Igor M. Arievitch

The Self in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory Reclaiming the Unity of Social and Individual Dimensions of Human Development

This paper suggests a framework in which the importance of the individual dimension and agency can be reclaimed within a profoundly social and relational view of the self. Juxtaposed with recent research on the self, cultural-historical activity theory is discussed, including its foundational premises formulated by Vygotsky and its conception of the self articulated by Leontiev. Expanded in a number of ways proposed in this paper, this theory helps to theorize the self (a) in its practical relevance, as a lawful and necessary moment in human collective practices, (b) as endowed with the capacity to generate new cycles of practice, and (c) as immanent in activities that position individuals to contribute to meaningfully changing the world. The concept of ‘self as a leading activity’ is discussed as a way to capture what the self is, where it is located, and what its purpose and relation to society are.

A Potential for an Integrated View of Development and Learning: Galperin's Contribution to Sociocultural Psychology

Piotr Galperin was a contemporary of Vygotsky, Luria, and Leontiev and shared with them many basic assumptions of cultural-historical psychology. However, unlike his colleagues, Galperins work received much less attention in Western psychology and is often inadequately perceived as an elaboration of concrete instructional techniques, although it encompasses original contributions to fundamental problems of psychology. Galperins ideas about learning and development resonate with some recent trends in cognitive psychology, in particular, with a significant shift in cognitive psychology from machinelike models to the study of contextualized cognitive strategies. Unlike other theories though, Galperins approach contains a unique core component-a conceptualization of psychological aspects of human activity, distinct from its physiological, logical, or sociological aspects, as well as an elaborate concept of internalization. This unifying conceptual basis, combined with recent findings in sociocultural research and cognitive science, creates a promise for a much-desired progress toward an integrated psychological view of mental development.

The role of nonautomatic processes in activity regulation: from Lipps to Galperin.

The authors present the historical analysis of one of the central questions in psychology: how and why the nonautomatic, psychological level of regulation (in contrast to automatic physiological processes) emerges both in evolution and in everyday context of activity. They discuss several approaches (by Lipps, Groos, Stern, James, Dewey, Claparède, Pavlov, and Leontiev) that culminated in the system of ideas developed by Galperin, one of the key figures in the cultural -historical activity theory. The authors analyze the relation of Galperins ideas to Vygotskys theoretical framework and then focus on Galperins account of the origin and functions of mental activity. Galperins contribution is highly relevant for understanding the role of psychological regulation and for contemporary research on cognition, consciousness, and conscious awareness.

The Mind is Not in the Brain

This book is not about the brain or the role of brain studies in psychology and education. Instead, it is about understanding the mind as a property of the active agent and as a form in itself of the agent’s external activity, as well as the critical educational implications of such an understanding.

The Developmental Trajectory of Cultural Mediation (II)

In this chapter, I examine the powerful role of cultural mediation in human development – the topic not only of key importance in Vygotsky’s works but also of interest to a broad community of scholars recently pushing for novel understandings of the human mind as distributed, situated, embodied, and dialogical.

The Mind is the form of the Individual’s Activity

In this chapter, I discuss an approach to mind that is radically different from the commonly accepted view that psychological processes such as thinking are outcomes or manifestations of the brain activity and, therefore, take place strictly “inside” individual heads.

The Quality of Cognitive Tools and Development of the Mind

In this chapter, I continue discussing the role of cultural cognitive tools in the development of mind started in the previous chapter and focus on one of the most potent ideas in the activity-based framework – the idea that the specific qualities of culturally evolved cognitive tools acquired by children defines to large extent the character of their cognitive development. Accordingly, the analysis of the qualities of mastered cognitive tools (such as schemas, measures, criteria, standards, and so on – see the discussion in the previous chapter) helps to specify the relationship between development and learning.