Sociocultural Theory: Focuses of Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Sociocultural theory states that cultural factors and social learning are the most important aspects of all human development. In other words, culture shapes a child’s mental functions more so than any innate instincts, behavioral patterns, or universal human traits. In educational psychology, this has led some teachers to develop a pedagogy based on highlighting specific cultural norms rather than hewing to ostensibly “universal” approaches to the learning process.

Russian psychologist and childhood development theorist Lev Vygotsky developed sociocultural theory to make sense of his observations of how children best learned in different environments. Vygotsky’s theory rested upon the assumption that the social influence of each specific culture overrode any more universal elements transcending one society to the next.

After Vygotsky died in 1934, his theories fell dormant in the world of psychology for the most part as well. They went on to enjoy a renaissance and reappraisal globally beginning in the late 1970s when publishers started to reissue his old works.

Psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory comprises many different ideas about cognitive growth. These seven elements form a prism through which to view childhood development from a sociocultural perspective:

1. 1. Children make use of psychological tools. Vygotsky’s work highlighted the fact each culture possesses distinct psychological tools. These include unique ways to do math, learn languages, and engage in various social processes. Children make use of these tools by leaning on the expertise of more knowledgeable others in their cultural and social environments.
2. 2. Culture shapes cognitive development. The most fundamental assertion in sociocultural theory is that cultural context does more than anything else to shape each child’s cognitive functions. Children engage with their distinct culture to form a learning style directly correlated to their society. In other words, Vygotsky would assert Russian children learn in a uniquely Russian way that would be impossible to replicate in another country or culture.
3. 3. Development styles shift based on place. Social context plays the most important role in Vygotsky’s theory. In his view, the place a person grows up in has more of an effect on them than anything they can do for themselves on an individual level. As such, ensuring you raise a child in the correct learning environment is paramount.
4. 4. Language precedes thought. Some theorists believe thought precedes language, but Vygotsky and psychologists who followed in his wake insist the opposite is true. A person’s language lays the groundwork for all their cognitive processes, including what they think, how they think, and why they think about what they do in the first place. Children also develop the capacity to understand language through social interactions, rather than more individual development, in this theory.
5. 5. Play helps children understand the world. Vygotsky believed that when young children play, they actually learn to think on a higher level. Games of make-believe would open up a higher level of cognition, freeing them to learn new skills and develop new mental processes by which to understand the world around them.
6. 6. Private speech anchors learning. In early childhood, it’s common to spend a lot of time audibly talking to yourself. Vygotsky thought this sort of “private speech” was essential to cognitive growth. Over time, children would go through a process of internalization and learn to talk to themselves merely through their own thoughts rather than out loud. This “inner speech” characterizes how most adults engage in problem-solving.
7. 7. There is a zone of proximal development. Vygotsky thought there was a zone of proximal development (ZPD) in which adult guidance could help further establish and develop fledgling skills and ideas in children. Moving past this ZPD would often require collaborative learning with capable peers alongside direct instruction from caregivers.

Developmental psychology is a wide umbrella reaching out to cover multiple different theories of cognitive growth. Here are four schools of thought to compare and contrast:

1. 1. Behaviorism: This theory of learning and psychology insists the development of higher psychological processes is all a result of determinism. In other words, your social development and behavior proceed from responding to stimuli in a way locked in from birth.
2. 2. Constructivism: In this school of thought, psychologists assert that intellectual development occurs when people construct meaning and new understandings of their own will. This differs from the sociocultural theory that cultural tools play a far more important role in the learning process.
3. 3. Sociocultural: This theory by Russian psychologist Leo Vygotsky asserts culture is the most important factor in a child’s cognitive development. According to the Vygotskian sociocultural approach, social learning has a greater impact than even instinct on a young person’s mental functions.
4. 4. Stage theory: Jean Piaget’s theory of child development featured a series of four stages all children must go through to unlock higher mental functions. Piaget contended these developmental levels were universal throughout all cultures, rather than capable of changing from one culture to the next. This starkly contrasts with Vygotsky’s ideas about sociocultural theory.

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