How does intelligence develop and is it given to us a priori? How does a person acquire knowledge - does he construct it or is it adopted in ready-made form?
These and similar questions are answered by the field of knowledge called genetic psychology. Its creator is the Swiss psychologist and philosopher Jean Piaget (1896-1980), whose discoveries and ideas about cognitive development we have already covered. This time we want to introduce you to the concept of genetic psychology and reveal its essence and main achievements.
First, it’s worth clarifying the term itself. The word "genetic" can be a little confusing because it does not refer to questions of heredity or the human genome.
What is genetic psychology?
Before the term "genetic" began to be used in its modern narrow biological meaning, it was used in psychology to refer to individual development. And, accordingly, genetic psychology studies the individual development of intelligence, its origin, mechanisms of complication, along with how important concepts are formed.
Jean Piaget himself was interested in questions of the qualitative development of knowledge, its origin and perception, for example, whether the objective world influences the human mind or whether a person constructs knowledge subjectively. That is, the scientist’s focus was on epistemological issues and considerations.
Epistemology is a theory of knowledge, a discipline that studies scientific knowledge, its structure, structures, functioning and development. Piaget himself considered himself an epistemologist and founded the International Center for Genetic Epistemology in Geneva, which he headed. Since Piaget's genetic psychology essentially prepares the basis for genetic epistemology, distinguishing between these two disciplines is not always easy.
It is interesting that in the English-language scientific literature the field of knowledge we are considering is called genetic epistemology (the term developmental theory of knowledge may also appear). And the term “genetic psychology” is used to refer to the science of how genes influence the psychology and personality of an individual. Typically, the latter studies the relationship between genes and human behavior based on studies of twins and adoptions.
Having understood the concept of genetic psychology, let's move on to intelligence and the process of its formation.
The place of the genetic method in general methodology
Photo by Darina Belonogova: Pexels
The genetic method is a process of cognition based on the study of the development and changes of mental phenomena, both within the framework of ontogenesis and phylogeny.
All methods of studying and understanding mental phenomena and processes can be divided into 4 large categories:
- organizational methods – ways of organizing research;
- empirical methods - methods of obtaining a specific result, such as an experiment, conversation, questionnaire, observation, and so on;
- various methods of data processing - mathematical, statistical and qualitative analysis;
- interpretive – approaches on which the method of explaining the data obtained, that is, their interpretation, is based.
Interpretive methods have two approaches: structural and genetic. In the first case, the researcher determines what place the mental phenomenon being studied occupies in the overall structure, that is, places it in the horizontal plane, adds it to one or another classification.
In the second case, the interpretation of the data obtained occurs within the framework of their development, change, that is, it helps to understand the genesis of this phenomenon. This is a genetic method.
Intelligence and its development
In his studies and scientific work, Piaget proceeded from the fact that he considered human intellectual development to be a continuation of the biological process of adaptation. And intelligence itself in this paradigm is a unique form of psychological adaptation that allows one to effectively adapt to life circumstances.
The external environment is constantly changing, and the individual strives to establish and maintain balance with it. And this process of adaptation at the cognitive-psychic level is carried out through action patterns and processes of assimilation and accommodation:
- An action scheme is a concept or algorithm formed by an individual for interaction with the external environment or categorization of something. For example, a baby has patterns of how to suck, grab (these two action patterns are innate), knead, pull, hit, etc.
- Assimilation is a process in which an individual applies his existing schema to a new object, which allows him to successfully interact with it. For example, a baby may grasp a new object—a pencil—in the same way as a mother’s finger.
- Accommodation is the process by which an individual either modifies his schema to accommodate a new object or creates a new schema. So, sooner or later the baby understands that it is impossible to grab the ball in the same way as mother’s fingers or a rattle and creates a new action pattern.
This constant interaction with the outside world, maintaining balance with it through these two cognitive mechanisms constitutes the process of development of thinking in young children. The very need to establish a balance between oneself and the environment is the driving force of intellectual development.
So, we see that in this system intelligence is not an innate given, but human beings are characterized by the desire to develop and the ability for intellectual activity and development. This enables human beings to think and leads to improved intelligence and knowledge. A necessary condition for this is activity - it is by performing actions with objects of the external world that the child uses his intellect. By performing actions and interacting with the environment, the subject acquires a system of knowledge, forms concepts, action patterns, mental constructs, and his cognitive, mental abilities and thinking develop.
The concept of interaction is one of the most important elements of Piaget's theory. The researcher shows that at all stages of the development of intelligence and cognition, these processes are closely related to the subject’s actions and interactions. They are sources of knowledge, but if actions are directed outward, then within himself the subject constructs schemes and concepts that reflect external discoveries and lessons. Those. the fundamental categories and concepts of knowledge are not given to us a priori, but are acquired by man in the form of the mental structures they create. Structures cover a wide range of human knowledge, which is internalized in the form of them, and intelligence, in turn, also represents a special type of structure.
To better understand how the process of improving mental activity in children proceeds, it will be useful to recall the stages of cognitive development, which we discussed in detail in another article about Piaget. In Russian-language literature, it is customary to distinguish three phases of intelligence development, coinciding with the initial three stages of the cognitive process of formation. By their names, we can identify three types of intelligence that are inherent in children during their growth.
Let's look at them in more detail.
Examples of using the genetic method
The best understanding of this method comes if it is considered from the point of view of simple life examples, and not “burrowed” in scientific terminology, which seems vague and divorced from reality.
Ontogenetic method
Many people don’t even realize how often they come across the genetic method in their psychological practice. For example, studying aggression in a teenager. In simple words, the object of study is aggressive behavior. The subject is a teenager. To understand the causes of aggression and outline ways of corrective work, you need to understand what the signs of aggression are, the conditions in which it manifests itself.
It is also important to trace where the aggressive behavior began. When did the dynamics of transition from one stage to another develop? What conditions aggravated its manifestation at one or another stage of development of aggressive behavior. The study of all this is an ontogenetic method.
This method allows you to study not only negative mental phenomena, but also positive ones. For example, altruism, empathy. For example, the study of a person’s independence always begins with childhood, with his relationship with his mother, with how the child passed or did not pass the crisis of three years, what kind of relationships he built with others in adolescence, and so on.
Also, the genetic method is always present in any age periodization. For example, in Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, which describes the development of certain manifestations of the psyche at different stages of a person’s life - from infancy to old age.
Or the theory of personality development according to Freud, when the psyche goes through various stages of development: oral, anal, latent, and so on.
Phylogenetic method
The phylogenetic method allows you to study any phenomenon from the point of view of human evolution, starting from the simplest forms. The development of the psyche has always been studied within the framework of a genetic approach, from its early stages to its later stages, where the following were highlighted:
Giphy
- sensory stage of mental development, inherent in all living organisms;
- the perceptual stage, which is found in animals;
- the intellectual stage, which is found in great apes, dolphins and many others;
- the conscious psyche that is inherent in a person.
But even the phylogenetic method of study has a practical basis in psychological work with a specific person. Thus, the same aggression can be studied as a way of survival of an individual, formed by evolution and determined by Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
Knowing the mechanisms of its formation, stages, conditioning, one can understand why a teenager shows aggression as a defense mechanism. Find the reasons why he is forced to defend himself and change them, as well as teach the teenager more adaptive ways of interacting with others.
Stages of intelligence development
The first stage of development is the so-called sensorimotor stage. It is called so because at this stage babies master their motor - movement - reactions, and their perception is closely related to the senses. This stage has six substages, spanning from birth to one year.
Sensorimotor stage
At the beginning of life, the child does not yet separate himself from the world, does not perceive himself as a subject. But interacting with toys and objects around him, he realizes his separation from the outside world, as well as the fact that some of his actions can have an impact on the objects of reality. So, if you touch the tumbler, it will make sounds, and if you unclench your fingers, the object will fall out of your hands. Thus, the baby actively masters the world, forming various patterns of action and concepts, relying on the mechanisms of assimilation and accommodation.
An important achievement of this stage is the assimilation of the principle of permanence - the object continues to exist, even if it becomes inaccessible to the senses (invisible or hidden). In addition, the child acquires an anticipation reaction - he becomes able to predict the location of the appearance of a moving object, but hidden under a blanket, for example.
It is also significant that the child gradually moves from purely reflexive activity to behavior characterized by curiosity and experimentation. Thus, the baby begins not only to actively explore the world around him, but to try different options for interacting with objects and getting what he wants, greatly expanding his arsenal of patterns and knowledge. Through trial and error, experimenting and trying out different possible options for action, for example, how to get a toy from the top shelf, the child develops his thought processes.
Towards the end of the sensorimotor period, children become able to solve simple problems based on specific sensory information. Gradually, there is a transition from concrete sensory thinking to symbolic thinking, which is characteristic of the next stage of intellect development - pre-operational.
Preoperative stage
At the pre-operational stage, we see that the child has mastered speech and can think figuratively - imagine, pretend, use words or objects as a symbol, representation of other objects or concepts. However, the child does not yet have logical thinking at this stage; he has not mastered the skill of manipulating information and performing mental operations with it. Therefore, this stage is also sometimes called pre-conceptual.
Operational stage
At the third stage of development, around the age of seven, the child’s thinking apparatus is already quite developed, so that he can already perform simple logical operations. However, in order to operate logically and carry out mental actions, children need physical interaction with objects, that is, they cannot yet comprehend abstract ideas and situations. Therefore, this stage is called concrete operational, and it covers the period from approximately 7 to 12 years. This stage is often combined with the next one (especially in the Russian-speaking tradition) and is called operational. However, Piaget identified the fourth stage of children’s cognitive development and the development of intelligence itself - formal-operational or the stage of formal operations.
Formal Operations Stage
At the stage of formal operations, we can already observe children mastering abstract thinking and logic. This is a higher level of development of intelligence and mental activity, allowing one to comprehend and organize one’s knowledge, solve problems, think logically and objectively, including about abstract, hypothetical, previously unfamiliar categories and concepts. In Piaget's view, this stage represents the highest point in the development of intelligence.
As can be seen from the above, the development of thinking and mind consists in the transition from simple forms of mental activity and interaction with external objects to more complex ones, the development of new non-unilinear skills and schemes, as well as the improvement of logical structures and thinking skills.
Despite the fact that Jean Piaget's discoveries turned out to be valuable for understanding children's thinking and the development of psychology in general, some provisions of his theory were criticized. Thus, it is pointed out that intellect is given too much importance in the process of child development, and the fact that not only this element develops, but also the child himself and his consciousness is not taken into account. In addition, researchers believe that Piaget underestimated the role of learning in the cognitive process.
Now let's summarize all of the above, but before that:
Mental disorder
If we talk about genetics and the formation of thinking, the question immediately arises as to why absolutely healthy parents give birth to children with psychological disorders.
Here it should immediately be noted that when taking into account genetics in the formation of personality, they pay attention to the psychology of not only parents, but also grandparents up to the 3rd generation. Therefore, it is quite difficult to draw conclusions based only on the personalities of the parents. In addition, scientists still cannot unanimously say why certain failures occur; the child is not born healthy, especially if the woman took care of herself before and during pregnancy. There is an assumption that a major role is played by DNA cells, which for unknown reasons are not correctly positioned during the process of conception and development of the embryo. But this fact cannot be confirmed or refuted 100% in any case.
Genetic psychology is not only an interesting, but also a useful science, which explains to young parents that it is not enough just to conceive a child, they also need to raise him correctly. And then another brilliant and unique personality will appear in the world.
Summary
So, we have found out that genetic psychology deals with the development and origin of intelligence, the processes and characteristics of the acquisition of knowledge and the ability to think. Its founder, the Swiss scientist Jean Piaget, viewed intelligence as a specific way of adapting human beings to a constantly changing external environment. To successfully adapt to its conditions and maintain this balance, the individual develops his intellectual abilities, which allows him to be in balance with the world and successfully exist in it.
The improvement of intelligence itself represents a transition from less to more complex forms of understanding reality, from concrete sensory to logical thinking and the ability to operate with mental and intellectual categories and concepts. At the same time, knowledge and intelligence are not a given at all, but are the result of mental structures created by the individual. In this way, a person constructs his knowledge and forms his complex cognitive-intellectual apparatus.
It is never too late to develop intelligence and thinking, and this is no less important for adults than for children. For this purpose, we have created a practical program “Cognitive Science. Development of thinking”, which is designed to teach 20 thinking techniques. This online training helps you develop and hone the skill of thinking effectively, logically and consistently, as well as quickly making constructive decisions. We invite you to join it.
And finally, we wish everyone clear and effective thinking!
We also recommend reading:
- Storytelling
- Piaget's theory of cognitive development
- Skinner's operant conditioning as a technology for personality formation
- Speech thinking in children and adults: what is it and why is it needed?
- Criminal psychology
- Cognitive development. Part 1
- Cognitive schemas
- Theories of thinking
- Psycholinguistics as a tool for in-depth study of speech and language
- Cognitive development. Part 2
- Cognitive psychology and cognitive psychotherapy
Key words:1Cognitive science
Compatibility check
Genetic research in mental disorders is not limited to just finding the causes of the disease and their differences. Nowadays, pharmacogenetic testing is becoming increasingly popular - detecting the characteristics of enzymes that are involved in the metabolism of drugs. There are amazing workers in our body - a family of enzymes called “cytochrome p450”. This family includes more than 50 enzymes, 6 of which are involved in the metabolism of about 90% of all medications [14]. These hitters on the metabolic front are: CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5. CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 are of great importance for the metabolism of psychotropic drugs.
For example, 85% of antidepressants and 40% of antipsychotics are metabolized by the enzyme CYP2D6 [15]. This is reflected in the incidence of specific side effects when using psychotropic drugs. Patients with high CYP2D6 activity receiving antipsychotic therapy are more predisposed to developing tardive dyskinesia than those in whom this enzyme is less active [16]. Tardive dyskinesia is a specific syndrome caused by long-term use of antipsychotics and persists after their withdrawal. As it develops, the patient experiences violent, repetitive movements of the tongue and lips. In severe forms, other muscle groups are involved: the patient experiences violent movements of the torso and limbs. These problems may be associated with restlessness, tremors, and drug-induced parkinsonism. Correcting tardive dyskinesia with medications is a difficult task. For this reason, efforts are usually made to prevent it. There is evidence that indicates that insufficient CYP2D6 activity may lead to neuroleptic malignant syndrome [17]. After taking antipsychotics, the patient begins to complain of a rise in temperature. He exhibits a pronounced increase in muscle tone, pronounced changes in pulse rate and blood pressure, as well as disturbances of consciousness of varying degrees. This is one of those rare conditions in psychiatry that itself can lead to the death of the patient.
Existing pharmacogenetic data in psychiatry are related to the work of the enzymes CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 [18]. Genetic testing can determine how quickly enzymes work depending on which allele of a gene a person has and in how many copies. Functional variants of CYP2D6 include variants CYP2D6*1, CYP2D6*2 in any combination with other alleles. If this gene has additional copies, then the enzyme works too actively, which puts its owner into the group of “ultra-fast” metabolizers. “Intermediate” and “slow” metabolizers of CYP2D6 may have an increased risk of side effects, and therefore require lower doses of drugs in the treatment of mental disorders. Based on the activity of the CYP2C19 enzyme, people can also be divided into “ultra-rapid”, “extensive”, “intermediate” and “slow” metabolizers. The prevalence of different alleles varies depending on the race to which the patient belongs.
The enzymes CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 play a key role in the metabolism of tricyclic antidepressants, among which amitriptyline should be mentioned. It is widely used by psychiatrists, neurologists and therapists for a wide variety of diseases. During metabolism, amitriptyline undergoes transformations, leading to a change in its effect on the mental state (Fig. 5) [18]. Amitriptyline, as a tertiary amine, has a pronounced effect on the serotonin system. Through the action of CYP2C19, it is converted to nortriptyline, which actively interferes with norepinephrine transmission. The more actively the enzyme works, the weaker the “serotonin” component of the effect of amitriptyline and the stronger the norepinephrine component. Since CYP2D6 is involved in the metabolism of tricyclic antidepressants, its activity affects the ability of the drugs to affect the patient's condition. For “ultra-fast” CYP2D6 metabolizers, it is recommended to start therapy other than this class of drugs. If a patient with such metabolic features is receiving tricyclic therapy, the plasma concentration of the drug should be regularly assessed. For “slow” metabolizers, the recommendations are the same. If they have to take tricyclic antidepressants, the initial dose should be 50% of the recommended starting dose. Similar recommendations exist for CYP2C19 [18]. At the same time, one should not think that genetic testing of the enzymes discussed is some kind of exotic. In 2005, the FDA approved the AmpliChip CYP450 system, which provides data on the genetics of these enzymes. Separate studies of the CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 genes are also available in our country.
Figure 5. In humans, amitriptyline is converted by the enzyme CYP2C19 to nortriptyline, the active metabolite of amitriptyline. CYP2D6 is involved in converting both molecules to an inactive form.
[18]
Another example of existing pharmacogenetic testing aimed at preventing rare but dangerous side effects is screening for the HLA-B*1502 marker in people of Asian descent. When treated with carbamazepine, patients carrying this gene are at increased risk of developing Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a potentially fatal skin disorder in which epidermal cells separate from the dermis [19]. The FDA recommends HLA-B*1502 testing before initiating carbamazepine therapy.
