Age-related psychology is a branch of psychological science that studies the patterns of stages of mental development and personality formation throughout human ontogenesis from birth to old age.

Subject developmental psychology is the age-related dynamics of the human psyche, the ontogenesis of mental processes and personality traits of a developing person, the patterns of development of mental processes.

Developmental psychology studies age-related characteristics of mental processes, age-related opportunities for acquiring knowledge, leading factors in personality development, age-related changes, etc.

Age-related changes are divided into evolutionary, revolutionary and situational. TO evolutionary changes include quantitative and qualitative transformations that occur in the human psyche during the transition from one age group to another. Such changes occur slowly but thoroughly, and cover significant periods of life, from several months (for infants) to several years (for older children). They are caused by the following factors: a) biological maturation and psychophysiological state of the child’s body; b) its place in the system of social relations; c) level of intellectual and personal development.

Revolutionary changes are carried out quickly, in a short period of time, they are deeper than evolutionary. These changes occur at the time of a crisis of age-related development, which occurs at the boundary of ages between relatively calm periods of evolutionary changes in the psyche and behavior.

Situational changes are associated with the impact of a specific social situation on the child’s psyche. These changes reflect the processes occurring in the child’s psyche and behavior under the influence of training and upbringing.

Age-related evolutionary and revolutionary changes in the psyche and behavior are stable, irreversible, and do not require systematic reinforcement. They transform the psychology of a person as an individual. Situational changes are unstable, reversible and require reinforcement in subsequent exercises. Such changes are aimed at transforming particular forms of behavior, knowledge, skills and abilities.

Theoretical problem developmental psychology is the study of the patterns of mental development in ontogenesis, the establishment of periods of development and the reasons for the transition from one period to another, the determination of development opportunities, as well as age-related characteristics of mental processes, age-related opportunities for acquiring knowledge, leading factors in personality development, etc.

Object studying are a child, a teenager, a youth, an adult, an elderly person.

1.2. Factors determining the development of developmental psychology

Child psychology as a science about the mental development of a child originated at the end of the 19th century. This began with the book of the German Darwinist scientist W. Preyer “The Soul of a Child” (St. Petersburg, 1891). In it, Preyer described the results of daily observations of his daughter’s development, paying attention to the development of sensory organs, motor skills, will, reason and language. Preyer's merit lies in the fact that he studied how a child develops in the earliest years of life and introduced it into child psychology objective observation method, developed by analogy with the methods of natural sciences. He was the first to make the transition from an introspective study of the child’s psyche to an objective one.

The objective conditions for the development of child psychology that emerged at the end of the 19th century include, first of all, the rapid development of industry and, accordingly, a qualitatively new level of social life. This entailed the need to reconsider approaches to raising and educating children. Parents and teachers stopped considering physical punishment an effective method of education - more democratic families and teachers appeared. The task of understanding the child has become one of the priorities. In addition, scientists have come to the conclusion that only through studying the psychology of a child is the path to understanding what the psychology of an adult is.

Like any field of knowledge, child psychology began with the collection and accumulation of information. Scientists simply described the manifestations and further development of mental processes. The accumulated knowledge required systematization and analysis, namely:

Searching for relationships between individual mental processes;

Understanding the internal logic of holistic mental development;

Determining the sequence of development stages;

Research into the causes and ways of transition from one stage to another.

In child psychology, knowledge of related sciences began to be used: genetic psychology, studying the emergence of individual mental functions in adults and children in history and ontogenesis, and educational psychology. Increasing attention has been paid to the psychology of learning. The outstanding Russian teacher, founder of scientific pedagogy in Russia K.D. made his contribution to the development of child psychology. Ushinsky (1824–1870). In his work “Man as a Subject of Education,” he wrote, addressing teachers: “Study the laws of those mental phenomena that you want to control, and act in accordance with these laws and the circumstances to which you want to apply them.”

The development of developmental psychology was facilitated by the evolutionary ideas of the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882), which served as the basis for understanding the reflex nature of mental factors. The Russian physiologist I.M. also dealt with this problem. Sechenov (1829–1905). In his classic work “Reflexes of the Brain” (1866), he gave a complete scientific substantiation of the reflex theory.

At the beginning of the 20th century, methods of experimental research into the mental development of children began to be introduced into practice: testing, the use of measuring scales, etc. Child psychology is becoming a normative discipline that describes the achievements of a child in the development process.

Over time, scientists came to the conclusion that it was necessary to distinguish stages of personality development in ontogenesis. This problem was dealt with by K. Buhler, Z. Freud, J. Piaget, E. Erikson, P.P. Blonsky, L.S. Vygotsky and others. They tried to comprehend the patterns of changing periods of development and analyze the cause-and-effect relationships of the mental development of children. All these studies have given rise to many theories of personality development, among which we can name, for example, the theory of the three stages of child development (K. Bühler), the psychoanalytic concept (S. Freud), and the cognitive theory (J. Piaget).

Developmental psychology rose to a new level with the introduction formative experiment method, developed by domestic psychologist L.S. Vygotsky (1896–1934). This method made it possible to determine the patterns of development of mental functions. Its use has also led to a number of theories of personality development. Let's look at some of them.

Cultural-historical concept of L.S. Vygotsky. The scientist argued that the interpsychic becomes intrapsychic. The emergence and development of higher mental functions is associated with the use of signs by two people in the process of their communication. Otherwise, the sign cannot become a means of individual mental activity.

Activity theory of A.N. Leontyev. He believed that activity first appears as a conscious action, then as an operation, and only then, as it is formed, becomes a function.

The theory of the formation of mental actions P.Ya. Galperin. In his opinion, the formation of mental functions occurs on the basis of an objective action: it begins with the material execution of the action, and ends with mental activity, affecting the speech function.

The concept of educational activities - research by D.B. Elkonin and V.V Davydov, in which a strategy for personality formation was developed not in laboratory conditions, but in real life - through the creation of experimental schools.

The theory of “initial humanization” by I.A. Sokolyansky and A.I. Meshcheryakova, in which the initial stages of the formation of the psyche in deaf-blind children are noted.

1.3. Research methods in developmental psychology

The set of research methods used in developmental psychology consists of several blocks of techniques borrowed from general, differential and social psychology.

From general psychology Methods for studying cognitive processes and the personality of a child are taken. They are adapted to the child's age and explore perception, attention, memory, imagination, thinking and speech. Using these methods, it is possible to obtain information about the age-related characteristics of children’s cognitive processes and the transformations of these processes as the child grows up, i.e., about the specifics of the transition from one age group to another.

Methods for studying individual and age differences in children are borrowed from differential psychology. The so-called “twin method”, which studies the similarities and differences between homozygous and heterozygous twins, is very popular. Based on the data obtained, conclusions are drawn about the organic (genotypic) and environmental conditioning of the child’s psyche and behavior.

Social Psychology provided developmental psychology with methods that allow the study of interpersonal relationships in various children's groups, as well as relationships between children and adults. These methods include: observation, survey, conversation, experiment, cross-sectional method, testing, questioning, analysis of activity products. All these methods are also adapted to the age of the child. Let's look at them in more detail.

Observation- the main method when working with children (especially preschool age), since tests, experiments, surveys are difficult to study children's behavior. It is necessary to begin observation by setting a goal, drawing up an observation program, and developing an action plan. 10 stiy. The purpose of observation is to determine why it is being carried out and what results can be expected as a result.

In order to obtain reliable results, monitoring must be carried out regularly. This is due to the fact that children grow very quickly and the changes that occur in the child’s behavior and psyche are also fleeting. For example, a baby's behavior changes before our eyes, so by missing one month, the researcher is deprived of the opportunity to obtain valuable data about his development during this period.

The younger the child, the shorter the interval between observations should be. During the period from birth to 2–3 months, the child should be monitored daily; at the age of 2–3 months to 1 year – weekly; from 1 year to 3 years – monthly; from 3 to 6–7 years – once every six months; at primary school age - once a year, etc.

The observation method when working with children is more effective than others, on the one hand, because they behave more directly and do not play social roles characteristic of adults. On the other hand, children (especially preschoolers) do not have sufficiently stable attention and can often be distracted from the task at hand. Therefore, whenever possible, covert observation should be carried out so that the children do not see the observer.

Survey can be oral and written. When using this method, the following difficulties may arise. Children understand the question asked to them in their own way, that is, they put a different meaning into it than an adult. This happens because the system of concepts in children is significantly different from the one used by adults. This phenomenon is also observed in adolescents. Therefore, before getting an answer to the question asked, you need to make sure that the child understands it correctly by explaining and discussing inaccuracies, and only after that interpret the answers received.

Experiment is one of the most reliable methods of obtaining information about the behavior and psychology of a child. The essence of the experiment is that in the process of research, mental processes of interest to the researcher are evoked in the child and conditions are created that are necessary and sufficient for the manifestation of these processes.

A child, entering an experimental play situation, behaves directly, responding emotionally to the proposed situations, and does not play any social roles. This makes it possible to obtain its true reactions to the influencing stimuli. The results are most reliable if the experiment is carried out in the form of a game. At the same time, it is important that the child’s immediate interests and needs are expressed in the game, otherwise he will not be able to fully demonstrate his intellectual abilities and necessary psychological qualities. In addition, when participating in an experiment, a child acts momentarily and spontaneously, so throughout the entire experiment it is necessary to maintain his interest in the event.

Slices- another research method in developmental psychology. They are divided into transverse and longitudinal (longitudinal).

The essence of the method cross sections consists in the fact that in a group of children (a class, several classes, children of different ages, but studying in the same program), some parameter is studied using certain techniques (for example, intellectual level). The advantage of this method is that in a short time it is possible to obtain statistical data on age-related differences in mental processes and to establish how age, gender or another factor influences the main trends in mental development. The disadvantage of the method is that when studying children of different ages, it is impossible to obtain information about the development process itself, its nature and driving forces.

When using the method longitudinal (longitudinal) sections The development of a group of the same children is traced over a long period of time. This method allows us to establish qualitative changes in the development of mental processes and the child’s personality and identify the causes of these changes, as well as study development trends and minor changes that cannot be covered by cross-sections. The disadvantage of the method is that the results obtained are based on studying the behavior of a small group of children, so it seems incorrect to extend such data to a large number of children.

Testing allows you to identify the level of intellectual abilities and personal qualities of the child. It is necessary to maintain children's interest in this method in ways that are attractive to them, for example, encouragement or some kind of reward. When testing children, the same tests are used as for adults, but adapted for each age, for example, the children's version of the Cattell test, Wechsler test, etc.

Conversation- this is obtaining information about the child through direct communication with him: the child is asked targeted questions and expected answers to them. This method is empirical. An important condition for the effectiveness of a conversation is a favorable atmosphere, goodwill, and tact. Questions must be prepared in advance and the answers recorded, if possible without attracting the attention of the subject.

Questionnaire is a method of obtaining information about a person based on his answers to pre-prepared questions. Questionnaires can be oral, written, individual or group.

Analysis of activity products is a method of studying a person through the analysis of the products of his activity: drawings, blueprints, musical works, essays, school notebooks, personal diaries, etc. Thanks to this method, you can obtain information about the child’s inner world, his attitude to the surrounding reality and people, about peculiarities of his perception and other aspects of the psyche. This method is based on the principle unity of consciousness and activity, according to which the child’s psyche is not only formed, but also manifests itself in activity. By drawing or creating something, a child provides researchers with the opportunity to reveal aspects of his psyche that would be difficult to find out using other methods. Based on the drawings, you can study cognitive processes (sensations, imagination, perception, thinking), creative abilities, personal manifestations, and children’s attitude towards people around them.

1.4. Historical analysis of the concept of “childhood”

Childhood is a term denoting the initial period of ontogenesis, from birth to adolescence. Childhood covers infancy, early childhood, preschool age and primary school age, i.e. lasts from birth to 11 years.

Surely, for some, childhood is associated with carelessness, carefreeness, games, pranks, study, while for others, childhood is a time of active development, change and learning. In fact, childhood is a period of paradoxes and contradictions, without which there can be no development. So, what characterizes this period?

It has been noticed that the higher a living creature stands in the ranks of animals, the longer its childhood lasts and the more helpless this creature is at birth. Undoubtedly, man is the most perfect creature in nature. This is confirmed by its physical structure, organization of the nervous system, types of activity and methods of its regulation. However, when a person is born, he is endowed with only the most basic mechanisms for maintaining life. He is helpless and cannot fend for himself; he requires care, which is carried out for a long time. This is one of the paradoxes of nature that predetermines the history of childhood.

Many scientists have paid attention to the history of childhood. An outstanding specialist in the field of child and educational psychology D.B. Elkonin wrote: “Throughout all human history, the starting point of child development has remained unchanged. The child interacts with a certain ideal form, that is, with the level of cultural development achieved by society in which he was born. This ideal form develops all the time, and develops spasmodically, that is, it changes qualitatively” (D.B. Elkonin, 1995). His words are confirmed by the fact that people of different eras are not alike. Consequently, the development of the psyche in ontogenesis must also change radically.

Time does not stand still. With the development of scientific and technological progress, the life of society becomes more complicated and the child’s position in it changes accordingly. Previously, children mastered primitive tools by helping their parents cultivate the land; they learned this from adults by watching them and repeating their actions. With the development of scientific and technological progress and the emergence of new production relations, tools became more complex, and to master them, observing adults alone was not enough. Therefore, it became necessary to first study the process of mastering these tools and only then begin to use them. Consequently, the new stage of learning was due to the complexity of tools.

D.B. Elkonin connected the periods of child development with the periodization of the development of society (Table 1)

Table 1

Periods of child development according to D.B. Elkonin

End of table. 1

Perhaps in the near future it will become mandatory for everyone to have a higher education for the development of society. This is primarily due to the development of computer technology. But it is impossible to endlessly expand the age limits of childhood, so pedagogical and developmental psychology will most likely be faced with the task of improving teaching methods in order to reduce the time to master the school curriculum.

It turns out that the duration of childhood is directly dependent on the level of material and spiritual development of society and even its individual layers. In many ways, the length of childhood also depends on the material well-being of the family: the poorer the family, the earlier children begin to work.

Different schools and directions view this problem differently.
1. Biogenetic concept.
According to biogenetic concepts, the determining factor in the development of a child is the hereditary factor, and the formation of the psyche and behavior is the result of the evolutionary transformation of the genetically inherent capabilities that exist in the form of inclinations.
Recapitulation theory * Art. Hall: the main idea is borrowed from embryology. Used the biogenetic law in relation to ontogenesis. Recapitulation - abbreviated repetition.
Law of recapitulation: ontogeny is a rapid repetition of phylogeny.
*Haeckel formulated the biogenetic law regarding embryo development.
Biogenetic law: ontogeny is a brief repetition of phylogeny.
This law was transferred to developmental psychology and makes it possible to imagine the development of a child as a repetition of the main stages of biogenetic evolution and stages of cultural-historical development.

Psychotherapy (PT) – (Kratochvil) is the treatment of various diseases using psychological methods;
– is the use of psychological means to restore disturbances in the body’s functioning (somatic and mental).
Psychological means are speech, silence, emotional attitude, various manipulations in the environment, various types of learning, etc.
The goal of PT is to help clients change their behavior and thinking so that they become happier and more productive.
Tasks of the PT: 1. Helping the client understand his problems.
2. Help in eliminating psychological discomfort.
3. Providing new ideas or information on how to solve a problem.
4. Encouraging the free expression of the client's feelings.
5. Help test the client's new ways of thinking and behaving in life.
Methods of psychotherapy: (Alexandrov)
1. Methods that provide psychological support: nod, handshake, open posture, “aha” listening, etc.
2. Methods that eliminate maladaptive behavior and form new behavioral stereotypes: behaviorism, trainings.
3. Methods promoting insight and self-exploration: psychoanalysis, gestalt therapy, art therapy, music therapy, etc.

The central problem of developmental psychology is the problem of the source and driving forces of mental development.
Development is a natural, directed qualitative change in material and ideal objects. In psychology, development is qualitative and quantitative, progressive and regressive, generally irreversible changes in the human psyche.
(Dictionary of developmental and educational psychology - edited by Gamezo)
Driving forces are factors that determine the progressive development of a child, are its sources and contain the energetic motivating forces of development and direct it in the right direction.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were two currents that interpreted this problem differently:
1. Biogenetic concepts (BC).
2. Sociogenetic concepts (SC).
In the sociogenetic concept, the environment acts as the main factor in the development of the child.
The origins of SC lie in the ideas of the 17th century philosopher *J. Locke - There is nothing in consciousness that is not in sensations. The child’s psyche is formed exclusively in the process of life. He denied the presence of innate ideas, inclinations to certain knowledge and behavior. In his opinion, the soul of a child is a blank slate (tabula rasa). He attached importance to upbringing and training, which shapes consciousness, views, and relationships. He underestimated the importance of the activity of human cognition. A significant work is “Thoughts on Education.”

* Elkonin D.B. dealt with the problem of studying educational activity; he developed the theory of leading activity, using for this the theory of leading activity developed by * Leontiev Alexey Nikolaevich, who determined that for each age period there is its own leading type of activity. He put forward the hypothesis that the leading activity of a schoolchild is educational activity.
Educational activity (EA) is a special activity of a schoolchild, consciously directed by him to achieve the goals of learning and education, accepted by the student as his personal goals. Otherwise, this is a purposeful process in mastering learning skills.
Learning is a process of conscious assimilation of new knowledge that has an active and purposeful nature, and this is a form of activity during which an individual changes his mental properties and behavior not only under the influence of external conditions, but also depending on the results of his own actions.
Training is the organization of the process itself. The emphasis is on actions, the teacher imparts knowledge.
Educational activity is, first of all, an activity that results in changes in the student himself.
The motive of UD can only be educational and cognitive motives aimed at mastering generalized methods of action in the field of scientific concepts.
The hypothesis was confirmed in experimental studies by Elkonin and Davydov. Elkonin determined the structure of UD.

The question of age, as well as the question of the periodization of PR, is very complex in psychology.
Age is a period in the life of child development that is relatively closed and has its own structure and dynamics (Vygotsky).
Age is a specific time-limited stage in the mental development of an individual and his development as a person, characterized by a set of natural physiological and psychological changes that are not related to differences in individual characteristics (Feldstein).

According to Vygotsky:
Chronological age – characterizes the time of life in years, months, days.
Psychological age - indicates the level of mental development achieved at this moment.
Age Aspects:
1. Development opportunities – psychophysiological development.
2. Social norms – cultural and historical norms of society.
3. Society's expectations regarding the behavioral component.
Age cannot be understood without the category of development and periodization.
Categories of developmental psychology – 1. age; 2. development; 3. periodization.
* Blonsky distinguishes periods in mental development: lytic (smooth, calm) and critical (periods of jumps).
During lytic periods there is an accumulation, a summation of the new, and in critical periods this accumulation leads to a leap to a new stage, stage of development.

Emotions are mental processes that occur in the form of experiences and reflect the intensity of current motivation and the likelihood of its satisfaction in a given specific situation.
Emotions are a function of two variables: actual motivation and the likelihood of its satisfaction. Emotions are closely related to the regulation of human activity. Emotional states are reflected in human behavior. It is believed that emotional manifestations are genetically determined, and on the other hand, socially predisposed.
Emotions manifest themselves in the form of: a) internal subjective experiences; b) changes in facial expressions; c) gestures, pantomime; d) behavior changes; e) speech; f) hormonal changes; g) vegetative reactions. Emotions are a universal reaction of the whole organism.
Types of emotional experiences:
1. Affect is one of the most powerful types of emotional reactions. These are very intense, violent, short-term emotional outbursts. Some kind of holistic emotional reaction to the situation that has arisen.
Features: 1) the experience of affect forces a person to perform any actions; 2) a person, after recovering from the affect, does not remember and does not control his actions. When affect is excited, very strong emotional arousal occurs, which passes into the centers of the cerebral cortex, then turns into motor excitation. In a state of passion, the course of almost all processes changes, and the ability to predict is sharply reduced.

Will is a person’s conscious regulation of his behavior and activities, expressed in the ability to overcome external and internal difficulties when performing purposeful actions and deeds.
Main function: conscious regulation of activity in difficult living conditions.
The will turns on when there are difficulties in achieving a goal. Regulation is based on the processes of excitation and inhibition. Volitional actions differ from each other:
1. Difficulty level – a) simple, b) complex; difficulty depends on the number of intermediate goals.
2. The degree of awareness - volitional processes are associated with intellectual and emotional processes.
The goal act is always associated with the application of effort, decision making and their implementation. Will presupposes a struggle of motives and the presence of a well-thought-out plan for carrying out an action.
Volitional action is a conscious, purposeful action through which a person achieves the goal facing him, subordinating his interests to conscious control and changing the surrounding reality in accordance with his plan (*Rubinstein)
Types of volitional actions:
1. Simple volitional actions - habitual actions (waking up in the morning).
2. Complex volitional actions - the conflict itself is complex and the process of overcoming it is complex (making peace after a quarrel).

Communication is a connection between people, during which psychological contact occurs, manifested in the exchange of information, mutual influence, mutual experience, and mutual understanding. Recently, the concept of “communication” has been used in science.

Four forms of communication:
1 emotional 0-6 9songs, eye to eye, touch.
2 situational-business 6m-2g _vzr creates conditions and guides communication: talks about toys and objects, shows how to operate with them, teaches behavior and attitude towards things. All actions are accompanied by speech and the reb forces him to express himself verbally.
3 extra-cognitive-cognitive 3-5 years. Objects and phenomena of the world around us are recognized. Communicating about something that was not in the experience of the reb.
4 Extra-situational-personal 6-7 years Communication with peers. The adult guides the formation of the child’s personality, his self-worth. Introduces the rules of relationships. Forms goodwill, empathy, and establishes mutual understanding. Teaches empathy. Reb – need for emotional support. Mutual understanding develops. Reb - seeks approval, asks for sympathy, is ready to empathize.

For a child, a child is always good, but among his peers he has to assert his right to superiority. In the phrase Reb Stands I - I have it, I can do it, I do it, they bought it for me. Reb sees his peer as a subject for comparison. And as soon as a peer begins to behave differently, his personality traits are noticed - a greedy person, a sneak, etc. The assessment is given on the basis of individual actions - you don’t give greedy games. Sprouts We, not I, must support the adults.

Three components
1 Psychological readiness – social-personal, intellectual, emotional-volitional.
2. Physical – general health and physical development. Level of development of analyzing systems. Development of small muscle groups and development of basic movements - running, walking, jumping.
3. Special – the ability to write, read, count.

1) Social - personal - accepting the position of the student - this student has a range of responsibilities and rights and he must understand that he occupies a different position)
It is expressed in relation to school, teachers, teaching, and includes the formation of qualities that help to communicate.
It is important to be able to enter the children's society. Act together with other children. All this ensures adaptation to the new social conditions - to school life.
2) Intellectual - this is the acquisition of a broad outlook, a stock of knowledge, a desire to learn new things.
Some skills, such as identifying and accepting a task. This requires the child to be surprised and look for the reasons for the similarities and differences between objects and their new properties.
To do this, the adult must set a goal for the child that he not only understood, but also accepted and made his own, then the child will have a desire to achieve it.

Reminds me of the crisis of 7 years (crisis of self-regulation - the child learns to subordinate his behavior to rules)
He begins to make demands for attention to himself. A demonstrative naivety appeared. The reb's unity of affect and intellect is disintegrating. The Reb does not control his feelings (that is, he cannot restrain himself, but he also does not know how to manage)
The basic basic need is respect.
Children learn to satisfy their spiritual and physical needs in ways that are acceptable to themselves and those with whom they interact. If a child has difficulty learning new rules, this can lead to self-restraint. Encouraging independence promotes the development of initiative and intelligence.

A turning point comes in a child's life. There is a need for a rather abrupt change from gaming activity to educational activity. There is almost no time left for rest as such; a very large share of the load falls on mental work. The meaning of a new social position—the position of a schoolchild—is revealed.
The formation of an appropriate internal position radically changes the child’s self-awareness. Profound changes occur in terms of experiences, and stable emotional and psychological complexes may develop. This is both fear of a completely new situation and psychological unpreparedness for such changes. A chain of failures or successes (in academics, in general communication), each time experienced by the child in approximately the same way, leads to the formation of a stable complex - a feeling of inferiority, humiliation, and wounded pride. Or, if everything goes well, on the contrary, a sense of self-worth, competence, exclusivity. At this age, the logic of feelings appears. Experiences acquire a new meaning, connections are established between them, and a struggle between experiences becomes possible.

In infancy, in the second half of the year, objective activity is manipulative in nature (the child performs actions without understanding the meaning of the actions). After a year, PD takes on an imitative character.
At approximately 1.5 years of age, PD changes again - the stage of functional actions begins and the child chooses another object and transfers the actions.
The most detailed study was made by D.B. Elkonin and he identified 2 areas of activity:
1. Development of action from joint with an adult to independent execution.
2. Development of means and methods of child orientation in the context of action. It goes through 3 stages.
First stage:
a) in the non-specific use of tools (manipulation of objects);
b) using an object when the methods of its use have not yet been formulated (n., the child knows what a spoon is for, but when eating he takes it very low.
c) mastering a specific method of use.
The second stage occurs when the child begins to perform actions in an inadequate situation, that is, transferring an action with an object to another.
The third stage is accompanied by the emergence of game action.
Objective activity considers the concept - objective action - as the main unit.
An objective action is the use of an object for its intended purpose (N., a ball - throw, roll;, bite, lick a non-objective action).
Psychologists distinguish 2 types of objective actions:

The child’s psyche develops as a holistic entity. The development of his self-awareness, motives of behavior, feelings, will leads to the formation already in preschool age of typical and relatively stable forms of behavior for a child. Character is formed, and an important aspect of it is moral development. This is the process of assimilating given patterns of behavior, as a result of which these patterns become regulators (motives) of the preschooler’s behavior (L.I. Bozhovich).
The assimilation of norms presupposes that:
- the child gradually begins to understand and comprehend their meaning,
- He develops the habit of moral behavior.
In other words, the development of morality has two sides:
- development of moral consciousness
- development of moral behavior
Moral consciousness
Includes several components:
- understanding which forms of behavior are assessed as positive and which as negative.
- children’s ideas about the content of moral concepts such as “good”, “evil”, “conscience”, “honesty”, etc. begin to form.
- consciousness of understanding the meaning of a moral act

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PSYCHE (eng. development of mind) - consistent, progressive (albeit including individual moments of regression) and generally irreversible quantitative and qualitative changes in the psyche of living beings. These changes determine the transition of living beings from lower (simpler) to higher (more complex) forms of interaction with the environment. Determined by the biological, socio-historical and ontogenetic development of life, changes in the psyche are included in this process of interaction as one of its important factors. The scientific study of the emergence and development of human life is the path to understanding its nature and essence, its vital significance.
In the light of modern scientific data, the psyche in its rudimentary form (sensitivity, i.e., the ability to sense) arose from the irritability of living beings as their active reflection of changes in the environment that are vital for them, regulating their behavior. R. p. was accompanied by the evolution of animals in connection with the formation and development of their n. With. R.P. was characterized by a transition from sensory to perceptual and intellectual (in higher animals) methods of regulating behavior; changes in the ratio of instinctive and conditioned reflex mechanisms in the direction of increasing the role of the latter and the adaptation of animals to the environment. The biological evolution of the psyche was the “prehistory of the human spirit” (F. Engels), the formation of which took place under the determining influence of the joint labor activity of people, in the process of the emergence and development of human society (see Anthropogenesis). Features of the human psyche, his consciousness is a product of socio-historical development. In it, the successive social connection of human generations came to the fore, the transmission, by the older generation to the younger generation, of the results of practical and cognitive theoretical and all other activities that arose on its basis, the mastery by the younger generation of these results (tools, language, knowledge, norms of behavior, etc.) , its role in the further creation of material and spiritual values ​​(see Assimilation).
The historical process of human development takes place during its ontogenesis. Phylogeny determines ontogeny by creating the natural prerequisites and social conditions necessary for it. A human individual is born with the natural capabilities of human mental development (see Inclinations of abilities, Formation of abilities), which are realized in the social conditions of his life with the help of means created by society. The psyche and consciousness develops in the process of interaction of a person with the social environment around him, training and education, mastering socially developed methods of action with various objects, linguistic means of communication, achievements of science, technology and art, inclusion in the life of society and its creative activities (see Leading activities, Training and development). Gradually, a person becomes a subject of communication, learning, knowledge and work; is formed as a personality with an inherent system of mental properties that internally determine the organization and stability of behavior in accordance with its social position and its developing consciousness and self-awareness.
In general, developmental development occurs gradually, but in some periods developmental leaps are observed. Quantitative changes prepare qualitative changes in the psyche, which are accomplished by differentiating the whole, isolating individual functions in it and re-integrating them. Differentiation of functions leads to the emergence of new actions (perceptual, mnemonic, mental, etc.), integration - to their unification, subordination, to the formation of new structures of mental activity. New structures emerge from old ones through their reorganization. The old (previously developed actions, operations, images, concepts, etc.) enters the newly formed structures, undergoing certain changes. A new, more complex structure is prepared by an old, more elementary one, which does not have the characteristics of a whole new structure, but only its elements that are synthesized in the new structure. At the same time, the complication of forms of mental activity also includes processes of coagulation and stereotyping of individual components, which are a necessary condition for their economical and effective functioning.
The repertoire of a human individual is a conditioned and at the same time active self-regulating process. This is an internally necessary movement, “self-movement” from lower to higher levels of life, in which external circumstances, training and education always act through internal conditions; With age, the role of an individual’s own activity in his mental development, in his formation as a personality, gradually increases. Anticipating his future, realizing his achievements and shortcomings, a person strives for self-improvement through his own activities, learning, playing, work and communication with other people. In his desire for self-education and self-education, he acts as a subject of his own development. By actively changing the circumstances of his life, a person shapes himself as a person, as a subject of activity and actions.
The driving forces of the human republic as a subject of activity, as an individual, are internal contradictions. The contradictions that arise in a person’s life between goals, objectives and the means available to achieve them, between aspirations and opportunities for their satisfaction, between tendencies towards variability and stereotypy, between old and new, etc. are resolved through the activities of the individual, giving way to new contradictions .
The ontogenesis of the human psyche is stage-specific. The sequence of its stages, periods (infancy, early, preschool childhood, junior, middle and senior school ages...) is irreversible and predictable. At the same time, in each age period, significant individual differences in R. p. can be observed. The process of R. p. continues into adulthood. Its main factors are: self-education, professional work, social work, sports and other activities, family life, raising one’s children.

A person goes through a complex path of mental development from birth to adulthood. The psyche of a child in the first year of his life and the psyche of a child five to six years of age have not only a quantitative, but also a qualitative difference. The memory of a young child is not just weaker or stronger, it is different from that of an older schoolchild. The process of development of a child’s psyche is stage-by-stage. Each stage in the development of a child’s psyche is an independent stage of development, and all stages differ from each other primarily in their qualitative rather than quantitative characteristics.

There are a large number of approaches to the problem of child mental development. Different approaches distinguish different stages of development of the child’s psyche.

Soviet psychologist, student of L.S. Vygotsky A.N. Leontyev identifies seven stages of development of a child’s psyche:

• newborn baby (up to 2 months);
• early infancy (from 2 to 6 months);
• late infancy (from 6 to 12-14 months):
• pre-school age (from 1 year to 3 years);
• preschool age (from 3 to 7 years),
• junior school age (from 7 to 12 years);
• adolescence and early adolescence (from 13-14 to 17-18 years).

Outstanding Russian psychologist B.G. Ananyev also identifies 7 stages in human development from birth to adolescence:

• newborns (1-10 days);
• infant (10 days - 1 year);
• early childhood (1-2 years);
• first period of childhood (3-7 years);
• second period of childhood (8-12 years for boys, 8-11 years for girls);
• adolescence (13-16 years for boys, 12-15 years for girls);
• youth (17-21 years for men, 16-20 years for women).

There are certain differences between these approaches. Let us consider the characteristics of the psychological content of the stages identified by A.N. Leontyev.

The first stage is the stage newborn(up to 2 months). This stage is characterized by the fact that the child is born with relatively highly developed sensory organs, organs of movement and a nervous system, the formation of which occurs during the prenatal period. The newborn has visual and auditory sensations, sensations of body position in space, olfactory, skin and taste sensations, as well as many elementary reflexes. The nervous system of a newborn, including the cerebral cortex, is generally already fully anatomically formed. But the development of the microscopic structure of the cortex is not yet complete.

The lifestyle of a newborn differs little from its lifestyle during the prenatal period: at rest, the child retains the same embryonic position; sleep takes 4/5 of the total time; the child’s external activity is largely focused on satisfying his food needs; There are no manual or moving movements. At the same time, this stage is the first stage at which behavior in the form of simple acts begins to form, and most importantly, the sphere of sensations is especially intensively formed. There is an early differentiation of taste and olfactory sensations that are associated with the child’s nutrition. Skin sensations on the cheeks, lips, and mouth reach a high level of development. At first, visual perception of forms is absent, the child reacts only to large or bright moving objects, orienting reactions develop (fading to sound, and especially to the mother’s whisper).

At the age of three to four weeks, the baby begins to prepare for the transition to the next, higher stage of development. A kind of complex reaction appears (“reaction of revival”), expressed in the general revival of the child in the presence of a person (in response to the approach of a speaking person, the child begins to smile), i.e., the child begins to show the first signs of objective perception.

Early infancy(from 2 to 6 months). At this stage of mental development, the child begins to operate with objects, and his perception is formed. It all starts with attempts to grab or feel an object with simultaneous visual fixation on this object, which determines the formation of visual-tactile connections that underlie object perception. The child operates especially actively with objects (with simultaneous visual fixation) at the age of five to six months, so we can assume that at this age there is a rapid development of perception processes. Moreover, by this time the child can already sit independently, which provides him with further development of movements when reaching for objects. At the same time, the child begins to recognize people and things. Visual concentration and visual anticipation develop.

Thus, the main feature of this stage is the development of actions with objects and processes of object perception.

Late infancy(from 6 to 12-14 months). In the second half of the first year of life, the child masters new actions, which is associated with a change in his attitude towards the world around him. At the seventh month of life, the child’s manual object movements are already well developed. He can take an object, bring it to his mouth, and push it away. In this case, the child can sit up independently and roll over from his stomach to his back; he begins to crawl, rises, trying to cling to surrounding objects. Thus, strengthening the musculoskeletal system leads to the development of the child’s range of motion, which, in turn, is a prerequisite for increasing the flow of information from the environment. All this leads to increased independence of the child. His relationships with adults are increasingly taking the form of joint activity, in which the adult most often prepares the child’s action, and the child performs the action himself. With the help of such interaction, it is already possible to establish communication with the child through objects. For example, an adult moves an object towards a child - the child takes it. The child moves the object away from him - the adult removes it.

Consequently, the child’s activity in a given period of development is no longer controlled by the perception of individual objects or their totality, but by the complex relationship between the child’s own objective action and the action of the adult. On this basis, the child begins to develop his first understanding of objects. During the established “subject” contact, the child begins to develop speech. He increasingly begins to respond with action to the word of an adult. Somewhat later, the child begins to make gestures addressed to an adult, while the child’s actions are increasingly accompanied by sounds denoting something objective.

Another important difference of this age is that in the process of objective communication with an adult, a child becomes able to impulsively imitate adults. As a result, the child begins to imitate the adult more consciously, which indicates that the child has the opportunity to master socially developed methods of action. This, in turn, ensures the appearance at the end of this stage of specifically human motor operations with objects. During these operations, the thumb is opposed to the rest, which is typical only for humans. Gradually, the child begins to grasp and hold objects with his hand in an increasingly sophisticated way. By the end of the period, the child masters independent walking.

Thus, the main characteristics of this period are: a change in the relationship with the outside world based on objective communication; comprehension of objects and the appearance of the first signs of speech; the emergence of non-impulsive imitation by adults and the development of specifically human motor operations with objects; mastering independent walking.

Pre-school age(from 1 to 3 years) is characterized by the emergence and initial development of a child’s specifically human, social in nature activity and a human-specific form of conscious reflection of reality. The essence of the main changes in the child’s psyche during this period is that the child masters the human relationship to the world of objects immediately surrounding him. Cognition of the properties of objects is carried out by the child through imitation of the actions of adults with them, that is, knowledge of objects occurs simultaneously with comprehension of their functions. Mastering the functions of objects in a child occurs in two ways: the development of simple skills, such as the ability to use a spoon, cup, etc., and manipulating them during play.

The game marks a new stage in the development of the child’s psyche, i.e. he already learns about the world not only through interaction with an adult, but also on his own.

The child also masters words that he perceives primarily as denoting an object with its functions. At the same time, during the game, speech increasingly becomes included in the activity, and increasingly begins to function not only as a designation of objects, but also as a means of communication. However, a distinctive feature of a child’s games at this age in comparison with the next stage - the preschool stage - is the absence of an imaginary situation in the game. A child, manipulating objects, simply imitates the actions of adults, without filling them with content, but in the process of play, the child intensively develops perception, the ability to analyze and generalize, i.e., intensive formation of mental functions occurs. By the end of this stage, the child’s activity is no longer caused only by a direct encounter with an object, but also by the intentions of the child himself. At this time, the child strives to perform an ever-increasing range of known actions. The frequent appearance of the phrase “I myself” marks the beginning of a new stage in the development of the child’s psyche.

Consequently, the main features of a child’s mental development at this stage are mastering the inherent human attitude towards surrounding objects, imitating the behavior of adults and forming the basic functions of thinking.

Preschool age(from 3 to 7 years). The main difference of this age is the presence of a contradiction between the child’s desire to truly master the world of objects and the limitations of his capabilities. At this age, the child strives to do not what he can, but what he sees or hears. However, many actions are not yet available to him. This contradiction is resolved in the story game. Unlike the previous age period and the manipulation game, the plot game is filled with content that reflects the real content of the copied action. If previously the child was only approaching the mastery of specific human relationships to an object, now objects for him appear as characterizing precisely human relationships and various functions of people. For a child to master a subject means to take on a certain social role - the role of a person operating a given subject. Therefore, story games contribute to mastering the social relationships of the human world. It's no coincidence that story games are often called role-playing games. The sources of games are the child’s impressions, everything he sees or hears.

In the process of role-playing, the formation of creative imagination and the ability to voluntarily control one’s behavior occurs. Role-playing games also promote the development of perception, memorization, reproduction and speech.

Another important feature of this stage is the process of formation of the child’s personality. During this process, the child's character traits are established. During this period, the child quite freely masters the basic norms and rules of behavior. This is facilitated not only by story games, but also by reading fairy tales, drawing, designing, etc. According to A.N. Leontyev, at the end of this stage of mental development, the child strives to master socially significant activities. Thus, he begins to enter a new stage of his development, characterized by the fulfillment of certain responsibilities.

Junior school age(from 7 to 12 years old). Entering school characterizes a new stage in the development of the child’s psyche. Now his system of relationships with the outside world is determined not only by relationships with adults, but by relationships with peers. In addition, he now has responsibilities to society. His future, his place in society, depends on the fulfillment of these duties.

It should be noted that the child studied at previous stages of his development, but only now does learning appear to him as an independent activity. During the school years, educational activities begin to occupy a central place in the child's life. All the main changes in mental development observed at this stage are primarily associated with studies.

The main pattern of mental development at this stage is the mental development of the child. The school makes serious demands on the child’s attention, and therefore there is a rapid development of voluntary (controlled) attention, voluntary, targeted observation. School training places no less serious demands on a child’s memory. The child must now not only remember, he must remember correctly, being active in mastering educational material. In this regard, the productivity of the child’s memory increases greatly, although during the first time of learning the memory retains a predominantly figurative, concrete character. Therefore, children literally remember even text material that does not need to be learned by heart.

Children's thinking develops especially intensively at primary school age. If at the age of seven or eight years a child’s thinking is concrete, based on visual images and ideas, then in the process of learning his thinking acquires new features. It becomes more connected, consistent and logical. At the same time, a child at this age experiences rapid development of speech, which is largely associated with the mastery of written language. He not only develops a more correct understanding of words, but he learns to use grammatical categories correctly.

During the learning process, a child develops his personality. First of all, his interests change. Children's interests, due to the development of cognitive processes, are replaced by educational interests. Children show increased interest in learning new material, especially in the primary grades. They listen with great interest to stories about animals, travel, etc.

The team plays an extremely important role in shaping a child’s personality. Having begun to study at school, the child for the first time encounters a situation where the peers around him are united by a certain goal and they are assigned certain responsibilities. For the first time he encounters the concepts of “team” and “collective responsibility”. All the people who surrounded him earlier, including the children in kindergarten, were not a collective. The main socially significant unit for the child was the family.

Another feature of this period is that at its final stage there is a division of activities into

"male" and "female". Boys are increasingly interested in male activities, and girls - in female ones.

Thus, primary school age is characterized by the rapid development of all cognitive mental processes, the ongoing formation of personality, and the acquisition of the first experience of adaptation in a team.

Adolescence and early adolescence(from 13-14 to 17-18 years) is characterized by continued education. At the same time, the child is increasingly included in the life of society. At this time, the child’s orientation, depending on gender, into “male” and “female” activities is completed. Moreover, striving for self-realization, the child begins to show success in a specific type of activity and express thoughts about his future profession.

At the same time, further development of cognitive mental processes and personality formation occurs. In the process of personality formation, a change in the child’s interests occurs. They become more differentiated and persistent. Academic interests are no longer of paramount importance. The child begins to focus on “adult” life.

It should also be noted that the formation of personality during this period is influenced by the process of puberty. The young man experiences rapid development of the body, the activity of individual organs (for example, the heart) undergoes certain changes. Ends gender identity teenager.

Under the influence of the whole complex of factors, a change in the psychological appearance of the child occurs. In the behavior of boys, masculine traits are increasingly noticeable, while girls are increasingly displaying feminine behavioral stereotypes.

It should be noted that mental development does not end during adolescence. A certain dynamics of mental development is also observed at a later time. Therefore, in modern psychology it is customary to distinguish two more periods: the acmeological period of development, or the period of adulthood, and the period of gerontogenesis.

Acmeological period of development covers ages from 18 to 60 years. The term “acmeology” was first proposed by the domestic psychologist N.N. Rybnikov in 1928. With this term ( acme- the highest point, flourishing, maturity, the best time) it is customary to designate the period of maturity as the most productive, creative period of a person’s life. In contrast to the youthful period, the acmeological period is characterized by the fact that it ends the general somatic development and puberty of a person who reaches his optimum physical development. This period is also characterized by the highest level of intellectual, creative, and professional achievements.

Probably the most complete description of this period was given by B. G. Ananyev, who identified two special phases in the ontogenetic development of man. First phase covers adolescence, young adulthood and early middle age. It is characterized by a general frontal progression of functions. In particular, the volume and indicators of switchable attention increase by the age of 33, and then begin to decrease. The highest rates of short-term verbal memory are observed at the age of 18-30 years, and after 33 they begin to decline. Similar changes occur with intelligence. Thus, the Scottish doctor, who was the first to propose using fingerprints from the crime scene to search and identify criminals, Foulds and honorary professor at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) Raven believe that if the level of development of the logical ability of 20-year-olds is taken as 100%, then at 30 years old he will be 96%, at 40 - 87%, at 50 - 80%, and at 60 - 75%.

Second phase of this period, according to B.G. Ananyev, is characterized by the specialization of mental functions in relation to certain activities. At this phase, the main ones are operational mechanisms, and the duration of this phase is determined by the degree of activity of a person as a subject and personality. At this age, functions that are relevant for a person continue to develop, which should be understood as those mental functions that are most significant for the main type of activity of a particular person. For some people it is the eye, accuracy, movements, for others it is thinking, memory, attention. Achieving a high level of development of actual mental functions in adulthood is possible because they are under conditions of optimal load, enhanced motivation, and operational transformations.

Period gerontogenesis - This is the late period of human life. It is customary to distinguish three phases: old age (for men - 60-74 years, for women - 55-74 years); old age - 75-90 years; centenarians - 90 years and older.

In general, this period is characterized by the decline of physical and mental functions. There is a decrease in the intensity of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. The ability of cells to carry out redox processes decreases. The overall activity of the body decreases. At the same time, there is a decrease in the capabilities of mental functions, especially memory, attention, and thinking.

Every human age is beautiful in its own way. At the late stage of ontogenesis, the role of the individual, his social status, his inclusion in the system of social relations is especially great for preserving a person’s ability to work. Changes in this period are largely determined by the individual characteristics of a person. Of particular importance for countering the involution of a person is his creativity. Examples include outstanding scientists and artists who remained active and creative for a very long time. So, for example, I.P. Pavlov created “Twenty Years’ Experience” at the age of 73, and “Lectures on the work of the cerebral hemispheres” at the age of 77. L.N. Tolstoy wrote “Resurrection” at the age of 71, and “Hadji Murat” at the age of 76. Voltaire, I.V. were distinguished by high creative activity and productivity in later years of life. Goethe, Michelangelo, O. Renoir, B. Shaw and others.

There are currently many classifications and characteristics of the stages of development of the human psyche, but their content and patterns of dynamics will mainly correspond to the above characteristics. Thus:

• 1. The emergence of consciousness in humans has both biological and cultural-social conditionality. As a result of the evolution of nature, the nervous system, and primarily the brain, has reached a level of development that allows a person to engage in work. Under the influence of collective labor, a person began to develop mental processes that led to the emergence of consciousness - the highest level of mental development inherent only to man.
• 2. The development of a child’s psyche largely follows the patterns of socio-historical human development. In the process of development, thanks to various forms of activity, human consciousness is formed;
• 3. The main conditions for the emergence and development of consciousness are the appropriate level of biological organization, the presence of a social environment and collective work; the emergence of consciousness outside of society is impossible.

Control questions

• 1. What are the main characteristics of consciousness as the highest level of mental reflection of reality?
• 2. Explain what “irritability”, “sensitivity”, “sensation” are?
• 3. Behavior as a form of adaptation to environmental conditions.
• 4. Explain the essence of the concept of “consciousness”.
• 5. What is “I-concept” and what is its role in regulating human behavior?
• 6. What is the role of reflection in regulating human behavior?
• 7. Tell us about the origin of consciousness and the hypothesis of A.N. Leontyev.
• 8. What is the role of labor in the emergence of human consciousness (according to A.N. Leontiev)?
• 9. What is the relationship between the development of the brain and consciousness?
• 10. Outline the main provisions of the cultural-historical theory of the development of higher mental functions of L.S. Vygotsky.
• 11. Describe the main stages of development of the human psyche.

Topics for essays

• 1 “I-concept” as a system of self-regulation.
• 2. The stage-by-stage nature of the development of the human psyche.
• 3. Relationships between an adult and a child as a form of joint activity.
• 4. Cultural-historical theory of the development of higher mental functions.
• 5. The concept of the zone of proximal development (L.S. Vygotsky).