Relevance. Cartoons carry the information about the world, human relations, norms of behavior and values to children, forming a kind of information "zone of the nearest development" of a child in the terminology of L.S. Vygotsky. In a situation of intercultural competition, it is important to understand what symbols, values, meanings, norms of behavior, perceived from domestic and foreign cartoons, can positively and/or negatively transform the process of socialization and development of the child's personality.

Objective. Research of specificity of perception of esthetic and moral characteristics of heroes of domestic and foreign animated films by children of preschool and primary school age. 

Methods. Focus group interview, expert survey, semantic differential.

Sample. 24 kids 4-5 years; 30 pupils of primary school 8-9 years. Kindergarten teachers and teachers of primary school, 10 females 36-50 years.

Results. Foreign cartoons in the perception of children surpass domestic in quality of performance, modernity and attractiveness of the behavioral patterns of the characters, but lose in depth of the topic revelation. For preschoolers, the main carriers of values are the main characters of cartoons. Categories: "mind", "force", “beauty”, "kindness", "danger", "justice" are leadingin assessments of behavior of characters. Children record social distance through the categories of "Senior – Junior" and "Big – Small". Younger pupils do not see the moral background of the behavior of the small character of “Tom and Jerry” cartoon.

Conclusion. The results show that children are able to distinguish cartoon characters by cognitive categories, aesthetic category and also by moral. The content of the information environment, in which children immersed today, can inhibit the development of communication abilities of children and their emotional intelligence.

The step-by-step formation theory methodological potential is discussed. The article covers some of the most important notions of A.N. Leontiev’s activity approach development history with special attention to the possibilities of their reviewing nowadays on the basis of P.Ya. Galperin’s theory statements. 

The article puts special emphasis on the necessity of giving a scientifically grounded definition to such a concept as «giftedness». By taking a retrospective look on the problem the author reveals reasons why the perception of giftedness as «intellect above average» is so widespread. Determining a unit of analysis of giftedness (i.e. ability to develop activity on one’s own initiative) and creating a method for its measurement («systematic observation») made it possible to realize F. galton’s concept of giftedness.

Behavioral genetic studies of development address two problems: age changes of heritability and environmental influences, and contribution of genetic and environmental influences to developmental change. Experimental studies of the sources of individual differences combine longitudinal design and behavioral genetic methods, demanding participation in the study of genetically related individuals. The results of the studies allow disentangling genetic and environmental influences on developmental trajectories, change, continuity and covariance of psychological features.

This article presents a research made in French Rail Transport Company about professional culture. It uses the Bakhtinian concept of genre to analyze the dynamic between individual activity and professional culture in a cultural-historical perspective. At the beginning of the article, theoretical bases and concepts of the research are represented, then by means of extracts from the protocols is illustrated the idea of the development of professional culture under the effect of the individual activity as well as the development of individual activity under the effect of the professional culture.