Personal development, driving forces of personality development

Viktor Frankl: the will to meaning

One of the most prominent representatives of the humanistic trend in psychology was Viktor Emil Frankl. Despite fate, he lived a long life - from 1905 to 1995. 1941 was a fateful year for Austrian Jews - Austria became part of Nazi Germany. Viktor Frankl was already a recognized professional in the field of psychiatry and neurology. He gave scientific reports and studied patterns of personality development. In the same year, Frankl received an offer to emigrate to America. His parents did not have the opportunity to leave with him. But by staying at home, Frankl risked his own life. The visa was expiring, but the scientist could not make a decision. After all, all his relatives, while he remained in his position, were protected from deportation to a concentration camp. When moving, she took off. But one day after work, Frankl went to the temple to find peace there and put his thoughts in order. On the floor he saw a piece of paper with the inscription: “Honor your father and your mother, and you will live long on earth.” At that moment they made a decision. After nine months, the hospital where he worked was closed. Frankl himself, like members of his family, became prisoners of a concentration camp.

Together with other prisoners, Frankl created a system of psychological support for prisoners, trying to prevent suicide. He tried to provide special help to the most infirm - old people suffering from epilepsy or other nervous disorders, and asocial individuals. Frankl and his assistants understood that the driving forces of personality development and its survival lie in the will to live . Without it, a person very quickly lost any chance of staying alive. Frankl was liberated from a concentration camp in 1945 by American troops. Frankl conveyed his experience in the book “Psychologist in a Concentration Camp.” It was created in his mind from 1941 to 1945, and was dictated into a microphone in 9 days.

Formation process

A person’s personal growth begins from birth, from the moment he begins to actively explore his inner world. During childhood and adolescence, the most rapid development of individual characteristics occurs, which at the same time are highly susceptible to external influence.

The formation of individuality finally occurs in adolescence, when a person begins to realize his social role, enters into new relationships and sees the inevitability of changes to fulfill his role in these relationships.

The formation of personality maturity continues as the burden on a person’s life in the form of duties and responsibilities increases. The ability to cope with it and not lose individuality under the pressure of circumstances characterizes the final point of personal growth .

The development of personal qualities occurs according to a certain mechanism : denial of this need - “perceive me as I am” before accepting the vital need for change in oneself - “I must develop in order to achieve anything.”

Frankl's logotherapy

Logotherapy, created by Frankl, is based on the main position - the driving forces of personality development lie in the desire to find meaning in life . The word “logos” translated from Greek means “meaning”. The main task of logotherapy is to help a person find “something” that can make his life filled with this content. This is a special meaning that can only be realized by this person and no one else.

A person exists in three planes - body ( somatics ), soul and spirit. The first two dimensions are closely related. As Frankl emphasized, together they form what scientists call “psychosomatics.” The third dimension is spiritual. It is on this that the psychotherapy created by Frankl focuses. Here are the concepts of love, conscience, aesthetics. Spirituality is one of the main distinguishing features that separates man from the animal kingdom.

Frankl considered freedom of choice to be the next exclusively human trait. Frankl emphasized that freedom of choice is manifested by a person every second - after all, he is a creature that makes decisions. Freedom manifests itself regardless of the environment, external circumstances, one’s own heredity and instincts. While in the concentration camp, the scientist soon discovered that many people, when placed in these conditions, lose the ability to think independently. For example, when the Nazis ordered “Down!” and pointed weapons at the prisoners, the majority immediately obeyed this order. But there were also those who seemed to “freeze” for a few moments, only then following the order. Viktor Frankl asked these people: what are they doing during these few seconds? He learned that these free people ask themselves whether they want to fall or continue to stand. And their choice was to fall, since they valued freedom and their own lives.

The next factor that is characteristic of a person is a sense of responsibility. A person not only has freedom of choice, he must know why he needs it. Responsibility to oneself, God or conscience are duties that a person must fulfill. Like other driving forces of personal development, responsibility belongs to the spiritual dimension. Logotherapy helps a person understand that only he is responsible for his life choices.

Sources

A person can use almost everything in his environment as sources for his development.

Moreover, all sources can be divided into two large groups: external , that is, the environment, and internal - due to the individual’s own characteristics.

External ones include:

Society - family, work team, friends, random people in a person’s life.
Political situation - crises or periods of prosperity in a country affect the level of stress in the life of every person.
Environmental situation : a factor that people are trying to change, realizing its mutual influence on them, which encourages them to change their lifestyle.
Work and professional relationships create a person’s motivations and aspirations, as well as difficulties in realizing them.
Living conditions form a certain source of problems that a person is forced to solve in parallel with others, which affects his development as an independent individual.
Education and the opportunity to receive it.
Cultural level and the chance to increase it in the person’s place of residence.
Trips.

All external factors create an environment around a person, within which he can change, and which changes him.

There are also a number of internal sources:

heredity;
temperament, human character;
level of intellectual development;
cultural level;
personality orientation;
Family status;
professional or educational activities;
social role.

Internal sources are established in the family and are subject to change throughout life .

They are more dynamic and flexible than external sources, forming in a person his inner core and psychological support.

Internal factors not only have a motivating and developmental influence, but are also sources of strength and inspiration for personal growth .

A. Maslow's theory

Abraham Maslow is one of the founders of humanism. Like other representatives of the humanistic trend in psychology, he tried to adhere to the following principle: initially a person is kind and good. The scientist believed that psychology should not study only sick people - the science itself will be much healthier if its subject also includes healthy people. Exploring this category, Maslow came to the conclusion: the main sign of a psychologically healthy person is self-actualization, or the desire to maximize one’s personal capabilities and inner potential. One who has managed to achieve the realization of his abilities is called a self-actualized person. Self-actualization is located at the very top of Maslow's famous pyramid.

Next are the lower order needs. When a person is full and nothing threatens him, the needs of the next block become relevant - the need for love, respect, affection. When a person was starving or experiencing homelessness, he might react to the word “love” with a disapproving grin. But now he is experiencing the pangs of loneliness - he is looking for friends, researching information about his great-grandfathers, and painfully experiencing social isolation.

You may not know your true calling, but if a person feels the desire, then sooner or later he comes to the process of self-actualization. The driving forces and factors of personality development that Maslow outlined in his theory are the following: a feeling of security within oneself, an understanding of one’s own perfection, one’s potential, honesty with oneself, and a willingness to change. Maslow emphasized that “...people should be who they can be.” Poets should write poetry, doctors should treat people, scientists should do research.

Theories

Freud's psychoanalytic theory: the unity of three structures - I, It and Superego generates harmony and constant internal conflict in a person at the same time. The personality balances on the balance and subordination of these elements.

The theory of learning or behaviorism speaks about the leading role of education and training in personal growth.

The cognitive theory of development identifies the processes of cognition of the world as leading factors and motivators of development. A person grows along with the growth of his intellect and thinking.

Humanistic theories of development highlight the desire to maintain one’s own and social comfort in balance and highlight altruism and self-awareness as the leading mechanisms of personal growth.

The activity theory of Ukhtomsky and Vygotsky considers the activity and activity of the individual in various spheres as the leading elements of growth.

Signs of a healthy person according to Maslow

Maslow identified the driving forces of personality development that are characteristic of healthy people. These are the following signs:

Adequacy of perception. A healthy person has a more effective interaction with reality. He can distinguish facts from his fears, desires or public stereotypes. Quickly exposes lies;
Spontaneity. A self-actualizing person is distinguished by spontaneity - but it manifests itself more in his way of thinking and imagination than in behavior. He follows social norms - but more out of respect than fear;
Adoption. A psychologically healthy person knows how to accept himself and others as they are. He is also able to satisfy his basic needs - food, sleep and sex. From the latter it logically follows that he is practically not susceptible to disgust;
Service, concentration on the problem. A healthy person does not engage in unnecessary soul-searching - he has too much to do for that. He has already solved his problems and devotes himself entirely to his work;
Detachment. A self-actualizing person not only is not afraid of loneliness - he enjoys it. In a difficult situation, he is able to distance himself from it, which is often regarded by others as emotional coldness or snobbery. But in fact, this is how a healthy person protects his own psyche;
Autonomy. The driving forces of personality development are inherent within the healthiest person - therefore he does not need society to continue normal life activities. This independence gives the self-actualizing personality greater stability when faced with difficulties;
Freshness of perception. A healthy person is able to find novelty even in everyday things. Sex and delicious food give him no less pleasure than music or nature;
Higher experiences. Maslow also called them “peak” - this is inspiration, awe, grace. Healthy people do not need alcohol or drugs to experience them;
A sense of community with humanity. A healthy person is able to experience compassion and empathy. His attitude towards humanity is comparable to that of a brother.

In addition, healthy people are distinguished by a sense of humor, the presence of stable moral principles, creativity, democracy, and selectivity in relationships with people.

Personal development is going beyond the limits of possibilities

Why do some people succeed while other people remain failures? Most likely, it has to do with personal characteristics and attitude to life. To go beyond your own limits, you need to:

work daily on yourself and your ability to move beyond the problematic situation;
get out of your comfort zone, set uncomfortable goals;
learn to separate the important from the unimportant and abandon a goal that is doomed to failure;
choose an active life position; this is the only way to gain useful life experience.

It is important! In life, a person receives a huge number of opportunities, but not every person knows how to take advantage of them. Why? The answer is simple - many become fixated on the only way to achieve a goal and are unable to see other ways. Most often, a person is prevented by a feeling of anxiety, which is why it is necessary to recognize alternative solutions.

Criticism of the humanistic approach

Some authors believe that the driving forces and factors of personality development cannot be exhausted by the full acceptance that humanism offers. This approach is compared to the women's approach. For a woman, her child is always the best. No matter what he is, his mother will always accept him and take pity on him. Her son is always loved by her. Not so with the father: “In order for you to have the right to be called my son, you must do this and that.” But without a father’s approach, a person cannot learn to set goals for himself or deal with emerging difficulties. Without maternal acceptance, he grows up cruel and becomes incapable of compassion.

Humanism, which emerged in the mid-twentieth century, was a response to the administrative, authoritarian approach. It is opposed by another direction in psychology, created by Frank Farrelly - the so-called provocative psychotherapy. Its meaning is to criticize the client’s actions - thereby it is believed that this will help him paradoxically transform his life. The driving forces of personality development in provocation-based psychology are a target for criticism. It is believed that criticism should awaken these forces, and the client will try to prove his worth to the therapist. The scope of application of this branch must be clearly understood by every specialist and amateur.

Provocative psychotherapy will do little to help a person with low self-esteem, an anxious or depressed personality. The opposite effect cannot be ruled out here - and a humanistic approach may turn out to be much more effective. Humanistic psychology replaced the dominant behaviorism and psychoanalysis. Behaviorism viewed humans as biological computers. For him there are no concepts of “good” or “bad”. For behaviorists, the human psyche is a collection of complex functions. However, humanism has never been opposed to the behaviorist approach, since they are in different fields.

Those who criticize the humanistic approach for its excessive love for the human being must understand: the driving forces of personal development cannot always be awakened into action by direct instructions and criticism.

Rollo May

Another representative of the humanistic movement, whose works still remain among the best, is Rollo May. He was born on April 21, 1909 in the United States. Mae would subsequently change her birth name (Rhys Mae) to Rollo. May's parents did not get along well with each other. In addition to Rhys, his parents had six more children; May's older sister suffered from schizophrenia. After graduating from college, May moved to the Greek city of Thessaloniki, where she taught English. May begins attending Alfred Adler's lectures. In 1933 he returned to the States, where he began studying theology and at the same time practiced psychotherapy.

In 1940, May published a book that received huge success - “The Origins of the Creative Life.” However, soon after this, he buys up all the remnants of the circulation, since, according to him, he stopped believing what he himself had written earlier. Another turning point in May's life was his illness with tuberculosis. It was deadly back then. May spends a year and a half in a fight for life. After his recovery, May decided to break with religion. He finds great support for himself in psychology. Rollo May became one of the first American researchers who was interested in the driving forces and factors of personality development in line with existential psychology.

May explored the phenomena of freedom and anxiety. Freedom lies in the fact that every person has the ability to control his own development. With consciousness and self-awareness, we can act according to our understanding. But human life also correlates with those specific circumstances that no one can change, or with fate. Fate predetermines a person's life. At the same time, he still has the freedom to react to circumstances in one way or another, to cooperate with fate, or to challenge it himself. The driving forces of personality development in May's psychology are opposed to human addictions and unconsciousness. Liberation occurs when a person begins to make conscious choices.

3.1. Features of the development process
3.2. Driving forces, conditions and sources of personality development
3.3. Patterns of mental development
3.4. Mechanisms of personality development
3.5. Personal self-awareness
3.6. Structural links of self-awareness. Their genesis

Topic 3. PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

3.1. Features of the development process

Development

represents qualitative changes - the emergence of new formations, new mechanisms, new processes, new structures. They are characterized by the following patterns:

• progressive nature, when the stages already passed seem to repeat the well-known features and properties of the lower ones, but at a higher level;

• irreversibility, i.e. movement at a new level where the results of previous development are realized;

• development is a unity of struggling opposites, which are the driving force of the development process. It is the resolution of internal contradictions that leads to a new stage of development.

The main signs of development include:

• differentiation, i.e. dismemberment of a phenomenon that was previously unified;

• the emergence of new sides, new elements in development;

• restructuring of connections between the sides of the object. The modern idea of the mental development of the individual sees its causes in various biological and social factors, in the uniqueness of the path of development of each personality. Gradually, there is an expansion and clarification of the conceptual apparatus necessary for revealing the laws of human development. A number of concepts appear that clarify the term “development”.

1. Evolutionary development,

i.e., the appearance of something new in comparison with the previous stage - this can include neoplasms of age periods.

2. Involutionary changes.

This is the loss of previously formed mental properties and qualities that took place in the previous period. Such changes occur not only in old age, but also in adolescence and youth - as a result of the accumulation of changes that develop into neoplasms.

3. Heterochromic development.

This is a manifestation of mental qualities at different times: some functions are ahead of other functions in development.

4. Biological development.

It is believed that development is determined by hereditary and congenital factors. Congenital is determined by intrauterine development, and hereditary is determined by the emergence of a new one due to the genetic apparatus.

5. Social development.

Occurs under the simultaneous influence of the natural and social environment, the historical development of society, nationality and other factors.

6. Special development.

This is the development of mental functions, processes, personality traits within the framework of professional training, for example, the development of professional memory, thinking, attention, abilities, etc.

Personality formation is a complex process that has its own tendencies, prospects for self-determination, self-realization and includes all of the above stages.

3.2. Driving forces, conditions and sources of personality development

Under the driving forces

Personal development understands the needs of the child himself, his motivation, external stimuli for activity and communication, goals and objectives set by adults in teaching and raising children. If the goals of education and training correspond to the child’s motivation, then favorable conditions will be created for development in terms of driving forces.

Needs

people are divided according to the degree of severity and necessity, ranging from simple, lower, and ending with the highest.

1. Biogenic: the need for safety and self-preservation, emotional contact, orientation needs, the need for physical activity, play.

2. Psychophysical: needs for emotional saturation, freedom, restoration of energy.

3. Social: the need for self-esteem, communication, knowledge, self-expression.

4. Higher: the need to be an individual, moral and aesthetic needs, the need to find the meaning of life, preparedness and overcoming difficulties, the need for creation and creative work.

Each age has its own needs, the satisfaction of which is important for normal personal development. Delay in satisfying certain needs or incomplete satisfaction of them can negatively affect personality development.

One of the important aspects of the driving force is motivation.

It performs several functions:

encourages behavior;

directs and organizes it;

gives it personal meaning and significance (meaning-forming motivation).

In order for motivation to be sustainable and positive, all three functions must be present. The last function is the most important; it is central to the nature of the motivational sphere. The manifestations of stimulating and directing functions depend on what meaning the activity has for the child. Consequently, the success of the activity depends on how well the meaning-forming function is formed. Therefore, it is this function that we must first pay attention to when educating.

These motivational functions are realized by many motives, among them such as ideals and value orientations, needs, motives, goals, interests, etc. At different age stages, their significance manifests itself in different ways. This fact must also be taken into account when raising children.

The process of child development occurs in certain conditions, surrounded by objects of material and spiritual culture, people and relationships between them. In other words, the development of a child depends on the social situation.

The social situation is the starting point for all changes that occur in the development of the child during the period of growing up.
It determines the forms and paths of development of the child, types of activities, and new mental properties and qualities acquired by him. All these are the conditions for the psychological development of a child.
Indeed, the same children, whose driving forces of development are the same, can develop differently in different conditions. The more favorable the conditions for a child's development, the more he can achieve in a short period of time. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the social conditions of development.

Sources

development are the leading activity, the leading type of communication and the crisis of development.

Leading type of communication

– this is communication, as a result of which the main positive personality traits are formed and consolidated.

Leading activity

- this is the activity as a result of which the greatest successes are achieved in the development of cognitive processes and the formation of new formations occurs at a certain stage of development.

Each age period is characterized by a special type of activity. When moving from one period to another, the leading activity also changes. Modern psychologists have identified the following types of leading activities.

1. At the age from birth to 1 year, direct emotional communication between the child and adults is noted. Neoplasm – the need for communication and grasping.

2. At the age of 1 to 3 years, object-manipulative activity is present. The new formation is self-awareness (“I myself”).

3. Preschool children (from 3 to 6 years old) are characterized by play activities, role-playing games. New formations - the internal position of the schoolchild appears, voluntary behavior, personal consciousness, subordination of motives, primary ethical authorities, and the first schematic outline of an integral child’s worldview arise.

4. Educational activity is observed in children of primary school age (from 6 to 10 years). New formations - intensive intellectual development is underway, “memory becomes thinking, and perception is thinking,” the prerequisites are created for the development of a sense of adulthood.

5. Adolescence (from 10–11 to 14–15 years) is characterized by communication, which extends to various types of activities: work, education, sports, art, etc. New developments are: the emergence of a sense of adulthood, a tendency to reflection, self-knowledge, interest in opposite sex, puberty, increased excitability, frequent mood swings; strong-willed qualities are developing, the need for self-affirmation and self-determination appears. A change in leading activity leads to a crisis in development. This is due to the fact that the child’s needs are changing, but he is not yet able to satisfy them.

Development crisis

in the interpretation of L.S. Vygotsky is a concentration of sharp and major shifts and displacements, changes and fractures in the child’s personality. A crisis is a turning point in the normal course of mental development. It arises 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...” (Vygotsky L.S., 1991).

L.S. Vygotsky believed that the essence of each crisis is the restructuring of internal experiences, relationships between the child and others, changes in needs and motivations. A crisis occurs at the junction of two age periods and characterizes the end of one period and the beginning of another.

3.3. Patterns of mental development

The patterns of mental development include unevenness and heterochrony, instability, sensitivity, cumulativeness, divergence - convergence.

Unevenness and heterochrony.
Unevenness
is the uneven development of various mental functions, properties and formations. This process is characterized by rise, stable flow and decline, and is oscillatory in nature. When they talk about uneven mental development, they mean the pace, direction, and duration of the changes taking place. It has been noted that the highest frequency of fluctuations in the development of any function occurs during the period of the highest achievements of this function. E.F. Rybalko said that the higher the level of productivity (achievements) in development, the greater the oscillatory nature of its age dynamics.

Heterochrony

means a discrepancy in the time of development of individual organs and functions. If the cause of unevenness is the nonlinear nature of the development system, then heterochrony is associated with the peculiarities of its structure and the heterogeneity of its elements.

Domestic physiologist P.K. Anokhin (1898–1974) believed that heterochrony lies in the uneven deployment of hereditary information. As an example, he cited the following fact: first, more ancient analyzers are formed, and then younger ones.

The German teacher and psychologist E. Meimann (1862–1915) showed the following: the more necessary a particular function is, the faster it develops. For example, a child learns to navigate faster in space than in time.

Development instability.

This pattern, closely related to unevenness and heterochrony, is clearly manifested in development crises. This is due to the fact that development always goes through unstable periods, including crises. Stability is possible if two conditions are met: 1) with frequent small-amplitude oscillations; 2) when there is a discrepancy in the time of development of different mental processes, functions and properties. It follows that stability is possible through instability.

Sensitivity of development.

As mentioned above, the sensitive period of development is the period when it is most reasonable to begin and conduct the education and upbringing of children (see 2.8). Domestic psychologist B.G. Ananyev understood sensitivity as temporary complex characteristics of correlated functions, sensitized at a certain moment of learning.

These periods are limited in time, and if during the sensitive period the development of a certain quality was not given due attention, then later the process of its development will be longer.

Cumulativeness.

This pattern of development is that the developmental results of the previous age period are included in the subsequent one, but with certain changes. For example, in the process of development of thinking, visual-effective thinking first develops, then visual-figurative and finally verbal-logical thinking. This process indicates a qualitative transformation of mental development.

Divergence – convergence.

These are two contradictory but interrelated trends. Divergence is about increasing diversity in the process of mental development, convergence is about increasing selectivity.

3.4. Mechanisms of personality development

Personality

- this is a person taken in the system of his psychological characteristics that are socially conditioned, manifest themselves in social connections and relationships by nature, are stable, determine the moral actions of a person that are of significant importance for himself and those around him (R.S. Nemov).

The issue of personality development has interested many scientists. As a result of numerous studies and experiments, the mechanisms of personality development were identified. These include appropriation, separation and identification.

In Russian psychology, the position has been established that personality develops through appropriation

its “comprehensive essence”: a person’s personality is also “produced,” that is, created by social relations into which the individual enters in his activity. Thus, in psychology the problem of external determination is created, which determines the development and formation of personality.

The idea of “appropriation” in itself would be mechanical if it were not presented in dialectical unity with the idea of the inner essence of man, his activity and the dependence of circumstances on the “self-realization of the individual.” People create circumstances and each other. Even in relation to himself, a person acts from a subject-subject position.

Separation

- this is the defense by an individual of his natural and human essence. In other words, it is the desire to stand out from others. Separation acts as a process of individualization.

Separation can be external and internal. Towards the outside

isolation includes physical parameters, external data, nationality, gender, etc.,
internal
- individual psychological characteristics, intellectual development, character traits, temperament, etc. A special case of isolation is alienation.

Identification

- this is the process of emotional and other self-identification of a person with another person, group, model, the subject’s experience of his similarity (identity) with the desired object. Therefore, identification acts both as a mechanism for an individual to “appropriate” his human essence, and as a mechanism for the socialization of the individual.

Children learn the norms, attitudes and behaviors characteristic of their parents, peers, and people around them. The process of identifying oneself with them occurs spontaneously. The child adopts their views and life experiences. For young children, the main source of identification is their parents, later - peers and other adults.

The identification process continues throughout life. Its source can be other people who are carriers of those qualities and forms of behavior that a person wants to develop in himself.

3.5. Personal self-awareness

Self-awareness

- this is a set of mental processes through which an individual recognizes himself as a subject of activity (I.S. Kon).

Self-awareness reflects a person’s real existence, and it is important that he learns to realistically and adequately evaluate himself. But this is not always typical for humans. Even when trying to explain his actions to other people and himself, he is not necessarily sincere. As a result, the motives that prompted him to act remain unknown to those around him, and sometimes even to himself. Therefore, self-awareness can be called a process of cognition, during which a person becomes aware of his experiences and motivations.

Self-awareness is not given at birth; it is one of the developmental processes. Over the years, as life experience accumulates, a person rethinks his life. Rethinking determines the motives of his activities and the inner meaning of the tasks that he faces along the path of life. The ability to understand what the meaning of life is, to recognize what is really important in it and what is not, to determine a life goal and strive for its implementation, to successfully solve the problems that life poses - this is what is called wisdom and what one must strive for . This is possible only with the normal development of self-awareness.

When developing self-awareness, it is very important that a person can develop a positive attitude towards himself as an individual. This can be achieved by generalizing practical knowledge about other people. The child early begins to separate people from the world around him in his consciousness, and then to distinguish one person from another, to distinguish their gestures, movements, to understand that relationships between people are built according to certain rules, etc. Thanks to this, he begins to master movements and produce actions, realizing them with the help of adult assessments. But it takes several years of life for a child to begin to develop partial forms of self-awareness. This is expressed in awareness of oneself in different situations, in relation to different things. This awareness leads to the formation of individual self-awareness.

Any change in life situation in social, work, personal life leads to a change in attitude towards oneself as an actor and subject of this situation. B.G. Ananyev believed that to realize oneself means to realize oneself not only as a psychophysical being, but also, first of all, as a worker, family man, father, educator, comrade, as part of a team.

3.6. Structural links of self-awareness. Their genesis

The structural links of self-awareness are:

1) identification of a person with his body, name, i.e., a value attitude towards the body and name; which is already noted in children of one month of age, when the baby begins to distinguish sensations emanating from his own body from sensations caused by external objects;

2) self-esteem expressed in the context of claims for recognition;

3) awareness of oneself as a representative of a certain gender, gender identification;

4) presentation of oneself in the aspect of psychological time, individual past, present and future;

5) social and moral self-esteem, which is formed in adolescence and adolescence.

The development of self-esteem in ontogenesis is carried out as follows. First, a spontaneous formation of personality occurs, not guided by self-consciousness, characterized by the appearance of multimotivation and subordination of actions. The development of personal self-awareness begins at the age of two - at this time the child already distinguishes himself as a person and the bearer of a certain name (proper name, pronoun “I”, a certain physical appearance). This process continues throughout early and preschool years. From an emotional attitude towards people, a psychological “image of the Self” begins to form. The emotional connotation of this image can be both positive and negative. The “Image of Self” is also formed by expressing one’s will (“I want”, “I myself”), which acts as a specific need of the child. Then the demand for recognition begins to appear. It can have both a positive and negative direction. Then the child begins to develop a sense of gender, and then a sense of himself in time arises. He has a psychological past, present and future. He begins to treat himself differently, and the prospect of developing himself opens up before him.

Let's consider the stages of development of self-awareness.

In early childhood

(from 1 year to 3 years)
the formation of self-awareness occurs.
The child begins to recognize himself in the mirror, respond to his name, and actively use the pronoun “I” - that is, he recognizes himself as a person.

Developing self-awareness will lead to the formation of self-esteem.

It is after realizing himself as an individual that the child has the need to compare himself with other people, on the basis of which self-esteem is formed. At this age, self-esteem is a purely emotional formation; it does not contain rational components and is based on the child’s need for emotional security and acceptance. And since parents often admire their child and praise him, children’s self-esteem in early childhood is usually high.

In preschool childhood

(from 3 to 6–7 years)
the formation of self-awareness continues,
which is considered the main new formation of this age. The child’s idea of himself, his “I,” and his place in the system of social relations changes. When a child becomes aware of himself and separates himself from the world around him, he has the desire to actively influence situations and change them the way he himself wants. He begins to realize his experiences (“I am cheerful,” “I am angry,” etc.), and awareness of himself in time occurs (“I am small,” etc.). (For more information on building self-awareness, see topic 7.)

At primary school age

(from 6–7 to 10–11 years old) the development of a child’s self-awareness is greatly influenced by the assessment given by the teacher for completing work or evaluating his behavior. Focusing on the teacher, the child begins to consider himself an “excellent” student, a “C” student, a “B student”, a good or average student, endowing himself with a set of qualities corresponding to the group to which he classified himself.

From this we can conclude that the assessment of academic performance becomes an assessment of personality and affects the social status of the child. Therefore, excellent and “good” students develop high self-esteem, while low-achieving students develop low self-esteem, since constant failures and bad grades reduce self-confidence and self-confidence.

In order for self-esteem to be adequate, it is necessary to develop in any child, regardless of academic performance, a sense of competence, self-esteem, and responsibility.

During adolescence

(from 10–11 to 14–15 years)
the development of self-awareness, the formation of an ideal personality
is aimed at a person’s awareness of his personal characteristics. This is determined by the teenager’s special, critical attitude towards his shortcomings. A teenager’s “I” is usually made up of the qualities and virtues of other people that are especially valuable in his eyes. But since a teenager’s role models can be both adults and peers, the ideal image turns out to be contradictory. Perhaps this is the reason for the teenager’s inconsistency with his ideal, which is a reason for worry.

At this age, adolescents develop a tendency towards self-knowledge (reflection).

He begins to compare himself with other people (adults and peers), be critical of himself, and goes through a lot of emotional experiences, as a result of which his self-esteem is formed and his revenge in society is determined.

As a rule, younger adolescents have contradictory self-esteem, so their behavior is characterized by unmotivated actions. (See topic 9 for more on this.)

In youth

(from 15–16 to 20 years) the formation of self-awareness and a stable image of “I” occurs. Scientists believe that the reason for this development is that at this age the development of abstract logical thinking, the discovery of the inner world occurs, the image of the perceived person changes, a feeling of loneliness appears, an exaggeration of one’s uniqueness and stability over time.

I.S. Kohn noted that the image of “I” is a social attitude consisting of three interrelated components: 1) cognitive (knowledge of oneself, idea of one’s qualities and properties); 2) emotional (assessment of these qualities and associated pride, self-esteem, etc.); 3) behavioral (practical attitude towards oneself). The process of developing self-awareness is very complex, and not everyone experiences it smoothly and painlessly. (This process is described in more detail in topic 10.)

During early adulthood

(from 20 to 40 years) the development of self-awareness, self-esteem and “I-concept” continues. This process is influenced by the individual’s self-definition as a sexual partner, spouse, parent, professional and citizen (for more information on this, see topic 12).

During middle adulthood

(from 40 to 60 years) self-awareness is enriched with new images, self-esteem acquires a generalized character, because the “I-image” of a developing personality turns into a “I-image” associated with the development of children, students, colleagues and other people (see also topic 12).

During late adulthood

(60 years and older) a person integrates his past, present and future. And if his “I-concept” is positive and active, then his personal development will continue (see also topic 12)

Table of contents

Driving forces of personality development: gentle humanism

Humanistic psychology, the main subject of which was the patterns of personality development, its interaction with its destiny, self-actualization, has become an undoubted phenomenon of the science of man. For the first time, a person began to be considered in the light of his value, uniqueness and originality. It was in line with the humanistic trend that the person seeking help for the first time began to be called not a patient, but a Client - someone who can manage his life and transform it at will. The driving forces of personality development in the psychology created by Freud followed the path of complete predetermination of human destiny. The direction of behaviorism also removes any responsibility from a person for his actions. The main property of the individual is freedom, which allows one to break the vicious circle of environmental stimuli and reactions to them.

How to learn to respect yourself

Of course, everyone wants to be respected, but this can only be achieved by learning to respect yourself. To do this you need to follow simple rules.

A person’s opinion should not depend on the opinions of other people and their assessments.
Never say negative things about yourself.
Don't let people tell you what to do and how to do it.
Never change your principles and life values.
Control your emotions.
Constantly develop your horizons, since the role of education in development is quite large.
Take responsibility for your own life.