For a long time, at the end of the 19th and the 20th centuries, there was a methodological crisis in psychology associated with the fuzziness and uncertainty of the ultimate goals of psychological research. The discrepancy in understanding what mental development is, in determining the laws and conditions of its course, has led to the emergence of many different concepts based on social and biological factors, on the leading role of heredity or environment in the development of the psyche. However, the existence of various scientific schools has contributed to the accumulation of a lot of empirical data on the development of personality in different periods of life, which have developed into certain theories that explain the features of behavior, revealing the mechanisms that form certain mental properties of a person.
In modern science, the development of the psyche is traditionally considered within the framework of the most famous areas: psychoanalysis, behaviorism, gestalt psychology, humanistic and genetic theories.
Mental development in terms of psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud, creating the theory of the unconscious, argued that mental processes are mostly unconscious, and only individual spiritual experiences are realized by man. Freud explained the processes of creating and mastering cultural values by a man exclusively by sexual principles, and the productive interaction of the biological and social aspects in the development of the psyche - by protective mechanisms. Within the framework of psychosexuality, the great analyst also considered the mental development of the personality in childhood. Everyone knows the stages of sexual instinct allocated to him, which are reflected in the psyche of a child, and then an adult.
Mental development in terms of genetic psychology
The theory of development of J. Piaget is the brightest and most famous; it connects the development of the psyche of the child with intelligence. The scientist determined cognitive maturation by the processes of adaptation, assimilation, accommodation and balancing. The knowledge of the world is caused by the desire for adaptation or adaptation. Adaptation, in turn, consists of the process of assimilation - changing existing ideas under the influence of new information, and accommodation, which allows you to process the information received and develop new ways of behavior as a reaction to it. The psyche develops with a balanced alternation of these processes.
Humanistic theory and the development of the psyche
A completely new look at the psychic development of man by existential psychologists. They recognize the uniqueness and originality of a person who is an open and self-developing system. The inner world of each personality, its self is a complex interweaving of individual psychological qualities and needs. How true the actual experience helps to realize one’s inner “I”, and consequently, the level of needs and claims, the degree of congruence of a person will be so high. The desire for greater congruency is, in the opinion of humanistic psychologists, the fundamental sign of human nature, and the goal of its development is the maximum manifestation of the self in the process of self-actualization. The well-known psychologist A. Maslow believed that a person in life should be able to correctly identify and show the personal qualities that create his “I”. It is conscious aspirations, and not unconscious drives, that govern his actions and actions. Various obstacles arise on the path of self-actualization and self-improvement, which each person must overcome, giving in to difficulties, she stops developing, which can lead to neurotic disorders.
Humanistic psychology also determined the important role of the public environment for the mental development of a person. This role is twofold, because on the one hand, society contributes to development and self-actualization, and on the other, it tries to erase individuality and make a person similar to everyone else. The optimal in relation to the individual and society, from the point of view of humanistic psychologists, is such an interaction in which a person identifies himself with society in external manifestations, but at the same time retains his individuality and self in the process of intrapersonal development.