Learning Disabilities and ADHD Lab, Moscow City University of Psychology and Education

1. Vygotsky’s understanding of thought as related to the construction of the model of situation during picture interpretation in 5-7-year-old children Ksenia V. Zasypkina Co-authors:Antonina A. Romanova Tatiana V. Akhutina Learning Disabilities and ADHD Lab, Moscow City University of Psychology and Education Psychology Department, Moscow State University

2. The theoretical basis for the research • The concept of speech and thinking by L.S. Vygotsky • The concept of system dynamic organization and localization of mental functions by A.R.Luria • In this research we examine the difference of development and realization of structural functional components of mental functions • In particular we consider the impact of the right and left hemispheres into the semantic organization of speech

3. Experimental sample The 1st group: 25 children, attending the elder groups of the kindergarten, their average age is 5 years 7 months (5.2 - 6.6) • 11 girlsand 14 boys The 2nd group – 21 children of the 1st school year, their average age is 7 years 4 months (6.12 – 8.0) • 10 girlsand 11 boys

4. The investigation methods • Neuropsychological children assessment according to the method developed in the Laboratory of Neuropsychology of Lomonosov Moscow State University (Akhutina et al.) • This assessment battery based on Luria neuropsihological approach and examine: • executive functions • visual and spatial functions • auditory-verbal processes and so on

5. The children’s speech investigation • Naming of the objects and the actions • Constructing sentences according to the pictures • Repeating sentences • Retelling the story • Making up stories on the series of pictures

6. Results On the basis of neuropsychological testing data interpretation and after counting the neuropsychological indexes two groups of children were ear-marked: • children with comparative weakness of the left hemisphere • children with comparative weakness of the right hemisphere

7. Constructing sentences according to the pictures

8. Right hemisphere Left hemispherefunctions’ weakness • The sun is shining and the lake is becoming smaller and smaller • The elderly lady wants to give a cake • A man invited a woman to his place • A granny… A stick in his hand…Something unclear… • The sun sets • The man and the woman are working • The girl has brought flowers to her mother • The boy wants the ball

9. Results • The differences between the groups in the number of mistakes • on the T-criteria t<0,003 for the incompleteness and t<0,005 for the wrong sense • considerably it is 0,003 and 0, 000 on the criteria of Mann-Whitney

10. Two type of mistakes • Semantically incomplete sentences – feature of the answers of children with left hemisphere functions’ weakness • Misrepresentation of the situation shown on the picture, the destruction of its integrity – mostly refer to the answers of the children with the comparative weakness of the right hemisphere functions

11. Series of picture“Litter”

12. Typical story of child with left hemisphere functions’ weakness • “The man went to throw the litter away… and the litter… and the litter flew about. • Why did the litter flew about? – Because the wind was blowing” • “And here the man is going to the dustbin, and here he throws it away. And here… also… and here is coal … • Why? … Because? - The wind”

13. Typical story of child with right hemisphere functions’ weakness • «The man wanted to the hens … [he] carried the cigarette to throw it into the litter box. Then it fired. Then… [he] carried… the sand. And [he] covered it up at once. Then… his… his sand was poured out» • Why was the sand poured out? – Because he threw the cigarette there» • «The man [common] . wanted grain . be put into the bucket … And there was a strong wind. And everything was blown upon him, and he then gathered again. And threw everything what occurred over there» • What is the sense of the story?The old man wanted to put [something] for the winter and he did»

14. Results • The differences between the groups in the number of mistakes • on the T-criteria t<0,13 for the incompleteness and t<0,000 for the wrong sense • considerably it is 0,13 and 0, 001 on the criteria of Mann-Whitney

15. Series of picture «The boy and the girl»

16. Typical story of child with left hemisphere functions’ weakness • “First … the boy … has taken off the hat of the girl.The boy . laughed at the girl, because … [he] had taken of her … cap. And then … this … boy. The girl asked the boy … the boy. And .. the girl .. has taken . of his neck and has dropped him ”

17. Typical story of child with right hemisphere functions’ weakness • «He has taken off cap (fool’s cap)firstly. [He] laughed . then he became angry . that is [he] has been glad. There . then [he] has whispered. And then has stroked him»

18. Features of children stories • With left hemisphere functions’ weakness • Semantically incomplete texts, lack of coherence in the context of the shown situation • The shortage of the texts, missing of the essential sense blocks • Verbal difficulties prevail • With right hemisphere functions’ weakness • Unrealistic interpretation of the situation shown on the series of pictures • Including in the discourse unrealistic in described situation details • Misrepresentation protagonists intentions, emotions and mutual relations, if the shown situation includes social context • Gnostic difficulties prevail

19. Discussion • When comparative weakness of the left hemispherefunctions takes place, children have the dynamic difficulties of speech and thinking • When comparative weakness of the right hemisphere functions takes place, children revealdifficulties with the integrity of situation model

20. The concept of speech and thinking by L.S. Vygotsky • “Every thought tends to join something and something, it has a movement, a flow… solves some task” • “If I want to express the idea: today I saw a boy in a dark blue shirt running along the street barefoot, - I don’t see separately the boy, the shirt, the dark blue color of the shirt… I see it all together in a single act of thought… And the thought is always the whole… What is contained simultaneously in the thought is successively unpacked in the speech” L.S.Vygotsky «Thinking and speech»

21. Discussion • When comparative weakness of the left hemispherefunctions takes place, children have the dynamic difficulties of speech and thinking • When comparative weakness of the right hemisphere functions takes place, children reveal deficit of the integrity of situation model

22. Specifics of hemispheres’ work • For the left hemisphere it is typical the analytical style of work, a series dynamic organization suffers due to the leisure of the left hemisphere • For the right hemisphere it is typical the global, holistic style, the comprehension and retention of the whole is poor when the leisure of the right hemisphere takes place • These kinds of specifics of hemispheres’ work influence the impact of each of the hemispheres into the semantic organization of speech

23. Thank you!

24. Текстовая референция

25. Модель для объяснения особенностей речи