Psychological Significance And Difference Between Tools Use By Humans And Animals

This book represents the very first, so far unpublished, translation of Piotr Galperin’s (1902-1988) dissertation, defended in 1938 during his employment in the All-Ukrainian Psycho-Neurological Academy (AUPA) in Kharkiv, Ukraine. In his candidate dissertation Galperin examined the differences in tool use between humans and animals and argued that there was a fundamental difference between tools developed and used by humans and the auxiliary means used by animals. Galperin showed that human use of tools totally differs from the way tools are utilised by animals as ‘an extension’ of their limbs. He suggested that tools created and used by humans encapsulate cultural and historical experience developed in human practices which have to be mastered. Human engagement with these tools reorganise the existing and enhance the development of new psychological functions and that human consciousness originates and develops in the external tool-mediated activities. The development of new psychological functions stimulates the systemic and meaningful organisation of human consciousness. In addition, as opposed to animal mind, human consciousness undergoes developmental transformations initiated in tools- and speech-mediated activities. Galperin’s research reveals the unity of the external tool-mediated and the internal psychological activity of humans. These findings are influential as they adopted the foundations of the theory of Vygotsky and extended them without changing the essence of Vygotsky’s legacy. Galperin’s dissertation can be considered as a missing jig-saw puzzle which connects the legacy of Vygotsky, the contribution of Leontiev and their followers who worked in the cultural-historical and activity traditions. This translation of the dissertation in English makes it available for the cultural-historical scholars in the West and provides insights into the invaluable contributions of Piotr Galperin.

This book is a compilation of theoretical and empirical advances related to the phenomenon of inner speech in education, and is aimed at academics and researchers in the area of psychology, education and culture. Inner speech has been a focus of multidisciplinary interest. It is a long-standing phenomenon of study in philosophy, psychology, and anthropology. Researchers from different disciplines have turned their efforts to understand this inherent experience of being "talking to oneself". In psychology, Vygotsky managed to develop a complete description of the phenomenon, giving rise to a great line of research related to inner speech in the human experience. This book derives from an international research program, related to cultural psychology, socio-constructivism, developmental psychology and education. It opens the door for new debates and emerging ideas.

This open access book expands the scholarly and policy debates surrounding digital transformation in higher education. The authors adopt a pluralistic conceptual framework which uncovers three analytical elements – contexts, mediations, and type of effects – for unpacking empirical manifestations. The publicly funded higher education systems in Nordic countries provide solid empirical insights into how digital transformations have gained ground before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and chapter contributions demonstrate how international digitalisation trends (such as in the global EdTech industry) impact on the core activities of higher education institutions (HEIs). The findings underscore the importance of assessments that consider multiple sub-systems within HEIs, as well as the complex relationships between them. By unpacking Nordic dynamics in the light of global processes and developments, the approach adopted and the results generated are of relevance to a much broader, global audience of students and researchers in higher education.

Originally published in 1985, this book was an attempt at a comprehensive review of the psychology of action in various areas of psychology. It is also an attempt to bridge two languages and traditions in psychology: German and Anglo-American. Although Anglo-American psychology had had an enormous influence on German psychology, the influence had not gone the other way around – at least not in recent years. Therefore, this book attempts to get the two traditions to speak with each other. The main article, from one language area, and the following discussion, from the other language area, together result in an extensive treatment of an action-theoretic approach in the respective psychological area; thus, both the main article and "discussion" should be read together.

This book clarifies the role and relevance of the body in social interaction and cognition from an embodied cognitive science perspective. Theories of embodied cognition have during the last decades offered a radical shift in explanations of the human mind, from traditional computationalism, to emphasizing the way cognition is shaped by the body and its sensorimotor interaction with the surrounding social and material world. This book presents a theoretical framework for the relational nature of embodied social cognition, which is based on an interdisciplinary approach that ranges historically in time and across different disciplines. It includes work in cognitive science, artificial intelligence, phenomenology, ethology, developmental psychology, neuroscience, social psychology, linguistics, communication and gesture studies. The theoretical framework is illustrated by empirical work that provides some detailed observational fieldwork on embodied actions captured in three different episodes of spontaneous social interaction and cognition in situ. Furthermore, the theoretical contributions and implications of the study of embodied social cognition are discussed and summed up. Finally, the issue what it would take for an artificial system to be socially embodied is addressed and discussed, as well as the practical relevance for applications to artificial intelligence (AI) and socially interactive technology.

This book covers key movements that helped to shape psychology – from the early philosophical debate between rationalism and empiricism or realists and antirealists through to the emergence of psychology as a science and the ongoing debates about ‘objectivity’ and ‘truth’ and what a science of psychology should be. Often nuanced and complex, the author examines major conceptual issues in the history of psychology that continue to be debated and influence public policy and lay understanding. The latter stages of the book explore notions of individuality, hereditarianism, critical psychology, and feminist perspectives. While deeply rooted in human history, it is made clear that psychology, how it is conceived and practiced, has a bearing on our understanding of what it is to be human. Accessible, objective and above all comprehensive, this book will help students locate psychology in the wider field of science and understand the forces that continue to shape and define it.

Presents applications of activity theory; in honour of Sylvia Scribner.

Presentation of groundbreaking research on an extensive range of tool using animals, looking particularly at the evolution of cognitive abilities.