Psychological analysis of age periodization

This article gives the author's view on classic periodization of psychological development created by D.B. El'konin. The review of the two types of age periods is the key of the analysis. The author addresses the problem of development specificity identification in different periods of life and the problem of finding the mechanisms of development in these periods. The article substantiates the idea that different actions of a child reconstruct (or model) human culture, and presumes that the forms of modeling can be considered a ground for comparing age periods. There are two types of mediate actions that are appropriate to each type of age: symbolic and sign actions. On the base of Russian research results, the author puts forward a hypothesis that forms of constructing actuality, which are inherent to infancy, preschool age and adolescence, can be described as special forms of artistic modeling.