Theories of Nativism

According to the concept of preformism , the properties and characteristics of an individual are predetermined initially in the cells of the embryo and are set from the moment of conception ^[1] .

For the early theory of preformism of the XVIII century. the use of the concept of “homunculus” is characteristic. Using this metaphor, representatives of the direction emphasized that a mature mature personality grows out of a small person, fully formed at the time of conception, by a quantitative change over time. Later, supporters of this theory moved away from such a literal understanding of heredity and the transfer of personal characteristics.

Development began to be seen as a “genetically programmed process of deployment of these preformed properties" ^[2] . And heredity has come to be seen as a way of specific coding of personal information.

Modern criticism of the theories of this group is aimed at excessive biologization of the theory: the ontogenetic development of man is qualitatively different from the development of the animal. One of the important differences is the child’s independent activity in learning and development. A review of the role of the environment for personal and mental development is also required, since the environment creates the conditions for the implementation of the genetic program, thereby exerting a qualitative influence on the manifestation of hereditary traits.

The provisions of the theories of preformism can partially explain the patterns of prenatal development. Since the theory was originally created to explain the features of postnatal development , at this point in time theories of preformism mainly have historical significance.

According to G. S. Hall , the founder of the theory of recapitulation, “ontogenesis is a brief and concise repetition of phylogenesis, then anthropogenesis and, finally, sociogenesis. In accordance with this statement, according to the theory of recapitulation, a rapid repetition of the evolution of species occurs.

This psychological concept is based on the works of C. Darwin , E. Haeckel .

A more detailed study revealed that ontogenesis must be considered taking into account the ongoing changes in internal structures. Over time, embryogenesis is also characterized by transformations associated with the restructuring of the sequence and dynamics of the laying of internal organs and psychological structures. ^[3]

Representatives of the ideas of empiricism have successfully experimentally confirmed that behavior, habits and tendencies in a child are formed as a result of learning . For example, learning experiments confirmed the hypothesis of an innate absence of fears, although in accordance with the provisions of the theory of recapitulation at a certain age, a child should, after his ancestors, be afraid of water, fire, and thunder.

L. S. Vygotsky believed that phylogenesis , ontogenesis, and sociogenesis should be separated in connection with the fundamentally important human features from animals. Also, in his opinion, heredity is not able to strictly determine the stages of psychological development, and the role of education and training is important for personality formation. ^[four]

V.I. Vernadsky emphasized that the environment of animals and humans is qualitatively different, since humans themselves create a special habitat - the noosphere . ^[five]

S. L. Rubinstein ^[6] conducted his own comparative analysis of the repetition of historical and individual development. In his opinion, human society produces culture when, as a child, he creates cultural means and appropriates them. Also, between the development of the child and society there are significant differences in the conditions of morphophysiological features, speech, labor, and continuity of generations. S. L. Rubinstein explains the similarities of sociogenesis and ontogenesis found by the theory of recapitulation as a consequence of the obvious logic of the transition from simple to complex: the child gradually increases the level of complexity of the assigned cultural experience in the same way as it was originally created as it became more complicated.

The provisions of the theory of recapitulation at the moment of the development of science are, to a greater extent, of historical value.

The idea of ​​the existence of parallels between individual development and sociogenesis in the future was developed in the works of Z. Freud , A. Gesell , J. Piaget , E. Erickson .

The theory of recapitulation has something in common with the system of “free education” of D. Dewey and M. Montessori . In accordance with the principles of this educational system, the child is engaged in creativity, repeating the stages of development of human activity. A feature of this educational system is the side position of the educator and the principle of non-interference in the development of the child. The child is presented with the types of activity that human ancestors have encountered during historical time. All this is connected with the desire to provide the child with the opportunity to go through the winding path of evolutionary development in a short way with a high degree of freedom of expression.

Periodization of V. Stern's age development

According to the theory of V. Stern ^[7], each age period of development corresponds to a historical era. So V. Stern identifies six stages in the age periodization of the child:

1. At the first stage, the psyche of the child corresponds to the level of mammals. The stage lasts the first six months of the baby’s life.
2. At the second stage, the child begins to master locomotion and speech, which evolutionarily correlates with the level of development of higher primates. Stage occupies the second half of the baby.
3. In the third stage, the child is taught upright posture and combining it with previous skills. V. Stern calls this stage "the entry into the era of human history." Stage takes the second and third year of the baby's life.
4. The fourth stage is the "age of the game and fairy tales" from 3 years to 6-7 years. At this stage, mainly imagination and fantasy develop. This stage is consistent with the period of early childhood , according to the periodization of D. B. Elkonin , during which the role-playing game becomes the leading activity .
5. At the fifth stage, according to V. Stern, the child mainly masters various crafts and activities. The stage corresponds to primary school age and is compared with the period of human history, which was characterized by traditional manual labor.
6. The periodization of V. Stern ends with the sixth stage, which corresponds to adolescence and correlates with the history of the Middle Ages . This combination is due to the fact that at this age, the perception of the world and social relationships of the individual is characterized by a direct dichotomy “black-and-white”, “bad-good”, and not a critical assessment based on a comprehensive analysis.

Within the framework of the theories of maturation ^[8], development is considered as a process associated with the biological readiness of the morphological structures of the brain . New psychological functions are developed only after the biological basis has matured and is ready to provide a substrate, on the basis of which a new one will function. Each morphological structure uniquely assigned a certain mental function. Heredity provides a certain genetic program, in accordance with which there is a consistent maturation of morphological prerequisites for the successful functioning of the psychological structure. Thus, development within the framework of these theories is regarded as an endogenous process .

These theories differ from other theories of nativism in that heredity does not determine the entire psychological development, but is only responsible for the processes of maturation of the biological structures of the nervous system.

By the 1960s, there was an understanding of environmental influences on the maturation of biological structures. A. Gesell, as one of the representatives of this area, considers the role of the environment as a trigger for a biologically defined development process. ^[9]

Representatives of the theories of maturation are A. Gesell, D. Fodor ^[10] , N. Chomsky .

Neuropsychologists criticize these theories because of the position of the unambiguous fixation of HMF relative to morphological structures. The system synchronized operation of the central nervous system sites has already been proven, thereby refuting the provision on the unambiguous determination of structure and function. The unidirectional relationship between the biological substrate and mental function is also criticized. Theories are characterized by a decrease in the degree of influence of the subject's activity, which requires a review.

The theory is still widespread in everyday life, however, from a scientific point of view, only the theory of speech ontogenesis of N. Khomsky has practical significance.

Theory of speech ontogenesis of N. Khomsky

Mastering phrasal speech cannot be explained by the child’s imitation mechanism of adult speech. In this regard, N. Khomsky ^[11] formulated the provision on the existence of congenital linguistic structures.

Linguistic structures are not associated with a specific language. They are models related to the syntax and grammar of a high level of generalization.

Actualized by the end of the first year of life, this process is associated with the maturation of speech zones of the cerebral hemispheres. The maturation period of these speech zones occurs from 1 year to 3 years of life, in this sensitive period there is a qualitative leap in the speech development of the child.

Heredity determines the stages and the final result of the process of mastering speech.

In this case, the environment is a trigger for activating linguistic structures, because in the absence of a language environment in which a child aged 1-3 years is placed, linguistic structures do not subsequently develop so effectively. The environment also provides the child with language stimuli, linguistic selectivity arises and the child adapts to one language and loses sensitivity to other languages.

Theory of Three Steps by C. Buhler

According to the provisions of the theory of recapitulation, the psychological formation of the child is a repetition of the development of animal human ancestors. Thus, C. Buler ^[3] says that the development of a child’s behavior is three-stage and goes through the following stages: instinct, training, intelligence - just like animal behavior.

According to the provisions of the theory of ripening, K. Buler explains the transition from stage to stage by the morphological maturity of the biological structures of the central nervous system .

• Instinct is an innate species reaction that is adaptive to a narrow range of situations. It is characteristic of an infant under 6 months of age.
• Skills / Training arise as a result of learning and adaptively for a slightly wider range of situations. This stage is characteristic of an infant from 6 months to 1 year.
• Intelligence is the highest form of behavior. It occurs when a sudden understanding of the essence of a problem situation occurs, for example, as an insight. The child reaches this stage about 1 year of age and older. K. Buler determines the intelligence of a child under 3 years old at the same level as the intelligence of chimpanzees , in this regard, the age of 1-3 years is chimpanzee-like in this periodization.