Читать книгу Developmental Psychopathology - Группа авторов - Страница 71

Around the same time that Piaget developed his constructivist theory of development, Vygotsky was also in the process of creating his sociocultural theory of cognitive development. Vygotsky agreed with Piaget’s claim that both biological (i.e., nature) and social (i.e., nurture) factors influence children’s development, and that children play an active role in constructing their own reality through their interactions with the environment. According to Vygotsky (1978), however, nature and nurture shape development, not by interacting directly, but by interacting with the culture. One of the most important contributions to understanding children’s development is Vygotsky’s theory of the zone of proximal development, which is defined as the gap between what children can do independently and what they can accomplish when they are interacting with more capable peers or adults. Essentially, as children begin to participate in activities that are somewhat beyond their capabilities, adults scaffold children by offering the necessary structure for accomplishing the task. As children participate in adult‐guided activities over time, they begin to incorporate new skills.