Cultural context of cognitive development

Abstract

The cognitive problems that children formulate and solve in their daily lives necessarily take form in a cultural context. We review and illustrate two dominant approaches to study relations between cultural context and cognitive development, and we point to the limitations and affordances of each. Using a dichotomous approach, scholars employ a methodology that sharply differentiates cognition from cultural context, treating elements of cultural context as independent variables and elements of cognition as dependent variables. The approach often leads to propositions about transcultural features of context that influence the cognitive development of individuals. In contrast, using an intrinsic relations approach, researchers create units of analysis that capture relations between cognition and cultural context, investigating their mutual grounding in daily activities. We also review a small but important body of research that extends these approaches to diachronic analysis. This research seeks to understand shifting relations between cultural context and cognitive development over historical time. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:447-461. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1300 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Conflict of interest: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.