CULTURE, language, AND COGNITION
CULTURE, language, AND COGNITION
CULTURE, language, AND COGNITION
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GA305c05.qxd 4/30/2004 11:26 AM Page 104<br />
104 culture, Language, and cognition<br />
port or guidance provided to a child by parents, older siblings, peers, or other adults in<br />
the process of solving a problem. In construction, scaffolding is placed around a<br />
building to provide temporary support. Once completed, the scaffolding is removed,<br />
and the building is left to stand on its own. Similarly, the amount of<br />
scaffolding, in the form of guidance and support, a child may need depends<br />
on his ability to solve a problem alone. When the problem has been solved,<br />
the parent or others can remove the temporary scaffold (guidance) until help<br />
is again needed. An example of this guidance, or scaffolding, is illustrated in<br />
the accompanying photo.<br />
Here a mother is shown mentoring her young son as he learns shapes<br />
of objects and how to place them in the right arrangement. As with reciprocal<br />
socialization, parents carefully observe their children’s behavior to determine<br />
how much help they may need in completing a task or activity. As the activity<br />
continues, parents become increasingly sensitive to their children’s needs,<br />
with the result that children do better on subsequent tasks.<br />
In conclusion, the original question “Is cognition dependent on <strong>language</strong><br />
or vice versa?” has lost some of its relevance. In shifting from studying<br />
<strong>language</strong>(s) to studying <strong>language</strong> and culture, researchers acknowledge that<br />
both <strong>language</strong> and cognition are cultural phenomena. Consequently, <strong>language</strong><br />
and culture are both part of a person’s ecological system where they<br />
contribute jointly to an individual’s experience.<br />
A mother using scaffolding to help her child learn a<br />
new skill. (Photo courtesy of the authors.)