ABSTRACT
Piaget and Vygotsky certainly belong to a class of thinkers with a broad, integrative perspective on developmental issues. Piaget addressed the general issue of egocentrism first, clarifying what he meant by the cognitive egocentrism of the young child. Piaget treated issues of the social in a separate set of essays. He began by giving an independent formulation of the development of logic from a psychological point of view that does not appeal to interpersonal interaction. At issue here is the transformational processes implicated in the internalization of semiotically mediated interactions. Vygotsky's account of egocentric speech reflects a metatheoretical stance that differs from Piaget's. Vygotsky was primarily interested in the process of development through mental synthesis. Vygotsky conceptualized the process of internalization as constructive and novelty-generating. Moreover, he viewed the process of internalization as intimately connected with the construction of signs and their operative use in structured encounters with the surrounding world.
