Language in Cognitive Development: The Emergence of the Mediated Mind

This book highlights a transition from the study of language and cognition to that of language in cognition. It presents an integrative theory of cognitive development, emphasizing the important role that language plays in taking the two to five year old child to new levels of cognitive operations in memory, forming concepts, categories, processing narratives, and understanding other people's intentions. The author considers biological evolution the source of both language and culture, but she argues that qualitatively different modes of thinking and knowing emerge therefrom.

The book addresses issues in cognitive development in early childhood, stressing the central role that development of language plays in taking the child to new levels of cognitive operations in memory, forming concepts and categories, in using concepts of time, processing narratives, and understanding other people's intentions. It advances a theory of collaborative construction of knowledge systems that integrates the contributions of biological evolution, individual development, and the social-cultural world.