Representations of Age and Perspective of Growing-up and Their Dynamics in 6–8-Year-Olds ¹⁰³¹

The paper presents the results of the study on a child's subjective attitudes towards his/her age and perspective of growing-up in the transition from preschool to primary school age. The study involved 226 participants: preschoolers, first and second graders of the secondary School № 751 in Moscow. Sixty five children have participated in the longitudinal study: in the transition from the progymnasia (preschoolers) to the first grade and then to the second grade. Analysis of results obtained using standard and author’s techniques has confirmed the hypothesis about the transition period between preschool and school age as a rather long and controversial period of time during which child’s motivation, the perception of his/her age and perspective of growing-up are changing. In particular, it was found that children upon growing up no longer focus on external, non-essential features. The study provides the statistical standards of age representations. Deviations from these standards can indicate the ill-being in the psychological sphere and can serve as a starting point for psychological correction.

Keywords: 6–8-year-old children, assessment and perceptions of their own age, perspective of growing-up

Column: Developmental Psychology