Upload
peter-dalton
View
221
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Exploring Imagination according to
Vygotsky Maria Hotovy & Sarah Lechner
Background . . . From Russia: 1896-1934
Familiar with Gesell, Werner and Piaget
Discussed both developmental and environmental forces
Marxist, understand humans as a social-historical environment
Psychological tool
“Natural” line in addition to “cultural” line
Necessity of Imagination
If world of complete equilibrium
Adapt to environment
Lack of adapting
Inventors
Fantasy
Usual definition: False
Rooted in reality…
Impossible for representation have no relation to reality
Fantasy must not succeed reality
Fantasy awareness
Defining Imagination
Everything one knows
One Cause: Sublimation
Drawing
Development
Types of Imagination
Reproductive
Combinatorial
Emotional
Social-Historical
Imagination in Children
Children vs. Adults?
Exact account impossible
Story read with details omitted
Child’s play very telling
If want strong foundation
Experiment
Objective: to test Vygotsky’s theory that all imagination stems from previous images and experiences
Three girls and three boys, between the ages of 6 and 7 were observed
They were given pencils, crayons, and paper to complete the activity
Procedure
Children that participated in this activity were first asked to write down, in 30 seconds, all the animals they could think of
Because, according to Vygotsky, imagination is based on previous knowledge, it was important to have an understanding of the child’s knowledge of animals
Procedure The child was then asked if they have ever had a pet
If the answer was “yes”, the child was asked the name and type of pet
The student was then read the following scenario:
“One day you get lost in a part of the city you’ve never seen before. It starts raining so you walk into the nearest building, which happens to be a pet store. But this pet store is very unusual; with animals and creatures you’ve never seen or heard of. One of these animals catches your eye and you buy it. After naming it, you try to take your strange new pet on its first walk.”
ProcedureGiven this scenario, the child was asked to draw
a picture of their ideal pet, what it would look and act like
They were given 3 minutes to do so
They then turned over the paper and were asked to write a short description of what their first day with their pet is like
They were given 3 minutes to do so
ResultsGender
Age
Type of Pet
Known Animals
Pet Drawn Description
Female 6.5 Dog Dog, Cat, Lion, Fish, Hors(e), Pig
Black body with four legs, two long rounded ears, whiskers, long tail, purple on the tail, legs, face, and ears
“I went to the play ground to wok (walk) my dog she was good dog the end.”
Female 7 Rabbit Posom (possum), Fox
Black body with four legs, two long pointy ears, pink hair
“The first day I played with him. He was mad. I played nice. I did the best I could to help him.”
Female
6 Dog & 2 Cats
Cat, Bat, Hors(e), Unicorn
Pink unicorn/horse with big tail, two legs with hooves, one eye
“My little pet wanted to go on a wok (walk) she was so hungry we got grass. We go hom(e).”
Male 6 Fish Tiger, bob cat, Snail
Blue nose, yellow eyes/ears, blue, red, brown body, green tail
“My first day with my pet is a god day. We went to the park. My pet went down the side.”
Male 6 Dog, Fish A yellow body with two legs/fins, another brown and purple creature with two legs
“My pet just head (had) dog food to eat something was ttanding (standing)”
Male 7 Dog Lizard, Snake, Dragon
Blue snake body, two sets of wings, one eye, teeth, snake tongue, antennae
“He likes to go to the museum and look at the time of the dinos and dragons”
Female:6Has: Dog & 2 CatsKnown Animals: Cat, Bat, Hors(e), Unicorn “My little pet wanted to go on a wok (walk) she was so hungry we got grass. We go hom(e).”
Male:7Has: DogKnown: Lizard, Snake, Dragon“He likes to go to the museum and look at the time of the dinos and dragons”
Problems All six children talked during the procedure, and may
have influenced the other children with their choice of animal and what it looked like
Ages of children may have been too young, they still had to sound out words while they were writing whereas older children could have given a better description
Children may have needed more time to draw and write the description
Imagination is not a concrete thing that can be compared
Time restraint (ask and point)
ConclusionVygotsky’s theory that “every aspect of fantasy
is rooted in reality without exception” proved to be true
After analyzing the images and descriptions of each child compared to their previous knowledge, we discovered that there is often links between the two
Works CitedCrain, William C. Theories of Development:
Concepts and Applications. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall, 1980. Print.
Vygotskii, L S, Vassily Davidov, and Robert J. Silverman. Educational Psychology. Boca Raton, Fla: St. Lucie Press, 1997. Print.
http://lchc.ucsd.edu/mca/Mail/xmcamail.2008_03.dir/att-0189/Vygotsky__Imag___Creat_in_Childhood.pdf