A dynamic systems model of basic developmental mechanisms: Piaget, Vygotsky, and beyond.

Abstract

A dynamic systems model is proposed on the basis of a general developmental mechanism adopted from the theories of J. Raget and L. S. Vygotsky, more particularly a mechanism based on the concepts assimilation versus accommodation and actual development versus zone of proximal development. In the model, action and experience have a distributed effect on contents (skills, knowledge, rules, action patterns, etc.) ordered along an abstract developmental distance dimension. After a mathematical treatment of the model, an overview is given of empirical evidence on continuous and discontinuous change. The dynamic model is then applied to the classic Piagetian and the neo-Piagetian models, models of continuous and discontinuous domain-specific change, and to models of cognitive strategies, transitions, microdevelopment, and inter-and imraindividual variability.Nineteen hundred ninety-six marked the centenary of the birth of two eminent developmental psychologists: the Swiss Jean Piaget and the Russian Lev Semyonovitch Vygotsky. The first emphasized the child as the maker of his or her own development, and the second emphasized the role of teaching and guidance and the formative effects of culture and society. Recently, a number of attempts have been made to show that their theories are less incompatible and mutually exclusive than is often believed (Classman, 1994;Tudge&Winterhoff, 1993). In the end, the most important question concerns which substantial and lasting contributions, if any, both Piaget's and Vygotsky's works have made toward a better understanding of the nature and mechanisms of mental and behavioral development. Lourenco and Machado (1996) have recently emphasized that a considerable part of the criticism of Piaget does not address or hardly addresses the fundamental issues that his theory contributed and the issues that are still worth considering.The general aim of this article is to demonstrate that the wide variety of characteristic patterns of cognitive development is in fact the expression of the intrinsic dynamics of dynamic systems that operate on the basis of major developmental mechanisms that can already be found in Piaget's and Vygotsky's works. If this can be demonstrated, the dynamic systems model based on these mechanisms can be seen as a way of integrating the fundamental aspects of a wide variety of theories, that is, as a way to arrive at a new synthesis. This synthetic theory does not deny the multitude of differences that exist between their theories but tries to find a convergence point in an abstract dynamic of basic principles of change that underlie development.The structure of this article is as follows: First, I select and discuss a number of concepts from Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories that refer to basic developmental mechanisms; second,

Dynamics of Balancing Space and Time in Memory: Tau and Kappa Effects Revisited.

“…Without being able, at the present time, to propose an alternative model providing a convincing explanation of the presence of tau and kappa effects under certain conditions and their absence under other conditions, we believe that the results of the present study clearly bring out the need to go beyond explanations at the level of a single behavioral index of performance (Gilden, 1997;Gilden et al, 1995;Giraudo & Pailhous, 1994, 1999. We suggest that studying the evolution over time of accuracy and variability of performance will contribute to a fundamental understanding of the functioning of memory.…”

“…Until the recent advent of dynamical approaches (cf. Van Geert, 1999), contemporary psychology, on the other hand, had shown relatively little interest in intraindividual variability. Although developments in the neurosciences, and in the motor control domain in particular, have brought variability back to the center of the stage, acknowledging that it is inherent in every biologic system (Collins & De Luca, 1993;Newell & Corcos, 1993;Schöner & Kelso, 1988;Webber & Zbilut, 1994), mainstream cognitive psychology, including the field of memory, has continued to focus on patterns of accuracy as primary indicators of the mode of functioning of the system.…”

A Model of Socioemotional Flexibility at Three Time Scales

“…DS approaches function as a metatheory that incorporates the domain-specific models of psychology and other disciplines and as such functions as the realization of the general systems theory espoused by von Bertalanffy (1968) and others. We will refrain from a complete description of DS principles and mechanisms (see comprehensive descriptions in Granic & Hollenstein, 2006;Thelen & Smith, 1994;van Geert, 1994) and instead focus here on two concepts central to our model of flexibility: variability and interacting time scales.…”

Getting Vygotskian about theory of mind: Mediation, dialogue, and the development of social understanding

“…For example, Wertsch and Stone (1985) showed how a child collaborating with her mother on a problem-solving task will internalize and abbreviate the dialogue which occurred between them and use it subsequently to regulate her own solo activity. The process of internalization, along with its conceptual relation, the zone of proximal development (see below), has been the subject Vygotsky and social understanding 6 of extensive research and elaboration (e.g., Lawrence & Valsiner, 1993;van Geert, 1998;Wertsch, 1991).…”