Overview of Social Influence on Development

The foundational concept for this theoretical effort has come from the work of L. S. Vygotsky, the Russian psychologist active in the 1920s whose work began to influence thought worldwide some sixty years later. Although Vygotsky invoked concepts from phylogenetic formulations and other theoretical levels, the setting of his work was primarily in a pedagogical institute, and the problems he experienced practically and theoretically arose in issues of child development, both normative and pedagogical.

Vygotsky generated students, they generated students, and this line has now reached at least the fifth generation. This theoretical orientation has been called neo-Vygotskian, sociocultural, and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT); it now has international associations, scholarly journals, and worldwide influence on social science research and theory. The majority of phenomena addressed by these groups continues to be early development, early socialization, and pedagogy. Of course there are notable exceptions; in the context of Delta Theory, there come to mind the programs of organizational behavior and development by Engeström (e.g., Engeström & Middleton, 1996) as well as a few forays into psychological treatment (Miltenburg & Singer, 1999; Tharp, 1999; Portes, 1999).