The studies of Piaget and Vygotsky are unbelievable when you think about your own everyday lives. I say your because I am sure that everyone has conversations silently with themselves about one thing or another.
To be more specific on what I am referring to in the text book Educational Psychology by Anita Woolfolk, on page 59, Table 2.4, the differences between Piaget's and Vygotsky's Theories of Egosentric or Private Speech. Going over three main categories Course of development, Relationship to Social Speech, and Relationship to Environmental Contexts. I am not going to completely regurgitate the table back to you, but I was instantly interested about both of their theories.
Piaget says that social speech is a negative and that least socially and cognitively mature children use more egocentric speech. While Vygotsky claims it to be positive and develops out of social interaction with others.
Personally I look at this in two different ways. First way, as an every day "Joe." Thinking that this is talking to oneself. Ergo, I said above that I am sure that everyone has done it. Having an internal conversation to fix a problem or finish a challenging task to me is an everyday occurrence. From a special education educator I see both gentleman's views but in a different light. For example, I directly correlated Piaget's with some of my students. Some of their disabilities limit their social interaction but yet they are constantly talking to themselves. Could Piaget have been onto something with out knowing about it? I will have to do some more research on that subject but again that is the first thing that popped into my head while I was reading that section. On the other hand, which will fall under Vygotsky's theories, in sports and all throughout my education I was taught to work it out in my head. Which to me was "talk it through in my head." Another example that occurred to me is "The Little Train that Could." Coninuosly saying "I think I can, I think I can."
Please comment and let me know how you view these theories.
Matt,
ReplyDeleteWeather or not everyone wants to admit it, I totally agree with you when you say everyone has little conversations in their own head. I know I do. I personally feel it is your brains way of thinking out the steps needed to be taken in order to complete a task. I like you, an athlete, was also told to think before I act, talk out the situation and tell myself what I will do next. It is a normal processing skill that I use on a regular basis. I do also like how you used your special education students as an example. I also have a student that does the same thing. He can have a half an hour one way conversation with himself, but we cannot get him to have a 10 second conversation with us. This to me is very interesting. He is a child with autism so social interaction is very low for him. That being said, as I stated earlier, he can talk with himself about his likes for hours if we allowed him to. I think talking to yourself is a just another way to solve a problem or process information you are trying to get out. Makes it easier for me I know that.