The crisis age development has a different notation. It is called a development crisis, an age crisis, a crisis period. But all this is a conditional name for the transitional stages of age development, characterized by sharp psychological changes. Regardless of the desires and circumstances of the individual, such a crisis comes suddenly. But for some, it proceeds less painfully, and for some it is open and violent.

It should be noted that it is necessary to distinguish the crisis of age development from the crisis of a person's personality. The first arises in connection with the age dynamics of the psyche, and the second - as a result of the created socio-psychological circumstances in which a person finds himself unexpectedly and experiences negative experiences in them, which entailed an internal restructuring of the psyche and behavior.

In developmental psychology, there is no consensus about crises, their place and role in the mental development of the child. Some psychologists believe that child development should be harmonious, crisis-free. Crises are an abnormal, “painful” phenomenon, the result of improper upbringing.

Another part of psychologists argues that the presence of crises in development is natural. Moreover, according to some ideas, a child who has not truly experienced a crisis will not fully develop further.

At present, psychology is increasingly talking about turning points in the development of a child, and actually crisis, negative manifestations are attributed to the characteristics of his upbringing, living conditions. Close adults can mitigate these external manifestations or, on the contrary, strengthen them. Crises, unlike stable periods, do not last long, a few months, under unfavorable circumstances stretching up to a year or even several years.

The age crisis is viewed, on the one hand, as a stage of development (see p. 7), and on the other hand, as a development mechanism (see p. 16). Both of these characteristics of the development crisis were substantiated by L.S. Vygotsky. They are interconnected, since the crisis acts as a development mechanism at a certain stage. mental development. It acts through the contradictions between existing needs and new social requirements that appear in a person's life during the transition from one age to another. The essence of the crisis lies in the restructuring of internal experiences, in changing needs and motives when interacting with the environment. Thus, the crisis of age development has the following characteristics:

This is a natural stage in mental development;

Completes (separates) each age period and appears at the junction of two ages;

It is based on the contradiction between the environment and the attitude towards = it;

The result of the crisis of development is the transformation of the psyche and behavior.

The development crisis has two sides. The first is the negative, destructive side. She says that during a crisis there is a delay in mental development, withering away and curtailment of early acquired mental formations, skills and abilities. The very time of the crisis proceeds uneasily with the appearance of negative emotions and experiences in a person's behavior. In addition, with an unfavorable course of the crisis, negative characteristics of the personality and interpersonal interaction can be formed, and the dissatisfaction of new needs introduces a person into a repeated (or protracted) crisis state of development. In the pathological course of the crisis, a distortion of the normal age-related dynamics may occur.

The other side of the crisis of age development is positive, constructive, which signals the emergence of positive changes (new formations and a new social situation of development) that make up the meaning of each critical period. A positive transformation of the psyche and behavior of a person occurs with a favorable course of the crisis.

Thus, it can be noted that the developmental crisis is a sensitive stage in the transformation of the psyche, where the line between its normal and disturbed development is very thin. In which direction the crisis will be resolved - most often depends on the productivity of the interaction of a person (child) with the environment, which determines the individuality of the course of an age-related crisis.

Developmental crises were also studied by L. S. Vygotsky’s student, D. B. El’konin. He discovered the law of alternation in the course of the mental development of the child. The scientist singled out types of activities that are different in orientation, which periodically replace each other: activities oriented in the system of relations between people (“person - person”) are followed by activities where the orientation goes to the ways of using objects (“person - object”). Each time, contradictions arise between these two types of orientations, which cause a developmental crisis, since action cannot develop further if it is not built into a new system of relations and without raising the intellect to a certain level, new motives and methods of action will not develop. Taking into account the above orientations of the leading activities of D.B. Elkonin explained the content of the isolated L.S. Vygotsky developmental crises. So, in the neonatal period, at 3 and 13 years old, relationship crises occur, and at 1, 7 and 17 years old, crises of worldview occur, which also alternate.

In domestic psychology, there is a predominance of the point of view that developmental crises inevitably appear at the junction of any two age periods. The timing of crises in childhood, established by L.S. Vygotsky are disputed, but the sequence of their occurrence remains relevant, as it reflects the normative patterns of mental development.

L. S. Vygotsky singles out the following stages in the developmental crisis.

I. Pre-crisis. There is a contradiction between the environment and the attitude of man towards it. The pre-crisis state is characterized by a transitional internal state, where the indicators of the affective and cognitive spheres become oppositely directed. Intellectual control decreases and at the same time sensitivity to the outside world increases, emotionality, aggressiveness, psychomotor disinhibition or lethargy, isolation, etc.

II. Actually a crisis. At this stage, there is a temporary maximum aggravation of psychological problems of a personal and interpersonal nature, where one can observe a certain degree of deviation from the age norm in psychophysical development. Often there are low cognitive activity, psychological lability (instability), decreased communication, loss of mental stability, mood swings and motivation. In general, it is difficult to influence a child or an adult at this time, to agree, reorient, etc.

III. Post-crisis. This is the time to resolve contradictions through the formation of a new social situation of development, harmony between its components. As a result of this harmony, a return to a normal state is carried out, where the affective and cognitive components of the psyche become unidirectional. “Old formations” go into the subconscious, and new level consciousness put forward new formations of the psyche.

In conclusion, we note that the crisis of age development appears suddenly and also disappears. Its boundaries are blurred. It is short-lived compared to stable periods. The resolution of the crisis is associated with the establishment of new social relations with the environment, which can be productive and destructive in nature.

Crises occur not only in childhood, but also in periods of adulthood.

Mental changes that appear at this time in a child or adult are profound and irreversible.

Age crises are natural for each person transitional stages, knowledge of which is extremely in demand. If a person, living a specific period, does not achieve the goals set by age, a number of problems of a general and psychological kind appear. Everyone wants to live happily and for a long time, moreover, to stay in the mind to the last, to remain active. Only desire, however, is not enough here, psychologists are sure that it is the success of passing age crises that affects the fullness of life.

At what age do crises begin, do they have age restrictions, how do crises unfold in different sexes? In a crisis, you usually do not want to act, how to regain the desire to move?

The concept of age crisis

How is the concept of a crisis revealed, what are its symptoms, time frames? How to distinguish a crisis from other psychological problems, ordinary fatigue? The word crisis from its ancient Greek root means a decision, a turning point, an outcome. Indeed, a crisis is always associated with the adoption of some decision, the need for change. A person realizes the onset of a crisis period, when he sums up the achievement of goals set earlier in life, and is dissatisfied with the result - he looks into the past and analyzes what he did not receive.

Throughout our lives, we go through several crisis periods, and each of them does not come suddenly, but through the accumulation of dissatisfaction due to discrepancies between what was expected and what actually happened. Therefore, he is known more than others, because a person has lived most of his life and began to think about the past and achievements, and often compare himself with others.

It happens that in a word, a person covers up his other mental ailments that are not related to the passage of age stages. If age crises in children are easily observed, then in an adult, the time frame can shift, usually each stage is given 7-10 years, moreover, one can pass almost without a trace, while the other will be obvious even to others. However, the content of the crisis at each age is universal, taking into account time shifts, for example, people aged 30 and 35 can be in the same crisis, solving approximately the same problems.

Crises of age development should be distinguished from personal biographical crises associated with such objective conditions as, for example, graduation from school, loss of relatives or property. Crises of age development are characterized by the fact that outwardly everything is normal, bad, but inside. A person begins to provoke changes, sometimes destructive, in order to change life and the internal situation, while others may not understand him, consider the person’s problems far-fetched.

Age crises in psychology

Vygotsky also said that the ideal adapted child does not develop further. An adult is literally insured against such stagnation - as soon as he somehow got used to life, a crisis arises that requires change. Then comes a period of quite a long lull, followed by another crisis. If a crisis forces a person to develop, then what is development? More often it is understood as a kind of progress, improvement. However, there is a phenomenon of pathological development - regression. We are talking about development, which brings changes more high order. Almost everyone goes through some crises safely, while a crisis, for example, the middle of life, often puts a person in a dead end and unfolds in his development. Well, the essence of the crisis is conveyed by the Chinese character, which contains two meanings at once: danger and opportunity.

Psychologists have identified the general age patterns of crises, which allows us not only to prepare for them in advance, but also to successfully go through each stage, fully mastering the tasks of each beautiful age. In literally every age stage, without fail, there is a need to make a decision, which is given by the advantage of society. By solving problems, a person lives his life more safely. If a person does not find a solution, he has a certain number of problems, of an already more acute nature, that need to be dealt with, otherwise it threatens not only with neurotic states, but also with unsettling life. Each stage has so-called normative crises, some of which, such as the crises of 20 and 25, are rather poorly described, while others, the crises of 30 and 40, are known to almost everyone. These crises owe such fame to their often obscure destructive power, when a person, who is in apparent prosperity, suddenly begins to dramatically change his life, commit reckless acts associated with the collapse of earlier meanings that he relied on.

Age crises in children are well observed and require the attention of parents, since the failure to pass each crisis is superimposed on the next. Childhood crises are especially strongly imprinted on a person's character and often set the direction of a whole life. For example, a child without basic trust may become adult incapable of deep personal relationships. A person who did not feel independence in childhood does not have the opportunity to rely on personal strength, remains infantile and all his life is looking for a replacement for the parent in his wife, superiors, or else he strives to limply dissolve in a social group. A child who has not been taught industriousness, in adulthood, experiences problems with internal, external discipline. If you miss the time and do not develop the skills of the child, then he will have a number of complexes and experience difficulties because of this, he will need many times more efforts. A huge number of adults did not go through the teenage age crisis, did not take full responsibility for their lives, their natural rebellion was muted, but now unresolved runs like a red thread through their whole lives. Even in a mid-life crisis, childhood reminds of itself, since the greatest number of shadow contexts were formed in childhood.

In each crisis, a person needs to spend the time allotted to him, not trying to get around sharp corners, to live the topics of the crisis to the fullest. There are, however, gender differences in the passage of crises. This is especially noticeable in the mid-life crisis, when men evaluate themselves by career achievements, financial security and other objective indicators, and women - by family well-being.

Age crises are also directly related to the acute topic of age, since it is widely believed that all good things can only be present in youth, this belief is fueled in every possible way by means mass media and often even thanks to the opposite sex. Significant external changes, when it is no longer possible to convince others and yourself of your own youth, raise a lot of psychological problems, some people are just on this stage through appearance they realize the need for internal personal changes. If a person tries to look younger inappropriately for his age, this speaks of unsurmounted crises, rejection of his age, body and life in general.

Age crises and their characteristics

The first crisis stage, corresponding to the age from birth to one year, correlates with trust in the world around. If a child does not have the opportunity from birth to be in the arms of loved ones, at the right time for him to receive attention, care - even as an adult, he will hardly trust the people around him. The reasons for being morbidly wary of others often lie precisely in those unmet needs of children, which we tried to tell our parents about with our loud cry. Perhaps the parents were not around at all, which becomes a prerequisite for a basic distrust in the world. That is why it is important that close people are nearby for up to a year, who can satisfy the child's need at the first cry. This is not a whim, not pampering, but a necessity inherent in this age.

The second stage, which is usually distinguished by psychologists, is the age from 1 to 3 years. Then the formation of autonomy takes place, the child often wants to do everything himself - it is important for him to make sure that he is capable of this. At the same time, we often meet with stubbornness, which was not there before, rejection and rejection of an adult, attempts by a child to establish himself above an adult. These are natural moments for this period, it must be passed. Adults must definitely set boundaries for the child, tell what to do, what not to do, why. If there are no boundaries, a little tyrant grows up, who subsequently torments the whole family with his problems. It is also important to support the child, to allow him to do something on his own. Also, the concept is now being laid, children are often interested in their genitals, an awareness of the difference from the opposite sex comes. It is important not to pull the child, not to shame for the natural interest.

In the next period, from 3 to 6 years, the basics of diligence, love for household chores are assigned. The child can already do almost all household work under the supervision of an adult himself, if at the same time the child is not given the opportunity to show his initiative - later he will not get used to achieving them by setting goals. If the child wanted to wash the floor, water the flowers, try vacuuming - teach him. But this should be done not with prodding and orders, but with a game. Role-playing games are gaining great importance, you can play with dolls, with book characters, even make figures yourself, for example, from paper, play a scene that will be interesting to your child. Take your child to the puppet theater to watch the characters interact. The child receives information precisely through the parents, the development of the child in a correct and harmonious way depends on them.

The next period is the period of circles, from 6 to 12 years. The child now needs to be loaded to the maximum with what he wants to do. You need to know that now his body remembers the experience well, all the skills mastered in a given period of time, the child will retain for the rest of his life. If he dances, he will dance beautifully all his life. With singing, sports as well. Perhaps he will not become a champion, but he will be able to further develop his abilities in any period of his life in the future. When it is possible to take your child to circles - do it, take as much time as possible with classes. Intellectual development is useful, because now the child receives basic information that will be useful to him further, will help form thinking.

The period of adolescence, the next one, is probably the most difficult, since most parents resort to psychologists precisely in connection with the difficulties of communicating with a teenage child. This is a period of self-identification, if a person does not pass it, then in the future he may remain limited in his potentials. A growing person begins to wonder who he is and what he brings to the world, what is his image. It is in adolescence that different subcultures are born, children begin to pierce their ears, change their appearance, sometimes even to the point of self-destruction, unusual hobbies may appear. Teenagers resort to interesting shapes clothes that attract attention, emphasize or, conversely, reveal all the flaws. Experiments with appearance can be endless, they are all tied to the child's acceptance of his body, which changes significantly at this age. A teenager likes or dislikes this, each problem is strictly individual, so it makes sense for parents to carefully talk about the complexes associated with changing his appearance.

Parents should carefully monitor the behavior of a teenager when they are sure that the form of clothing he has chosen does not suit the child - it is worth gently prompting him to do this, and also look at who the teenager is surrounded by, who is in the company, because what he will take from the outside world, will play a dominant role in the future. It is also important that before the eyes of a teenager there are examples of worthy adults that he would like, because later he will be able to adopt their behavior, manners, habits. If there is no such example, for example, the family consists only of a mother and a son, then you need to give him the opportunity to communicate with relatives of the same sex so that he knows how a man should behave. It is important that a teenager finds his style, his image, how he wants to express himself to this world, what are his goals, plans. Right now, adults should discuss this with the child. Even if the child does not seem to want to listen to you, he still listens to you for sure, your opinion is significant for him.

In the next period of 20 to 25 years, a person completely separates from his parents, begins an independent life, therefore this crisis is often noticeable more than others. This is a crisis of secession, but there is also an opposing desire for merger. At this stage, it is important to start a close personal relationship with a person of the opposite sex. If there are no such relationships, then the person did not go through the previous teenage period as it should, did not understand who he is, who he wants to see next to him. At this age, relationship issues are super relevant, it is important to learn to communicate with the opposite sex. Friendship and professional contacts are also important, the search for a new social circle, which a person already enters as an adult. Will he take responsibility for personal steps? Mistakes will be inevitable, it is important how a person will act - whether he will return under the parental wing or find a replacement for his parents in a partner, thereby regressing back to childhood, or will he become responsible for the decisions made with their consequences. The new growth of this crisis is responsibility. The difficulty of this age is the still prevailing image of social acceptability, when from a very young person it is expected that he will certainly be successful in school, work, have deep relationships, look good, have many hobbies, be active, active. The conflict here is that to begin to please social desirability means to lose oneself, not to allow personal, individual potentials to be revealed, separation will not occur, a person will follow the road trodden, trodden by the expectations of those around him, will not take maximum responsibility for his life.

Social unacceptability at the described stage often indicates that the person is in contact with himself. Guys do it better, because society gives them more possibilities for this. The resistance to authorities, left over from adolescence, here goes beyond the family, instead of mom and dad, a person begins to resist, for example, bosses. One of the scenarios for the passage of this crisis is a predetermined fate, when the family outlined in advance, painted the path of a person. Often this is a professional direction, but it may turn out to be family life in the conservative tradition. In this scenario, a person does not use the possibility of separation from parents, as if the crisis of 20 years has passed, deceiving him, however, the topic of personal self-determination and separation remains, returning to a person sometimes even after 10-20 years, already being sore. An unresolved crisis is superimposed on the next one, and you will often have to choose a direction already having a family, children, which is more difficult. Prolonged professional self-determination, when you have to change the scope of work by the age of 30, starting with a new one, also turns out to be a difficult task.

A very fruitful period begins at the age of 25, when the opportunity comes to receive the blessings of life that he counted on as a teenager. Usually in this period you really want to quickly get a job, start a family, have children, make a career. Will and aspiration are laid from childhood, if this did not happen, life can turn out to be boring and unpromising. The crisis echoes the theme when a person wonders what he can respect himself for. The theme of achievements and collecting them is at its peak here. By the age of 30, there is an assessment of the previous life, the ability to respect oneself. Interestingly, at this stage, it is more common to equip the outer part of life, forming a tree of social connections, while introverts rely on their own personal resources and deep relationships in a limited circle. If there is a significant imbalance, when, for example, a person has been engaged in social contacts for a long time, succeeded at work, made a career, created a social circle and image in society, now he begins to think more about home comfort, children, family relationships.

On the contrary, if the first 10 years of mature life were devoted to the family, which is often a female scenario, when a girl got married, became a mother and a housewife, then this crisis requires leaving the nest for the outside world. To get through this crisis, a person needs to have a collection of achievements. Everyone has it, but not everyone is able to respect themselves, which often happens when focusing on shortcomings. Also at this stage there is an opportunity to work on yourself personally, to change your life for the one you like it. See what you are missing. Perhaps this is a close person, think about how he should be, what kind of person you wanted to see next to you, and how much you yourself correspond to the image of the loved one that you conceived for yourself. If you are not quite satisfied with the work, you want to change the field of activity, but you have no idea how to do this - try starting with a hobby, a hobby that you can convert into a permanent job. Also think about how you relax, what brings your vacation to you - good or bad. After all, rest takes up most of your personal time, and its lack negatively affects the quality of life, there are various distressful situations that would not exist if you had a good and complete rest. During this period, often a person already becomes a parent and wants to help children live a better life. Think about what foundations you will lay in them, going through your own life, what you received in your childhood, what was not enough, is there trust in the world, if not, what prevented it from forming.

The next mid-life crisis is favored by the attention of not only psychologists, but also the townsfolk. For the majority, everything is stabilized in the middle of life, but when a person suddenly begins to suffer for reasons that are incomprehensible to others, and sometimes even to himself, he finds himself in a confusing situation. The beginning of the crisis is accompanied by a state of boredom, loss of interest in life, a person begins to make some external changes that do not lead to the desired relief, nothing changes inside. The primary must be precisely the internal change, which, if it has taken place, may not entail external changes. A lot of films have been made about the midlife crisis, when men more often have mistresses, and women go to have children, which does not change the situation. The successful passage of the crisis is not associated with external attempts to change, but with an internal absolute acceptance of life, which gives a wonderful, harmonious state of mind. At this stage, there is no longer a question of achievement and self-esteem, but only acceptance of oneself, life as it is. Acceptance does not mean that everything will stop - on the contrary, development will only become more intense, since a person stops the war within himself. A truce with oneself releases a lot of strength for a more productive life, more and more new opportunities open up. A person asks questions about the mission of his life, moreover, he can do a lot, discovering his true meanings.

The crisis of 40 years initiates a spiritual search, poses global questions for a person, to which there are no unambiguous answers. This conflict is connected with the psychological structure of the Shadow - those unacceptable contexts that a person endlessly displaces, trying to lie even to himself. Growing children do not allow a person to be younger than he is, demanding wisdom from the parent. The existential nature of this crisis is reinforced by the experience of the transience of time, when it is no longer possible to write drafts, you have to live clean, and it is gratifying that there is still an opportunity for this.

The crisis of 50-55 years again puts a person at a fork in the road, on one road he can go to wisdom, on the other - to insanity. A person makes an internal choice, will he live or live out, what's next? The society informs a person that often he is no longer in trend, in different positions he has to give way to the younger youth, including in the profession. Often here a person strives to be needed by others, leaves to take care of his grandchildren completely, or clings to work, afraid to retreat to the backyard. However, the harmonious outcome of the crisis will be to let go of everything, to inform yourself before that you have paid off all possible social debts, you owe nothing to anyone, now you are free to do what you want. For such an acceptance of life and desires, it is necessary to go through all the previous crises, because material resources, resources of relationships and self-perception will be required.

Features of age crises

What if a person does not note the passage of crises in his life, does it mean that they were not? Psychologists are convinced that a psychological crisis is as natural as changes in a person's body with age. People with a low level, inattention to themselves, when they push their troubles away, can not be aware that they are now living through a psychological crisis. Or a person in every possible way restrains experiences within himself, being afraid to destroy his positive image in front of others, to show himself as a person with problems. Such non-living, ignoring the crisis subsequently leads to the unification of all the stages that have not been passed, like an avalanche. Needless to say, this is a difficult outcome, a huge psychological burden, with which a person is sometimes unable to cope.

Another variant of the atypical course of crises is often observed in hypersensitive individuals who are open to changes, personality transformations. They are prone to prevention, and when the first symptoms of an impending crisis appear, they try to immediately draw conclusions and adapt. Crises are milder. However, such an anticipatory approach does not allow one to fully immerse oneself in the lesson that a crisis brings to a person.

Each crisis contains something that will help a person in the future period of life, gives support for the passage of the following crises. A person does not develop linearly, he develops in steps, and a crisis is precisely that moment of a breakthrough in development, after which a period of stabilization, a plateau, begins. Crises help the personality grow, we do not grow of our own free will, we don’t want to get out of the state of balance on our own, and it seems there is no need. Because the psyche involves our internal conflicts. Thanks to crises, a person, although unevenly, grows throughout his life.

INTRODUCTION

The problem of age crises is relevant and interesting, but not sufficiently developed in theoretical and experimental terms.

The essence of age crises is a change in the system of relationships between a person and the surrounding reality. Unlike crises of a neurotic or traumatic type, they are normative changes necessary for normal mental development.

During these periods, the emotional background changes, elements of depressive symptoms, anxiety, tension, and decreased performance appear. Children in critical periods become irritable, capricious, disobedient, entering into conflicts with adults. For teachers and parents, it becomes necessary to develop new strategies for upbringing and education in connection with cardinal changes in the child's psyche. Age crises are typical not only for childhood. There are also so-called crises of adulthood, feature which is the analysis of a person's life and himself.

The study of age crises is an important point in the practical activity of a psychologist, as it helps him find a way out of a person's crisis states with the least losses and the greatest gains.

In this paper, the basics of the concept of "age crisis" are considered, the difference between critical and stable periods is shown, and a detailed description of all age crises is given.

The purpose of the work is to form ideas about the essence, structure and content of age-related crises.

Tasks: theoretical study critical ages; analysis of the structure and content of age crises.

The subject of the study is the impact of age-related crises on human life.

This work is based on the works of L.S. Vygotsky, E. Erickson, D.B. Elkonina, L.I. Bozovic and others.

THE ESSENCE OF THE AGE CRISIS

Concept of age crisis

Age crises are short-term (up to a year) age periods in which dramatic psychological changes occur. Age crises arise during the transition from one age stage to another and are among the normative processes necessary for the normal development of the individual (L.S. Vygotsky, E. Erickson).

In modern psychology, the following age crises are distinguished:

birth crisis

neonatal crisis

one year crisis

crisis of three years

crisis of seven years

adolescence crisis (14-15 years old)

Youth crisis (18-20 years old)

crisis of youth (about 30 years old)

crisis of adulthood (40-45 years)

crisis of old age (about 60 years)

In developmental psychology, there is no consensus about crises, their place and role in mental development. Some authors (S.L. Rubinshtein, A.V. Zaporozhets) believe that crises are a negative, deviant manifestation, the result of improper upbringing, and that normal human development is quite possible without going through crises. Other authors (L. S. Vygotsky, L. I. Bozhovich, D. B. Elkonin) consider crises to be a necessary and indispensable condition for the further development of a person. Moreover, a person who has not truly survived the crisis will not fully develop further.

The age crisis is also due to biological factors (physiological changes in the body, morphological and functional changes, etc.), and social factors (change in the social situation of development, change in status, acceptance of new social roles, etc.). Age-related crisis changes can be of a short duration, remaining practically imperceptible to a person and the people around him and expressed in abnormal behavior, or they can be quite long and protracted.

The course of age crises largely depends on temperament, character, individual biological characteristics, social relations, emotional and motivational sphere, etc. The beginning of the crisis period is marked by a conflict between what is available and what is desired, i.e., a conflict between reflexive models and a person’s willingness to fulfill the intended life trajectory .

The age crisis is characterized by a desire to change the leading activity, since in the new age conditions the implementation of the former is difficult or impossible. With exacerbation of intrapersonal contradictions external conditions can trigger an age crisis. At the same time, a person becomes more unstable, responds to weak stimuli with inadequate reactions, which leads to significant changes in behavior.

The term "age crisis" was introduced by the Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky and defined it as a change in a person's personality that occurs when changing stable periods.

According to Vygotsky, an age crisis is qualitative positive changes, as a result of which a person moves to a new, higher stage of development. The duration, form and severity of these changes depend on individual characteristics, social and microsocial conditions.

According to L.S. Vygotsky, during periods of crisis, the child changes entirely in a short period of time, becomes difficult to educate, but the point is not in education, but in change - the child becomes different in relation to his former self.

According to Vygotsky, the external behavioral features of crises include the following:

· indistinct boundaries separating the beginning and end of crises. The crisis arises imperceptibly, it is difficult to diagnose its beginning and end;

· in the middle of the crisis, its culmination is observed, the presence of which distinguishes the critical period from others;

· in the behavior of the child there are drastic changes, he becomes difficult to educate, interest in classes and school performance decrease. Conflicts with others are possible.

A more thorough analysis reveals deeper features in the behavior of children during a crisis period:

Unlike stable stages, development is more destructive than constructive;

The progressive development of the child's personality at this time is suspended, the processes of disintegration and decomposition of what was formed at the previous stage come to the fore;

The child does not so much acquire as loses from what was previously acquired, previously established interests disintegrate.

Thus, according to Vygotsky, a crisis is a stage of development that requires the obligatory destruction, overcoming of the old system (relationships, connections, actions).

The main provisions of L.S. Vygotsky were deployed in the works of his followers (D.B. Elkonina, L.I. Bozhovich and others).

DB Elkonin defines crises as transitions from one system to another. D.B. Elkonin believed that each period consists of two stages: at the first stage, a change in the motivational and need-based sphere of the personality is carried out, and at the second stage, the development of the operational and technical sphere takes place. He discovered the law of the periodicity of different types of activity at each stage: activity that orients the subject in the system of relations between people, interaction in society, is necessarily followed by activity that orients in the ways of using objects. Contradictions arise between these two types of orientation each time.

According to D.B. Elkonin, neonatal crises, 3 and 11 years old, are relationship crises, when new orientations arise in human relationships; and crises of the 1st year, 7 and 15 years - crises of worldview, changing the orientation in the world of things.

L.I. Bozovic meant by crises transitional stages from one period of child development to another. She believed that in response to the needs of the child, a systemic neoplasm arises that carries a motivating force. This neoplasm is a generalized result of the psychological development of the child in the previous period and becomes the basis for the further formation and development of the personality. Therefore, L.I. Bozhovich considers crises as turning points in the ontogenetic development of the personality, analyzing which one can find psychological entity this process.

Critical periods are especially pronounced in children whose new needs, which appear at the end of each stage of mental development, are not satisfied or are actively suppressed. L.I. Bozhovich emphasized that one should distinguish between dissatisfaction of needs as a result of their suppression by social requirements (both those around them and the subject himself), and cases of dissatisfaction of needs due to the lack of suitable ways to satisfy them. So, in the second version, the contradiction between the subject and his capabilities is the main driving force of mental development.

Thus, the age crisis is considered a transitional stage that a person experiences when changing age periods, when certain stages of development are completed.