History and Behavior

I, unfortunately, had the same difficulties as Heather with almost all of the readings, therefore, I’m not certain as to how much I was actually able to take from them.

Vygotsky: An essential point that I found within Vygotsky’s theory is that “behavior can be understood only as the history of behavior” (8).  This is a fairly revolutionary concept arguing, then, that behavior does not come about spontaneously and freely through a person, but is learned over time and continued in such a way as to mimic the same behaviors that have survived over many years.  This, in conjunction with Vygotsky’s “exploited view” that technological activities are paramount in “understanding psychological makeup,” seem to be at odds. If technology continually advances, creating new social behavior, how can it be viewed as the history of behavior? Does technology (in some way) encompass the history of behavior as it propels us forward?  Secondly, Vygotsky argues that every gesture only begins to hold significance when it is solidified as such by another person (56).