The Child and his Behavior. A. R. Luria

Approaching the Psychology of the Adult

WHEN seeking to study the psychology of the civilized adult, we must remember that it is the result of a complex evolution, in which at least three paths converge. The first of these is biological evolution from animal to man; the second, historico-cultural development, by means of which contemporary civilized man gradually evolved from the primitives; and the third, the individual development of each person (ontogenesis), whereby the tiny new-born, proceeding through a number of phases, develops into a child of school age, and later into a civilized adult.

Some scientists (supporters of the so-called “biogenetic law”) believe that we should not study each of these paths of development separately and in isolation; that the developing child, in all essential respects, repeats the developmental traits of his species, and during the few years of his own individual life follows the path taken by that species for many thousands and tens of thousands of years.

We do not hold this view. We believe that the development of the ape into man, of the primitive into a representative of the civilized era, and of the child into the adult takes a substantially different course, under the influence of unique factors, and passes through unique, and often unreproducible forms and phases of development.

That is why, as we approach the study of the civilized adult, we must consider, in addition to the evolution of the behavior of animals and primitive man, the path taken by the development of the behavior in the child.