Because Vygotsky's focus was on cognitive development, it is interesting to compare his views with those of Piaget. For Piaget, individuals construct knowledge through their actions on the world. By contrast, the Vygotskian claim is said to be that understanding is social in root. In contrast to Piaget, Vygotsky believed that instruction precedes development. Instruction leads the student into Vygotsky’s “zone of proximal development.” Piaget believed that development precedes learning from the individual to the social world. Egocentric speech, “the ability to understand others’ perspectives” (325, McGraw-Hill), suggests that the child is self-centered and unable to consider the point of view of others. On the other hand, Vygotsky believed that development begins at the social level and moves towards individualism. Egocentric speech is seen as a transition between the child's learning language in a social context, and attempting to internalize it as “inner speech,” or thoughts. For Vygotsky, learning precedes development. In conclusion, both have very different viewpoints on egocentric speech in young children.

Despite these differences, both Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theories of cognitive development “address the issue of how social interaction helps children make cognitive progress” (101, McGraw-Hill). Both agree that development may be initiated by cognitive conflict. Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children's egocentric speech was an important part of their cognitive development. However, the two differed in how they viewed the purpose of egocentric speech. They both believed in the development of the child through stages and they both examined the development of knowledge in humans. Their opinions di

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