SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

DEFINITION
A perspective describing people’s behavior and mental processes as shaped in part by their social and/or cultural contact, including race, gender, and nationality

LEV VYGOTSKY

• Founded the sociocultural theory in 1931
• Focused on how beliefs and attitudes affected development
• Believed that no one principle can account for development
• Died in 1934 at age 37
• Many of his works are still lost or have yet to be translated

FOUR PRINCIPLES OF VYGOTSKY'S THEORY

• Children construct their knowledge
• Development cannot be separate from its social context
• Learning can lead to development
• Language plays a central role in mental development

ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT

JOBS IN THIS FIELD

• Conducting research on human behavior
• Working for university, business, or government agency
• Often help businesses hire and train workers and give advice
• Other major jobs include: teaching classes and working in hospitals

SOURCES

• http://psychology.about.com
• https://sites.google.com/site/etec512vygotsky/SocioCulturalTheory
• simplypsychology.org
• http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky