In this volume, readers are introduced to Vygotsky's argument for a theoretical and methodological approach to differentiate A "higher" mental functions from the more basic brain processes that other theorists believed were at the center of the psychological apparatus. The famed Soviet psychologist's view of developmental issues as an intricately woven tapestry of functions includes analyses of:
- the development of speech and written language
- the mastering of attention and mnemonic skills
- self-control and the higher, more cultivated forms of behavior
- the cultural age, personality, and world view of children.

1: The Problem of the Development of Higher Mental Functions.- 2: Research Method.- 3: Analysis of Higher Mental Functions.- 4: The Structure of Higher Mental Functions.- 5: Genesis of Higher Mental Functions.- 6: The Development of Speech.- 7: Prehistory of the Development of Written Language.- 8: Development of Arithmetic Operations.- 9: Mastering Attention.- 10: The Development of Mnemonic and Mnemotechnical Functions.- 11: Development of Speech and Thinking.- 12: Self-Control.- 13: Cultivation of Higher Forms of Behavior.- 14: The Problem of Cultural Age.- 15: Conclusion; Further Research; Development of Personality and World View in the Child.- The Question of Multilingual Children.- Epilogue.- Notes to the Russian Edition.- References.- Author Index.