Correct Answer - Option 3 : Society
Lev Vygotsky was a seminal Russian psychologist who is best known for his sociocultural theory. He believed that social interaction plays a critical role in children's learning. Through such social interactions, children go through a continuous process of learning. Vygotsky noted that culture profoundly influences this process. Imitation, guided learning, and collaborative learning all play a critical part in his theory.
- The major theme of Vygotsky’s theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygotsky (1978) states: “Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (inter psychological) and then inside the child (intra psychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, logical memory, and the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals.”
- He suggested that human development results from a dynamic interaction between individuals and society. Through this interaction, children learn gradually and continuously from parents and teachers. However, this learning varies from one culture to the next. It's important to note that Vygotsky's theory emphasizes the dynamic nature of this interaction. Society does not just impact people; people also affect their society.
- Higher-order mental processes first appear during interactions with people, and then these processes are internalized by the child. We can also say that knowledge is constructed together by adults and children in interactions. And it is then internalized by the child.
- The second aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development depends upon the “zone of proximal development” (ZPD): a level of development attained when children engage in social behavior. Full development of the ZPD depends upon full social interaction. The range of skills that can be developed with adult guidance or peer collaboration exceeds what can be attained alone.
Hence, we can conclude that Vygotsky assumed that society has the most important contribution to the development of a child.
