The authors share the belief that there is great potential for developmental science in bringing the ideas of Niche Construction Theory (NCT), as developed in evolutionary biology, into conversation with Vygotskian-inspired theories such as cultural-historical and activity theories, distributed cognition, and embodied cognition, although from…

A proper understanding of the role of culture in development can make a significant contribution to the development of theory and offer a more certain guide to practice than current theories afford. Three frameworks for interpreting the influence of nature and nurture on individual development assign biological and environmental factors a direct…

Comments on Lucariello's analysis, in this issue, of the development of cultural psychology, arguing that each of the "new approaches" that Lucariello identifies can be seen as an "old approach" that offered slightly different solutions to how psychology might deal more adequately with the cultural constitution of human nature. (MDM)

For a specialist from the communication discipline, studying with Alexander Luria, who had been a colleague of Lev Vygotsky in the l920's, provided insights into the Soviet psychologist's ideas about mediation and mind and how writing fits into those ideas. According to Luria, Vygotsky was a methodologist who worried about what kinds of methods…

Studies conducted among the Kpelle of north central Liberia whose present cultural milieu offers unique possibilities for studying the role of particular experiential factors, particularly education, on the development of paradigmatic response. (Authors)

Concentrates on the notion that a person's intellectual competence can be assessed by observing what he does when confronted with tasks that any child can cope with. (Author)

The basic character of literacy is the creation of objects to regulate interactions with the physical and social worlds. "Remediation" means a shift in the way that mediating devices regulate coordination with the environment. If research on reading is to make a difference, it will have to start with an understanding of how contemporary…

In their presentation, at the start of the seminar, the authors note that their focus is on the relationship between cultural needs and the operation of the educational enterprise, and some potential contributions of psychological research to the formulation of educational and social policy. Their case rests on three arguments: (1) schooling has…