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3 .95M IT 2 4 5 PSY C H O LOG Y
The P syc ho logy of P res choolChildr ened ited b v A. V Zapo
roz hets a ndD. B. Elkonin
This tra ns la tion by J . Sh ybut andS. S imon of t he 1964 boo
k e ntitled,P sikho logiya Oe tev Dosh kolnogoVo zras ta ma kes a
va ila ble to a w ide ra ud ience a ma jor publi cation inRu ss
ian. Disc uss ion is devot e d to thede ve lopme nt of se nsa tion
a nd p er cep -tion, atten tion, rnernor v, spee ch, think -ing ,
imag ina tion, mov e me nt, andmot or habits in childre n. T hese c
hap -te rs a re bas ed o n ex te ns ive sys tematicres ea rch whic
h is der ive d from so meideas ra the r differ ent from the Amer
i-ca n vie w se e n in Ca rmichae l a ndMusse n. De ve lopm e nt is
viewe d a s oc -curring in an ac tive org anism wh o isguided by
socia l ex perience , i.e ., inte r-ac tion wi th t he socializi ng
adu lt .Language i s the bas is o f communi ca tionbe twe e n the
ch ild and a dult ; thu s lan -gua ge co ntra is the chil d s be ha
vior, a ndthink ing is close ly re la ted. To find e m-phasi s the
n on t ra ining children froman ear ly a ge is not s urprising .
Enthu-s iasts fo r P iage tian a nd Ges ta lt ideas ,for ex ampl e,
may find cr itica l a na lys isof the se views s urpris ing . -Psy
cholog -iea l Repo rts
The book prov ides a d oubl e servi ce :it gives We s ter n ps
ycholog ists access tothe ex te ns ive wor k dan e in th e S ovie
tUn ion, u s ing a n a pproach sub s ta nt ia llydiffe rent fro m
our own, a nd it bring sSovi e t dev e lopm e ntal ps ychology
intothe perspec tive of We s tern t heor ies o fdeve lopm ent-on wh
ich it co mm e ntsex te ns ive ly.
The theor e tical ideas that gu idethe exper ime nts are those
of L . S .Vygot s ky and his former colleaguesand s tudent s -now
leading psvcholo -gists in t he U .S .S. R.-Leontiev, Luria,Zaporo
zhet s, and E lkonin .
The MIT PressMassac huse tts Ins titute of Tec hn ologyCa mbridg
e, Mass a chusett s 02142
Cover desi g n ed for T h e M IT P ress b vB e rn ie LaC
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The MITPress Cambridge, Massachusetts,and London, England
The Psychology of PreschoolChildren
A. V. Zaporozhets and D. B. Elkonin, Editors
Translated by
John Shybut andSeymore Simon
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Originally published in 1964 by Izdatelstvo Prosveshcheniye,
Moscow,under the title Psikhologiya Detey Doshkolnogo Vozrasta, and
under theauspices of the Akademiya Pedagogicheskikh Nauk RSFSR
InstitutPsikhologii
Copyright 1 971 byThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rig hts reserv ed . No part of this boo k may b e repro
duced in an y f onn orby any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, record-ing , or by any infonnation storage
and ret rieval sys tem, without pennissionin writing from the
publisher.
First MIT Press paperback edton, anuary 1974
This bo ok was designed by The MIT Press Design Department.It
was set in IBM Bo doni Bo okby Williams Graphic Service, Inc.,prin
ted and bound by The Colonia l Press Inc,in the Uni ted States of
America.
ISBN O 262 24013 lhardcover)ISBN O 20 2 74 011 7 (pap er
back)Library of Congress catalog card number: 76-166515
Contents
AcknowledgrnentVll
Preface to the English TranslationUrie Bronfenbrenner
IX
xvForewordA. V. Zaporozhets and D. B. Elkonin
L Developrnent of Sensation and PerceptionT. V. Yendovitskaya,
V. P. Zinchenko,and A. G. Ruzskaya
2. Developrnent of AttentionT. V. Yendovitskaya
65
3. Developrnent of MernoryT. V. Yendovitskaya
8 9
4. Developrnent of SpeechD. B. Elkonin
lU
5. Developrnent of ThinkingA. V. Zaporozhets, V. P.
Zinchenko,and D. B. Elkonin
8 6
6. Developrnent of IrnaginationT. A. Repina
255
7. Development of Movements andFormation of Motor HabitsM. L
Lisina and Ya. Z. Neverovich
278
lndex 6 7
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kn owledgm ent
We are grateful to Dr. Marilyn C. Barrick, Doris Gold, Barhara
A.Rasin, Lowell A. Speckhart, Frances Spires, Elda Peart Wilson,and
the Dean 's Fund of Northcrn lIIinois Universi ty for
theirassistance and support in the preparation of this
manuscript.
Our thanks also go to Susan McCorkendale, john S. Snyder j
r.,and joseph Stein of the M.I.T. Press for their editorial
assistancc.
].S.S.S.
De Kalh, Illinois, Octoher 1970
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x Preface to the Engli sh Tran slation
In addit ion to substance, the reader of this book will gain
anappreciat ion of a scienti fic approach to the process of
develop-ment rather different from our own. Reflected less in cited
refer-ences than in the actual formulat ion of research prohlems
andway of thinking about them, is the pervasive influence of one
ofthe semina l thinkers psychology has produced- Vygotsky.
Whether the concern is with the development of movement, at-t
ention, language, thought, or social play-and espec ial ly
theinterrelations among these processes-the theoret ical ideas
whichanimate and guide the experiments reported in thi s volume
arethose of Vygotsky and of his former colleagues and students,
nowleading psychologists in the U.S.S.R.-Leontiev, Luria, and
thetwo editors of this volume, Zaporozhe ts and Elkonin.
The hal lmarks of this Soviet approach rnay be
characterizedbriefly as follows:1. The developing organism is seen
not,as a passive receptor ofst imuli but as an active agent fapable
of voluntary movement,selective attention, and subsequently, the
creative use of languageand thought ; in short, as Soviet
psychologists l ike toexpress it,consciousness is conceived as an
active rather than a purely recep-tive processo The infant's
psychological capacities developthrough his pract ica l ac tivity
with the world of material objects, a.world that becomes
progressively more complex both in contentand in structure.2. The
infant 's psychological development is shaped primarilythrough the
interven tion of o ther persons as the mediators be-tween the child
and his envi ronment; i t is their ac tion, or failureto act, that
becomes the decisive element in determining thecharac ter and
course of the child's psychological growth; in short,the child is
seen as assimilating the environment presented to himthrough other
people. This orientation has its roots in dialecticmaterialismo As
the editors state in their foreword:In contradiction to those
Western European and American psy-chologists who assert either that
psychologica l development ofa child takes place seemingly as a
result of the spontaneous
xi Pr eface to th e E ngli sh Tran s la tion
realizing or maturing of inborn abili ties (Bhler, Stern,
andothers), or moves along the path of adap tat ion and
individualadjustment to the surrounding environment (a line of
reasoninggenerally espoused by Spencerite psychologists and strict
behav-iorists, and in a more refined form represented in the
latestworks of Piaget), Soviet psychologists (Vygotsky, Leontiev,
andRubinshtein), having translated into concrete terms certa in
well-
known philosophical propositions of Marxism-Leninism, haveshown
convincingly that the psychological development of indi-viduals
follows a path of social inheritance (Engels) or a pathof
appropriation (Marx) ofsocial experience.The application of these
principIes in the context of child devel-opment is nicely
illustrated in the following passage fromChapter II:The main factor
in the establishment and development of lhereciprocal relat ion
between the young child and his surroundingenvironment is the socia
l interaction of the child with the social-izing adulto The
emergence of the two-sided interaction of theaduIt with the child
is marked by the appearance in the child oftwo and three months of
age of a characteristic arousal reaction
evoked by the sight of the adulto During such interaction it
ispossible to capture the child's attention and to organize his
famil-iarizat ion with the surrounding environment by evoking
sensoryreactions to a given object. In the course of interaction
the adultfirst begins to uti lize indicatory gestures and then
words to at-t rac t the child's attention. By doing so the adult
seems tostrengthen the object's direc t influence and to divert the
childfrom other things. Subsequently, the child begins to utilize
firstthe indica tory gestures and later words. The timing in the
use ofwords depends on the rate of mastering speech. As a result
ofutilizing gestures and words, the chi ld learns to isolate
objectsfrom the surrounding environment and to attract the
attention ofanother human being.3. As illustrated in the foregoing
passage, language soon becomesthe principal avenue of interaction
between child and adul to Thus,it is language which shapes and
controls the behavior of the child,first from without and then
internally, as he begins to use theconcepts and instructions of
others as tools for structuring andcontrolling his own behavior.4.
Given the preceding propositions, the development of thoughtis
closely related to language development and to the context
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xii Pr efa ce to the Engl i sh Translation
from which the latter derives, namely social relationships
andsocial structure.S. Finally, given the power of the man-mediated
environment inshaping the development of the child, training
especially in earlylife, becomes of critical significance. Hence,
the concern in Sovietexperimentation with the acceleration of
psychological develop-ment through the process outl ined in the
quotat ion cited above;that is, by focusing the attention of the
child on differentiatedaspects of the environment chiefly through
the medium of lan-guage, and by inducing activity which makes use
of the new dis-crimination, the experimenter, or trainer, 'seeks
and-as the exper-imental evidence shows-often succeeds in enhancing
the child'scompetence in such diverse areas as auditory
discrimination,visual perception, language usage, thougl it
processes, and imagina-tive play.
The distinctive character of the Sovietapproach to
psycholog-ical development is perhaps reVected most sharply in the
occa-sional glimpses that the volum. affords of Soviet views of
Westemtheory and research in this area . Espec ially in the
chapters byZaporozhets and Elkonin, the work of non-Soviet
investigators,notably Piaget but also Isaacs, Russell, Bhler,
Lashley, the Ge-stalt psychologists, and others, are examined from
the Soviettheoretical perspective. Especial ly il luminat ing along
these lines isthe critique of Piaget for his failure to recognize
the social basisof what he calls egocentricspeech.
Along with its merits, the volume has some shortcomings fromthe
point of view of the English reader. The first of these is
inher-
ent in a work of this kind; the descriptions of any single study
arenecessarily brief, especially on matters of method
andexperi-mental detail, a c ircumstance that isespecially
frustrating whenthe original sources cited are in a foreign
language.A second deficiency is specific to this first American
edition of
Zaporozhets and Elkonin 's work, since it covers only the first
oftwo volumes they have published on the psychology of
preschoolchildren-that devoted to the development of sensory
processes,
x iii Pr eface to th e Engli sh Tran s la tio n
which appeared in 1964. Asecond volume, entitled The Psy-chology
of Personality and of Activity in the Preschool Child,issued a year
later, reviews Soviet research in such areas as thedevelopment of
volition, cmotions, motivation, and personality.In addition, it
discusses Soviet investigations on different aspectsof children 's
activity, including games, work, and leaming. It is to
be hoped that this second volume also wil lsoon be published
inEnglish and, in the meantime, that the studies cited in the
presentedition wi ll become familiar references in Western
publications.
I thaca, New York, June 1970
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t
~
Foreword
This book concerns the deveIopment of cognitive processes
inearly and preschool childhood. It represents the first parl of
acollective monograph P sychology of Pr eschoo l Chil dren
preparedby the co-workers of the Laboratory of the Psychology of
Pre-school Children at the Institute of Psychology, APN RSFSR. The
volume summarizes and evaluates theoretically the results ofyears
of investigations in our laboratory, the work of other
Sovietauthors, and the work of many foreign psychologists. While
ex-tensiveIy utilizing a variety of factual material available in
childpsychology in the preparation of this monograph, we do not
planto limit the writing to a mere compendium of the avaiJable
inves-tigations in the area of the psychological development of
thechild. In addition to reconstructing a general picture of the
for-mation of various cognitive processes in preschooJ childhood,
weattempted, as much as possible, to expose conditions and
prin-cipIes of their formation, reIying on established theoreticaJ
posi-tions and taking into account those practical problems which
areconfronting Soviet planners of preschool upbringing today.
The enormous growth of nurseries and kindergartens rcq uires
aquality of medical services and pedagogical training that
insuresoptimal physical and mental development of ali children and
thatincreases their levei of preparation for schooling. The role
ofpreschool training is extremely important in the general
processof personality formation. In the course of the first seven
years oflife the child undergoes extensive physical and mental
develop-
ment. The classical writers of Soviet pedagogy, Krupskaya
andMakarenko, indicate correctly that not only does an
intensiveaccumulation of various knowledge and skills occur in
preschoolage, but also that different abilities are constructed,
bases ofcharacter are established, and certain moral qualities of
person-ality are formed. In order to make this process manageable
and ta APN-RSFSR-Academy of Pedagogical Scien ces, Russ ian Soviet
FcdcratcdSoeialist Republic.
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xvi Foreword
provi de optimal conditions for the multilateral development
ofthe child's personality, preschool pedagogy must rely on a
knowl-edge of psychological principies in this development and
thecharacteristics of their manifestations at various
developrnentalstages. While highly praising Soviet psychological
attainments inthe solution of actual pedagogical problems,
Krupskaya wroteas early as 1932: For many years methods of
influencing chil-dren rested on empiricism on the one hand and on
idealistic psy-chology on the other. The scientif ic approach was
either lackingin the old methods or was inaccurate. Now scientific
materialisticpsychology, relying on the accomplishments
ofcontemporaryneurology, presents a more valid scient ific base on
which scien-tific methods may be constructed. *
Since 1932, Soviet investigations in the area of general and
childpsychology have advanced markedly, and the utilization
ofpsychologica l data in theory and practice of pedagogical
trainingof children has become indisP1Jlsable. Furthermore, the
numberof studies in child and pedagogica l psychology during the
pastyears has increased considerably. Many of these studies
areprinted in various journals of limited edition and are
presentlyconsidered bibliographical rarities. In spite of this, a
large numberof these articles addressed themselves to specific
questions ofchi ld psychology, and the reader interested in const
ructing a totalpicture concerning the development of certain
psychologicalaspects of child behavior must perform the enormous
task ofcomparing and evaluating data obtained from various
sources.Under these conditions, utilization of psychological data
presentsdifficulty not only foreducators but also for scientists in
theareas of pedagogy and psychology. In addition, a need exists
forthe preparation ofsynopses and abstracts of works in child
psy-chology that would systematize for the reader the essentials
ofinvestigations conducted in a given area.
Similar works published abroad (e.g., in the U.S.A., Child
*N. K. Krupskaya. Selected pedagogical works. M. Pub. by APN
RSFSR,1948, p. 177.
xvii Foreword
Psycholog y and M ethods of P sychological In vestigation s of
Chil -
dr en edited by Murchison, Carmichael, Mussen, and others)
un-doubtedly are of definite interest to the
specialist-psychologist.However, due to unfami lia r methodological
approaches and one-sided selection of factual material, these
investigations are lesssuitable for a wider circle of readers,
especially for those with apedagogical orientation. The existing
gap insummarized studieson child psychology has to be narrowed to
some extent by rely-ing onsuch Soviet books as Zaporozh ets
sPsychology ; Elkonin'sChild P sycholog y; and Lyublinskaya's
Outlin e of the Psycholog-ical Developm ent of a Child ; or those
published in other demo-cratic countries, Piryov's Chi ld P sycholo
gy with D efectol ogy(Bulgaria); Klauss and Gibsh's Child Ps
ychology (East Ger-many), and others. However, being written as
texts or studyguides, they can only in part fulfill the indicated
function, sincethe volume of the attractive material and the
thoroughness of itsexamination are limited by the scope of the
given course and thedidactic problems confronting the authors.
ConsequentIy, thepreparation of asummary of studies concerning
problems of childpsychology pertaining to psychological development
in early andpreschool chi ldhood remains indispensable for theory
and practiceof Soviet preschool training.
In preparing this book we relied upon theories proposed inSoviet
psychology concerning motivational causes and upon basicprincipies
of the ontogeny of human psychology. Propositionsapplying to
psychological development in early childhood havebeen under study
for many years in our laboratory. In contradic-tion to those
Western European and American psychologists whoassert either that
psychological development of a child takes placeseemingly as a
result of the spontaneous realizing or maturing ofinborn abilities
(Bhler, Stern, and others), or moves along thepath of adaptation
and individual adjustment to the surroundingenvironment (a line of
reasoning generally espoused by Spenceritepsychologists and strict
behaviorists, and in a more refinedform represented in the latest
works of Piaget), Soviet psycholo-
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x vi ii For eword
gists (Vygotsky, Leontiev, and Ruhinshtein), having
translatedinto conrete terms certain well-known philosophical
proposi-tions ofMarxism-Leninism, have shown convincingly that
thepsychological development of individuais follows a path of
social inheritance (Engels) or a pa th of appropriation (Marx)of
social experience, Recent theoretical and experimental
geneticinvestigations hy Leontiev and his co-workers revealed a
deeplyembedded uniqueness in the ontogeny of the psyche of man
incontrast with tha t of animais. If in animals two forms of
experi-ence play a decisive role, generic, fixed in the inherited
nervousorganization of separate individuais, and individual,
acquired viathe path of adaptation of inhorn ahili ties to the
present environ-mental conditions, then in human development the
dominant roleis assumed hy a third form of experienc, completely
lacking inanimais. This experience, called socia liza tion, is
fixed in the prod-ucts of material and nonmaterial culture created
hy humanityand acquired individually duri~g childhood. .
Vygotsky was the first Soviet:psychologist to introduce
proposi-tions concerning the leading role of training in the
psychic devel-opment of the child. His theoretical and experimental
investiga-tions reveal that the social izat ion process not only
enriches theknowledge and skills of the child; it precipitates
essential changesin various psychic processes and engenders a
genuine developmentof the child's psyche as well.
Furthermore, numerous investigations in psychology
(Zaporo-zhets, Kostyuk, Leontiev, Elkonin, etc.) and in
pedagogy(Usova, Leushina, Sakulina, Flyorina, and others) of
preschoolchildren confirmed this proposition and thus extended its
applica-tion to areas of psychic development previously considered
nat-uralistic, i.e., moving along the path of the adaptation of
anindividual's hiological abilities to existing environmental
condi-tions. Studies of this kind led, for example, to a
clarification ofthe decisive role of the mastery of social
experience in the devel-opment of sensory processes and in the
formation of a child'smotor activity.
xix Fore w o rd
Clarification of specific aspects of the special type of the
child'spsychic development permits one to approach an old prohlem
ofpsychology and pedagogy in a new way: the prohlem of the roleof
inheritance and environment in the formation of human iden-tity. It
is useless to argue, as has heen done in the past, which ofthese is
more important. The presence of specific natural predis-positions
in the form of hereditarily fixed features of the humannervous
system, as well as their normal process of maturation inontogeny,
is an indispensahle condition for the full psychic devel-opment of
the child. One must be horn with a human hrain inorder to hecome a
man. Investigations which attempted to trainin a humanlike fashion
offspring of the highest organized ani-mals-anthropoid monkeys
(Ladygina-Kots, D. and K. Kellog, andothers)-produced negative
results and convincingly demonstratedtha t without the presence of
corresponding natural predisposi-tions the formation of human
personality is impossihle. ln addi-tion, data of neurological and
defectological clinics indicate thatsuhstantial defects of a
child's nervous system or disturhances inits maturation duc to
illness lead to more or less essential inadc-quacies of the
psyche.
Finally, recent investigations of general and partial
typologicalattrihutes of the human nervous system (Teplov, Leytes,
andMedin) permit one to assume that individual differences in
innatedispositions create different opportunities for development
anddetermine various paths for the attainment of similar
results.Thus, the presence of certain natural predispositions is
not just
merely important, but an ahsolutely indispensable condition
inthe ontogeny of the human psyche. However, these predisposi-tions
are not at ali the motivational cause of the psychic develop-ment
of the child.
In contrast to animal offspring, maturation of the child's
ner-vous system is not in a position in and of itself to contribute
tothe development of any kind of species-specific form of
activity,either practical or theoretical. This maturation merely
providescertain opportunities for that development which might be
real-
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xx Foreword
ized only in the presence of a definite social environment
andtraining. 0nly through the acquisi tion of social musical
culturecan man's musical ahili ties develop, just as mastery of the
knowl-edge and the ways of thinking accumulated hy soc iety may
insurethe development of man 's intellect. Along wi th changes in
ourideas concerning the role of predisposit ions in the psychic
deve\-opment of the child, the role of the envi ronment in thi s
processcomes to he examined in a different l ight.If for animal
offspring environment i s only the sum of conditions
to which it has to adjust, then for the child his specific
social envi-ronment is not mere ly an external conditon, hut a
source ofdevelopment. This environment contains the centuries-old
experi-ences of mankind, defined in terms of tools of lahor, means
ofcommunication, etc., which the child must mas ter in order
tohecome a man, i.e., a full -fledged participant in social
achieve-ments and social deve lopment. Mastery of thi s social
experience isan unusua lly complex proces~ and cannot he ohtained
through apassive approach, an approacfi of mere contemplation of
thesurrounding reality.
Theoretical and experimental investigations of Soviet
psycholo-gists (Vygotsky, Leontiev, and Ruhinshtein) have shown
thatpsychic development takes place in the process of activity and
isdependent on the conditions and character of such activity.At
each quali tative\y distinct level of deve\opment a dominant
role is assumed hy a specific type of leading act ivity, which
deter-mines the forms of mastery and to a large extent the
characterand extent of the acquired contento Such leading types of
activi tyat an early age are ohject manipula tions; for
preschool-age chil-dren, games; and for school-age children,
Iearning combined withvarious types of partic ipation in mutalIy
useful tasks.The ongoing activities are not exclusive to a part
icular levei of
development, hut rathercomprise a dominant nuc\eus of theentire
system of activi ties, on which depend the formation andmode of
executing these activit ies a t a given age. Thus, a pre-schooler
not only plays, hut learns andalso takes part in simpler
x xi F or eword
forms of tasks. The character of these activities must therefore
betaken into account when studying psychic development in thechild.
The study of orienting activi ty was of great importance ingaining
an understanding of the dependence of psychic processes,and in
partcognitive processes, upon the character of a child'sactivity,
(Galperin, Zaporozhets, and others). The fact is thatcognitive
processes do not form and develop by themselves, but asindividual
expIoratory acts comprising an indispensahle organicpart of an
integral activity of the child (practical, playful, etc.),and
fuIfil ling in it orienting and regulating functions.In connection
with the rea liza tion of activities differing in con-
tent and structure, the child is confronted with various
cognitivetasks which require different methods for their solution,
methodsdiffering in the nature of their orienting and cognit ive
actions.Thus, a shift from ohject manipuIation, characteristic of
an earlierage, to games with a pIot and productive activities of
preschoolchildhood demands a hasic restructuring of the orienting
aspectof activity, since here it is necessary to take into account
not onlythe directly perceived hut also the imaginary surroundings
and tocontroI one's actions not onIy by the prevailing conditions
but bysome known manner or principie. In other words, those
changesin perception, memory, thinking, etc., which are observed,
forexampIe, during the shif t from infancy to preschool
age,cannotbe understood without taking into account more general
changesin the c i aracter of the mutual relationship of the child
to thesurrounding reali ty as well as the content and st ruc ture
of on-going activi ty occurring at a given
developmentallevel.Although the second half of this monograph
contains aspecial
examinat ion of the psychological problems of a child 's play,
hislearning, and his performing, a constant attempt has been ma det
luoughout thi s work to single out the dependence of these andother
cognitive processes upon the general character of the child'sactivi
ty and upon that orient ing function which these
processesfulfill.
The scope of this presentation has been to encompass the
entire
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xx Foreword
period of ch ildhood from birth to seven years. However,
becausethe psychological investigation of early age until recently
hasheen less scrut inized than that of preschool age , this task
has heenonly parti al ly rea lized and not to the degree desired ,
In somechapte rs (e.g., those conceming motor ac tivity and the
develop-ment of sensa tion and percept ion) material conceming
early age
is more suhstantial ; in other chap ters (e .g., those on
thinking andmemory) material is hrief and sometimes sketchy.
While attributing considerable importance to age-specific
mor-phological changes and the process of matura tion of
nervousmechanisms needed for the ontogenet ic' deve lopnent of
thepsyche , the authors have heen unahle to elucida te this quest
ionthoroughly due to lack of ava ilahle informat ion. As a result o
finvestigations by Soviet authors, the rriat ter conceming the
studyof the ontogeny of h igher nervous act ivi ty comprising the
physio-log ica l bases of the psychic deve lopment of a ch ild has
been moreadequa te ly t reated. The examina tion of data ohta ined
from these
investigations, ra ther than hiing confined to a single chapter,
hasheen included whenever i t seemed appropriate in conjunctionwith
analyzing mechanisms of concrete psychic processes in chil-dren of
different preschool ages.In conc lusion, the authors well recognize
shortcomings of thei r
work . While the hook was in preparat ion, the demands of
psycho-logical science grew constantly, and as a result studies in
psychol-ogy and related fields expanded greatly. Whereas this book
largelyreflects that which has already been attained in child
psychology,new research is needed in order to fulf ill these
increasing demandscompletely and to hecome fully acquainted with
complementaryachievements of scientific thought. Nevertheless,
puhlication ofthi s monograph is indispensable, hecause in order to
advance inthe area of pedagogical and psychological investigations
of pre-school chi ldhood a suffic iently systemat ic and general
account ofpreviously conducted work isneeded.
A numher of co-workers of the Lahoratory of Psychology
ofPreschool Children, Inst itute ofPsychology, APN RSFSR, took
xxiii Foreword
part in the prepara tion of thi s book. Separa te chapters have
beenwritten by the following authors: Chapter l- Development
ofSensation and Perception -T. V. Yendovitskaya, V. P. Zin-chenko,
and A. G. Ruzskaya; Chapte r 2- Development of Atten-tion -and
Chapter 3- Development of Memory - T. V.Yendovitskaya; Chapter 4-
Development of Speech-D. B.
Elkonin; Chapte r 5- Development of Thinking -A. V.
Zaporo-zhets, V. P. Zinchenko, and D. B. Elkonin; Chapter 6-
Develop-ment of Imagination - T. A. Repina; Chapter 7-
Developmentof Movements and Formation of Motor Habits -M. L Lisina
andYa. Z. Neverovich. The last chapte r se rves as the connec ting
l inkbetween the fi rst and second part s of our monograph, since
in thesecond hal f prohlems of the development of voli tional and
erno-tional processes of preschool-age children are examined.
A. V. Zaporozhets and D. B. Elkonin
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r~
L Development of Sensation and Perception
During the early years of a childs lifc perceplion processes
passthrough a complex developmental path that encompasses
variousaspects of the processes. The emerging operational side of
theperceptive processes undergoes a refinement, and the means
ofgetting acquainted with the surrounding environment become
more adequate with respect to the tasks confronting the child.
Acorresponding development occurs in the active side as the
child'sperceptive images become more orthoscopic and more ably
re-flect the surrounding reality. A motivational sphere also
develops,in which perceptive processes acquire purposeful
characteristics.The rapidly growing number of studies on sensory
learning anddevelopment support this view of perceptual
development. Thisposition differs from that expressed by adherents
of the Gestalttheory and some other theories which assume that the
main struc-tural aspects of perception are presen t in the child at
bir th. Curorently, the debate between these con tradictory posi
tions on thc
understanding of perception is not as in tense as it had been
dur-ing earlier arguments between nativists and empiricists. The
ques-tion of what kinds of perceptual operations are inborn , not
need-ing learning, and which ones are a result of sensory learning
isvery important, especially when one considers that the
child'ssensory development is accomplished under conditions of
theorganism's ongoing physiological maturation.
ln embryology and embryomorphology divergent views existabout
the ontogenetic process in the prefunctional or prenatalperiod.
This difference of opinion is analogous for psychology tothe
traditional opposing views betwcen nativism and empiricism.
The essence of this disagreement has recently been summarizedby
Arshavsky (4).
According to the views of one group of
embryo-physiologists,preliminary construction of a machine occurs
in the earlystages of ontogenesis. From the moment of inception
theemerging functions have no adap tive significance for the
develop-
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2 D eve lopm ent of Sen sation and P e rc eption
ing organism during the entire embryonic and fetal periods,
butrepresent either the expression of genes or preadaptive foresigh
t,i.e., some exercise of those functions that will become useful
tothe organism only after birth (Barcroft, 6, and others).
Theseideas are being expanded by Anokhin and his co-workers,
Accord-ing to Anokhin (2), the essential biological significance of
the
embryonic period is that i t provides for that critical moment
inthe newborn 's life when for the first time he encounters
theenormous conglomeration of outside Iactors which comprise
thespecific conditions of his existence.A second point ofview,
developed by Arshavsky, is based not on
preadaptation but on adaptation of structural functions
organizedin the prenatal period. This viewpoin t may be used to
explain theanatomical, physiological, and ernbrylogical facts about
the ir-regular development of various analyzers in the ontogeny of
manoSkin receptors in man, e.g., Meissners and pacinian
corpuscles,proprioceptors of skeletal T?uscles and the vestibular
apparatus,
take shape during the intraterine period (Obelin, Puzik,
andothers). According to Arshavsky, this is necessary in order to
in-sure a permanent postural tonus which is species-specific.
Withskin receptor stimulation the reflexory tonic contraction
ofskeletal muscles in turn becomes a stimulus for muscular
pro-prioceptors, whose excitation reinforces the
species-specificposture. Arshavsky also considers the early
morphological forma-tion of the sucking apparatus as a form of
adaptation to pre-natal environmental conditions and not as a form
of preparationfor that function, which will become useful to the
organism onlyafter birth. He discovered that after the formation of
the
musculature of the mouth and the respiratory system the
fetusbegins to process pericarpial waters with the help of sucking
andbreathing movements, thus fulfilling an omnitrophic form
ofnutrition. This discovery enables one to understand the
investiga-tions of Ignatyeva, who discovered a more intense growth
ofnerve tracts innervating muscles of the mouth and the tongue.
3 D eve lopm en t o f Sensat ion and P e rc eption
In connection with the formation of optical and acoustical
re-ceptors during the prenatal period, Arshavsky, referring to
thework of Benua and Markelov, states thal during this period
thesereceptors fulfill a trophic function in relation to the nerve
centersuntil they begin to fulfill their specific visual and
auditory func-tions. These specific functions are still absen t in
newborn
children; they are capable of responding to auditory and
visualstimulation by a change in the rate of breathing and hearl
bealand by a generalized motor reaction, and to visual stirnulation
bya defensive visual reaction. Furthermore, desynchronization
ofelectrical activity of the cerebral cortex which occurs in
responseto auditory and visual stimulation, typical for adults, is
absenl inthe newborn. Desynchronization of electrical activity of
the cor-tex occurs in response to the stimulation of the hunger
center andto the execution of sucking movements.Arshavskys findings
concur with results showing a much earlier
formation during the prenatal period of cortical cells in the
cor-
responding nuclei of the motor analyzer, as compared with
thedevelopment of cortical cells in the optical and
acousticalanalyzers (Kukuyev, Minayeva, Preobrazhenskaya).
From Arshavsky 's line of reasoning, a valuable general
proposi-tion applicable not only to embryogenesis but also to
psychologi-cal development emerges. One cannot utilize the cri
teria charac-teristic of an adult organism to determine the
morphologicalmaturity of a structure. Aside from essential
differences, thevarious functions as well as the corresponding
structures aremature at each stage only to the extent to which they
provide acorresponding form of adaptation to those specific
environmen tal
conditions with which the organism interacts in each
devclop-mental period.Polyakov's (60) findings concerning the
development of separate
areas of the cerebral cortex connected with the activity of
in-dividual analyzers are of interest from this point of view.
Theareas of the cortex that are connected with the nuclear zones
of
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4 Development of Sensation and Perception
the analyzers mature earlier than the other areas. For instance
thefrontal, the lower parietal, and the
temporal-parietal-occipitalsuhareas, which are involved in a
complex interaction of theanalyzers, develop in the adult brain
much later.Polyakov presents evidence proving that the organism
comes
into the world with a structural analyzer that has attained a
cer-
tain degree of maturity for the interaction between cort ical
andsubcortical formations, by means of which cortical regulat ion
ofthe posi tioning of analyzers with respect to the activity
ofstimuliis attained .. . (60; p. 8).
Only toward the beginning of the second year of life does
thesystem of project ive-associative connections attain a relat ive
de-gree of maturat ion. The latest to develop and mature is the
sys-tem of associa t ive cortical connectioris. Polyakov assumes
thatthe lat ter are involved in the..highest and most complex forms
ofcortical analysis and synthesis and in functional
connectionsamong the analyzers, which are formed during the initi
al years of
life (60; pp. 12, 13). WithoLt cit ing addit ional data
concerningembryogenesis of analyzers, let us mere ly note the
complexity ofthe problem of maturat ion and development.At the
present time, no systematic data exist concerning the
interrelation, in the formation of cortical endings of
analyzers, oftracts and the leveI of the receptors' specialization
at any givendevelopmental period with the means of perceiving a
given set ofcharacteristics of the environment. Ascertainment of
these inter-relations represents a very important problem for the
psychologyand the physiology of childhood.
Sensory Development in Early Childhood
Activi ty of Receptive Systems in the NewbornVisual reception.
The visual apparatus of the newbom, as can bedetermined by a chain
of reactions produced in the newborn bylight st irnuli, begins to
function at birth. Some investigators pointout that at birth the
characteristic response to a light stimulus is a
5 Sensory Development in Early Childhood
change in the general motor activity of a child (lrwin and
Weiss,35; Weiss, 85; Irwin, 34, and others). They indicate that
thecharacter of changes in the motor activi ty-its increase or
de-crease-depends, on the one hand, on the intensity and the
dura-tion of the light stimulus and, on the other hand, on the
cornposi-tion of visual receptors (light-adapted or dark-adapted
eye). There
is evidence concerning the appearance in lhe newborn of
thevisual-pupillary reflex upon sudden exposure to light
ofsufficientbrightness or following drastic change in general
illumination.Observations of the newborn show a movement of the
eyes andhead toward the source of light as well as a continuous
movementof the eyes in response to a moving l ightstimulus. These
move-ments appear after one to two weeks of life. Pursuing
movementsof the eyes in relation to an object moving in a vertical
sphereappear later than the visual pursuit of a l ight stimulus
movingacross a horizontal plane.As the stimulus in his experiment
Chase (15) used the move-
ment of acolored spot of light on acolored background of
adifferent shade but of the same brightness as the moving spot.
Heconsidered pursuing movements of the eyes as an indicator of
thepresence of color vision in the newborn. He observed
pursuingmovements of the eyes in response to colored dots in
fifteen-day-old infants. At the same time, an absence of pursuing
movements isreported where colorless dots are presented moving on
acolorlessbackground of a different brightness.Aside from the
presence of a whole series of visua l reactions to
outside st imulation, the visual apparatus of the newborn does
notyet possess the mechanism that would provide for the ability
todistinguish between spa tial relations of objects. In the
newbornthe coordinating mechanism is not yet formed;
consequently,sustained visual fixation is absent. According to Ling
(46), neitherconvergent nor binocular fixation takes place in the
neonatalperiod. Attendant divergence and compensatory coordinated
eyemovements were registered by Ling (on film) on the thirty-second
day after birth.
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6 Development of Sensation and Perception
uditory reception. Numerous investigators point out that
thefollowing reactions of a newborn infant give evidence of a
sensi-t ivi ty to sound: changes in genera l motor ac tivity,
wrinkling ofthe forehead, movement of the eyelids, tremors,
changfts ofrhythm and rate of breathing, turning of the eyes and
head to thesource of sound, and inhibi tion of sucking responses
(Denisovaand Figurin, 20; Bronshtein and Petrova, 12; Prat t, 61).
Theappearance of a reac tion and the degree of it s expression
dependprimarily upon the intensity of the auditory st imulus. For
ex-ample, Figurin and Denisova point ou t tha t only intense audi
toryst imuli evoke in the newborn child corresponding reac tions in
theform of blinking and tremors of the entire body. Stubbs
(76)regula ted the intensity of sound and registe red the number
ofcorresponding react ions. He discovered tha t the number of
reac-tions in the newborn grows ~ith increasing loudness of the
sound.The loudest sounds (85, 70, 50, and 30 sensory unit s of
intensi ty)produced the grea test motor act ivi ty ;i,e., the
greatest number of
eyelid closures and breathir% movements. Stubbs presented
thenewborn with sounds of four frequencies: 128,256, 1024, and4096,
holding intensity constant wi th a duration of tenseconds.The
recorded movements of his subjec ts showed no diffe rence inthe
nature of responses to sounds of diffe rent frequenc ies. How-ever,
the lowest frequency sound evoked responses in asmalIernumber of
cases than did the highest frequency sound.A study of activity of
the newborn 's auditory analyzer has re-
cently been conducted by Soviet sc ien tist s (Bronshte in
andPetrova , 12; Bronshte in, 13; Bronshtein, Petrova, Bruskina,
andKamenetskaya*). In their invest iga tion they used the delay
(in-
hibi tion) of the sucking responses following the
unconditionedorienting reaction to the auditory stimulus as an
indicator ofauditory sensitivity. They recorded the exact nature of
the soundstimul i and the corresponding reactions. They discovered
that aninfant in the first days of life not only reacts to sounds
of a tonal
*Th e complete referenc e wa s not provided in th e original
.
7 Sensory Development in Early Childhood
and nontonal nature, but also is able to differentiate them
accord-ing to pitch and timbre. The investigators relied on the
followingfact to account for the presence of this differential
sensitivity.After the infant's orienting reac tion to thesound
stimulus hadextinguished, the application of asound stimulus
differing fromthe initial one in pi tch or t imbre again aroused
lhe orienting reac-tion-the inhibit ion ofsucking movements.
The /imits of differential auditorysensitivity were not estab-l
ished in this study; however, data indicating tha t the
newborncould dist ingu ish sounds separated by one octave (660 and
330Hz) were presented. Findings pertaining to the development
ofconditioned reflexes to sound st imuli in very early stages of
thenewborn's l ife are contradic tory. According to Kasatkin
andLevikova (39, 45), a tt empts to produce condit ioned reflexes
tosound stimu/i in the newborn do not lead to successful results.
Onthe other hand, some authors point ou t tha t condit ioned ref
lexesto sound stimuli can be obtained during the first ten days of
life,e.g., appearance of sucking movements and inhibit ion of
generalmotor activity (Marquis, 48); inhibit ion of sucking
responses(Bronshtein and Petrova, 12).Tactual sensi tivi ty.
Tactual sensit ivity is highly developed in thenewborn. According
to Carmichael (14), tactual sensi tivi ty is theearl iest form of
sensitivi ty phylogenetically as well as ontogeneti-cally. It
emerges during the prenatal period in the are a of themouth-nose
cavity and spreads throughout the entire surface ofthe body in the
early postnatal period.
ln the first few days of l ife, a touch on the infant's cheek
evokesexploratory responses-opening of the mouth, wrinkling of
the
lips, and sucking movements (Denisova and Figurin, 20 ,
andothers). Denisova and Figurin refer to this type of reaction
asorienting-nutritive. It is possible to elicit a palmar reflex in
thefirst period of postnatallife, through stimulation of the skin
ofthe palmo Figurin and Denisova also observed in the newborn
areflex opposite to the palmar-a straightening of the fingers
inresponse to stimulation on the back of the hand and fingers.
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8 Development of Sensat ion and P ercep tion
OIfactory sensitivity. The majority of investigators
concernedwith early childhood hold that olfactory sensitivity in
the new-bom is either absent or minimal.Taste sensitivity. Using
mimic and sucking reactions to tastestimuli as an indicator of
taste sensitivity, some authors (Pratt,Nelson, and Sun, 62;
Stirnimann, 73; and others) indicate thatthe newborn distinguishes
the taste qualities of sweet, sour, andsalty.Temperature
sensitivity. A number of investigators cite indis-putable studies
showing the infant's sensit ivity to changes intemperature (prat t,
Nelson, and Sun, 62; Stirnimann, 74, andothers). These
investigators, using cold and warm stimuli appliedto various parts
of the body, obtained clearly expressed re-sponses: withdrawal of
the body from-the stimuli, tremors of theentire body, and
vegetative reactions, i.e., respiratory and vaso.motor
reactions.Development of the Sensor~ Sphere during the First Year
of Life
More or less systematic dat~oncerning the development ofanalyzer
activity during the entire first year of li fe are presentedin a
study by Denisova and Figurin (21), dealing with charac-teristics
of the developmental stages of children from birth to oneyear. The
remaining investigations present ideas pertaining onlyto isolated
aspects of the development of the sensory apparatusand relating
usually to only one of the stages of a given period inthe child's
development. Therefore, discussion here of the generalsensory
development during the first year of life shall be basedprincipally
upon the data of Figurin and Denisova. The develop-menta l periods
formulated by these authors are as follows: first
period-from birth to the end of the first month; second
period-from the beginning of the second month to the third month;
thirdperiod-from three to six months; fourth period-from six
totwelve months.First period (from birth to the end of the first
month). From thefirst days of life the child exhibits a number of
defensive andorienting visual reactions: the pupil lary reflex,
partial closing of
9 Sensory Deve lopment in Ear ly Ch il dh ood
the eyes upon exposure to bright light, tuming of the eyes
andhead toward the light and to an object vibrating at the
peripheryof the visual field, steplike visual pursuit, and the
turning of thehead in ih e direction of a slowly moving object.
During the first month of life new visual reactions
appear.Usually in the second-third week uncoordinated movernenls
01the eyeballs in response to optical stimulation disappear
anclconvergence appears. Initially convergence is produced only
withdifficulty, i.e., only with the use of shining objects;
convergenceceases at a distance of approximately 10 cm from the
infantseyes. The reaction improves rapidly.
Immediately following the start of convergence in the
third-ourth week of the first month, visual fixation or sustained
at-tention to anobject appears. In addition to the prcviously
rnen-tioned visual pursuit and convergence, which coincide with
sirnul-taneous inhibition of general motor activity, fixation upon
animmovable object can now be observed.
Initially, in order to evoke visual fixation it is necessary to
catchthe infant's eye; the length of such fixation is only about
fiveseconds. Subsequently, the length of visual f ixation
increasesrapidly; during the second month of life, the infant can
fixate onan object for several minutes.During the first month of
lie, the distance from which an infant
can observe rnoving objects increases. Whereas pursuing eyc
move-ments occur in relation to a moving object located 20-30 em
fromthe infants eyes at bir th, by the end of the first month of
lifethe infant can keep an eye on a moving object at a distance
of1-1.5 m.
Little data concerning the development of the auditory
analyzerduring the first month are available. Figurin and Denisova
notethat approximately in the second-third week of the first month
anew reaction to a relatively strong auditory stimulus appears.
Thisreaction-in contrast to reactions already presenl at birth such
as
* Th e u se of h yph ens in a ge d es ignati on h as bee n r e
ta in ed fr o m th e o ri gi -nal. lt s m eanin g s h ould b e int
e rpr e ted in t errn s of th e co nt ex to
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10 Development of Sensation and Percept ion
t rembling, closing of the eyelids, etc.-is expressed in terms
of in-hibit ion of general motor activity. Drawing an ana logy to
visualfixation, they cal l this reaction auditory fixation. Short
ly afterthis occurs, during the third-fourth week, auditory
fixation canbe obtained, not only in response to a relatively loud
noise, butalso to verbal expression by an adult. In contrast to
these find-ings, Bronshtein and Petrova (12) present data
indicating that in-hibition of motor activity in the form of
sucking movements inresponse to auditory stimulat ion occurs during
the first nine daysof li fe. This reaction occurs in the absence of
general motoractivity.
According to Figurin and Denisova, the appearance of visua l
andaudi tory fixation during the fi rst month of li fe is of crit
ical im-portance for the further development of the ana lyz ing
activityand of the behavior of the child as well . They point out
its b iolog i-cal significance in relation to the child's
adaptation to new visualand auditory stimuli encountered durng the
shift from intra-uterine to extrauterine exist~t'J.ce.Biologically
theessence of fixa-tion, evoked by distance receptors, i s tha t i
t provides the bestcondit ions for the act ivity of these recep
tors by inhibiting al Iother activities.Second period (from one to
three months). In the second-thirdmonth visual reception begins
toplay the leading role in the child'sdevelopment. According to
Bekhterev and Shchelovanov (7),beginning in the second month the
speed of visual reac tion toa given stimulus increases; inhibit ion
of other reactions is alsoaccelerated and the length of visual
fixation is gradually extendedup to ten minutes. Approximately in
the same period visual fixa-
tion appears, not only in situations involving direct visual
stimula-tion, but also spontaneously. The beginning of the
spontaneousvisual fixation is observed in terms of independent eye
move-ments in the direction of some object.
Furthermore, beginning with the second half of the thirdmonth,
visual fixation time constantly increases and becomes
thepredominant component of the child's behavior. At the same
11 Sensory Development in Ear ly Chi ldhood
time, one observes visual searching evoked by another
receptivesystem-turning of the head and eyes toward the sound of
objectsnot in the field of vision.
Rosenhart-Pupko asserts simply that the third month of life
isthe main period of development of visual perception during
thefirst year of life, for during this time active perception
appears: The infant begins to look in order to see an adult,
thereafter amoving toy in the hands of an adult and, finally, a
fixed toy, towhich an adult tries to attract the child's attention
(66; p. 22).
Stimul i pertaining to other receptive systems-auditory
andtactile-arouse visual reactions in the three-month-old infant.
Inresponse to the sound of the human voice, children of this
ageimmediately turn their heads and visually search for the
personspeaking; if they accidentally touch asuspended toy with
theirhands, they immediately look at it. During this period visual
pcr-ception is the main medium forgetting acquainted with the
sur-rounding world and is tightly linked to the emotional sphere
of
the child.During the third month of life, as noted by
Rosenhart-Pupko, achild interacts with an adult primarily th rough
visual perception.Figurin and Denisova also note the prevalence of
visual percep-tion, pointing out that during this period the child
is alwaysvisually exploring something and tha t the length of
fixation is7-10 minutes. According to their data, the visual
pursuit reactionis formed in the first to third month. During the
second monththe child observes a moving object at a distance of 2-3
m, duringthe third month at a distance of 4-7 m. There also appears
thevisual pursuit of objects being variously displaced in the
visual
field, e.g., in l ine with a semicircle, in contrast to the
previousperiod during which the child could follow an object moving
onlyin one plane-from right to left or from top to bottom.
During the same period, conditioned-reflexive blinking beginsand
is readily observable whenever an object on which the childhas
fixated is quickly moved toward the child. Subsequent to
thisreaction, even a small movement (2-3 cm) of an object in
the
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direc tion of the child's eyes i ssufficient to evoke bl inking.
Insome cases the blinking reaction is evoked by sudden
withdrawalor, in general, sudden movement of the object.As evidence
of substantial progress in the are a of auditory per-
ception during this period, Figurin and Denisova point
totheappearance of the localization of sound in space. This is
expressed
initially by moving the head from one side to the other toward
asound presented latera lly, then by rai sing the head toward
asound above the head. The authors emphasize that the shi fting
ofthe head toward the source of sound-it s localizat ion in
space-results from training.
With regard to skinsensitivity, this period is characterized
bythe appearance of localized skin reactions. Judgments of
stimuluslocalization can be made on the basis f hand movement
towardthe stimulated part and rubbing of tha t partoInitial
indicators of localized reaction=movernent of the hand
toward the part being st imula ted=can be observed as earlyas
the
end of the fi rst month. But focalized reactions in their
perfectedform, which includes rubbing, do not appear until the
second-thi rd month of li fe. These reac tions begin first at the
eyelids andlater at the nose.
During the third month of life intersensory connections,
i.e.,connections between orienting reactions emerging in the
variousreceptive systems, begin to formo This is indicated by the
appear-ance of an orienting sensory react ion in connec tion with a
stimu-lus directed toward another receptor, as for example in the
turn-ing of the eyes and head upon activation of an auditory or
atactual receptor. The appearance of intermodal reactions alongwith
facts concerning the production of conditioned reflexes, tobe cited
be low, indicates the relative functional maturity of corti-cal
divisions of analyzing systems.
The feeding behavior of the child assembles an interesting
arrayof facts. Observations show that the nutritive
orienting-explora-tory reactions (turning of the head from side to
side, distortionsof the l ips, and opening of the mouth) in an
infantof two-three
12 Developrnent of Sensation and Perception
I
1
l
13 Sensory Developrnent in Early Childhood
months of age begin to be evoked not only by internal
organicstimuli , as they are during the first month of life, but
also byexternal stimuli, in part by stimuli directed to the visual
receptors.Apparently this indicates on the one hand development of
recep-tive reactions and, on the other, the appearance of
intersensoryconnections.
The fact that it is possible to produce conditioned reflexes in
alireceptors from the second month on is evidence of the prtsenceof
orienting reactions in ali sensory organs and the
functionalreadiness of the cortical component of analytic systems a
t thisperiod.That conditioned reflexes can be produced during the
second
month with auditory and visual stimuli on the basis of nutri t
iveand defensive unconditioned reflcxes has been shown byDenisova
and Figurin (21), Levikova (45), Kasatkin (39), andShriftzett ser
(70).Investigations by Nemanova (55, 56,57) indicate that
during
the second month it is possible to produce relatively stable
condi-tioned reflexes with olfac tory and taste stimuli. Such
reflexes canalso be produced by stimulation of the vest ibular
apparatus.Available datashow that in the second-third month it is
possible
to produce, through the method ofconditioned reflexes
involvingnutri tive and defensive unconditioned reflexes, gross and
rei a-tively unstable differentiations between external
stimuli.
Kasatkin (39) obtained relatively unstable
differentiationbetween a green light and a contrasting yellow (or
red) one with afew children in their third month of life. He
obtained gross dif-ferentiation between two qual ita tively
different auditory stimuli(sound of a bell and sound of an organ
pipe) in three youngstersin their second to third month.
Kasatkin obtained a relatively stable differentiation betweentwo
tones, differing by almost an octave (eleven and one-halftones), in
three children in thei r third month. With continuedapplication of
the differentiated tone, however, there followed arapid drop in the
constancy of the positive conditioned reflex.
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14 Development of Sensation and Perception
Denisova and Figurin (22), on the basis O'fthe defensive
blinkingresponse, were able to produce in one child toward the end
of itsthird month a more refined (four tones), even though
unstable,differen tiation.
DifferentiatiO'ns O'fsmell, olfactory as well as trigeminal,
areespecially unstable in children during theirsecond-third months,
asindicated by the experiments of NemanO'va (56) and Kasatkin
(39).
Denisova and Figurin (22) demonstrated a relatively stable
dis-tinction of loca lization ofskin-tactual stimulation during
thissecond period. One youngster of two months and four days
gaveevidence of differentiat ion involving the tac tual ana lyzer
by dis-tinguishing between a pin prick on the chest and one on the
foot.
According toexperiments by Nemanova (57), it is possible
toassume that during the second half of the second month sometaste
differentiation mayemerge, and that during the third monththe child
is capable of distinguishing the basic taste qualities ofsweet, sa
lty, and sour. During the thi rd month, gross differentia-
rtions in vestibular stimulaj on, such as rocking from O'neplane
toanother (55), can be obtained. Even though the
differentiationsobtained during the first months of life are gross
and relativelyunstable, they indicate that even in the first stages
of postnatallife an initial analysis O'fac tivi ty in the external
environment ispossible. In other words, it indicates that
discrirninations betweenexternal influences are now capable of
regulat ing the behavior ofthe chi ld-of activat ing or inhibit ing
uncondit iona l reflexes, hird period (from three to six months).
This period is charac-terized by active development of the hand as
an organ of actionand cognition. During this period feeling
movements O'fthe hand
emerge. They are evident first in the feeling of one 's own
hands-i.e., holding one hand next to the other and moving one
handover the other-and subsequently in the feeling O'fan object
bymoving the hand over it. Thereafter it is possible to evoke
pro-longed holding of the hand near the object and movement of
thehand in pursui t of a withdrawing object. Later the
directionalpositioning of the hand toward avisible object appears.
These
15 Sen sory D evelopment in Early Childhood
developments are followed by visual exploration of hands
andobjects and by the retention of hands and objects in the field
ofvision with a relatively prolonged fixation O'fthe hands in
oneposition.
During the fifth-sixth month, according to Hosenhart-Pupko(66),
the child exhibits independent exploration for and rnani-pulat ion
ofobjects. That is, this activity occurs independent ofadult
participation. Children of this age hold a toy in their handsfor a
relatively long period of time, simultaneously turning andexamining
it. Sometimes they may shake it and listen to thesounds it
makes.
In children of this age there is an ongoing enlargement and
de-veloprnen t of interrnodal connections in the visual-kinesthetic
andvisual-tactual spheres. Reactions such as moving the hand
towarda visible object, simultaneously feeling and examining an
object,maintaining the hands in a given position and examining
them,hold ing a visible object, and maintaining the hand in
acertainposition while holding an object are also observed. Other
reac-tions, turning of the head toward the point of contact
andvisually fixating upon that point, are expressive of
visual-tactualconnections.Toward the end of this period, the
relationship between visual
perception and movements of the hand undergoes a change.Whereas
before touch evoked visual perception and seeminglyguided it, i.e.,
direct contact with an object evoked visual fixationand the eyes
continually followed the touching movements of thehand now , to the
contrary , visual perception evokes movementsof the hand toward an
adult or toward anobject and regulates the
duration of such movernents with respect to direction and
form.Denisova and Figurin 's data indicate fundamental prO'gress in
the
development of the kinesthetic sphere of the child during
thisperiod. This prO'gress manifests itself in two ways. It is
expressedby the occurrence of a prolonged tonic tension due to
stimulationof the child's eyes and skin, e.g., holding an object,
examining it,and feeling it , as noted above. It is expressed also
by the fact that
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during the period from three to six months differentiated
move-ments of the skele tal musculature emerge, indicating
differenti-ated innervation of the musc les. The first distinct
movement reac-tions are movements of the hand-feeling and grasping
..
During this period the skin analyzer undergoes further
develop-ment. Localized reactions on the forehead, ear, stomach,
andchest occur. In addition to the expansion of localized reactions
ofthe skin, some new types of reactions evoked from the skin
heginto appear in the form of grasping of the hands, diapers, and
toys,and of the turning of the head upon contact with visual f
ixationupon the point of contact . Furthermore, a distinct ly
originalform of the orienting-adjusting reaction emerges. Drawing
ananalogy from visua l and audi tory fixat ion, Denisova and
Figurincall this form of reaction tactual f ixation. I ts
distinctivenessarises from a child's tend ency , as the authors pu
t it, to freezetotally in response tostimulation on some portion of
his skininstead of reaching the hand toward the portion be ing
stimulated.
During the t ime of st imulat~n a ll movements stop; total
inhibi-t ion of motor activityensues, and the child seems to he
listeningto, or to he tuned in to, the ongoing stimulation. These
authorsreport that toward the sixth month of life the development
oftactual react ions essentially comes to an end. Thereafter, thc
de-velopment ofeach ana lyzer is directed toward perfect ing the
reac-tions with respect to speed, accuracy, and diffe
rentiation.
During this period, for the first time, recognition of
compoundand complex stimuli appears. During the fifth-sixth month
of life,the child hegins to recognize his mother and can
distinguish herfrom other people hy her external appearance.
Whenever the
child ishungry or disturhed, sight of the mother leads him
toturn, cry, etc. During the quiescent period, sight of the
mothermakes him more active-he hegins to hreathe deeply, smile,
mum-ble, and move around. The appearance of a strange face
oftenevokes negative emot ional reactions. Rosenhart-Pupko notes
thatin addition to heing ahle to distinguish people close to him
andespecially in heing ahle to distinguish his mother from
strangers,
16 Developmentof Sensation and Perception
17 Sensory Development in Early Childhood
children of five-six months recognize such situations as
feeding,preparation forsleeping, etc.The common improvement in
perceptual processes during this
stage of development depends upon the fact that external
actionshegin to acquire predominant significance in regulating the
child'shehavior: they give rise to and exert a cri tical influence
on itscourse. Movements and actions of the child hecome more
dif-ferentiated and more adapted to the conditions of the
surround-ing environment due to the fact that they hegin to be
regulatedand controlled not only proprioceptively, but also hy
means ofother sensory systems. Their formation and development
occurprimarily under the control of visual reception.
In comparison with the previous period, the possibility of
theproduction of relatively stable and refined differentiations
in-volving various receptors at this time indicates a higher levei
ofmaturi ty of the analytic systems.As the data of a lI
investigators working on the development of
differentiation inchildren during the first half of their first
yearindicate, relatively stable differentiation can be obtained
be-ginning with the fourth month of life. Kasatkin asserts that
amore stable differentiat ion of two quantitat ively different
lightstimuli is possible only during the fourth month of life (39;
p.179).Differentiations between audi tory st imuli also become
more
stahle. Using children in their fourth month, Nechayeva
(53)developed a relatively stable differentiation of asound,
differingfrom the basic positive sound hy seven teen tones.
Levikova andNevmyvako (45) ohtained, during the fifth month of
life, stable
differentiation between sounds differing by one octave.In
children of this age differentiations of external stimuli, de-
veloped through the unconditioned reflex, also become more
pre-cise. Kasatkin (39) obtained differentiation of sounds
differing byfive and one-half tones in children in the fourth month
and at thebeginning of the fifth month, and differentiation of
several smellsat the beginning of the fourth month; whereas during
the pre-
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18 Deve lopm ent of Se n sation and P erce ption
vious period, it was possible to obta in differentiation
betweenonly two kinds of smells.Fourth period (from six to twelve
months). The major innovationof this period consists of connection
of movements in a.se-quential order under the control of one or
another perceptualorgan, in the formation of motor systems.
Apparently this is
directly related to those fundamental gains that occur in
proprio-ception in the area of the motor analyzer, during the
second halfof the first year of life. During this period, complex
locomotormovements are formed indicating a high degree of
coordinationof separate muscle groups under the control of
proprioception.
This stage of development also witnesses the beginnings of
whatappear to be new forms of sensory responsiveness:
reproductionof a presented pattern, and modeling of external
influences. Thistype of responsiveness is first expressed in the
early form by thechild's imitation ofan adult's motor behavior.
Clapping hands inpatty-cake fashion and placing rings on a stem
under the direction
of an adult are typical of th~ type of responsiveness, as is
theimitation of an adult's voca l reaction.From our point ofview,
the new aspect here consists of external
influences evoking a specific reaction insuch situations, that
is,eliciting an attempt to reproduce the objective properties
orqualities of the external influence, e.g., a form of movement
orthe qualitative character of sound.
Imitation of hand movements, that is, reproduction of the
pat-tem of movement, can be observed at seven to nine months;
vocalimitation of individual syllables at the seventh month; and
repeti-tion of separate syllables ( da-da-da, ba-ba-ba, etc.) at
ninth-
tenth month. In general, according to Figurin and Denisova,
anyimitation up to the end of the first year is performed with
dif-ficulty and is quite imperfect. At the end of the first year
anabrupt change occurs after which copying behavior is
easilyevoked. The child then begins to imitate, more or less
precisely,diversely, and frequently without any special
arousal.
19 Se nsor y D ev elopm ent in Earl y C hildho od
Aside from reproducing the elements of the auditory
cornposi-tion of words, children in the second half of the first
year, ac-cording to these authors, make an attempt to imitate the
tonal orrhythmic character of an auditory pattem.
Rosenhart-Pupko also indicates that during the period from sixto
twelve months imitation occurs in the form of reproducingpatterns.
In the child of this age visual perception is constructedby
imitating the process of an adult's visual perception duringjoint
visual exploration. Then the child's eyes follow the move-ments of
the adult's eyes, which thus become a pattem for imita-tion. The
introduction of speech into this process during theninth-tenth
month serves first to direct the process and second toenlist the
process asan aid in developing an understanding ofspeech and verba
l instructions.
The experimental findings of Barbashova (5) substantiate thekey
role played by visual perception in the development of
theunderstanding of words in children toward the end of the
first
year of life. She experimentally explored the role of differen
tanalyzers in the orming of connections between an object and
itsverbal meaning. By combining the verbal definition with
thevisual, the auditory, and the tactile-kinesthetic methods of
pre-senting an object, she attempted to determine the number
oftrials needed to develop a conditioned-reflexive,
orientationalreaction to an object, as indicated by turning of the
head, theeyes, or the entire body. Results of the experiment showed
thatthe orienting reaction to an object in children o ten to
twelvemonths of age appears most readily under conditions when
theverbal definition is combined with visual presentation of
the
object (after five to ten trials); that it is somewhat more
difficultin combination with the auditory image of an object
(eleven tonineteen trials); and that it is most difficult with the
tactile-kinesthetic image (seventeen to twenty-eight trials).
Data concerning the development of conditioned reflexes
anddifferentiations in children in the second half of their first
year
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20 D evelopm ent of S ensation and P erce ption
are sparse. Nechayeva 's data (53) indicate that in
six-seven-month-old children it is possible to obtain fine
differentiations inpitch with an accuracy of about half a tone.
Using the forms of the cone, prism, sphere, and
cylinder,Denisova and Figurin (20) have shown that during the
eighthmonth it is possible to develop differentiation of formo
Similarly,working with thecolors green, red, yellow, and blue and
employ-ing the method of conditioned reflexes with food as the
rein-forcement, they observed at the same age an ability to
dif-ferentiate color. The authors noted certain peculiarities in
thedevelopment of this type of visual differentiation at that
age.First, one of the essential conditions for the development of
dif-ferentiation is the simultaneous presentation of the stimuli to
bedifferentiated. Second, visual differeniation obtained as a
resultof simultaneous impact of both alimentary and
nonalimentarystimuli is immediately disrupted upo~ presentation of
only oneobject. In this case, the alimentary reaction is observed
in relationto the alimentary stimulus s well as the nonalimentary
one and isaccompanied by a markedly shorter latency period than the
oneobserved with the presentation of both objects.
Denisova and Figurin recorded interesting observations with
re-spect to the process of visual distinction between two
simul-taneously presented objects. They noted that the decisive
factorin this development was the transfer of sigh t from one
object toanother and an alternating fixation uponeach object.
Volkelt's experiments (81) also indicate that differentiation
ofform is possible for the five- to twelve-month-old child.
Usingfood as reinforcement, Volkelt trained the child to
distinguish the
various forms of feeding bottles. As choices, the child was
pre-sented with four different forms of bottles-square,
triangular,oval, and violinlike. The bottles were quite similar in
ali other re-spects. Each bottle was topped with a nipple; however,
only oneof these nipples had a hole init. Consequently, the child
was ableto obtain milk only by selecting the bottle of a given
formo As a
21 Senso ry De velopm ent i n Ea rl y C hildh ood
result of this training, the child learned the various forms
pre-sented to him.
Recently, Walk and Gibson (83), relying on extremely
ingeniousmethodology, obtained data concerning visual depth
differentia-tion in children during the second half of their first
year (from sixand a half to fourteen months). With thirty-six
children they em-ployed the following designo Each child was placed
on a platformin the center of a table covered with thick glass.
Under the glassthere was colored linoleum. On one side of the child
the linoleumwas placed immediately under the glass; on the other
side it wasplaced four feet below the surface of the glass, direc
tly on thefloor. The mother of the child approached the table,
either fromone side or the other, and stood there for a period of
twominutes. She offered toys to the child and verbally
encouragedhim to come to her. Whenever the mother stood on the side
ofthe platform with the linoleum placed directly under the glass,
75percent of the infants crawled to her; the others remained in
thecenter of the table. ln those cases where the mother stood on
theside of the table with the colored surface directly on the
floor,only 8 percent of the children approached her, 62 percent
re-mained in place, and 30 percent crawled in the opposite
direc-tion. Walk and Gibson conclude that as soon as children are
cap-able of moving around, they begin to show visual perception 1
depth.As far as it is possible to determine on the basis of avai
able data
and assuming sufficient contact with a nurturing adult,
adjust-ment mechanisms and adaptational perceptual reactions of
alisensory systems develop during the first half of the first year
of
life. Under the category of adjusting reactions are included
visualfixation on an object, visual pursuit of a moving object,
auditoryfixation, localization of sound in space, etc., as well as
vegeta tivecomponents of orienting sensory reactions-vasomotor
andrespiratory reactions. Development of the elementary reactions
ofthe sensory apparati is a necessary preliminary stage in the
de-
22 De elop ment of Sensation and Perception 23 P h l d P h l
A
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velopment of the essentially psychological process of sensory
re-flec tion of the objective world, i.e., those sensory activities
on thebasis of which it is possible to construct asensory image
repro-ducing the objective characteristics of the external object
with alithe accompanying connections and relationships.During the
second half of the first year, on the hasis of a lready
formed elementary sensory reactions, essentially sensory
actions
consist ing of attempts to reproduce motor activity of the
externainfluence by imi tat ion of an adult's actions begin to be
formed.
Theories concerning the mechanisms of sensory reflectionformed
principal ly by Sechenov and deve lopedrecently by
Sovietpsychologists (Leontiev, 44, and others), as well as certain
ex-perimental investigations, present a basis for assuming that
theformation ofessentially sensory actions appears possible
onIyunder the condit ions of objective activity. These actions
emerge,in other words, only with direct, uninterrupted-for rather
pro-longed periods of time-mutual interaction of the sensory
organwi th the external object.
Analysis of the child's psychological development shows thatthe
object relationship becomes not only a necessary conditionfor the
formation of the mechanism for sensory action, but alsoone of the
decisive factors in the genesis of sensory activity. Thus,it is
only due to interaction with objects that the child developsthe
need to take into account objective signs and qualities and
toadjust his instrumental responses in terms of their
characteristics.As a result of this internalized ac tivity, cogni
tive sensory activityappears and is directed at familiarization
with objects. This pro-cess is expressed by a visual examination of
the object prior tothe instrumental act or by tactual explorat ion
interspersed withinstrumental activity. This sensory activity in
the presence of anexisting cognitive task may be transformed into
essentially per-ceptual rather than instrumental activity.
Data introduced in this chapter concerning development of
thechild's sensory sphere during the first stages of life refer to
that
22 Develop ment of Sensation and Perception 23 Pre-preschool and
Preschoo l Age
aspect of sensory feedback that is dcfined by Sechenov as a
reia-tionship on sensation - sensation. to movement and actions,and
the ability of tha t sensation to evoke biologically ex-pedient
reactions directly from the area of the sensory apparati aswell as
from the other types of organismic activity.The process of
formation and development of essentially per-
ceptual activity channeled into construction of the sensory
image
of the external objects, and the question of maintenance of
thesensory image in children during the early stages of
ontogenyhave not been investigated. Therefore, the data
illuminating thisimportant psychological aspect of the young
child's sensory de-velopment a re not discussed in this chapter.
These questions mustst ill be exposed to thorough experimental
analysis.
Developrnent of Sensation and Perception DuringPre-preschool and
Preschool AgePerceptual activity and its development in children of
pre-pre-school and preschool age have been explored generalIy from
twopoints of view. First, psycho-physiological methods helped
toestablish the sensi tivi ty levels of various sensory syslems and
tostudy the dynamics of the development of accuracy and precisionin
differentiating between individual properties and signs of
exter-nal objects during the preschool age. Second, experiments
wereconducted investigating separate aspects of perceptual activity
ingeneral . Anattempt was made to study the process of
sensoryfeedback of the surrounding reality with respect to
organization,duration, and in part, conditions of formation of the
sensoryimage and its maintenance.Visual SensitivityVisual acuity.
Foucault's (25) data presented in Table 1 indica tethat beginning
wi th la ter preschool age through fourteen-fifteenyears, visual
acuity increases steadily. To measure it Foucaultutilized
methodology ordinarily employed in medical practice.This
methodology relies on verbal report as the single criterion
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for determining whether or not the subject can distinguish
exter-nal stimuli. Yendovitskaya 's 86 ) study conceming the
develop-ment of visual acuity in preschool children showed that its
in-crease with age is also noted within the limits of preschool
child-hood. Measuring the maximal distance from which children
atvarious preschool ages were able to detect the break in
Landolt'sring-the diameter of the ring was 7 mm and the break was
1mm- Y endovi tskaya showed that fo r chi ldren from four to
fiveyears, the average distance was 2 m and 10 cm; for children
fromfive to six years of age, 2 m and 70 crn; and for children from
sixto seven years, 3 m. He also found that the visual distance
forchildren of various age groups increased whenever verbal
descrip-tion of the location of the break in Landolt's ring was not
re-quired. In other words, the visual dis tance for children of
variousage groups was greater whenjhe chi ld was required merely
toorient himself toward this break by some type of act ion.
Suchaction might involve, for example, pointing out in which of
anumber of similar boxes, di.tinguished only by the location ofthe
break on a picture of Landolt's r ing pasted on the boxes, apicture
was hidden.
This study also examined the relationship between visual
acuityand the conditions of activity. The data obtained indicate
thatvisual acuity among children of preschool age increases
under
Table 1VisualAeuity of Children
24 Development of Sensation and Pereeption
Age(years) MeanDistanee (em)
67
89
10
11 2
3
14 -15
299
326
35 35 5
36 0
375
4 4
44
475
25 Pre-presehooland Presehool Age
those conditions where success of determining the posi tion of
tliebreak in Landolt's ring becomes the decisive factor in the
fulfill-ment of the required activity. A comparison of the visual
distancedetcrmined by the regular method, i.e., by simply
presenting thechi ld with the task of identifying the break in the
Landolt ring,with the visual distance measured under the condition
of activeplay, showed that in the latter case the distance
increases forchildren of four to five years on an average of 17.2
percen t; forchildren of five to six years, 29 8 percent; and for
children of sixto seven years, 30.2 percent.Differentiation of
Coloro Aseries of experimental investigations byBrazhas (11), Arkin
(3), Istomina (36, 37), and Danyushevskaya(17, 19) explored
fineness and exactness of color differentiationin children. These
experiments made use essentially of two basicmethods to determine
sensitivity of color distinction. In the firstcase, children were
asked to interact with objects, taking theircolor into account
without naming the colors; in the second case,verbal definition of
the color was used, provided either by theexperimenter or by the
chi ld himself.
Brazhas used only children in the first half of preschool
child-hood (three to five years). In one case he asked the children
tomatch objects according to color by placing differently
coloredballs of wool into correspondingly colored boxes. In another
casehe asked the children to select an object among other
objects,merely by having someone name the color of the object. And
in athird case he asked them to name the color of the
presentedobject. The data obtained indicate that the first
method-match-ing objects according to color-enables children to
obtain rela-tively better results in color differentiation than is
possible in theother two methods. That is, children make
substantially fewermistakes in the first method than in the second
or third. Thethird method, requiring the children to identify the
color of apresented object, yielded the greatest number of
mistakes. Thetechnique of matching colors by direct comparison
yielded notonly the fewest errors, but the errors it did precipita
te were not
I
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26 Development of Sensation and PerceptionIF Pre-preschool and
Preschool Age,
as gross as those in the remaining two methods. In this series
of Iure, the children of pre-preschool age (two to three years)
solv~dtrials children tended to mix only those colors in c\ose
proximity\he problem most easily when the pictures corresponded to
basicto one another on the spectrum-yellow and orange, violet and
~alors, making in this case 40 to 50 percent mistakes.
Wheneverblue-in contrast with the other two series in which
children lhey were asked to match the intermediate colors the
percentagetended to mix colors quite distant from one another on
the spec-hf errors rose to 70-80 percent. Furthermore, children of
this agetrum. da not yet form a stable connection between the color
and its
Arkin and Istomina explored the dynamics of color distinction
name,even in the case of the basic colors.during the period of
preschool age. Both of these investigatians Istomina therefore
conc\uded that the ability to differentiateshow that accuracy of
color dis tinct ion increases with age. calor, either through
direct perception or by naming, improves
The experiments conducted by Arkin asked in one case that
ch~roughout the preschool period. Furthermore, beginning at thedren
fiU in the centers of large circ\es of different colors with smake
of five years, alI children perform errorless sorting and
group-circ\es corresponding in color to that of the large circ\es.
The rg of both basic and intermediate hues. With respect to the
basicsecond case utilized the method of naming; the children were
folors, a rather stable connect ion between the color and its
nameasked to state verbal ly the color of a given circ\e. The
results af 1ppears at the beginning of the fourth year. A fairly
stable con-the first series of experiments showed that the children
in the Inection between the intermediate hues and their names
appearsfirst half of preschool childh~od made mistakes in 24
percent afheginning at age five. Beginning with this age, in
grouping coloredthe cases; under conditions of the second series,
52 percent. Chil~ictures children take into account not only hue,
but also bright-dren in the second half of ~~eschool childhood
recorded an error1ness.rate of 5.5 percent for condition one and
30.5 percent for condi- Danyushevskaya showed that recognition of
reiative colort ion two. orightness also may occur with