Exploring the Sociocultural Approach to Memory in Psychology

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the sociocultural approach to memory, emphasizing the work of Lev Vygotsky and his theory. It explores how social interaction, cultural factors, and language play crucial roles in shaping human memory. The essay contrasts Vygotsky's theory with Piaget's cognitive development theory, highlighting the importance of the zone of proximal development and the bifold model in understanding memory. It also examines the impact of language as a tool for constructing memories, drawing on the influence of sociocultural factors on memory development. The essay concludes by emphasizing the benefits of the sociocultural approach in making human behavior comprehensive by studying the environment of the human.

Running head: A SOCIOCULTURAL APPROACH TO MEMORY
A SOCIOCULTURAL APPROACH TO MEMORY
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Introduction:
The relationship between humankind and society is one of the oldest relationships that
has supported one another. A study of wide-ranging area with numerous theories is psychology,
and with schools of thoughts it assists in understanding and making sense of human behaviour.
One makes the other in various ways, sometimes society modifies human behaviour and
sometimes it is human behaviour that initiates changes in society. Therefore, in order to
understand one, it is necessary to follow another. Based on the same perception, the psychologist
believes society has a significant role to play in the way human behave. One of the emerging
theory in psychology, sociocultural theory studies the ways significant contributes are made to
individual development (Valsiner & Rosa, 2007). The theory focuses on the relationship between
society and human being, precisely the kind of interaction that takes place between developing
people and the culture where the person lives. According to sociocultural theory, human learning
is mostly a social process. This paper aims to discuss the sociocultural theory to memory and its
importance in psychology. The paper discusses the concept of sociocultural theory and the ways
it is beneficial in understanding human psychology. The theory is not only an emerging theory in
psychology but also a widely used method of analysing individual development.
An introduction to sociocultural theory
The sociocultural theory was developed by a seminal Russian psychologist, Lev
Vygotsky (Woollard & Pritchard, 2013). According to Lev Vygotsky, social interaction played a
crucial role in children’s learning, and it is through social interaction that human learning takes
place. The basic of learning is in the interaction that one does with another in its social
environment. He was a widely known contemporary sociologist similar to other great thinkers

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such as Skinner, Piaget and Freud. He was faced with a very early death at the age of 37 which
suppressed his work in Stalinist Russia until very recently. After publishing his work, it gained
huge attention and his ideas grew extensively influential. Since then, his actions are widely used
in child development, cognitive psychology and education. The concept of sociocultural theory
deals with ranges of perceptions such as the ways adults and peers impact individual learning,
the ways cultural beliefs and attitudes influence the learning and instruction intake process
(Matsumoto & Juang, 2016). According to Vygotsky, children are born with primary biological
constraints on their minds. The culture they are exposed to act as a form of intellectual
adaptation tools. Tools such as this are let children utilise their necessary mental capabilities in a
process that is most adaptive to the culture they are exposed or live.
Difference between Piaget and Vygotsky
The framework of sociocultural theory is mostly associated with Lev Vygotsky only and
not Jean Piaget. When Piaget is thought, he was the first among the social scientist to question
the modality in learning and thinking (Vygotsky, Luriâ & Knox, 2013). The studies conducted
by him were much needed in order to differentiate the instruction of children through the
development level. Also, Jean Piaget was the first one who came up with the suggestion that
thinking and learning are done individually and in one’s parameter of an individual personality
trait.
Therefore, there are differences that exist between the two theorists regarding the
sociocultural theory. There are various ways Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory differ from Piaget’s
theory of cognitive development. Considering Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, there is a great
emphasis on social factors. The theory considers the ways social factors influence development.
However, in the Piaget’s cognitive development the emphasis is on the ways child’ interaction

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and exploration impacts the child’s development. The stress majorly applied by Piaget is on the
significant role played by the social interaction in cognitive development. The other development
that can be traced, when the two theories are compared, was the nature of the development.
Piaget suggested that development is universal while Vygotsky was in the opinion that cognitive
development might vary between different cultures (Poehner & Lantolf, 2014). For example, a
child belonging from Western civilisation may have different cognitive development than a child
residing from Eastern culture.
The Zone of Proximal Development
It is important to discuss regarding the zone of proximal development when the
sociocultural theory is discussed. Vygotsky defined the zone of proximal development as the
distance between the actual development level that is determined by interdependent problem
solving and the level of potential development that is determined by problem solving under the
guidance from adults or experienced peers. In simpler terms, it is the knowledge and skills one
needs to do a specific task however the person is not aware of the possessed capabilities. The
same person can do the job when the person is guided by someone else who can be either an
adult or a capable peer. At the core of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, there is a
presence in the area comprising the cognitive capabilities which are learned so far in life. The
fact that human can think is the main factor that makes human different from the other animals.
As children are given the chance of stretching their skills and knowledge in the same way
someone who is slightly advanced then they can also extend their zone of proximal development
with a little guidance. It is only through an external force one can understand the capabilities of
self.

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The Bifold model:
According to Wertsch (2007), numerous studies have considered a sociocultural approach
that concerns about memory. One of the simplest examples would be regarded as a comparison
between an animal’s memory and human memory. As understood, animal’s memory is
reactionary that it, they tend to live only in the present and do not recall the past like human. It
may fail to unlock the experiences that they have had in the past and solely focus on the events
that the animals are experiencing at that moment. Although a mouse can identify a predator when
approached by it again and again however it will fail to recognise any other predators such as a
snake. Humans are blessed with language that helps them recall the experience they go through
without having to go through it again. However, a human can remember past experiences
without having them first-handed. An individual can see any word and recall its memory with the
object mentioned. According to Brown, Allen & Reavey (2015), a person can see the word
‘watermelon’ and immediately it will not only recall the image of the watermelon but also the
taste of watermelon. Vygotsky also mentioned that children at an early age vocalise action and
their thought process by speaking out loud their reasoning and their thinking. As children grow
up, the vocalisation becomes internal which again becomes ‘inner speech’ (Obradović, 2017).
Children are seen talking aloud by themselves at an early age when they carry out mundane
tasks. It is believed to be the action of building recalling abilities that will become inner speech
or the speech that is internalised. The attempt to remember the things one did the previous day
includes a series of prompts that begins with common events such as the commute to work.
These events often make a person recall about the song on the radio or the colour of the car. That
was in front of them while driving to work.

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Language is the most significant factor in the development of the ability to recall
memories or information. It is also, one of the major building blocks of society and culture. As
believed by many, language is the most powerful element that would elevate humans from a
primitive species that would dominate the world. A language is an instrument that helps human
construct memoirs. Human is able to recollect their past, remember their pleasant and unpleasant
memories is through the language.
Through the help of a sociocultural approach, psychologists have started to investigate
the human history in the context of finding the impact of language on human behaviour. The
various ways language shape and define the entire society, and the way society has been going
along with the influence of language (Power, 2016). Language helps in interacting, the
interaction is also between the self. After the research, sociologists, psychologist as well as an
anthropologist has observed that human’s more complex emotions such as loyalty, love,
empathy, are learned behaviour that humans tend to associate with words. These behaviours are
not ingrained behaviour that is concretely established in the human brains.
Memory development:
According to Vygotsky, it is known that sociocultural factors impact an individual’s
development and as per Piaget it is known that social interaction plays an essential role in an
individual’s development. Remembering becomes a process when there is an interaction between
the individual, the society and the context. It is further shaped by the power of dynamics that
lend authority, credibility and ‘truth’ to a specific version of both individual and collective
memory. It is observed that memory becomes constructed in reaction to the situational
development by the party that is more dominant. Therefore, the process of remembering by
memory are not mere retrievals of existing information. It is also a construction, negotiation and

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often manipulation of experiences that have occurred in the past. This is majorly the experiences
that happen while the process of development takes place. The impact of social factors and social
interaction both plays an important role in remembering the process of memory. While power is
not precisely the highlight of the article, it is only to mention that both the theories apply when
the memory is studied. Construction and reconstruction of events, scientific theories, and
beautiful objects are factors that are shaped by the dominant power-asymmetric between
individuals and socio-cultural movement along with groups and culture. The role of power is an
important aspect to consider when it comes to remembering in context of socio-cultural
psychology. The intersection occurring the action of remembering is essential to understand the
impact of socio-cultural approach.
Conclusion:
A broad area of study with several theories is psychology, and with schools of thoughts it
helps in understanding and making sense of human behaviour. There are various aspects of
human behaviour such as perception, behaviour and personality and many more. Some of the
psychologists even decide to devote studies to human’s abnormal behaviour. There is some
psychologist who attempts to understand the reason for the way the previous thinkers have
thought. The fact that humans are capable of thinking is the main factor that makes human
different from the other animals. A common approach of explanation that makeup and define
individuals as they are and it is the approach of a sociocultural approach. This approach
emphasises on the influence of society on human development. The knowledge and skills one
needs to do a particular task however the person is not aware of the possessed capabilities.
Psychologists widely use the approach as it helps understanding human behaviour. According to
a socio-cultural approach, cultural factors such as art, social norms, social structures, language

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play the most crucial role in the development of human cognitive abilities. Therefore, the
approach is an extensively used method. Language is a tool that helps human construct
memories. Humans can recall their past, remember their good and bad memories is through
language. Therefore, language is considered the most essential tool of a sociocultural approach.
There are various benefits of this approach as it helps to make the human behaviour
comprehensive by studying the environment of the human.

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References:
Brown, S. D., Allen, M., & Reavey, P. (2015). The collective shaping of survivors’ personal
memories of the 2005 London bombing. Routledge International Handbook of Memory Studies,
428.
Matsumoto, D., & Juang, L. (2016). Culture and psychology. Nelson Education.
Obradović, S. (2017). Whose memory and why: A commentary on power and the construction of
memory. Culture & Psychology, 23(2), 208-216.
Poehner, M. E., & Lantolf, J. P. (2014). Sociocultural theory and the pedagogical imperative in
L2 education: Vygotskian praxis and the research/practice divide. Routledge.
Power, S. A. (2016). A violent past but a peaceful present: The cultural psychology of an Irish
recession. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 22(1), 60.
Valsiner, J., & Rosa, A. (2007). Contemporary socio-cultural research. The Cambridge handbook
of sociocultural psychology, 1-20.
Vygotsky, L. S., Luriâ, A. R., & Knox, J. E. (2013). Studies on the history of behavior: Ape,
primitive, and child. Psychology Press.
Wertsch, J. (2007) Collective memory. In Valsiner & Rosa (eds). Cambridge Handbook of
Sociocultural Psychology. Cambridge University Press.
Wertsch, J. (2008) The narrative organisation of collective memory. Ethos, 1, 120-135.
Woollard, J., & Pritchard, A. (2013). Psychology for the classroom: Constructivism and social
learning. Routledge.