Psychology of development and developmental psychology. lecture course

From the very first days of his birth, a person begins, like a sponge, to absorb a huge amount of information coming from the external environment: from people, from things, from events and life situations. And in addition to the fact that a person begins to develop physically, his psyche, his personality is also formed. And hardly anyone can give a 100% correct answer to the question of how this person will grow up. But if you start to understand what human development is, you will find that this complex process has its own patterns. And for this reason, one of the most important topics in psychology can be safely called developmental psychology, which is the subject of this lesson.

In the process of studying the presented material, we will get acquainted with the problem of development in psychology, as well as the subject and methods of developmental psychology and developmental psychology. Let us find out what specific questions developmental psychology studies and what tasks it sets for itself. Let's talk separately about such things as the development of the child, the development of abilities. We will find out what principles of development exist in psychology and how the formation and development of a person generally takes place. Let us briefly touch on various age-related deviations and abnormal development.

What is Developmental Psychology

And according to our traditional pattern, to begin with, we should understand what developmental psychology is in general, and how this phenomenon is understood in modern psychological science.

This is a field of psychology that studies the psychological changes of a person as he grows up. Therefore, developmental psychology is often referred to as developmental psychology, although developmental psychology can be safely called the methodological basis of developmental psychology, because. it contains a more extensive knowledge base. Developmental psychology may be part of developmental psychology, but in this lesson we will use these concepts as synonyms.

Developmental psychology includes several subsections:

Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology - studies the mental life of unborn and newborn children;
Child psychology - studies the mental development of the child;
Psychology of youth and adulthood - studies the mental characteristics of people in adolescence and adulthood;
Gerontopsychology - studies the psyche of the elderly.

Developmental psychology deals with the study of the human psyche and body in different age periods and at all stages. The appearance of developmental psychology dates back to 1882 and is associated with the publication of the book "The Soul of the Child" by the German psychologist Wilhelm Preuer. This work was devoted to child psychology. And already in the 20th century, developmental psychology became an independent science. And like any serious independent science, developmental psychology has its own subject, object, tasks and functions, which we will discuss below.

Subject, object, tasks and functions of developmental psychology

The object of developmental psychology. Based on the fact that psychology is a science about a person and his mental characteristics, the object of developmental psychology is a person in the process of his development and maturation. Developmental psychology determines the changes in the psyche of people associated with age, and tries to explain them, to understand the patterns by which people acquire knowledge and experience.

The subject of developmental psychology. The subject of study of developmental psychology are specific age periods, the causes of transitions from one period to the next and their mechanisms, trends, patterns, as well as the pace and direction of mental development in the process of overall human development. This also includes the individual and age characteristics of people, the development of mental processes and various kinds activity, the formation of personality traits.

Tasks of developmental psychology. Developmental psychology sets itself the following tasks:

Reveal the general patterns of human development
Determine the reasons for the transition from one stage to another
Classify age periods
Create a psychological picture of each period
To study the leading factors of development

In connection with the tasks set, the following functions of developmental psychology can be distinguished:

Descriptive function- describes the features of human development in specific age periods in terms of external manifestations and internal experiences;
explanatory function- explains and helps to understand the causes, factors and conditions of changes in human behavior, as well as his experiences in different age periods;
predictive function- predicts certain changes in the behavior and experiences of a person at each age stage;
Corrective function- creates optimal conditions to manage human development.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that developmental psychology reveals the psychological content of each stage of development (growing up) and their dynamics. Moreover, any changes are considered in dynamics and taking into account the factors influencing the development of the human psyche. In the process of research, the patterns of development at different stages are compared, the mechanisms for acquiring and maintaining knowledge and skills are studied, they are compared and further identification of factors influencing personal and intellectual growth.

In order to make it possible to compile the most objective and holistic description of the development of the human psyche at all stages of his life, today research uses a large number of various methods, which should be discussed in more detail.

Methods of developmental psychology

Developmental psychology uses general scientific and general psychological methods adapted specifically for it. And preference is given to methods that are most suitable for studying age-related changes in the psyche and mental processes. All methods of developmental psychology can be divided into several categories: general scientific methods, psychogenetic, psychophysiological, historical and psychological. Let's consider each category separately.

General scientific methods

General scientific methods are a special modification of methods that are used in many other scientific disciplines. The main among them are observation, experiment and modeling.

Observation

Observation- this is a purposeful and regularly repeated study of a person, based on the results of which an objective assessment is given. The observation method is a prerequisite for other methods such as journaling or autobiography. And the observation itself can be divided into several subspecies:

Indirect observation (the researcher does not register the process itself, but only its result; such observation can occur through authorized persons);
Direct observation (the researcher records data during direct observation of the process);
Field observation (the researcher records data in the natural environment);
Laboratory observation (artificial conditions are specially created for observation);
Open observation (the study is conducted openly and all its participants know about it);
Covert observation (the object of observation may not know about the study or know only part of the information);
Involved observation (the researcher himself participates in the process and can interact with the object);
Non-involved observation (the researcher can only observe without being included in the process itself);
Random observation (research is provided spontaneously, unplanned, due to circumstances);
Purposeful observation (the study is carried out specially, pre-planned);
Continuous observation (the researcher observes all objects, not singling out anyone);
Selective observation (the researcher observes a specific object);
Arbitrary observation (uncontrolled observation that does not have a clear plan);
Structured observation (the study is carried out according to a specific plan, using special documents, instruments, etc.);
Ascertaining observation (the study is carried out with the aim of fixing the data, without evaluating them);
Evaluative observation (a study is carried out in order to record data and evaluate them).

You can do your own observation. It is only important to understand why you will spend it. Set a goal. This is a top priority. For example, you would like to know how easy it is for your growing child to find mutual language with peers. Use the method of purposeful non-participant field direct observation. Simply put, when you go for a walk with your child, go to the playground and let him play, watch him, look at how he converges with other children. Such an observation will give you an answer to a question that concerns you, you will get to know your child better, and you will also be able to somehow improve the model of your upbringing in order to eliminate the shortcomings that have begun to appear or, conversely, to strengthen some positive traits. Observation can become more scientific if you define a specific goal, think carefully about your research plan, try to simulate the situation and create right conditions, and will also use any documentation for analysis or adhere to a certain system.

Experiment

Experiment is a method of purposefully changing one or more variables and observing the results of this change. It differs from observation in that it studies the reactions of a person, and not the spontaneous manifestations of his psyche. There are several types of experiment:

Laboratory experiment (the study is carried out in special conditions, and the subject is aware of his participation);
Natural experiment (the study is as close as possible to natural conditions, and the subject may not be aware of his participation);
Chamber experiment (research is carried out under less severe conditions than laboratory ones, but not in natural conditions: a room, a special room, etc.);
Formative experiment (during the study, the researcher actively influences the subject);
Individual experiment (the study is conducted with one person);
Group experiment (the study is conducted with a group of people).

The experiment is good because it can be carried out repeatedly and create special conditions for studying the mental process of interest. So, for example, it is very easy to check under what conditions your child best learns the material being studied. Conduct this experiment: find out your child's homework and, in the first case, give him the opportunity to do it on his own, without helping him and not being included in the process. In the second case, while doing homework, be next to your child and from time to time take part in doing homework (voice the task yourself or participate in the process of doing it). Such an experiment will allow you to find out what conditions are best for your child to effectively complete homework and assimilate the material being studied, and this, in turn, means that you will be able to create precisely such conditions in the future, and your child's academic performance can significantly increase.

Modeling

Modeling- this is a recreation of a certain mental reality (state, situation, mood, etc.). The modeling method is used in psychology in order to obtain more accurate data about the psyche of the person being studied, the features of his behavior in certain situations and under certain conditions, as well as his reactions to them.

With the help of the modeling method, you can find out, for example, whether your child got rid of some bad habit after you took certain measures for this. Let's say you notice that your child constantly bites his nails when he has nothing to do with his hands for a long time. You told him that it was bad, you tried in every possible way to show that it was not necessary to do this, that it was ugly and unhygienic, you tried to distract him so that the habit faded into the background, you used some other methods. Then you saw that for a week the child did not bite his nails. In order to verify the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the methods you use to wean your child from bad habit, you can specifically simulate the situation so that for a long time the child has nothing to occupy his hands with. Create conditions for internal impulses to manifest externally: stop distracting the child, turn on a cartoon for him or just leave him in the room, but so that there are no toys nearby, etc. of things. It is important that you can observe the child. Watch what he does, how his behavior has changed on the physical level. If your methods have been effective, then you will see that the child will not bite his nails. If your methods were ineffective, then the child will again pull his hands to his mouth, and this will be an occasion to try to wean the child from the bad habit in some other way. Perhaps even consult a specialist on such issues.

The above examples of the application of general scientific methods, of course, are far from the only and not exhaustive. In fact, there are a lot of ways to use them and they all differ in their characteristics. Our task is to understand the very idea and principle of operation of general scientific methods. And for this you need to more often project them onto the surrounding reality and put them into practice.

Next on the list, but less important, are psychophysiological methods.

Psychophysiological methods

Psychophysiological methods include methods for studying the higher nervous activity of children. The following are considered the most proven:

A technique for studying conditioned reflexes based on swallowing movements;
A technique for studying conditioned reflexes based on grasping movements;
A technique for studying conditioned reflexes based on indicative reinforcement (for example, the appearance of a picture);
A technique for studying conditioned reflexes based on verbal reinforcement;
Methodology for the study of sucking food reflexes;
Methodology for the study of defensive protective movements of the eye;
Replacing the direct stimulus with its verbal designation

Psychophysiological methods, as a rule, are used to study children in the first and second years of life and in specialized institutions. Therefore, if you are not a narrow specialist, these techniques are unlikely to give any results or practically valuable knowledge. The most convenient and recommended way to get acquainted with psychophysiological methods is to observe how specialists use them, as well as the ability to correctly interpret the data obtained.

Psychogenetic methods

Psychogenetic methods are aimed at isolating environmental and heredity factors in individual variations. psychological qualities. It can be said that “genotypic-environmental” is being studied, where the genotype is understood as a set of genes, and the environment is non-genetic factors that affect a person. The main psychogenetic methods are:

Twin method based on a comparison of two types of twins (monozygous, developed from one egg and dizygotic, developed from two or more eggs). There are also varieties of the twin method: classical, control twin method, separated twin method, family method, etc.;
Foster child method;
Pedigree analysis method (genealogical).

Psychogenetic methods, along with psychophysiological methods, can only be used by specialists and in specialized institutions, because appear to be the most complex and require a purely scientific approach.

historical methods

Historical methods, or, as they are also called, document analysis methods, study the life path of a person, the features of heredity and environment, which created special prerequisites for his spiritual development. Basically, historical methods study those people whose activities had or have a certain cultural value, but can also be used to study the lives of ordinary people. This group of methods includes the following:

diary
Autobiographical
Biographical
Pathographic (diseases of prominent people are described)

Historical methods seem very convenient for their application in practice, even ordinary people. If you have a person who makes you admire, and you would like to know more about him, his life, the conditions in which he developed, his inner world, then you can use the biographical or autobiographical method. To do this, you need to find and familiarize yourself with the sources that contain data about the life and personality of this person. And if you want to identify any patterns or important stages in the development of your child, you can use the diary method. Write down your observations about the subject of study in a diary. This diary should be a kind of protocol of observations, the analysis of which will help to identify what you need. By the way, the diary method is very popular and many psychologists have created their theories based on observations of their children.

And the last group of methods of developmental psychology are psychological methods.

Psychological methods

Psychological methods can be divided into two subgroups.

To first subgroup include introspective methods. They are designed to directly collect information about the object of study. Here stand out:

Introspection- is used to identify certain features and mental phenomena in oneself by a person;
Self-esteem- is used to identify a person in himself not only features and phenomena, but also stable mental qualities.

Co. second subgroup include socio-psychological methods, carried out, in most cases, indirectly. Here stand out:

Conversation- obtaining information through communication, where the roles of participants are equal (a conversation between a teacher and a student, a conversation between a father and a son, etc.);
Interview- obtaining information through communication, where one person asks questions, is the leader, and the second answers, is the follower (oral exam, etc.);
Questionnaire- obtaining information through people's answers to prepared questions;
Sociometry- obtaining information through the study of the status of a person in society (a group of people);
Analysis of products of activity (creativity)- obtaining information through knowledge control (dictations, essays, etc.), restoration of activities from the opposite (from the result), graphics, drawings, etc.;
Testing- obtaining information through brief structured tests (aptitude tests, perception tests, skill tests, projective tests, career guidance tests, intelligence tests, etc.).

Psychological methods can be safely ranked among the most commonly used in developmental psychology. One of the reasons for this is the convenience of their use and the ability to apply almost everywhere. You yourself can use any of the psychological methods in order to learn more about yourself or your loved ones. For yourself, for example, you can apply the method of self-observation, which will help you learn more about your character traits, habits, reactions, and so on. If you have a child, you can offer him some tests. It is up to you to decide what the test will be designed to determine. You can find a huge number of all kinds of tests on the Internet or in special collections that are sold in bookstores.

You can get more information about psychological methods from the second lesson of this training.

As we have noticed, there are quite a lot of research methods in developmental psychology. And for the most exact definition and the study of the origin, emergence and development of a person's mental manifestations at each stage of his development, these methods should be used, both individually and in combination. But what is no less important is to take into account the age of people whose mental characteristics are being studied, because there are certain age groups that have their own special characteristics and traits. Below are the age groups.

Age groups

Age this is a peculiar period of physical, psychological and behavioral development, which is characterized by its own characteristics. There are several types of ages:

biological age- the degree of development of the organism;
social age- degree of development social roles and functions;
Psychological age- features of psychology and behavior;
physical age- quantitative indicator of human development (days, weeks, months, years).

The division of a person's life path exists in order to make it possible to better understand the patterns of development and the specifics of different age stages. There have been many attempts at periodization throughout the history of developmental psychology. But the problem of objective age periodization remains relevant to this day, because. none of the previously proposed periodizations has been confirmed in the specific results of the study of developmental psychology. But, of course, despite this, the main age groups can still be distinguished. Physical periodization is best suited for this:

Infancy (from birth to 1 year)
Early childhood (from 1 year to 3 years)
Preschool age, play (from 3 to 6 years old)
School age (from 6 to 12 years old)
Youth (from 12 to 20 years old)
Youth (20 to 25 years old)
Adulthood (from 25 to 60 years old)
Old age (from 60 years old)

Each age group, among other things, is characterized by its own psychological characteristics. And the psychological periods do not coincide with the physical periods indicated above. So, if we consider the age groups according to psychological sign, then the picture will look like this:

Up to 1 year

Everything is extremely simple here: the main thing that parents need to do in order for the child to develop is to support his life, feed, take care, etc. It is during this period that the child begins to learn about the world around him. Even at such a small age, the character of a person, especially behavior, perception, begins to appear. You need to be careful and pay attention to absolutely everything that concerns the child.

From 1 year to 3 years

During this period, the situation changes, the child begins to walk, show interest in his body and his genitals, and also expand his, so far small, vocabulary. The individuality of the child begins to appear and it is already possible to begin to notice its differences from other children. You can also see manifestations of predisposition. So, for example, you can give the baby a marker and see what he will do with it: he will start to nibble, throw or draw. Try to observe him more - this will help to identify any tendencies or, conversely, deviations.

3 years

This period is associated with the crisis of 3 years, because. from a calm baby, the child turns into a capricious fidget, starts arguing with parents, throwing up scandals, etc. This is exactly the period when you need to learn how to find common ground with your child, negotiate with him, develop your own tactics of behavior and manner of education. At this age, you can already send your child to kindergarten. But before doing this, it is necessary to determine whether it will benefit him or not. To make it easier to do this, and indeed, to find an approach to the child, study more specialized literature, apply knowledge in practice. It might be worth attending a few seminars on parenting young children. And, of course, continue to observe the child and use different approaches in communication and education. Through experimentation, trial and error, you will find the best option.

4 years

The next stage of changes in the psychology of the child: he begins to be more actively interested in the world around him and more consciously perceive information. Therefore, it's time to think about what information your child receives, what he watches on TV, what books you read to him, what you talk to him about. It is best if you provide him with only useful and developing information, start teaching him to read and print letters. Read good fairy tales and stories to him, try not to watch violence, pointless TV shows and stupid cartoons on TV. In general, bring to the child only the information that will contribute to his development.

5 years

This period in the development of the child is characterized by the fact that he begins to be interested in the causes of various phenomena, more and more often he wonders why certain things happen. Many children at this age have fears of various kinds, they are disturbed by some phenomena and events, nightmares can occur. At this stage, you should focus your attention on the manifestation of such moments. Be interested in what worries your child, what makes him worry and worry. Watch how he expresses his concerns. It can be drawings, strange inscriptions, unusual behavior. Pay attention to how you yourself behave in the process ordinary life communicating with him and other people. In this period, the transition of your child's perception from his previous perception of various phenomena to a more meaningful one is possible.

6 years

At this stage in the development of the child, you may notice that the prerequisites for the concept of what sexuality is. Many parents are shocked that their children begin to talk about indecent things, use obscene expressions in speech. It is important to determine whether this is the norm or a deviation. From the child, questions may be asked about how they appeared and where children come from. At this stage, you need to be able to adequately explain such things to your child so that he forms the right judgments and ideas about issues related to sensitive topics.

7-11 years old

At this age, the child goes to school, and this event has a huge impact on the development of a growing person. This age is often called the pinnacle of childhood. In the psychology of the child, many new guidelines appear, which are teachers, as well as assessments of their performance. Despite the fact that at this age it is common for a child to retain many childish qualities (naivety, frivolity, orientation towards adults), he begins to lose his childish immediacy in his behavior, new thought patterns appear. Studying is a meaningful activity, because new knowledge, skills, social status are acquired, interests and values, as well as the way of life are changing. At this stage, it is important for a parent to pay special attention to his child, to talk more with him, to discuss his affairs, successes and failures, to be able to cheer up, guide him on the right path, set him up in a positive way. This plays a very important role in his subsequent development and perception of others and himself.

12-16 years old

This stage in the development of a teenager is characterized by intimate and personal communication with peers, a sense of adulthood, critical thinking, the need for self-affirmation, self-centeredness, and expansion of self-awareness. A teenager at this age is looking for himself, trying to show his individuality in appearance, behavior and speech. The desire for self-education and self-development, the need for communication, independence and independence from adults, emotional instability, the assertion of moral values, changeability of behavior, instability of views and actions are clearly expressed. It is very important to pay attention to what your child does in his spare time, what he is interested in, with whom he communicates, with whom he is friends, whether he has relationships with teenagers of the opposite sex. If you notice in your child aggressiveness towards you, frequent mood swings, decreased desire to study, absenteeism, indifference to requests, antisocial behavior, etc., then special communication methods should be used. Namely: to build communication on the basis of respect and goodwill, to accept refusals and discuss the things necessary for doing things, to be able to justify one’s point of view, to spend time together more often, to take part in the personal life of a teenager and be interested in his hobbies, to control studying proccess, conduct confidential conversations, give the opportunity to freely communicate with peers, give recommendations on internal and external self-expression. Such a strategy will allow you to set up a positive line in controlling the development of your child, find common ground with him and achieve success in mutual understanding.

16 years old 22 years old

At this age, teenagers are increasingly striving to show and prove their readiness for adulthood, independence. Greatest difficulty here represents the fact that a teenager is already both an independent person and a person who still needs help and care. This is the time of youthful maximalism, as well as fatalism, in which there is a loss of hope for a brighter future, the futility of being, aspirations and life itself. During this period, you need to provide your child with even more support, although all circumstances indicate otherwise. You can not go on about a teenager and bend under his pressure. It is important to choose a specific demeanor so that the person does not feel disadvantaged or offended and, at the same time, you can make sure that he can adequately receive support and advice from you.

23 years old 28 years old

This period of human development is characterized by the search for oneself, awareness of one's individuality, becoming oneself as an adult with his rights, opportunities, duties, obligations. A special place is occupied by thoughts about what place a person should take in life, what he aspires to, where to go, in what direction to develop. Here it is important and necessary to be a mentor, to guide, support, advise, conduct the right conversations, etc. If not properly influenced, then development can be influenced by factors that play an important role in the previous age group.

29 years old 32 years old

This period can be characterized as a transition period. many ideas, attitudes and beliefs formed earlier often seem to be wrong, and life itself no longer seems as rosy and simple as it seemed before. At this stage, questions arise about the meaning of life, the correctness of the chosen path, the activities that a person is engaged in, his beliefs and worldview. Often people at this age destroy the foundations of their past, change their lifestyle, realize new truths, set new goals and strive for them. The most fruitful work during this period is the work of a person on himself, his self-consciousness, worldview, awareness of true values.

33 years old 39 years old

At this stage of life, a person experiences pleasure from the activity that he is engaged in, strives for career growth, achievement of success and all the benefits associated with this. The main thing here is that a person should be 100% sure that the direction he has chosen is correct and should not have any doubts about choosing his life path. Otherwise, a person can be overcome by depression and a psychological crisis, which can be eliminated either by careful and scrupulous work on oneself, or by the help of a qualified specialist.

40 years old 42 years old

Time of the critical period. What a person has achieved seems insignificant and insufficient to him, often there is a feeling that life is wasted, nothing makes any sense, health and strength are declining, youth has passed, etc. As in the previous period, further psychological development depends on the person's sense of self, his picture of the world and the idea of his place in it.

43 years old 49 years old

A new period of balance, which is characterized by the stability of the psyche, beliefs, worldview. A person with renewed vigor is ready to work, especially if it is some kind of new activity, creative people experiencing bursts of inspiration. Everything contributes to living harmoniously and purposefully. It is very good if a person at this age feels supported by relatives and friends, feels his need, the participation of other people in his life.

After 50 years

After 50 years, people tend to come to a more harmonious life. They are in harmony with themselves, have rich life experience and can give an adequate assessment of their life path, past, present. The man already knows himself well. Often there is a desire to know things of a higher order, the meaning of being, the reasons for everything that happens. But this is done not from the position of a victim of a meaningless existence, but from the position of a mature personality, a mature person. A person who is over 50 may also experience a need to communicate with people. Old connections are often established and maintained and new ones appear. The best conditions for a normal life during this period are comfort, tranquility, a prosperous atmosphere, confidence in the future, the knowledge that there are loved ones nearby who can always help and support.

As you can see, each age group has its own characteristics and properties. Mental differences at each stage of human development affect his behavior, perception, activity, social activity and other important properties of his personality. Knowledge about age groups and their characteristics is of great practical importance, because they can be used to better understand your family and friends, just those around you and yourself. With the help of this knowledge, you can always find the best approach to a person of any age and make communication with him more productive, and life calm and harmonious.

In addition to the fact that there are different age groups that have their own properties, there is another important topic that is worth knowing about in order to be able to form an objective picture of the psychology of human development. These are development factors.

Factors affecting human development

The development of a person, his worldview, interests, needs, direction of his actions, the spiritual wealth of his personality and other features are directly dependent on the conditions under which he develops, and especially during childhood and adolescence. A person's personality is formed under the influence of a number of factors. The main ones among them are the following three: heredity, environment and upbringing. And they, in turn, can be divided into two large subgroups: biological (heredity) and social factors(environment, upbringing).

Heredity

Heredity This is information that is embedded in the human genes and transmitted from parents to children. And it consists of two parts:

Permanent part(Ensuring the birth of man by man)
variable part(what binds a person and his parents)

Once a person is born, he is not yet a person. His "I" is not yet manifested, he does not have a name, ideas, views, tastes, beliefs, morals, social status, etc. We can say that his life path is still unknown, and his fate is not predetermined. But in how a person will develop, heredity plays a big role. A person with better heredity will develop more successfully in society and interact with the outside world. An important condition is that a person born with certain characteristics will develop only within their framework. Thus, it turns out that a person is who he is, and his hereditary characteristics will affect him throughout his life. In fact, it looks like a person born with a poor physical heredity will not be able to achieve outstanding results in sports and physical activity, and one who was born mentally retarded will never become a scientist, philosopher, etc.

You can learn more about heredity.

Wednesday

Under environment one can understand natural, climatic, etc. conditions in which a person develops; state structure, the culture of the people, their traditions, customs, way of life. But also the environment is understood directly as the society in which a person develops: the family, the microclimate in the family, the relationship between parents, the subtleties of education, friends, classmates and other people around.

The environment in which a person develops affects his socialization, the formation of knowledge, skills, behavior, social norms, attitudes towards culture, learning, work, and other people. In the environment, the psychological characteristics of a person, his needs, attitudes, interests, aspirations, personal, social, political, ideological and material values are formed. For example, a person who grew up in a dysfunctional family, was brought up by alcoholic parents, communicated with children from other similar families, will have values and aspirations that are different from the values and aspirations of a child who grew up in prosperity, brought up by cultural people (teachers, artists, scientists). If you have a child and want to raise him as a worthy person, you must definitely keep track of the environment in which he grows and develops. It is in your hands to create the environment in which development will be the best. You can also conduct a small experiment on the influence of the environment on human development and feel the result by your own example. Try changing your social circle. Not forever, but temporarily for the sake of the experiment. If your environment is dominated by people who are used to complaining about problems, complaining about their lives, blaming everyone for their failures, you can start communicating with people who are successful, self-confident, purposeful, tuned in to positive communication and used to independently manage their lives. Literally after a month of being in a new environment, you will see how your beliefs, attitudes, reactions, and aspirations have begun to change. Your old acquaintances will appear before you in a completely different light. This is one of the examples of the influence of the environment on a person.

You can learn more about what the environment is and its influence at this link.

Upbringing

Upbringing- this is a purposeful formation of the personality, preparing it for life in society. This factor is somewhat different, in contrast to the previous two, in nature - purposefulness and awareness. Another feature of education is that it always takes place in accordance with the socio-cultural values of the society in which it is carried out.

Upbringing almost always means positive influences, moreover, systematic ones. single actions do not bring results. As a rule, the parents of the child are the main ones in the upbringing process, educators, teachers, teachers, etc. play secondary roles. Parents pass on knowledge, life experience to their children, teach some things, explain, show, tell, control. The kind of upbringing a child was given to a tangible extent depends on how he will grow up, how he will communicate with other people and behave in society, what kind of moral and ethical standards, beliefs, and so on. To make a real person out of a growing child, you need to make great efforts to proper education. This applies to everything, from small to large: from the fact that it is uncultured and unhygienic to bite your nails to that you need to take off your hat indoors; from the fact that you don’t need to swear and to the fact that you should have a goal in life and strive for something. Many examples can be cited. But what is more important is to understand the mechanisms of influence on the child. Now a lot of literature has been written on the upbringing of children, some trainings and seminars on this topic are constantly held, there are many sites on the Internet that specialize in parenting consultations. Use different sources, apply knowledge in practice and be attentive to your children. But remember that the main thing in education is own example, because a child will probably someday want to smoke a cigarette, even if his parents say that it's bad, but they themselves smoke.

Get to know at least interesting information You can learn more about upbringing at this link.

The factors under the influence of which a personality is formed exert their influence not singly, but in a complex way, i.e. together. For this reason, when studying the psychology of human development, it is necessary to take into account any details, nuances, events and phenomena that a person encounters on his life path. Only such an approach will make it possible to understand why a person (in any plan) was formed in this way and not otherwise.

Everything that we have considered in this lesson is an integral part of the development of a person and his life. Every personality is a unique creation, formed under the influence of many factors, and this process obeys its own laws. Developmental psychology, or to be more precise, knowledge about it, is the key to a successful understanding of your children, parents, relatives, friends, yourself and a person in general. Using the acquired knowledge in our everyday life, we can make our life better, more successful, more harmonious and happier, and always achieve mutual understanding with people who are nearby!

Literature

If you want to get acquainted with the topic of developmental psychology in more detail and learn even more interesting and useful information, you can use the list of references, which we have presented below.

Abramova G.S. Developmental psychology: Proc. allowance for university students. - M.: Academy, 1997
Abramova G.S. Psychology of human life: Research of gerontopsychology: Proc. allowance for students of psychology. fak. universities. - M.: Ed. center "Academy", 2002
Bern E. Games that people play. Psychology of human relationships Publisher: Eksmo, 2008
Vasilyeva T.V. You understand me? (Tests for children 5-7 years old with the recommendations of a psychologist). - S.-Pb, 1994
Wilson G., Grylls D. Find out the IQ of your child M., 1998
Vygotsky L.S. Questions of child psychology. - S.-Pb. - 1999
Gamezo M.V., Domashenko I.A. Atlas of psychology. - M., 2003.
Craig Grace. Psychology of development. - St. Petersburg, 2000
Kulagina I.Yu. Developmental psychology: child development from birth to 17 years. - M., 1998
Kulagina I.Yu., Kolyutsky VN Developmental psychology: Human development from birth to late maturity: (Full life cycle of human development): Proc. allowance for students of higher special. educational institutions. - M., 2001
Craig Grace. Psychology of development. - St. Petersburg, 2000
Mill J. About freedom / Per. from English. A. Friedman. Science and life. -1993.№11
Mukhina V.S. Developmental psychology: phenomenology of development, childhood, adolescence. - M., 1999
Orlov Yu. M. Ascent to individuality: Book. for the teacher. — M.: Enlightenment, 1991
Obukhova L.F. Age-related psychology. - M., 2000
Social Philosophy. Textbook. Edited by I.A. Gobozov. M.: Publisher Savin S.A., 2003
Sorokin P. A Man. Civilization. Society / General ed., comp. and foreword. A. Yu. Sogomonov: Per. from English. — M.: Politizdat, 1992
Uruntaeva G. A. Preschool psychology: Proc. allowance for students of secondary ped. educational institutions. - M.: Ed. center "Academy", 1999.

Test your knowledge

If you want to test your knowledge on the topic of this lesson, you can take a short test consisting of several questions. Only 1 option can be correct for each question. After you select one of the options, the system automatically proceeds to the next question. The points you receive are affected by the correctness of your answers and the time spent on passing. Please note that the questions are different each time, and the options are shuffled.

Lecture plan:

1.1. The subject of developmental psychology as a science.

1.2. General characteristics of age.

1.3. Methods of developmental psychology.

The subject of developmental psychology and science

Even a far from scientific view is able to notice that the mental life of a person from birth to old age makes many changes that affect its receipt and enrichment of its social experience, forms and methods of self-realization. functioning in society. At the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. a scientific approach to developmental psychology was founded, methodologically rooted in evolutionary doctrine English naturalist C. Darwin (1809-1882) and developed by many psychologists who dealt with the problems of the evolution of mental life and mental

psychological science, in the bosom of which various directions, concepts, theories, and schools crystallized.

So, in the late XIX - early XX century. developmental psychology began to take shape as an independent psychological science. Child psychology was actively developing, it was due to the requirements of pedagogical theory and practice. Important Ideas developmental psychology were formed in connection with the study of general psychological and pedagogical problems. Conceptual approaches to the analysis of age development have declared themselves in the bosom of the classical trends in psychology, primarily in psychoanalysis.

In the second half of the XX - beginning of the XXI century. developmental psychology has acquired a particularly dynamic development, which is caused by the general trend towards the humanization of social life in the post-industrial era. In general, the following trends emerged in the development of developmental psychology during this period:

1. Expansion of the chronological boundaries of studies of human age development. If until the middle of the XX century. Since researchers are mainly focused on studying the problems of child psychology, then in the following decades, the problems of the psychology of prenatal development, adulthood and old age, dying and death turned out to be in their field of vision.

2. The transition from the study of the age-related development of individual mental processes and human properties to a holistic analysis of his mental and personal development. We are talking about studying not only the age-related development of memory, perception, thinking, attention, emotions, character, will, abilities and other mental processes and properties, but also the age-related development of the self-concept of the personality, incentive, intellectual and emotional spheres as integral personal formations. Productive attempts have been made to characterize various age periods in a complex way, and to clarify their chronological boundaries.

3. Combination of research into the developmental tendencies of the galnoviks with the study of its individual variant, the features of which are manifested in more later periods(adulthood, old age), as well as clarifying the nature of deviations and the analogy of development.

4. Creation of integral concepts of age development (biogenetic, sociogenetic, theory of interaction of two factors, genetic concept), formulation of individual theories of age development in the framework of psychoanalysis, neobehaviorism, cognitive and humanistic psychology.

5. Improving the methodology and methods for studying age development. In recent decades, for example, longitudinal and cross-cultural studies, etc., have become widespread.

6. Integration of the efforts of researchers from different fields scientific knowledge(psychophysiology, psychogenetics, gerontology, sociology, genetic psychology, acmetology, medicine, etc.) comprehensive study problems of human development.

Now important trends in the development of developmental psychology are the expansion of research issues, a holistic analysis and description of individual age periods, clarification of their boundaries, implementation systems approach to the study of human development.

Of all the problems that people face in the course of human history, perhaps the most confusing is the mystery of the nature of man himself. Astrology, theology, philosophy, literature and the social sciences are just some of the currents that attempt to understand the complexity of human behavior and the very essence of man. Today, the problem is more acute than ever, since most of the serious ailments of mankind - rapid population growth, global warming, pollution environment, nuclear waste, terrorism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, poverty - is a consequence of human behavior. It is likely that the quality of life in the future, and perhaps the very existence of human civilization, will depend on how far we advance in understanding ourselves and others.

In the scheme of age periodization, adopted at the symposium of the APS of the USSR on age physiology in 1965, a grouping of ages is given, covering the entire cycle of human life: newborn (1-10 days) infancy (10 days - 1 year); early childhood (1-3 years); first childhood (4-7 years old); second childhood (8-12 years old); adolescence (13-16 years): adolescence (17-21 years); mature age (first period: 22-35 years -

men, 21-35 years old - women; second period; 36-60 years old - men, 36-55 years old - women); advanced age (61-74 years - men, 56-74 years - women); senile age (75-90 years - men and women); centenarians (90 years and older).

In this classification, the mature age that interests us most is represented by two periods, the first of which covers 14 years of life for men and the fifteenth for women, and the second - 25 years for men and the twentieth for women. While the childhood, adolescence and youth periods are only 4-5 years of life. The further the age is from the beginning of human life, the greater the age periods.

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

Developmental psychology can be called "developmental psychology", although this term will not be entirely accurate. In developmental psychology, development is studied only in connection with a certain chronological age. Developmental psychology studies not only the age stages of human ontogenesis, it also considers various processes of mental development in general.

The concept of developmental psychology is a somewhat narrower concept of developmental psychology, since development is considered here only as a function of either chronological age or age period. Developmental psychology is a more general and theoretical course in comparison with developmental and child psychology, a kind of their methodological base.

Developmental psychology is associated not only with the study of the age stages of human ontogenesis, but also considers various processes of macro- and micropsychic development in general. Therefore, strictly speaking, developmental psychology can only be part of developmental psychology, although they are sometimes used interchangeably. Like any science, developmental psychology has the functions of description, explanation, forecast, correction. With respect to a certain area of research, these functions act as specific scientific tasks, that is, the general goals that science seeks to achieve. The description of development provides for the presentation of the phenomenology of development processes in its entirety (from the point of view of the call

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 certain changes in behavior and experience. The explanation is based on a scheme of causality, which can be strictly unambiguous (extremely rare), probabilistic (statistical, with varying degrees of deviation), or absent altogether. It can be single (which is extremely rare) or multiple (which is usually the case in developmental studies). If the explanation answers the question "why did this happen?" By revealing the reasons for the already existing consequences and identifying the factors that caused it, then the forecast answers the question "what will it lead to?" Pointing to the consequences that follow from a certain cause. Thus, if in the explanation of development the thought moves from the effect to the cause, then in the forecast of development we go from the cause to the effect.

But in this manual we will use the concept of developmental psychology and developmental psychology as equivalent. Developmental psychology and developmental psychology is a serious academic science. Like any science, it has its own subject, methods, methods of study, its own scientific concepts.

Therefore, we will say that a separate branch of psychological science is developmental psychology with its own specific subject of research (recall that the subject of science is understood to mean that side of reality that is studied by this science).

Developmental psychology is a special area of mental knowledge that focuses on the psychological characteristics of the personality of people of different ages. The main principle is the principle of the development of the psyche in activity, therefore, developmental psychology cannot be imagined outside of development (genesis), behind deployment. At any stage of research, this area never appears as something unchanged.

The subject of developmental psychology is the study and presentation in the form of scientific facts and relevant scientific theories of the main features of the psychological development of people, moreover, during their transition from one age to another.

The subject of study always includes detailed, scientifically substantiated psychological characteristics of individuals from different age groups. age-related psychology

notes two types of changes occurring in a person: fundamental, qualitative and stable quality characteristics(changes) that occur in two areas - both in the psyche and in behavior. For example, children as they move from one age group to another. These changes I. cover significant periods of a person's life (from several months [for infants] to several years [for older individuals]). 2. Depend on permanent factors: biological maturation; psychological condition organism; the place of the child in the system of human social relations; the achieved level of intellectual and mental development.

Slow, quantitative and qualitative transformations are always associated with evolutionary age-related changes both in psychology and in the behavior of the individual.

revolutionary changes are deeper, occur quickly and in relatively short term. They are timed and coincide with all crises of age development that always arise on the verge of two specific age groups, between relatively calmly fluid periods of others - evolutionary changes in the psyche and behavior. The presence of crises of age development and the revolutionary transformations of the psyche and behavior corresponding to them - this is the basis for dividing, for example, childhood into periods of age development (for centuries).

The third type of change is special - it is called situational changes are such a special sign of development, which is associated with the influence of a particular situation (in the family, in the team and in society in general). Situational changes include what happens in the psyche and behavior of the child under the influence of organized and spontaneous education and upbringing.

Conclusion: The first two kinds, that is age-related evolutionary changes and revolutionary changes mentality and behavior are very stable, irreversible and do not require systematic reinforcement, because, once formed, they remain forever. their function is to transform the psychology of a person as a person in the direction of progress. Situational - on the contrary, they are very unstable, reversible, and it is assumed that their consolidation necessarily occurs in the following exercises with the help of training. their peculiarity lies in the fact that they leave the personality without visible

changes and concern only forms of behavior - knowledge, skills and abilities. All three described types of changes are first component subject of developmental psychology.

AT second component the subject of developmental psychology includes the problems of a specific combination of psychology and behavior, indicated by the concept of age. At each age, a person has a unique combination of mental and behavioral characteristics that is characteristic only for him, which is never repeated beyond this age; the concept of age in psychology is associated exclusively with the characteristics of psychology and the psyche, as well as behavior, but in no case with the number of years lived. For example, a child may look precocious and mature, and vice versa, a teenager and even a young man may behave like a child, that is, behave infantile; even human cognitive processes have age-related features, since overall plan the development of the psyche directly affects perception, memory, thinking and speech; any characteristics of age are manifested primarily in personality traits, namely in interests, judgments, attitudes, motives of behavior; the concept of age, which is psychologically correctly defined for a certain time, is the basis for establishing all age norms in intellectual and personal development; the concept of age is widely used in tests, along with their criteria, as a starting point for establishing the level of psychological development of the child as a whole.

Third(home) component of the subject- driving forces, conditions and laws of psychological and behavioral development of a person. The driving forces are those factors that determine the progressive development of the child, are its causes, contain energy incentive sources of development and always direct it (development) in the right direction. The conditions of psychological development determine internal and external constantly operating factors that are not driving forces, but strongly influence development themselves, gradually directing its course, significantly shaping the dynamics and, most importantly, determining the final result.

The subject of developmental psychology- age periods of development, causes and mechanisms of transition from one age period to another, general patterns and trends, pace and direction of mental development in ontogenesis. To put it more briefly, the subject of developmental psychology is the age-related dynamics of the human psyche.

Age psychology, therefore, explores the patterns of human development at different stages of its development. individual life. Concretizing this thesis, we note that developmental psychology studies the emergence and development of mental processes (sensations, perception, memory, thinking, speech, imagination, emotions, etc.) and properties in children, adolescents, youths and adults, age-related changes relationships between them, the formation of various types of activities (games, study, labor, communication, etc.), the formation of mental qualities of a growing personality, age-related opportunities for acquiring knowledge, the main factors in the development and formation of personality, and the like.

Age psychology reveals structural changes, neoplasms that arise with age in a person's mental activity and indicate transitions from lower to higher stages of development.

Developmental psychology reveals the conditions that determine the process of development, the correlation in this process of natural (heredity, maturation of the organism, etc.) and social factors with the help of which (and through which) the possibilities of the mental development of the human individual are realized. It elucidates the role of values historically developed by society (language, achievements of science, technology, art, social norms of behavior, etc.) in the formation of the human individual as a person.

To subject developmental psychology (developmental psychology) includes the study of the driving forces of the individual development of the human psyche, the patterns of transition from previous periods to the next, from lower to higher stages, clarifying individual typological differences in the mental development of children, adolescents, youth and adults, establishing the factors that determine etc.

In the general structure of developmental psychology, there are child psychology, psychology of a junior schoolchild, psychology of a teenager, psychology of early youth, psychology of an adult and gerontopsychology.

The object of study of developmental psychology constitutes a normal, healthy person, develops, changes in ontogeny.

dove general characteristics the subject of developmental psychology as a science, we will make some remarks regarding the presentation of the material in this work. It is known that common

age properties are always manifested differently in specific social and historical conditions. However, the lack of experimental studies of the features of the expression of these properties in modern conditions taking into account gender, place of residence, social origin, etc. makes the coverage of the relevant issues somewhat fragmented, and in some cases it is based on previous studies.

Therefore, characterizing the psychological characteristics of a particular age group, we will talk primarily about the general, typical among them. However, the current problem of gender and individual characteristics, unfortunately, cannot be considered within the framework of this work. We only note that the age patterns that will be discussed always manifest themselves through individual variations, which depend not only on the environment and conditions of a person’s upbringing, but also on the characteristics of his body and personality.

PR is a section of psychology that studies the development of the psyche in ontogenesis, the patterns of the process of transition from one period of mental development to another based on a change in the types of leading activity.

Developmental psychology is divided into: child psychology, which studies the patterns of a child's mental development from birth to school entry; psychology of a younger student; adolescent psychology; psychology of youth; adult psychology (acmeology); gerontopsychology.

In developmental psychology, the process of development of each mental function and the change in interfunctional relationships at different age stages can be traced. In personality psychology, such personal formations as motivation, self-esteem and the level of claims, value orientations, worldview, etc. are considered, and developmental psychology answers the questions when these formations appear, what are their features at a certain age.

The connection of developmental psychology with social psychology makes it possible to trace the dependence of the development and behavior of a child and then an adult on the specifics of the groups to which he belongs: from the family, the kindergarten group, the school class, teenage companies, etc. Each age is its own, special influence of the people around the child, adults and peers. The purposeful influence of adults raising and teaching a child is studied within the framework of educational psychology. Developmental and pedagogical psychology, as it were, look at the process of interaction between a child and an adult from different angles: developmental psychology from the point of view of the child, pedagogical psychology from the point of view of the educator, teacher.

2. ways of emergence of developmental psychology

Pythagoras singled out 4 periods in a person's life: spring (the formation of a person) - from birth to 20 years; summer (youth) - 20-40 years; autumn (the prime of life) - 40-60 years; winter (fading) - 60-80 years. Hippocrates distinguished 10 seven-year periods throughout a person's life, and Aristotle divided childhood and adolescence into three stages: 1 - from birth to 7 years; 2 - from 7 to 14 years old and 3 - from 14 to 21 years old.

The starting point for systematic studies of the child's psyche is the book of the German scientist - Darwinist W. Preyer "The Soul of the Child". In it, Preyer describes the results of daily observations of the development of his own son, paying attention to the development of the senses, motor skills, will, reason and language. Preyer was the first to make the transition from an introspective to an objective study of the child's psyche. Therefore, he is considered the founder of child psychology.

Preyer's views were based on those of Darwin. Darwin's idea of the evolution of species as a development from simple to increasingly complex forms of organic life provoked research in 3 directions. 1- in child psychology: Darwin recorded his own observations of his first child and published them. 2-comparative psychology, focused on identifying differences in the development of animals and humans. 3-Psychology of peoples as a prototype of modern cultural-anthropological psychology. At first, all 3 directions were aimed at revealing patterns of phylogenesis. However, the reverse effect of phylogenesis was observed, which allowed a fresh look at ontogeny. This ratio was called by Haeckel the biogenetic law, which implies repetition in ontogeny in a short form of the history of phylogeny.

3. subject of study

The subject of study is the sources, driving forces, conditions and patterns of human mental development from birth to death. Ananiev considered psychological development from birth to death as a continuous process, within which there are peaks in mental functions, noted that the decay of some of them, as well as the personality, begins long before the physical death of the individual.

The subject of study of developmental psychology is self-development.

Mental development is defined as philo-, anthropo-, onto- or microgenetic changes in behavior and experience, forming a branching process containing, on the one hand, nodes of qualitative changes that successively follow each other, and on the other hand, lines of quantitative changes that connect them between yourself.

Components of the subject of developmental psychology: Age (chronological, psychological, social, biological). Chronological age is the time of an individual, from the moment of birth to the end of life. Psychological age is those psycho-physiological, psychological and socio-psychological changes that occur in the psyche of each person.

4. driving forces of mental development

The driving forces of a child's development are the contradictions between the new and the old, which arise and are overcome in the process of education, upbringing and activity. These include contradictions between new needs generated by activities and the possibilities of their satisfaction; contradictions between the increased physical and spiritual needs and the old established forms of relationships and activities; between the growing demands from society, the collective, adults and the current level of mental development.

Developmental psychology- a branch of psychology that studies the age dynamics of the development of the human psyche, the ontogeny of mental processes and the psychological qualities of a person. Developmental psychology can be called "developmental psychology", although this term will not be entirely accurate. In developmental psychology, development is studied only in connection with a certain chronological age. Developmental psychology studies not only the age stages of human ontogenesis, it also considers various processes of mental development in general. Therefore, it would be more correct to consider that developmental psychology is one of the sections of developmental psychology. Almost all researchers believe that development is a change over time. Developmental psychology answers the questions of what and how exactly changes; as subject developmental psychology studies the natural changes of a person over time and the related phenomena and features of human life.

Currently, there are many textbooks on child psychology in the world. The science of the mental development of the child - child psychology- originated as a branch of comparative psychology at the end of the 19th century. Objective conditions for the formation of child psychology, which have developed to late XIX century, were associated with the intensive development of industry, with a new level of social life, which created the need for the emergence of a modern school. Teachers were interested in the question: how to teach and educate children? Parents and teachers stopped seeing physical punishment as effective method upbringing - more democratic families appeared.

The task of understanding the little man has become one of the main ones. The desire of the child to understand himself as an adult has prompted researchers to treat childhood more closely. They came to the conclusion that only through the study of the psychology of the child lies the way to understanding what the psychology of an adult is. The starting point for systematic research in child psychology is the book of the German Darwinian scientist Wilhelm Preyer « The soul of a child". In it, he describes the results of daily observations of the development of his own son, paying attention to the development of the senses, motor skills, will, reason and language. Despite the fact that observations of the development of the child were carried out long before the appearance of the book by V. Preyer, its indisputable priority is determined by the appeal to the study of the earliest years of the child's life and the introduction into child psychology of the method of objective observation, developed by analogy with the methods of the natural sciences. V. Preyer's views from a modern point of view are perceived as naive, limited by the level of development of science in the 19th century. He, for example, considered the mental development of the child as private option biological. However, V. Preyer was the first to make the transition from an introspective to an objective study of the child's psyche. Therefore, according to the unanimous recognition of psychologists, he is considered the founder of child psychology. As a rule, developmental psychology studies the patterns of mental development of a healthy person and is a branch psychological knowledge. On this basis, allocate child, adolescent, youth psychology, adult psychology and gerontopsychology.

Ontogenesis(from Greek. on, ontos- "existing, birth, origin") - the process of development of an individual organism. In psychology ontogenesis- the formation of the basic structures of the psyche of the individual during his childhood; the study of ontogeny is the main task of child psychology. From the standpoint of Russian psychology, the main content of ontogeny is subject activity and child communication(primarily joint activities - communication with an adult). In the course of internalization, the child “cultivates”, “appropriates” social, sign-symbolic structures and means of this activity and communication, on the basis of which his consciousness and personality are formed. Common to Russian psychologists is also the understanding of the formation of the psyche, consciousness, personality in ontogeny as social processes, carried out in conditions of active, purposeful development.

Thus, at the center of study and research is human- a creature that embodies the highest stage of development of life, the subject of socio-historical activity. Man is a system in which the physical and mental, genetically conditioned and formed in vivo, natural, social and spiritual form an indissoluble unity.

Man acts as an organism endowed with a psyche; individual (which means his belonging to the genus homosapiens); individuality (characterizing the difference between one individual and another); the subject (producing changes in the surrounding world, in other people and in himself); carrier of roles (sexual, professional, conventional, etc.); "I-image" (representation system, self-esteem, level of claims, etc.); personality (as a systemic social quality of an individual, his personalization, reflected subjectivity in other people and in himself as in another).

A person is the subject of study of a number of sciences: anthropology, sociology, ethnography, pedagogy, anatomy, physiology, etc. Almost all psychology is addressed to the problem of a person as an individual included in social ties, his development in the processes of education and upbringing, his formation in activity and communication . The objectively existing variety of human manifestations in the evolution of nature, the history of society and in its own life created its images that explicitly or covertly exist in culture at certain stages of its development.

In sociological, psychological and pedagogical representations, there are the following " human images" that have a direct impact on research and practical work with people:

1) "feeling person"- a person as a sum of knowledge, skills and abilities; man as a "device for processing information";

2) "person-consumer", i.e., a person in need, as a system of instincts and needs;

3) "programmed person", i.e. in the behavioral sciences a person appears as a system of reactions, in the social sciences - as a repertoire of social roles;

4) "active man"- this is a person who makes a choice;

5) man as an exponent of meanings and values.

Pedagogy proceeds from the image of a “sensing person”, and the concept of a person is reduced to the sum of knowledge, his actions are regarded as a product of past experience, and the upbringing process is replaced by convictions, persuasion, i.e., purely verbal influences.

As a result of the prevalence of this approach in training and education, the process of "impoverishment of the soul while enriching with information" occurs.

The image of a person as a receptacle of needs, instincts and drives was established in a number of areas of psychology, primarily under the influence of psychoanalysis. Many of the founders of the directions ( individual psychology– A. Adler , neopsychoanalysis– E. Fromm and others) proceeded in their concepts from the image of a “person in need”, deriving psychological patterns from a study of the dynamics of implementation and satisfaction of various needs.

The image of a “programmed person” determines the ideas about him in sociobiology, which studies human development as the deployment of genetic programs in behaviorism, reflexology and neobehaviorism, sociological and socio-psychological role concepts of a person (behavior is considered as playing out role programs and life scenarios learned during socialization).

If the interpretation of a person in psychology is based on the image of a "programmed person", then the impact in one way or another comes down to a successful selection of stimuli and reinforcements, to which living social automata must obediently respond.

The image of a "man-doer" is the basis for building a cultural-historical psychology, a systemic-activity approach to understanding a person, humanistic psychoanalysis and existential logotherapy. Here he is understood as the subject of a responsible choice generated by life in society, striving to achieve goals and upholding this or that social way of life with his deeds.

Both specific actions in relation to him and theoretical schemes for analyzing his development depend on the images of a person in culture and science. The predominance of the images of a “sensing person”, “a needy person” and a “programmed person” largely determined the real fact of the discrepancy between the individual, personality and individuality and the isolated formation of bioenergetic, sociogenetic and personogenetic orientations of human knowledge.

In their isolation, a metaphysical scheme of the determination of human development is manifested under the influence of two factors - environments and heredity. Within the framework of the historical-evolutionary approach, a fundamentally different scheme for determining development is being developed. In this scheme, the properties of a person as an individual are considered as "impersonal" prerequisites for development, which in the course of a life path can become a product of this development. The social environment is also a source, not a factor that directly determines human behavior. As a condition for the implementation of activities, the social environment carries those norms, values, roles, ceremonies, tools, systems of signs that the individual encounters. The foundations and driving force of human development are joint activities and communication, through which movement is carried out in the world of people, introducing it to culture.

The subject of study of developmental psychology.

Tasks of developmental psychology.

Connection of developmental psychology with other sciences.

Methods for studying the mental development of a person

The concept of developmental psychology.

Developmental psychology studies the laws of the formation of the psyche, exploring the mechanisms and driving forces of this process, analyzing various approaches, functions and genesis of the psyche, various aspects of the formation of the psyche (Psychology of development / Maryutina T.M. and others; Edited by Martsinkovskaya T.D. - M. : "Academy", 2001).

Age-related psychology - This is a branch of psychology that studies the development of the psyche in ontogenesis, the laws of the process of transition from one period of mental development to another based on a change in the types of leading activity. (Psychological Dictionary / Edited by V.P. Zinchenko, B.G. Meshcheryakov - M.: Pedagogy-Press, 1996).

Developmental psychology is divided into:

child psychology, which studies the patterns of a child's mental development from birth to school entry;

psychology of a younger student;

adolescent psychology;

psychology of youth;

adult psychology (acmeology);

gerontopsychology.

The main thing that distinguishes developmental psychology from other areas of psychology is the emphasis on the dynamics of development. Therefore, it is called genetic (from the word "genesis" - origin, formation).

Subject of Developmental Psychology

The laws of development of a person as a member of society, his psyche, consciousness - the mental development of a person from the moment of birth to death is studied by a special area of \u200b\u200bpsychological knowledge - developmental psychology and developmental psychology.

The object of age psychology is the process of age development in all its connections and mediations. The object is the same for all students of human mental development and may be limited by age limits. For example, the object may be the process of memorization in children 6-10 years old.

Most common definition the subject of developmental psychology (without disclosing its essence) can serve as the following definition.

The subject of study of developmental psychology is the sources, driving forces, conditions and patterns of human mental development from birth to death ... (further, it is necessary to make a clarification by substituting one of the definitions of the concept of development given by the classics and prominent researchers of age-related mental development of a person) ... features formation and disintegration of mental neoplasms in certain ages and genetic transitions from one neoplasm to another. For example, B.G. Ananiev considered psychological development from birth to death as a continuous process, within which there are peaks in mental functions, noted that the decay of some of them, as well as the personality, begins long before the physical death of the individual.

The subject of study of developmental psychology is development itself.

Components of the subject of developmental psychology:

Age(chronological, psychological, social, biological).

Developmental psychology notes those comparatively slow but fundamental quantitative and qualitative changes that occur in the psyche and behavior of children as they move from one age group to another.

Usually these changes cover significant periods of life, from several months to a number of years. These changes depend on "constantly operating factors": biological maturation and the psychophysiological state of the child's body, his place in the system of human social relations, the level of intellectual and personal development achieved.

Age-related changes in psychology and behavior of this type called evolutionary because they are associated with relatively slow quantitative and qualitative transformations.

They should be distinguished from revolutionary which, being deeper, occur quickly and in a relatively short period of time. Such changes are usually called crises of age development that occur at the turn of the ages between more or less calm periods of evolutionary changes in the psyche and behavior.

Another type of change that can be seen as a sign of development is related to the influence of a particular social situation. They can be called situational. Such changes include what happens in the psyche and behavior of the child under the influence of organized and unorganized education and upbringing.

Age-related evolutionary and revolutionary changes in the psyche and behavior are usually stable, irreversible and require systematic reinforcement, while situational changes in the psychology and behavior of the individual are unstable, reversible and require their consolidation in subsequent exercises. Evolutionary and revolutionary changes transform the psychology of a person as a person, as a person, and situational changes leave it unchanged, affecting only particular forms of behavior, knowledge, skills, skills (ZUNs).

The third component of the subject of developmental psychology is the driving forces, conditions and laws of mental development.

The driving forces of mental development are understood as those factors that determine the progressive development of the child, being its causes, contain energy, incentive sources of development, direct it in the right direction.

The conditions determine those internal and external constantly operating factors that, while not acting as the driving forces of development, nevertheless influence it, directing the course of development, shaping its dynamics and determining the final results.

The laws of mental development determine those general and particular patterns by which it is possible to describe the mental development of a person and relying on which this development can be controlled.

The development of each mental function, each form of behavior is subject to its own characteristics, but mental development as a whole has general patterns that manifest themselves in all areas of the psyche and persist throughout ontogenesis. What are the features?

A. Mental development is characterized by unevenness and heterochrony.(Each mental function has a special pace and rhythm of formation. Some of them "go" ahead of the others, as it were, preparing the ground for others. Then those functions that "lagged behind" acquire priority in development and create the basis for further complication of mental activity. Periods the most favorable for the formation of one or another side of the psyche are called sensitive.Functions develop more successfully and more intensively.

B. Mental development proceeds in stages, having a complex organization in time. Each age stage has its own pace and rhythm, which does not coincide with the pace and rhythm of time and changes in different years of life. (Thus, a year of life in infancy, in terms of its significance and ongoing transformations, is not equal to a year of life in adolescence. Mental development occurs most rapidly in early childhood - from birth to 3 years).

The stages of mental development follow one after another in a certain way, obeying their own internal logic. Their sequence cannot be rearranged or changed at the request of an adult.

The characteristics of the stages of mental development are:

social situation of development;

leading activity;

mental innovations.

So, the social situation of development is understood as the ratio of external and internal conditions for the development of the psyche (J1.C. Vygotsky). It determines the child's attitude to other people, objects, things created by man, and to himself.

Each age is characterized by a leading activity that provides the main lines of mental development in this particular period (A.N. Leontiev). It presents typical relations of a child with an adult for a given age, and through this, the attitude to reality. In this activity, the main personality neoplasms are formed, the restructuring of mental processes and the emergence of new types of activity take place. (For example, in objective activities in early age"pride in one's own achievements", active speech are formed, the prerequisites for the emergence of playful and productive activities are formed, elements of visual forms of thinking and sign-symbolic functions appear).

Neoplasms - i.e. mental and social changes that first occur at this age level. (For example, preschool age: subordination of motives, self-awareness).

As noted by JI.C. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, S.L. Rubinstein - the true content of mental development is the struggle of internal contradictions, the struggle between obsolete forms of the psyche and new emerging ones. Internal contradictions are the driving forces of mental development. They differ at every age and at the same time proceed within the framework of one, main contradiction, between the child's need to be an adult, to live a common life with him, to occupy a certain place in society, to show independence. At the level of the child's consciousness, it appears as a discrepancy between "I want" but "I can't." This contradiction leads to the assimilation of new knowledge, the formation of skills and abilities, to the development of new ways of activity, which allows expanding the boundaries of independence and increasing the level of opportunities.

That. the resolution of some contradictions leads to the emergence of others. The basic law of mental development Vygotsky L.S. formulated as follows: "The forces that drive the development of a child at a given age inevitably lead to the denial and destruction of the very basis of the development of the entire age, with internal necessity determining the annulment of the social situation of development, the end of a given era of development and the transition to the next, age stage" .

C. In the course of mental development, differentiation and integration of processes, properties and qualities occurs.

Differentiation lies in the fact that they are separated from each other, turning into independent forms or activities.

Integration ensures the establishment of relationships between individual aspects of the psyche. So, cognitive processes, having passed the period of differentiation, establish interconnections with each other at a higher level.

D. In the course of mental development, there is a change of determinants - the reasons that determine it.(At each age stage, conditions are prepared for the child to master certain types of activities, special relationships are formed with adults and peers).

D. The psyche is plastic. So, a born child can master any language, regardless of his nationality, but in accordance with the speech environment in which he will be brought up.

One of the manifestations of plasticity is the compensation of mental or physical functions, in case of their absence or underdevelopment. For example, with deficiencies in vision, hearing, motor functions.

Another manifestation of plasticity is imitation. AT recent times it is regarded as a free form of orientation of the child in the world of specific human activities, ways of communication, personal qualities. By similarity, modeling them in their own activities (L.F. Obukhova, I.V. Shapovalenko).

Tasks of developmental psychology and developmental psychology as a science

The tasks of developmental psychology are formulated on the basis of insufficiently developed problems in science, social order and difficulties in the practice of education and socialization of children and adolescents and the activities of other age cohorts of the population.

In society, the role of pedagogical influences in the development of the individual is now being reviewed. Attempts are being made to create standards that should become standards of a new generation. Hence the task: to determine sensitive periods for the formation of individual qualities that are significant in a given society (worldview, readiness for work, arbitrary behavior). The country needs people who are ready for innovative (creative) activities.

When formulating the tasks of developmental psychology, it is necessary to proceed not only from the social order and the opinion of psychologists about what can really be formed at a given age. The opposite question is also legitimate: “If it is possible to form this quality, then does a person need it at this age?” Perhaps, for the development of the child, it is more important to “expand” (fill with new content) visual-figurative and visual-schematic thinking? For example, V.V. Davydov found that at primary school age it is possible to teach a child abstract-logical thinking - but is it necessary? A.V. Zaporozhets believed that a preschooler should play out his childhood. Now very often preschoolers do not know how to play, which, of course, may also affect the future when these people master family, professional and other roles. Data on development opportunities are needed to determine the zone of proximal development, to identify inclinations and abilities, and not to accelerate it.

In addition, modern science does not describe the psychology of the lifestyle of a modern child, it is necessary to determine specific indicators of all aspects of mental development that must be achieved at each age, and are necessary as a guideline in the educational work of a school and a preschool institution. The lack of age standards for training and upbringing makes it difficult to assess the effectiveness of the school and a single teacher (educator).

The following issues of developmental psychology have not been studied enough.

Unevenly studied different ages, the predominant attention is paid to partial characteristics (at certain ages, either thinking, or personality, or communication are studied in detail).

Transitional periods and critical points of development have been little explored.

The studies mainly use the method of cross sections, the study of mental processes in different groups of children standing at different age levels or in different conditions, the methods of longitudinal longitudinal research are less often used (i.e., studying mental development in the same people and individual processes over a certain period of time).

In many studies, there is no balanced analysis of reserves and age limits, and the accumulated information is poorly used in solving practical problems.

Developmental psychology is a fundamental, not applied, field of psychology. The classic tasks of developmental psychology are the development of problems of prerequisites, conditions, sources and driving forces of mental development, i.e. the most general and basic patterns of human mental development from birth to death. In addition, at each stage in the development of developmental psychology as a science, its subject changed historically, it expanded by solving new problems of educating children and adults, by changing the economic and social situation in the development of new generations, the demands of society, and also, based on the logic of development of the the sciences of psychology and its branches, which not only enriched developmental psychology, but also posed more and more new tasks for it.

The relationship of developmental psychology and developmental psychology with other sciences

As is well known, in general psychology research is mental functions- perception, thinking, speech, memory, attention, imagination. In developmental psychology, the process of development of each mental function and the change in interfunctional relationships at different age stages can be traced. In personality psychology, such personal formations as motivation, self-esteem and the level of claims, value orientations, worldview, etc. are considered, and developmental psychology answers the questions when these formations appear, what are their characteristics at a certain age.

In addition to age patterns of development, there are also individual differences that differential psychology deals with; children of the same age may have different levels of intelligence and different personality traits. In developmental psychology, age-related patterns that are common to all are studied. But at the same time, possible deviations in one direction or another from the main lines of development, including various lines of development in adults, are also considered.

So, developmental psychology is a special area of psychological knowledge. Considering the process of development, she characterizes different age periods and, therefore, operates with such concepts as "age" and "childhood". Age, or age period, is a cycle of development that has its own structure and dynamics. More on this definition of L.S. Vygotsky, we will stop later. The penetration of developmental psychology into other sciences, its deep integration with them are the basis for the emergence of new problems and modern tasks of developmental psychology as a science.

Thus, the deep integration of developmental psychology with pediatrics led to the solution by psychologists of such problems as the study of the mother-child interaction in its prenatal (intrauterine) development. The authors argue that the child becomes an element of the "mother-child" interaction system from the moment of the emergence of mental reflection in fetal development. (O.A. Shagraeva, 2001).

The processes of integration, as is known, are dialectically connected with the processes of differentiation of science, including developmental psychology. At present, the following sections can be distinguished, and some of them have begun to form into independent branches of psychological science, for example, child psychology (V.S. Mukhina, 1975), social developmental psychology (Ya.L. Kolominsky, 1984), etc.

In addition, in modern developmental psychology, it is customary to distinguish the following sections: general and basic patterns of development, patterns of development in certain age periods (in infancy, early, preschool, primary school, adolescence, youthful, mature and senile ages). The last two of these ages in developmental psychology are developed much worse than all the others. From this we can formulate another task of modern developmental psychology: the study of the laws of development in mature and senile ages. The first task - the study of the psychology of a mature personality - is solved in such a section of developmental psychology as acmeology (acme - Greek - top); in psychology, acme is understood as the pinnacle of life, the heyday of the individual. Acmeology is designed to carry out a comprehensive study and give a holistic picture of a subject passing through a stage of maturity, when his individual, personal and activity characteristics are studied in unity, in all relationships, in order to actively influence the achievement of higher levels, which almost everyone can ascend (N.V. Kuzmina, 1999).

The section of developmental psychology that studies the laws of the psychology of aging is called gerontopsychology. The main thing that distinguishes developmental psychology from other branches of psychological knowledge is the emphasis on regular changes in the human psyche in connection with age and the conditions of his life, i.e., on the dynamics of his development. More recently, a new psychological specialty has emerged and, accordingly, a branch of psychological knowledge - developmental psychology. The relationship and interpenetration of developmental psychology, developmental psychology and acmeology are obvious. From our point of view, developmental psychology and developmental psychology consider not only age-related changes in the psyche, but also the conditionality of their historical, social, cultural, family, domestic and other conditions of human life from conception to the moment of physical death and its impact on loved ones.

Sometimes developmental psychology is called genetic, thereby emphasizing its main and classical task - the study of the dynamics of the development of the human psyche.

The concept of methodology, method and technique

The term "methodology" is translated as "the doctrine of the method", and it is worth considering the concept of "method" in more detail, because it (like the concept of "methodology") is used with several different shades in relation to different types and levels of human activity.

In general, the methodology defines the principles, techniques that guide a person in his activities. Its function is twofold: on the one hand, the methodology allows describing and evaluating human activity from the point of view of internal organization, on the other hand, recommendations, rules, i.e. the norms by which a person is guided in his activities.

AT general view in relation to science, a distinction is made between philosophical and special-scientific methodology.

Philosophical methodology is spoken of as the basis on which activity is based; as the doctrine of the most general laws of nature, society and thought, philosophy determines the starting positions in relation to reality. For example, depending on the philosophical orientation, the researcher will use the dialectical method in interpreting events, which implies ideas about the qualitative stages of development and is based on an analysis of contradictions, or the metaphysical method, based on a quantitative understanding of development.

The consideration of general forms of scientific thinking, for example, the discussion of the specifics of the humanitarian and natural scientific methods of cognition, also belongs to the same level of methodology.

Within the framework of a special-scientific methodology, several levels are distinguished.

General scientific methodology includes attempts to develop universal principles, means, forms of scientific knowledge, correlated - at least potentially - not with any particular science, but applicable to a wide range of sciences (but at the same time, unlike philosophical methodology, remaining within the framework of the scientific knowledge, without expanding to universal worldviews). This level includes, for example, the concepts of systemic scientific analysis, the structural-level approach, cybernetic principles applicable to biological systems, and control systems, etc.). At this level, general problems of constructing scientific research, ways of carrying out the theoretical and empirical (that is, related to interaction with the object) activities of a scientist, in particular, the problems of constructing an experiment, observation, and modeling, are also developed.

Concrete-scientific methodology develops similar problems within the framework of specific sciences - both in relation to empirical activity, based on the characteristics of the object. This is carried out within the framework of knowledge systems created by scientific schools that determine their explanatory principles and methods of research and practical work.

As you can see, in a broad sense, the concept of "method" extends to various areas of human practice (dialectics as a method, science as a method, logical device as a method, experiment as a method, etc.). Classification of methods (according to B.G. Ananiev) The first group - organizational research methods. Comparative method. This method is widely used in all areas of psychology. So, in comparative psychology, it is realized in the form of a comparison of the characteristics of the psyche at various stages of evolution. A striking example is the study of N.N. Ladygina-Cat. The studies of zoopsychologists V.A. Wagner, N.Yu. Voitanis, K.E. Fabry and others. In developmental psychology, the comparative method acts as a method of cross sections, which is opposed by B.G. Ananiev's organizational method is longitudinal. Both methods are aimed - in accordance with the specifics of developmental psychology as a science - to determine the characteristics of mental development in connection with age; paths, however, are different.

Based on the method of cross sections, the psychologist organizes his research as work with people of different ages (as if making sections at different age levels); in the future, if there are a sufficient number of representatives of each group, it turns out to be possible to identify generalized characteristics at each level and not on this basis to trace the general trends in age development.

The longitudinal method assumes a different structure of research: a psychologist works with the same group of people (or one person), regularly examining them with sufficient frequency for the same parameters over a long period of time, i.e. tracking development, carrying out a "longitudinal" cut (another name for this method is the "length method").

Organization of psychological research can be different. The method of slices is often used: in sufficiently large groups, using specific methods, a certain aspect of development is studied, for example, the level of development of intelligence. As a result, data are obtained that are characteristic of this i-group - children of the same age, or schoolchildren studying according to the same curriculum. When several cuts are made, a comparative method is connected: the data for each group are compared with each other and conclusions are drawn about what development trends are observed here and what causes them. In the example of the study of intelligence, we can identify age-related trends - comparing the characteristics of the thinking of preschoolers from the kindergarten group (5 years old), younger students from elementary school (9 years old) and teenagers from the middle classes (13 years old). In order to obtain such material, we had, in accordance with our research task, to select groups of children differing in age.

If the task is different - to determine the dependence of the development of intelligence on the type of education, we select and compare other groups - children of the same age, but studying according to different curricula. In this case, we draw a different conclusion: where the best data is obtained, training is more effective; children studying according to a certain program develop intellectually faster, and we can talk about the developing effect of training.

Of course, when selecting groups according to some criterion for conducting cross-sections, psychologists try to “equalize” other significant differences - they make sure that the groups have the same number of boys and girls, so that the children are healthy, without significant deviations in mental development, etc. The remaining numerous individual differences are not taken into account. The data that we have thanks to the slicing method are averages or statistical averages.

The longitudinal method is often referred to as a longitudinal study. It traces the development of the same person over a long period of time. This type of research makes it possible to obtain more accurate data, taking into account the historical, cultural and social situation of the development of a particular generation, this is especially true for the study of a person's personal development.

B.G. Ananiev defines as an organizational and integrated method. Which can be distinguished on a different basis (both the slice method and the longitudinal method may or may not be complex). First of all, it means that the study can be built within the framework of one science - in this case, psychology - or as a complex interdisciplinary study. Attempts of such complex studies were carried out, for example, by V.M. Bekhterev, pedologists; since the 70s the brightest comprehensive studies are associated with the name of B.G. Ananiev and his school.

The second group is empirical research methods. This way of working, in which the psychologist, without interfering in events, only monitors their changes, is called observation. It is one of the main methods of psychological research at the stage of obtaining empirical data. Non-intervention of the psychologist in the situation is an important characteristic of the method, determining both its advantages and disadvantages.

Table

Advantages and disadvantages forbljudeniya

Types of observation: see source Petrovsky A.V. Introduction to psychology. - M.: Publishing Center "Academy", 1995.

A. A. Ershov identifies the following typical observational errors:

Halo effect (the generalized impression of the observer leads to a rough perception of behavior, ignoring subtle differences).

Condescension effect (the tendency to always give a positive assessment of what is happening).

Central tendency error (the observer tends to give an average estimate of the observed behavior).

Correlation error (an estimate of one feature of behavior is given on the basis of another observed feature).

Contrast error (the tendency of the observer to distinguish features in the observed that are opposite to their own).

First impression error (the first impression of an individual determines the perception and evaluation of his future behavior).

However, observation is an indispensable method. If it is necessary to investigate natural behavior without outside interference in a situation where you need to get a holistic picture of what is happening and reflect the behavior of individuals in its entirety.

The experiment differs from observation in that it involves the organization of the research situation by the psychologist.

Table

Advantages and disadvantages of the experiment

Types of experiment:

Laboratory.

Natural (psychological-pedagogical, formative (teaching), which has the following stages: ascertaining experiment - obtaining a system of facts; actually forming experiment - organized controlled influence on the system of facts; control experiment - fixing changes in the system of facts being studied.

3. Field experiment - involves the use of minimal equipment in a situation close to natural.

In addition to these basic methods, developmental psychology widely uses such auxiliary methods as conversation, methods of psychological diagnostics, etc.

Twin method and its varieties

The twin method is one of the main types of research in psychogenetics (behavior genetics), the idea of which was first put forward by F. Galton (1875). The logical foundations of the twin method are as follows: 1) there are two types of twins - monozygotic (MZ) with an identical genotype and dizygotic (DZ), whose genotypes differ, like ordinary brothers and sisters; 2) an approximate equality of postnatal environmental influences for members of the MZ and DZ pairs is postulated. Comparison of intra-pair similarity in MZ and DZ makes it possible to determine the relative role of the genotype and environment in the determination of the studied trait. If the trait is controlled by the genotype, then the similarity of the MZ twins should significantly exceed the similarity of the DZ twins. This version of the twin method is called the method of paired comparisons (or contrast groups).

Currently, psychology also uses: the method of separated MZ twins, the method of the control twin, the method of the twin pair. The twin method has disadvantages associated with the peculiarities of the pre- and postnatal period of development of twins. A significant reason for errors when using the twin method is the insufficient correctness of the assumption about the equality of environmental influences for MZ and DZ twins.

Varieties of the twin method.

Classic twin method. In this case, such an experimental scheme is used in which the severity of the trait under study is compared in pairs of MZ and DZ twins and the level of intra-pair similarity of partners is assessed.

Control twin method. This method is used on samples of MZ twins. Since MZ twins are very similar in many ways, it is possible to make two samples from partners of MZ pairs, equalized according to a large number parameters. Such samples are used to study the influence of specific environmental influences on the variability of a trait. At the same time, a selected part of the twins (one from each pair) is exposed to a specific effect, while the other part is the control group. Since genetically identical people participate in the experiment, this method can be considered a model for studying the impact of various environmental factors on the same person.

Longitudinal twin study. In this case, a long-term observation of the same twin pairs is carried out. In fact, this is a combination of the classical twin method with the longitudinal method. Widely used to study the influence of environmental and genetic factors in development

The twin family method. It is a combination of family and twin method. At the same time, family members of adult twin couples are examined. According to the genetic constitution, children of MZ twins are, as it were, children of one person. The method is widely used in the study of hereditary causes of a number of diseases.

Study of twins as a couple. It involves the study of specific twin effects and features of intra-pair relationships. It is used as an auxiliary method to test the validity of the hypothesis about the equality of environmental conditions for partners of the MZ and DZ pairs.

Matching twins with non-twins. Also an auxiliary method to assess the significance of the difference between twins and non-twins. If the difference between twins and other people is not significant, then twins and other people belong to the same general sample and, therefore, the results of twin studies can be extended to the entire population. So some lag of members of twin pairs in development from singleborns was noted. This difference is especially noticeable at an early age. But comparing the results of a study of members of twin couples whose partner died in early childhood and single-borns did not reveal a significant difference in the level of development. That is, the peculiarities of the development of twins are due not so much to the difficulties of embryonic development, but to the peculiarities of raising twins as a couple (family difficulties in the birth of twins, isolation of twins in a pair, etc.). Thus, the twins are somewhat different from the general population, but with age, this difference is noticeably smoothed out and the twins for the most part become comparable to the rest of the population.

Separated twin method. Due to the peculiarities of the development of DZ and MZ of pairs of twins, the classical twin method and its varieties are considered to be "non-rigid" experiments: it is impossible to unambiguously separate the influence of genetic and environmental factors in them, since for a number of reasons, the conditions for the development of twins for a number of reasons turn out to be incomparable . Therefore, the experiments carried out according to the above schemes require additional verification. It can be of two types. First, it is possible to test the hypothesis about the similarity of the environment of MZ and DZ twins, that is, to prove that the studied characteristic is not affected by differences in the environment of MZ and DZ twins. But such verification is very difficult and has low reliability. Secondly, research data can be compared with the results of studies using "rigid" schemes, which allow one to accurately separate the influence of environmental factors from genetic ones. One of these methods is the method of separated twins. AT In this method, an intra-pair comparison is made between twins separated at an early age. If MZ twins were separated in this way and grew up in different conditions, then all their similarities should be determined by their genetic identity, and differences - by the influence of environmental factors.

Literature:

1. Ananiev, B.G. On the problems of modern human knowledge / B.G. Ananiev. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001. - 272.

Karandashev, Yu.N. Psychology of development / Yu.N. Karandashev. - Mi.: MP D-R KARA, 1996. - 240 p.

Kraig, G. Developmental Psychology / G. Kraig. - St. Petersburg: Publishing house "Peter", 2000. - 992 p.

Obukhov, L.F. Child psychology: theories, facts, problems / L.F. Obukhov. - M.: Trivola, 1995. - 360 p.

Developmental Psychology: Textbook for students. higher psychol. and ped. textbook institutions / T.M. Maryutina, T.G. Stefanenko, K.N. Polivanova and others; Ed. T.D. Martsinkovskaya. - M.: Publishing center "Academy", 2001.

Rubinstein, S.L. Fundamentals of general psychology / S.L. Rubinstein. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2000. - p. 90 - 163.

Reader in psychology / Comp. V.V. Mironenko; Ed. A.V. Petrovsky. - M.: Enlightenment, 1987. - p. 300 - 339.