Mediated Activities and Volitional Control


The higher psychological functions or the mediated activities reminded me a graph I saw from Mind in Society a few years ago (see the figure below). I understand the difference between sign and tool is that sign "primarily appears in the child‘s behavior as a means of social relations, as an inter-psychological function", whereas tool is the means that can work on the object in order to solve the problem. It's said in Mind in Society that,
"The tool's function is to serve as the conductor of human influence on the object of activity; it is externally oriented; it must lead to changes in objects. It is a means by which human external activity is aimed at mastering, and triumphing over, nature. The sign, on the other hand, changes nothing in the object of a psychological operation. It is a means of internal activity aimed at mastering oneself; the sign is internally oriented..... We can use the term higher psychological function, or higher behavior as referring to the combination of tool and sign in psychological activity." (p.55)

Update after the discussion: the graphical presentation is misleading. Sign is tool as well. Tools are the mediation for human to interact with the external world.

 Can I think about sign as the "strategies" or "tactics" that people use for achieving their purposes? In terms of cognitive apprenticeship, what would Vygotsky argue for the possibility of cognitive apprenticeship?

Vygotsky also mentioned about volitional control. For example, when a person masters his own behavioral processes, his action is meaningful and controlled by himself. This is a re-construction of the self. What's the difference of this concept between Vygotskian theory and social cognitive theory? Does social cognitive theory refer to adult psychological function more than children?

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