Toward the Problem of Stages in the Mental Development of Children

The problem of stages' in the mental development of the child is the fundamental problem of child psychology. Elaboration of this problem has important theoretical significance since it is by determining the stages of mental development and by discovering the patterns of transition from one stage to the next that psychology will eventually solve the problem of the motive forces of mental development. We contend that every conception of the motive forces of mental development must first be tested on the "proving grounds" of the theory of developmental stages.     

Vygotsky's Nonclassical Psychology

Nonclassical psychology has laws that differ from those in classical psychology. Nonclassical psychology uncovers the specifically human course of development and views people as self-regulated individuals. Vygotsky's writings reveal his lifelong engagement with the psychology of art, which for him was the essence of the new nonclassical psychology. The author looks at "play" and "positioning" as two key units in understanding nonclassical psychology.     

The Psychology of Human Existence and the Subject's Self-Understanding

The author compares understandings of the concept of "subject" in Russian and Western (existential and cognitive) psychology. Psychological reality is presented as a value-oriented phenomenon and as the reason that the main method of studying psychological reality is the "narrative principle," which unifies the cognitive and existential approaches.     

The Problem of Child Development In Soviet Psychology

The problem of child development was central in Soviet psychology from the start. Interest in child development arose, on the one hand, in connection with the needs of pedagogical practice, for the reconstruction and improvement of the educational system for the new generation, and, on the other hand, as a result of the theoretical importance of the problem in working out a genetic approach to the study of the human mind [psikhika].     

A Contribution to the Investigation of Certain Factors Making for the Appearance of Psychopathic Conditions

The literature on the problem with which we are dealing has already been adduced in our article written jointly with O. V. Kerbikov (1), and therefore we consider it permissible to proceed directly to presentation of the subject matter.     

Value Foundations of Conceptions of Activity in Psychology and Contemporary Methodology

The rebirth of Russian ethnic psychology became a reality in the 1980s. This was abetted by factors intrinsic to ethnopsychology and by purely external factors, in particular, the politics of glasnost, which accelerated the breakdown of ideological shibboleths such as "a single Soviet people," interethnic conflicts, which unexpectedly became a serious problem for the country, etc. But in this period as well, the inadequacy of methodological developments in ethnic psychology also became obvious after having been one of the main hindrances to the development of this science.     

Hans Driesch and the problems of "normal psychology". Rereading his Crisis in Psychology (1925)

In 1925, the German biologist and philosopher Hans Driesch published a booklet entitled The Crisis in Psychology. It was originally published in English and was based on lectures given at various universities in China, Japan and the USA. The "crisis" in psychology of that time, in Driesch's opinion, lies in the necessity to decide about "the road which psychology is to follow in the future". This necessity refers to five "critical points", namely (1) to develop the theory of psychic elements to a theory of meaning by phenomenological analysis, (2) the overcoming of association theory, (3) to acknowledge that the unconscious is a fact and a "normal" aspect of mental life, (4) to reject "psychomechanical parallelism" or any other epiphenomenalistic solution of the mind-body problem, and (5) the extension of psychical research to new facts as described by parapsychology, for instance. Driesch saw close parallels between the development of modern psychology and that of biology, namely in a theoretical shift from "sum-concepts" like association and mechanics, to "totality-concepts" like soul and entelechy. The German translation of 1926 was entitled Grundprobleme der Psychologie (Fundamental Problems of Psychology) while "the crisis in psychology" forms just the subtitle of this book. This underlines that Driesch's argumentation--in contrast to that of Buehler--dealt with ontological questions rather than with paradigms.     

The Principle of Creative Self-activity (Philosophical Foundations of Modern Pedagogy)

Note from the editors of Voprosy psikhologii: the Editorial Board thought it would be useful to publish the two articles below, by S. L. Rubinshtein (1889-1960) and A. N. Leont'ev (1903-1979),* which describe the first stages in the development of the problem of activity in Soviet psychology. This subject remains most timely. For proper comprehension and further development of this subject, its roots and its history must be known. Some idea of these may be gleaned from these two publications. Rubinshtein's article, which presents one of the first approaches to the problem of activity in Soviet science, was written by the author in the first period of his creative scientific career. It is short, but complex. To understand it correctly, the reader must be prepared to give it an attentive and critical reading.     

Psychological Manifestations of the Basic Properties of the Nervous System in Work

There can be no doubt that the individual psychological distinctions among human beings and, in particular, one area of these differences — the psychological manifestations of the intensity, lability, and equilibrium of nervous processes — are manifested in one form or another in work, that activity which most completely expresses the nature of man. Therefore, study of these peculiarities is a matter of pressing importance in labor psychology. "Investigation of the individual differences among men," writes B.M. Teplov, "is one of the most important tasks of psychology. The importance of this undertaking has become particularly obvious since psychology undertook to become a science of practical value (educational and child psychology, labor psychology, pathopsychology)." (19; p. 108)     

A Contribution to the Problem of the Role of Set and Attitude in Perceptual Processes

Different human beings perceive the same phenomena, events, and things in different ways. This fact, which we encounter at every step in our daily lives and in all spheres of our activity is one of the central problems in the psychology of perception. Observations and experiments have established, beyond question, that past experience is one of the circumstances involved. The first problem studied in this connection was the role of the personality factor in perception. After all, past experience is the property of the personality. The problem of the subjective factor also arose in connection with the fact that psychological activity is generally purposeful, and this is particularly true of the processes of thought and perception. As a matter of fact, it would be no exaggeration to state that the problem of the subjective factor faces all schools of perceptual psychology to one degree or another and in one form or another, no matter how widely their theoretical positions differ.     

The Study of Visual Thinking

Man perceives the world not only as it really is but also as it might be. In other words, perception is productive as well as reproductive, and the visual system contains mechanisms that generate new images. A study of these mechanisms and the principles of image generation is the subject of a special field in psychology which has recently been given the name "visual thinking" (1).     

Classification of Unconscious Phenomena and The Category of Activity

For many years, the subject of consciousness has been beyond the pale of American academic psychology. Every history of psychology tells us that Wundt's structuralism sought to study the "contents of consciousness" and that the failure of this effort resulted in Watsonian behaviorism (at least, within the American context). In recent years, however, there has been a reawakening of interest among cognitive psychologists in the phenomenon of conscious awareness.     

Dialogic Origin and Dialogic Pedagogy of Grammar : Stylistics in Teaching Russian Language in Secondary School

The development of any science is more than just the accumulation of specific knowledge: it also necessarily involves the development of ideas concerning its subject matter, its relationship to other, allied sciences, and its basic problems and fundamental methods. Such an evolution is evident with each major advance, even in scientific disciplines that have acquired their distinct contours, but especially in sciences that are just beginning their historical trajectory, just beginning to emerge from their prehistory, from the stage of their primary preparation. Literally every real step taken in moving a particular investigation forward involves a review of the most basic questions of the science. For this reason, even for psychology, which is at present undergoing an epoch of fundamental restructuring in the Soviet Union, the most acute and urgent problems are those dealing with its own formation.     

《细胞生物学》课堂教学模式改革的探索与实践

为了更好地培养学生的能力,必须对传统的教学模式进行改革。针对传统教学模式下生物工程专业细胞生物学教学中学生积极性和主动性不强、缺少综合能力训练内容、作业抄袭、新知识与新进展反映不理想等问题,通过设定合理题目、规定格式和内容、单独报告、择优讲演等方式,利用学生的好胜心理、竞争性和成就感等,提出了新的教学模式。教学实践证明,新的教学模式能够充分调动学生学习的积极性和主动性,提高学生对专业知识的综合与归纳能力、表达演讲能力和电脑使用技能,同时也避免了作业抄袭现象的发生,强化了学生的自信心。另外,也对新模式中存在的问题进行了思考与建议。     

Hypothesis testing in ecology: psychological aspects and the importance of theory maturation

Proper hypothesis testing is the subject of much debate in ecology. According to studies in cognitive psychology, confirmation bias (a tendency to seek confirming evidence) and theory tenacity (persistent belief in a theory in spite of contrary evidence) pervasively influence actual problem solving and hypothesis testing, often interfering with effective testing of alternative hypotheses. On the other hand, these psychological factors play a positive role in the process of theory maturation by helping to protect and nurture a new idea until it is suitable for critical evaluation. As a theory matures it increases in empirical content and its predictions become more distinct. Efficient hypothesis testing is often not possible when theories are in an immature state, as is the case in much of ecology. Problem areas in ecology are examined in light of these considerations, including failure to publish negative results, misuses of mathematical models, confusion resulting from ambiguous terms (such as "diversity" and "niche"), and biases against new ideas.     

Features of epidemiological activity in medicine

The article deals with the main elements of scientific knowledge in epidemiology, viz. its subject matter, goals and methods. The statement is substantiated that the main subject of epidemiology, determining its specificity, is the morbidity of the population, and the content of the epidemiological goals and methods are disclosed. The determination of the term "epidemiological approach" as well as a scheme reflecting the structure of epidemiology are presented.     

Human Associations and Their Characteristics

Human associations are among the chief, yet perhaps least explored, problems in Soviet social psychology. Moreover, terminology regarding this subject, which is still very fluid, complicates the problem even further. Often the same concept conceals different meanings or, conversely, the same meaning is covered by different concepts.     

Development of the head and pectoral skeleton of Polypterus with a note on scales (Pisces: Actinopterygii)

Comparative study of the bony head and pectoral girdle skeletons of fishes requires the establishment of sound and acceptable homologies. In this paper, the bony elements seen in a number of species of Polypterus (and Erpeloichlhys ) are described in terms of several developmental stages and the mature condition. Variations in these bones are considered in a developmental sense. As a part of the problem of bone development, a summary account of lateral-line development is included.
A number of particular problems of homology are discussed in some detail. The most radical differences of view involve the endocranial bones. The ideas of Patterson (1975) are examined and an alternative interpretation offered. The main bone in the posterolateral angle of the endo-cranium is viewed as the pterotic-epiotic. The epiotic of the teleost is seen not as the homologue of the epioccipital of the pholidophorid but a part of the so-called "pterotic" of those fishes. Other endocranial problems appear to be of a similar (interpretative) nature. The suspensorium of Polypterus is peculiar in lacking a symplectic and an interhyal. The branchial skeleton is quite like that of a "palaeoniscoid". The pectoral girdle presents a number of problems such as the form of the posttemporal, the lack of a sensory canal on the supracleithrum and the lack of an interclavicle.
The subject matter of this paper, and other papers by this author on the development of bones in fishes, lead to several developmental concepts. These are summarized in 18 statements. A table (Table II) summarizes some of the anatomical information useful in taxonomy in terms of being derived, primitive or unique.     

Activity as an Anthropological Category : On Distinguishing Between the Ontological and the Epistemological Status of Activity

This article is devoted to categorial and logical-semantic analysis of the concept "activity" in philosophy, methodology, and psychology. The basic activity-related subcategories are systematized and the normative structure of activity is revealed. The set of problems pertaining to the ontogenesis of activity-related abilities and to professional formation is defined in terms of the process of establishment of the subject of his own activity.