The early stage of child development (0-12 months) was investigated in this study. The kernel of language ability was traced within the frame of the system of psychophysiological development. It was shown that in the process of general development several mechanisms are successively put into operation and function in the different spheres of the infant's psychophysiological activity: body movement, contact with adults (an early form of communication), and vocalization (which is regarded as the preverbal form of the future language). On these grounds, and based on the existence of a special mechanism of inborn vocal activity normally presented by the moment of child birth, a framework of communicative operations with ambient people has been developed. The proposed model explains the advantage of using sound communicative forms, namely the infant's first words.

The main Pavlovian ideas about connections between physiology and psychology are sketched here, with particular emphasis placed on the principle of their interrelations suggested by I.P. Pavlov. Some examples are given where physiological and psychological phenomena were described in coordination with each other. The schools and approaches in Russian psychology exploring Pavlov's ideas are also presented: the research of Teplov, Nebylitsyn, Boiko, Sokolov, Livanov, and Lebedev is briefly reviewed. Some points of criticism of Pavlov's theory are analyzed.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract