What are age crises
The development of the psyche can go slowly and gradually, or maybe quickly and abruptly. Stable and crisis stages of development are distinguished.
The stable period is characterized by a long duration, smooth changes in the structure of the personality without strong shifts and changes. Insignificant, minimal changes accumulate and at the end of the period give a qualitative leap in development: age-related neoplasms appear, stable, fixed in the personality structure.
Crisis periods do not last long, a few months, under unfavorable circumstances stretching up to a year or even two years. These are brief but turbulent stages. There are significant developmental shifts - the child changes dramatically in many of its features.
They are characterized by the following features:
1. The boundaries separating the beginning and end of these stages from adjacent periods are extremely indistinct.
2. The difficulty of educating children during critical periods once served as the starting point for their empirical study.
(At the same time, L.S. Vygotsky believed that the vivid manifestations of the crisis are rather a problem social environment who failed to readjust than a child. D.B. Elkonin wrote: "The crisis of behavior, often observed at the age of three, occurs only under certain conditions and is not at all necessary with appropriate changes in the relationship between the child and adults." The position of A.N. Leontiev: “In reality, crises are by no means inevitable companions of a child’s mental development. It is not crises that are inevitable, but fractures, qualitative shifts in development. On the contrary, a crisis is evidence of a break, a shift that did not take place in a timely manner and in the right direction. There may not be a crisis at all, because the mental development of a child is not spontaneous, but a reasonably controlled process - controlled upbringing.
3. Negative nature of development.
It is noted that during crises, in contrast to stable periods, more destructive than creative work is done. The child does not so much acquire as loses from what was previously acquired. But something new is also being created. At the same time, during critical periods, constructive processes of development are also observed. Neoplasms turn out to be unstable and in the next stable period they transform, are absorbed by other neoplasms, dissolve in them, and thus die off.
L. S. Vygotsky understood the developmental crisis as the concentration of sharp and capital shifts and shifts, changes and fractures in the personality of the child. A crisis is a turning point in the normal course of mental development. It occurs when “when the internal course of child development has completed a certain cycle and the transition to the next cycle will necessarily be a turning point ...” A crisis is a chain of internal changes in a child with relatively minor external changes. The essence of each crisis, he noted, is the restructuring of the inner experience that determines the child's attitude to the environment, the change in the needs and motives that drive his behavior. This was also pointed out by L. I. Bozhovich, according to which the cause of the crisis is the dissatisfaction of the new needs of the child (Bozhovich L. I., 1979). The contradictions that make up the essence of the crisis can proceed in an acute form, giving rise to strong emotional experiences, disturbances in the behavior of children, in their relationships with adults. The crisis of development means the beginning of the transition from one stage of mental development to another. It occurs at the junction of two ages and marks the end of the previous age period and the beginning of the next. The source of the emergence of the crisis is the contradiction between the growing physical and mental capabilities of the child and the previously established forms of his relationship with the people around him and the types (methods) of activity. Each of us has experienced manifestations of such crises.
D.B. Elkonin developed the ideas of L.S. Vygotsky about child development. “A child approaches each point in his development with a certain discrepancy between what he has learned from the system of relations man-man and what he has learned from the system of relations man-object. It is precisely the moments when this discrepancy assumes the greatest magnitude that are called crises, after which the development of the side that lagged behind in the previous period takes place. But each of the parties is preparing the development of the other.
What follows is a description of the crisis and the stable period following it, where only the most important, the most characteristic, is singled out. Regarding needs, it should be understood that the needs of the previous time do not disappear, just in the description of each of the periods only those that are added in connection with the development of the child are indicated.
For childhood, it is believed that there is an alternation of crises associated with socialization (0.3 years, adolescent crisis 12 years) and self-regulation (1 year, 7 years, 15 years).
It is believed that the crises of socialization are usually more acute than those of self-regulation, perhaps due to the fact that they are directed outward and the “spectators” manage to see more. At the same time, my personal experience of working and living with children shows that self-regulation crises can be no less severe, but many of their manifestations are hidden in the depths of the child’s psyche and we can judge their severity only by the severity of the consequences, while socialization crises often have a more vivid behavioral pattern.
The older the age, the more blurred the boundaries of age crises. In addition, in the adult state, in addition to normative crises (the crisis of 30 years, the midlife crisis of 40-45 years and the last crisis associated with the awareness of aging), various personality crises can take place, associated both with the conditions of existence and with personality traits (I won’t write about them now). It is also worth bearing in mind that each positively resolved crisis contributes to the fact that the next crisis has more chances for a positive and easy course. Accordingly, the passage of the crisis in a negative way, the refusal to resolve the task, usually leads to the fact that the subsequent crisis (taking into account the law of alternation) will be more acute and its positive passage will be difficult.
About the zone of proximal development
The interaction of the child with the social environment is not a factor, but a source of development. In other words, everything that a child learns must be given to him by the people around him. At the same time, it is important that training (in the broadest sense) proceed ahead of schedule. The child has some level actual development(for example, he can solve the problem on his own, without the help of an adult) and the level of potential development (what he can solve in cooperation with an adult).
The zone of proximal development is what a child is capable of, but cannot do without the help of adults. All training is based on the principle of taking into account the zone of proximal development, ahead of actual development.
* I think the problem with children breaking boundaries and being traumatized by boundaries is that, theoretically, boundaries arise from the conditions of existence, and they are natural enough not to argue with them. But since a person develops not in a natural environment, but in an artificial one, the boundaries outlined for a person are more of a cultural nature than a natural one. In addition, if traditional cultures do not doubt their taboos and are supported by the whole society, then in modern culture various conventions are constantly being destroyed - they are questioned first of all by parents, and after them by children.
Early childhood: 0 - 3 years
Neonatal Crisis: 0-2 months
Cause: a catastrophic change in living conditions (the appearance of an individual physical life), multiplied by the helplessness of the child.
Characteristic: weight loss, the ongoing adjustment of all body systems to exist in a fundamentally different environment - instead of water in air.
Helplessness and dependence on the world are resolved through the emergence of trust in the world (or mistrust). With a successful resolution, the ability to hope is born.
- individual mental life;
- a complex of revival (a special emotional-motor reaction of a child addressed to an adult. The revival complex is formed from about the third week of life: fading and concentration appear when an object or sounds are fixed, then a smile, vocalization, motor revival. Also, with the revival complex, rapid breathing is noted , joyful cries, etc. In the second month, during the normal development of the child, the complex is observed in its entirety.The intensity of its components continues to increase until about three or four months, after which the revival complex disintegrates, transforming into more complex forms of behavior);
- the emergence of attachment.
Infancy: 0-1 year
Primary activity: direct emotional communication with a close adult.
Field of activity: motivational need.
Stage of mental development: sensorimotor.
6 substages:
1. Congenital reflexes (up to 3-4 months);
2. Motor skills, reflexes turning into actions (from 2-3 months);
3. Development of coordination between eyes and hands, the ability to reproduce random, pleasant and interesting results of one's own actions appears (from 4 months);
4. Coordination of means and goals, the ability to reproduce actions aimed at prolonging the impression that aroused interest increases (from 8 months);
5. Forming a connection between an action and its result, discovering new ways to get interesting results (from 11-12 months);
6. The child learns to look for original solutions to problems as a result of the schemes of actions he already has and ideas that suddenly arise, the emergence of the ability to imagine missing events in symbolic form (from 1.5 years old).
Main achievements of this period include the formation of coordinated movements corresponding to such material structure as grouping, representational construction and intentionality. A particularly noticeable result of this stage is the construction of a permanent object - the understanding of the existence of objects independent of the subject.
Attachment levels: at the level of physical contact, emotions.
Needs: so that an adult responds and satisfies all needs (formation of a situation of attachment). The basic needs of this age are food, comfort, physical contact, exploration of the world.
Result at the end of the period: Destruction of the close symbiotic situation between the child and the adult caring for him, due to the fact that the child has an independent human mental life based on the second signaling system.
Crisis 1 year
Cause: increase in the child's capabilities, the emergence of all more new needs.
Characteristic: a surge of independence, as well as the appearance of affective reactions, familiarity with boundaries, possibly a violation of the biorhythm of sleep / wakefulness.
A contradiction resolved in a crisis: the gap between desires and speech regulation is resolved through the emergence of autonomy, independence, as opposed to doubt and shame. With a favorable resolution, will is acquired. Speech self-regulation develops.
Innovations by the end of the crisis:
- autonomous speech, emotionally affective, polysemantic;
- feeling of being separated from an adult individual;
- arbitrariness of movements and gestures, controllability;
– boundaries exist and they are legitimate (adults also obey them).
Younger children age 1-3 years
Primary activity: activities together with an adult to master the manipulation of objects. An adult as a model, as a bearer of cultural and historical experience. Verbalization of contact in joint activity. The development of the game as an imitation of a specific action, games as entertainment and as exercises.
Field of activity: in boys, object-tool activity is formed on the basis of objective activity. In girls, on the basis of speech activity - communicative.
Stage of mental development: up to 2 years, continuation of the sensorimotor (see substage 5-6 above), then - preoperational, which does not follow the laws of logic or physical causality, but is rather limited to associations by contiguity. Magical way of explaining the world.
Attachment levels: at the level of similarity, imitation (now he does not need to be in physical contact with his relatives all the time, he just needs to be like them, and there is more room for research) and then at the level of belonging, loyalty (in order to maintain contact with parents, it is enough to have them ).
Needs: it is necessary to provide the child with a sphere of activity where he could exercise independence. Physical protection from danger. The introduction of a limited number of clear boundaries and their joint maintenance.
This is the period when the child accumulates knowledge about himself through the perception of himself through the eyes of adults who care for him. He does not know how to think critically, accordingly he takes on faith everything that they tell him about him and on the basis of this he will build his “I”. It is very important to be able to give an invaluable feedback, reporting on its achievements, mistakes and opportunities to correct them.
Result at the end of the period: the formation of the child's self-awareness, the development of speech, the acquisition of toilet skills.
Childhood: 3 years - 12 years
Crisis 3 years
(now often shifted to 2 years)
Cause: the life of the child passes in conditions of mediated, and not direct connection with the world. Adult as a carrier of social and personal relationships.
Characteristic: the so-called seven-star three-year crisis:
1) negativism,
2) stubbornness,
3) obstinacy,
4) depreciation,
5) the desire for despotism,
6) protest riot,
7) willfulness.
Within the framework of the Neufeld model, I believe that all this can be considered a manifestation of resistance and an alpha complex, which is not surprising, since the birth of personality and one's own will, which occurs during this crisis, requires protection from external influences and instructions.
A contradiction resolved in a crisis: clash of "want" and "need" are resolved through the emergence of "I can", the emergence of initiative as opposed to guilt. With a successful resolution, the ability to set goals and achieve them is born. Finding your "I".
Innovations by the end of the crisis:
- subordination of motives and manifestation of the child's personal characteristics;
- the formation of internal positions, the birth of "I";
– arbitrariness of thinking (logical type of generalization).
Senior preschool: 3-7 years
Primary activity: a game in which the child first emotionally and then intellectually masters the entire system of human relations. Development role-playing game occurs through the plot and procedural-imitative. At the end of the period, it is possible to introduce games by the rules. At this time, the development of action from an operational scheme to a human action that makes sense in another person takes place; from a single action to its meaning. In the collective form of a role-playing game, the meanings of human actions are born.
Field of activity: motivational need.
Stage of mental development: preoperative. Intuitive, visual thinking, egocentrism (not the ability to present a point of view different from one's own), the beginnings of logical thinking appear and cause-and-effect relationships are established.
domoral. Orientation to approval-disapproval (actually, along with the appearance of the “I”, moral consciousness also appears).
Attachment levels: at the level of feeling important for another, and then at the level of love (only at this level can he be imperfect without fear of losing affection). When passing through the level of love, the child may want to take care of the younger or pet. Waiting for care before this level is unrealistic.
Needs: it is important to pay attention to his needs and judgments. Support in property relations (in order for a person to learn to share, he needs to get enough of his property, his right to dispose of). Support in the manifestation of emotions, to enable the safe experience of tears of futility. It is important to form at preschool age self-confidence, not abilities.
Result at the end of the period: own position in the system of social relations.
Crisis 7 years
Cause: own emotions, feelings are noticed. There is a possibility of their self-regulation. Impulsivity disappears from behavior and childish immediacy is lost. The semantic orienting basis of the act appears.
Characteristic:
1) loss of immediacy;
2) antics, mannerisms, artificial stiffness of behavior;
3) isolation, uncontrollability.
A contradiction resolved in a crisis: the ability to subordinate one's desires to rules contributes to the acquisition of industriousness as opposed to an inferiority complex. With a successful resolution, competence is born.
Innovations by the end of the crisis:
– internal action plan;
- the emergence of integrative thinking, reflection;
- formation of a hierarchy of motives, a hierarchy of motives;
- the birth of the self-concept, self-esteem.
Junior school period: 7-12 years
Primary activity: educational activity. An adult as a carrier of generalized methods of activity in the system of scientific concepts. The process of its own change stands out for the subject himself as a new object. Educational activities are carried out in the form of joint activities of the teacher and the student. Mutual relations in the distribution of activities and the mutual exchange of methods of action constitute the psychological basis and are the driving force behind the development of the individual's own activity. Subsequently, the teacher organizes cooperation with peers as a mediating link between the beginning of the formation of a new action when working with an adult and the completely independent intrapsychic formation of an action. In this way, children master not only the operational composition of actions, but also their meanings and goals, master learning relationships.
Children still spend a lot of time playing. It develops feelings of cooperation and rivalry, acquire personal meaning such concepts as justice and injustice, prejudice, equality, leadership, submission, devotion, betrayal. The game takes on a social dimension: children invent secret societies, clubs, secret cards, ciphers, passwords, and special rituals. The roles and rules of the children's society allow you to master the rules adopted in the adult society. In addition, for a 10-11-year-old person, it is important to receive recognition from other people (acquaintances and strangers) of their new capabilities, to gain trust, because “I am also an adult”, “I am with everyone”. Hence the search for specific cases that have a really adult character, the search for such activities that are of socially useful significance and receive public appreciation.
Field of activity: operational and technical.
Stage of mental development: the stage of specific operations is the emergence of elementary logical reasoning. The ability to understand that the other sees the world differently than I do.
Level of moral consciousness: conventional morality. The desire to behave in a certain way out of the need for approval, in maintaining good relations with people significant to him, then from the support of authority.
Attachment levels: at the level of desire to be known (if there were no problems in the previous levels and if the relationship with parents is favorable). Sometimes this level is reached only in adulthood.
Needs: respect. Any junior school student expresses a claim for respect, for being treated as an adult, for recognition of his sovereignty. If the need for respect is not satisfied, then it will be impossible to build a relationship with this person on the basis of understanding. Needs support in communicating in the outside world, help in the correct attitude towards self-assessment.
The learning process should be built in such a way that its motive is connected with its own, internal content of the subject of assimilation. It is necessary to form cognitive motivation.
At 10-11 years old, a child needs a collective socially useful activity, which is recognized by others as a significant help to society.
Result at the end of the period: own cognitive activity, the ability to cooperate with peers, self-control.
* I assume that the level of development of the intellect, moral consciousness and levels of attachment correlate with each other. So, without overcoming egocentrism, one cannot grow to the desire to be known, and the ability to integrate makes it possible to develop autonomous morality.
Adolescence: 12-19 years
(actually until the moment of entering adulthood, very individually)
Teen crisis 12 years old
(previously usually identified as a crisis of 14 years, but now “younger”)
Cause: exit to Big world leads to a reassessment of those values that were absorbed in the family and a small team, there is a correlation between oneself and society.
Characteristic: there is a decrease in productivity and ability to learning activities even in the area in which the child is gifted. Negativism. The child, as it were, is repelled by the environment, hostile, prone to quarrels, violations of discipline. At the same time, he experiences internal anxiety, discontent, a desire for loneliness, for self-isolation.
A contradiction resolved in a crisis: when all previous introjected meanings are reevaluated, personal self-determination is born as opposed to individual dullness and conformism. With a successful resolution, fidelity is born.
Innovations by the end of the crisis:
- the ability of children to arbitrarily regulate their behavior and manage it, which becomes an important quality of the child's personality;
- a sense of maturity
- reflection.
Adolescence 12-15 years
Primary activity: intimate and personal communication with peers. By the age of 12-13, the need for social recognition, awareness of one's rights in society develops, which is most fully satisfied in a specially assigned socially useful activity, the potential of which reaches its maximum development here. Awareness of oneself in the system of social relations, awareness of oneself as a socially significant being, subject. The desire to appear in society leads to the development of social responsibility as an opportunity to be responsible for oneself at the level of an adult, actualizing oneself in others; going beyond oneself, when the “I” does not dissolve in the system of relationships, but shows strength - “I am for everyone”, leading to the development of a conscious attitude towards other people, to the environment; the desire to find their place in the team - to stand out, not to be ordinary; the need to play a certain role in society.
Field of activity: motivational need.
Stage of mental development: stage of formal operations - the formation of the ability to think logically, use abstract concepts, perform operations in the mind.
Level of moral consciousness: the emergence of autonomous morality. Actions are determined by your conscience. First, there is an orientation towards the principles of social welfare, then - towards universal ethical principles.
Attachment levels: deepening and development of previous levels, the beginning of separation
Needs: self-determination of oneself in the system of relations with other people, manifestations of the need for respect, trust, recognition, independence. If at the age of 12-13 a child does not have the experience of really socially useful activity and recognition for it, then further work will be associated exclusively with a means of subsistence, it will be very difficult to enjoy work.
Result at the end of the period:
- the development of self-awareness,
– development of worldview and philosophical thinking,
– formation of a system of theoretical knowledge.
Youth crisis 15 years
(the so-called period of philosophical intoxication)
Cause: the desire to take a more independent, more "adult" position in life in the absence of such an opportunity.
Characteristic: ambivalence and paradoxical nature of the emerging character.
A number of basic contradictions inherent in this age: excessive activity can lead to exhaustion; insane gaiety is replaced by despondency; self-confidence turns into shyness and cowardice; selfishness alternates with altruism; high moral aspirations are replaced by cynicism and skepticism; passion for communication is replaced by isolation; subtle sensitivity passes into apathy; lively curiosity into mental indifference; passion for reading - in neglect of it; the desire for reformism - in love for routine; passion for observations - into endless reasoning.
A contradiction resolved in a crisis: the choice between being able to care for another person and share all that is significant with them without fear of losing or being closed due to their own vulnerability leads either to the development of intimacy and sociability, or to self-absorption and avoidance. interpersonal relationships, That is psychological basis for feelings of loneliness, existential vacuum and social isolation. With a positive resolution, the ability to build deep intimate relationships, to love, is born.
Innovations by the end of the crisis:
– professional and personal self-determination;
– value-semantic self-regulation of behavior;
- developing a personal value system;
– formation of logical intelligence;
– hypothetical-deductive thinking;
- personal style of thinking is set;
- Awareness of one's individuality.
Youth period: 15-19 years
Primary activity: educational and professional activities. The formation of readiness for functioning in society gives rise at the age of 14-15 to the desire to apply one's capabilities, to prove oneself, which leads to the realization of one's social involvement, active search ways and real forms of development of subject-practical activity, aggravating the need of a growing person for self-determination, self-realization.
For this period characteristic:
- "egocentric dominant" - interest in one's own personality;
- "dominant gave" - installation on a vast, large scale, which for him is much more subjectively acceptable than near, current;
- "dominant of effort" - a teenager's craving for resistance, overcoming,
to volitional tensions;
- "dominant of romance" - the desire of a teenager for the unknown, risky, for adventure, for heroism.
Field of activity: motivational need.
Stage of mental development:
Level of moral consciousness: autonomous morality. Conscience. Orientation to universal ethical principles.
Attachment levels: the formation of separation, the formation of the ability to enter into the dance of attachment.
Needs: treat an adult as a senior ally. There is a desire to protect some areas of your life from gross interference. Have their own line of behavior, despite the disagreement of adults or peers. Becoming intimacy is contact plus two things:
– I do not need to monitor myself when I am with you (trust);
- I can tell you everything important that I think at this moment, without fear of a negative answer.
Another condition for nascent intimacy is the long-term relationship. Security is born in contact with a person whom you have known for a long time. It is very risky to enter into intimacy with a stranger. (Intimacy is not necessarily tenderness, affection. You can feel a sense of security during even an intimate quarrel).
Result at the end of the period:
- independence, entry into adulthood;
- control of one's behavior, designing it on the basis of moral norms;
- moral convictions.
* The funny thing is that the results of crises in classical psychology are those achievements that, according to Neufeld, can develop in a child much earlier:
1. According to Neufeld, a sense of self-importance arises after 4 years, and in classical psychology this corresponds to a claim for respect after a crisis of 7 years.
2. After the age of 12, adolescents develop a sense of community - “we”. According to Neufeld, this corresponds to the third level of attachment - belonging and is typical for children after 3 years.
3. A sense of intimacy/security according to Neufeld is possible after 7 years, and classical psychology refers its manifestations to adolescence. Although, as far as I understand, often at a later age, people are not always able to feel safe in communicating with theoretically the closest people in the family.
These discrepancies suggest that, in fact, classical practical psychology studies deviant behavior to a greater extent, and not what one would like to see as the norm.
Adulthood 19-60 years old
(actually from the time you set your own path to the time you retire)
Path Definition Crisis(typical for a person who takes power over his fate completely into his own hands with the awareness of his responsibility - sometimes a person does not do this or only partially - the so-called sissy or daddy's daughters)
Cause: not only psychological, but also real separation from the family, getting up on your own feet, the opportunity to earn a living on your own.
Characteristic: love and professional throwing. The time of creating a family, mastering the chosen profession, determining the attitude to public life and his role in it. Responsibility to yourself and your family for the choice, real achievements at this time is already a big burden. Added to this is the fear of new life, before the possibility of a mistake, before failure when entering a university, among young men - before the army. High anxiety and against this background expressed fear.
A contradiction resolved in a crisis: when all previous introjected meanings are reevaluated, personal self-determination is born as opposed to individual dullness and conformism.
Innovations by the end of the crisis:
- the ability to intimacy without losing one's own identity;
- with a successful resolution, fidelity is born.
Youth: 19-30 years old
(the boundaries of age are very conditional, from self-determination to the desire to reproduce oneself in children or students).
Primary activity: intimate and personal communication with the opposite sex. Youth is a time of optimism. A person is full of strength and energy, the desire to achieve their goals and ideals. In youth, the most difficult types are most accessible. professional activity, communication takes place most fully and intensively, relations of friendship and love are most easily established and most fully developed. Youth is considered the best time for self-realization. Awareness of oneself as an adult with his rights and obligations, the formation of ideas about his future life, work. Meeting with a life partner, marriage. In love between a man and a woman, the whole essence of each of them is revealed, reflected. In this love, a person is manifested as a whole. Love by its nature can only be divided, it completes a person, makes him more complete, himself.
Field of activity: motivational need.
Stage of mental development: abstract, verbal-logical and reasoning thinking.
Level of moral consciousness:
Attachment levels: learning the dance of affection in relationships with a partner, friends, the position of alpha with one's own children, and honoring parents.
Needs: in personal and professional self-determination, creating a family.
Result at the end of the period:
- self-determination - awareness of oneself as a member of society, is concretized in a new socially significant and professional position;
- the ability to intimacy without losing one's own identity.
A crisis creative activity
Cause: the increase in skill is accompanied by an increase in routine. Family and professional life stabilize and there is an understanding that is capable of more.
Characteristic: reassessment of one's own satisfaction with one's family and one's job. Often it is at this time that people get divorced, change their profession.
A contradiction resolved in a crisis: routine as opposed to creative activity. Concern about raising a new generation (productivity) as opposed to "immersion in yourself" (stagnation).
Innovations by the end of the crisis:
- the ability to subordinate one's activity to an idea. Understanding that an idealess existence is boring;
- the ability to consciously approach the upbringing of the younger generation (children or students)
Average age: 30-45 years old
(the boundaries of age are very conditional, from finding one's destiny to rethinking one's role for the benefit of society)
Primary activity: time of high performance and return. A person, acquiring rich life experience, becomes a full-fledged specialist and a family man, for the first time seriously thinks about the question: “What remains for people?” Rethinking ideas about your life.
Field of activity: operational and technical.
Stage of mental development: abstract verbal-logical and reasoning thinking.
Level of moral consciousness: autonomous morality. Actions are determined by your conscience. Orientation to universal ethical principles.
Attachment levels: dance of affection in relationships with a partner, friends, alpha position with one's own children and honoring parents.
Needs: in finding the idea, purpose, meaning of life.
Result at the end of the period: self-realization and creativity. A person evaluates what has been done and looks more soberly into the future.
* Somewhere between the crises of creative activity and the middle of life, there is a crisis of an empty nest, when children leave the family. This crisis is most acute in a situation where the crisis of creative activity has been resolved negatively.
In addition, in adulthood, many more situational crises await us.
Criteria for successfully coping with the crisis it could be considered:
- acceptance by a person of responsibility for his internal trouble;
- attitude to this as a signal for the need for internal and, possibly, subsequent external changes without feeling sorry for oneself or complaining about the injustice of what is happening;
- attitude to internal trouble as to physical pain, which indicates the presence of physiological "failures" in the body - after all, one should not only relieve pain, but also treat its cause.
Middle age crisis
(conscious determination of one's destiny in creative and family terms based on previous experience)
Cause: while we are at the top, it's time to look for other strategies to achieve the old goals. Or rethink your goals. Or change from wider to deeper. Or something else. I really want to make a reservation about the fact that the descent is not a reduction in opportunities, not solidity, boringness, insipidity, not a rejection of something. At least most of it. The descent is a fundamentally different way of movement. Requiring other skills than those to which we are accustomed.
Characteristic: all basic existential problems are actualized (death, isolation, loss of meanings) and a number of specific social psychological problems(social loneliness, maladaptation, complete change of values, change in social status).
A contradiction resolved in a crisis: universal humanity (the ability to be interested in the fate of people outside the family circle) as opposed to self-absorption.
Innovations by the end of the crisis:
- self-actualization.
Maturity: 45-60 years
(age boundaries are very arbitrary, from self-actualization to retirement or a decrease in vital activity due to physical infirmity)
Primary activity: pinnacle of a person's life path. Self-realization and creativity. Achievement professional excellence, position in society, transfer of experience. A critical rethinking by a person of his life goals and getting rid of the illusions and unjustified hopes of youth.
Field of activity: motivational need.
Stage of mental development: abstract verbal-logical and reasoning thinking.
Level of moral consciousness: autonomous morality. Actions are determined by your conscience. Orientation to personal ethical principles.
Attachment levels: attachment dance in relationships with a partner, friends, with their own grown children and alpha position with parents. Formation of a detached caring position towards grandchildren.
Needs: in finding the idea, purpose, meaning of life. Every adult, Erickson argued, should either reject or accept the idea of their responsibility to renew and improve everything that could help preserve and improve our culture. Thus, productivity acts as the concern of the older generation for those who will replace them. The main theme of the psychosocial development of the individual is concern for the future well-being of mankind.
Result at the end of the period: self improvement. Fusion of personal and social goals.
Old age
Debrief Crisis(summation, integration and evaluation of the entire past life).
Cause: a decrease in one's social status, the loss of a life rhythm that has been preserved for decades, sometimes leads to a sharp deterioration in the general physical and mental state.
Characteristic: this is the time when people look back and reconsider their life decisions, remember their achievements and failures. According to Erickson, this last phase of maturity is characterized not so much by a new psychosocial crisis as by the summation, integration and evaluation of all past stages of its development. Peace comes from a person's ability to look back over their entire past life (marriage, children, grandchildren, career, social relationships) and humbly but firmly say, "I am satisfied." The inevitability of death no longer frightens, since such people see the continuation of themselves either in descendants or in creative achievements.
At the opposite pole are people who treat their lives as a series of unrealized opportunities and mistakes. At the end of their lives, they realize that it is too late to start over and look for some new ways. Erickson distinguishes two prevailing types of mood in indignant and irritated older people: regret that life cannot be lived again and denial of one's own shortcomings and defects by projecting them onto the outside world.
A contradiction resolved in a crisis: life satisfaction (integration) as opposed to despair.
Innovations by the end of the crisis:
- wisdom.
Old age for 60 years or more
(the boundaries of age are very conditional, from a decrease in vital activity due to physical weakness until the end of life)
Primary activity: the psychological state of these people is characterized by vital asthenia, contemplation, a tendency to remember, peace, wise enlightenment.
Attachment levels: experiences of grief about the loss of attachments (death of loved ones). Formation of a detached caring position towards grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Needs: humility. Acceptance of care.
Result at the end of the period: death - as the final birth of the Personality, summing up.
* In fact, the positive or negative passage of the last crisis directly depends on the fullness of the previous life. If the decisions made in previous crises can be revised in the future (during the next crisis), then the decision of the last crisis is final.
Mriya Voychuk
mria_ts
Photo flickr.com/photos/dongissel
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The crisis of age development has a different designation. It is called a development crisis, an age crisis, a crisis period. But all this is a conditional name for the transitional stages of age development, characterized by sharp psychological changes. Regardless of the desires and circumstances of the individual, such a crisis comes suddenly. But for some, it proceeds less painfully, and for some it is open and violent.
It should be noted that it is necessary to distinguish the crisis of age development from the crisis of a person's personality. The first arises in connection with the age dynamics of the psyche, and the second - as a result of the created socio-psychological circumstances in which a person finds himself unexpectedly and experiences negative experiences in them, which entailed internal restructuring psyche and behaviour.
In developmental psychology, there is no consensus about crises, their place and role in the mental development of the child. Some psychologists believe that child development should be harmonious, crisis-free. Crises are an abnormal, “painful” phenomenon, the result of improper upbringing.
Another part of psychologists argues that the presence of crises in development is natural. Moreover, according to some ideas, a child who has not truly experienced a crisis will not fully develop further.
At present, psychology is increasingly talking about turning points in the development of a child, and actually crisis, negative manifestations are attributed to the characteristics of his upbringing, living conditions. Close adults can mitigate these external manifestations or, on the contrary, strengthen them. Crises, unlike stable periods, do not last long, a few months, under unfavorable circumstances stretching up to a year or even several years.
The age crisis is viewed, on the one hand, as a stage of development (see p. 7), and on the other hand, as a development mechanism (see p. 16). Both of these characteristics of the development crisis were substantiated by L.S. Vygotsky. They are interrelated, since the crisis acts as a development mechanism at a certain stage of mental development. It acts through the contradictions between existing needs and new social requirements that appear in a person's life during the transition from one age to another. The essence of the crisis lies in the restructuring of internal experiences, in changing needs and motives when interacting with the environment. Thus, the crisis of age development has the following characteristics:
This is a natural stage in mental development;
Completes (separates) each age period and appears at the junction of two ages;
It is based on the contradiction between the environment and the attitude towards = it;
The result of the crisis of development is the transformation of the psyche and behavior.
The development crisis has two sides. The first is the negative, destructive side. She says that during a crisis there is a delay in mental development, withering away and curtailment of early acquired mental formations, skills and abilities. The very time of the crisis proceeds uneasily with the appearance of negative emotions and experiences in a person's behavior. In addition, with an unfavorable course of the crisis, negative characteristics of the personality and interpersonal interaction can be formed, and the dissatisfaction of new needs introduces a person into a repeated (or protracted) crisis state of development. In the pathological course of the crisis, a distortion of the normal age-related dynamics may occur.
The other side of the crisis of age development is positive, constructive, which signals the emergence of positive changes (new formations and a new social situation of development) that make up the meaning of each critical period. A positive transformation of the psyche and behavior of a person occurs with a favorable course of the crisis.
Thus, it can be noted that the developmental crisis is a sensitive stage in the transformation of the psyche, where the line between its normal and disturbed development is very thin. In which direction the crisis will be resolved - most often depends on the productivity of the interaction of a person (child) with the environment, which determines the individuality of the course of an age-related crisis.
Developmental crises were also studied by L. S. Vygotsky’s student, D. B. El’konin. He discovered the law of alternation in the course of the mental development of the child. The scientist singled out types of activity that are different in orientation, which periodically replace each other: an activity oriented in the system of relations between people (“person - person”) is followed by an activity where the orientation goes to the ways of using objects (“person - object”). Each time, contradictions arise between these two types of orientations, which cause a crisis of development, since action cannot develop further if it is not built into a new system of relations and without raising the intellect to a certain level new motives and modes of action will not be developed. Taking into account the above orientations of the leading activities of D.B. Elkonin explained the content of the isolated L.S. Vygotsky developmental crises. So, in the neonatal period, at 3 and 13 years old, relationship crises occur, and at 1, 7 and 17 years old, crises of worldview occur, which also alternate.
In domestic psychology, there is a predominance of the point of view that developmental crises inevitably appear at the junction of any two age periods. The timing of crises in childhood, established by L.S. Vygotsky are disputed, but the sequence of their occurrence remains relevant, as it reflects the normative patterns of mental development.
L. S. Vygotsky singles out the following stages in the developmental crisis.
I. Pre-crisis. There is a contradiction between the environment and the attitude of man towards it. The pre-crisis state is characterized by a transitional internal state, where the indicators of the affective and cognitive spheres become oppositely directed. Intellectual control decreases and at the same time sensitivity to the outside world increases, emotionality, aggressiveness, psychomotor disinhibition or lethargy, isolation, etc.
II. Actually a crisis. At this stage, there is a temporary maximum aggravation of psychological problems of a personal and interpersonal nature, where one can observe a certain degree of deviation from the age norm in psychophysical development. Low cognitive activity, psychological lability (instability), decreased communication, loss of mental stability, mood swings and motivation are often manifested. In general, it is difficult to influence a child or an adult at this time, to agree, reorient, etc.
III. Post-crisis. This is the time to resolve contradictions through the formation of a new social situation of development, harmony between its components. As a result of this harmony, a return to a normal state is carried out, where the affective and cognitive components of the psyche become unidirectional. “Old formations” go into the subconscious, and new level consciousness put forward new formations of the psyche.
In conclusion, we note that the crisis of age development appears suddenly and also disappears. Its boundaries are blurred. It is short-lived compared to stable periods. The resolution of the crisis is associated with the establishment of new social relations with the environment, which can be productive and destructive in nature.
Crises occur not only in childhood, but also in periods of adulthood.
Mental changes that appear at this time in a child or adult are profound and irreversible.
special, relatively short (up to a year) periods of ontogenesis, characterized by sharp psychological changes. Unlike crises of a neurotic or traumatic nature, they refer to the normative processes necessary for the normal, progressive course of personal development. They can arise during the transition of a person from one age level to another, are associated with systemic qualitative transformations in the sphere of his social relations, activity and consciousness. The form, duration and severity of the course of crises can vary markedly depending on the individual-typological characteristics of the child, social and microsocial conditions, the characteristics of upbringing in the family, and the pedagogical system as a whole. Periods of age-related crises in childhood are characterized by processes of transition to a new type of relationship between children and adults, in which new, increased opportunities for the child are taken into account, changes in the "social situation of development", a change in activity, and a restructuring of the entire structure of the child's consciousness. The processes of children's transition to a new age level are associated with the resolution of often very sharp contradictions between their previously established forms of relationships with others - and their increased physical and psychological capabilities and claims. Significantly less studied are the crises of age-related mature periods of life and old age. It is known that such turning points occur much less frequently than in childhood, and usually proceed more covertly, without pronounced changes in behavior. The processes of restructuring the semantic structures of consciousness and reorientation to new life tasks that take place at this time, leading to a change in the nature of activity and relationships, have a profound impact on the further course of personality development.
AGE CRISES
special, relatively short in time (up to a year) periods of ontogeny, characterized by sharp psychological changes. Unlike crises of a neurotic or traumatic nature, age-related crises are among the normative processes necessary for the normal, progressive course of personal development.
AGE CRISES
English age crises) is a conventional name for the transitional stages of age development that take place between stable (lytic) periods (see Age, Periodization of mental development). K. v. are considered in concepts that recognize the stadial nature of development (E, Erickson - K. v. as a solution to the main task of age; 3. Freud - a change in the main stages of psychosexual development).
In domestic psychology, the term K. in. introduced by L. S. Vygotsky and defined as a holistic change in the personality of a child that regularly occurs when changing (at the junction) of stable periods. According to Vygotsky, K. v. due to the emergence of basic psychological neoformations of the previous stable period, which lead to the destruction of one social situation of development and the emergence of another, adequate to the new psychological make-up of the child. The mechanism of change in social situations of development constitutes the psychological content of coeval art. Behavioral criteria To. - difficult to educate, conflict, stubbornness, negativism, etc. - Vygotsky considered necessary and expressing the unity of the negative (destructive) and positive (constructive) sides of K. v.
D. B. Elkonin believed that emancipation from an adult, which is the basis of any C. in., is the basis of a qualitatively new type of connection with an adult, and therefore C. in. necessary and natural (including the characteristic negative features of behavior). Research recent years confirm that the pronounced negative behavior in relation to the "old" social situation to a certain extent ensures the completeness of readiness for action in the new social situation of development.
There is, however, other t. sp. on negativism, denying its inevitable, necessary character and considering it as an indicator of an incorrect system of relations between a child and an adult. So, A. N. Leontiev considered the conflict behavior in K. century. evidence of the unfavorable course of the crisis.
Chronologically, K. c. determined by the boundaries of stable ages: neonatal crisis (up to 1 month; from the point of view of Vygotsky, before the emergence of a revival complex), crisis of the 1st year, crisis of 3 years, crisis of 7 years, adolescent (11-12 years) and youthful K. century Some authors also recognize the presence of K. century. in adults (eg, the crisis of 40 years), however, there are no reliable experimental data on this subject. (K. N. Polivanova.)
Age crises
Specificity. In the theory of L.S. Vygotsky, this concept denotes a transition in age development to a new qualitatively specific stage. Age crises are caused primarily by the destruction of the usual social situation of development and the emergence of another, which is more consistent with the new level of psychological development of the child. In external behavior, age-related crises are revealed as disobedience, stubbornness, and negativism. In time, they are localized at the boundaries of stable ages and manifest as a neonatal crisis (up to 1 month), a crisis of one year, a crisis of 3 years, a crisis of 7 years, an adolescent crisis (11-12 years old) and a youth crisis.
AGE CRISES
ontological characteristics of human mental development. In the theory of L. S. Vygotsky, this concept denotes a transition in age development to a new qualitatively specific stage. V. to. are caused, first of all, by the destruction of the usual social situation of development and the emergence of others, which more corresponds to a new level of psychological development of the child. In external behavior, V. to. are found as disobedience, stubbornness, conflict, negativism. In time, they are localized at the boundaries of stable ages and manifest as a neonatal crisis (up to 1 month), a crisis of 1 year, a crisis of 3 years, a crisis of 7 years, an adolescent crisis (11–12 years old) and a youth crisis.
Age crises
Greek krisis - decision, turning point] - special, relatively short periods of ontogenesis, characterized by sharp psychological changes. Unlike crises of neurotic or traumatic genesis, To. relate to the normative processes necessary for the normal progressive course of personal development (L.S. Vygotsky, E. Erickson). This means that K. in. naturally arise during the transition of a person from one age level to another and are associated with systemic qualitative transformations in the sphere of his social relations, activity and consciousness. For the first time the most important value of K. in. was emphasized by L.S. Vygotsky. In connection with the development of the problem of periodization of the child's mental development, he wrote that "if critical ages had not been discovered in a purely empirical way, the concept of them should have been introduced into the developmental scheme on the basis of theoretical analysis." Crises of childhood include the crisis of the first year of life, the crisis of three years, the crisis of seven years and the adolescent crisis (11-12 years). Due to significant individual, sociocultural, and other differences, the indicated chronological boundaries of the K. century. are quite conditional and can fluctuate noticeably (it is known that over the past half century, at least the last two of the above crises have become “younger” by 1-2 years). For periods of K. in. characterized by processes of transition to a qualitatively different type of relationship between children and adults, taking into account their new, increased opportunities. Changes during K. century. cover three key components psychological age child: his "social situation of development", the leading type of activity, the entire structure of the child's consciousness (L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, D.B. Elkonin, etc.). The prerequisites for these transformations gradually and most often imperceptibly to others are formed and accumulated during the period preceding the crisis - the so-called stable age, where the processes of lytic development prevail. Not showing up in the child's behavior until a certain moment, these motivational and instrumental formations actively declare themselves in the process of structural changes in the structure of consciousness, the entire personality of the child at the turn of age epochs. All three of these lines of transformation of the structure of psychological age are closely interdependent, and therefore ignoring the new psychological capabilities and needs of the child, as well as attempts to artificially accelerate development (for example, by prematurely introducing the child to the social situation and the leading activity of the next age stage), do not lead to to accelerate development, but to a significant complication of its course. The form, duration and severity of the course of crises can vary markedly depending on the individual typological characteristics of the child, social and microsocial conditions, the characteristics of upbringing and the situation in the family, the pedagogical system of society and the type of culture as a whole. Theoretical awareness essential K. v. significantly outstripped the beginning of their systematic study. Although some of the important symptoms of K. in. were described in the works of German teachers at the beginning of the century (“the age of childish obstinacy” according to A. Busemann, O. Kroh), attempts to empirically study the picture of the course of crises in children turned out to be fraught with significant difficulties. Nevertheless, as developmental psychology progressed in understanding the mechanisms of ontogenetic development, data were obtained that made it possible to concretize the theoretical scheme of developmental development. and advance in understanding the specifics of individual childhood crises. To date, there are a number of concepts that reveal the content of K. in their own way. So, the central psychological neoplasm, “launching” the mechanism of age-related transformations in the sphere of relationships, activities and personality of the child during the crisis of three years, is the “I system” (L.I. Bozhovich), “personal action and consciousness of “I myself”” (D. B. Elkonin), “pride in one’s achievements” (M.I. Lisina, T.V. Guskova). During the crisis period of 7 years, a similar function is carried out by the "internal position of the schoolchild", which implies the formation of a child's orientation towards socially significant activities (L.I. Bozhovich). The originality of the crisis of adolescence is given by the fact that this period is the beginning of rapid growth and the formation of the body in the process of puberty. This process has a noticeable effect on all the psychophysiological characteristics of adolescents. At the same time, it is not he who constitutes the main psychological content of this period, but the formation of a “sense of adulthood” and the desire of a teenager to realize it in relationships with others (primarily with those close to him), both adults and peers (D.B. Elkonin, T.V. Dragunova). Attempts to extend the idea of structural study of crises to the transition from adolescence to adolescence (I. V. Dubrovina, A. M. Prikhozhan, N. N. Tolstykh, etc.) have shown that it is at this stage of ontogenesis that for the first time it seems possible to speak of signs of personal maturity based on on the formation in boys and girls of a specific orientation to the future and building a life perspective, on the development of self-awareness and mechanisms of personal reflection. The significant subjective complexity of this age transition is determined by the need to choose a life path and profession, personal self-determination, and the development of a system of moral values. The transition of children and adolescents to a new age level is often associated with the resolution of very acute contradictions between their previously established forms of relationships with others and the increased physical and psychological capabilities and claims of children. Negativism, stubbornness, capriciousness, a state of increased conflict and other characteristic of K. century. negative behavioral manifestations become aggravated when adults ignore the new needs of the child in the field of communication and activity, and, on the contrary, soften without disappearing completely, with the right, i.e. quite flexible and sensitive upbringing. Therefore, it is extremely important that the conflict and difficult education of the child during the periods of K. century. were perceived as a signal of the urgent need for change, and not as anomalies of behavior, and did not obscure from parents and educators the enduring positive significance of crises for the process of forming the child's personality. K. v. mature periods of life and old age have been studied in psychology much less than childhood crises, both theoretically and empirically. To a large extent, this is due to the insufficient development of the problem of periodization of ontogeny beyond childhood and adolescence. The ideas of individual researchers regarding the existence of crises of 30 years, 40 years, 55 years, etc. can be considered as hypothetical, requiring further research (D. Levinson and others). The most famous is the concept of crises in human development from birth to old age, proposed by E. Erickson. It is known, however, that such turning points in the development of an adult occur noticeably less frequently than in childhood, and, as a rule, proceed more covertly, without pronounced changes in behavior. Nevertheless, here, too, the general logic of the modern world can be traced: the processes of restructuring the semantic structure of consciousness and reorientation to new life tasks that occur during crises entail a change in the nature of human activity and relationships. Thus, they have a profound influence on the entire further course of personality development. For example, the so-called "mid-life crisis" (35 - 40 years), is characterized by a critical rethinking of a person's life goals and getting rid of the illusions and unjustified hopes of youth, often painfully experienced by him (P. Mussen). The resulting more realistic attitude helps a person to find a new relatively stable form of relationship with the outside world, prepares him for the first signs of decline. physical strength. K. v. should not be confused with the so-called crises of maladjustment, which in some cases may fall on the chronological intervals characteristic of K. century. A crisis of disadaptation can occur at any age as a result of a rather pronounced (all the more acute) discrepancy between a child or an adult and the requirements placed on him by a significant environment, as well as due to overwhelming tasks or stressful situations. A very common example of such a crisis is a complex of negative emotional, personal and behavioral reactions that occur during school maladaptation. G. V. Burmenskaya
Age crises are special, relatively short in time (up to a year) periods of ontogeny, characterized by sharp mental changes. They refer to the normative processes necessary for the normal progressive course of personal development (Erickson).
The form and duration of these periods, as well as the severity of the flow, depend on individual characteristics, social and microsocial conditions. In developmental psychology, there is no consensus about crises, their place and role in mental development. Some psychologists believe that development should be harmonious, crisis-free. Crises are an abnormal, “painful” phenomenon, the result of improper upbringing. Another part of psychologists argues that the presence of crises in development is natural. Moreover, according to some ideas in developmental psychology, a child who has not truly experienced a crisis will not fully develop further. Bozhovich, Polivanova, Gail Sheehy addressed this topic.
L.S. Vygotsky considers the dynamics of transitions from one age to another. At different stages, changes in the child's psyche can occur slowly and gradually, or they can happen quickly and abruptly. Stable and crisis stages of development are distinguished, their alternation is the law of child development. The stable period is characterized by a smooth course of the development process, without sharp shifts and changes in the personality of the child. Long in duration. Insignificant, minimal changes accumulate and at the end of the period give a qualitative leap in development: age-related neoplasms appear, stable, fixed in the structure of the Personality.
Crises do not last long, a few months, under unfavorable circumstances stretching up to a year or even two years. These are brief but turbulent stages. Significant shifts in development, the child changes dramatically in many of its features. Development can take on a catastrophic character at this time. The crisis begins and ends imperceptibly, its boundaries are blurred, indistinct. The aggravation occurs in the middle of the period. For the people around the child, it is associated with a change in behavior, the appearance of "difficulty in education". The child is out of control of adults. Affective outbursts, whims, conflicts with loved ones. Schoolchildren's working capacity decreases, interest in classes weakens, academic performance decreases, sometimes painful experiences and internal conflicts arise.
In a crisis, development acquires a negative character: what was formed at the previous stage disintegrates, disappears. But something new is also being created. Neoplasms turn out to be unstable and in the next stable period they transform, are absorbed by other neoplasms, dissolve in them, and thus die off.
D.B. Elkonin developed the ideas of L.S. Vygotsky on child development. “A child approaches each point in his development with a certain discrepancy between what he has learned from the system of relations man-man and what he has learned from the system of relations man-object. It is precisely the moments when this discrepancy takes on the greatest magnitude that are called crises, after which the development of the side that lagged behind in the previous period takes place. But each of the parties is preparing the development of the other.
neonatal crisis. Associated with a sharp change in living conditions. A child from comfortable habitual conditions of life gets into difficult ones (new nutrition, breathing). Adaptation of the child to new conditions of life.
Crisis 1 year. It is associated with an increase in the child's capabilities and the emergence of new needs. A surge of independence, the emergence of affective reactions. Affective outbursts as a reaction to misunderstanding on the part of adults. The main acquisition of the transitional period is a kind of children's speech, called L.S. Vygotsky autonomous. It is significantly different from adult speech and in sound form. Words become ambiguous and situational.
Crisis 3 years. The boundary between early and preschool years is one of the most difficult moments in a child's life. This is destruction, a revision of the old system of social relations, a crisis in the allocation of one's "I", according to D.B. Elkonin. The child, separating from adults, tries to establish new, deeper relationships with them. The appearance of the phenomenon “I myself”, according to Vygotsky, is a new formation “the external I myself”. "The child is trying to establish new forms of relationship with others - a crisis of social relations."
L.S. Vygotsky describes 7 characteristics of a 3-year crisis. Negativism is a negative reaction not to the action itself, which he refuses to perform, but to the demand or request of an adult. The main motive for action is to do the opposite.
The motivation of the child's behavior changes. At 3 years old, for the first time, he becomes able to act contrary to his immediate desire. The child's behavior is determined not by this desire, but by relationships with another, adult person. The motive for behavior is already outside the situation given to the child. Stubbornness. This is the reaction of a child who insists on something not because he really wants it, but because he himself told adults about it and demands that his opinion be taken into account. Obstinacy. It is directed not against a specific adult, but against the entire system of relations that developed in early childhood, against the norms of upbringing accepted in the family.
The tendency towards independence is clearly manifested: the child wants to do everything and decide for himself. In principle, this is a positive phenomenon, but during a crisis, a hypertrophied tendency towards independence leads to self-will, it is often inadequate to the child's capabilities and causes additional conflicts with adults.
For some children, conflicts with their parents become regular, they seem to be constantly at war with adults. In these cases, one speaks of a protest-revolt. In a family with an only child, despotism may appear. If there are several children in the family, instead of despotism, jealousy usually arises: the same tendency to power here acts as a source of jealous, intolerant attitude towards other children, who have almost no rights in the family, from the point of view of the young despot.
Depreciation. A 3-year-old child may begin to swear (old rules of behavior are depreciated), discard or even break a favorite toy offered at the wrong time (old attachments to things are depreciated), etc. The child's attitude to other people and to himself changes. He is psychologically separated from close adults.
The crisis of 3 years is associated with the awareness of oneself as an active subject in the world of objects, the child for the first time can act contrary to his desires.
Crisis 7 years. It may start at age 7, or it may shift to 6 or 8 years. The discovery of the meaning of a new social position - the position of a schoolchild associated with the fulfillment of a highly valued by adults academic work. The formation of an appropriate internal position radically changes his self-awareness. According to L.I. Bozovic is the period of the birth of social. "I" of the child. A change in self-consciousness leads to a reassessment of values. There are profound changes in terms of experiences - stable affective complexes. It appears that L.S. Vygotsky calls the generalization of experiences. A chain of failures or successes (in studies, in wide communication), each time experienced by the child in approximately the same way, leads to the formation of a stable affective complex - a feeling of inferiority, humiliation, hurt pride or a sense of self-worth, competence, exclusivity. Thanks to the generalization of experiences, the logic of feelings appears. Experiences acquire a new meaning, connections are established between them, the struggle of experiences becomes possible.
This gives rise to the inner life of the child. The beginning of the differentiation of the external and internal life of the child is associated with a change in the structure of his behavior. A semantic orienting basis of an act appears - a link between the desire to do something and the unfolding actions. This is an intellectual moment that makes it possible to more or less adequately assess the future act in terms of its results and more distant consequences. Semantic orientation in one's own actions becomes an important aspect of inner life. At the same time, it excludes the impulsiveness and immediacy of the child's behavior. Thanks to this mechanism, the childish spontaneity is lost; the child thinks before acting, begins to hide his feelings and hesitations, tries not to show others that he is ill.
A purely crisis manifestation of the differentiation of the external and internal life of children usually becomes antics, mannerisms, artificial stiffness of behavior. These external features, as well as the tendency to whims, affective reactions, conflicts, begin to disappear when the child emerges from the crisis and enters a new age.
Neoplasm - arbitrariness and awareness of mental processes and their intellectualization.
Pubertal crisis (11 to 15 years old) associated with the restructuring of the child's body - puberty. The activation and complex interaction of growth hormones and sex hormones cause intense physical and physiological development. Secondary sexual characteristics appear. Adolescence is sometimes referred to as a protracted crisis. In connection with the rapid development, difficulties arise in the functioning of the heart, lungs, blood supply to the brain. In adolescence, the emotional background becomes uneven, unstable.
Emotional instability enhances the sexual arousal that accompanies puberty.
Gender identity reaches a new, more high level. Orientation to models of masculinity and femininity in behavior and manifestation of personal properties is clearly manifested.
Due to the rapid growth and restructuring of the body in adolescence, interest in one's appearance sharply increases. A new image of the physical "I" is being formed. Because of its hypertrophied significance, the child is acutely experiencing all the flaws in appearance, real and imaginary.
The image of the physical "I" and self-consciousness in general is influenced by the pace of puberty. Children with late maturation are in the least advantageous position; acceleration creates more favorable opportunities for personal development.
A sense of adulthood appears - a feeling of being an adult, the central neoplasm of younger adolescence. There is a passionate desire, if not to be, then at least to appear and be considered an adult. Defending his new rights, a teenager protects many areas of his life from the control of his parents and often comes into conflict with them. In addition to the desire for emancipation, a teenager has a strong need for communication with peers. Intimate-personal communication becomes the leading activity during this period. Adolescent friendships and association in informal groups appear. There are also bright, but usually successive hobbies.
Crisis 17 years (from 15 to 17 years). It arises exactly at the turn of the usual school and new adult life. It can move up to 15 years. At this time, the child is on the threshold of real adulthood.
The majority of 17-year-old schoolchildren are oriented towards continuing their education, a few are looking for work. The value of education is a great blessing, but at the same time, achieving the goal is difficult, and at the end of the 11th grade, emotional stress can increase dramatically.
For those who have been going through a crisis for 17 years, various fears are characteristic. Responsibility to yourself and your family for the choice, real achievements at this time is already a big burden. To this is added the fear of a new life, of the possibility of error, of failure when entering a university, and for young men, of the army. High anxiety and, against this background, pronounced fear can lead to neurotic reactions, such as fever before graduation or entrance exams, headaches, etc. An exacerbation of gastritis, neurodermatitis, or another chronic disease may begin.
A sharp change in lifestyle, inclusion in new activities, communication with new people cause significant tension. New life situation needs to be adapted to it. Two factors mainly help to adapt: family support and self-confidence, a sense of competence.
Aspiration to the future. The period of stabilization of the Personality. At this time, a system of stable views on the world and one's place in it is formed - a worldview. Known associated with this youthful maximalism in assessments, passion in defending their point of view. Self-determination, professional and personal, becomes the central new formation of the period.
Crisis 30 years. Around the age of 30, sometimes a little later, most people experience a crisis. It is expressed in a change in ideas about one's life, sometimes in a complete loss of interest in what used to be the main thing in it, in some cases even in the destruction of the former way of life.
The crisis of 30 years arises due to the unrealized life plan. If at the same time there is a “reassessment of values” and a “revision of one’s own Personality”, then we are talking that life's plan turned out to be wrong in general. If the life path is chosen correctly, then attachment “to a certain Activity, a certain way of life, certain values and orientations” does not limit, but, on the contrary, develops his Personality.
The crisis of 30 years is often called the crisis of the meaning of life. It is with this period that the search for the meaning of existence is usually associated. This quest, like the whole crisis, marks the transition from youth to maturity.
The problem of meaning in all its variants, from private to global - the meaning of life - arises when the goal does not correspond to the motive, when its achievement does not lead to the achievement of the object of need, i.e. when the goal was set incorrectly. If we are talking about the meaning of life, then the general life goal turned out to be erroneous, i.e. life intention.
Some people in adulthood have another, “unscheduled” crisis, not confined to the border of two stable periods of life, but arising inside given period. This so-called crisis 40 years. It's like a repetition of the crisis of 30 years. It occurs when the crisis of 30 years has not led to a proper solution of existential problems.
A person is acutely experiencing dissatisfaction with his life, a discrepancy between life plans and their implementation. A.V. Tolstykh notes that a change in attitude on the part of colleagues at work is added to this: the time when one could be considered “promising”, “promising” is passing, and a person feels the need to “pay bills”.
In addition to the problems associated with professional activity, the crisis of 40 years is often caused by the aggravation of family relations. The loss of some close people, the loss of a very important common side of the life of spouses - direct participation in the lives of children, everyday care for them - contributes to the final understanding of the nature of marital relations. And if, apart from the children of the spouses, nothing significant connects both of them, the family may break up.
In the event of a crisis of 40 years, a person has to once again rebuild his life plan, develop a largely new “I-concept”. Serious changes in life can be associated with this crisis, up to a change in profession and the creation of a new family.
Retirement Crisis. First of all, the violation of the habitual regime and way of life has a negative effect, often combined with a sharp sense of contradiction between the remaining ability to work, the opportunity to be useful and their lack of demand. A person turns out to be, as it were, “thrown to the sidelines” of the current life without his active participation in the common life. The decline in one's social status, the loss of the life rhythm that has been preserved for decades, sometimes leads to a sharp deterioration in the general physical and mental state, and in some cases even to relatively quick death.
The crisis of retirement is often aggravated by the fact that around this time the second generation grows up and begins to live an independent life - grandchildren, which is especially painful for women who have devoted themselves mainly to the family.
Retirement, which often coincides with the acceleration of biological aging, is often associated with a worsening financial situation, sometimes a more secluded lifestyle. In addition, the crisis may be complicated by the death of a spouse, the loss of some close friends.
Crises of age development are phenomena that every person faces in life. They are manifested in the transformation of people's attitudes to the surrounding reality, psychological changes in connection with development and improvement at a certain age stage.
Most often, age crises are characterized by negative changes that manifest themselves in stress and depression.
Most people successfully cope with these stages in life, reaching a new, more productive level of development. However, in some cases, you may need the help of a specialist who will help you cope with the causes and consequences of stressful situations.
Definition Specifics
The opinions of psychologists on the nature of age-related crises are diametrically divided.
Some believe that crisis periods are a necessary component of physiological and psychological changes. Without them, personality development will not be able to occur, because throughout the life path a person changes his system of values, his outlook on society and himself.
Other psychologists claim that the emergence of crises in a person's life is associated with mental disorders. That is, the manifestations of these stages are classified as psychological diseases that must be treated.
In any case, you need to understand that the time of the onset of the age crisis and the severity of its manifestation are individual for each person, although psychologists distinguish conditional age limits.
The well-known psychologist and pedagogue L. S. Vygotsky argued that crisis periods are not only a normal and natural state of a person, due to changes in physical and psychological factors, but also a very useful phenomenon, with the help of which a person can switch to new round of its development. With their help, a person develops volitional qualities of character, expands his personal and social horizons. However, the teacher emphasizes that such an impact on the personality will occur if the behavior of others has a competent pedagogical and psychological approach.
If a person is ready for changes, then there will be no problems with the psychological state. However, people often feel sorry for themselves, not wanting to change anything in their lives. In this case, we can say that they themselves provoke the onset of such depressive states, from which only a specialist will help to get out.
Manifestation traits
It is necessary to clearly understand that periods of crisis are stages in a person's life, when not only character traits are formed, but also important, often life-changing decisions are made. After all, the word "crisis" is translated from Greek as "fork in the road." A person chooses his life path, environment, interests.
Changes in the minds of people take place against the backdrop of the usual way of life. What begins to happen to a person is at first incomprehensible to him and frightening. A constant feeling of discomfort haunts, makes it impossible to feel confident in tomorrow. The feeling that you need to change something in life and change yourself does not leave.
At this time, there are constant conflict situations with relatives, friends and colleagues. A person expresses dissatisfaction with everything that surrounds him. This happens because of internal throwing, unwillingness to accept reality, the search for ideal solutions.
During a crisis, it is important for a person to find the only right decision that will help him change for the better. Otherwise, he cannot do without the help of a specialist.
All development crises are characterized by the following provisions:
- The crisis period causes complex psychological changes to which every person is subject. This must be accepted, using all the available potential to get out of the current situation;
- The changes that have appeared in consciousness are not the end, but the beginning of a new path. All the accumulated contradictions over a certain period of time come out and require a solution;
- There is a way out of any situation, you just need to make an effort to realize your hidden potential;
- Having correctly “survived” a turning point, a person becomes stronger, more confident and more interesting. He gains self-confidence, develops a comfortable lifestyle.
Various crises in humans are based not only on physiological changes associated with age. Critical stages can occur for various reasons related to personal life, professional activity or health status. These are personal crises. Several factors influence their appearance:
- Physical or psychological trauma;
- Formation personal qualities and character;
- The impact of others: peers, adults, any significant people for a person;
- The desire to achieve the ideal in all areas of activity;
- Sudden changes in a person's habitual course of life.
During a critical period, a person always faces a certain choice, which he must realize and accept. From correctness this choice will depend on the success of a person's future life.
Characteristics
Psychologists identify "natural" turning points that occur upon reaching a certain age in all people.
Crises and age-related changes are closely related. Of particular importance are the critical stages in childhood and adolescence. At this time, there is an intensive formation of personal qualities, character traits and attitudes towards the surrounding reality. That is why most age-related turning points occur in childhood.
Basically, any transitional stage in children does not last long, with a competent approach of adults it takes only a few months. It is also impossible to clearly define the time frame, since the physical and psychological capabilities of babies are different.
Children are characterized by drastic changes in attitude towards others and themselves.
External changes are manifested in disobedience, manifestation aggressive behavior, whims.
In adolescence, a protest against an established way of life can be expressed by an addiction to bad habits, a decrease in interest in learning activities, focusing on one problem that does not carry anything important.
An important feature of the critical stages is the emergence of new character traits that indicate the attitude towards society and the surrounding reality. It should be noted that such neoplasms are temporary and after a short time they change to other, deeper and more stable ones.
Distinctive features
A person who is at the stage of a turning point in life always stands out from the environment. There are several signs that can be used to characterize the onset of a crisis. 
- An absent look. People are constantly immersed in themselves, they may not notice others, not hear the questions being asked;
- Sudden change in mood. Moreover, this sign is especially pronounced in adolescence, when boys and girls have not yet learned to control their emotions. In adulthood, people find it easier to control mood swings, but here, too, everything is very individual.
- Consciously or unconsciously, a person skips meals, sleeps poorly, sees nightmares that do not allow to sleep.
- An overabundance of emotion. Experiencing a turning point, people fall into two extremes: they either see everything in negative colors, or they put on rose-colored glasses, developing violent activity in all directions.
Regardless of the age at which a certain turning point in life occurs, others should not suppress its manifestations. A person must go through this period in order to learn certain lessons from it, otherwise psychological disorders cannot be avoided.
In order to help your loved ones survive developmental crises, you need to know their approximate age limits and the specifics of their manifestation.
Consider the main turning points associated with the maturation of the individual.
The birth
Taking the first breath, the newborn, unlike the parents, does not experience the joy of his birth. The first feeling that visits him is fear of a new unknown world, where everything is so different from what he experienced before in the womb.
Bright light, loud sounds, cold - all this causes severe psychological discomfort in the baby. The umbilical cord is cut off, which provided a reliable connection with the mother. The fight for life begins.
The beginning of the way
The first attempts to move independently, the sounds that begin to form into words, the desire to touch and taste everything. The child develops conscious desires that stand out more and more clearly against the background of reflex needs. A slow and painful, often unconscious first separation from the mother begins.
This condition is painful because the baby still really needs her help and support, both physically and psychologically. However, the desire to explore the world is getting stronger. This is the first internal contradiction and causes a conflict of personality.
Third year
One of the most emotionally difficult turning points in the development of a small person. Physical development is proceeding at a rapid pace, the baby wants to do everything himself. However, he does not always succeed.
Personality begins to form, separation of oneself from parents and peers. The desire to show independence, to express one's position is expressed in violent protests against the established way of life. Protests are manifested in whims, disobedience, aggression.
Adults must be patient, because their behavior largely determines what kind of personality their baby will grow up, how he will relate to the environment and what kind of relationship he will have in society. After all, the requirements of the baby are due to his unconscious needs and desires, which he still cannot understand.
It is important for parents to develop a certain strategy of behavior, with the help of which they can show all the diversity of the surrounding reality and teach the baby to use all life's opportunities from the positive side.
School realities
This transitional period is not as pronounced emotionally as in three-year-olds. However, children experience severe discomfort when entering school, because their usual way of life is changing, the demands made by adults are increasing.
It is important for parents to support the kids during this period, because this is the time for the formation of children's self-esteem. Not only the academic performance of schoolchildren depends on the competent approach of teachers, but also their relationships with peers, self-confidence and their actions.
The formation of personality during this period is very intensive. Teachers and peers become people who influence the formation of the character of children, because kids spend most of their time at school.
If, for some reason, the child does not have relationships in the school society, parents must fill this vacuum, show ways out of deadlock situations, and teach them how to resolve controversial and conflict situations.
Almost adults
At this time, the formation of personality occurs under the influence of the opinion of society: for a teenager it is very important what people who are significant to him will say about his actions.
The manifestation of negativism, aggression, the desire for independence at any cost are signs of a transitional age crisis.
The influence of the authority of parents depends on their competent position. If adults become friends for matured children, able to understand, help and guide, and not condemn, then this will help to avoid conflict situations at home.
It largely depends on the parents how quickly this difficult, but very important period for the formation of personality will pass.
life definition
After leaving school, when hormonal passions have already subsided, young people face a number of new important problems. It is necessary to decide on the choice of a future profession, a further life path, setting goals.
Young people are already consciously planning their future adult lives. Modern realities provide a huge selection of different paths, and they are desperately trying to find their own, only they need and important. At the same time, they are often mistaken, taking the one that their parents imposed on them as the only correct option. The payoff for this mistake will be a protracted midlife crisis.
Crisis of thirty
It would seem that, given time should become reliable and stable for a determined personality. However, it is at this time that a person begins to think about the correctness of the choice made in his youth, clearly sees and can analyze the mistakes made.
For some, these years will be the best time in life, because, having managed to analyze everything that does not suit them, people will be able to achieve high altitudes in career and personal development. Others will begin inactive introspection, which will lead to depression and a complete rejection of further self-improvement.
closer to forty
Perhaps the most difficult period for an already formed personality.
A person comes to the realization that half of his life has already been lived, and much of what he wanted could not be realized.
Family, career, familiar environment seems like an unnecessary ballast that interferes with "free swimming".
It is during this period that most families are destroyed, people change their profession, social circle and addictions.
Men most often try to realize themselves in love pleasures, women - in introspection. People are trying to somehow change their usual way of life, being careful not to have time to do important, in their opinion, things.
Retirement
Age of analysis, comprehension of past years. As soon as a person approaches the retirement milestone, there is a clear realization of an immutable truth: life is coming to an end, former youth cannot be returned.
Many people, especially those who have no relatives or for some reason have a bad relationship with them, fall into depression acutely aware of his loneliness.
This is the moment in life when the support of relatives is vital. It is important for older people to know that they are needed and useful.
Very pleased that Lately there is a tendency in our country to increase the number of people who have learned to enjoy their old age. After all, now they have a lot of free time, there are no duties to adult children, and they can live in their own pleasure, doing what they love, for which there was no time in any way on working days.
All crises out of spite
If in childhood, parents help to survive turning points in the formation of a personality, then in adulthood, a person has to cope with problems on his own.
Psychologists have developed tips that will help you learn from any crisis situation, become better, and not wallow in depression.
- Learn to find joy in simple things. Happiness is made up of little things.
- Learn to relax and enjoy being alone with yourself.
- Physical activity can kill any depression. Take up dancing, yoga or just jogging in the morning. A charge of vivacity and good mood is provided to you.
- Engage in free time only what makes you happy.
- Love yourself. Make it a rule to praise yourself for any little things, raise self-esteem by any means.
- Don't suppress your emotions. If you feel like crying, don't hold back. Thus, you can get rid of the burden of accumulated negative emotions.
- Communicate as much as possible, do not withdraw into yourself. If you feel that any communication makes you uncomfortable, seek help from a specialist.
From all that has been said above, it is obvious that age-related crises are characteristic of every person without exception. But how these turning points will pass depends on the adult generation, which was able to provide the necessary support in time, directing them on the right path.
The more correct was the approach of parents to crises in childhood, the easier it will be for a person to pass the turning points in life in his mature years.
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