in the daily activities of life more so than
children growing-up in an informationage culture.
Cognitive development has been shifted
from the parents to professional
educators.
Context-independent learning

Knowledge for knowledges sake

Language Development
All

children acquire language at about


the same time.

In

the U.S. and most of the developed


world, parents talk to their young
children and include them as
conversational partners.

Preparation for formal schooling

Reading Development
Joint

reading activity: A parent who


reads to their child regularly is a good
predictor of the childs reading ability
later in life.

TV vs. Reading

Interactive

Story Reading

Stopping periodically to ask open-ended


questions
Asking progressively more challenging
questions

Symbolic Play
Pretending
Can

all children do this

be solitary or cooperative

Chair

race car

Symbolic Play
Requires

the child to form a mental


representation of the activity

An indicator of a childs general cognitive


development

Children

advance their cognitions about


people, objects, and actions
Constructing an increasingly
sophisticated representation of the world
and how it works

Play it again
When

a child who interacts with a more


skilled partner who structures the
situation appropriate for them, then
they advance in their skills faster than
when this support is not provided.
Relationship between the amount of
cooperative social play that
preschoolers engage in and their later
understanding of peoples feelings and
beliefs.

Two Types of Cultures


1.

2.

Like ours beginning in preschool,


children are often segregated from
adults and receive culturally important
information and instruction outside of
the context of skilled activities.
Cultures where children are in close
contact with adults for most of the day
and observe and interact with adults
while they perform culturally
important activities

Diferent Trajectories
Different

forms of guided are going to


be used for different cultures

Depends on the demands of the cultures

Cultural

beliefs and technological tools


influence cognitive development
through child-rearing practices.

Educational
Implications
Vygotsky

stressed active learning

Assessing what they already know


Establishing what they are capable of
learning

Allowing

teachers to teach within the

zone
Allowing teachers to provide sufficient
scaffolding for fostering growth and
development

Guided Participation in the


Classroom
Where

teachers

Structure learning activities


Provide helpful hints or instruction
Carefully tailored to childs abilities
Monitoring learners progress
Gradually turning over more mental
activity to the students

Cooperative Learning
Environments
Design exercises where students are
encouraged to help each other
Less competent students will benefit from
the instruction of more competent peers
Teaching somebody something is the
best way to solidify ones own knowledge
Problem solving skills advance when
working together more so than when
working alone

Studying for your


exams
Is

not fun
But can be more fun when done in a
group

Best in a dyad

Taking turns teaching each other the


subject matter

Why?
Motivation

is increased
Use more high quality cognitive and
metacognitive stratagies
Increases your overall understanding
Clears-up any confusion
Builds a solid knowledge foundation

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