In this article, we will consider the subject and tasks of developmental psychology, the laws of mental development, and the changes that occur with a person throughout his life.
Whether we are changing is rather a rhetorical question. Someone believes that people are constantly changing under the influence of both external and internal factors, someone believes that it is impossible to change the character, and a person remains the same throughout his life, only accumulating experience.
The problem concerns not only philosophers and ordinary people. There is a whole section devoted to the study of changes that occur with a person throughout his life - developmental psychology.
On the subject of the study of developmental psychology
With age, we encounter unforeseen situations, learn, and gain experience. This invariably affects our behavior. We are also changing internally - less emotionally react to some things or vice versa.
The well-known expressions “grew up as a personality”, “a formed personality” or simply “not mature enough” just characterize the changes that occur in a person with age, which is the subject of study of developmental psychology.
This section identifies the behavioral patterns and trends in the assimilation of knowledge inherent in each age group, therefore it is closely related to educational psychology.
Pedagogical psychology
The subject of its study is the identification of patterns of human learning and their dependence on psychological factors. Contrary to popular belief, this section of the described science affects far not only children of preschool and school age.
We learn throughout life. Many, having studied at school, go to college, and then, in adulthood, to graduate school, receive additional education or refresher courses. The oldest graduate, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is 96 years old.
Teachers know firsthand how different the teaching of the same subject to students of different age groups is. Many even have their “favorite age," and they prefer to educate students who fall under this description.
Each age has its own perception of educational material, its own interests, various distractions and methods of dealing with them, as well as its own learning rate. Pedagogical psychology considers a person of any age from the point of view of the student and his perception of learning, so it directly intersects with the section that interests us, because the subject of the study of developmental psychology is the worldview, features and changes that occur in the human psyche during his life.
Developmental psychology
Another section closely related to developmental psychology is developmental psychology. Changes that occur with a person throughout life are inextricably linked with development. We are not just growing up, we are accumulating knowledge and experience both academically and psychologically.
The subject of the study of developmental psychology in brief is the psychological characteristics of people of different ages, while the subject of the study of developmental psychology is the laws of changes that occur in a person throughout life.
If we take the psychology of a child or teenager, then both of these sections are inseparable. But over the years, they begin to diverge, as human development slows down, and changes associated with age are no longer so noticeable.
The concept of "age"
It must be clarified that the very concept of “age” in psychology differs from the generally accepted one. When referring to the age group, it means not people born at about the same time, but people with the same level of development. Specialists call this the "psychological age."
By the way, it may not correspond to the physical: a child can behave in an adult way and perceive the world not at all like his peers, and vice versa, a man of 50 can feel himself in his soul as a teenager and behave accordingly.
A scientifically correct age determination is used to determine the level of a person’s psychological and personal development. It serves as the basis for a variety of tests and is the starting point for any specialist in this field when working with a client.
Having defined the concept of psychological age, we can consider the subject of the study of developmental psychology in chronological order.
Child psychology
This section deals with the study of child psychology. At this age, changes in behavior and perception of the world are the most rapid and easily noticeable to others. Yesterday, the child did not know how to speak, and today he said “mother,” a month ago he did not know how to hold a spoon, and today he is already playing hide and seek with other children and arguing with them about observing the rules.
It is at this age that it is most easy to identify deviations in development and influence further changes in the psychology and personality of a person, based on his standards of behavior, learning ability and worldview, which is the subject of study of developmental psychology.
Psychology of a teenager
The psychological characteristics of a teenager differ significantly from those characteristic of younger children. This is a turning point, a link between childhood and youth. Man is no longer a child, but not yet an adult.
At this stage, the subject and tasks of developmental psychology include not only the identification of norms, but also the definition of a “borderline state”. The so-called teenage crisis is a normal phenomenon, but it should not develop into depression and prevent the further development of personality, because it is at this age that the formation of a person’s self-determination and a kind of ideal in terms of character and personal qualities is laid.
Psychology of youth
In the period of youth, the development of a person as a person begins to slow down a little. It is towards the end of this age that many mental qualities, such as attention and certain types of memory, reach their zenith.
Independence of personality arises as we get rid of dependence on adults. Fully formed their own opinion, often different from the parent, changing relationships with peers.
Man has already formed for himself a certain picture of the world and the line of behavior that he will adhere to in his life. Awareness of yourself and your life priorities are the main features of this age.
Adult psychology
As an adult, a person is fully aware of himself as a person. He no longer needs the constant approval of others and is not dependent on society. But it should be noted that many people are not able to reach psychological maturity and often remain at the previous stages of development until the end of life.
However, one should not always strive to achieve psychological maturity. As an example of this, we can give a separate category - creative people who live precisely at the expense of their inner child. Their worldview allows them to create genuine masterpieces: to paint pictures, books, draw cartoons. Having reached psychological maturity, they simply lose the meaning of existence and lose their unique ability.
At the same time, the growing up of a personality is simply necessary for many people for the correct interaction with society and relatives. Emotionally immature people cannot create a full-fledged family. Especially in such cases, children who are forced to become original parents or confidents for their own parents suffer.
Gerontopsychology
This section of developmental psychology studies the elderly. At this stage, the physical extinction of a person occurs. Aging also often negatively affects psychology and worldview. As they say, "old age is not joy." That is why many pensioners are characterized by apathy or aggression towards others.
To find ways to prolong psychological activity and help older people adapt - the subject and tasks of developmental psychology. Its structure allows not only to reveal norms, but also to influence a person’s behavior and worldview.
Active retirees live longer and are less prone to physical illnesses, so educational psychology comes to the aid of the age group and provides a ton of ways to improve the cognitive functions of a withering organism.
Age changes
You can define the subject of studying age psychology briefly - this is the study of the norms of life and the human psyche, often subjected to changes under the influence of external factors, at any age. Note that changes that affect the character, worldview and the formation of personality can be both age-related and situational. Moreover, the first of them are associated with a change in ages and adaptation to the current situation.
It is not just about the teenage crisis and the midlife crisis. In childhood, a person experiences severe stress under the influence of age-related changes, which is part of the natural process.
The most dangerous age-related changes in the retirement period. A person needs to get used to the fact that physically and psychologically he is not capable of much that was easily given before, further activity and even life expectancy depend on it.
Situational change
Not all changes that affect psychology and changes in character are age-related. We learn a lot from the situations in which we find ourselves. However, not all the same situations have the same effect. For example, having lost his job, one person will look for a reason in himself and, possibly, will find himself in another area, while another will give up and become depressed.
To a large extent this is determined by the maturity of the personality, but also by the stability of the psyche. Often, situational changes affect the character and worldview of a person even more than age-related.