Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, as articulated by Erik Erikson, in

collaboration with Joan Erikson, is a comprehensive psychoanalytic theory that
identifies a series of eight stages, in which a healthy developing individual should pass
through from infancy to late adulthood. All stages are present at birth but only begin to
unfold according to both a natural scheme and one's ecological and cultural upbringing.
In each stage, the person confronts, and hopefully masters, new challenges. Each
stage builds upon the successful completion of earlier stages. The challenges of stages
not successfully completed may be expected to reappear as problems in the future.
However, mastery of a stage is not required to advance to the next stage. The outcome
of one stage is not permanent and can be modified by later experiences. Erikson's
stage theory characterizes an individual advancing through the eight life stages as a
function of negotiating his or her biological forces and sociocultural forces. Each stage
is characterized by a psychosocial crisis of these two conflicting forces (as shown in the
table below). If an individual does indeed successfully reconcile these forces (favoring
the first mentioned attribute in the crisis), he or she emerges from the stage with the
corresponding virtue. For example, if an infant enters into the toddler stage (autonomy
vs. shame and doubt) with more trust than mistrust, he or she carries the virtue of hope
into the remaining life stages.
• 1Stages
o 1.1Hope: trust vs. mistrust (oral-sensory, infancy, 0–2 years) o 1.2Will: autonomy vs.
shame and doubt (early childhood, 2–4 years) o 1.3Purpose: initiative vs. guilt
(locomotor-genital, preschool, 4–5 years) o 1.4Competence: industry vs. inferiority
(latency, school age, 5–12 years) o 1.5Fidelity: identity vs. role confusion (adolescence,
13–19 years) o 1.6Love: intimacy vs. isolation (early adulthood, 20-39 years) o
1.7Care: generativity vs. stagnation (adulthood, 40–64 years) o 1.8Wisdom: ego
integrity vs. despair (maturity, 65 – death) o 1.9Ninth stage
Virtues Psychosocial
Approximat e Age
crisis[3]
Significant relationship
Examples[4]
Existential question[4]
Hope Basic trust vs.
Infancy mistrust
Mother Can I trust

Feeding,
the world?
abandonmen
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t 0-23 months
Early childhood
2–4 years
Toilet training, clothing themselves
Preschool age
4–5 years
Autonomy vs. Will
shame and Parents doubt
Is it okay to
be me?
Is it okay for me to do, move, and act?
Exploring, using tools or making art
School age
5–12 years
Initiative vs.
Purpose guilt
Family

Can I make
Compet ence
Industry vs. inferiority
Neighbors, school
it in the world of people and things?
School, sports
Adolescence
13–19 years
Identity vs.
Fidelity
role confusion
Peers, Who model
role
am I? Who can I be?
Social relationships
Early adulthood
20–39 years
Intimacy vs.
Love
isolation
Can I love? Romantic
Friends, partners
relationships
Adulthood
40–64 years
Generativity
Care
vs. stagnation
Household, Can workmates
I make my life count?
Work, parenthood
Maturity
65-death
Ego
Wisdom vs. despair
integrity

Mankind, kind
my
Is it okay to have been me?
Reflection on life
Hope: trust vs. mistrust (oral-sensory, infancy, 0–2 years)[edit]
• Existential Question: Can I Trust the World?
The first stage of Erik Erikson's theory centers around the infant's basic needs being
met by the parents and this interaction leading to trust or mistrust.
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Trust as defined by Erikson is "an essential trustfulness of others as well as a
fundamental sense of one's own trustworthiness."The infant depends on the parents,
especially the mother, for sustenance and comfort. The child's relative understanding of
world and society come from the parents and their interaction with the child. A child's
first trust is always with the parent or caregiver; whomever that might be; however, even
the caregiver is secondary whereas the parents are primary in the eyes of the child. If
the parents expose the child to warmth, regularity, and dependable affection, the infant's
view of the world will be one of trust. Should the parents fail to provide a secure
environment and to meet the child's basic needs; a sense of mistrust will result. [6]
Development of mistrust can lead to feelings of frustration, suspicion, withdrawal, and a
lack of confidence.

According to Erik Erikson, the major developmental task in infancy is to learn whether or
not other people, especially primary caregivers, regularly satisfy basic needs. If
 caregivers are consistent sources of food, comfort, and affection, an infant learns trust
—that others are dependable and reliable. If they are neglectful, or perhaps even
abusive, the infant instead learns mistrust—that the world is an undependable,
unpredictable, and possibly a dangerous place. While negative, having some
experience with mistrust allows the infant to gain an understanding of what constitutes
dangerous situations later in life; yet being at the stage of infant or toddler, it is a good
idea not to put them in situations of mistrust: the child's number one needs are to feel
safe, comforted, and well cared for.[6]

Will: autonomy vs. shame and doubt (early childhood, 2–4 years)

• Existential Question: Is It Okay to Be Me?

As the child gains control over eliminative functions and motor abilities, they begin to
explore their surroundings. The parents still provide a strong base of security from
which the child can venture out to assert their will. The parents' patience and
encouragement helps foster autonomy in the child. Children at this age like to explore
the world around them and they are constantly learning about their environment.
Caution must be taken at this age while children may explore things that are dangerous
to their health and safety.

At this age children develop their first interests. For example, a child who enjoys music
may like to play with the radio. Children who enjoy the outdoors may be interested in
animals and plants. Highly restrictive parents, however, are more likely to instill in the
child a sense of doubt, and reluctance to attempt new challenges. As they gain
increased muscular coordination and mobility, toddlers become capable of satisfying
some of their own needs. They begin to feed themselves, wash and dress themselves,
and use the bathroom.

If caregivers encourage self-sufficient behavior, toddlers develop a sense of autonomy

—a sense of being able to handle many problems on their own. But if caregivers
demand too much too soon, refuse to let children perform tasks of

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which they are capable, or ridicule early attempts at self-sufficiency; children may
instead develop shame and doubt about their ability to handle problems. Purpose:
initiative vs. guilt (locomotor-genital, preschool, 4–5 years)
 • Existential Question: Is it Okay for Me to Do, Move, and Act?

Initiative adds to autonomy the quality of undertaking, planning and attacking a task for
the sake of just being active and on the move. The child is learning to master the world
around them, learning basic skills and principles of physics. Things fall down, not up.
Round things roll. They learn how to zip and tie, count and speak with ease. At this
stage, the child wants to begin and complete their own actions for a purpose. Guilt is a
confusing new emotion. They may feel guilty over things that logically should not cause
guilt. They may feel guilt when this initiative does not produce desired results.
The development of courage and independence are what set preschoolers, ages three
to six years of age, apart from other age groups. Young children in this category face
the challenge of initiative versus guilt. As described in Bee and Boyd (2004), [6] the child
during this stage faces the complexities of planning and developing a sense of
judgment. During this stage, the child learns to take initiative and prepare for leadership
and goal achievement roles. Activities sought out by a child in this stage may include
risk-taking behaviors, such as crossing a street alone or riding a bike without a helmet;
both these examples involve self-limits.

Within instances requiring initiative, the child may also develop negative behaviors.
These behaviors are a result of the child developing a sense of frustration for not being
able to achieve a goal as planned and may engage in behaviors that seem aggressive,
ruthless, and overly assertive to parents. Aggressive behaviors, such as throwing
objects, hitting, or yelling, are examples of observable behaviors during this stage.

Preschoolers are increasingly able to accomplish tasks on their own, and can start new
things. With this growing independence comes many choices about activities to be
pursued. Sometimes children take on projects they can readily accomplish, but at other
times they undertake projects that are beyond their capabilities or that interfere with
other people's plans and activities. If parents and preschool teachers encourage and
support children's efforts, while also helping them make realistic and appropriate
choices, children develop initiative—independence in planning and undertaking
activities. But if, instead, adults discourage the pursuit of independent activities or
dismiss them as silly and bothersome, children develop guilt about their needs and
desires.[7] Competence: industry vs. inferiority (latency, school age, 5–12 years)

• Existential Question: Can I Make it in the World of People and Things?

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The aim to bring a productive situation to completion gradually supersedes the whims
and wishes of play. The fundamentals of technology are developed. The failure to
master trust, autonomy, and industrious skills may cause the child to doubt his or her
future, leading to shame, guilt, and the experience of defeat and inferiority.

The child must deal with demands to learn new skills or risk a sense of inferiority,
failure, and incompetence.

"Children at this age are becoming more aware of themselves as individuals." They
work hard at "being responsible, being good and doing it right." They are now more
reasonable to share and cooperate. Allen and Marotz (2003) also list some perceptual
cognitive developmental traits specific for this age group. Children grasp the concepts of
space and time in more logical, practical ways. They gain a better understanding of
cause and effect, and of calendar time. At this stage, children are eager to learn and
accomplish more complex skills: reading, writing, telling time. They also get to form
moral values, recognize cultural and individual differences and are able to manage most
of their personal needs and grooming with minimal assistance. At this stage, children
might express their independence by talking back and being disobedient and rebellious.

Erikson viewed the elementary school years as critical for the development of self-
confidence. Ideally, elementary school provides many opportunities to achieve the
recognition of teachers, parents and peers by producing things— drawing pictures,
solving addition problems, writing sentences, and so on. If children are encouraged to
make and do things and are then praised for their accomplishments, they begin to
demonstrate industry by being diligent, persevering at tasks until completed and putting
work before pleasure. If children are instead ridiculed or punished for their efforts or if
they find they are incapable of meeting their teachers' and parents' expectations, they
develop feelings of inferiority about their capabilities.
At this age, children start recognizing their special talents and continue to discover
interests as their education improves. They may begin to choose to do moreactivities to
pursue that interest, such as joining a sport if they know they have athletic ability, or
joining the band if they are good at music. If not allowed to discover their own talents in
their own time, they will develop a sense of lack of motivation, low self-esteem, and
lethargy. They may become "couch potatoes" if they are not allowed to develop
interests. Fidelity: identity vs. role confusion (adolescence, 13–19 years)

• Existential Question: Who Am I and What Can I Be?

 The adolescent is newly concerned with how they appear to others. Superego identity is
the accrued confidence that the outer sameness and continuity prepared in the future
are matched by the sameness and continuity of one's

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meaning for oneself, as evidenced in the promise of a career. The ability to settle on a
school or occupational identity is pleasant. In later stages of adolescence, the child
develops a sense of sexual identity. As they make the transition from childhood to
adulthood, adolescents ponder the roles they will play in the adult world. Initially, they
are apt to experience some role confusion—mixed ideas and feelings about the specific
ways in which they will fit into society—and may experiment with a variety of behaviors
and activities (e.g. tinkering with cars, baby-sitting for neighbors, affiliating with certain
political or religious groups). Eventually, Erikson proposed, most adolescents achieve a
sense of identity regarding who they are and where their lives are headed.
The teenager must achieve identity in occupation, gender roles, politics, and, in some
cultures, religion.
Erikson is credited with coining the term "identity crisis". Each stage that came before
and that follows has its own 'crisis', but even more so now, for this marks the transition
from childhood to adulthood. This passage is necessary because "Throughout infancy
and childhood, a person forms much identification. But the need for identity in youth is
not met by these. This turning point in human development seems to be the
reconciliation between 'the person one has come to be' and 'the person society expects
one to become'. This emerging sense of self will be established by 'forging' past
experiences with anticipations of the future. In relation to the eight life stages as a
whole, the fifth stage corresponds to the crossroads:

What is unique about the stage of Identity is that it is a special sort of synthesis of
earlier stages and a special sort of anticipation of later ones. Youth has a certain unique
quality in a person's life; it is a bridge between childhood and adulthood. Youth is a time
of radical change—the great body changes accompanying puberty, the ability of the
mind to search one's own intentions and the intentions of others, the suddenly
sharpened awareness of the roles society has offered for later life.

Adolescents "are confronted by the need to re-establish [boundaries] for themselves

and to do this in the face of an often potentially hostile world".This is often challenging
 since commitments are being asked for before particular identity roles have formed. At
this point, one is in a state of 'identity confusion', but society normally makes allowances
for youth to "find themselves” and this state is called 'the moratorium':
The problem of adolescence is one of role confusion—a reluctance to commit which
may haunt a person into his mature years. Given the right conditions— and Erikson
believes these are essentially having enough space and time, a psychosocial
moratorium, when a person can freely experiment and explore— what may emerge is a
firm sense of identity, an emotional and deep awareness of who he or she is. [12]

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As in other stages, bio-psycho-social forces are at work. No matter how one has been
raised, one's personal ideologies are now chosen for oneself. Often, this leads to
conflict with adults over religious and political orientations. Another area where
teenagers are deciding for themselves is their career choice, and often parents want to
have a decisive say in that role. If society is too insistent, the teenager will acquiesce to
external wishes, effectively forcing him or her to ‘foreclose' on experimentation and,
therefore, true self-discovery. Once someone settles on a worldview and vocation, will
he or she be able to integrate this aspect of self-definition into a diverse society?
According to Erikson, when an adolescent has balanced both perspectives of "What
have I got?" and "What am I going to do with it?" he or she has established their
identity:
Dependent on this stage is the ego quality of fidelity—the ability to sustain loyalties
freely pledged in spite of the inevitable contradictions and confusions of value systems.
(Italics in original)[12]

Given that the next stage (Intimacy) is often characterized by marriage, many are
tempted to cap off the fifth stage at 20 years of age. However, these age ranges are
actually quite fluid, especially for the achievement of identity, since it may take many
years to become grounded, to identify the object of one's fidelity, to feel that one has
"come of age". In the biographies Young Man Luther and Gandhi's Truth, Erikson
determined that their crises ended at ages 25 and 30, respectively:

Erikson does note that the time of Identity crisis for persons of genius is frequently
prolonged. He further notes that in our industrial society, identity formation tends to be
 long, because it takes us so long to gain the skills needed for adulthood's tasks in our
technological world. So... we do not have an exact time span in which to find ourselves.
It doesn't happen automatically at eighteen or at twenty-one. A very approximate rule of
thumb for our society would put the end somewhere in one's twenties.
Love: intimacy vs. isolation (early adulthood, 20-39 years)

• Existential Question: Can I Love?

The Intimacy vs. Isolation conflict is emphasized around the age of 30. At the start of
this stage, identity vs. role confusion is coming to an end, though it still lingers at the
foundation of the stage (Erikson, 1950). Young adults are still eager to blend their
identities with friends. They want to fit in. Erikson believes we are sometimes isolated
due to intimacy. We are afraid of rejections such as being turned down or our partners
breaking up with us. We are familiar with pain and to some of us rejection is so painful
that our egos cannot bear it. Erikson also argues that "Intimacy has a counterpart:
Distantiation: the readiness to isolate and if necessary, to destroy those forces and
people whose essence seems dangerous to our own, and whose territory seems to
encroach on the extent of one's intimate relations" (1950).

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Once people have established their identities, they are ready to make long-term
commitments to others. They become capable of forming intimate, reciprocal
relationships (e.g. through close friendships or marriage) and willingly make the
sacrifices and compromises that such relationships require. If people cannot form these
intimate relationships—perhaps because of their own needs—a sense of isolation may
result; arousing feelings of darkness and angst.
Care: generativity vs. stagnation (adulthood, 40–64 years)

• Existential Question: Can I Make My Life Count?

Generativity is the concern of guiding the next generation. Socially-valued work and
disciplines are expressions of generativity.

The adult stage of generativity has broad application to family, relationships, work, and
society. "Generativity, then is primarily the concern in establishing and guiding the next
 generation... the concept is meant to include... productivity and creativity.

During middle age the primary developmental task is one of contributing to society and
helping to guide future generations. When a person makes a contribution during this
period, perhaps by raising a family or working toward the betterment of society, a sense
of generativity—a sense of productivity and accomplishment—results. In contrast, a
person who is self-centered and unable or unwilling to help society move forward
develops a feeling of stagnation—a dissatisfaction with the relative lack of productivity.
Central tasks of middle adulthood

• Express love through more than sexual contacts.

• Maintain healthy life patterns.
• Develop a sense of unity with mate.
• Help growing and grown children to be responsible adults.
• Relinquish central role in lives of grown children.
• Accept children's mates and friends.
• Create a comfortable home.
• Be proud of accomplishments of self and mate/spouse.
• Reverse roles with aging parents.
• Achieve mature, civic and social responsibility.
• Adjust to physical changes of middle age.
• Useleisure time creatively. Wisdom: ego integrity vs. despair
(maturity, 65 – death)

• Existential Question: Is it Okay to Have Been Me?

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As we grow older and become senior citizens we tend to slow down our productivity
and explore life as a retired person. It is during this time that we contemplate our
accomplishments and are able to develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a
successful life. If we see our life as unproductive, or feel that we did not accomplish
our life goals, we become dissatisfied with life and develop despair, often leading to
 depression and hopelessness.
The final developmental task is retrospection: people look back on their lives and
accomplishments. They develop feelings of contentment and integrity if they believe
that they have led a happy, productive life. They may instead develop a sense of
despair if they look back on a life of disappointments and unachieved goals.
This stage can occur out of the sequence when an individual feels they are near the
end of their life (such as when receiving a terminal disease diagnosis).
Ninth stage

• Psychosocial Crises: All first eight stages in reverse quotient order

Joan M. Erikson, who married and collaborated with Erik Erikson, added a ninth
stage in The Life Cycle Completed: Extended Version. [14] Living in the ninth stage,
she wrote, "old age in one's eighties and nineties brings with it new demands,
reevaluations, and daily difficulties". Addressing these new challenges requires
"designating a new ninth stage". Erikson was ninety- three years old when she
wrote about the ninth stage.[15]

Joan Erikson showed that all the eight stages "are relevant and recurring in the
ninth stage".[16] In the ninth stage, the psychosocial crises of the eight stages are
faced again, but with the quotient order reversed. For example, in the first stage
(infancy), the psychosocial crisis was "Trust vs. Mistrust" with Trust being the
"syntonic quotient" and Mistrust being the "diatonic". [17] Joan Erikson applies the
earlier psychosocial crises to the ninth stage as follows.

"Basic Mistrust vs. Trust: Hope" In the ninth stage, "elders are forced to mistrust
their own capabilities" because one's "body inevitably weakens". Yet, Joan Erikson
asserts that "while there is light, there is hope" for a "bright light and revelation". [18]

"Shame and Doubt vs. Autonomy: Will" Ninth stage elders face the "shame of
lost control" and doubt "their autonomy over their own bodies". So it is that "shame
and doubt challenge cherished autonomy".[19]

"Inferiority vs. Industry: Competence" Industry as a "driving force" that elders

once had is gone in the ninth stage. Being incompetent "because of aging is
belittling" and makes elders "like unhappy small children of great age".

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"Identity confusion vs. Identity: Fidelity" Elders experience confusion about their
"existential identity" in the ninth stage and "a real uncertainty about status and role".

"Isolation vs. Intimacy: Love" In the ninth stage, the "years of intimacy and love"
are often replaced by "isolation and deprivation". Relationships become
"overshadowed by new incapacities and dependencies".

"Stagnation vs. Generativity: Care" The generativity in the seventh stage of "work
and family relationships", if it goes satisfactorily, is "a wonderful time to be alive". In
one's eighties and nineties, there is less energy for generativity or caretaking. Thus,
"a sense of stagnation may well take over".

"Despair and Disgust vs. Integrity: Wisdom" Integrity imposes "a serious
demand on the senses of elders". Wisdom requires capacities that ninth stage
elders "do not usually have". The eighth stage includes retrospection that can evoke
a "degree of disgust and despair". In the ninth stage, introspection is replaced by the
attention demanded to one's "loss of capacities and disintegration".
Living in the ninth stage, Joan Erikson expressed confidence that the psychosocial
crisis of the ninth stage can be met as in the first stage with the "basic trust" with
which "we are blessed".
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Lev Vygotsky Socio-Cultural Theory

Lev Vygotsky was born in the town of Orsha, Belarus (then part of the Russian Empire)
into a non-religious middle class Russian Jewish family. His father was a banker. He
was raised in the city of Gomel, Belarus, where he obtained both public and private
education. In 1913 Vygotsky was admitted to the Moscow Universitythrough a "Jewish
Lottery" to meet a three percent Jewish student quota for entry in Moscow and Saint
Petersburg universities.[4] He had interest in humanities and social sciences, but at the
insistence of his parents he applied to the Medical School in Moscow University. During
the first semester of study he transfers to the Law school. [5] There he studied law and, in
parallel, he attended lectures at fully official, but privately funded and non degree
granting Shaniavskii Moscow City People's University". [6] His early interests were in the
arts and he might have aspired to be a literary critic, fascinated with the formalism of his
time.

Upon graduation in 1917, Vygotsky returned to Gomel, where he lived after the October
Socialist Revolution of 1917 happened. There is virtually no information about his life
during the years of the German occupation and the Civil War until the Bolsheviks
captured the town in 1919. Subsequently Vygotsky was an active participant of major
social transformation under the Bolshevik rule and a fairly prominent representative of
the Bolshevik government in Gomel from 1919 to 1923. For unclear reasons, around the
early 1920s, he changed his birth name from Vygodskii (with "d") into Vygotskii (with
middle "t") and his patronymic from original Jewish "Simkhovich" to Slavic
"Semenovich".[7]

In January 1924, Vygotsky took part in the Second All-Russian Psychoneurological

Congress in Leningrad. Soon thereafter, Vygotsky received an invitation to become a
research fellow at the Psychological Institute in Moscow. Vygotsky moved to Moscow
with new wife Roza Smekhova. He began his career at the Psychological Institute as a
"staff scientist, second class".[8][9] By the end of 1925, Vygotsky completed his
dissertation in 1925 on "The Psychology of Art" (not published until the 1960s) and a
book "Pedagogical Psychology" that was apparently created on the basis of lecture
notes that he prepared back in Gomel as a psychology instructor at local educational
establishments. In summer 1925 he made his first and only trip abroad to a London
 congress on the education of the deaf. [10] Upon return to the Soviet Union, he was
hospitalized due to relapse of tuberculosis and, having miraculously survived, remained
an invalid and out of job until the end of 1926. [11][12] His dissertation was accepted as the
prerequisite of scholarly degree, which was awarded to Vygotsky in fall 1925 in
absentia.

After his release from hospital Vygotsky did theoretical and methodological work on the
crisis in psychology, but never finished the draft of the manuscript

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and interrupted his work on it around mid-1927. The manuscript was later published with
notable editorial interventions and distortions in 1982 and presented by the editors as
one of the most important Vygotsky's works. [13][14][15][16][17] In this early manuscript,
Vygotsky argued for the formation of a general psychology that could unite the naturalist
objectivist strands of psychological science with the more philosophical approaches of
Marxist orientation. However, he also harshly criticized those of his colleagues who
attempted to build a "Marxist Psychology" as an alternative to the naturalist and
philosophical schools. He argued that if one wanted to build a truly Marxist Psychology,
there were no shortcuts to be found by merely looking for applicable quotes in Marx'
writings. Rather one should look for a methodology that was in accordance with the
Marxian spirit.[5]

In 1926-30 Vygotsky worked on a research programme investigating the development

of higher cognitive functions of logical memory, selective attention, decision making and
language comprehension, from early forms of primal psychological functions. During
this period he gathered a group of collaborators including Alexander Luria, Boris
Varshava, Alexei Leontiev, Leonid Zankov and several others. Vygotsky guided his
students in researching this phenomenon from three different angles:

• Theinstrumental angle, which tried to understand the ways humans use objects as
mediation aids in memory and reasoning
•A developmental approach, focused on how children acquire higher cognitive
functions during development
•A culture-historical approach, studying how social and cultural patterns of interaction
shape forms of mediation and developmental trajectories [5]
 In early 1930s Vygotsky experienced deep crisis, personal and theoretical, and after a
period of massive self-criticism made an attempt at a radical revision of his theory. The
work of the representatives of the Gestalt psychology and other holistic scholars was
instrumental in this theoretical shift. In 1932-1934 Vygotsky was aiming at establishing a
psychological theory of consciousness, but this theory because of his death remained
only in a very sketchy and unfinished form.

Life and scientific legacy

Vygotsky was a pioneering psychologist and his major works span six separate
volumes, written over roughly 10 years, from Psychology of Art (1925) to Thought and
Language [or Thinking and Speech] (1934). Vygotsky's interests in the fields of
developmental psychology, child development, and education were extremely diverse.
His philosophical framework includes interpretations of the cognitive role of mediation
tools, as well as the re- interpretation of well-known concepts in psychology such as
internalization of knowledge. Vygotsky introduced the notion of zone of proximal
development, a metaphor capable of describing the potential of human cognitive
development.

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His work covered topics such as the origin and the psychology of art, development of
higher mental functions, philosophy of science and methodology of psychological
research, the relation between learning and human development, concept formation,
interrelation between language and thought development, play as a psychological
phenomenon, learning disabilities, and abnormal human development (aka
defectology). His scientific thinking underwent several major transformations throughout
his career, but generally Vygotsky's legacy can be divided into two fairly distinct
periods[citation needed] and the transitional phase between the two during which Vygotsky
experienced the crisis in his theory and personal life. These are the mechanistic
"instrumental" period of the 1920s, integrative "holistic" period of the 1930s, and the
transitional years of, roughly, 1929-1931. Each of these periods is characterized by its
distinct themes and theoretical innovations.
"Instrumental" period (1920s)

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Cultural mediation and internalization

Vygotsky studied child development and the significant roles of cultural mediation and
interpersonal communication. He observed how higher mental functions developed
through these interactions, and also represented the shared knowledge of a culture.
This process is known as internalization. Internalization can be understood in one
respect as "knowing how". For example, the practices of riding a bicycle or pouring a
cup of milk are initially outside and beyond the child. The mastery of the skills needed
for performing these practices occurs through the activity of the child within society. A
further aspect of internalization is appropriation, in which the child takes a tool and
makes it his own, perhaps using it in a way unique to himself. Internalizing the use of a
pencil allows the child to use it very much for his own ends rather than drawing exactly
what others in society have drawn previously.
The period of crisis, criticism, and self-criticism (1929–1932)

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In 1930s Vygotsky was engaged in massive reconstruction of his theory of his

"instrumental" period of the 1920s. Around 1929-1930 he realized numerous
deficiencies and imperfections of the earlier work of the Vygotsky Circle and

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criticized it on a number of occasions: in 1929, [181930,[19] in 1931,[20] and in 1932.[21]
Specifically, Vygotsky criticized his earlier idea of radical separation between the "lower"
and "higher" psychological functions and, around 1932, appears to abandon it.

This Vygotsky's self-criticism was complemented by external criticism for a number of

issues, including the separation between the "higher" and the "lower" psychological
functions, impracticality and inapplicability of his theory in social practices (such as
industry or education) during the time of rapid social change, and vulgar Marxist
 interpretation of human psychological processes. Critics also pointed to his
overemphasis on the role of language and, on the other hand, the ignorance of the
emotional factors in human development. Major figures in Soviet psychology such as
Sergei Rubinstein criticized Vygotsky's notion of mediation and its development in the
works of students. Following criticism and in response to generous offer from the
highest officials in Soviet Ukraine, a major group of Vygotsky's associates, the members
of the Vygotsky Circle, including Luria, Mark Lebedinsky, and Leontiev, moved from
Moscow to Ukraine to establish the Kharkov school of psychology. In the second half of
the 1930s, Vygotsky would be yet again criticized for his involvement in the cross-
disciplinary study of the child known as paedologyand uncritical borrowings from
contemporary "bourgeois" science. Considerable critique came from the alleged
Vygotsky's followers, such as Leontiev and members of his research group in Kharkov.
Much of this early criticism was later discarded by these Vygotskian scholars
themselves.
"Holistic" period (1932–1934)

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The period of major revision of Vygotsky's theory and its transition from mechanist
orientation of his 1920s to integrative holistic science of the 1930s. During this period
Vygotsky was under particularly strong influence of holistic theories of German-
American group of proponents of Gestalt psychology, most notably, the peripheral
participants of the Gestalt movement Kurt Goldstein and Kurt Lewin. However,
Vygotsky's work of this period remained largely fragmentary and unfinished and,
therefore, unpublished. Zone of proximal development

"Zone of proximal development" (ZPD) is Vygotsky’s term for the range of tasks that a
child is in the process of learning to complete. In the original Vygotsky's writings this
phrase is used in three different meanings. [23] Vygotsky viewed the ZPD as a way to
better explain the relation between children’s learning and cognitive development. Prior
to the ZPD, the relation between learning and

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development could be boiled down to the following three major positions: 1)
Development always precedes learning (e.g., constructivism): children first need to
meet a particular maturation level before learning can occur; 2) Learning and
development cannot be separated but instead occur simultaneously (e.g., behaviorism):
essentially, learning is development; and 3) learning and development are separate but
interactive processes (e.g., gestaltism): one process always prepares the other process,
and vice versa. Vygotsky rejected these three major theories because he believed that
learning should always precede development in the ZPD. According to Vygotsky,
through the assistance of a more capable person, a child is able to learn skills or
aspects of a skill that go beyond the child’s actual developmental or maturational
level.The lower limit of ZPD is the level of skill reached by the child working
independently (also referred to as the child’s actual developmental level). The upper
limit is the level of potential skill that the child is able to reach with the assistance of a
more capable instructor. In this sense, the ZPD provides a prospective view of cognitive
development, as opposed to a retrospective view that characterizes development in
terms of a child’s independent capabilities.
Thinking and speech

Perhaps Vygotsky's most important contribution concerns the inter- relationship of

language development and thought. This problem was explored in Vygotsky's book
Thinking and speech, titled, in Russian, Myshlenie i rech published in 1934. In fact, this
book was a mere collection of essays and scholarly papers that Vygotsky wrote during
different periods of his thought development and included writings of his "instrumental"
and "holistic" periods. Vygotsky never saw the book published: it was published
posthumously, edited by his closest associates (Kolbanovskii, Zankov, and Shif) not
sooner than December, 1934, i.e., half a year after his death. First English translation
was published in 1962 (with several later re-editions) heavily abbreviated and under an
alternative and incorrect translation of the title Thought and Language for the Russian
title Mysl' i iazyk. The book establishes the explicit and profound connection between
speech (both silent inner speech and oral language), and the development of mental
concepts and cognitive awareness. Vygotsky described inner speech as being
qualitatively different from verbal external speech. Although Vygotsky believed inner
speech developed from external speech via a gradual process of "internalization" (i.e.,
transition from the external to the internal), with younger children only really able to
"think out loud," he claimed that in its mature form inner speech would not resemble
spoken language as we know it (in particular, being greatly compressed). Hence,
thought itself develops socially.
Death (1934) and posthumous fame

Vygotsky died of tuberculosis on June 11, 1934, at the age of 37, in Moscow, Soviet
 Union. One of the last Vygotsky's private notebook entries

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gives a proverbial, yet very pessimistic self-assessment of his contribution to
psychological theory:
"This is the final thing I have done in psychology – and I will like Moses die at the
summit, having glimpsed the Promised Land but without setting foot on it. Farewell,
dear creations. The rest is silence."

Immediately after his death Vygotsky was proclaimed one of the leading psychologists
in the Soviet Union although his stellar reputation was somewhat undermined by the
decree of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of 1936 that denounced the
mass movement, discipline and related social practice of the so-called pedology. Yet,
even despite some criticisms and even censorship of his works—most notably, in the
post-Stalin era in the Soviet Union of 1960s-1980s by his Russian alleged and self-
proclaimed best students and followers,—Vygotsky always remained among the most
quoted scholars in the field and has become a cult figure for a number of contemporary
intellectuals and practitioners in Russia and the international psychological and
educational community alike.
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