Problems of age periodization in psychology. Chapter “Spiritual life and various periods of childhood”

Memory- an integrated mental reflection of a person’s past interaction with reality, the information fund of his life activity.

The ability to store information and selectively update it and enter it into the regulation of behavior is the main property of the brain that ensures the interaction of the individual with the environment. Memory integrates life experience, ensures the continuous development of human culture and individual life. Based on memory, a person navigates the present and anticipates the future.

Depending on the characteristics of the material being remembered, there are special ways of codifying, archiving and retrieving it. The spatial organization of the environment is encoded in the form of schematic formations from semantic reference points that characterize our physical environment.

Consistently occurring phenomena are imprinted in the linear structures of memory. Formally organized structures are imprinted by associative memory mechanisms, which ensure the grouping of phenomena and objects according to certain characteristics (household items, labor items, etc.). All semantic meanings categorized- refer to different groups of concepts that are hierarchically dependent.

Many people complain about a bad memory, but no one complains about a bad mind. Meanwhile, the mind, the ability to establish relationships, is the basis of memory. The possibility of its rapid updating and retrieval depends on the organization of material in memory; Information is reproduced in the connection in which it was originally formed.

Retrieval of learned material from memory for the purpose of use in recognition, recollection, recollection is called actualization (from lat. actualis- real, real). We look for the necessary material in memory in the same way as the necessary thing in the pantry: by objects located in the neighborhood. Figuratively speaking, in our memory fund everything is hung on the hooks of associations. The secret of a good memory is establishing strong associations. People remember best what is related to their everyday concerns and professional interests. Encyclopedic erudition in one area can be combined with ignorance in other areas of life. Some facts are retained in our consciousness by the force of other facts well known to us. Mechanical memorization, cramming, is the most ineffective way of memorizing.

A person’s possibilities for actualization are much wider than he imagines. Memory difficulties are difficulties of retrieval rather than difficulties of retention. Absolute oblivion of impressions does not exist.

The fund of human memory is plastic - with the development of the individual, changes occur in the structural formations of his memory. It is also inextricably linked with the activities of the individual - what is included in the active life of a person, his life strategy, is firmly remembered.

Memory, intellect, feelings and the operational sphere of the individual are a single systemic formation. The operational system of human behavior and activity - his skills and abilities - images of optimal, adequate actions imprinted in memory. By repeating the necessary actions multiple times, unnecessary, unnecessary movements are eliminated, the image of the optimal action is fixed in memory, and individual operations are integrated into a single functional complex.

The physiological mechanism of memory is the formation, consolidation, excitation and inhibition of nerve connections. This physiological process correspond to memory processes: imprinting, storing, reproducing and forgetting.

The condition for the successful development of neural connections is importance influencing stimulus, its entry into the field of orienting activity, reflection in the focus of optimal excitation of the cerebral cortex.

Along with individual memory, there are specific memory structures in the brain. This hereditary memory is stored in thalamo-hypothalamic complex. Here are the centers of instinctive behavior programs - food, defensive, sexual - centers of pleasure and aggression, deep biological emotions (fear, melancholy, joy, anger). The standards of those images are stored here, the real sources of which are instantly assessed as harmful, dangerous or useful and favorable. The motor memory of this zone contains codes of emotional and impulsive reactions (postures, facial expressions, defensive and aggressive movements).

The zone of an individual’s subconscious-subjective experience is limbic system- a connecting structure between the archecortex (the oldest brain) and the neocortex - the cerebral cortex. All acquired behavioral automatisms during life are transferred and stored here: the emotional attitudes of a given individual, his stable assessments, habits and all kinds of psychoregulatory complexes. Here the long-term behavioral memory of the individual is localized, everything that determines his intuition.

Everything related to conscious-voluntary activity is stored in neocortex, various zones of the cerebral cortex, projection zones of various receptors. Frontal lobes of the brain- the sphere of verbal-logical memory. Here sensory information is transformed into semantic information. From a huge array long-term memory the necessary information is extracted in certain ways - they depend on the methods of storing this information, its systematization, and conceptual ordering.

By modern ideas formation engram(nerve connections) goes through two phases. In the first phase, excitation is retained. In the second phase - its consolidation and preservation due to biochemical changes in the cells of the cerebral cortex and in synapses- intercellular formations.

Currently, the physiological basis of memory is being especially widely studied. biochemical level. Traces of immediate impressions are not recorded instantly, but over a certain period of time necessary for biochemical processes—corresponding changes at the molecular level.

The number of specific changes in ribonucleic acid (RNA) contained in one cell is estimated at 10 15. Consequently, at the level of a single cell, a huge number of connections can be developed. Changes in RNA molecules are associated with RAM. Changes in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules - with long-term memory (including species-specific). The physiological basis of memory is both a change in the activity of individual neurons and the formation of neural ensembles.

Each hemisphere and each zone of the brain contributes to the system of mnemonic (from the Greek mnema - memory) activity. It is assumed that isolation and ultra-short-term imprinting occurs first individual signs object (sensory memory), then complex, symbolic coding of it - the formation of engrams, their inclusion in the categorical system of a given individual.

The basic prerequisite for the functioning of memory processes is the optimal tone of the cortex, provided by the subcortical formations of the brain. Modulation of cortical tone is provided by the reticular formation and the limbic region of the brain. Subcortical formations, forming an orienting reflex and attention, thereby create the prerequisites for memorization.

The final, synthesizing function of memory is carried out by the frontal lobes of the brain and, to a large extent, by the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere. Damage to these brain structures disrupts the entire structure of mnemonic activity.

So, the process of imprinting and preserving material is determined by its significance, the optimal state of the brain, the increased functioning of the orientation reflex, the systematic inclusion of the material in the structure of purposeful activity, the minimization of side interfering (opposing) influences, the inclusion of the material in the semantic, conceptual field of consciousness of a given individual. Reproduction and updating of the necessary material requires the establishment of those systems of connections against the background of which the material to be reproduced was remembered.

The problem of remembering borders on the problem of forgetting. Forgetting mainly occurs due to interference - the counteracting influence of other stimuli. The process of forgetting is not limited to the spontaneous extinction of engrams. Mostly secondary, insignificant material not included in the permanent activity subject. But the inability to remember the material does not mean that its traces have been completely erased. It depends on the current functional state of the brain. (In a hypnotic state, a person can remember something that seemed completely forgotten.)

Classification of memory phenomena

There are different memory processes - remembering, storing, reproducing and forgetting and forms of memory- involuntary (unintentional) and voluntary (intentional).

Depending on the type of analyzers, the signaling system or the participation of subcortical areas of the brain, there are types of memory: figurative, logical and emotional.

Figurative memory - representation- classified by types of analyzers(visual, auditory, motor).

By method of memorization differentiate direct(direct) and indirect(indirect) memory.

The trace of each impression is associated with many traces of accompanying impressions. Indirect memorization and reproduction - memorization and reproduction of a given image according to the system of connections in which the image is included - by association. This indirect, associative emergence of images is much more psychologically meaningful than direct memorization; it brings the phenomena of memory closer to the phenomena of thinking.

The main work of human memory consists of memorizing and reproducing traces by association. There are three types of associations.

1. Association by contiguity- an elementary type of communication without significant processing of information.
2. Association by contrast- a connection between two opposing phenomena. This type of connection is based on the logical technique of opposition.
3. Associations by similarity. Perceiving one situation, a person by association remembers another, similar situation. Associations by similarity require complex processing of the information received, isolating essential features of a perceived object, its generalization and comparison with what is stored in memory. Objects of association by similarity can be not only visual images, but also concepts, judgments, and inferences. Associations by similarity are one of the essential mechanisms of thinking, the basis of logical memory.

Thus, according to the method of memorization, memory can be direct (mechanical) and associative (semantic).

Memory systems

In any type of activity, all memory processes are realized. But different levels of activity are associated with the functioning of various mechanisms and memory systems. The following four interconnected memory systems are distinguished: 1) sensory - a direct sensory imprint of the influencing object; 2) short-term; 3) operational; 4) long-term.

Sensory memory- direct imprinting of sensory influences - preservation of visual images in the form of a clear, complete imprint of the sensory influences of reality for a very short period of time (0.25 seconds). These are the so-called afterimages. They are not associated with the fixation of traces and quickly disappear. This type of memory ensures continuity and integrity of perception of dynamic, rapidly changing phenomena.

Short-term memory- direct capture of a set of objects during a single-act perception of a situation, fixation of objects that simultaneously fell into the field of perception. Short-term memory provides primary orientation during immediate perception of the situation.

The functioning time of short-term memory is short (no more than 10 seconds). The capacity of short-term memory is limited to 5 - 7 objects. However, when recalling short-term memory images, additional information can be extracted from them.

RAM— selective preservation and updating of information necessary only to achieve the goal of this activity. Duration random access memory limited by the time of the relevant activity. So, we remember the elements of a phrase in order to comprehend it as a whole, we remember the conditions of the problem we are solving, intermediate figures in complex calculations.

The productivity of RAM is determined by a person’s ability to organize memorized material, to create integral complexes - RAM units. Thus, reading letters, syllables, whole words or complexes of words are examples of the use of different operational units. RAM functions at a high level if a person sees not specific, but general properties of various situations, combines similar elements into larger blocks, and recodes material into a uniform system. (So, it is easier to remember the number of ABD 125 in the form: 125125, that is, by recoding the letters into numbers according to the place of the letters in the alphabet.)

The functioning of RAM is associated with significant neuropsychic stress, since it requires the simultaneous interaction of a number of competing excitation centers. When operating with objects whose state changes, no more than two variable factors can be stored in RAM.

Long-term memory- long-term memorization of content that is of great significance. The selection of information included in long-term memory is associated with a probabilistic assessment of its future applicability and prediction of future events.

The capacity of long-term memory depends on the individual relevance information, that is, on what meaning the information has for a given individual.

Memory types

Types of memory - individual typological features of memory. They differ in the following qualities, found in various combinations (see table below “Classification of memory phenomena”): volume and accuracy memorization; speed and strength memorization; leading role one or another analyzer(predominance among this person visual, auditory or motor memory); features of the interaction of the first and second signaling systems(figurative, logical and middle types).

Various combinations of individual typological features give a variety of individual types of memory.

There are large individual differences in the speed of memorizing material and the duration of its retention in memory.

Thus, in psychological experiments it was found that to memorize 12 syllables, one person needs 49 repetitions, and another only 14.

An essential individual feature of memory is focus on memorizing specific material.

The famous criminologist Hans Gross talked about his father’s exceptionally poor memory for people’s names. The father could not accurately say his name only son, at the same time, he memorized a variety of statistical and economic material very accurately and for a long time.

Some people remember material directly, while others tend to use logical means. For some people, memory is close to perception, for others - to thinking. The higher the level of mental development of a person, the more his memory approaches thinking. Intellectually developed person remembers primarily using logical operations. But the development of memory is not directly related to intellectual development. In many cases of life, for example, in the activities of an operational worker or an artist, figurative memory is necessary.

Classification of memory phenomena.

Processes and forms of memory	Types of memory	Memory systems	Memory types
Memory Processes: Imprint Preservation Playback Forgetting Memory forms: Involuntary free	Figurative Logical Emotional The types of sensory memory are determined by the types of sensations. Types of figurative memory: visual, auditory, tactile	Touch (iconic) Short-term (organic with momentary, simultaneous perception) Operational (serving intermediate tasks of activity) Long-term (preservation of conceptually significant material for a long time)	They are formed by various combinations of the following memory qualities: volume, speed of memorization, accuracy, duration of storage. dominant analyzer predominance of figurative or logical memory, personally determined selective orientation

Patterns of memory and its individual typological features

Patterns of memory processes (conditions successful memorization and playback) associated with forms of memory. As already noted, there are two forms of memory: involuntary and voluntary. What is best remembered and retained in memory if a person does not set a special goal - to remember? The following can be listed here:

• strong and significant physical stimuli (the sound of a gunshot, bright spotlight); everything that causes increased orienting activity (cessation or resumption of an action, process, unusualness of the phenomenon, its contrast in relation to the background, etc.);
• stimuli that are most significant for a given individual (for example, professionally significant objects);
• stimuli that have a special emotional connotation;
• that which is most closely related to the needs of a given person, that is the object of active activity (thus, the conditions of a problem that we have been solving for a long time are remembered involuntarily and firmly).

But in human activity, more often there is a need to specifically remember something and reproduce it under appropriate conditions. This - voluntary memorization, in which the task is always set - to remember, that is, a special mnemonic, specifically human form of activity is carried out. In the process of human development, voluntary memorization is formed relatively late (mainly at the beginning of schooling). This type of memorization develops intensively in learning and work.

The conditions for successful voluntary memorization are:

• awareness of the significance and meaning of the memorized material;
• identification of its structure, logical relationship of parts and elements, semantic and spatial grouping of material;
• identifying the plan in verbal and textual material, supporting words in the content of each part, presenting the material in the form of a diagram, table, diagram, drawing, visual image;
• the content and accessibility of the memorized material, its correlation with the experience and orientation of the subject of memorization;
• emotional and aesthetic richness of the material;
• possibility of use of this material V professional activity subject;
• installation on the need to reproduce this material under certain conditions.

The material that is successfully remembered is that it acts as a means of achieving significant goals, plays a significant role in solving life problems, and acts as an object of active mental activity.

When memorizing material, a rational distribution of it over time and active reproduction of the memorized material are essential.

If it is impossible to establish semantic connections in heterogeneous material, artificial methods are used to facilitate memorization - mnemonics(from Greek mnema- memory and techne- art, that is, the art of memorization), the creation of auxiliary artificial associations, the mental placement of memorized material in a well-known space, a familiar pattern, and an easy-to-remember rhythmic tempo. Co school years Everyone knows the mnemonic technique for remembering the sequence of colors of the light spectrum: “Every Hunter Wants to Know Where the Pheasant Sits.”

Research shows that a person can easily hold and reproduce only 3-4 isolated objects (with their simultaneous perception). The limited scope of simultaneous retention and reproduction of material is due to retroactive and proactive inhibition (inhibition arising from previous and subsequent influences). If the subject is given a series of 10 syllables, then the first and last syllables are remembered more easily, and the middle ones - worse.

What explains this fact? The first elements do not experience inhibition from previous impressions, and the last members of the series do not experience inhibition from subsequent elements. The middle members of the series experience inhibition both from the preceding members of the series (proactive inhibition) and from subsequent elements (retroactive, backward-acting inhibition). The indicated pattern of memory (better memorization of extreme elements) is called ““.

When moving from memorizing one complex material to memorizing another, it is necessary to take breaks (at least 15 minutes), which prevent retroactive inhibition.

The assumption that traces do not disappear at all, but are only slowed down under the influence of other influences, is confirmed by the phenomenon reminiscences(from lat. reminiscentia- memory). Often, when reproducing material immediately after perceiving it, the number of elements retained in memory is less than the amount that a person can reproduce after a pause. This is explained by the fact that during the rest period the effect of braking is removed.

To expand the volume of voluntary memory, it is necessary to give the memorized material a certain structure and group it. It is unlikely, for example, that anyone will be able to quickly memorize a series of 16 isolated numbers: 1 00 111 01 0 111 O OH. If you group this series in the form of two-digit numbers: 10 0111010111 00 11, then they are easier to remember. In the form of four-digit numbers, this series is remembered even easier, since it no longer consists of 16 elements, but of four enlarged groups: 1001 1101 0111 0011. Combining elements into groups reduces the number of those elements that experience pro- and retroactive inhibition and allows comparison them, that is, to include intellectual activity in the process of memorization.

The most productive is meaningful voluntary memory, based on the establishment of semantic connections (25 times higher than mechanical memory). Establishing connections, structure, principle, and patterns of constructing an object is the main condition for its successful memorization. It is difficult to mechanically remember the numbers 24816326 4128256, but it is very easy to remember these same numbers if you establish a certain pattern in this series of numbers (doubling each subsequent digit). The number 123-345-678 is easy to remember by finding the principle of its construction.

Remember and reproduce this series of figures in the same sequence (the task can only be completed once the principle of arrangement of the figures has been established).

Voluntary memorization of figurative material is also facilitated by identifying the principle of its organization (Fig.).

In experimental studies it is sometimes found that subjects remember large quantity information than what was presented to them to remember. If, for example, the sentence “Ivanov chopped sugar” is given for memorization, then when reproducing it, subjects often reconstruct this material as follows: “Ivanov chopped sugar with tongs.” This phenomenon is explained by the involuntary connection to memorization of an individual’s judgments and conclusions.

So, memory is not a repository of static information. It is organized by systematizing processes of perception and thinking (see table “Objective and subjective factors of memory”).

When reproducing material, one should use as support those objects that structurally organized the field of perception and regulated the activity of the subject of memorization.

A special type of reproduction is memory- the individual’s attribution of figurative ideas to a specific place and moment in his life. Localization of memories is facilitated by the reproduction of complete behavioral events and their sequence.

Reproduction associated with overcoming difficulties is called recollection. Overcoming difficulties in remembering is facilitated by the establishment of various associations.

Objective and subjective factors of productive memory are characterized by:

1. volume of memorized material per unit of time,
2. speed of memorization,
3. duration of storage,
4. speed and accuracy of playback.

Reproducible images of objects or phenomena are called representations. They are divided into types corresponding to the types of perceptions (visual, auditory, motor).

The peculiarity of memory representations is their generalization and fragmentation. Representations do not convey with equal brightness all the features and characteristics of objects. If certain ideas are connected with our activity, then in them those aspects of the object that are most significant for this activity are brought to the fore.

Representations are generalized images of reality; they retain constant signs of things and discard random ones. Therefore, ideas are a higher level of cognition than sensation and perception. They are a transitional step from sensations to thoughts.

But ideas are always paler, less complete than perceptions. When you imagine an image of a familiar object, such as the front of your house, you will find that the image of the image is fragmented and somewhat reconstructed. The past is restored by thinking in a generalized and personal way. Consciousness of reproduction inevitably leads to a categorical, current conceptual embrace of the past. And only specially organized control activities - comparison, critical assessment - bring the reconstructed picture closer to the real events. The material of reproduction is a product not only of memory, but also of the entire mental uniqueness of a given person.

A person’s memory functions intensively even beyond the threshold of his consciousness; it is a constantly self-organizing process.

Some people may have complete, vivid ideas after a single and even involuntary perception of an object. Such living images of representation are called (from the Greek. eidos- image). Sometimes there is an involuntary, obsessive, cyclical emergence of images - perseveration(from lat. perseveratio- perseverance).

So, memory is based on those mental processes that occur during the initial meeting with the memorized material. Accordingly, during reproduction, the main role is played by updating the material according to the functional connections of its elements, their semantic context, and the structural relationship of its parts. And for this, the material in the process of imprinting must be clearly analyzed (divided into structural and semantic units) and synthesized (conceptually united). Structuring of memorized material is possible for various reasons - according to the meaning, spatial and temporal organization of the material. Material is remembered better in the context of human activity. It is better to remember what was most relevant and significant in human activity, where this activity began and how it ended, what obstacles arose in the process of its implementation. At the same time, some people better remember favorable, while others remember hindering factors of activity.

In interpersonal interactions, what affects the most significant personal characteristics of an individual is more firmly remembered.

Memory is not a warehouse of finished products. There are also personal tendencies towards the reconstruction of material stored in memory, which can manifest themselves in: distortion of the semantic content of the source material, illusory detail of the reproduced event, combination of disparate elements, separation of related Elements, replacement of content with other similar content, spatial and temporal displacement of events or their fragments, exaggeration, emphasizing personally significant aspects of an event, displacement of functionally similar objects.

The degree of divergence of ideas and real events is not the same for different people. It depends on the type of higher nervous activity of the individual, the structure of individual consciousness, value systems, motives and goals of activity.

The reserves of human memory are great.

According to the calculations of the famous cyberneticist John Neumann, the human brain can accommodate the entire amount of information stored in the largest libraries in the world. Alexander the Great knew by sight and name all the soldiers of his huge army. Alekhine could play from memory (blind) with forty partners at the same time. A certain E. Gaop knew by heart all 2,500 books he had read in his life and could reproduce any passage from them. There are numerous cases of outstanding figurative memory of people of the artistic type. Mozart could record a large piece of music after listening to it only once. Glazunov and Rachmaninov had the same musical memory. Artist N.N. Ge could accurately depict from memory what he had once seen.

A person remembers everything that “orchestrates” his life: the captivating colors and smells of spring evenings, the graceful outlines of ancient cathedrals, the joyful faces of people close to him, the smells of the sea and pine forest - everything that organizes his existence. These numerous images form the foundation of his psyche.

Every person has the opportunity to significantly expand their memory. At the same time, it is necessary to discipline the intellect and one’s mnemonic activity - to highlight the essential from the background of the secondary, to alternate passive perception with active reproduction of the necessary material, to distribute memorization over time. The habit of remembering what you need is reinforced, like any other
another skill. School folklore about “Pythagorean pants” and “every hunter who wants to know where the pheasant sits” testifies to the ineradicable desire of our mind to find a pattern, an association, even where it is impossible to establish logical connections.

Each person has characteristics of his memory - some people have weak or strong verbal-logical memory, others have figurative memory, some remember quickly, others need more careful processing of the memorized material. But in all cases, what causes proactive and retroactive inhibition should be avoided. And at the first difficulties of reproduction, one should rely on the phenomenon of reminiscence.

Memory impairment

Severe memory impairment - amnesia(from Greek a is a negative particle and mneme- memory, recollection) occur in two forms: retrograde amnesia- memory impairment for events preceding the disease; And anterograde amnesia- memory impairment for events that occurred after the disease. Described in detail by a Russian psychiatrist, these memory disorders are called. They also differ post-hypnotic amnesia(forgetting events that occur during a hypnotic session) and protective amnesia(forgetting through the mechanism of repressing unpleasant, traumatic events).

In certain mental states, with extreme fatigue, phenomena occur paramnesia- memory deception; pseudoreminiscence (illusion of memory). Possible phenomena deja vu ("already seen")- the appearance of the impression of repeated perception of those phenomena that are actually perceived for the first time, as well as various confabulation(from lat. confabulation- with fiction) - false memories. The content of confabulations can be not only fictitious events, but also real ones, only transferred to a closer time (cryptomnesia).

In persons with vascular diseases, with some intoxications, temporary amnestic relapses and episodic instability of mental performance are possible. Various speech disorders are associated with memory defects, in particular amnestic aphasia- impossibility of verbal definition of a recognizable object.

Vygotsky. Three groups of schemes for the periodization of mental development:

1. Periodization of childhood based on the stepwise construction of other processes, one way or another related to child development. Biogenetic principle. There is a strict parallelism between the development of humanity and the development of the child (ontogenesis in a brief and condensed form repeats phylogeny). Periodization in accordance with the stages of the child’s upbringing and education. Disadvantages: The external template overlaps with the internal process.

2. Based on the identification of one sign of child development as a conditional criterion for dividing into periods. P.P.Blonsky. Childhood is divided into eras based on dentition, i.e. appearance and change of teeth. The signs on which the basis was chosen: a) are indicative for judging the general development of the child; b) easily accessible to observation; c) objectively. Dentition is associated with the peculiarities of the constitution of a growing organism: calcification and activity of the glands of internal development. The order of teething: toothless childhood, childhood of baby teeth, childhood of permanent teeth. Stern. Scheme based on the development of any one aspect: early childhood: play activity; a period of conscious learning with a division of play and labor; the period of adolescence with the development of individual independence and plans for future life. Disadvantages: 1. Subjectivity. The criterion is chosen on subjective grounds; 2. A single criterion is taken, consisting of any one attribute. But the value of this trait may change with age; 3. Focus on studying the external signs of child development, and not the internal essence of the process. The inner essence of things and their external forms do not coincide.

3. Gesell. Changing the internal rhythm and pace of mental development, from determining the current volume of development. It identifies individual rhythmic periods of development, united within themselves by a constant pace of development. The dynamics of child development is the process of slowing growth. The mistake is that Gezzel did not see qualitative transformations in development; development for him is growth, an increase in what was given from the very beginning. One-sidedness – yes, the pace is slowing down, but that’s not all there is to it.

4. Principles of true periodization. Internal change in development itself. Development is a continuous process of self-propulsion, characterized primarily by the continuous emergence and formation of something new that was not present at previous stages. From a materialistic point of view, development is a process characterized by the unity of the material and mental aspects, the unity of the social and personal.

The age criterion is neoplasms that characterize the essence of each age. A neoplasm is a new type of personality structure, its activities, those mental and social change, which first arise at a given age level and which in the most important and fundamental way determine the child’s consciousness, his relationship to the environment, his internal and external life, the entire course of his development in a given period.

Dynamics of development: changes can occur abruptly, critically, and can occur gradually, lytically.

Stable periods– no sudden shifts, microscopic changes in personality.

A crisis– in a short period of time there are sharp and cardinal shifts, the whole thing changes. The boundaries are not clear, the crisis is sharply worsening. The child is found to be difficult to educate.

Structure and dynamics of age. Age is a holistic dynamic formation. At each age, the child’s personality changes as a whole in its internal structure, and the laws of change of this whole determine the movement of each part.

Age structure:

Central neoplasm- a result, a product of age-related development, a leading concept for the entire development process and characterizing the restructuring of the child’s entire personality into new basis. Private neoplasms are grouped around it. Developmental processes associated with the central neoplasm are central lines of development, others are secondary. Central and collateral lines can change places from age to age (speech is central in early childhood, collateral in school). The emergence, change and coupling of structural neoplasms characterize the dynamics of age.

The role of the environment in the dynamics of age. Social development situation- a unique, specific for a given age, exclusive, unique and unrepeatable relationship between a child and the reality around him, primarily social.

Having arisen in the conscious personality of the child, new formations lead to changes in this personality itself. A new structure of consciousness inevitably means a new nature of perception of external reality in it, a new nature of perception inner life the child and the internal activity of his mental functions.

Social situation– the starting point for all dynamic changes occurring in development during a given period. Lays down the forms and path, following which the child acquires new personality traits. It determines the child’s entire lifestyle and social existence.

Changes in consciousness arise on the basis of a certain form of social existence characteristic of a given age. Emerging new formations lead to a restructuring of the entire structure of consciousness and change the entire system of its relations. This leads to the need for change and social development situation. The child has become a different creature - the social development situation (SSD) must change. The restructuring of the social situation of development is the main content of critical ages.

The basic law of age dynamics. The forces driving the development of a child at a given age inevitably lead to the denial and destruction of the very basis of development of the entire age, with internal necessity determining the annulment of the SSR, the end of a given era of development and the transition to the next, or higher, age level.

Leontyev.

Addresses the concept of personality through the concept of activity. Any activity is objective, the motive of activity is the subject. The idea of ​​personality is the idea of ​​the motivational sphere.

The problem of structure and genesis.

The structure of personality is constantly changing. Each stage of personality development is the completion of some stage, but certain contradictions remain at it, which will become the source of subsequent development.

The problem of identifying parameters of personality development.

Personality is determined by the following parameters:

Breadth and variety of social connections. For an individual, this is a variety of motives. The criterion is the number of motives.

The degree of hierarchization of the motivational sphere. Is there a structure and what is it like (subordination of motives). The core of personality is the structure of motives.

Individual profile of the motivational sphere, structure in development.

These parameters determine the development of personality. An increase in the number of motives is not personality development according to Leontiev. Development occurs only in terms of subject connections and social relations.

1st birth. Bittersweet phenomenon. Subordination of motives.

2nd birth. Self-awareness.

The first birth of personality occurs in a child at about 3 years of age. Personality begins with a certain action in an uncertain situation. Such a situation is a struggle between two equally significant motives or motives, the choice between which is difficult (one motive is a future reward, candy, the other motive is a socio-cultural prohibition, an agreement with an adult). The first birth of personality occurs within a social individual (for a child this is a separate relationship with an adult). The crying of a child indicates the presence of a hierarchy of motives, subordination - there are leading and subordinate motives. The structure of motives is the core of personality.

The rebirth of personality is possible when one becomes aware of one’s motives; this usually occurs in adolescence. The second birth is awareness of one’s motives, because by realizing one’s motives, a person can change their structure. The motivational sphere can be realized. The birth of personality in the narrow sense is the awareness of a motivational sphere that has developed spontaneously.

Awareness is necessary, but not sufficient. The personality enters the outside world and changes itself. Development requires effort and work. Activities are aimed at the outer world, only then are changes possible; you cannot just sit down and change the inner world.

Properties of a developed personality:

Personality by definition is creative

Personality is multiple while maintaining integrity

Personality exists only in development.

The development of a child must be studied based on an analysis of the development of his activities. At different stages of development, one of the activities is leading, having greater significance for the further development of the individual, others - less. Leading activity:

Activities in which the main new formations are formed;

The foundations of the future personality are formed and laid;

The foundations for the next leading activities are laid.

Elkonin. The social situation and leading activities are the main driving forces and sources of development. All leading activities, if we abstract from specific content, fall into two types:

Forming and developing predominantly the cognitive sphere (knowledge, skills, how to achieve something, the sphere “a child is a social object);

Contributing to the development of the need-motivational sphere (what is important, what to strive for, a person is determined in relation to the goals of life, the sphere is “child - social adult”).

Infancy (2 months-1 year) – The leading activity is direct emotional communication between the child and the adult. Within it, orienting and sensory-manipulative actions are formed. Increased needs due to communication with an adult. 2-3 months - “revitalization complex”. But by the end of the first year, there are more needs, but the possibilities of meeting them do not develop. Development of a child's broad orientation in the environment. Crisis of the 1st year. Neoplasms – walking and the first word. Disruption of the “we” system. The child became autonomous. The world has become more accessible and immediate. The child discovered the objective world for himself.

Early childhood (1-3 years)- leading activity - object-manipulative. In the first place is the actual research activity: one’s movements, movement in space, objects. Acquaintance with the properties of objects in the surrounding world. Mastering socially developed ways of acting with objects occurs in communication with adults. By the end of early childhood, the child “can do everything himself.” And now he wants to be an equal adult. He believes that he has become the same as them. Crisis of 3 years. For him, the adult world becomes the ideal form. But he cannot live directly in the world of adults.

Preschool age (3-7 years)– leading activity – role-playing game – a collective game in which the roles of the participants are described. The child masters new roles, learns to subordinate behavior to new rules and motives. The child's real and ideal worlds do not coincide. The model of the ideal is a plot-role-playing game. The main development takes place within the role-playing game. It is where orientation occurs in fundamental senses. human activity. A desire for socially significant and socially valued activities is formed. The child assesses that he is not armed enough for a full life. The child understands that he needs to learn.

Junior school age (7-12 years old)– the leading activity is educational, in which cognitive development is carried out. Intellectual and cognitive forces are being formed.

Adolescence (12-17 years old)– leading activity is intimate and personal communication with peers. Formation of moral values, ideas about oneself, the meaning of life, self-awareness. There is a reproduction in relationships between peers of the relationships that exist between adults. Relationships are built on the basis of certain moral and ethical standards. Within this activity, common views on life, on relationships between people, and on their future are formed. Thanks to this, new tasks and motives for further own activities arise.

Adult age (from 17 years old) – leading activity - educational and professional. In the process, the development of the psyche and personality occurs.

These periods are grouped into 3 eras, 2 periods each. The eras are separated by major crises, 3 and 12 years. The first period of each era is characterized by such leading activity, within the framework of which the motives and meanings of actions are mastered, and the motivational-semantic sphere develops. In the second period of each era, leading activities contribute to the development of the cognitive sphere and performing activities.

Erickson. Epigenetic concept of personality development. Periodization covers the entire life. Each stage represents a person’s solution to the main and leading life problem for this stage, formulated in the form of a dichotomy. One of the solution options is normal - in accordance with universal human norms; the other is unproductive and does not correspond to the objective norm of human existence. This option creates the prerequisites for psychopathological development.

According to Erikson, psychological growth is similar to the development of an embryo (epis - above, genesis - birth) - each subsequent stage is determined by the previous one (a specific developmental task or crisis that a person must solve in order to move on to the next). Development continues throughout life.

Infancy (up to 1.5 years) basic faith and hope (basic trust in the world) versus basic mistrust. Significant relationships: child and mother. A strong personality trait is formed – hope (in the destructive version, withdrawal);

Early childhood (1.5-3 years) autonomy, independence versus dependence, shame and doubt. Significant relationships are parents. The will is formed, the focus on overcoming obstacles (in the destructive - obsession, conformism, the desire to be close to an adult or aggressiveness);

Preschool age (3-6 years) initiative versus guilt. Significant relationships are the family as a whole. The ability to set goals and determination is formed (the destructive option is helplessness, passivity);

School age (6-12 years) enterprise versus feelings of inferiority (school). Entrepreneurship – readiness to master technology, readiness to cooperate. Significant relationships: school, neighbors. Competence and skill are formed (in the destructive version - inertia as an inability to cooperate or excessive competition);

Adolescence (12-18 years) identity versus identity confusion. Meaningful relationships are peer groups. Ego-identity is formed - “a subjective feeling of continuous self-identity”, not just the sum of the roles accepted by the individual, but also certain combinations of identifications and capabilities of the individual, perceived by him on the basis of his experience and knowledge of how others react to him (in the destructive version - confusion of identity, negativism, shyness);

Early adulthood (18-25 years old)) intimacy versus isolation. Significant relationships are friends and work and study partners. Intimacy is the ability to share identity, you are understood for who you are. Love is formed (in the destructive version - exclusivity, rejection of all strangers);

Adulthood (25-60 years old) productivity versus stagnation. Meaningful relationships: shared labor and a common home. Responsibility and care are formed (in the destructive version - rejection);

Maturity (from 60 years old) integrity versus decay. The significant relationships are humanity as a whole (past and future). Summing up, meaningful interest in life (in the destructive version - fear of death, resentment towards life, desire to live it again).

A person’s task at each stage is to find a balance between 2 poles (for example, trust and distrust).

Periodization of mental development— identification of a sequence of stages (periods) of mental development in the entire human life cycle.

Scientifically based periodization should reflect the internal patterns of the development process itself(L.S. Vygotsky) and meet the following requirements:

1) describe the qualitative uniqueness of each period of development and its differences from other periods;

2) determine the structural relationship between mental processes and functions within one period;

3) establish an invariant sequence of development stages;

4) periodization must have a structure where each subsequent period is based on the previous one, includes and develops its achievements.

The distinctive features of many P. p.r. are their one-sided nature (separation of personality development from the development of intelligence) and a naturalistic approach to mental development in ontogenesis, which is expressed in ignoring the historically variable nature of periods of development.

Key Concepts: Age- a category in Y that serves to designate the temporary characteristics of individual development. Age in psychology is a specific, relatively time-limited stage in the mental development of an individual and his development as a personality, characterized by a set of natural physiological and psychological changes that are not related to differences in individual characteristics.

The first attempt at a systematic analysis of the category of psychological age belongs to L.S. Vygotsky. He viewed age as a closed cycle with its own structure and dynamics.

The concept of age includes a number of aspects:

1) Chronological age, determined by a person’s life expectancy (according to the passport);

2) Biological age - a set of biological indicators, the functioning of the body as a whole (circulatory, respiratory, digestive systems, etc.);

3) Psychological age - a certain level of mental development, which includes:

a) mental age - To determine the mental age of children from 4 to 16 years old, the Wechsler test is used, which includes verbal and data in a visual (figurative) form of the task. When it is applied, a total “general intellectual index” is obtained. Psychologist calculates IQ - intelligence quotient: mental age x 100% IQ = chronological age

b) social maturity - SQ - social intelligence (a person must be adapted to the environment that surrounds him) c) emotional maturity: arbitrariness of emotions, balance, personal maturity. In real life, the individual components of age do not always coincide.

The age structure includes:

1. Social development situation- the system of relations in which the child enters society, it determines in which areas public life he comes in. It determines those forms and the path by which the child acquires new and new personality traits, drawing them from social reality as the main source of development, the path along which the social becomes individual. The social situation of development determines how the child navigates the system of social relations and what areas of social life he enters. this is a peculiar combination of what has formed in the child’s psyche and the relationships that the child establishes with the social environment.

2. Leading type of activity- The concept of “leading activity” was introduced by Leontyev: the activity that at a given stage has the greatest impact on the development of the psyche.

activity in which other types of activity arise and differentiate, the main ones are rebuilt mental processes and personality changes. The content and forms of leading activity depend on the specific historical conditions in which the child’s development takes place. Leontiev also described the mechanism of changing the leading type of activity, which manifests itself in the fact that in the course of development, the previous place occupied by the child in the world of human relations around him begins to be perceived by him as inappropriate to his capabilities, and he strives to change it. In accordance with this, his activities are being restructured.

3. Central neoplasms of age- at each age level there is a central new formation, as if leading the entire development process and characterizing the restructuring of the child’s entire personality on a new basis. Around this neoplasm, all other particular neoplasms and developmental processes associated with neoplasms of previous ages are located and grouped. Vygotsky called those developmental processes that are more or less closely related to the main new formation the central lines of development. Vygotsky’s law of uneven child development is closely related to the concept of the main new formations of age: each side of the child’s psyche has its own optimal period development is a sensitive period. In turn, the concept of sensitive periods is closely related to Vygotsky’s hypothesis about the systemic structure of consciousness: no cognitive function develops in isolation, the development of each function depends on what structure it is included in and what place it occupies in it. Those qualitative features of the psyche that first appear in a given age period.

4. Age crises- turning points on the developmental curve that separate one age from another. Foreign psychologists, contemporaries of Vygotsky, viewed age-related crises either as growing pains or as a result of disruption of parent-child relationships. They believed that there could be a crisis-free, lytic development. Vygotsky viewed crisis as a normative phenomenon of the psyche, necessary for the progressive development of the individual. The essence of the crisis, according to Vygotsky, lies in resolving the contradiction between the previous social situation of development, on the one hand, and the new capabilities and needs of the child, on the other. As a result, an explosion of the previous social situation of development occurs, and a new social situation of development is formed on its ruins. The transition to the next stage of age development has taken place.

Vygotsky described the following age-related crises: the newborn crisis, the one-year crisis, the three-year crisis, the seven-year crisis, the thirteen-year crisis. The chronological boundaries of crises are quite arbitrary, which is explained by significant differences in individual, sociocultural and other parameters. The form, duration and severity of crises can vary markedly depending on the individual typological characteristics of the child, social conditions, features of upbringing in the family, the pedagogical system as a whole. Thus, for Vygotsky, age-related crises are the central mechanism of age dynamics. He derived the law of age dynamics, according to which the forces driving the development of a child at a particular age inevitably lead to the denial and destruction of the very basis of development of his age, with internal necessity determining the annulment of the social situation of development, the end of a given era of development and the transition to the next age steps.

The first to propose age-based periodization of development were Pythagoras, Hippocrates and Aristotle.

Pythagoras (VI century BC) identified four periods in a person’s life: spring (the formation of a person) - from birth to 20 years; summer (youth) - 20-40 years; autumn (prime of life) - 40-60 years; winter (extinction) - 60-80 years.

Hippocrates distinguished 10 seven-year periods throughout a person’s life.

Aristotle divided childhood and adolescence into three stages: the first - from birth to 7 years; the second - from 7 to 14 years; the third - from 14 to 21 years.

There are many different periodizations of mental development, both foreign and domestic authors. Almost all of these periodizations end with high school age; very few authors described the entire life cycle (primarily E. Erikson).

Pavel Petrovich Blonsky chose an objective, easily observable sign associated with the essential features of the constitution of a growing organism - the appearance and change of teeth. : 0-8 months - 2.5 years - toothless childhood 2.5 - 6.5. years - childhood of baby teeth 6.5 and older - childhood of permanent teeth (before the appearance of wisdom teeth)

Periodization Kohlberg , based on the study of the level of human moral development.

The 3 levels and 6 stages of moral development identified in Kohlberg’s research correspond to biblical ideas about a person’s orientation to fear, shame and conscience when choosing an action.

Level I: Fear of punishment (up to 7 years). 1. Fear of the right of force. 2. Fear of being deceived and not receiving enough benefits.

Level II: Shame in front of other people (13 years old). 3. Shame in front of comrades and immediate circle. 4. Shame of public condemnation, negative assessment of large social groups.

Level III: Conscience (after 16 years). 5. The desire to live up to your moral principles. 6. The desire to conform to one’s system of moral values.

Vygotsky believed that when creating a periodization of mental development, it is necessary to take into account the dynamics of the transition from one age to another, when smooth “evolutionary” periods are replaced by “jumps.” During lytic periods, qualities accumulate, and during critical periods, their realization occurs.

Infancy 0-1 = Leading activity and New formation: emotional communication between a child and an adult, walking, first word

Social situation: Mastering the norms of relationships between people

Early age 1-3 = Leading activity and New formation: objective activity “external self” according to Vygotsky

Social situation: Mastering ways of working with objects

Preschool age 3-6(7) = Leading activity and New education: role-playing game of arbitrariness of behavior

Social situation: Development social norms, relationships between people

Junior school age 6(7)-10(11) = Leading activity and New formation: educational activity, voluntariness of all mental processes, except intelligence

Social situation: Mastery of knowledge, development of intellectual and cognitive activity.

Middle school age, teenager 10(11) - 14(15) = Leading activity and New formation: intimate-personal communication in educational and other activities, a feeling of “adulthood”, the emergence of an idea of ​​oneself “not like a child”

Social situation: Mastering norms and relationships between people.

Senior schoolchild (early adolescence) 14(15) -16(17) = Leading activity and New Education: educational and professional activity, professional and personal self-determination

Social situation: Mastering professional knowledge and skills

Late adolescence or early maturity 18-25 = Leading activity and New education: Labor activity, professional study.

Social situation: Mastering professional and labor skills

Maturity after 25 = Leading activity and New formation: 20-50 years - maturity, 50-75 - late maturity, 75 - old age

*The generally accepted concept in our country is Elkonin’s concept, which is based on the idea of ​​changing the leading type of activity. Considering the structure of activity, Elkonin noted that human activity is two-faced, it contains human meaning, that is, the motivational-need side and the operational-technical side.

In the process of child development, the motivational-need side of the activity is first mastered, otherwise substantive actions would not make sense, and then the operational and technical side is mastered. Then they alternate. Moreover, the motivational-need side develops in the “child-adult” system, and the development of the operational-technical side occurs in the “child-object” system.

Elkonin’s concept overcame an important drawback of foreign psychology: the opposition between the world of objects and the world of people. Elkonin reconsidered the problem: “the child and society” and renamed it “the child in society.” This changed the view on the relationship between “child and object” and “child and adult.” Ellko6nin began to consider these systems as “a child is a social object” (since for a child, socially developed actions with him come to the fore in the object) and “a child is a social adult” (since for a child an adult is, first of all, a bearer of certain types of social activities).

Child's activity in systems “a child is a social object” and “a child is a social adult”“represents a single process in which the child’s personality is formed.

Infancy: newborn crisis - Early age: 1 year crisis - Preschool age: 3 year crisis

Primary school age: crisis 7 years - Adolescence: crisis 11-12 years - Early adolescence: crisis 15 years

According to Elkonin, crises of 3 and 11 years - relationship crises, after them, orientation in human relationships arises. And the crises of the 1st year and 7th years - worldview crises, which open up orientation in the world of things. Ideas L.S. Vygotsky was developed in the concept of D.B. Elkonin, who based the periodization on the following criteria: social situation of development, leading activity, age-related neoplasms.

All types of activities D.B. Elkonin divides into 2 groups:

1) activities in the “child - social adult” system, in which the child’s intensive orientation in the basic meanings of human activity and the mastery of tasks, motives, norms and relationships occurs and the predominant advanced development of the motivational-need sphere is ensured, and

2) activities in the “child - social object” system, in which socially developed methods of action with objects and standards are assimilated, and, accordingly, the primary development of the intellectual, operational and technical sphere. The basis of mental development is the periodically emerging contradiction between the operational and technical capabilities of the individual, on the one hand, and the tasks and motives of activity, on the other.

The resolution of this contradiction is carried out through a change in the social situation of development and a transition to appropriate activities that ensure the necessary accelerated development of either the motivational-need, or intellectual-cognitive spheres of the individual. Contradictions give rise to crises as necessary turning points of development. Mental development has a spiral nature with a naturally repeating change of periods of development, in which the leading activity alternates between activities in the “child – social adult” system and in the “child – social object” system. According to D.B. Elkonin, the periodization of mental development in childhood includes three eras, each of which consists of two interconnected periods, and in the first there is a predominant development of the motivational-need sphere, and in the second - the intellectual-cognitive one.

The eras are separated from each other by crises of restructuring of the individual-society relationship, and the periods are separated by crises of self-awareness. The era of early childhood begins with the newborn crisis (0-2 months) and includes infancy, the leading activity of which is situational and personal communication, the crisis of the first year and early age, where the leading activity is objective activity. The era of childhood, separated from the era of early childhood by the crisis of three years, includes preschool age (the leading activity is role-playing play), the crisis of seven years and primary school age (the leading activity is educational activity). The crisis of 11-12 years separates the eras of childhood and adolescence, in which younger adolescence, with intimate and personal communication as the leading activity, is replaced by older adolescence, where educational and professional activities become the leading one. According to D.B. Elkonin, the indicated periodization scheme corresponds to childhood and adolescence, and for the periodization of mature ages it is necessary to develop a different scheme while maintaining the general principles of periodization.

The periodization of mature ages of the life cycle requires the definition of the very concept of “adulthood” as a special social status, associated with a certain level of biological maturity, level of development of mental functions and structures. The success of solving development problems, as a system of social requirements and expectations specific to each age, imposed by society on an individual, determines his transition to each new age level of maturity (R. Havighurst). The periodization of adulthood includes early maturity (17-40 years), middle maturity (40-60 years), late maturity (over 60 years) with transition periods that are in the nature of crises (D. Levinson, D. Bromley, R. Havighurst).

In the development of a child’s psyche, there are a number of age periods with characteristic features the formation of perception and thinking, other higher mental functions (HMF), as well as the sensitivity characteristic of each of them, specific susceptibility for the development of certain HMF, most clearly manifested in the development of speech functions (sensitive periods). Critical periods, or crises of development, are also distinguished (L.S. Vygotsky)

DI. Feldstein developed the ideas of Vygotsky and Elkonin and created on their basis the concept patterns of level of personality development in ontogenesis.

Feldstein considered the problem of personality development as a process of socialization, and he considered socialization not only as a process of appropriation of socio-historical experience, but also as the formation of social significant qualities personality. According to this concept, a targeted consideration as an object of research of the characteristics of the social development of children, the conditions for the formation of their social maturity and the analysis of its formation at different stages of modern childhood allowed the author to identify two main types of actually existing positions of the child in relation to society: “I am in society” and “me and society.”

Does the first position reflect the child’s desire to understand his Self? What can I do?; the second concerns awareness of oneself as a subject of social relations. The formation of the position “I and society” is associated with the actualization of activities aimed at mastering the norms of human relationships, ensuring the implementation of the individualization process. The child strives to express himself, to highlight his I, to oppose himself to others, to express his own position in relation to other people, having received from them recognition of his independence, taking active place in various social relationships, where his I acts on an equal basis with others, which ensures the development of a new level of self-awareness of himself in society, socially responsible self-determination. The subject-practical side of the activity, during which the child’s socialization occurs, is associated with the affirmation of the position “I am in society.”

In other words, the development of a certain position of the child in relation to people and things leads him to the possibility and necessity of realizing the accumulated social experience in such activities that most adequately correspond to the general level of mental and personal development. Thus, the position “I am in society” is especially actively developed during the periods of early childhood (from 1 to 3 years), primary school age (from 6 to 9 years old) and senior school age (from 15 to 17 years old), when subject-practical side of the activity. The position “I and society,” the roots of which go back to the infant’s orientation toward social contacts, is most actively formed in preschool (from 3 to 6 years) and adolescence (from 10 to 15 years) when the norms of human relationships are especially intensively absorbed.

Identification and disclosure of the characteristics of the child’s different positions in relation to society made it possible to identify two types of naturally occurring boundaries of the social development of the individual, designated by the author as intermediate and key.

The intermediate stage of development - the result of the accumulation of elements of socialization - individualization - refers to the child’s transition from one period of ontogenesis to another (at 1 year, 6 and 15 years). The nodal turning point represents qualitative shifts in social development, carried out through personality development, it is associated with a new stage of ontogenesis (at 3 years, 10 and 17 years). In the social position that develops at the intermediate stage of development (“I am in society”), the developing personality’s need to integrate himself into society is realized. At the key turning point, when the social position “I and society” is formed, the child’s need to determine his place in society is realized.

Z. Freud, in accordance with his sexual theory of the psyche, reduces all stages of human mental development to stages of transformation and movement through different erogenous zones of libidinal energy. Erogenous zones are areas of the body that are sensitive to stimulus; when stimulated, they cause satisfaction of libidinal feelings. Each stage has its own libidinal zone, the stimulation of which creates libidinal pleasure. The movement of these zones creates a sequence of stages of mental development.

1. Oral stages (0 - 1 year) are characterized by the fact that the main source of pleasure, and therefore potential frustration, is focused on the area of ​​activity associated with feeding. At this stage, there are two phases: early and late, occupying the first and second years of life. It is characterized by two sequential libidinal actions - sucking and biting. The leading erogenous zone is the mouth. At the second stage, the “I” begins to emerge from “It”.

2. The anal stage (1 - 3 years) also consists of two phases. Libido is concentrated around the anus, which becomes the center of attention of the child, accustomed to neatness. The “Super-I” begins to form.

3. The phallic stage (3 - 5 years) characterizes the highest level of child sexuality. The genital organs become the leading erogenous zone. Children's sexuality becomes objective, children begin to experience attachment to parents of the opposite sex (Oedipus complex). The “super-ego” has been formed.

4. The latent stage (5 - 12 years) is characterized by a decrease in sexual interest, libido energy is transferred to the development of universal human experience, the establishment of friendly relations with peers and adults.

5. The genital stage (12 - 18 years) is characterized by the return of childhood sexual desires, now all former erogenous zones are united, and the teenager strives for one goal - normal sexual communication.

E. Erickson Epigenetic theory of development: tried to solve the problem of self and society in psychoanalysis, it focused on the impact of culture and society on development. In his opinion, each stage of development has its own expectations inherent in a given society, which the individual can justify or not justify, and then he is either included in society or rejected by it. Two basic concepts: group identity (formed due to the fact that from the first days of life a child’s upbringing is focused on including him in this social group) and ego identity (formed in parallel with group identity and creates in the subject a sense of stability and continuity of his Self). The formation of ego identity continues throughout a person’s life and goes through a number of stages. Each stage of the life cycle is characterized by a certain task that society sets for the individual. The solution to the problem depends both on the level of psychomotor development already achieved, and on the general spiritual atmosphere of the society in which this individual lives.

E. Erikson's periodization includes a sequence of 8 stages, at each of which, depending on the success of resolving the psychosocial crisis, a personal quality is formed either in its positive meaning or as a pathological property, as a result of which the potential of personality development at this stage is unrealized. The first stage involves resolving the crisis by choosing between trust and distrust of the individual in the world (0-1 year), the second stage - the formation of autonomy against shame and doubt (2-3 years), the third stage - initiative against guilt (4 - 6-7 years), the fourth stage - skills and competence against feelings of inferiority (8-13 years), the fifth - the formation of personal identity against identity confusion (14-19 years), the sixth - intimacy and love against isolation and rejection (19-35 years), seventh - productivity against stagnation and stagnation (35-60 years) and eighth - integrity and wisdom of the individual against disintegration and decay (over 60 years).

1. Infancy - the formation of basic trust in the world / mistrust; hope/distance

2. Early age - autonomy / shame, doubt about one’s own independence, independence; will/impulsivity

3. Age of the game - initiative / feeling of guilt and moral responsibility for one’s desires; single-mindedness/apathy

4. School age - achievement (formation of hard work and ability to handle tools) / inferiority (as awareness of one’s own ineptitude); competence/inertia

5. Adolescence - identity (the first integral awareness of oneself, one’s place in the world) / diffusion of identity (uncertainty in understanding one’s Self); loyalty/renunciation

6. Youth - intimacy (searching for a life partner and establishing close friendships) / isolation; love/isolation

7. Maturity - creativity / stagnation; caring/rejection

8. Old age - integration / disappointment in life; wisdom/contempt

Personal development, according to Erikson, is the result of a struggle of extreme possibilities, which does not fade when moving to the next stage of development.

BIOGENETIC APPROACH TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT Biogenetic law (formulated by E. Haeckel): during intrauterine development, an animal or a person briefly repeats the stages that a given species goes through in its phylogeny (ontogenesis is a short and rapid repetition of phylogeny)

Among the early psychological theories is the concept of recapitulation (recapitulation is the idea of ​​repetition in the development of human history) Art. Hall, which was the result of the transfer of the biogenetic law to the process of ontogenetic development of the child: the child in its development briefly repeats the development of human society. Hall attributed each stage of child development to a stage in human development.

The search for the laws of development is the first theoretical concept and an attempt to show that there is a connection between historical and individual development;

The theory of three stages of child development by K. Büller. He identified three stages of development: instinct, training, intelligence and connected the transition from one stage to another not only with the maturation of the brain and the complication of relationships with the environment, but also with the development of affective processes, with the development of the experience of pleasure associated with action.

During the evolution of behavior, there is a transition from pleasure “from the end to the beginning” of the action:

1. Instinct - the experience of pleasure arises as a result of the satisfaction of instinctive needs;

2. Training - functional pleasure arises as the action progresses, i.e. pleasure is transferred to the process;

3. Intelligence is associated with problem solving; anticipatory pleasure is possible here.

That is, the transition of pleasure from the end to the beginning, according to Buller, is the main driving force of development.

An attempt to analyze the qualitative features of the stages of child development;

L.S. Vygotsky: Büller identified the stages of child development with the stages of animal development; he ignored the uniqueness of the child’s development.

The theory of convergence of two factors of child development by V. Stern. From his point of view, mental development is the result of convergence internal inclinations And external conditions. The idea of ​​convergence is also found in other psychologists. Thus, Freud created a structural theory of personality, which is based on the conflict between the instinctive sphere of mental life (It) and the demands of society (Super-I). Society, according to Freud, is the source of mental trauma, and his theory is the theory of childhood trauma.

K. Koffka said that the system of internal conditions, together with the system of external conditions, determines our behavior and preference for heredity.

J. Piaget created the Geneva School of Genetic Y, which studied the origin and development of intelligence. According to Piaget, the goal of development is adaptation to the environment. He created genetic epistemology as a science about the formation of mechanisms and ways of knowing reality. Abandoning the quantitative approach to the study of intelligence, Piaget developed a clinical interview technique in which the child must answer questions or manipulate stimulus material. This method was based not on recording the external characteristics of behavior, but on revealing the mental processes that guide behavior.

Two stages can be distinguished in the development of Piaget's creativity.

Discovery of children's egocentrism. Egocentrism, according to Piaget, is the central feature of a child’s thinking, his hidden mental position. The most striking manifestation of egocentrism is the “realism” of children’s thinking, which manifests itself in the fact that the child considers objects as they are perceived, without the logic of internal relationships (an example of “realism” is the fact that a child judges an action by its consequences, without considering the motives , thinks, for example, that the moon follows him when he walks, etc.).

“Realism” has three forms:

1. Realism is manifested in the fact that a child cannot consider a thing independently of himself, i.e. children do not distinguish between the subjective external world; they identify their ideas with things outside world. That is, there is no distinction between subject and object. In this regard, the development of children's thinking (or decentration of thought) follows the line of distinguishing the objective world from their ideas about it. From realism to objectivity.

2. Realism is manifested in the fact that the child considers his point of view to be the only one. Here the development of thinking follows the path of recognizing other points of view. From realism (absoluteness) to reciprocity (reciprocity).

3. Realism is manifested in the fact that the child uses the concepts “heavy”, “light”, “big”, etc. as absolute. Here the development follows the line that these words begin to acquire relative meaning depending on the units of measurement. From realism to relativism.

Egocentrism showed that the external world does not act directly on the mind of the subject, and our knowledge of the world is not a simple imprint of external events. The subject's ideas are partly the product of his own activity. The child’s thinking is distinguished by the qualitative uniqueness of its mechanisms.

Preformationism: the development of thinking will definitely happen and the adult does not play a special role.

Piaget also discovered the phenomenon of egocentric speech. He believed that children's speech is egocentric, first of all, because the child speaks only from his own point of view, without trying to take the point of view of another. Piaget discovered that a 2-4 year old child talks to himself, even if he has an interlocutor nearby. Piaget believed that this speech, addressed by the child to himself, would gradually die out, giving way to speech addressed to others and performing a communicative function. Thus, according to Piaget, egocentric speech is primary, and the communicative function of speech is secondary.

A controversy broke out between Piaget and Vygotsky regarding egocentric speech. The essence of this controversy was their different understanding of the relationship between thinking and speech. Piaget believed that thought is expressed in words, and language reflects thinking. While Vygotsky believed that a thought is generated in a word, a thought is “completed” in a word. Based on this, Vygotsky had a different understanding of the essence of a child’s egocentric speech. He believed that egocentric speech is one of the stages in the formation of thinking and speech. Egocentric speech is loud speech for oneself as a plan of action that the child cannot yet keep in mind, because it is still developing. Egocentric speech does not disappear; it moves to the internal plane. Here Vygotsky talks about the planning function of speech, about speech as a means of thinking.

Stages of intelligence development.

Piaget's Basic Concepts:

1. The goal of intelligence development is adaptation to the subject environment. Adaptation is an active process that is carried out in the form of interaction of 2 processes: assimilation (-change of the subject environment in accordance with one’s motives, goals; the process of including new information as an integral part in the individual’s already existing schemes) and accommodation (-change of one’s own behavior in accordance with the requirements of the environment; changes in our thought processes when a new object does not fit into our concepts).

The interaction of assimilation and accommodation ensures development (due to accommodation) and preservation (due to assimilation). At each stage of development, the most optimal relationship with the environment is possible - equilibrium (equilibrium is a state of continuous activity, during which the body compensates or neutralizes both real and expected influences that remove the system from a state of equilibrium).

2. Piaget introduced the concept of “schemas” as ways of processing information that change as a person grows and gains more knowledge. There are two types of schemas: sensorimotor schemas, or action schemas, and cognitive schemas, which are more like concepts. We rearrange our circuits to adapt (accommodate) to new information and at the same time integrate (assimilate) new knowledge into old circuits.

According to Piaget, the process of development of intelligence occurs as follows: schemes are organized into operations, various combinations of which correspond to qualitatively different stages of cognitive growth. As people develop, they use increasingly complex patterns to organize information and understand the external world.

Stages of intelligence: Periodization of intelligence development J. Piaget considers cognitive development as a sequence of stages: the stage of sensorimotor intelligence (from 0 to 2 years), the stage of pre-operational intelligence (from 2 to 7 years), the stage of specific operations (from 7 to 11-12 years) and the stage of formal -logical operations (from 12 to 17 years)

1. Sensorimotor intelligence (from birth to 2 years). Orientation in the subject environment is carried out through external material actions, which are performed in detail and consistently. Babies learn about the world only through various actions: grasping, sucking, looking, etc. Sensorimotor, because When balancing, the baby's intelligence relies only on sensory data and movement. Piaget discovered that the element of mental life is not sensation, but action.

2. Specific Operations Stage (2 years - 11-12 years).

There are two substages here:

- preoperational intelligence(from 2 years to 7-8 years). Children learn about the world mainly through their own actions. Children form concepts and use symbols to communicate them to others. These concepts are limited to their egocentric direct experience. At the end of the stage, external material actions, through repetition in different situations, are schematized and, with the help of symbolic means, transferred to the internal plane.

- specific operations(7-8 years - 11-12 years).

Children begin to think logically, classify objects according to several criteria and operate with mathematical concepts. This is where children gain an understanding of conservation. But these are still actions with physical objects: the child thinks about real actions with real objects.

Piaget identifies 4 characteristics of operations: operation is an internal action that was once external; external actions from which operations originate - not any actions in general, these are actions such as systematization, ordering, decomposition into classes, i.e. actions of a very general nature; operations are subject to the principle of reversibility: for each action there is a reverse action, restoring the original state of affairs; operations do not exist by themselves, they are always coordinated by a system called grouping (system coordination). Further development of intelligence will follow the path of more complex groups.

3. Formal Operations Stage (from 12 years old) is characterized by the child’s ability to operate with abstract concepts, reason by analogy or metaphorically, and make plans. To put forward hypotheses, obtain consequences from them and use them to test hypotheses, he uses deductics, combinatorics, proportions, and most importantly, he thinks in judgments, ideas, and not specific images. etc. The child's thinking becomes completely logical.

Piaget showed that the development of thinking does not follow the path of accumulating knowledge, but along the path of a qualitative transformation of the structures and mechanisms of thinking.

Foreign Y (St. Hall, K. Bueller, E. Thorndike, W. Stern, K. Koffka, Z. Freud, J. Piaget, A. Bandura, E. Erikson):

They considered the course of child development as socialization: from individual to social (adaptation to the environment, passive aspect); The main condition for development is heredity (and the environment, but the primacy of heredity); Sources of development - within the individual, in his nature; Form of development - adaptation; Specifics development - recapitulation; Driving forces of development - preformism or convergence of two factors

Domestic Y (L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontyev, D.B. Elkonin, P.Ya. Galperin, V.V. Davydov): Considered the course of child development from social to individual (the law of formation of the HMF: appropriation of experience, from interpsychic to intrapsychic); Conditions of development - morphophysiological characteristics of the brain and communication; Sources of development are outside the individual: environment; Forms of development - appropriation (active moment); Specifics of development - development is subject to the action of social historical, not biological laws; Driving forces of development - training and activity.

SOCIOGENETIC APPROACH TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT AND ITS IMPORTANCE FOR Y DEVELOPMENT

In general, sociogenetic concepts are based on the idea that the human psyche at the time of birth is a “blank slate”, and everything can be shaped as a result of learning. Individual differences were not considered congenital. Here the concept of development is identified with the concept of learning.

Social learning theory emerged in the late 1930s. in the USA on the basis of a combination of behaviorism and the teachings of Freud, from which its social core was taken - the relationship between the “I” and society.

Response Plan:

The concept of periodization. 1

Classifications of periodization. 1

The problem of periodization of mental development from the point of view of the activity approach 6

Age periodization of adult development phases: 7

The concept of periodization.

Mental development is a process that unfolds over time and is characterized by both quantitative and qualitative changes.

Periodization is the division of the life cycle into separate periods or age stages.

Dividing the life path into periods allows us to better understand the patterns of development and the specifics of individual age stages. The content (and name) of periods, their time boundaries are determined by the ideas of the author of the periodization about the most important, essential aspects of development. There are many different classifications, but there is no single generally accepted one.

Classifications of periodization.

L.S. Vygotsky distinguished 3 groups of periodization: according to external criteria, according to one and several signs of development.

For group 1, periodization is based on an external, but related to the development process, criterion. Stern's periodization, created according to the biogenetic principle (ontogenesis in a brief and condensed form repeats phylogeny, therefore the process of individual development corresponds to the main periods of biological evolution and historical development of mankind). Rene Zazzo (the stages of childhood coincide with the stages of the system of raising and educating children).

In group 2, not an external, but an internal criterion is used - any one aspect of development. The development of bone tissue in P.P. Blonsky and the development of childhood sexuality in Z. Freud. The development of leading activity in A.N. Leontiev, which determines the most important changes in mental processes and psychological characteristics of the child’s personality at this stage of development.

Periodizations based on one characteristic are subjective: the authors arbitrarily select one of many aspects of development. In addition, they do not take into account the changing role of the selected trait in overall development throughout life, and the meaning of any trait changes with the transition from age to age.

Today, it has been experimentally established that in groups with different levels of development, the leaders, temporarily or permanently, are types of activities that differ greatly in content, intensity and social value. This constantly blurs the idea of ​​the “leading type of activity” as the basis for the periodization of personality development.

The personality-forming principle at each age stage becomes a complex of interdependent activities, and not the dominance of one type of activity, primarily responsible for the successful achievement of development goals. Meanwhile, for each individual, as a result of psychological analysis, a leading type of activity inherent in him can be identified, which allows him to be distinguished from many others.

In the 3rd group of periodizations, an attempt was made to distinguish periods of development based on the essential features of this development. This is the periodization of L.S. Vygotsky and D.B. Elkonin. They use 3 criteria: the social situation of development, leading activity and central age-related neoplasm.

Thus, Vygotsky considered mental neoplasms characteristic of a specific stage of development as a criterion for age periodization.

Age periodization of L.S. Vygotsky has the following form:

Neonatal crisis - infancy (2 months - 1 year);

Crisis of 1 year – early childhood (1 – 3 years) – crisis of 3 years;

Preschool age (3 – 7 years);

Crisis 7 years - school age (8 - 12 years);

Crisis of 13 years - puberty (14 - 17 years) - crisis of 17 years.

Basic provisions: the existence of stable and crisis stages of development.

D.B. Elkonin formulates the law of periodicity as follows: “A child approaches each point in his development with a certain discrepancy between what he has learned from the system of person-person relations and what he has learned from the system of person-object relations. It is precisely the moments when this discrepancy takes on the greatest magnitude that are called crises, after which the development of the side that lagged behind in the previous period occurs. But each side prepares the development of the other.” Each age is characterized by its own social development situation; leading activity in which the motivational-need or intellectual sphere of the individual primarily develops; age-related neoplasms that form at the end of the period, among which the central one stands out, the most significant for subsequent development. The boundaries of ages are crises - turning points in the development of a child. D.B. Elkonin’s periodization is the most common in Russian psychology.

The periodization proposed by D.B. Elkonin includes 7 periods:

1. infancy (from birth to 1 year)

2. earlier childhood (from 1 year to 3 years)

3. junior and middle preschool age (from 3 to 5 years)

4. senior preschool age (5 – 7 years)

5. junior school age (7 -11 years)

6. adolescence (11 – 14 years)

7. early adolescence (14 – 17 years old)

Each of these stages requires its own style of communication, the use of special methods and techniques of training and education. Traditionally, it is customary to divide the process of child development into 4 stages:

Preschool childhood;

Junior school age (6 – 11 years);

Middle, teenage (11 – 15 years old);

Senior school student (15 – 17 years old).

A.V.Petrovsky in 1984 A psychological concept of age-based periodization of personality development was proposed, which is determined by the type of activity-mediated relationships of the individual with the groups that are the most reference for him. For each age period, they were allocated 3 phases of entering the reference community: adaptation, individualization, integration, in which development and restructuring of the personality structure occur.

These classifications mainly describe the stages of child development and, as a rule, end with adolescence, or high school age.

E. Erikson traced the holistic life path of an individual, from birth to old age. Personal development in its content is determined by what society expects from a person, what values ​​and ideals it offers him, what tasks it sets for him at different age stages. But the sequence of stages of development depends on the biological origin. A personality, maturing, goes through a number of successive stages. At each stage, it acquires a certain quality (personal new formation), which is fixed in the personality structure and preserved in subsequent periods of life. Crises are inherent in all age stages; these are “turning points”, moments of choice between progress and regression.

Every personal quality that appears at a certain age contains a deep relationship to the world and to oneself. This attitude can be positive, associated with the progressive development of the individual, and negative, causing negative changes in development, its regression. You have to choose one of two polar relationships - trust or distrust in the world, initiative or passivity, competence or inferiority, etc. When the choice is made and the corresponding personality quality is fixed, say, positive, the opposite pole of the attitude continues to exist latently, and can appear much later, when the person is faced with a serious setback in life.

Periods of development

Period Infant Early childhood Preschool School

Leading activity Emotional communication Subject activity Game activity Educational activity

Psychodynamic periodization of mental development

Z. Freud oral anal phallic genital

E. Erikson Trust versus closedness Autonomy versus dependence Initiative versus guilt Hard work versus feelings of inferiority

E. Bern, Litvak You +/- I +/- They +/- Labor +/-

V. Shuts accession control openness

Periodization of cognitive development

Stages of development according to Piaget Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete operations Formal operations

Type of thinking Subject - actionable Visual - figurative Theoretical or abstract (verbal-conceptual)

Type of reflection Concrete - sensual Abstract - generalized

Components of mental strategy Extraversion/

introversion Rationality/

irrationality Ethics/

(left hemisphere) Sensory/

Intuition

(right hemisphere)

V.S. Lazarev “Problems of understanding mental development in the cultural-historical theory of activity.” Questions of psychology. 1999. No. 3. p.18 – 27

The problem of periodization of mental development from the point of view of the activity approach

Understanding the driving forces and mechanisms of mental development leads to the identification in the theory of activity of qualitatively unique periods of this development, the criterion for identifying which is a change in the type of leading activity. The concept of “leading activity” was introduced by A.N. Leontiev as such activity, “in connection with which the most important changes occur in the child’s psyche and within which mental processes develop that prepare the child’s transition to a new, higher stage of his development.” The currently existing periodizations of mental development, built on the basis of the principle of leading activity by D.B. Elkonin and V.V. Davydov, indicate the productivity of this principle as applied to the initial periods of a person’s life. However, as we move toward older ages, questions arise that, based on this principle, become increasingly difficult to answer or cannot be answered at all.

Let's take the period when work becomes the leading activity for a person. This is a large part of life in which a person continues to change qualitatively. By creating a family, becoming a parent, raising children and then grandchildren, doing social work, a person, simultaneously with work activity, carries out other types of activities and changes in them. Either we will have to, following the principle of leading activity, argue that only those changes that occur in connection with work activity are important, and the rest are not important, or we will admit that the principle used turns out to be insufficient for constructing a detailed periodization, at least after entering adulthood.

The presence of a leading activity does not mean that all other activities are not important for development. As a person grows up, the system of his activities becomes more and more diverse. New formations are formed not only in leading activities, but also in other activities.

Consistently implementing the activity approach, we must consider not just the replacement of one leading activity by another, but the development of a system of activities. Leading activity is the central formation of this system. But while maintaining the same leading activity, the system can change qualitatively due to the formation and development of its new components or the emergence of new connections in the structure of the system.

Thus, the criterion for periodization should be a qualitative change in the system of human activities. In the early periods of development, when this system is not developed and, in fact, coincides with the leading activity, the periodization built on the proposed principle will coincide with its existing variants, and at older ages it will be different.

Ananyev B.G. “On the problems of modern human knowledge” St. Petersburg. 2001.

Age periodization of adult development phases:

The accumulation of scientific data (experimental, biographical, demographic) on individual phases of an adult’s life contributed to the construction of various comparative characteristics of these phases and the identification of some general principles of periodization of the human life cycle, with the help of which adult changes were delimited from youth, on the one hand, and old age, - with another. Some Soviet anthropologists call the beginning of maturity youth. For example, according to V.V. Ginzburg, this period for men covers the time from 16–18 to 22–24 years, for women – from 15–16 to 18–22 years. V.V. Bunak believes that early youth is limited to 17–20 years, and late youth covers the period from 20 to 25 years. Foreign scientists also have different opinions: D.B. Bromley calls early adulthood the period from 21 to 25 years, D. Birren combines adolescence and early adulthood into one general period - from 17 to 25 years.

The characteristics and time boundaries of middle age or middle adulthood are even more uncertain: from 20 to 35 years (D. Wexler), 25 – 40 (D.B. Bromley), 25 – 50 (D. Birren), 36 – 60 (according to international age classification). Birren designates the entire range of development between youth and old age as periods of maturity; D. Bromley - as periods of adulthood, in V.V. Ginzburg and V.V. Bunak early period called maturity and adulthood, and late (40 - 55 years) - maturity. The German anthropologist G. Grimm does not divide adulthood into separate periods and calls this entire range of life phases working age, as is customary in demography.

Modern domestic psychological science solves the problem of mental development, considering a person to be a biosocial being, considering the actions of two factors in unity, based on a materialistic understanding of the psyche as a property of the brain, consisting in a subjective reflection of the objective external world. This approach to solving the problem requires taking into account the dependence of mental development on a person’s natural data, his biological, anatomical and physiological characteristics, since the basis of mental activity is the higher nervous activity of the brain, and on external influences surrounding the child, life circumstances, specific socio-historical eras that determine the content of the mental life of the emerging human personality.

Biological factors include heredity and congenitality, i.e. what a baby is born with. What does the child inherit? First of all, by inheritance he receives the human characteristics of the structure of the nervous system, brain, and sense organs; physical signs common to all people, among which the most important are a straight gait, the hand as an organ of cognition and influence on the world, the special human structure of the speech-motor apparatus, etc.

Children inherit biological, instinctive needs (needs for food, warmth, etc.), features such as higher nervous activity. Innate psychophysiological and anatomical characteristics of the nervous system, sensory organs, and brain are usually called inclinations, on the basis of which human properties and abilities, including intellectual ones, are formed and developed.

The importance of hereditary inclinations is evidenced by numerous facts of early manifestations of special abilities in children, for example, in the visual arts and music.

The carriers of hereditary information are genes, of which the human embryo contains from 40 to 80 thousand. According to modern concepts, genes are stable, but not immutable structures. They are capable of undergoing mutations - changes under the influence of internal causes and external influences (intoxication, irradiation, etc.). Mutations occurring in genes can explain some anomalies in the development of the human body: polyfingered, short-fingered, cleft palate, color blindness (color blindness), predisposition to certain diseases, bodily differences between people.

Modern research conducted at the Institute of General Genetics makes it possible to more definitely assess the significance of the genetic basis of normal human development at all levels, including the individual.

Human genetics, which studies the patterns of preservation and transmission of hereditary information, proves that people from birth have different potential for mental development.

It is recognized that it is legitimate to consider genetic diversity according to such psychological phenomena, such as temperament, memory, attention, perception, mental activity, etc. Despite the ongoing discussion on the problem of the relationship between the biological and the social in a person, there is no doubt that the harmonious development of the individual, the optimal formation of his abilities, is possible only on the basis of accounting and adequate development congenital inclinations. A person as an individual is formed under the determining influence of the social environment. The environment as a factor in mental development is a complex, multifaceted concept, including both natural and social influences on mental development.

The natural environment has a certain influence on the development of the child’s psyche, physical world: air, water, sun, gravity, electromagnetic field, climate features, vegetation. Natural environment is important, but it does not determine development, its influence is indirect, indirect (through the social environment, labor activity adults).

Domestic psychologists, recognizing the importance of heredity and asserting the determining role of the social environment in the mental development of a child, emphasize that neither the environment nor heredity can influence a person outside of his own activity. When realizing his activity, he will be influenced by the environment, and only under this condition will the peculiarities of his heredity appear. Essentially, the child’s activity reveals both the biological and the social in their unity.

At each age stage of children's development, there are unique forms of manifestation of contradictions. Let us consider this situation using the example of the manifestation and development of the need for communication. The baby communicates with people close to him, primarily with his mother, using facial expressions, gestures, and individual words, the meaning of which is not always clear to him, but the intonation shades of which he perceives very subtly. With age, towards the end of the infancy period, the means of emotional communication with others turn out to be insufficient to satisfy his age-related need for wider and deeper communication with people and knowledge of the outside world. Potential opportunities also allow him to move on to more meaningful and broader communication. The emerging contradiction between the need for new forms of communication and old ways of satisfying them is driving force development: overcoming and removing this contradiction gives rise to a qualitatively new, active form of communication – speech. Thus, the dialectical-materialist theory, when addressing the issue of the driving forces of mental development, proceeds from the position of the objective nature of the emergence of contradictions, the resolution and overcoming of which in the process of training and upbringing ensures the transition from lower to higher forms in development.

Depending on how the relationship between training and development is assessed, two points of view can be distinguished. One of them (supported by psychologists of the Geneva school: J. Piaget, S. Inelder, etc.) limits the role of learning, considering that the child’s acquaintance with things and their cognition occur by themselves, and learning only adapts to the development that occurs independently , autonomous. Psychologists of another direction attach leading importance to learning. They emphasize that objects and ways of using them cannot be “discovered” by a child without the cooperation of adults. Adults pass on to him knowledge about objects, about social ways of using them, and teach him.

Education is a specially organized mastery by a child of the social experience accumulated by humanity: knowledge about objects and methods of their use, a system of scientific concepts and methods of action, moral rules, relationships between people, etc.

Level of actual and zone of proximal development. L.S. made a great contribution to the development of the issue of the relationship between training and development. Vygotsky, who emphasized the leading role of training and education in the development of the individual, considered them the decisive force of development.

The idea of ​​L.S. was interesting and significant for the practice of development management. Vygotsky about two levels of child development; the level of actual development, characterizing the current characteristics of the child’s mental functions and the current one, and the zone of proximal development. He wrote that what a child is able to do with the help of an adult indicates his zone of proximal development, which helps us determine the child’s future, the dynamic state of his development. Thus, the state of a child’s mental development can be determined at least by identifying its two levels - the level of actual development and the zone of proximal development.

Having put forward this position, Vygotsky emphasized that when teaching and upbringing, on the one hand, one cannot make excessive demands on the child that do not correspond to the level of his current development and immediate capabilities. But at the same time, knowing what he can accomplish today with the help of an adult, leading questions on his part, through examples, demonstration, and tomorrow - independently, the teacher can purposefully improve the development of children in accordance with the requirements of society. This is the position of L.S. Vygotsky’s ideas are widely reflected in psychological and pedagogical science.

Based on the demands of society about the need to increase mental development and the associated restructuring of all other cognitive processes, scientists have put forward the problem of increasing the theoretical level of education, orienting it to the zone of proximal development of schoolchildren. Age periods are based on certain patterns of development, the knowledge of which is necessary for the teacher when teaching and educating a developing personality. At the same time, domestic psychologists rely on the position of L.S. Vygotsky that age periodization should be based on the essence of the development process itself. As mentioned above, the development of a child is the appropriation of historical experience in the course of activities and communication organized by adults. Based on this, two main principles are identified in the approach to child development: the principle of historicism and the principle of development in activity. These principles were put forward and disclosed by domestic psychologists L.S. Vygotsky, P.P. Blonsky, A.N. Leontyev, D.B. Elkonin, V.V. Davydov and others.

Revealing the essence of the principle of historicism, L.S. Vygotsky emphasized the concrete historical nature of childhood and its periods. The periodization of childhood and the content of each period depend on the specific historical conditions of life and social situation, which, through education and training, organized by society, influence the development of the child. Any changes in social life associated with technical and cultural progress change both the educational level of work in preschool institutions and the system of teaching the younger generation at school. Thus, changes occurring in the life of society affect the development of children, accelerating it, and accordingly change age limits. In this regard, the problem of acceleration is well known in the practice of training and education. Thus, due to the fact that psychological and pedagogical science and the practice of teaching and upbringing have revealed the increased mental and physical capabilities of the child, it has become possible to educate children from the age of seven, and now from the age of six.

The principle of an active approach to mental development was developed in the works of A.K. Leontyev. The essence of this principle is that one is not born as a person, one becomes one. A child is born only as an individual and has only biological prerequisites to become an individual. And only in joint activities with other people does he develop as a person. Based on the two principles stated above, domestic psychologists reveal the qualitative uniqueness of each period of a child’s development on the basis of such concepts as the social situation of development and leading activity. The social situation of development, as L.I. writes. Bozhovich, was identified by L.S. Vygotsky as a special combination internal processes development and external conditions that are typical for each age stage and determine the dynamics of mental development during the corresponding age period and new qualitatively unique psychological formations that arise towards its end.

The concept of leading activity is disclosed in the works of A.N. Leontyev. Each age period, the scientist emphasizes, corresponds to a specific type of activity that influences the development and formation of all the child’s personality traits and cognitive abilities characteristic of this particular period. In this type of activity, a new leading activity is formed, which determines the next stage of age development.

A.N. Leontiev shows that it is in the process of the child’s leading activity that new relationships with the social environment, a new type of knowledge and ways of obtaining it arise, which changes the cognitive sphere and psychological structure of the individual. So, each leading activity contributes to the manifestation of qualitative features characteristic of this particular age, or, as they are called, age-related new formations, and the transition from one leading activity to another marks a change in the age period.

Taking into account the highlighted criteria, as well as the historically established system of raising children, the following periodization of ages is widely accepted in the practice of domestic pedagogical science:

Infancy – 0–1 year of life

Early age – 1–2 years of life

Preschool age – 3–6 years

Junior school age – 7–10 years

Middle school or teenage age – 11–14 years

Senior school age, or early adolescence – 15–18 years

The teacher needs to know that the transition from one period of development to another can proceed lytically (calmly) and critically (with crisis). A crisis can occur at various stages of development. The crises of the newborn, three years, and the crisis during the transition to adolescence are most pronounced.

The newborn crisis is recognized by all specialists in childhood psychology as the very real and very first crisis in development, a sharp change in the development situation, a transition from a biological type of development to a social one.

The course of the three-year crisis is associated with the baby’s initial awareness of his “self,” awareness of himself as an individual person, an activist. By this time he knows and can do a lot and demands independence: “I myself.”

The need to assert his independence can lead a child to a number of conflicts. Sometimes the conflict arises because he wants to get help from adults in his statement, and sometimes, on the contrary, he tries to oppose himself to them.

The crisis during the transition to adolescence arises as a result of a qualitative restructuring of the adolescent’s personality, when the need for adulthood appears. When adults take into account the child’s new needs and provide appropriate assistance in developing opportunities to meet them, crises can be avoided, ensuring crisis-free, lytic development of the individual. The teacher should also know that at each age there are optimal opportunities for the most effective development of certain aspects of the psyche. Thus, an early age (1–3 years of life) is favorable, or, as they call it in psychology, sensitive, for the development of a child’s speech. Junior school age is favorable for the development of learning skills, etc. This is due to a certain readiness of the psychophysiological apparatus for the development of this particular mental function.