Re: [xmca] Vygotsky on Imagination and Creativity [and imitation]

MIKE AND OTHERS,

  On the issue of imitation and language, I've found the idea of
"creative imitation" useful (since my first published article, way
back in 1974, with Lois Bloom). Here's something from my forthcoming
book. Thoughts?

Lois

According to Vygotsky, “A full understanding of the concept of the
zone of proximal development must result in a reevaluation of the role
of imitation in learning” (1978, p. 87). He discounted the mechanical
view of imitation that was “rooted in traditional psychology, as well
as in everyday consciousness” and the individualistically biased
inferences drawn from it, for example, that “the child can imitate
anything” and that “what I can do by imitating says nothing about my
own mind” (1987, p. 209). To him, imitation was an active, creative
and fundamentally social process that was essential to creating the
zpd. Children do not imitate anything and everything as a parrot does,
but rather what is beyond them in their environment/relationships. In
the language I have been using, creatively imitating others in their
daily interactions - saying what someone else says, moving to music,
picking up a pencil and “writing” - is relating to oneself as/being
related to by others as/performing as a speaker, a dancer, a writer, a
learner, a human being. It is how children are capable of doing so
much in collective activity.

Vygotsky’s analysis of the language-learning zpd (in Thinking and
Speech) can serve as an excellent illustration of creative imitation
at work. He showed that babies and toddlers do not learn language nor
are they taught language in the usual cognitive, acquisitional and
transmittal sense of institutionalized learning and teaching. They
develop as speakers, language makers and language users as an
inseparable part of joining and transforming the social life of their
family (community, group). When babies begin to babble they are
speaking before they know how by virtue of the speakers around them
creating conversation with them. Mothers, fathers, grandparents,
siblings and others neither tell babies that they are too young,
correct them, give them a grammar book and dictionary to study, nor
remain silent around them. Rather, they relate to infants and babies
as capable of far more than they could possibly do “naturally.” They
relate to them as fellow speakers, feelers, thinkers and makers of
meaning. This is what makes it possible for very young children to do
what they are not yet capable of. The babbling baby’s rudimentary
speech is a creative imitation of the more developed speaker’s speech.
At the same time, the more developed speakers “complete” the baby, and
the “conversation” continues.

I see creative imitation as a type of performance. When they are
playing with language in this way in the language-learning zpd, babies
are simultaneously performing - becoming - themselves. In the
theatrical sense of the word, performing is a way of taking "who we
are" and creating something new - in this case a newly emerging
speaker, on the stage a newly emerging character - through
incorporating "the other." The capacity to speak and to make meaning
is inextricably connected to transforming the total environment (a
socio-cultural forms of life) of speakers in the activity of
performing an ordinary “unnatural” act.

             While linking creative imitation with performance, and
performance with the dialectic being/becoming that is development, may
seem at first glance to be far from Vygotsky’s work, its roots are
there in his writings. For me, the inspiration initially came from his
discussions of children’s play (Vygotsky, 1978, pp. 92-104) in which
he noted that the zpd of play creates situations in which “a child’s
greatest achievement are possible, achievements that tomorrow will
become her basic level of real action and morality” (Vygotsky, 1978,
p. 102). In addition, Vygotsky brought the subject of play to bear on
many topics, including thinking and speaking, school instruction, and
the development of imagination, concepts, memory and personality.

An essay published in English in Volume 4 of his collected works
(“Conclusion; Further Research; Development of Personality and World
View in the Child,” Vygotsky, 1997) is particularly relevant to what I
am saying about performance and development. Linking early childhood
play to the formation of personality and world view, Vygotsky wrote
that the preschool child “can be somebody else just as easily as he
can be himself” (p. 249). Vygotsky attributed this to the child’s lack
of recognition that s/he is an “I” and went on to discuss how
personality and play transform through later childhood. While Vygotsky
gave no indication that there might be a downside to these
transformations, his astute observation of the young child’s
performance ability has been made use of in social therapy and the
ongoing development of a psychology of becoming.

On Mar 30, 2008, at 8:49 AM, Mike Cole wrote:

> Phil and Michael--
>
> Seems like a new set of ideas to me, old as their inspirations may
> be, they
> are being thought about in a new context which is always useful.
>
> The topic of imitation, and the Bakhtin quote, seem important to the
> discussion of zopeds, Phil. LSV pointed out that we cannot imitate
> behaviors
> way beyond our competence, so the ability to imitate is important. For
> example, I would not imitate a professional dancer, or
> mathematician, try as
> I might. And, as Baldwin points out in this quote, imitation is not
> an exact
> copy and cannot be when it is successful. Perhaps the other side of
> internalization not being a copy?
>
> Valsinder also latched onto the idea of persistent imitation. how
> does it
> help explain language learning?
> mike
>
> On Sat, Mar 29, 2008 at 11:39 PM, Phil Chappell <philchappell@mac.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the clarification, Michael. Always interesting metaphors
>> used
>> by the folks here. I do empathise with you and the finalisation of
>> your
>> thesis, as that's where I'm at this year: I feel that some concepts
>> and
>> personalised metaphors become very precious to me! I have found
>> Baldwin's
>> differentiation between simple and persistent imitation to be
>> helpful in
>> thinking about internalisation vis-a-vis language learning. I fear
>> I'm
>> straying from Mike's original intent here but will end with another
>> quote
>> from Baldwin that gives more food for thought:
>>
>> Imitation to the intelligent and earnest imitator is never slavish,
>> never
>> mere repetition; it is, on the contrary, a means for further ends,
>> a method
>> of absorbing what is present in others and of making it over in forms
>> peculiar to one's own temper and valuable to one's own genius.
>> {Baldwin
>> 1906} p. 22
>>
>>
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>>
>>
>> Phil
>>
>>
>> On 30/03/2008, at 12:58 PM, Michael G. Levykh wrote:
>>
>>> Phil,
>>>
>>> Just a quick clarification: after re-reading my posted email, I
>>> realized
>>> that the word "dissonant" could be interpreted as negative. In
>>> music,
>>> dissonance reflects tension and culmination which needs to be
>>> resolved.
>>> Hence, "dissonant chord" should be read as motivational chord.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Michael.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu
>>> ]
>>> On
>>> Behalf Of Michael G. Levykh
>>> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 5:53 PM
>>> To: 'eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity'
>>> Subject: RE: [xmca] Vygotsky on Imagination and Creativity [and
>>> imitation]
>>>
>>>
>>> Yes, Phil. Thank you for the quotation and the webpage.
>>>
>>> It does strike a few dissonant chords; particularly, in suggesting
>>> that
>>> emotions cannot be "approached" directly. In this case, imitation
>>> becomes an
>>> appropriate mediator. But there is more than imitation. Here,
>>> there is
>>> an
>>> interaction with others who also carry their own emotional
>>> experiences.
>>> So
>>> it is, as I speculate, not only through understanding others that we
>>> understand ourselves, but also through the emotional experiences
>>> (perezhivaniye) of others do we also understand (and appreciate)
>>> our own
>>> perezhivaniye. I can also imagine that we would not normally
>>> engage into
>>> imitation of other people unless we feel somehow "connected directly
>>> with/to
>>> them and/or with a common activity/goal. Hence, emotional
>>> connection is
>>> "the
>>> beginning and the end, the alpha and omega, etc."
>>>
>>> Forgive me for my own spin of inferences, but as I am finalizing my
>>> thesis,
>>> there are so many different aspects of learning, teaching,
>>> developing,
>>> and
>>> living that come together (in my understanding) through emotional
>>> mediation.
>>>
>>> Thank you, Phil.
>>> Cheers,
>>> Michael.
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu
>>> ]
>>> On
>>> Behalf Of Phil Chappell
>>> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 5:31 PM
>>> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
>>> Subject: Re: [xmca] Vygotsky on Imagination and Creativity [and
>>> imitation]
>>>
>>> I can't help but chime in on your comments and questions, Michael,
>>> as
>>> I am at the moment re-reading Baldwin on conscious imitation,
>>> where he
>>> proposes, as LSV hints at in the early part of the paper being
>>> discussed here, imitation being the genesis of "consciousness of
>>> emotion". I have been working on how Baldwin's writings on imitation
>>> can help explain internalisation in a more elaborate way, and your
>>> question "How exactly can emotional integration also be generalized
>>> into adult education and (hopefully) development? I need to read
>>> more
>>> to attempt answering this question." struck a chord - (excuse the
>>> excessive quoting here) Baldwin writes:
>>>
>>> (324)
>>> Further, this process of taking in elements from the social world by
>>> imitation and giving them out again by a reverse process of
>>> invention
>>> (for such the sequel proves invention to be: the modified way in
>>> which
>>> I put things together in reading the elements which I get from
>>> nature
>>> and other men, back into nature and other men again) -- this process
>>> never stops. We never outgrow imitation, nor our social obligation
>>> to
>>> it. Our sense of self is constantly growing richer and fuller as we
>>> understand others better, -- as we get into social co-operation with
>>> them, -- and our understanding of them is in turn enriched by the
>>> additions which our own private experience makes to the lessons
>>> which
>>> we learn from them. These and other aspects of social emotion, which
>>> come to mind in connection with this suggestive topic, are reserved.
>>> [10]
>>>
>>> If this strikes a chord back at you, you can read more at the
>>> following link.
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.brocku.ca/MeadProject/Baldwin/Baldwin_1906/Baldwin_1906_11.html
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Phil
>>>
>>>
>>> On 30/03/2008, at 10:34 AM, Michael G. Levykh wrote:
>>>
>>>> Thank you, Mike, for asking this question. It has been a while
>>>> since I read
>>>> this work, but because of your question, as I now skim through the
>>>> text,
>>>> Vygotsky's quoting Pistrak, come to mind as being an extremely
>>>> relevant to
>>>> my interests:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "It is not so much that artistic education provides knowledge or
>>>> skills, but
>>>> rather it gives a tone to life or, perhaps, it would be more
>>>> accurate to
>>>> say-a background for living. The convictions that we may inculcate
>>>> in school
>>>> through knowledge, only grow roots in the child's psyche when these
>>>> convictions are reinforced emotionally" (p. 55).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> For me, the emotional reinforcement is an equivalent to (a)
>>>> internalization
>>>> (ingrowing, vraschivaniye) and (b) integration of emotions into the
>>>> entire
>>>> psychological structure (fusing with every higher mental function
>>>> and
>>>> system). Although in this particular quotation Pistrak talks about
>>>> artistic
>>>> education, there is a sense that his thought is generalized across
>>>> curriculum so as to make every subject (even every lesson in every
>>>> subject)
>>>> artistic, imaginative; that is, to reinforce with (in my
>>>> understanding)
>>>> positive emotional experience. The result is the child's feeling
>>>> the
>>>> "ownership" of possessing and acting upon such knowledge.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> How exactly can emotional integration also be generalized into
>>>> adult
>>>> education and (hopefully) development? I need to read more to
>>>> attempt
>>>> answering this question.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>>
>>>> Michael.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _____
>>>>
>>>> From: Mike Cole [mailto:lchcmike@gmail.com]
>>>> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 3:17 PM
>>>> To: Michael G. Levykh
>>>> Cc: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
>>>> Subject: Re: [xmca] Vygotsky on Imagination and Creativity
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thanks Michael.
>>>> What are your thoughts about this essay/monograph?
>>>> mike
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Mar 29, 2008 at 11:55 AM, Michael G. Levykh <
>>>> mglevykh@telus.net
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Please, find attached a PDF file you requested.
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Michael.
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-
>>>> bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
>>>> Behalf Of Mike Cole
>>>> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 6:40 AM
>>>> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
>>>> Subject: [xmca] Vygotsky on Imagination and Creativity
>>>>
>>>> One of the interesting sessions I attended was the workshop hosted
>>>> by Lois
>>>> on Sunday. I used as my text the special issue of JREEP (J.
>>>> Russian
>>>> and
>>>> East European Psych) devoted to
>>>> his monograph "Imagination and creativity in childhood." I thought
>>>> that
>>>> this material was on xmca somewhere, but apparently it is not. If
>>>> anyone has
>>>> a pdf and would send it to me, I would
>>>> post it for all. I found it simply packed with provocative and
>>>> important
>>>> ideas. Meantime, here is the ref.
>>>>
>>>> JREEP, January-Feb. 2004. Vol 42, no 1.(whole issue).
>>>>
>>>> mike
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
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>>
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Received on Sun Mar 30 09:09 PDT 2008