Le Vygotsky Theory and Cognitive Development: Sociolinguistics

Vygotsky’s Cognitive Development Theory (VT), proposes that social interaction is central to cognitive development. Vygotsky’s theory is comprised of concepts such as culture-specific tools, language and thought interdependence, and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Moreover, the theoretical concepts presented herein provide part of the basis for constructivism and have contributed greatly to the restructuring of formal educational systems. 

Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development is recognized as one of the most groundbreaking psychological theories of the twentieth century. The theory is grounded on the postulation that culture plays a key role in cognitive development. Each period in child growth is linked with a leading activity dominant in a given period. Substantial importance is given on developing cognitive functions conceptualized through the idea of the zone of proximal development. Instruction and learning are perceived as leading a child’s cognitive development rather than following it.

Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition, as he believed strongly that the community plays a central role in the process of "making meaning.

The distinguishing characteristic of VT is its stress on culture as the most significant factor of cognitive development. Though Vygotsky readily admitted that some rudimentary cognitive processes can be shared by humans and higher animals, he clearly and deliberately focused his theory on those cognitive processes that are distinctive to humans. He called them ‘higher mental processes’ and linked their development with the involvement of cultural tools in the shaping of human cognition. Culture in VT is not an external cover or ethnographically explicit form of human behavior and thinking; culture according to VT is the force that shapes all higher mental processes, such as perception, attention, memory, and problem-solving. In the absence of more suitable terms, we still use the same verbal labels for both basic cognitive processes and culturally shaped higher mental processes though these two groups are very different in their basis, development, and capability.

Lev Vygotsky, who assumed that parents, caregivers, peers, and the culture at large were responsible for developing higher-order functions. According to Vygotsky, learning has its foundation in linking with other people. Once this has occurred, the information is then united on the discrete level. According to him, children are born with basic biological restrictions on their minds. Each culture, however, provides "tools of intellectual adaptation." These tools allow children to use their skills in a way that is adaptive to the culture in which they live. For example, while one culture might stress memory strategies such as note-taking, another might use tools like reminders or rote memorization.

The Zone Proximal Development concept put forth by Vygotsky is more important to be discussed here. This "is the distance between the actual development 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."

Vygotsky believed that language develops from social interactions, for communication purposes. He viewed language as man’s ultimate tool, a means for shared knowledge with others. According to Vygotsky language plays two significant roles in cognitive development:

1. It is the chief means by which adults transfer information to children.

2. The language itself becomes a very influential tool of intellectual adaptation.

These long discussion shows that culture is important for the development of language. However, another contemporary of Vygotsky, Piaget rejects the VT and believed that a child's interactions and explorations influenced development.