Stephanie Lyon & Moira Debbs Mrs. K L. S. Vygotsky Stephanie Lyon & Moira Debbs

Background Birth: 1896 Death: 1934 Lev Semenovitch Vygotsky was a Marxist His life was cut short by Tuberculosis In 1936 the Soviet Government banned his work This lasted until 1956 Vygotsky believed that one could only understand humans in the social-historical environment

Nature vs. Nurture? Vygotsky believed that there was an interplay between the two lines of development The natural line emerges from within the person The social-historical line influences the child from without Elementary Processes (Biological) Higher Processes (Sociocultural) Vygotsky “Sign-using activity in children is neither simply invented nor passed down by adults” (Vygotsky, Mind in Society, 46)

Key Terms Psychological signs: Internal activities aimed at mastering one’s self. Very similar to Piaget’s Schema such as speech and writing. Psychological tools: Something that is externally oriented that serves as a conductor of human influence on the object of an activity. Zones of Proximal Development: The specific periods of a child’s development at which certain abilities and traits develop using aids. Meditated memory function: The point of higher functioning memory; when one can use aids to help themselves. Unmediated memory function: A lower type of memory function. Is often seen in children who are still developing. Cognitive Development: the thought process and how memories and life skills form and change from childhood to adulthood.

Key Terms continued Direct Learning: When a child interact directly with the environment. Done primarily with observational learning, trial and error, etc. Mediated Learning: When adults or more competent peers place themselves between the environment and the child.

Forbidden Color Task Conducted by Leontiev in Vygotsky’s lab Participants (ages 5-27) were asked 3-4 groups of 18 questions, 7 of which had to do with colors. After each test, a new “rule” was applied. Results were analyzed on the number of errors. This was done to look at mediated memory development.

Leontiev’s Study Results Age Number of Subjects Errors Average Task 2 Errors Average Task 3 Difference Between tests 5-6 7 3.9 3.6 0.3 8-9 3.3 1.5 1.8 10-13 8 3.1 2.8 20-27 1.4 0.6 0.8

Conclusions from Study Children in the first age group were unable to fully grasp the use of the aid of the cards. Even after having the cards explained to them, they still could not use the cards as an aid; the use of the cards even seemed to hinder them. The children in the second age group responded much like the first, unable to grasp how to use the color aids to help them fully. They often just looked at the cards and would interact with them occasionally. The third group was able to use the cards, but would forget about them, indicating some mistakes The final group, the oldest age, was able to use the cards to their advantage, often moving them around or placing them out of site so that they did not use the color more than once or not even using them all. Page 45 of Mind in Society

Stages Developed from the Study Preschool Age Child is not capable of using the cards to aid in their behavior (cards still act as stimuli) Introduction of cards raises effectiveness of the child’s activity Interalization The external sign that school age children used has been transformed into an internal sign. Experiment showed how external forms of mediated behavior develop

Process of Internalization An operation that initially represents an external activity is reconstituted and begins to occur internally An interpersonal process is transformed into an intrapersonal one The transformation of an interpersonal process into an intrapersonal one is the result of a long series of developmental events -Vygotsky, Mind in Society, 56-57 Stage one demonstrates the shift from tool using activity to sign using activity. Stage two is talking about how mental processes first occur with others outside of one’s self and then these processes shift inward. Stage three just shows how this if often a long process and sometimes the external sign can last forever.

How does a tool become a sign? Meredith Whittaker used a map of D.C. to understand Vygotsky’s Theory. The map brought meaning to the world around her and was initially used as a tool for navigation. Later the map became a sign. She added meaning to the particular train lines and stops based upon her experiences.

Our Study Our Goal was to recreate Vygotsky’s and Leontiev’s study. We did this by testing children and young adults within the same age groups that they did, and we based our questions off of their original questions. Some questions were reworded, and some questions were altered slightly to fit with time today.

Guiding Questions Are younger students more likely to use unmediated memory functions (elementary mental functions -- no tools) and make more errors than older students when asked to play memory games? Are older students likely to use mediated memory function (higher mental function with tools) and make no or very few errors when asked to play memory games? Will younger engage in mediated memory functioning (higher mental functioning that uses signs) when tools are offered?

Hypothesis We believed that we will see similar results as shown in Leontiev’s Study. Younger children will be unable to use the cards effectively, Older children will make proper use of the cards to aid in memory recall, and young adults will not use the cards because the memory aiding process will have already been internalized.

Research Methods We interviewed students from a private elementary/middle school and from a private university. Verbal interviews were given with the participants on either of the campuses, and with the young adults some interviews were given within their homes.

Setting and Assumptions The study was done, for the school age children, in the common area between their classrooms. There was often noise and distractions of other teachers and children. If we could have been in a quiet setting, the participants might have been able to focus more. The study was done, for group four (the oldest group), generally in their own home. They were probably more comfortable and relaxed in an environment that they felt they had control of.

Limitations Limited number of children available. We did not have the same number of participants as Vygotsky did. Unclear rules on what all “errors” were. We only knew to categorize “errors” as the use of the forbidden colors or the repetition of a color. We did not have a neutral testing environment that all participants were tested in. We divided the participants, making the way we asked questions different. Our facial cues and responses were also not the same and each child might have felt differently and responded differently to us. We were not able record our participants with audio (technical issues) so we weren't able to go back over the data in this manner.

Scoring and Evaluation Point every time one of the forbidden colors is said Point every time the same color is said Notes on when synonym of colors were used, the “I don’t know” answer was given, or showing the cards were done in place of saying the color

Participant (Age) (Sex) Trial Two Errors Trial Three Errors Pre-K Ages 5-6 Participant (Age) (Sex) Trial Two Errors Trial Three Errors Trial Four Errors 1 (5) (F) 4 3 2 (6) (M) 1 (6) 2(7) 3 (5) (F) 1 2 4 (6) (M) Average Errors 3.25 3.75 Participant 2 was a slight anomaly. He did use the cards in trial 3 and but not exactly how we expected. He also did not “say” the forbidden colors or “say” a color more than once but used the cards to indicate these colors. One error that was recorded in this age group was that when asked “what color is a lilac” instead of giving a color, they responded with “No”. They did not ask for clarification on what a lilac was either. This age group also liked to use the words “any color” or “rainbow” to describe instead of one particular color. These were categorized as errors. Participant 1 was less vocal in her responses to the non color questions, often nodding her head. She did, however, try to use the color cards in tasks 3 and 4. She still repeated words and used the forbidden words, but would point to the cards when she said the color. Participant 4 recognized during test 4 that he was not allowed to say the forbidden colors, even saying back “you said I couldn’t say blue/red” before giving a different color. He still was not able to grasp the concept of using the color cards and only once was recorded “touching” one

Participant (Age) (Sex) Trial Two Errors Trial Three Errors 2nd and 3rd Graders Ages 7-9 Participant (Age) (Sex) Trial Two Errors Trial Three Errors Trial Four Errors 1 (7)( (F) 3 1 2 (8) (F) 2 3 (9) (M) 4 5 4 (9) (F) Average Errors 2.75 This age group showed hesitation when saying the forbidden words, but said them nonetheless. Participant 1 was very aware of the errors she made, often making an “oops” face when saying the forbidden words. She also answered “Clear” to what color the sky was. This was not recorded as an error since she was technically correct and did not use the forbidden color. Participant 2 was very hesitant in giving her answers at all. She would often say “ummm “ or think for around 2 minutes before answering.This age group required some prompting with the questions.

Participant (Age) (Sex) Trial Two Errors Trial Three Errors 6th Graders Ages 11 Participant (Age) (Sex) Trial Two Errors Trial Three Errors Trial Four Errors 1 (11) (F) 3 1 2 (11) (F) 2 6 3 (11) (M) Average Errors 2.67 4 1.67 Participants One and Two did not use the cards. The cards sat on the table and the participants did not even touch them. They would occasionally glance at the cards, but they did not engage with the cards to aid memory. Participant Three began to use the cards, lifting to show the color as the color was said, but stopped using them after the first color question. Participant Three again did not use the cards in aid in memory recall.

Participant (Age) (Sex) Trial Two Errors Trial Three Errors Young Adults Ages 20 - 26 Participant (Age) (Sex) Trial Two Errors Trial Three Errors Trial Four Errors 1 (21) (F) 2 N/A 2 (20) (F) 1 3 (26) (M) Average Errors 0.33 During Trials Two, Participant One realized the errors right after they occurred saying, “Oh no!” or saying a different color. In Trial Three, the participant used the cards to aid in memory recall by placing the colors not allowed said (Red and Blue) off to the side and after answering with another color, placing those cards off to the side to ensure the color was not repeated. Participant Two did not use the cards. Participant three made a similar mistake to Participant 1. When saying a color was a second time he said “dang it” and later asked if he could correct it. During the third trial. Participant 1, like Participant 2 removed the “forbidden color” cards before the task started and would remove each card once the color was said. No error occured in this trial. Though at this age, the participants were thought to not have to use the color cards and instead would use psychological signs, they choice to so to make sure no mistakes were made.

Debbs’ & Lyon’s Study Age Number of Subjects Errors Average Task 2 Difference Between Task 2 & 3 Difference Between Task 2 & 4 Difference Between Task 3 & 4 5-6 4 3.25 3.75 .75 .25 7-9 2.75 3 11 2.67 1.67 1.33 1 2.33 20-26 0.33 0.67 We reported the results from all three tasks (though Vygotsky only reported 2 and 3) to show the transition between each test.

Our Results compared to Leontiev’s

Continued...

Conclusions Our results slightly differed from Leontiev’s. The youngest and oldest age groups’ results remained consistent from Leontiev’s study, but the middle age group (11 year olds), in which we anticipated use of the cards to aid memory recall, differed greatly. The only improvement was seen in trial four, but the cards were still not used by any of the participants in this trial. These difference might have occured because of the setting in which the interviews were taken, and the extreme outlier skewed our results.

What we would do differently next time... Have the same person interview each child while the other records observations and answers. Have a consistent setting in which the interviews take place to limit other distractions.