This research exercise aimed to replicate use of the instrument (“Vygotsky’s Blocks”) of Vygotsky and
Sakharov (1928-1934) in combination with the 22 wooden blocks and the later adaptations and
scoring framework of Hanfmann and Kasanin (1937; 1942). This procedure – the functional method
of double stimulation – examined new concept formation from early childhood to adulthood (N=60
subjects, aged three- to 76-years-old) to establish whether contemporary adults and children produced
the same or similar patterns as those described by Vygotsky (1986). The study found a
developmental trend consistent with Vygotsky’s (1986) writings on the ontogenesis of concept
formation. The path from the syncretic, to the concrete and factual, to the intermediate phase before
true conceptual thought becomes possible was reflected in a positive correlation between the age of
the subjects and their modes of thinking. This verified Vygotsky’s assertion that true conceptual
thinking only becomes possible in adolescence. This study aimed to encourage further research with
this procedure to confirm the trends found by this study and to validate the adapted scoring method
of Hanfmann and Kasanin (1942) for the purposes of cross-sectional use.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/5859 |
| Date | 02 December 2008 |
| Creators | Towsey, Paula M. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
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