The Cambridge Handbook of Sociocultural Psychology

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 11
Contributors......Page 15
EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION Contemporary Socio-Cultural Research Uniting Culture, Society, and Psychology......Page 23
Why Such Complex Term – Socio-Cultural Psychology?......Page 24
The Conceptual Map of Socio-Cultural Psychology......Page 25
Socio-Cultural Psychology – Its Past, and Needs......Page 27
Dualisms (and fight against them) as epistemological impasses......Page 28
Dependence on language......Page 30
The Pre-View of the Handbook......Page 32
Notes......Page 39
References......Page 40
Part I THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES......Page 43
From Beauty to Science: A Quick Look to Psyche’s Past......Page 45
Two Roles of Scientific Evidence: Knowledge Construction and Group Maintenance......Page 47
Theories as Identity Markers......Page 48
Criteria for Detecting a Shift in the Equilibrium Between These Two Functions of Theories......Page 49
Updating Psyche’s Image......Page 50
Socio-cultural phenomena as open systems......Page 51
What Is Psyche? Who Is Psyche?......Page 52
Consciousness and Experience......Page 53
The Social-Cultural-Historical Nature of Experience......Page 54
Locating Socio-Cultural Psychology: Levels of Organization......Page 55
Towards a New Epistemology in Socio-Cultural Sciences......Page 59
References......Page 60
CHAPTER 2 Language, Cognition, Subjectivity: A Dynamic Constitution......Page 62
Different Linguistic Structures – Different Worlds......Page 63
Language is Alive......Page 64
Notions Have Their Destinies......Page 65
Language and Subject Formation......Page 66
Who Is the Agent of All That?......Page 67
Do We Acquire Language or Vice Versa?......Page 68
Discourse Analysis......Page 69
Social Representations......Page 71
Metaphor Analysis......Page 74
Applying These Thoughts Onto Cultural Psychology – An Integrative Outlook......Page 75
Historicity and Contingency of Human Subjectivity......Page 76
Beyond Universalist and Ahistoric Knowledge Claims and Toward Self-Reflexivity of Psychology as a Science......Page 77
Implications for Research Methodology......Page 78
Conclusion......Page 79
References......Page 80
Reflexivity as a Methodological Tool......Page 84
The Argument of the Chapter......Page 85
The Discursive Control of Human Activity......Page 86
The Socio-Historical Emergence of Self-Reflective Discourse......Page 88
A Brief Genealogy of Psychology as a Discourse on Socio-Cultural Phenomenon......Page 90
Disciplined Psychology as a Discourse Reflecting Upon the Self......Page 91
Collective Psychology: A Multidisciplinary Effort to Link Psyche and Culture......Page 93
Towards a Self-Reflective Proposal About the Analysis of Socio-Cultural Contexts......Page 96
Devising an Auto-Reflexive Method......Page 97
A Catalogue of Ways in Which Socio-cultural Psychologies can Address Agency......Page 98
Final Remarks......Page 100
References......Page 101
Two Ways to Generalized Knowledge......Page 104
The Meaning of “Population”......Page 108
Logic of generalization based on the homogeneity assumption......Page 109
Sampling in the Behavioral Sciences......Page 110
Sampling and Statistical Theories......Page 111
Changing the Axiomatic Base: Historicity of Life Courses......Page 112
Sampling in Socio-Cultural Psychology......Page 113
Generalization – Knowing About What? Population or Generic Models?......Page 115
Development as a Process: Constructing Histories......Page 116
Socio-Cultural Experiences on the Trajectories of Living......Page 117
A New Philosophy of Method: HSS (Historically Structured Sampling)......Page 118
Trajectory Equifinality Model (TEM)-Based on HSS......Page 119
Infertility in japan......Page 120
Use of cosmetics by japanese women in the united states......Page 123
Psychological process of abortion......Page 124
References......Page 126
Part II FROM NATURE TO CULTURE......Page 129
CHAPTER 5 The Windowless Room: ‘Mediationism’ and How to Get Over It......Page 131
Mediationism in Mainstream Cognitive Psychology......Page 132
Representationalism in Social Cognitive Psychology......Page 133
Deja vu All Over Again......Page 138
Getting Over Mediationism......Page 141
References......Page 142
CHAPTER 6 Functional Systems of Perception-Action and Re-Mediation......Page 146
Perception-Action: A Way of Conceiving the Basis of Knowledge......Page 147
The Dynamic Approach in Psychology......Page 149
Current Research Into Intentional Movement: Motor Control and Dynamic Modeling......Page 152
Functional Systems in Brain Functioning......Page 155
Re-Mediation on the Edge From Basic to Social-cultural Functioning......Page 156
Mediation and the Transit From Basic to Higher Psychological Processes......Page 158
Notes......Page 159
References......Page 160
CHAPTER 7 Comparative Development of Communication: An Evolutionary Perspective......Page 162
General Considerations on the Concept of Communication......Page 163
Information and Communication......Page 165
A World of Signals......Page 167
Communication and Perception-Cognition......Page 170
The Encephalization Process and Object Perception......Page 172
Sociability, Cognition, and Communication......Page 173
Primate Communication......Page 175
Animal Communication and Human Communication......Page 176
In Principio Erat Signum......Page 179
Notes......Page 182
References......Page 183
Background......Page 186
Monograph......Page 188
Defining Culture......Page 190
1. Spontaneity......Page 194
2. Boundlessness......Page 196
3. Immanence......Page 198
4. Cultural Creativity and Generality......Page 199
5. Placement......Page 200
6. Gestures and Tools......Page 201
8. Cultural Unity......Page 202
10. Reflexivity......Page 203
12. Moral and Personal Dimension......Page 204
Notes......Page 205
References......Page 206
Forest Bipeds: A Life Between Ground and Trees......Page 209
Sleeping in Heights: The Nesting Behavior......Page 210
Homo Faber Versus Australopithecus Habilis: Ethoecology and Archaeological Record......Page 212
Savannah: Scavengers and/or Hunters and Stone Tools......Page 213
Sleeping on the Ground and the Myth of Fire......Page 217
Contemporary Knives and Axes . . . and the Ecological Hypothesis of the African Acheulean......Page 218
The Solution: A Paleo-Ethocological View......Page 222
References......Page 223
Part III FROM ORIENTATION TO MEANING......Page 225
The Puzzle of Experience......Page 227
Behavior and Sense......Page 228
What Is the Meaning of “Meaning”?......Page 229
The Sciences of Meaning: Semiology and Semiotics......Page 231
How Is It That We Are Able to Make Sense of What Is Felt?......Page 232
Semiosis as a Triadic and Recursive Process......Page 233
How Feelings Can Come to Signify Objects......Page 234
Peirce’s Classification of Signs......Page 237
Semiosis Constructs the Fictional and the Real in Irreversible Time......Page 239
Acting and Meaning-Making......Page 240
Movement, Action, and Semiosis......Page 241
From Acts to Action......Page 242
Intentionality, Actuations, and Dramatic Performances......Page 244
Intentional Schema......Page 245
Actuations Produce Psychological Processes, Objects, Situations, and Actors......Page 249
The Others Turn Actuations Into Dramaturgical Scripts. The Influence of the Social......Page 254
Concluding Remarks. Semiotic Actuations as the Source of Ecologically Developed Teleological Functions......Page 255
Notes......Page 256
References......Page 257
CHAPTER 11 Time and Movement in Symbol Formation......Page 260
Ritualization in the Origin of Gestures and Pretend Play......Page 261
Movement and Action......Page 262
Movement, Time, and Feeling......Page 263
Diversity, Attunement, and Communion......Page 264
Temporal Organization of Movement......Page 266
Movement and Action in Circular Reactions......Page 267
The “Externalization” of the Components of Social Circular Reactions......Page 268
Movement in the Genesis of Pretend Play......Page 269
Movement in the Creation of Gestures......Page 270
Temporal Play......Page 272
Temporal Play and Pretend Play......Page 273
Acknowledgment......Page 275
References......Page 276
The Pragmatic Approach to Language and Objects......Page 279
What Is the Origin of the Pragmatic View That Leads Bruner to Link Meaning and Use in Language Acquisition?......Page 280
Where Does the “Natural” Lie in Natural Signs?......Page 281
One Thing Is the Production of a Natural Sign; Its Interpretation Is Quite Another......Page 282
Communication as Cause of Cognitive Development: The Role of the Object......Page 283
Some Clarifications About Triadic Interactions......Page 284
How Many Triadicities Are Necessary to Understand the Role of Education in Early Development? Indexical Gestures Point to Something in the World......Page 285
Does the Adult Play a Role in the Child’s Acquisition of Object Permanence?......Page 286
Conventional Uses of Objects, Communication, and Cognitive Development......Page 287
Cognitive Development Is “Spontaneous” Because the Object Is Evident......Page 288
From a Pragmatic and Semiotic Perspective, How Do Children Acquire the Conventional Uses of Objects by the End of Their First Year?......Page 289
The Appropriation of Conventional Uses: A Complex Process. Not “A Simple Imitation”......Page 290
Conventional Uses of Objects, Consciousness, and Private Gestures......Page 291
Conclusion......Page 292
Notes......Page 294
References......Page 295
Foreword......Page 299
The Perspective Production Background......Page 300
Introducing the Network of Meanings Perspective......Page 301
The Interactive Fields......Page 302
The Person......Page 303
The Socio-Historical Matrix......Page 304
The Multiple Spatial/Temporal Dimensions......Page 305
The Network Metaphor......Page 307
Networks, Sheds, Meshes, and Webs......Page 308
The Network of Meanings and the Developmental Processes......Page 309
Final Comments......Page 310
References......Page 311
Part IV SYMBOLIC RESOURCES FOR THE CONSTITUTION OF EXPERIENCE......Page 313
Experience, Beliefs, Consciousness, and the Real......Page 315
Beliefs and Actuations......Page 316
Social Life as the Cradle for Subjectivity......Page 317
Acts and Actuations......Page 321
From Teleonomy to Teleology......Page 323
Suspended Actuations......Page 324
Development of Mediational Actuations for Communication......Page 325
The Social Affordance of Mediational Symbols......Page 326
Conventional Symbols and Agency......Page 327
The Role of Imagination......Page 328
From Images to Words......Page 329
Verbal Utterances, Arguments, and Reason......Page 330
Consciousness Creates Reality......Page 331
From Experiences to Beliefs and Reality......Page 333
Consciousness......Page 334
Final Remarks, Culture, Rationality, and Ethics......Page 337
References......Page 338
Psychological Research on Emotion in Different Cultures......Page 340
Emotions as interpsychic phenomena......Page 342
Cultural Emotions: The Subject of Cultural Psychology......Page 343
Cultural Psychology of Affective Process: Shimcheong Psychology......Page 344
Preconditions......Page 345
Shimcheongscripts – extrospective analysis......Page 346
Relational self......Page 347
Mind psychology of koreans......Page 348
Shimcheongdiscourse......Page 349
Summary......Page 350
Culture and Epistemological Understanding for Shimcheong......Page 351
Empathy......Page 353
Affect attunement......Page 354
Amae......Page 355
Cultural variation of mind as mediator of social behavior......Page 356
Can shimcheong be a universal phenomenon?......Page 357
Future task for cultural psychology......Page 358
References......Page 360
The Concept of Symbolic Resource and Its Use......Page 365
Theoretical Relevance of the Notion in Socio-cultural Psychology......Page 367
Time Orientation of Symbolic Resources......Page 368
Level of Mediation of Symbolic Resources......Page 369
The Study of Symbolic Resources in Changing Lives......Page 370
Symbolic Resources in Interpersonal Interactions or Relationships......Page 371
Symbolic Resources and Moving to New Spheres of Experience......Page 372
The Lost Use of Symbolic Resources: Meaning and Emotion......Page 373
Learning to Use Symbolic Resources......Page 374
Transformations of Uses of Symbolic Resources......Page 375
A Social Understanding of Symbolic Resources in Human Lives......Page 376
Intersubjective and Psychological Constraints on Uses......Page 377
Methodology and Further Directions......Page 378
References......Page 379
Endurance and Irreversibility......Page 384
Between the Present and Future......Page 385
Unity of the Literal and Imagined......Page 386
The Poem......Page 387
The Sign......Page 388
Meaning-As-Poetic-Motion......Page 389
Daniel’s Story......Page 390
Poetic Motion: Imagined Senses Through Prayer......Page 391
Changing Stories......Page 392
Notes......Page 393
References......Page 394
Introduction: The Psychology of Sense and the Psychology of Meaning......Page 395
The psychology of orientation to reality and the natural history of the sign......Page 396
Directive functions for a concrete psychology”......Page 398
Functional congruence as the basis of the directive system......Page 401
Embodiment in Vygotsky and the Cultural Ecology of Directivity......Page 402
Objects, gestures and voices in religious consciousness......Page 404
Living in the kingdom of heaven with one’s feet on the earth: popular religiousness......Page 405
Meta-operators of religious consciousness: meditation and the inner life of the spirit......Page 406
Mental Operations and Verbal Protocols......Page 408
Everyday life protocols for a cultural psychology......Page 409
Verbal protocols of abbreviated mental actions and instrumentally socially/distributed mental actions......Page 410
Miguel de Unamuno: Diary, Meditation, and Prayer as Existential Levers......Page 412
An Analysis of The Lord’s Prayer......Page 413
Human Species as Human Family......Page 414
The Constitution of the Spiritual World......Page 415
Moral Directivity: Between Reasoning and Feelings......Page 416
Postural and Situated Operators: Verbal Anchoring of Presences and the Ecological Cementation of Intentions......Page 417
Religious Catharsis......Page 418
Notes......Page 420
Acknowledgments......Page 422
References......Page 423
CHAPTER 19 “Myself, the Project”: Sociocultural Interpretations of Young Adulthood......Page 426
Setting the Macro Scene: Social Life in Late Modernity......Page 428
Institutionalized Individualism......Page 429
Leading a Life of Their Own: Young Adult’s DIY Constructions......Page 430
Illustrative DIY Constructions......Page 432
Sociocultural Connections......Page 434
Person-by-Institution Mutual Constraining Processes......Page 435
Student/Teacher Mutual Constraining in the Contemporary University......Page 437
Conclusion......Page 438
References......Page 439
Part V FROM SOCIETY TO THE PERSON THROUGH CULTURE......Page 443
CHAPTER 20 Apprenticeship in Conversation and Culture: Emerging Sociability in Preschool Peer Talk......Page 445
Conversational Skills in Child Discourse......Page 446
The Socio-Cultural Perspective on Children’s Conversations......Page 449
Data and Method......Page 450
The Emergence of Conversation: From Activity-Related to Independent Talk......Page 451
Accomplishing Sociability......Page 456
Conclusion......Page 461
Notes......Page 462
References......Page 463
CHAPTER 21 The Creation of New Cultures in Peer Interaction......Page 466
Interpretive Reproduction and Sociocultural Theory......Page 467
Ritualized Sharing......Page 468
Improvised Fantasy Play......Page 469
Challenging Adult Authority......Page 474
Creating Peer Cultures, Creating Friendships......Page 476
Conclusion......Page 479
References......Page 480
Essentialist Approaches to “Other Communities” in History and Education......Page 482
Problem of Cultural Mismatch: “Look at ME!”......Page 484
Dialogic Framework to Cultural Breakdowns......Page 487
Building “Creole Communities” in Education......Page 493
“Please Try to Listen to Each Other”......Page 494
Doodling in the Classroom......Page 498
Instead of a Conclusion......Page 500
Notes......Page 502
References......Page 503
Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CH/AT)......Page 506
Some Basic Principles Used in CH/AT-Inspired Intervention Research......Page 507
Example Intervention Studies Combining Theory and Practice......Page 510
The Elkonin – Davydov Teaching/Learning Interventions......Page 511
The Example of Mathematics......Page 512
Expanding on the Elkonin-Davydov Approach......Page 513
Developmental Work Research: Focusing on the Method of Double Stimulation......Page 514
Designing and Implementing Activities as Idiocultures: The 5th Dimension......Page 517
Designing the Joint Activity......Page 519
Describing the Ideal-Type......Page 520
Evaluating the Intervention......Page 521
Assessing CH/AT in Practice......Page 523
References......Page 526
Beyond the Premises of Homo Economics......Page 530
Beyond Children as Individuals......Page 531
Possessions and Money Beyond Market Economy......Page 533
Pocket Money as a Research Tool to Investigate Money for Children......Page 534
Money and Cultural Development of Self: From Perspective of Possession......Page 535
Money and Children’s Life-World......Page 537
Expanded Structure of Mediation......Page 539
Conclusion......Page 540
References......Page 542
CHAPTER 25 The Family: Negotiating Cultural Values......Page 546
Family as a Critical Social Juncture......Page 547
The Economic Dimension of Togetherness......Page 548
The Idea of the Family......Page 549
Family Systems......Page 550
Family as a Unit of Study......Page 551
The Self and the Family: Social and Personal Dynamics......Page 552
Parents, Siblings, and Others: The Language and Relationships in the Family......Page 553
The Indian Family: The Spiritual Evolution of the Individual?......Page 554
References......Page 559
Part VI FROM SOCIAL CULTURE TO PERSONAL CULTURE......Page 563
Culture as a Field of Representations......Page 565
Types of Social Representations......Page 567
Reflection in the Genesis of Representations......Page 570
Culture as Representation and the Representation of Culture......Page 571
Culture and Time......Page 572
Time, Change, and Cognitive Polyphasia......Page 574
Representations of Mental Health and Illness in Contemporary India......Page 577
Conclusion......Page 579
References......Page 580
The Human Form of Life: Between Nature and Culture......Page 582
In Search of the Truth: Morality and Science......Page 585
On Becoming Moral: A Dialectical- Historical Process......Page 587
Intentional Selves, Intentional Worlds: The Cultural-Psychological Perspective......Page 590
Dilemmas and Decisions: Morality as Drama......Page 592
References......Page 595
CHAPTER 28 Identity, Rights, and Duties: The Illustrative Case of Positioning by Iran, the United States, and the European Union......Page 598
Conceptual Framework......Page 599
The Historical and Geopolitical Context......Page 601
“Nuclear” Positioning by the IRI, the US, and the EU......Page 602
Islamic Republic of Iran......Page 603
Positioning by the USA......Page 606
Positioning By the Iranian Opposition......Page 607
Concluding Comment......Page 608
Notes......Page 609
References......Page 611
CHAPTER 29 Symbolic Politics and Cultural Symbols: Identity Formation Between and Beyond Nations and States......Page 613
The Basis: Fictions of the Non-political State......Page 614
Rationale, Modalities, and Contexts of Symbolic Politics......Page 616
Cultural Topoi and Aesthetic Forms......Page 618
Three Cases: Immigration, War, and European Integration......Page 620
Alternative Symbolic Politics “From Below”......Page 625
Concluding Perspectives......Page 626
References......Page 627
CHAPTER 30 The Dialogical Self: Social, Personal, and (Un)Conscious......Page 630
The Relational Primacy: Relationships as the Beginning......Page 631
A Dialogical Relationship Implies a Person and an Other: The Principle of Alterity......Page 632
Contextual Nature of Dialogicality......Page 633
The Dialogical Self and Its Polyphony......Page 634
Critical Aspects: How to Advance the Dialogical Self-Theory......Page 635
Dialogical Dynamics of the Mind: Social, Personal, and (Un)Conscious......Page 636
Fluidity and Regularities of a Dialogical Self......Page 637
The Dialogical Self as a Multilayered System......Page 638
Consciousness, Self-Reflection, and Self-Narratives Within a Dialogical Self......Page 639
The Other Side of a Dialogical Self: From the Unconscious to the Supraconscious......Page 640
Note......Page 641
References......Page 642
Part VII MAKING SENSE OF THE PAST FOR THE FUTURE: MEMORY AND SELF-REFLECTION......Page 645
Memorable Public Events......Page 647
The Reminiscence Bump......Page 649
Flashbulb Memories: The Individual Dimension of Collective Memories......Page 650
Emotional Determinants......Page 651
Social Determinants......Page 652
Are FBMs a Special Class of Memories?......Page 653
Collective Memories and Social Identities......Page 654
Oblivion and Distortions of Collective Memories......Page 655
Collectives’ Memories: A Theoretical Challenge......Page 657
Conclusions......Page 661
References......Page 662
CHAPTER 32 Collective Memory......Page 667
Strong Versus Distributed Accounts of Collective Memory......Page 668
Collective Versus Individual Remembering......Page 670
History Versus Memory......Page 672
Specific Narratives Versus Schematic Narrative Templates......Page 675
Schematic Narrative Templates: An Illustration......Page 676
The Social Organization of Collective Remembering......Page 677
Conclusion......Page 679
References......Page 680
CHAPTER 33 Issues in the Socio-Cultural Study of Memory: Making Memory Matter......Page 683
A Conversation With Bartlett – Social Organization of Remembering in Communicative Action......Page 685
Commemoration......Page 688
Conventionalization......Page 690
Objectification......Page 692
Mediation......Page 695
References......Page 697
Rupture Theories......Page 700
Mirror Theories......Page 701
Conflict Theories......Page 702
Internalization Theories......Page 704
The Social Act......Page 706
Two Processes of Self-Reflection: An Illustration......Page 707
Self-Mediation......Page 708
Complex Semiotic Systems......Page 709
Conclusion......Page 710
References......Page 712
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS Socio-Cultural Psychology on the Move: Semiotic Methodology in the Making......Page 714
New Discourse Topics in Socio-Cultural Psychology......Page 715
The notion of actuation......Page 716
Developmental explanation......Page 717
Searching for “the truth” – never to find it......Page 718
Struggling With Uncertainty......Page 719
Rationality and Society......Page 720
Explaining and Understanding Experiences: Objectivity Through the Self......Page 721
The mindset of history......Page 722
Understanding and Explaining in Socio-Cultural Psychology......Page 723
Methodology Cycle as the Knowledge Construction Process......Page 724
A Way to Look at Culturally Directed Psychological Phenomena......Page 725
Concluding Words: A Caravan Moving Towards Objectivity......Page 726
References......Page 728
Index......Page 731