The Phenomenon of Reference from the Perspective of L.S. Vygotsky's Cultural-Historical Theory

The paper addresses the issue of reference relationships between an individual and a group from the perspective of L.S. Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory. It is argued that, in spite of many years of research into the concept of reference, this phenomenon is still far from being fully explored. There's no methodological grounding to the mechanism of reference relationships that could help us not only to better understand this phenomenon, but also to predict the individual's behavior in various stages of social development. In the author's opinion, it is the developing individual's need for differentiation and interiorization of the cultural-historical experience of the society that underlies the development of reference relationships between him/her and other people. Thus the main function of reference is that of personal development. The theoretical explanations proposed by the author are accompanied by examples of empirical studies illustrating the patterns of communication and interaction with referent peers and adults in schoolchildren and students.