Developmental and age psychology: subject, objectives, basic concepts

Developmental psychology is a promising, relevant area of ​​scientific research aimed at studying the facts, mechanisms and patterns of personality development at various age periods; identification of age-related dynamics of the psyche. The scientific field is aimed at studying the patterns of formation and development of the psyche, exploring the driving forces and mechanisms of this process, analyzing various scientific approaches to understanding the nature, genesis, and functional potential of the psyche, identifying various aspects of the formation of the psyche, its changes in the process of realizing cognition, communication, and activity.

Developmental psychology is divided into child and adolescent psychology, psychology of adolescence, adulthood, and gerontopsychology. Each of the scientific areas studies the dynamics of the psychological life of an individual within a certain age period.

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The scientific field notes all the relatively slow quantitative and qualitative changes that occur in the psyche of an individual during his transition from one age period to the next.

Content

• Developmental psychology, developmental psychology, child psychology
• Basic strategies for studying mental development
• Research methods in developmental and developmental psychology
• Basic concepts in developmental and age psychology

Developmental and age psychology is related to other psychological sciences, for example, general psychology, social psychology, personality psychology, educational psychology, etc.

The object of developmental and age psychology: a person from birth to death. Subject of developmental and age psychology: sources, driving forces, conditions and patterns of human mental development from birth to death.

Objectives of developmental and age-related psychology: 1. Explore all areas of mental development in all age periods. 2. Explore crises of age-related development throughout a person’s life path. 3. Determine the sensitive periods of each stage of childhood. The sensitive period is a period that creates the most favorable conditions for the formation of certain psychological properties.

Timing characteristics

Developmental psychology is inextricably linked with the consideration and analysis of qualitative and quantitative changes that inevitably occur in human behavior and psyche during transitions between age categories.

For adults, the duration of the life span under study is a long period, sometimes calculated in years and decades. Developmental psychology of children considers a short time interval of up to weeks as a study period.

Developmental psychology, developmental psychology, child psychology

The name of the discipline “Developmental and Developmental Psychology” may make you think about what, in fact, is the difference between developmental psychology, developmental psychology and child psychology. They are, indeed, a little similar, because they consider a person in the process of his development and formation, starting from a very early age. But there are still differences.

Developmental psychology , in comparison with developmental and child psychology, is a more general theoretical course and represents a kind of their methodological basis. The focus of this discipline is not the description of certain age periods, but the search for general patterns of mental development, analysis of the driving forces and mechanisms of development, the formation of individual spheres of the psyche in different age periods and in different cultures.

Developmental psychology analyzes the content and various aspects of the application in psychology of the principle of development, one of the most important methodological principles of all sciences, and neoplasms and symptoms of individual age periods become the material on the basis of the analysis of which general patterns of development of the psyche are derived. Obtaining and analyzing this material is the central task for developmental and child psychology.

At the same time, in child psychology, developmental symptoms in the first years of life, especially in the preschool period, come to the fore. The same factual material is also included in the course of developmental psychology , but the boundaries of research in this case are significantly expanded, covering the entire life of a person - from birth to old age and death.

In child psychology, first of all, those mechanisms and factors that ensure the child’s entry into the world of adults and the internalization of knowledge acquired through communication are very interesting. The general trends of mental development, the parameters that determine its normal and abnormal pace and direction are also considered.

Developmental psychology , which can analyze all changes in the pace, content, and dominant factors influencing the process of mental development throughout life, naturally pays more attention to the comparison of patterns of development in different periods of ontogenesis. It is in this discipline that the reasons for the decline in the rate of development, the relationship between critical and stable periods are analyzed, and the crises that accompany a person not only in youth, but also in adulthood are identified.

Developmental psychology also studies mechanisms that help both in acquiring new things, in development, and in compensating for poorly developed or impaired mental functions, preserving acquired knowledge and skills during a period of decreased development, involution, and old age.

Industries

The branches of this scientific knowledge are:

1. Child psychology. The development of children, the formation of a child as a person, and the formation of basic processes are studied. Scientists find out how a child grows and matures, how he acquires the characteristics of an adult, what difficulties and crises he goes through, and how they affect him.
2. Youth. The older teenage period, its crises and changes are considered.
   The main emphasis is on the teenager’s self-determination, his goals and life positions. This process includes problems, crises, and difficulties that a person overcomes.

   He begins to realize that he is getting older and there is a responsibility that needs to be dealt with.

3. Mature age. Signs of maturity, the course of further development, and determination of the characteristics of a given age of a person are identified. This is a long stage that affects the individual with the emergence of a sense of responsibility not only for his own life, but also for the lives of children and even grandchildren.
4. Gerontopsychology . Scientists identify signs and causes of aging of the body, decline in activity, weakening of stability, and decrease in motivation to perform a particular activity. The individual no longer strives to change anything, stops developing, he wants to be alone with himself more, think about the years he has lived and analyze his actions.

Each of these industries continues to be studied and supplemented with new facts and information. Within their framework, research is carried out that helps to advance the consideration of these industries.

Read about Eric Berne’s theory “Parent, Adult, Child” here.

Basic strategies for studying mental development

Organization of research within this discipline can be carried out according to several strategies : 1. Transversal strategy 2. Longitudinal strategy 3. Formative strategy

The transversal strategy or the cross-sectional method is used in fairly large age groups (2-4 thousand people). Relatively homogeneous groups of people are selected that differ from each other in some significant way. Using specific methods, a specific area of ​​development is studied, resulting in data that is characteristic of that age group.

Several sections are taken in different age groups, then the data for each age group is compared with each other. Afterwards, conclusions are drawn about what patterns of age-related development have been identified and what causes them.

When selecting a cross-sectional sample, you should strive to make it as homogeneous as possible in terms of essential indicators: gender, mental and physical health indicators. Individual differences are not taken into account.

For example, if we need to study thinking in children three, five, seven years old, we use the cross-sectional method. To do this, it will be necessary to analyze the thinking of children above the mentioned ages, i.e. collect 3 independent samples.

A longitudinal strategy or longitudinal section method is a long-term and systematic study of the same subjects, allowing one to determine the range of age-related and individual variability in the phases of a person’s life cycle.

With this method, the same group of people is studied over a period of time during which these people manage to significantly change any of their significant characteristics. The study of mental development using a longitudinal strategy can be selective, when a specific area of ​​mental development is studied, and comprehensive, when human development as a whole is studied.

A classic selective longitudinal study is the study of Russian linguist Alexander Nikolaevich Gvozdev, who studied the development of his son’s speech for 8 years.

Nadezhda Nikolavena Ladygina-Kots, a Russian psychologist, conducted a comparative comprehensive study of the mental development of her son Rudolf and the chimpanzee monkey Joni from 1.5 to 4 years.

The largest comprehensive longitudinal studies were carried out by employees of the University of California (Berkeley, USA). The first of these was undertaken in 1928: 248 children aged 21 months were studied regularly until they were 18 years old, then examined once at 30 and 40 years.

Also, as an example, we can cite the large-scale Seattle Longitudinal Study of Aging, lasting more than 20 years. The test measured the ability to perform basic arithmetic and number manipulation, reasoning skills, visuospatial skills, verbal comprehension and flexibility.

Thus, the transversal strategy studies different people at different ages, while the longitudinal strategy studies the same people at their different age stages.

The formative strategy is based on the theoretical principles of L.S. Vygotsky.

It consists in studying the development of individual aspects of the psyche in the process of their formation, in the process of targeted training and education. Also called experimental genetic research path of mental research. Mental function is not only measured and described, but also formed based on a hypothesis about the patterns of its development.

Research methods in developmental and developmental psychology

Observation is a method of psychological diagnostics based on recording and analyzing people's behavior under certain conditions.

The main disadvantage of observation is its subjective nature. The validity (accuracy, reliability) and reliability of observation as a diagnostic method are relatively low. Factors that can lead to distortion of observation results are selectivity, bias, inadequate interpretation, the presence of the observer and his intervention in the observed situation.

That is, observation is subjective. The researcher (observer) can greatly influence the observation process and its results. This may be due to the observer’s mood, his worldview, attitude towards what is being observed or towards the process of observation itself, selectivity of perception, emotional coloring, experience and many others. The presence or intervention of an observer can also have an influence. For example, the behavior of children when they are being watched is significantly different from the behavior of children when they are sure that no one is watching them. The possibility of misinterpretation of situations and behavior by the observer cannot be ruled out, so several researchers are involved in the observation.

What adds to the complexity of this method is the fact that people are very difficult objects for research. The same symptom can manifest itself differently in different people. This demonstrates the individuality of external manifestations of the same mental characteristics. It is worth considering the situational nature of external manifestations.

An experiment is the conduct of research under special conditions in order to test an experimental hypothesis about cause-and-effect relationships.

This is a method based on creating an artificial situation in which the property being studied is highlighted, manifested and assessed best. It allows, more reliably than other psychological methods, to draw conclusions about the cause-and-effect relationships of the phenomenon under study with other phenomena, to scientifically explain the origin of the phenomenon and its development. But even in this method, the researcher may be subject to various social effects, which can affect the results of the experiment and make it unreliable.

There are two main types of experiment: laboratory and natural. This means that the experimenter can conduct his experiment under real, unaltered, natural conditions. Or he can specifically recreate a certain situation in order to conduct an experiment in artificially created conditions.

A survey is a method based on obtaining the necessary information from the subjects themselves through questions and answers. With its help, you can get information about how a person imagines his inner world and how he feels.

This method is subjective, because the data obtained as a result of the survey is a person’s subjective opinion about himself. And, of course, a person may be inaccurate, may lie or exaggerate somewhere, or even he may simply not notice or not give due importance to points that are important to the researcher. The survey can take the form of a conversation, interview or questionnaire.

The most effective method of socio-psychological research of small groups is the method of sociometry . It only makes it possible to see the state of affairs in the team, but does not show the reasons for its formation.

Other research methods are also used in developmental and developmental psychology. In different psychological studies with different directions and with different processes and phenomena of interest to researchers, one way or another, almost all methods that are available to psychology and sociology are used. This could be self-observation, testing, an archival method, etc.

Methods are selected based on the goals and objectives of the study, as well as the possibilities of studying the necessary phenomena using these methods. For example, using the method of introspection to study the level of intelligence is not very convenient, it may even be impossible, because there will be no reliability; but testing is better in this case.

Main tasks

The main tasks that this section of science sets for itself:

1. Study of age-related dynamics of mental processes . It is important to identify the properties and features of dynamics, to find out its pace and speed of development.
2. Determination of stages of ontogenesis . Scientists identify these stages, distribute them in order, and associate them with a certain age.
3. Differential psychological differences are revealed. These include the gender, age and typological properties of the individual. Experts set themselves the goal of classifying them, examining the pattern and reasons for the development of differences.
4. Age crises .
   Scientists not only recognize crises, but also try to help individuals during such periods. They create special methods for treating crises, develop ways to prevent extreme crisis situations to alleviate the human condition.