Psychological AssessmentPsychological Assessment of toysof toys in Moscowin Moscow

CULTURAL-HISTORICAL APPROACHCULTURAL-HISTORICAL APPROACH

Prof. Lev Vygotskiy (1896-1934)

1. Every stage of child development has it’s specific type of leading activity.

2. Different kinds of play can be understood in this frame as a special kinds of leading activity in appropriate age.

Free activity without enforcement Emotional uplift with the pleasure drawn on

activity, not on its result Spontaneity, improvisation, active testing of

oneself and subject of play

PLAY IN SCHOLARLY SENSE PLAY IN SCHOLARLY SENSE

In strict scholarly usage “play” means the creation of imaginary space (with the help of toys or without them) – it is the role play or the symbolic play.

Discrepancy between the real and the imaginary situation is the main characteristic of the role or symbolic play.

For preschoolers (between the ages of 3 and 6) this type of play is the leading activity, which ensures effective psychological development of the child as a personality.

Toy is an object that enables the child to go beyond the existing situation, to ‘become’ somebody

Two crucial processes centering on the doll take place.

Child expresses himself

Knowledge, emotions and events of life.

In play the child opens up the

world of human relations and

ideas.

Toy may be an important figure of kid’s life.

Using friend like a doll or a teddy bear makes it easier to face danger and gives a feeling of one’s worth and independence. The children ask them questions, which they answer themselves. They attribute their own feelings and worries to them.

A conversation with a toy is thus a conversation of one ego with the other embodied in a material

object.

Good toy must to be open to the different actions and emotions of the child.

Toys should make it possible for children to impart their own activity – their voices and movements - to it.

Toys should not impose themselves nor suggest concrete actions.

The peculiarity of a toy is that it combines interests of

toy manufacturers and sellers toy manufacturers and sellers

from one side and psychologists and pedagogues and psychologists and pedagogues

from the other.

Desire for success makes modern toys more technological and education oriented.

Whereas they become more and more distant from their main designation - infant play.

Parents don’t have any toy selection references. They simply don’t have enough information which would guide them through the peculiarities of child development – what the child needs at this certain age. As a result parents fully rely on producers offer while producers depend on consumer’s demand.

Every toy must pass the ethical filter. The toys which contradicts the ethical norms accepted in culture, cannot be allowed to psychological and pedagogical assessment.

The toy assessment in the Center is based on the following blocks :

1. The motivation of play activity connects to attraction of toy for the child.

2. The play activity which connects to development potential of toy.

3. Operational characteristics of toy provide the possibility of self-dependent child activity

www.psytoys.ru

Центр Игры и

Центр Игры и игрушкиМГППУ

Assessment of Assessment of toystoys

Policy-makers

Toy industry Parents

Preschool psychologists and educators