On the Іssue of Beauty Perception in Onthogenesis

Developmental specifics of beauty sense in ontogenesis are analyzed in the article. It is demonstrated that mature formation of beauty sense and aesthetic activity relates to early adolescence. Ability to individual aspects of aesthetic activity can be noted on earlier stages of ontogenesis (A.V. Zaporozhets, Z.N. Novlianskaja, N.V. Papucha and others). However attitude to beauty is not realized clearly at the moment. Aesthetic activity in the strictly proper sense of the term can be analyzed when image dynamics shifts from encompassing involuntary changes of ideal images to free image management as well as realization of both freedom and contemplation in order to transform it according to “beauty principles”. Aesthetics exists exceptionally in the individual form of development. Therefore mature forms of aesthetic activity (perception or creation of aesthetic products) can be manifested at earlier ontogeny stages, for example, among artistically gifted children. It is demonstrated that behavioral acts of perception of an artistic work, while being visually similar, are phenomena of different psychological nature for different age groups (for example, infants, preschoolers, younger school children, teenagers). Features of fairy-tales and lullabies perception in early ontogenesis are analysed. Perception of fairy-tales in early ontogenesis originally emerges as external, unfolded activity and supposes participation in events which are directly perceived and experienced. Further on this basis similar activity acquires internal nature of assistance, empathy to fairy-tale characters and becomes true in the domain of imagination (A.V. Zaporozhets). Providing help to a fairy-tale character, a child places him/herself into the situation and further operates within its internal logic.

The Art of Charcot: An Outstanding Caricaturist

Jean-Martin Charcot is considered the father of modern neurology; alongside his work as a physician, professor, and researcher in this area, he was also artistically gifted with a taste for caricature. This historical note summarizes 8 caricatures by Charcot that exhibit a mixture of humor, satire, irony, and sarcasm.

Comparative Analysis of Cognitive Characteristics of Young Adolescents with Artistic and Intellectual Giftedness

The work is aimed at identifying specific manifestations of creativity and basic cognitive characteristics in young adolescents with artistic and intellectual giftedness. The relevance of the study is due to lack of study of the issue of cognitive manifestations of different types of giftedness in early adolescence, in which the issue of specialization of education is often resolved. The study involved 54 intellectually gifted adolescents (M = 11.4 years old) and 32 artistically gifted peers (M = 11.2 years old). The study used the following methods: a computerize d battery of test tasks for studying bas ic cognitive characteristics (“number sense”, visua l working memory and information processing speed), "Raven’s Progressive Matrixes”, “Verbally-figura l creativity test”, drawing tests of Urban and "Horizon Line ". The results confirm the hypothesis about the specificity of creativity in younger adolescents with different types of giftedness (intellectual and artistic). Intellectually gifted younger adolescents show higher rates of divergent verbal creativity compared to their artistically gifted peers; and artistically gifted younger adolescents surpass their intellectually gifted peers in terms of picturesque (figurative) creativity and are distinguished by their highquality originality, revealing a high emotional expressiveness and creative approach to the implementation of the plan. No statistically significant intergroup differences in the basic indicators of cognitive development and general intelligence were found, although artistically gifted adolescents better than their intellectually gifted peers compare asymmetrically expressed amounts (“number sense”), but they are inferior in terms of information processing speed.