What are developing processes? What is the development process? Categories of development: growth, maturation, differentiation

The idea of ​​development came to psychology from other areas of science. Charles Darwin's work “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection...” prompted researchers to study the course of mental development of children. Development for the first time began to be viewed as a gradual adaptation of the child to the environment. One of the first attempts to systematically monitor the psychological and biological development of a child from birth to three years of age is described in V. Preyer’s book “The Soul of a Child,” in which the author described the development of his daughter.

Development - a process of irreversible, directed and natural changes, leading to the emergence of quantitative, qualitative and structural transformations of the human psyche and behavior.

Almost all researchers agree that development can be defined as change over time. Yu.N. Karandashev identified the main approaches to defining the concept of “development”:

Development as growth- process of quantitative change external signs object measured in height, length, width, thickness, weight, etc. In modern science, such a definition is not found, since growth is just one of the aspects of development, its external indicator and quantitative characteristic.

Development as maturation- morphological changes that occur under the direct control of the genetic apparatus. In modern science, such a definition is not found, since the importance of biological heredity is exaggerated here and the importance of other aspects of development is downplayed.

Development as improvement. This definition is often used in pedagogy and is teleological in nature, i.e. it initially assumes the presence of a goal (teleo), which is a certain “perfect”, ideal form of development, but it is not clear whether it is externally (God, education , external environment) or internally given (through the hereditary apparatus), and why exactly this form of development should be considered as the best, most perfect, and not any other.

Development as a universal change. As one of the criteria for determining development, the requirement of generality, universality of the changes taking place is put forward, i.e. the same changes should take place among people of different cultures, religions, languages, levels of development, but it is impossible to really establish which changes are classified as common, universal, and which ones to consider as particular.

Development as a qualitative, structural change. The definition of development through qualitative changes is associated with the understanding of an object as a system. In this case, we are talking about improving only the structure of the object; the quantitative measure of improvement is excluded and only the qualitative one is retained.

Development as a quantitative and qualitative change. This definition most fully reveals the essence of the concept of “development”.

Development as a change that entails new changes. Dissatisfaction with existing definitions of development stimulated the search and emergence of new ideas. For example, G.-D. Schmidt shows the presence of a close, existential connection between changes following each other, A. Flammer notes that only such changes that entail new changes (“avalanche of changes”) should be considered development. This definition promotes the idea of ​​evolutionary continuity of change.

HER. Sapogova notes that changes occurring in development can be:

Quantitative (qualitative);

Continuous (discrete), spasmodic;

Universal (individual);

Reversible (irreversible);

Purposeful (undirected);

Isolated (integrated),

Progressive (evolutionary) or regressive (involutionary).

Development can be considered at phylo-, anthropo-, onto- and micro levels:

Phylogeny - development of a species, i.e., the maximum time distance, including the emergence of life, the origin of species, their change, differentiation and continuity, i.e., the entire biosocial evolution, starting with the simplest and ending with man.

Anthropogenesis - p the development of humanity in all its aspects, including cultural sociogenesis, that is, the part of phylogenesis that begins with the emergence of Homo sapiens and ends today.

Ontogenesis - individual development, i.e., a temporary distance of the length of a human life, which begins from the moment of conception and ends at the end of life.

Microgenesis - the shortest time distance covering the “age” period during which short-term processes of perception, memory, thinking, imagination, detailed sequences of actions (for example, problem-solving behavior), etc. take place.

The main properties of development are:

Irreversibility - the ability to accumulate changes, “build on” new changes over previous ones;

Direction - the system’s ability to pursue a single, internally interconnected line of development;

Regularity is the ability of a system to reproduce similar changes in different people.

In modern psychology, the problem of development is intensively developed within the framework of genetic psychology, comparative psychology, psychogenetics, developmental psychology and acmeology.

Main areas of mental development:

1) the psychophysical area of ​​development, includes external (height and weight) and internal (bones, muscles, brain, glands, sensory organs, constitution, neuro- and psychodynamics, psychomotor) changes in the human body;

2) the psychosocial area of ​​development, which involves changes in the emotional and personal spheres. At the same time, special mention should be made of the importance of interpersonal relationships for the formation of the self-concept and self-awareness of the individual;

3) the cognitive area of ​​development, which includes all aspects of cognitive development, the development of abilities, including mental ones.

The individual is the bearer of the psychophysical properties of a person. The bearer of psychosocial properties is the personality, and the bearer of cognitive properties is the subject of activity.

Currently, human mental development is considered from the point of view of a systematic approach, which includes four aspects:

dynamic characterizes mental development as a process that occurs throughout life, i.e. it is the age-related dynamics of various mental functions (perception, attention, memory, thinking, etc.);

structural- qualitative changes in mental processes, for example, the complication of memorization processes, the development of rational thinking techniques;

Causal - determination of determinants, driving causes of development;

ontological- clarification of the specifics of human mental development as a biological and social unity.

Thus, a systematic approach to development involves studying what, how, in what direction, with what changes, for what reasons develops in the psyche and personality of a person - a biosocial being - throughout life.

The following are distinguished: types of development:

preformed development - a type of development when at the very beginning both the stages that the organism will go through and the final result that will be obtained are specified;

unformed development - a type of development that is not predetermined;

mental development- development of cognitive mental processes;

personal development- development of human qualities, moral judgments, motivational-need sphere and “I” concept.

Mental and personal development are closely interrelated, but not always unidirectional or adjacent. At different age periods they may not coincide and influence each other differently.

Factors of mental development - these are the leading determinants of human development: heredity, environment and activity. The action of the heredity factor manifests itself in the individual properties of a person and acts as a prerequisite for development, the action of the environmental factor (society) - in the social properties of the individual, and the action of the activity factor - in the interaction of the two preceding ones.

Let's consider each of the factors in more detail.

1. Heredity - the ability of an organism to repeat similar types of metabolism and individual development in general over a number of generations.

M.S. Egorova and T.N. Maryutina, comparing the importance of hereditary and social factors of development, emphasize that the genotype (genetic constitution of the organism) contains the past in a collapsed form: information about the historical past of a person and the program of his individual development. Thus, genotypic factors typify development, that is, they ensure the implementation of the species genotypic program and at the same time the genotype individualizes development. Research by geneticists has revealed an amazingly wide polymorphism that determines the individual characteristics of people. Each person is a unique genetic object that will never be repeated.

2. Wednesday - the social, material and spiritual conditions of his existence surrounding a person. Phenotype is the totality of all the characteristics and properties of an individual that developed in ontogenesis during the interaction of the genotype with the external environment. It should be emphasized that environment is a very broad concept. Highlight different types environments, each of which influences human development in its own way, therefore, when describing the determinants of mental development, this concept needs to be specified. In a broad sense, environmental determinants of mental development include learning.

Mental development is influenced by macro (country, ethnicity, society, state), meso (region, media, subcultures, type of settlement) and micro factors (family, neighborhood, peer groups).

3. Activity - the active state of an organism as a condition of its existence and behavior, which manifests itself when the movement programmed by the organism towards a certain goal requires overcoming the resistance of the environment. The principle of activity is opposed to the principle of reactivity.

According to the principle of activity, the vital activity of the organism is the active overcoming of the environment; according to the principle of reactivity, it is the balancing of the organism with the environment. Activity manifests itself in activation, various reflexes, search activity, voluntary acts, will, acts of free self-determination.

Let's consider the basic principles of human mental development.

Subject, tasks and methods of developmental psychology

Age-related psychology - a branch of psychological science, the object of study of which is a person developing from birth (and recently more and more research has appeared in the field of prenatal development as a source of formation of mental life) until death.

Subject her research is the patterns of mental development in ontogenesis, the age dynamics of the human psyche, mental processes and personality traits of a developing person at various stages of his life path.

Ontogenesis- This is the mental development of a person from birth to death.

Among the most significant problems The areas that developmental psychology deals with include:

Scientific substantiation of age norms for various psychophysiological functions;

Identification of current and potential capabilities of a person at different periods of his life;

Scientific forecasting of development;

Justification of the role and significance of each previous stage of development for the subsequent one.

The age-related evolution of the psyche has a certain specificity, which consists in its following features:

The age dynamics of various forms of the psyche are different different intensity and plays different roles in mental development at every stage of human life;

Age-related features of the manifestation of mental functions are interconnected with individual characteristics development of each individual person.

The current state of psychological science allows us to study age-related variability in terms of several aspects:

Ontological aspect (patterns of correlation between biological and social in understanding age-related changes in humans).

Chronological aspect (characterizes mental evolution as a process that takes place over time throughout a person’s life; age dynamics are determined by such metric criteria as speed, pace, duration, focus (vector) changes in mental phenomena at different stages of development). This approach allows us to identify unevenness And heterochrony mental development.

Structural-dynamic aspect allows you to evaluate the patterns of qualitative transformations, determine how continuity and transformation are carried out at different stages mental structures (phenomena).

Causal aspect considers the problem of determination (determines the development of the driving forces and conditions of human evolution, considering external and internal factors).

Development concept

Let's consider the relationship between the concepts - change, growth and development, which are one way or another present in descriptions of the dynamics of the human psyche.

Development is a series of changes that occur over a certain period of time. (Change means no stagnation.) Development- this is an irreversible, directed, natural change that occurs according to certain laws (the absence of patterns indicates the randomness of the changes). Irreversibility changes ensure the continuity of the development process (it is impossible to undo what has already happened); in each new appearance of a changed object there are always “traces” of past experience. If we consider development from the point of view of the vector - the direction of change - then it should be noted that development is not limited to growth, progress. (Growth is a systematic change when a certain factor within one System increases, progresses in number, size or weight.) Development includes and regression. Another characteristic of development is procedural. In this sense, changes can take place evolutionary(consistent, progressive change) and revolutionary way (revolutionary changes are explosive in nature, but are not unexpected from the point of view of the logic of development, but are causal). Development can be characterized as change in which, at critical moments, structural changes occur in the entire system.

Approaches to understanding development and interpreting changes associated with it are constantly changing. It should be noted that there is still no established unified view on the features and nature of development. The dynamics of these views are of absolute interest and give an idea of ​​the influence on the movement of scientific thought in this direction today.

According to S. Buhler, development is a change in a certain direction, subject to the laws of maturation. “Development is a fundamental biological property.” Through quantitative growth, any organism reaches a point where the old primitive structure can no longer control the expanded organism. Continued growth then means either the disintegration of the organism (an example would be biological death) or the reorganization of the internal structure of the organism, which could again control the expanded organism.

Development already exists in the simplest living organism. Already in this primitive development lies, according to D. Harris, growth, which he calls “planned development.” It begins with constantly repeating gradual cell division and differentiation, through which organs and the body as a whole are formed. This is a natural phase of construction. Then follows a phase of balance between creation and destruction. At this time, the mature organism fully performs its functions. Finally, the third phase begins, in which destruction predominates and death occurs. The plant in this process grows from a sprout to stems and leaves and finally flowers and seeds. This happens throughout the year. In perennial plants this development is repeated: from the root, which alone persists and produces shoots again and again.

And the animal has a life cycle consisting of creation, balance and decline, each species having its own individual life expectancy. They say that the life of an animal is determined chronotypically. A mouse reaches the age of one and a half to two years, a dog can live twelve years, and a person can live about eighty.

When considering the structure of the body, it turns out that the development process, by definition, occurs discretely. Development is growth that occurs from one structural crisis to another structural crisis. In this case, development goes through several phases:

Growth of the whole organism or its parts;

Differentiation and formation of organs (formation of subsystems); in this case, the functions that were initially performed globally by the entire system are concentrated in subsystems that reach a higher degree of perfection (organ formation);

Hierarchization; certain organs control other organs, sometimes called hierarchical integration;

Integration into a new system; the entire body operates at a higher level and with increased complexity.

Biological development is always finish-oriented. Everything develops, striving towards one goal set at the very beginning - a mature organism. Creation, balance and decay play a role in this process. All living organisms obey this law, and humans are no exception.

However, human development is not limited to biological maturation. The psychological image of a person is deeper and more meaningful. Therefore, in addition to biological, mental, social and spiritual development are considered.

As shown by L.S. Vygotsky, there are many various types development. He distinguished: preformed and unformed types of development. A preformed type is a type when, at the very beginning, both the stages that the phenomenon (organism) will go through and the final result that the phenomenon will achieve are specified, fixed, and recorded. Everything is given here from the very beginning. An example is embryonic development. Despite the fact that embryogenesis has its own history (there is a tendency to reduce the underlying stages, the newest stage influences the previous stages), but this does not change the type of development. In psychology, an attempt to represent mental development according to the principle of embryonic development belongs to Art. Hall. His theory of recapitulation is based on Haeckel's biogenetic law: ontogeny is a brief repetition of phylogeny. Mental development was considered by Art. Hall as a brief repetition of the stages of mental development of animals and the ancestors of modern humans.

The untransformed type of development is the most common. This includes the development of the Universe, the development of our planet, the process of biological evolution, and social development. The process of human mental development also belongs to this type. The unreformed path of development is not predetermined. People are representatives of different cultural and historical eras, develop differently and reach different levels of development. This is the meaning of the idea that age is a concrete historical category. Human development is not predetermined biologically or genetically; from birth, the child is not given the stages through which he must go, and the results that he must achieve in the development process are not determined.

As psychology developed, approaches to the interpretation of the processes occurring in the human psyche with age changed. Various people have appeared and are appearing on stage scientific theories and the concept that is common to them, perhaps, is only the understanding that development is a change of stages, the boundaries of which are outlined very conditionally. Each scientific concept tries to determine the patterns of development processes, the sources and conditions that determine it.

The division of ontogenesis into separate periods and stages, phases and eras, ages is the essence of the periodization of mental development. The basis for periodization is determined by a specific concept - theoretical or empirical.

Sections of developmental psychology(branches of developmental psychology)

Child psychology (the subject of research here is the patterns of mental development from birth to the end of adolescence);

Youth psychology (it should be noted that in different sources the boundaries of youth are defined ambiguously; some researchers include the teenage stage at this age, others consider it as the beginning of maturity);

Psychology of an adult (acmeology is one of the developing areas here, exploring adulthood as a period of highest achievements in activity);

Gerontopsychology (psychology of old age)

Developmental psychology

Age-related psychology- a branch of psychology that studies the psychological changes in a person as he grows older. It consists of three subfields: gerontopsychology, child psychology, pre- and perinatal psychology. Explores the psyche and the human body at all ages and stages, taking into account biological, anthropological, sociological and psychological factors, influencing its development.

Story

In the 20s In the 20th century, developmental psychology took shape as a branch of psychological knowledge, as an independent science.

1. Development of philosophical theories

60-70 XX century - the term “developmental psychology” has firmly established itself in world science (synonym genetic psychology ).

Subject, tasks and methods

Subject of developmental and age psychology

1. Formation of personality qualities

The object of developmental psychology is a complex dynamic system of interconnected processes and phenomena.

The scientific goal of developmental psychology is to comprehend psychological phenomena by analyzing their origin, therefore it is included in the field of general psychology[ source not specified 2000 dayssource not specified 2000 days].

Functions of developmental psychology

Research methods

1. Organizational method.
   • comparative method - comparison of different groups; data for each group are compared with each other and conclusions are drawn about what development trends are observed here and what causes them.
   • The longitudinal method is long-term and involves several methods. The method is used in various types of research, for example, in a sample or complex study.
   • complex - a combination of comparative and longitudinal methods
2. Empirical method.
   • observation method
   • experimental method
   • psychological diagnostics (conversation, testing, questionnaire, survey)
   • biographical method
   • observational method (observation and self-observation)
3. Interpretive method
   • genetic method
   • structural method

Development theories

• Gesell's theory of maturation
• Psychosexual development of Sigmund Freud
• Erikson's Eight Stages of Life
• Bettelheim's theory of autism
• Jung's theory of maturity

Developmental psychology is:

Developmental psychology (Age-related psychology) is a branch of psychology that studies the psychological changes in a person as he grows older. It consists of three subfields: gerontopsychology, child psychology, pre- and perinatal psychology. Explores the psyche and the human body at all ages and at all stages, taking into account biological, anthropological, sociological and psychological factors influencing its development.

Developmental psychology originated in 1882. Its appearance is associated with the publication of the book “The Soul of a Child” by the outstanding German physiologist and psychologist Wilhelm Preyer, dedicated to child psychology.

In the 20s In the 20th century, developmental psychology took shape as a branch of psychological knowledge, as an independent science.

The origins of developmental psychology as a science:

1. Development of philosophical theories
2. Discoveries of evolutionary biology in the 19th century.
3. Socio-historical changes
4. Development of natural sciences and humanities

60-70 20th century - the term “developmental psychology” is firmly established in world science (synonym is genetic psychology).

Subject of developmental and age psychology:

1. Conditions and driving reasons for the ontogenesis of the human psyche
2. Development of mental processes (cognitive, emotional, volitional)
3. Development various types activity (activity)
4. Formation of personality qualities
5. Age and individual psychological characteristics

Object of developmental psychology- a complex dynamic system of interconnected processes and phenomena.

Scientific goal of developmental psychology- comprehension of psychological phenomena by comprehending their genesis (origin), therefore it is included in the field of general psychology[ source not specified 260 days]. It is a part of general psychology that studies the similarities and differences in a person's psychological functioning throughout his life[ source not specified 260 days].

Tasks[ source not specified 1262 days] developmental psychology:

1. Disclosure of general patterns of development
2. Establishing the reasons for the transition from one stage to another
3. Periodization of age periods
4. Psychological picture of each stage
5. Study of leading development factors

Functions of developmental psychology:

1. Description - describes the features of human development at different age periods from the point of view of external behavior and internal experiences
2. Explanation of the development process - understanding the causes, factors, conditions of changes in behavior and experiences of a person at different age stages.
3. Predicting certain changes in a person’s behavior and experiences as a consequence of his development
4. Correction of mental development - creating optimal conditions for managing development

Development theories

• Early theories: preformationism, conformism Locke and Rousseau
• Gesell's theory of maturation
• Ethological and evolutionary theories of Darwin, Lorenz and Tinbergen
• Attachment theories - Bowlby and Ainsworth
• Montessori educational philosophy
• Organism theory and Werner's comparative theory
• Piaget's theory of cognitive development
• Kohlberg's stages of moral development
• Learning theories: Pavlov, Watson, Skinner
• Bandura's social learning theory
• Cultural-historical theory of Vygotsky and Luria
• Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
• Margaret Mahler's separation-individuation theory
• Erikson's Eight Stages of Life
• Bettelheim's theory of autism
• Schachtel's theory of childhood experiences
• Jung's theory of maturity

Notes

1. from the book: W. Crane, “Theories of Development”, 2002 (see excerpt from the book)

see also

• Development
• Cognitive development
• Stress analysis

Literature

Karabanova O. A. Age psychology. Lecture notes. M., “Iriss-press”, 2005, p.238. ISBN 5-8112-1353-0

Links

• Makogon I.K. Stages of development and age-related crises.
• Norms and stages of child development
• Articles about child psychology
• Kon I. S. Psychology of early adolescence
• From the history of the formation and development of Russian developmental psychology in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries.
• Characteristics of developmental psychology, developmental psychology as a science
• Growth and Development
• Shapar V. B. Modern course of practical psychology, or How to achieve success

• Developmental psychology
• Development theories

Subject, tasks and problems of developmental and developmental psychology

2. Subject of developmental and age psychology.

3. Tasks of developmental psychology (L. Montada and others).

11. Areas of development.

1. The concept of developmental psychology and age psychology.

Modern psychology is a branched system of scientific disciplines, among which a special place is occupied by developmental psychology or, more correctly, the psychology of human development associated with the study age-related dynamics of the development of the human psyche, ontogenesis of mental processes and psychological qualities of the personality of a person qualitatively changing over time.

The concept of developmental psychology in principle already concepts of developmental psychology, since development here is considered only as a function or chronological age, or age period; focuses on age-related mental characteristics.

Developmental psychology is associated not only with the study of the age stages of human ontogenesis, but also examines various processes of macro- and micropsychic development in general, and studies the process of mental development itself. Therefore, strictly speaking, developmental psychology can only be a part of developmental psychology, although sometimes they are used interchangeably.

2. Subject of developmental and age psychology.

Two sources fuel developmental psychology. On the one hand, these are the explanatory principles of biology and evolutionary theory, on the other, methods of socio-cultural influence on the course of development.

The definition of developmental psychology as the doctrine of periods of psychological development and personality formation in ontogenesis, their changes and transitions from one age to another, as well as the historical analysis of successive stages of ontogenesis indicate that the subject of developmental psychology has changed historically. Currently, the subject of developmental psychology is the disclosure of general patterns of mental development in ontogenesis, the establishment of age periods, the formation and development of activity, consciousness and personality and the reasons for the transition from one period to another, which is impossible without taking into account the influence of cultural, historical, ethnic factors on individual human development. and socio-economic conditions.

Components subject of developmental psychology are:

- changes that occur in the psyche and behavior of a person during the transition from one age to another;

In this case, the changes may be different:

Quantitative (increase vocabulary, memory capacity...)

Evolutionary - accumulate gradually, smoothly, slowly;

Qualitative (complication of grammatical constructs in speech - from situational speech to monologue, from involuntary to voluntary attention)

Revolutionary - deeper, occur quickly (leap in development), appear at the turn of periods;

Situational - associated with a specific social environment, its influence on the child; unstable, reversible and need to be fixed;

- concept of age- is defined as a specific combination of a person’s psyche and behavior.

Age or age period is a cycle of child development that has its own structure and dynamics. Psychological age (L.S. Vygotsky) is a qualitatively unique period of mental development, characterized primarily by the appearance of a new formation, which is prepared by the entire course of previous development.

Psychological age may not be the same as an individual child's chronological age as recorded on their birth certificate and subsequently in their passport. The age period has certain boundaries. But these chronological boundaries can shift, and one child will enter a new age period earlier, and another later. The boundaries of adolescence, associated with the puberty of children, “float” especially strongly.

- patterns, mechanisms and driving forces of mental development;

- childhood- the subject of developmental psychology according to Obukhova - a period of enhanced development, change and learning.

3. Tasks of developmental psychology.

Tasks and functions of developmental psychology broad and multifaceted. Currently, this branch of psychology has acquired the status of a scientific and practical discipline, and therefore, among its tasks, theoretical and practical tasks should be highlighted. The theoretical tasks of developmental psychology include the study of the basic psychological criteria and characteristics of Childhood, Youth, Adulthood (Maturity), Old Age as social phenomena and successive states of society, the study of age-related dynamics of mental processes and personal development depending on cultural-historical, ethnic and socio-economic conditions, various types of upbringing and training, research on differential psychological differences (sexually mature and typological properties of a person), research on the process of growing up in its entirety and diverse manifestations.

The scientific and practical tasks facing developmental psychology include the creation of a methodological basis for monitoring the progress, usefulness of content and conditions of mental development at different stages of ontogenesis, the organization of optimal forms of activity and communication in childhood and adolescence, as well as the organization of psychological assistance during periods age crises, in adulthood and old age.

L. Montada suggests identifying 6 main tasks related to the scope of application of developmental psychology in practice.

1. Orientation in life's path. This task involves answering the question “what do we have?”, i.e. determining the level of development. The sequence of age-related changes in the form of a description of quantitative developmental functions or qualitative stages of development is a classic issue in developmental psychology.

On this basis, statistical age groups are built. development standards, thanks to which it is possible to give a general assessment of the progress of development both in individual cases and in relation to various educational and educational issues. So, for example, knowing what tasks 7-year-old children solve independently, one can determine whether a particular child is below, above, or on par with the norm. At the same time, it is possible to determine whether the educational and educational requirements correspond to this standard of independence.

2. Determining the conditions of development and change. This task involves answering the question “how did this arise?”, i.e. what are the causes and conditions that led to this level of development. Explanatory models of developmental psychology are focused primarily on the analysis of the ontogenesis of personality traits and its disorders, taking into account attitudes, the development environment, interaction with educators, special events, and also, as an ideal case, the interaction of all these variables.

At the same time, psychologists are interested not so much in the short-term as in the long-term influence of development factors. The cumulative nature of the influence of development factors and the discrete nature of cause-and-effect relationships are also taken into account. Knowledge of the conditions makes it possible to delay developmental disruptions (prevention) and make appropriate decisions to optimize the progress of development. Of particular importance for obtaining the required effect is determining the compliance of development conditions and possible options interference with the current level of development of the individual, his personal properties.

3. Prediction of stability and variability of personality properties. This task involves answering the question “what will happen if..?”, i.e. forecast not only of the course of development, but also of the intervention measures taken. Many activities in the practice of educational and educational work - explicitly or implicitly - involve a forecast of further development. For example, the right to care for a child after the parents’ divorce is retained by the mother only if it is considered that this will be best for the further development of the child. To make such predictions, knowledge is needed about the stability or instability of the properties and conditions of development of both the individual himself and the individual in the group. Due to the numerous factors involved, such psychological forecasts are often erroneous.

4. Explanation of development and correction goals. This task involves answering the question “what should be?”, i.e. determines what is possible, real, and what should be excluded. As an empirical science, developmental psychology, in contrast to pedagogy, neutral in relation to social order, public and personal opinion. Therefore, she is able and obliged to resist them if this contradicts established facts and patterns. At the same time, it performs the function of justifying certain proposals and projects if they are consistent with its knowledge. And finally, she initiates the correction of already made decisions if research shows them to be unfounded. A falsely established norm of development leads to significant distortions in the practice of educational work.

5. Planning corrective measures. This task involves answering the question “how can goals be achieved?”, i.e. what needs to be done to get the expected effect from the intervention. So, corrective measures are needed only if the set development goals have not been achieved, if the development tasks have not been mastered, or if there is a fact that the development conditions lead to an undesirable course.

Here it is necessary to distinguish:

1) the development goals of the individual himself;

2) the development potential of the individual himself;

3) social requirements for development;

4) development opportunities.

Accordingly, corrective measures should be differentiated according to their purpose. Often there is a discrepancy between these goals, which should be the object of correction. The purpose of planned correction may be the prevention of developmental disorders, correction of development, or optimization of developmental processes. In any case, informed decisions must be made about when an intervention is likely to be successful, where it should be applied, and which method should be selected.

6. Assessment of developmental correction. This task involves answering the question “what did this lead to?”, i.e. what did the corrective measures achieve? Modern developmental psychology refrains from hastily assessing the effectiveness of certain correctional interventions. She believes that a true assessment can only be obtained through long-term observation of an individual, during which both positive effects and side effects must be established. It is also believed that the assessment of effectiveness is largely determined by the scientific paradigm that the psychologist adheres to.

4. The main functions of developmental and age psychology.

Like any science, developmental psychology has the functions descriptions, explanations, forecasts, corrections. In relation to a certain area of ​​research (in our case - to mental development), these functions act as specific scientific tasks, those. the general goals that science seeks to achieve.

A description of development involves presenting the phenomenology of development processes in its entirety (from the point of view of external behavior and internal experiences). Unfortunately, a lot of developmental psychology is at the level of description.

To explain development means to identify the causes, factors and conditions that led to changes in behavior and experience. The explanation is based on a pattern of cause-and-effect relationships, which can be strictly unambiguous (which is extremely rare), probabilistic (statistical, with varying degrees of deviation) or completely absent. It can be single (which is very rare) or multiple (which is usually the case in the study of development).

If an explanation answers the question “why did this happen?”, revealing the reasons for an existing effect and identifying the factors that caused it, then the forecast answers the question “what will this lead to?”, pointing to the consequences that follow from this cause. Thus, if in the explanation of development thought moves from effect to cause, then in the development forecast we go from cause to effect. This means that when explaining the changes that have occurred, the study begins with their description and continues with the transition to the description possible reasons and their connection with the changes that have occurred.

When making a forecast, the study also begins with a description of the changes that have occurred, but they are no longer considered as a consequence, but as a cause of possible changes, the description of which must be compiled. The development forecast is always hypothetical nature, since it is based on explanation, on establishing connections between the resulting effect and possible causes. If this connection is established, then the fact of its existence allows us to assume that the totality of identified causes will necessarily entail a consequence. This, in fact, is the meaning of the forecast.

If there is a description of the development creating his image in the mind of the researcher, the explanation - networking consequences with possible causes, and the development forecast - prediction it, based on already established cause-and-effect relationships, then developmental correction is managing it through changing possible causes. And since development is a branching process that has nodes of qualitative and lines of quantitative changes, the possibilities of correction are theoretically unlimited. The restrictions are imposed here to a greater extent by the possibilities of description, explanation and prediction, which provide information about the nature of the processes taking place and the nature of the object as a whole. It is important to note the special place of developmental prognosis and correction in solving applied problems of developmental psychology.

The result of description, explanation, forecast and correction is model or theory development.

There is no doubt that one of the main questions of the theory of individual human development is precisely the question of the relationship between age, typological and individual characteristics of a person, and the changing and contradictory relationships between them. Individual development with age acquires an increasingly unique and individualized character.

When studying age dynamics, the characteristics of individual periods and the relationships between them, one cannot abstract from a person’s life path, the history of his individual development in various social connections and mediations. Common age periods of life for all people (from infancy to old age) are characterized by relatively constant signs of somatic and neuropsychic development.

Developmental psychology studies how people's behavior and experiences change as they age. Although most developmental theories focus on childhood, their ultimate goal is to uncover patterns of development throughout a person's life. The study, description and explanation of these patterns determines the range of tasks that developmental psychology solves.

5. Sections of developmental psychology and their features.

Structure of developmental and age psychology:

Developmental psychology studies the process of development of mental functions and personality throughout a person’s life.

There are 3 sections of developmental psychology:

1. Child psychology (from birth to 17 years);

2. Psychology of adults, mature ages;

3. Gerontology or psychology of old age.

In the West, interest in the study of childhood (we are talking about the period from approximately 7 years to adolescence) arose only after the end of the industrial revolution in the 19th century. However, long before this, early childhood was considered as a separate period life cycle. At the moment when changes in the economic organization of society caused by the industrial revolution began to occur (such as the migration of people from rural areas to cities), a favorable period began for the study of childhood.

The Industrial Revolution meant that factory workers needed basic literacy and numeracy skills that could only be acquired through general primary education. Thus, research into the child's psyche received a powerful impetus, since it was they who could make education more effective. There is no doubt that other social factors (such as increased prosperity, improved hygiene, increased control over childhood diseases) also contributed to a shift in focus towards childhood.

Adolescence, as a separate stage between childhood and adulthood, has also been identified and described in a system of biological, historical and cultural changes. The distinctive biological characteristics of adolescence provided visible landmarks to distinguish this phase of the life cycle. However, it became an object of research in developmental psychology only in the 20th century, when Western society reached a level of well-being that made it possible to remove economic responsibility from the adolescent. This made it possible to delay the entry of adolescents into working life and at the same time increase the time required to obtain an education.

In modern developmental psychology, we will extend historical analysis not only to Childhood as a socio-psychological phenomenon of society, but also to Youth, Maturity, and Old Age. However, until recently, these ages were outside the sphere of current interests of developmental psychology (age psychology), since Maturity was considered as the age of “psychological fossilization”, and Old Age - as the age of total extinction. Thus, developing physically and socially, an adult person was, as it were, excluded from the development process in its socio-psychological meaning and from the history of the development of the specific person himself as a really active subject, the development of his consciousness, self-awareness, and other personal qualities.

Development in adulthood - life path - only recently has it become the object of research. Social and medical achievements that made it possible to live to a very old age and to live long enough after the end of active labor activity, drew attention to the problems and real possibilities old people. Therefore, the question arose about the psychology of aging, also addressed to developmental psychology.

The actualization of the interest of developmental psychology in the study of the periods of Maturity and Old Age is associated with the humanization of society and the beginning of the revival and active development of acmeology (declared in the works of B. G. Ananyev) as a science about the period of maximum flowering of personal growth, the highest moment of manifestation of spiritual forces. These trends and scientific approaches have significantly changed the modern situation of understanding the Adult, opening up a new space for a person, emphasizing the importance of studying the main points of his creative self-development.

As D.I. Feldshtein points out, these important and promising directions should in the future reveal the problem of the Adult in development and the problem of his development, which is only possible if all stages of ontogenesis are considered in unity, and old age, including deep , will be studied as a moment of the individual path. In knowing an adult and understanding his personal characteristics, taking into account the historical situation becomes important.

Modern man has not only acquired new possibilities of choice, a new level of self-awareness (the existing studies of individuals from antiquity - A. F. Losev, the Middle Ages - Ya. A. Gurevich, etc., indicate a complex way for a person to acquire personality), but the tasks that have now arisen turn of the millennium, require further development from him in terms of developing relationships, deepening self-determination, and “general maturation.” And constantly growing opportunities (determined by the achievements of science, technology, medicine, informatization, etc.) determine a new situation for the development of an adult, expanding the boundaries of his life. And in this regard, the problem of old age, the problem of an elderly person, acquires special significance.

Among the individual branches of developmental psychology, gerontology is the “youngest” area of ​​research. It is now that old ideas about old age are being broken. Its two aspects are increasingly differentiated - physical and psychological. Old age is a natural stage in human development, and the possibilities of extending human life, including through the internal self-development of the individual himself and the development of his psychological resistance against aging, are becoming more and more obvious.

So, at each point in the life cycle there are both biological and cultural aspects of development. Biological processes facilitate development and provide natural “marking” of individual stages. They acquire significance as premises of social history and provide a stimulus for a deeper understanding of the life cycle. Society influences a person’s development throughout his life. It sets a frame of reference against which individual stages or periods of life can be identified and studied.

6. Current problems of developmental psychology at the present stage.

1. The problem of organic and environmental conditioning of the human psyche and behavior;

2. The problem of the influence of natural and organized training and education on the development of children (what influences more: family, street, school?);

3. The problem of correlation and identification of inclinations and abilities;

4. The problem of the relationship between intellectual and personal changes in the mental development of a child.

The modern nature of the requirements of social practice for developmental psychology determines its rapprochement not only with pedagogy, but also with medicine and engineering psychology, as well as with other related branches of science that study humans.

The emergence of a new issue at the intersection of age and engineering psychology and labor psychology is due to the need to take into account the age factor when constructing effective training regimes for operators and when teaching professional skills in highly automated production conditions, when assessing the reliability of work and the adaptive capabilities of a person under overload conditions. Very little research has been carried out in this direction.

Rapprochement medical sciences and developmental psychology occurs on the basis of the increasing requirements of clinical diagnostics for the purpose of more accurate prevention, treatment and labor examination, using deep and comprehensive knowledge about the conditions and capabilities of a person at different periods of his life. Close connection with the clinic, medicine, including geriatrics, contributes to an in-depth development of the main problems of developmental psychology, such as the potential of human development in various age periods, the determination of age-related norms of mental functions.

One of the pressing problems is to expand knowledge on the age-related characteristics of the psychophysiological functions of adults through their micro-age analysis during the period of growth and involution. Carrying out research in this regard on schoolchildren of different ages made it possible to show the effect of complex patterns of age-related variability of some psychophysiological functions at different levels of their organization and to give their theoretical description.

The formation of a person as an individual, as a subject of cognition, social behavior and practical activity is in one way or another connected with age limits, which mediate the process of social influence on a person, social regulation his status and behavior in society.

The specificity of the age factor lies not only in the fact that it manifests itself differently in certain periods of the life cycle. Its study is complicated by the fact that it acts in unity with individual characteristics, which are important to take into account when developing age standards.

The problem of age standardization includes not only consideration of average standards, but also the question of individual variability of psychological characteristics. In addition, individual differences act as an independent problem in the structure of developmental psychology. Consideration of age and individual characteristics in their unity creates new opportunities for studying learning ability, for determining ontogenesis and the degree of maturity of psychological functions.

The next cycle of problems in developmental psychology is related to the phenomenon of accelerating the development process. Acceleration during the period of growth and maturation of the body and retardation of aging, pushing back the boundaries of gerontogenesis in modern society under the influence of a whole complex of socio-economic, sanitary-hygienic and biotic factors influence the construction of an age regulation system. At the same time, the issues of acceleration and retardation remain poorly studied precisely because the age-related criteria of mental development themselves, in their diversity, turn out to be insufficiently developed.

For further research into one of the main problems of developmental psychology - the classification of life periods - the structural-genetic approach to human ontogenetic development is of paramount importance.

Based on knowledge of the basic characteristics of the human life cycle, its internal patterns and mechanisms, a synthetic problem about the hidden capabilities and reserves of mental development itself can be developed.

The main problems of developmental psychology include the study of developmental factors, since it is carried out in the interaction of a person with the outside world, in the process of communication, practical and theoretical activity. The determinants and conditions of human development include socio-economic, political and legal, ideological, pedagogical, as well as biotic and abiotic factors.

Thus, a certain hierarchy of topical problems of a more general and specific nature is outlined, the solution of which is subordinated to the main goal - further development of the theory of individual development and expanding the possibilities of applying scientific knowledge in developmental psychology to solving problems of social and industrial practice, since now scientific research into the patterns of mental development is becoming a necessary condition for further improvement of all forms of upbringing and education not only of the younger generation, but also of adults.

7. Characteristics of childhood according to D. I. Feldstein.

In modern developmental psychology, the historical analysis of the concept of “childhood” is most fully given in the concept of D. I. Feldstein, who considers childhood as a socio-psychological phenomenon of society and a special state of development.

In the concept of D. I. Feldshtein, a meaningful psychological analysis of the system of interaction of functional connections that determines the social state of Childhood in its general understanding in a particular society is given, and ways are found to resolve the issue of what connects different periods of Childhood, which ensures the general state of Childhood , which brings him into another state - into Adulthood.

Defining childhood as a phenomenon social world, D.I. Feldshtein identifies the following characteristics.

Functionally - Childhood is expected to be an objectively necessary state in the dynamic system of society, a state of the process of maturation of the younger generation and therefore preparation for the reproduction of the future society.

In his meaningful definition - this is a process of constant physical growth, accumulation of mental new formations, development of social space, reflection on all relationships in this space, definition of oneself in it, one’s own self-organization, which occurs in the constantly expanding and increasingly complex contacts of the child with adults and other children (younger, peers , elders), the adult community as a whole.

Essentially - Childhood is a form of manifestation, a special state of social development, when biological patterns associated with age-related changes in the child largely manifest their effect, “submitting,” however, to an increasing extent to the regulating and determining action of the social.

And the meaning of all meaningful changes lies not only in the acquisition, appropriation by the child social norms(which, as a rule, the main attention is paid to), but in the very development of social, social properties, qualities that are characteristic of human nature. In practice, this is achieved in achieving a certain level of socialization, which is typical for a specific historical society, more broadly for a specific historical time, but at the same time it is also a state of development of that social level that characterizes a person of a certain era, in this case a modern person. At the same time, as the child grows older, the social principle more and more actively determines the characteristics of the child’s functioning and the content of the development of his individuality.

According to D.I. Feldstein, the main, internal goal of Childhood in general and each child in particular is growing up - mastering, appropriating, realizing adulthood. But the same goal is growing up children, which subjectively has a different focus - to ensure this maturation - is the main one for the Adult world. The attitude of the Adult community towards Childhood, regardless of the definition of its upper limit, is characterized primarily by stability - this is an attitude towards a special state, as a phenomenon located outside the adult sphere of life.

The author of the concept considers the problem of the attitude of the Adult community to Childhood in a broad socio-cultural context and socio-historical plan and highlights the position of the Adult World towards Childhood not as a collection of children of different ages - outside the Adult World (who need to be raised, educated, trained), but as the subject of interaction, as a special state of its own, which society passes through in its constant reproduction. This is not a “social nursery,” but a social state unfolded over time, ranked by density, structures, forms of activity, etc., in which children and adults interact.

8. Interdisciplinary connections between developmental and developmental psychology.

In recent decades, developmental psychology has changed both in its content and in its interdisciplinary connections. On the one hand, it influences other scientific disciplines, and on the other, it itself is influenced by them, assimilating everything that expands its subject content.

Biology, genetics, developmental physiology. These disciplines are important primarily for understanding prenatal development, as well as for subsequent stages of ontogenesis from the point of view of its early foundations. They play a significant role in the analysis of the adaptive capabilities of newborns, as well as general physical and motor (motor) development, especially in its relation to subsequent changes in behavior and experience. Of particular interest here is the development of the central nervous system, sensory organs and endocrine glands. In addition, the discoveries of biology are of particular importance for understanding the “subject - environment” problem, i.e. explanations of similarities and differences in the development of different individuals.

Ethology. The importance of ethology, or the comparative study of behavior, has increased significantly in recent years. It shows the biological roots of behavior, providing information about the interaction between the environment and the individual (for example, the study of imprinting). No less valuable is the methodological ability to conduct observations and experiments on animals, and especially in cases where their conduct on humans is prohibited for ethical reasons. The transferability of findings obtained in animals to humans is extremely important for understanding human development.

Cultural anthropology and ethnology. The subject of study of cultural anthropology and ethnology is supracultural universals and intercultural differences in behavior and experience. These disciplines make it possible, on the one hand, to test the patterns identified in the American-European cultural environment in other cultures (for example, East Asian) and, on the other hand, thanks to the expansion of the cultural environment, to identify intercultural differences that determine the different course of development processes. In recent years, the study of children's folklore (subculture) has become especially important.

Sociology and social disciplines. These sciences acquire their significance for developmental psychology both through certain theoretical premises (role theory, socialization theory, theories of the formation of attitudes and norms, etc.), and through the analysis of the processes of social interaction in the family, school, group of same-age children, and also through research into the socio-economic conditions of development.

Psychological disciplines. The sciences of the psychological cycle are most closely related to developmental psychology. Sciences united by the name "General Psychology" allow us to better understand the mental processes of motivation, emotions, cognition, learning, etc. Pedagogical psychology connects developmental psychology to pedagogical practice, processes of training and education.

Clinical (medical) psychology helps to understand the development of children with disorders of various aspects of the psyche and connects with developmental psychology along the lines of child psychotherapy, psychoprophylaxis, and mental hygiene. Psychodiagnostics goes hand in hand with developmental psychology in the field of adaptation and application of diagnostic techniques in comparative analysis intellectual, personal, etc. development and to determine age norms of development. It is possible to discover connections between developmental psychology and psychology of creativity and heuristic processes(on the line of gifted and developmentally advanced children); psychology of individual differences, etc.

In recent years, the volume of interaction between developmental psychology and pathopsychology(oligophrenopsychology, childhood neuroses) and defectology (work with hearing-impaired and visually impaired children, children with mental retardation, etc.). One can find the merging of developmental psychology with psychogenetics, psycholinguistics, psychosemiotics, ethnopsychology, demography, philosophy, etc. Almost all progressive and interesting work in developmental psychology, as a rule, is carried out at the intersection of disciplines.

Over the long period of its existence, developmental psychology has assimilated general psychological methods observation and experiment, applying them to the study of human development at different age levels. Developmental psychology is closely related to other areas of psychology: general psychology, human psychology, social, pedagogical And differential psychology. As is known, in general psychology mental functions are studied - perception, thinking, speech, memory, attention, imagination. Developmental psychology traces the development of each mental function at different age stages.

Human psychology examines such personal formations as motivation, self-esteem and level of aspirations, value orientations, worldview, etc., and developmental psychology answers the questions of when these formations appear in a child, what are their characteristics at a certain age. The connection between developmental psychology and social psychology shows the dependence of the child’s development and behavior on the characteristics of the groups to which he belongs: the family, kindergarten group, school class, teenage groups. Age and pedagogical psychology as if they look at the process of interaction between a child and an adult from different sides: developmental psychology from the point of view of the child, pedagogical psychology from the point of view of the educator, teacher.

In addition to age-related patterns of development, there are also individual differences, which differential psychology deals with: children of the same age may have different levels intelligence and various personality traits. Developmental psychology studies age-related patterns that are common to all children. But at the same time, possible deviations in one direction or another from the general lines of development are also noted. In addition to the sciences of the psychological cycle, developmental psychology is associated with philosophy, anatomy, physiology, and pedagogy.

9. Definition of the concept of development.

Developmental psychology as subject studies the natural changes of a person over time and the related facts and phenomena of mental life. Almost all researchers agree that development can be defined as change over time: the idea of ​​change and its course in time undeniable. Another thing is to answer questions What And How changes. This is where the differences begin. (Sapogova E.E., 2001)

Development as growth. Such an understanding is almost never found in modern science. Under height process is understood quantitative changes (accumulation) of external characteristics of an object, measured in height, length, width, thickness, weight, etc. This means that, firstly, growth is just one of the aspects of development, i.e. remain and other; secondly, that growth is only external an indicator of development that says nothing about its essence; thirdly, growth can only be quantitative characteristics of development.

Development as maturation. This definition of development is used primarily in everyday thinking. Under maturation refers to reduction, curtailment of development to morphological changes, occurring under the direct control of the genetic apparatus. This means that such a definition exaggerates the importance of biological heredity and, accordingly, understates the importance of other aspects of development.

Development as improvement. This definition is often used in pedagogy and is teleological character, those. it initially assumes the presence of a goal (teleo), which is a certain "perfect" those. the best, exemplary, ideal form of development. In this case, firstly, it is not clear Who such a goal can be set: is it externally(God, education, external environment) or internally given (through the hereditary apparatus). And secondly, it's not clear why exactly like this the form of development should be considered as the best, most perfect, and not any other (who sets the criteria for “perfection”?).

Development as universal change. One of the criteria for determining development is the requirement generality, universality changes taking place. It means that the same changes must take place among people of different cultures, religions, languages, and levels of development. While this requirement is clearly obvious, it turns out to be not feasible. Firstly, it is impossible to really establish which changes are classified as general, universal, and which are considered as particular. And, secondly, with such an approach, a large mass of particular changes will generally be denied consideration as a subject of developmental psychology.

Development as a qualitative, structural change. The definition of development through qualitative changes is associated with understanding the object as systems. If the definition is based on the essential improvement(deterioration) of its structure, then we thereby return to the definition of development through improvement, maintaining its shortcomings. The only difference is that the subject of improvement is narrowed. If the question of improvement (deterioration) is not raised, then it is not clear where development is directed. And finally, if earlier we were talking about improving the object as a whole, now it’s only about improving only it structures. In other words, the quantitative measure of improvement is excluded and only the qualitative one is retained.

Development as a quantitative and qualitative change. In the previous case, the qualitative nature of the changes was taken as a basis, and the quantitative nature was leveled out. However, the very idea of ​​their connection is present in all versions of definitions. So, for example, growth can be considered as a quantitative change, but it also contains some qualitative transitions. Maturation is closer to a qualitative change, but it also contains a quantitative aspect. Limiting only quantitative changes, we take an unconditional step back in understanding development. However, by excluding quantitative changes from the definition of development, we lose the opportunity to establish what caused these qualitative changes themselves.

Development as change entailing new changes. Dissatisfaction with existing definitions of development stimulated the search and emergence of new ideas. So, G.-D. Schmidt postulates a close, existential connection between the changes that follow one after another. A. Flammer writes that development should be considered only those changes that entail new changes (“avalanche of changes”). This definition carries the idea evolutionary continuity changes.

Developmental changes may be:

1) quantitative / qualitative;

2) continuous / discrete, discontinuous;

3) universal / individual;

4) reversible / irreversible;

5) targeted / undirected;

6) isolated / integrated;

7) progressive (evolutionary) / regressive (involutionary).

In addition, development can be considered in different time dimensions, forming changes at the phylo-, anthropo-, onto- and micro levels.

10. Categories of development: growth, maturation, differentiation.

For a general integral characteristic of development processes, categories are used that relate not to individual characteristics, but to development as a whole. These are the categories of growth, maturation, differentiation, learning, imprinting, socialization (cultural sociogenesis).

Height. Changes that occur during development can be quantitative or qualitative. An increase in body height or an increase in vocabulary represent quantitative changes. Physiological changes at the age of puberty or the acquisition of an understanding of the ambiguity of words in sayings are, on the contrary, qualitative changes. Therefore, in the paired category “quantity - quality,” the concept of growth refers to the quantitative aspect of development.

Growth represents only a separate aspect of the course of development, namely, a one-dimensional quantitative consideration of development processes. Considering development in terms of growth means limiting ourselves to the study of purely quantitative changes, when knowledge, skills, memory, content of feelings, interests, etc. are considered only from the point of view of the increase in their volume.

Maturation. The maturational approach to development has dominated psychology for quite some time. Biological maturation usually includes all processes that occur spontaneously under the influence of endogenously programmed, i.e. hereditarily determined and internally controlled growth impulses.

These processes include physical changes that are important for mental development - the maturation of the brain, nervous and muscular systems, endocrine glands, etc. Based on the psychophysical unity of man, i.e. connections between somatic and mental processes, biologically oriented models of development represented mental development by analogy with anatomical and physiological maturation as an internally regulated maturation process.

Maturation is usually spoken of when past experience, learning or exercise (exogenous factors) do not have an influence (or have an insignificant effect) on the nature of the changes that occur.

Along with the limitation of external development conditions, a number of signs are identified that indicate the presence of maturation processes:

1) similarity of occurrence and course;

2) occurrence at a strictly defined age;

3) catch-up;

4) irreversibility.

Differentiation. If we understand development as the dependence of qualitative changes on maturation, then it is necessary to turn to the concept of differentiation. In a narrow sense, differentiation means the progressive separation of heterogeneous parts from an original undifferentiated whole, following the example of such somatic processes as cell division and the formation of tissues and organs.

It leads to an increase, on the one hand, in structural complexity, and on the other, to variability and flexibility of behavior. This also includes increasing diversity, specialization and autonomy of individual structures and functions. In a broad sense, differentiation simply means the general content of the progressive fragmentation, expansion and structuring of mental functions and modes of behavior.

11. Areas of development.

Development occurs in three areas: physical, cognitive and psychosocial. TO physical area include physical characteristics such as the size and shape of the body and organs, changes in brain structure, sensory capabilities, and motor (or movement) skills. Cognitive domain(from lat. "cognition" -“knowledge”, “cognition”) covers all mental abilities and mental processes, including even the specific organization of thinking. This area includes processes such as perception, reasoning, memory, problem solving, language, judgment, and imagination.

IN psychosocial area includes personality traits and social skills. It includes the individual style of behavior and emotional response inherent in each of us, that is, the way people perceive social reality and react to it. Human development in these three areas occurs simultaneously and interconnectedly. In table 1 provides a description of the three main areas of development.

Table 1.

There is a complex interaction between different areas of human development. Thus, development is not a sequence of individual changes that are not coordinated with each other, but is holistic, systemic in nature, as a result of which changes in one area entail changes in others.

Biological development processes. All living organisms develop according to their genetic code, or blueprint. Psychologists, speaking about the process of development in accordance with the genetic plan, use the term maturation. The maturation process consists of a sequence of preprogrammed changes not only appearance organism, but also its complexity, integration, organization and function.

Not proper nutrition or illness may retard maturation, but this does not mean that proper nutrition, good health, or even special stimulation and training should significantly accelerate it. This appears to be true both throughout a person's life and in relation to processes such as motor development in infancy or the development of secondary sexual characteristics in adolescence.

The maturation of body organs and motor abilities occurs at different rates. Each organ or ability usually has its own point of optimal maturity. Term growth, typically indicates an increase in size, functionality, or complexity to that point. The term aging refers to the biological changes that occur after the point of optimal maturity has been passed. At the same time, the aging process does not necessarily imply a decline in activity or wear and tear of the body. Aging can increase a person's judgment and insight. In addition, it should be noted that the aging process of some body tissues begins already in adolescence and even in childhood.

12. The influence of the environment on human development.

Every moment we are exposed to environment. Light, sound, warmth, food, medicine, anger, kindness, severity - all this and much more can serve to satisfy basic biological and psychological needs, cause serious harm, attract attention or become components of learning. Some environmental influences are temporary and limited to one situation, such as the flu at age 22.

However, many other environmental influences may be persistent, as in the case of uninterrupted interaction with parents or periodic visits from restless and authoritative grandparents who interfere in the lives of their children and grandchildren. Environmental influences can delay or stimulate growth, create persistent anxiety, or promote the formation of complex skills.

The environment influences human development through the processes of learning and socialization. In addition, many environmental changes in behavior occur through the interaction of maturation and learning, and the effect of such interaction may depend significantly on the synchronization of these processes.

Learning. The basic process by which the environment produces lasting changes in behavior is called learning. Learning occurs as a result of a single personal experience or a series of exercises. It can be observed in almost all human actions (solving algebraic equations, practicing the technique of moving with the ball on the football field, etc.). Every time a person forms attitudes, opinions, prejudices, values ​​or thought patterns, he acquires skills and gains knowledge.

Despite the fact that the opinions of psychologists differ on some particular issues of learning theories, the majority agree that one of the main learning processes is conditioning. Conditioning is the establishment of connections between various events occurring in the human environment. For example, a child may become afraid of spiders simply by watching how his friend reacts to them.

Socialization. Socialization - is the process by which a person becomes a member social group: families, communities, clan. Socialization includes the assimilation of all attitudes, opinions, customs, life values, roles and expectations of a particular social group. This process lasts a lifetime, helping people find peace of mind and feel like full members of society or some cultural group within that society.

As children, we take on some roles immediately, others only over time. A girl can play many roles every day: student, neighbor, big sister, daughter, sports team member, best friend, etc. As she becomes a teenager, the number of roles will increase. Each new role will require her to adapt to the behavior, social attitudes, expectations and values ​​of nearby social groups.

Socialization is usually understood as a two-way process. Previously, scientists believed that children's behavior was determined almost entirely by how parents and teachers behave. It was believed, for example, that children first passively identify with certain significant adults in their lives and then imitate them in their behavior. More recent research has focused mainly on the mutual influence of children and parents on each other's behavior. The infant's socialization occurs through the experiences he acquires within the family, but his very presence forces family members to learn new roles.

In general, the process of socialization occurs at all stages of life, and not just in childhood or adolescence. Adults strive to master new roles in order to prepare for expected changes in life. However, it is in childhood that socialization processes develop behavioral stereotypes that persist in later life. Socialization contributes to the creation of a core of values, attitudes, skills and expectations, the totality of which shapes a child into an adult.

Interaction of development processes. There is ongoing debate among scientists about how much of our behavior is determined by maturation and how much by learning. The baby first sits down, then stands up and finally walks - maturation processes are of paramount importance here. But the development of such behavior can be prevented by medications, poor nutrition, fatigue, illness, inhibitions or emotional stress.

Some skills, such as the performance skills of a musician or the motor skills of an athlete, are maintained and improved only through experience and constant practice. There are also types of behavior that are difficult to categorize at all. Children have congenital ability to speak, but to use it they must learn language. Babies will spontaneously express emotions such as anger or distress, but they will have to learn manage their feelings in accordance with the norms accepted in their culture.

Thus, behavior is a product of the interaction of maturation and learning processes. A number of restrictions or features of behavior are embedded in the genetic code, but all behavior develops within the framework of a specific characteristic of each individual. biological species environment.

Bibliography:

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2. Ananyev B.G. On the problems of modern human science. - M., 1977.

3. Developmental and educational psychology / Ed. M.V. Ga-meso, M.V. Matyukhina, G.S. Mikhalchik. - M., 1984.

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7. Mukhina B.S. Age-related psychology. - M., 1997.

Development of human character: features, conditions and main factors

Snezhana Ivanova

What has the greatest influence on the development of a person's character? What factors play a leading role in this process?

Problems related to the formation and development of human character were of interest to ancient philosophers, medieval scientists, and modern psychologists and psychoanalysts. They all tried to find answers to many questions related to the characteristics of character development: what has the greatest influence on the development of a person’s character, what factors play a leading role in this process, what conditions are decisive in its formation.

In order to understand what influences the formation and development of character, it is necessary to first separate these concepts. Thus, development is understood as a process that is aimed at certain changes (qualitative and quantitative). In psychology, development is considered as a complex involutionary-evolutionary forward movement, during which various changes occur in a person (in his behavior, activity, personality, intellectual and emotional-volitional sphere), and these changes can be both progressive and regressive in nature . The development of character, like any development, is a process of changes (irreversible, directional and natural), which lead to the emergence of qualitative, structural and quantitative transformations of its traits and features of manifestation.

In contrast to development, formation refers to the purposeful and clearly organized mastery of a person by certain, fairly stable qualities, features and traits that are necessary for the successful performance of various types of activities. As for the formation of character, in this case we mean the process of formation of fairly stable traits (psychological formations) and all this occurs due to the influence of various conditions that are objective and created precisely for this purpose. These conditions were created specifically so that, as a result of repeated repetition of actions and actions, they would subsequently be consolidated and turn into the so-called typical model of human behavior.

Psychological features of character development

Character develops and is formed throughout a person’s individual life path under the influence of various conditions. The development of character traits is particularly influenced by the process of upbringing and active human activity, labor and work, society and interpersonal contacts, personal orientation and position. But scientists did not immediately come to this conclusion, because quite for a long time It was believed that the development of a person’s character is influenced only by his innate characteristics.

For many ancient philosophers, the basis for character formation was human innateness. For example, Socrates, said that it is not in human power to be good or bad, but Aristotle noted that virtue or vice are innate properties. Only modern philosophers began to think that in addition to innateness, there are other factors that influence the characteristics of character development. A significant contribution to the study of the process of character development was made by Immanuel Kant, who saw him in two planes:

• physical character (given to a person only by nature, determined by inclinations and temperament);
• moral (or internal) character, which is formed under the influence of external factors of behavior.

German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, Unlike I. Kant, gave preference to the idea of ​​​​the innateness and immutability of a person’s character, which has strict certainty in all its manifestations and is impossible to change, since it depends on time and space. The philosopher was confident that neither external factors nor the process of upbringing in any way influence the characteristics of character development (according to him, all this is incapable of turning a callous person into a more sensitive and compassionate one).

The idea of ​​heredity as a leading factor determining the development of character belonged to the English philosopher Herbert Spencer. By character he understood a certain human experience that was bequeathed by the ancestors. The philosopher emphasized that over time and under the influence of the environment, the character of descendants can change, but this requires a lot of time (at least several centuries).

The turning point in understanding the essence of development and character formation was the ideas John Locke, who defended the concept of education. It was in education that the scientist saw the leading and most powerful factor in the development of a person’s character (although the natural character of children, their inclinations and abilities were not lost sight of). J. Locke noticed that a person’s behavior and the manifestation of his character depend on motives (which are one of the components of a person’s orientation). The main thing that Locke came to is that the psychophysical nature of a person and external conditions act in the unity of their influence on the characteristics of character development.

In the last 100 years, psychologists (both practitioners and theorists) have increasingly insisted that innate characteristics (biological principles in humans) are not a priority in the formation and development of character. They are subject to a greater extent to external conditions of influence and the process of upbringing (at the same time, upbringing is given leading importance, since it is called the most important social factor, which determines the entire process of character development). According to many scientists, the formation and development of character depends on a number of educational influences on a person:

• through physical education;
• through labor education;
• through moral education;
• through education in the learning process;
• using personal example;
• through the cultivation of habits;
• thanks to self-education and self-development.

Stages of character development

A person’s character develops from the first days of his life and undergoes various changes throughout his life’s journey. At the very beginning (infancy and early age), the leading factor is the imitation of the behavior and actions of adults; in preschool and primary school age, along with heredity, education influences the formation and development of character, and in adolescence, the self-education of the individual takes the reins in this process. It should be noted that character can be purposefully and consciously changed and improved by the person himself (this occurs due to changes in social behavior person, in social activities, in communication and interpersonal interaction), and all these changes can occur at any age stage of a person’s life.

For the first time, serious attempts to identify the main stages of character development were made by the famous Austrian psychologist and psychiatrist, the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (Freud). He identified 5 main stages (or stages) of human character formation: oral (the first year of life), anal (period from 1 to 3 years), phallic (3-5 years), latent (from 6 years to the onset of puberty) and genital (from adolescence to the death of a person). The stages of character formation proposed by Freud are described in the table

Stages of human character development according to S. Freud

In psychology, it is customary to divide the stages of character development into age periods, each of which has its own leading factors and conditions for its formation. So, character begins to form from the first days of life of a tiny creature - a baby. At this age, direct emotional communication with parents is important for a child, thanks to which all his mental processes (both cognitive and emotional-volitional) and properties (including character) develop. That is why at this age it is important for the baby not only to take care of him, but also to love and affection from his parents.

At an early age and in the preschool period, the child mainly learns the behavior patterns of the adults around him by imitating them. Therefore, during this period, character is formed thanks to not only the innate characteristics of children (brain functions, characteristics of GNI), but also with the help of direct training (in game form) followed by emotional reinforcement (praise, approval, support). The main condition for character development is the social environment (family, preschool educational institution, social contacts in systems “adult-child”, “child-child”, “adult-adult”).

It must be emphasized that the primary ones are laid precisely in preschool age Therefore, trust, openness and kindness in communication with children are very important (the child, imitating, applies these traits in his behavior, and adults should reinforce them with a reward/punishment system). Among the very first character traits that are formed at this age, it is worth highlighting:

• kindness/selfishness;
• responsiveness/indifference;
• sociability/isolation;
• neatness/sloppiness;
• hard work/laziness.

The next stage of character formation is junior school age. At this time, new features appear and previously formed ones can be corrected. Of particular importance here is the assessment of the child’s actions and actions on the part of adults, because it is in this way that his personality is formed. In the primary grades, children develop such character traits as responsibility, punctuality, perseverance, accuracy, hard work, etc. The greatest influence on whether previously formed traits will be consolidated or destroyed is the process and conditions of the child’s learning.

During adolescence, the child’s moral development actively occurs, which in turn significantly influences the formation and development of character. At this time, strong-willed traits develop more actively. And in early adolescence (high school students) they are formed. Here the following have a special influence on character development:

• a person’s personal attitude towards others, towards himself;
• level of self-esteem and self-confidence;
• media and the global Internet.

At this stage of character development, its main features are practically already formed; later they are consolidated or replaced and some transformation takes place.

Regardless of what stage of character development a person is at, this process is necessarily influenced by the information field, namely:

• the opinion and judgment of other people;
• personal example significant people and their actions (the same applies to negative forms of behavior as an option for what is unacceptable);
• books (or rather the actions and actions of the heroes described in them);
• film, television and media;
• cultural and ideological development of society and state.

In a person’s adult life, character formation does not stop, but moves to a new, more meaningful stage. Thus, more rational character traits and those necessary for achieving success both in the family and at work (responsibility, endurance, determination, perseverance, perseverance, etc.) are consolidated.

Main factors of character development

In order to understand which factors have the greatest influence on the formation and development of character, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of “factors” and “conditions”. Factors are understood as certain levers of influence (these are special driving forces or “engines”) on the process of character formation, and conditions are those circumstances in which the development process itself occurs.

There has always been a kind of “war” among scientists over the priority factors of character development, because at various times representatives of different psychological trends tried to defend their point of view on this problem. For example, V.S. Soloviev he saw the main condition for the formation of a “moral” character in unity, as well as in the constant interaction of natural conditions and the environment, and I.A. Ilyin Among the main factors he singled out family and school. Founder of educational anthropology K.D. Ushinsky argued that the main factors in the development of character and its formation are the social environment, features of the educational process and the active activity of the person himself.

P.F. Kapterev identified three categories of factors that shape character:

• natural (temperament, structural features of the body, gender, etc., that is, all those that are given to man by nature and practically do not change);
• cultural (influence of society, family, school, profession, political system and level of social development);
• personal factor (self-education, self-development, personal self-improvement, that is, when a person is the author of himself).

It is also worth paying attention to ideas I.A. Sikorsky, who identified the following factors in the development of a child’s character:

• educational environment (family);
• positive atmosphere (cheerful mood and good spirits);
• location (praise, approval, support, trust);
• congenital features of neuropsychic organization.

Analyzing all the factors that influence the development of a person’s character, it is necessary to recall that they are of greatest importance in childhood, adolescence and youth. And it is precisely in childhood, according to P.F. Lesgafta, the development of personality’s character is influenced by:

• all the sensations that the child experiences;
• the emotional unrest that he experiences;
• the people who surround him;
• the type of activity that he performs (labor occupies a special place as the most serious and consistent work).

Thus, a person’s character is determined by many factors, various conditions and objective circumstances of the individual’s life path, but these circumstances are created and changed as a result of a person’s actions, behavior and activities. Therefore, we can safely say that a person himself takes an active part in the process of development and formation of his character and must bear responsibility for all his actions and deeds.

The idea of ​​development as a process and as an activity is almost sufficient to describe the entire continuum of historical changes in human reality within the framework of socially defined value bases, targets and time intervals. The totality of these ideas allows us not only to speak in general terms about the cultural and historical conditionality of the development of subjectivity, the inner world of a person, but also to directly theoretically and practically take into account the socio-historical context of development processes, reveal their content and methods of organization in terms of this context.

However, it is necessary to introduce a special—third—idea “about development in general”: about self-development, that is, about a person’s development of his own self. In psychology, we should talk about development according to the essence of man - about self-development as the fundamental ability of a person to become and be a genuine subject of his own life, to transform his own life activity into a subject of practical transformation. This means that another determinant is included in human development—the value-semantic determinant. Development for a person is a goal, a value, and sometimes the meaning of his life.

Understanding development as a real process in psychology has its own specifics. The nature of the psyche as a developing process, the main way of existence of the psyche as a process require the use of concepts that could reflect the organization of the psyche unfolding over time, identify its structure, the change of stages and phases of the process, the relationship of stages and levels of development.

Development is a process of multidirectional changes. In ontogenesis, even within just the mental sphere, there is significant variability in the directions of development and the nature of changes. In the same period of development, some systems and structures improve, while others regress in their level of functioning. General mental development reveals greater individual plasticity and can, depending on a person’s living conditions and the dominant type of development, take different shapes. There are two types of qualitative transformation of an object in the process of development - progress and regression.

The development process is not a simple progression towards increasingly efficient functioning and improvement of the system. Throughout the entire life span, development consists of a combination of gains and losses. Human mental development is always a unity of progressive and regressive transformations, but the relationship between these multidirectional processes at different stages of an individual’s life path changes significantly. “Progressive development,” writes L. I. Antsyferova, “being a transition from lower to higher, from less perfect to more perfect, also includes some elements of regression: the qualitative direction of development, updating and creating a wide range of potentials for the psychological development of the individual, in at the same time, it limits the possibilities of its development in other directions.”

For psychology, the idea of ​​development as a unity of the processes of differentiation and integration is also essential. The development process is a movement from the general to the particular, from homogeneous, holistic, global forms to heterogeneous forms. This is the process of dismemberment, division, differentiation of an object. At the same time, development is a process of coordination, connection, and integration of individual components of an object into integral structures. Both processes are universal in nature and mutually support each other. As N.I. Chuprikova notes, differentiation and integration “reveal the essence of development as a directed change in systems from a less ordered to a more ordered state, as the growth of their organization.”

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Under development usually understood:

1. increasing system complexity;
2. improving adaptability to external conditions (for example, development of the body);
3. an increase in the scale of the phenomenon (for example, the development of a bad habit, a natural disaster);
4. quantitative growth of the economy and qualitative improvement of its structure;
5. social progress.

Options

• emergence of new elements
• emergence of new objects, differentiation.

Characteristics

1. Qualitative change. Transition from one state to another (visual-effective, visual-figurative, abstract-logical).
2. Irreversibility of development. Development presupposes stability (absolute constancy, stability of regular phenomena, preservation of individual differences).
3. Specificity of the development object(psyche and consciousness or a person in the system of his social relations).

Patterns

1. Irregularity and heterochrony:
   • Unevenness - various mental functions, properties and formations develop unevenly.
   • Heterochrony is the asynchrony of the phases of development of individual organs and functions.
2. Unsustainability of development: Development always goes through unstable periods (expressed in development crises)
3. Development Sensitivity: Sensitive period of development - a period of increased susceptibility of mental functions to external influences
4. Cumulativeness: The result of the development of the previous stage is included in the subsequent one.
5. Divergence-convergence
   • Divergence - increasing diversity in the process of mental development
   • Convergence is its curtailment, increased selectivity.

Components of human development

Human development can be divided into three components:

• physical development (changes in body weight, height, etc.);
• social development (change in social status);
• development of mental processes: intelligence (thinking, attention, memory); development of will; development of emotions.

History of the concept

The modern concept of development is preceded by:

• Platonic concept of development as unfolding, through which all possibilities, inherent in the embryo from the very beginning, gradually manifest themselves, come from an implicit existence to an explicit one
• mechanistic concept of development as improvement

Historical development

Historical development is one of the main problems of the philosophy and methodology of history. The concept of historical development should be distinguished both from the teleological idea of ​​progress and from the natural scientific concept of evolution.

Notes

see also

Bibliography

• Korotaev A.V., Malkov A.S., Khalturina D.A. Laws of history. Mathematical modeling of the development of the World System. Demography, economics, culture. 2nd ed. M.: URSS, 2007. ISBN 978-5-484-00957-2.

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See what “Development” is in other dictionaries: DEVELOPMENT - forward movement, evolution, transition from one state to another. R. is opposed to “creation”, “explosion”, emergence from nothing, as well as spontaneous formation from chaos and “catastrophism”, which involves sudden, instantaneous replacement...

See what “Development” is in other dictionaries: Philosophical Encyclopedia

See what “Development” is in other dictionaries:- DEVELOP, DEVELOPMENT The verbs develop develop and reflexive develop develop in the Russian literary language until the very end of the 18th century. expressed only specific meanings (sometimes with a professional connotation), directly resulting from their morphological ... History of words - (development) A multidimensional process, usually implying a change in state from less satisfactory to more satisfactory. Development is a normative concept; it does not have a single generally accepted definition. Some people think that...

See what “Development” is in other dictionaries: Political science. Dictionary. - DEVELOPMENT, development, many. no, cf. (book). 1. Action under Ch. develop develop. Muscle development through gymnastics. 2. Condition according to Ch. develop develop. Industrial development. 3. The process of transition from one state to another, more... ...

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary development - progress, improvement, evolution, growth; development, forging, formation, education; development, outlook; process, forward movement, step forward, sophistication, proliferation, range of interests, clarification, course, ontogenesis, progress,... ...

See what “Development” is in other dictionaries:- a biological process of closely interrelated quantitative (growth) and qualitative (differentiation) transformations of individuals from the moment of conception to the end of life (individual development, or ontogenesis) and throughout the entire existence of life on ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Development- international credit operations contributed to the formation of the global MONEY MARKET, the most important sectors of which are the American money market and the European market, controlled by transnational banks and international... ... Financial Dictionary

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary- DEVELOPMENT is an irreversible, progressive change in objects of the spiritual and material world in time, understood as linear and unidirectional. In European philosophy, the concept of R. became dominant in modern times, when it became established... ... Encyclopedia of Epistemology and Philosophy of Science

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See what “Development” is in other dictionaries:- DEVELOPMENT, directed, natural change in nature and society. As a result of development, a new qualitative state of the object of its composition or structure arises. There are two forms of development: evolutionary, associated with gradual... ... Modern encyclopedia

Some developmental processes, such as growth during prenatal or early puberty or hair graying, are primarily biological. Evidence confirms that early language development is also primarily biologically determined, as noted later in this chapter (see also Chapter 5). Many other aspects of development, such as learning to count, use the Internet, or developing a taste for sushi, may depend primarily on personal experience. Taking on the speech patterns, vocabulary, accents, and intonations of people you grew up with or learned a second language with is another example of development that is largely experiential.

Moreover, most of the development that occurs during a person’s life course is the result of successful interactions between biology and experience. Development as a whole cannot be defined as determined by purely biological factors or solely by the influence of experience; rather it represents a continuous dynamic interplay between these two basic causes. Suppose you were born with some intellectual potential based on the specific nature of your central nervous system. However, biologically there is a continuum within which your intelligence may decline from time to time. But how intelligent you are

Chapter 1. Perspectives and methods of research 21

alny today, is also determined by your diet as a child, your experience of life at home and at school, and many other even more, at first glance, minor factors. As another example, let's assume that you were born with some particular personality trait, such as being shy or being outgoing. However, your personality has been shaped by the interactions you have had with others throughout your life, the sense of self you acquired as an infant, the sociocultural environment in which you grew up, and many other factors.

Gone are the days when theorists concentrated on individual components of development, to the point of completely excluding all others, as noted earlier. Similarly, developmental scholars no longer debate whether certain aspects of the cognitive or personality domains are a function of exclusively biological inclinations or exclusively function of life experience. The speech function appears and improves, obviously, through the development of innate abilities under the influence of the subject’s experience. All children born healthy are pre-equipped with the ability to master language. People spontaneously go through a sequence of activities that include listening to speech sounds, producing simple speech sounds, and gradually decoding the words and sentences they hear spoken by people around them (Pinker, 1997). However, it is clear that in order for them to be able to pronounce real words and sentences that others can understand, they must hear speech around them in a certain language. However, infants do spontaneously express emotions such as anger or distress, but over time they have to learn how to deal with their emotions in their particular culture. This observation by Donald Hebb (Hebb, 1966) is especially appreciated since it was made more than a third of a century ago.

What theorists still argue about (sometimes very heatedly) is how much And how this characteristic or behavior pattern is biologically or socially determined. So, for example, some theorists determine the influence of biological factors on intellectual abilities up to 75 or 80% (see Chapter 9). Representatives of the other extreme position believe that only 25% of the total process of development of intellectual abilities is biologically determined. For this reason, the debates of the past are still relevant today; they remain, although they have shifted their emphasis.

Heredity and environment. Today, the problem of combining the biological principle in a person and his experience of development most often comes down to the problem of interaction heredity And environment. In Chapter 3 we will look in more detail at the genetic factors that may underlie human development, predetermining its course, and their interaction with the specific effects of the physical and social environment surrounding a person. Theorists who give priority to the dictates of heredity speak of the strong influence of the underlying biological structures of humans.
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To support their position, they cite data obtained from animal experiments and statistical procedures performed on humans. In addition, they emphasize the fact that specific genes that determine development and behavior have already been identified, and especially

22 Part I. Beginning

The third stage of a person’s life path is the Toddler period (the first two years of life)

Much attention is drawn to those of them that cause such manifestations as mental retardation. On the other hand, environmentalist explanations of human development (proponents of the dominant role of the environment in human behavior and development) focus on the experiences of individuals related to thinking and consciousness, and, in addition, on such environmental factors as nutrition and health , each of which can also contribute to the development of mental retardation. As noted earlier, representatives of both approaches now recognize each other's points of view. Heredity and environment interact, but theorists still debate their relative contributions to development and how they contribute. The position they take on this issue determines the direction and nature of their research.

Growing up and learning. These concepts usually refer to processes of change that occur together or independently of each other. Terms such as growth, maturation, and aging refer to purely biological processes. Learning is a change that occurs over time and is associated with practice or experience. When development is viewed in terms of maturation and learning, the emphasis often shifts to its time periodization. For example, how does the biologically determined development of the muscles and bones of the human skeleton interact with his practical activities related to his personal experience? More precisely, what types of activities, when and how often result in the normal development of muscles and motor functions? Similar questions arise when considering cognitive and personality development, where the process of maturation of his nervous and hormonal systems interacts with the individual’s experience. How can experiences gained in childhood affect the entry into puberty, a biological process? Or how can the biologically determined phenomenon of menopause (the complete cessation of menstrual cycles due to changes in the hormonal system) be affected by a woman's lifestyle, if at all? What are the comparative contributions of maturation and learning? And also, are there “critiques”?

Chapter 1. Perspectives and methods of research 23

logical periods during which the interaction of maturation and learning is critical to ensure optimal development? Similar questions will be asked many times in the following chapters.

Critical and sensitive periods. The problem of the interaction of maturation and learning leads to a related question: are there critical periods, during which must happen or never Are certain types of development not occurring? Let's consider the impact that some diseases have on the course of pregnancy (see Chapter 4). If a pregnant woman who is not immune to rubella (German Measles), exposed to the virus of this disease within 2 months after conception, the likelihood of serious fetal abnormalities, for example, subsequent deafness of the baby or even miscarriage, greatly increases. However, if the same woman is exposed to the rubella virus 6 months after conception, it will not affect her developing baby.

Another example comes from the animal kingdom. There is a critical period of time, lasting several hours after birth, when goslings develop an attachment to the mother goose simply by being near her. This phenomenon is known as imprinting(see chapter 6). Imprinting in goslings does not occur before or after this period. Perhaps humans also have a similar critical period during which infants develop emotional attachments to their caregivers? Or, more broadly, do we have critical periods for the acquisition of certain skills or behaviors?

Theorists argue. Despite recent evidence suggesting that early experiences, directly and indirectly, have a decisive and permanent influence on the structure of the brain (Shore, 1997; see also Ramey and Ramey, 1998), detailed analysis time periodization is quite complex. It is often more reasonable to argue in terms of sensitive or optimal

Security questions for the topic

“Key problems in the study of human development” 1

‣‣‣ The boundaries of developmental periods such as childhood and adolescence are universal in all cultures.

‣‣‣ The socialization process involves intentional learning; the process of mastering culture is associated with involuntary learning.

‣‣‣ Scientific research human development began in the 16th century.

‣‣‣ Only heredity determines the main features of any area of ​​human development and behavior.

‣‣‣ When studying the temporal periodization of human development, in most cases it is advisable to use the terms of sensitive rather than critical periods.

Question to think about What do we mean when we say that development is holistic, holistic and always takes place in context?

24 Part I. Beginning

certain periods during which the best and most effective learning of certain skills and development of certain traits occur. This does not mean that these types of learning and development only take place during these periods. For example, if you are studying foreign language as a child, you are more likely to speak it as well as native speakers than if you learn it as a teenager. At the same time, a child learns some aspects of language faster and with greater ease than an adult. Still you you can learn a foreign language at any time in your life, and if you put enough effort into it, you will be able to speak it almost similarly to your native language.

Obviously, there is such an indicator as readiness, implying the achievement of a certain level in one’s development, allowing one to acquire a certain model of behavior; Before this level of maturity is reached, the behavior cannot be acquired. For example, no special training will allow a three-month-old child to walk without the support of others; At this level of maturity, the infant simply does not have the ability to maintain balance and the essential muscles to make coordinated movements of the legs under the weight of his body.

The exact nature of the temporal periodization of human development is still not known. The main problem of research remains determining the optimal periods for the development of various behavioral models.

In table 1.2 outlines the key issues discussed in this section.

Table 1.2 Key issues in human development

Heredity and environment

To what extent is development determined by genetic factors and to what extent is it influenced by specific factors in the physical and social environment?

Growing up and learning

How does the interaction of the biologically determined process of maturation and that based on development determine development? personal experience learning?

Critical and sensitive periods

Are there critical periods during which specific types of development should (or should never) occur?

Development processes - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Development Processes" 2017, 2018.