Romashchuk, A.N.
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Sidneva, A.N.
Federal Scientific Center of Psychological and Multidisciplinary Research, Lomonosov Moscow State University
Abstract
Background. In contemporary school education, as well as in adult education, there is a noticeable shift in the attitude towards learners' errors. Both researchers and practitioners increasingly argue that errors are beneficial, as they provide insight into the direction for further progress. However, there is no unified understanding of the exact mechanism through which an error leads to a new method or new knowledge. At a theoretical level, the issue of error functions reflects the current state of the problem of the development of scientific concepts, originally posed by L.S. Vygotsky, since the development of concepts presupposes a change in prior, erroneous conceptions.
Objective. The goal is to identify the main functions of errors in the process of learning, on the one hand, and in the process of creative thinking, on the other, from the perspective of L.S. Vygotsky's Cultural-Historical approach.
Methods. A comparative analysis of psychological theories and studies of learning and thinking from the perspective of the role attributed to errors in the process of problem-solving.
Results. The analysis identified four primary functions of errors common to both learning and thinking research: (1) the absence of a positive function (error as an artifact that hinders the search for a solution); (2) the stopping function (error signals an incorrect action and requires its termination); (3) the specifying function (error allows for clarifying the boundaries of the applicability of the method being used); and (4) the transformational function (analysis of the content of the error leads to the generation of a new method). It is demonstrated that in most approaches, errors primarily serve to refine and specify "prior" knowledge or method. Only the transformational function ensures a substantive transition from the old to the new, a process identified in Marxist dialectics and the cultural-historical approach as "sublation" (Aufhebung / snyatie).
Conclusions. A comparison of studies on learning and thinking reveals a similar understanding of the functions of errors within them, among which the transformative function should be considered as the most interesting. The implementation of this function in education requires a shift from simply provoking errors to designing learning tasks in which the error becomes a source of transforming an old way of task solving into a new one. Further development of this problem is connected with turning to the category of 'sublation' (Aufhebung / snyatie) as a mechanism for transition between systems of concepts.
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To cite this article:
Romashchuk, A.N., Sidneva, A.N..
Errors in Learning and Thinking: A Functional Analysis within the Framework of L.S. Vygotsky’s Cultural Historical Theory. // National Psychological Journal
2026. 3. Pages43-56. doi: 10.11621/npj.2026.0304
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