The Instrumental Method

Abstract

The principle of sign mediation now became the foundation of Vygotsky's approach. The concept of the higher psychological function was introduced and defined as a function that is mediated, voluntary and social in origin, and the method of double stimulation was introduced to investigate all higher psychological functions. This period is represented by such publications as the talks 'The instrumental method,' and 'The problem of the higher intellectual functions in the system of psychotechnical research,' the book Studies on the history of behavior, and the manuscript 'The history of the development of the higher psychological functions.' Historically, Vygotsky's ideas of 'instrumental psychology' have become most widely accepted by Vygotsky's followers, and to this day most researchers primarily refer to the principle of sign mediation. The documents in this chapter date from the years 1927 to 1930 and are connected with the creation of the theory of the higher psychological functions and its method of double stimulation. To study the origins of the higher psychological functions the subjects were provided with two series of stimuli: stimulus-objects, which formed the focus of the subject's activity; stimulus-means, which could be used as an instrument to organize the subject's activity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)