Extending the Double Stimulation Method in Cultural--Historical Research: Parent--Child Interaction and Cognitive Change

Abstract

In this article, we explore the nature and role of parent-child interaction characteristics in a problem-solving task involving verbal and nonverbal concepts. The purpose of the research is threefold. First, we explore how interaction patterns identified through a factorial study may be understood through a variant of the double simulation method first described by Vygotsky, in which children convert external assistance into means that lead to task success. Second, we attempt to provide an economic, theory-based description of interaction characteristics found under school-like task conditions in examining metacognitive aspects of concept formation. Third, we examine how the interaction patterns vary as a function of the intellectual level of children and the assistance that is available to them. A discussion of the double stimulation approach in microgenetic research is presented in the context of a parent-child teaching experiment.