PERSONALITY, EMOTIONS, AND BEHAVIOURAL MASTERY IN THE THOUGHT OF LEV VYGOTSKY By Michael G. Levykh M.Ed., University of British Columbia, 2003 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Faculty of Education (Educational Psychology) © Michael G. Levykh 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2008 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Michael G. Levykh Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Thesis: Personality, Emotions, and Behavioural Mastery in the Thought of Lev Vygotsky Examining Committee: Chair: Paul Neufeld, Associate Professor Jack Martin, Professor Senior Supervisor Jeff Sugarman, Associate Professor Committee Member Natalia Gajdamaschko, Lecturer Committee Member Dr. Lucy LeMare, Associate Professor Internal/External Examiner Dr. Jennifer Vadeboncoeur, Associate Professor, USC External Examiner Date Defended/Approved: ii SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Revised: Fall 2007 Personality, Emotions, & Behavioural Mastery in Vygotsky ABSTRACT In this thesis I interpret and apply the ideas of Lev Vygotsky concerning emotions and relationships among emotions, personality, and behavioural mastery. The application is to current debates and controversies over the use of Vygotsky' s concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) in educational contexts. I will argue that the ZPD can successfully facilitate learning and development if, and only if, it is understood and employed in the context of a holistic conception of cultural development - a conception that assumes the tripartite relationship among emotion, behavioural mastery, and personality. In the course of my investigation, I will analyze in detail the concepts of cultural development, socio-cultural-historical context, emotions, personality, mastery of behaviour, and their educational applications. I will explain what cultural development within the dialectical paradigm entails for Vygotsky. More specifically, I will discuss the mechanisms, processes, and products of cultural development (i.e., the notions of mediation, internalization, externalization, struggle, culture, and neo-formation). I also will consider whether or not cultural development goes beyond adolescence. I will examine: (a) the concepts of emotion in general, and cultural emotion in particular; (b) the way in which Vygotsky understood emotions and their purpose; (c) the notion of emotional experience (perezhivaniye), as Vygotsky's last and most complete unit of analysis of cultural development; (d) practical considerations concerning the cultural Michael G. Levykh 111 Personality, Emotions, & Behavioural Mastery in Vygotsky development of emotions; and (e) the consequences of disintegrated and undeveloped emotions. I will further clarify and develop Vygotsky's ideas concerning relations among emotions, behavioural mastery, and personality (leachnost) - the Tripartite Model - within a social-historical context. Of particular importance will be to demonstrate exactly how these ideas and relations enable the conception of a holistic cultural development. Here, I will argue that Vygotsky's understanding of cultural development can be explicated most clearly and fully with the Tripartite Model in place. Then, I will clarify Vygotsky's understanding of learning within the Russian cultural-historical-educational context. This interpretive analysis will be followed by the application of my Tripartite Model to achieve an enriched understanding of the ZPD, an understanding that also will be illustrated with respect to its implications for educational practice. Keywords: Vygotsky; personality; leachnost; emotional experience; perezhivaniye; behavioural mastery; teaching-learning; obucheniye; vospitaniye; obrazovaniye; neofonnation; novo-obrazovaniye; struggle; bor'ba protivorechiy; zone of proximal development Subject Terms: Vygotsky; Personality-Social Aspects; Personality and Culture; Educational Psychology; Social-Emotional Development Michael G. Levykh IV Personality, Emotions, & Behavioural Mastery in Vygotsky To my family, for their continuing support, encouragement, and demands, without which the present thesis would not be possible Michael G. Levykh v Personality, Emotions, & Behavioural Mastery in Vygotsky No moral sermon educates like a real pain, like a real feeling (Vygotsky, 1997c, p. 104) Get [your students] habitually to tell the truth, not so much through showing them the wickedness of lying as by arousing their enthusiasm for honour and veracity (Vygotsky, 1997c, chap. 12, p. 7) Michael G. Levykh VI Personality, Emotions, & Behavioural Mastery in Vygotsky ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My humble and most grateful thanks go to the faculty and staff of the SFU Faculty of Education, for all oftheir help, guidance, and support over the past three years. In particular, lowe special gratitude to Dr. Jack Martin for his endless stores of knowledge, as well as his extremely constructive and timely guidance and support in every step ofmy learning experience and in approaching critically the preparation for my thesis research, its content, and editing. I extend my warm gratitude to Dr. Jeff Sugarman for expanding and questioning my ideas, the strengths ofmy argumentation, and their educational implications. My most sincere appreciation goes to Dr. Natalia Gajdamaschko for her valuable intellectual support ofmy exploration into Vygotsky's thought and writings. Michael G. Levykh VII Personality, Emotions, & Behavioural Mastery in Vygotsky CONTENTS Approval ii Abstract iii Dedication v Quotation vi Acknowledgements vii Contents viii 1. Introduction 1 Purpose and Overview 1 On Interpreting Vygotsky's Writings 3 2. Vygotsky's Notion of Cultural Development 7 Introductory Comments 7 Mediation and Internalization 10 Culture, Struggle, and Neo-Forrnations 21 One System Leads Development 32 Does Cultural Development Stop with Adolescence? 37 Concluding Remarks 45 3. Vygotsky's Writings on Emotion 48 Introductory Comments 48 Challenges in Approaching Emotions 51 The Purpose of Emotions 57 Understanding and Identifying Emotions 61 Emotional Experience (Perezhivaniye) 69 When Emotions Are Not Integrated 77 Concluding Remarks 83 4. Towards the Tripartite Model: 88 Introductory Comments 88 Translation and Interpretation of Leachnost.. 89 Vygotsky's Interpretation ofPersonality 93 Behavioural Mastery 96 Why is Behavioural Mastery So Instrumentally Important? 103 From Moral Emotions to Moral Behaviour 107 From Integration and Interdependency to Dynamic Holism 111 Concluding Remarks 120 Michael G. Levykh Vlll Personality, Emotions, & Behavioural Mastery in Vygotsky 5. Applying the Tripartite Model to the ZPD 122 Introductory Comments 122 Obrazovaniye, Obucheniye, and Vospitaniye 123 Introducing ZPD 125 Theoretical and Practical Aspects of the ZPD 128 The Notion of Imitation 130 Interpretations or Misinterpretations? 132 Applying the Tripartite Model to the ZPD 140 Is There a ZPD in an Uncaring Environment? 147 Practical Implications of the ZPD 152 Concluding Remarks 158 6. Conclusions and Evaluation 161 Summation 161 The Strengths ofMy Investigation 166 The Weaknesses, Limitations, and Issues for Future Research 170 APPENDIX: "AT THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE" 173 BIBLIOGRAPHY 174 Michael G. Levykh IX