Vygotsky questioned the differences between human development and the development of other living creatures. He examined the nature of animal development, influenced by their surroundings and instinctual sense of the world but never growing to question those influences. He extended his research to human development, highlighting two stages of human development: the social and then the psychological. During the social development stage, humans watch and learn from their surroundings. During the psychological stage, humans grow to think about their development and analyze the things they have learned. In the second stage, humans begin to grow beyond their earlier training.
Lev Vygotsky questioned the use of cognitive tools to facilitate human development. He investigated the use of symbols, such as numbers, letters, art and diagrams as learning tools. He continued his investigation to include cultural symbols, including regional dialects, cultural art and cultural symbols. He questioned the way human beings internalize information and the transition of information from one person to another through the use of symbols and cognitive tools. For instance, when someone wants to share information with you, they have to use symbols to help translate the information from their mind to yours. Language serves as a symbol for this transition of information because both sides perceive similar meanings for similar words.
Vygotsky also questioned methods for studying higher psychological functions, hoping to create methods for understanding and identifying these processes. He questioned psychological techniques of his time and sought to create new methods for identifying the way the brain interprets symbols and translates information through them. He identified one of the problems with studying higher psychology: the process of studying becomes another form of symbolic interpretation, preventing a clear understanding of the process.
Cultural diversity created a unique question of interpretation for Vygotsky, who questioned the way individuals are able to interpret different symbols from multiple cultural perspectives. He identified the use of multiple forms of information representation. As an example, a painting can be interpreted differently by multiple people. Each takes something from the piece and combines it with their own cultural perspective, forming a meaning that is unique to them and potentially similar to others' perspectives.