DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOTIVATIONAL SPHERE OF HUMANS DURING ONTOGENESIS

Abstract

The article analyzes the essence of traditional and modern scientific ideas about the motivational sphere of the personality and the development of this sphere in the ontogenetic history of man. It is found that, unlike traditional ideas, the motivational sphere of the personality and motivation (as the central formation of this sphere) are not a stable psychological construct localized exclusively in the human brain. Rather, it is a function of human consciousness, a dynamic process that affects all spheres of human existence: 1) the psyche in all dimensions of its functioning; 2) consciousness as the main marker of control over the course of a person's life; 3) the body with all its somatic markers of comfort and discomfort; 4) the social environment with its norms-frameworks regarding the proper and appropriate set of sanctions for compliance or non-compliance with the adopted norms. The focus is on the role of motivation as a systemic factor in the development and functioning of the individual from birth to the final stage of his life history and its key importance in the successful socialization and enculturation of the individual into the social situation of his development and into the wide space of his social existence is indicated.

It is shown that the basic and most sensitive period for the formation of the motivational sphere of the personality is the period of preschool childhood, when the necessary age potential for this is fully activated and realized, and that it is at this time that the majority of psychological neoplasms that can develop, enhance and strengthen this potential are actualized in the child's psyche. The factors and mechanisms of formation of the child's motivational sphere, inherited by him from birth, and the factors of influence of the referent social environment are analyzed, among which special importance is given to the qualitative emotional communication of the child with the close social environment. It is shown that: 1) without high-quality emotional exchange with the social environment, especially with close adults, the formation of "qualitative" motivation is practically impossible: emotions are a necessary foundation for the formation of motivation; 2) the lack of emotional and motivational development in preschool childhood negatively affects the quality of the motivational sphere of the individual throughout his or her entire subsequent, including adult life.

An ontogenetic model of the development of the motivational sphere of the individual from birth to late adulthood, developed in accordance with the traditions of domestic psychology, is presented and substantiated, which presents the movement of motivational development in the direction from impulsive response to environmental stimuli (in the earliest childhood) to conscious, meaningful responses of the individual at different levels of his psychological maturity to stimuli and requirements of the social environment. It is shown that such communication can be successful only if it is coordinated by adults from childhood with the ontogenetic needs and age-related psychological neoplasms of the child. In case of inconsistency, poor-quality, distorted motivation is formed, and this poses serious problems of a personal and social nature, including problems of interpersonal, professional and other types of interaction between people that go beyond preschool age into the space of adult life of participants in social communication and can manifest as chronic motivational conflicts and other psychological problems.