1. any viewpoint or approach to health, mental health, history, politics, economics, or any other area of human experience that emphasizes the environmental factors of society, culture, and social interaction.

2. in developmental psychology, the view that cognitive development is guided by adults interacting with children, with the cultural context determining to a large extent how, where, and when these interactions take place. A major pioneer of this perspective was Lev Vygotsky, whose sociocultural theory posited that the developmental process was one of gradual mastery by children of their own “natural” cognitive functions through interaction with and guidance from more skilled individuals or mentors (e.g., parents, teachers) in their surrounding culture. See also guided participation; zone of proximal development.