A researcher follows children in a forest village of Jharkhand and in a housing colony of Bengaluru. As babies, children in both places cry, turn towards the mother's voice, react to smells, and later walk and run at about the same ages. By the age of ten, however, the two groups think and solve problems in very different ways. Village children work out problems by joining elders in farming and forest tasks and by talking things through. City children rely on written puzzles, school tests and digital devices.
Using Vygotsky's view, how would the researcher best explain the difference seen at the age of ten?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Higher mental functions such as problem solving and thinking are largely culture-produced.
Option (1) Elementary mental functions such as crying and walking are universal across societies. — Incorrect. This is Vygotsky's view, but it explains what is the same in the babies. Crying and walking appear everywhere, so they cannot explain why the ten-year-olds differ.
Option (2) Technologically advanced societies value social and emotional skills over reasoning and judgment. — Incorrect. The idea is reversed. Less technologically developed societies value social and emotional skills; advanced ones value achievement based on reasoning and judgment.
Option (3) Intelligence is an attribute specific to the person, without regard to cultural background. — Incorrect. This is the older view of many theorists that leaves culture out. It cannot explain why children from two settings come to think differently.
Option (4) Higher mental functions such as problem solving and thinking are largely culture-produced. — Correct. Vygotsky held that higher mental functions like problem solving and thinking are shaped by culture. Farm life and city school life give rise to different ways of thinking.
NCERT (2026-27): “CULTURE AND INTELLIGENCE … “… The unique features of culture now find some representation in theories of intelligence. Sternberg’s notion of contextual or practical intelligence implies that intelligence is a product of culture. Vygotsky also believed that cultures, like individuals, have a life of their own; they grow and change, and in the process specify what will be the end-product of successful intellectual development. According to him, while elementary mental functions (e.g., crying, attending to mother’s voice, sensitivity to smells, walking, and running) are universal, the manner in which higher mental functions such as problem solving and thinking operate are largely culture-produced.” |