History of psychology

Background. The article is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945; it is devoted to the analysis of research conducted by Soviet scientists during the war years on the psychology of childhood. These studies contributed to both changes in the science of psychology itself and to the increase in trust in it in the society.

Objective. The article is focused on the task of showing with specific examples from the field of psychology (and partly pedagogy) of childhood, how the content of research has changed under the influence of the tasks of social practice.

Methods. The article uses theoretical methods of analyzing scientific literature on psychology and related disciplines. Additional reference to other sources — publications in newspapers, literary and artistic works, memoirs — allows us to talk about the interdisciplinary nature of the study. The scientific sources were materials from periodicals, which reflected data concerning the main areas of studying children by Soviet scientists in the period 1941–1945.

Results. The problems of studying the psychological characteristics of preschoolers and schoolchildren in the conditions of military life are outlined: psychologists reoriented themselves to studying the psyche and consciousness in the conditions of specific activities. Also, the theoretical position of S.L. Rubinstein on the unity of the processes of studying children, on the one hand, and their upbringing and education, on the other, is empirically illustrated. Psychologists' special attention to the issues of upbringing in wartime led to the accumulation of relevant data in educational psychology.

Conclusions. The main achievement of psychology, as follows from the works of Soviet psychologists during the Great Patriotic War, is a change in the position of psychology, which turned into a science organically included in practice.

Background. The article is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nina Fedorovna Talyzina (1923–2018) — a famous Russian (Soviet) psychologist, specialist in the field of didactics and psychology of teaching and learning, one of the students and followers of P.Ya. Galperin, author of the activity theory of learning, creator of the Department of Pedagogy and Educational Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Objectives. The focus of the article is on the restoration of the scientific biography of N.F. Talyzina as well as on the identification of the main directions of research carried out under her leadership and with her direct participation.

Methods. In this historical and psychological research, the oral and written speech es of N.F. Talyzina, as well as biographical and archival materials were analysed.

Results. The article presents the main stages of the scientific biography of N.F. Talyzina. N.F. Talyzina completed her Cand. Sci. (Psychology) thesis on the topic “Inferences in solving geometric problems” under the supervision of P.A. Shevarev at the graduate school of the Research Institute of Psychology of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the RSFSR (now PI RAO). After defending the thesis in 1950 she began working at Moscow University. At Lomonosov Moscow State University N.F. Talyzina made her way from assistant (1950-1952), senior lecturer (1952–1960), associate professor (1960–1963) of the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Philosophy to the head of the Department of Pedagogy of Human ities Faculties (1963–1966), and then head of the Department of Pedagogy and Educational Psychology (1966–1995) of the Faculty of Psychology created in 1966. In 1970, N.F. Talyzina defended her doctoral dissertation on the topic “Psychological foundations of managing knowledge acquisition.” In 1989, on the initiative of N.F. Talyzina a Training Center for retraining university employees in the field of psychological and pedagogical foundations of the educational process in higher education at the Faculty of Psychology of Lomonosov Moscow State University was created. In 1995 N.F. Talyzina left the post of the head of the department and for 20 years until 2015 she remained a professor at the above-mentioned Training Center. From 2015 until the end of her life N.F. Talyzina was a leading researcher at the Laboratory of Educational Psychology at the Department of Psychology of Education and Pedagogy.

Conclusions. The ideas about the controlled formation of concepts developed by N.F. Talyzina not only received experimental testing, but were also used in organizing school and vocational instruction.

Relevance. Due to centennial anniversary of soviet psychology, we would like to make analysis for the history of its institutional and subject formation within the context of Russian human study evolution, including its prerequisites before revolution and after-soviet development.

Objective. Characterize briefly, within the context of reflexive science studies and art process personology, psychology development directions and institutions, role of key scholars, summarize major achievements, including unique identity of soviet psychological science.

Methods. Analysis for subject and institutional aspects of Russian psychology evolution, describing institutions where major schools were residing and where key leaders and participants fulfilled their duties.

Results. First part contains and depicts science studies and institutional approach on presenting the historical span of Russian psychology. Second part depicts evolution of institutions, leaders’ succession and interaction of schools and directions established. Final part contains generalized conclusions on development logics and achievements of soviet psychology as preconditions to further after-soviet establishment of contemporary (Russian) psychology.

Conclusions. Soviet psychology based human studies existing before revolution legitimately succeeds the preceding evolution phase and provides evident basis for further development of psychological science during after-soviet period. Soviet scholars have developed ample materialist-dialectic methodology for study of psyche, which is the system of psychological knowledge from perspective of activity approach that had quite peculiar impetus on contemporary psychology. Currently legacy of soviet psychology interacts broadly and assimilates with foreign up-to-date approaches within the context of XXI century challenges.

The article characterizes the scientific activity of B. M. Teplov, one of the largest Russian psychologists of the XX century, the founder of four scientific schools in Russian psychology. Identifies the key stages of his life and creativity, emphasizes his fundamental contribution to the development of such areas of psychology as the psychology of abilities, differential psychophysiology, military psychology, history of psychology, methodology of anthropology. Special attention is paid to historical-methodological and scientific-pedagogical activity of B. M. Teplov, who made a significant contribution to the development of psychological knowledge and University education in the country, as well as training at MSU psychologists of the highest qualification.