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Psychologists

Lev Vygotsky

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Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) was a Russian and Soviet psychologist who founded cultural-historical psychology, arguing that a child's higher mental functions develop through social interaction and culturally transmitted tools, especially language, a view that shaped developmental and educational psychology worldwide once his work became widely available outside the Soviet Union.

Facts
Birth Date
1896-11-17 1
Birth Year
1896 1
Death Date
1934-06-11 1
Death Year
1934 1
Birthplace
Orsha, Mogilev Governorate, Russian Empire (now Belarus) 1
Death Place
Moscow, Soviet Union 1
Nationality / Culture
Russian and Soviet 1
Defining Contribution
Founded cultural-historical psychology, arguing that higher mental functions such as memory, attention and reasoning develop through social interaction and are mediated by culturally transmitted tools, above all language, rather than unfolding from innate structure alone. 1
Notable Work
Thinking and Speech (1934) 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

In Branch

Schools Founded

Theories and Concepts Developed

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Lev Vygotsky
Wikimedia Foundation
Quote
June 11, 1934
Wikipedia: Cultural-Historical Psychology
Wikimedia FoundationSchools Founded: Cultural-Historical Psychology, Theoretical premises section
Quote, Schools Founded: Cultural-Historical Psychology, Theoretical premises section
he claimed that the development of 'higher psychological functions' are a result of the impact of the society (including, according to Marxist principles, its economic basis and the relations of production) and the culture at large.
Wikipedia: Constructivism (learning theory)
Wikimedia FoundationTheories and Concepts Developed: Constructivism, Background
Quote, Theories and Concepts Developed: Constructivism, Background
Constructivism in education is rooted in epistemology, a theory of knowledge concerned with the logical categories of knowledge and its justification.
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Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Schools Founded: Cultural-Historical Psychology

Cultural-historical psychology never existed as such during Vygotsky's lifetime and he never completed a developmental theory of his own; the systematized school bearing his name was constructed by later followers and critics from his fragmentary and partly translated writings, not left complete by Vygotsky himself. This does not dispute Vygotsky's own founding role, which is well attested, only that the school's current unified shape postdates him.

A dissenting reading, from an independent laneWikipedia: Cultural-Historical Psychology, Wikimedia Foundation

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