Background. In connection with the 80^thanniversary of a famous Russian psychologist, Professor of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Lyudmila F. Obukhova it is relevant to analyse one of the most striking pages in her scientific heritage associated with her experimental study of the conditions and mechanisms of child thinking development.

The Objective is to consider the experimental model of the child’s transition from one stage of cognitive development to another elaborated by L. F. Obukhova on the basis of Pyotr Ya. Galperin’s theory, and to compare it with two alternative models created by the followers of J. Piaget in the Geneva psychological school (B. Inhelder, M. Bovet, H. Sinclair) and in the framework of American cognitive psychology (R. Siegler).

Design. Comparative analysis of the theoretical foundations and effectiveness of the three approaches to child cognitive development modeling, as well as the adequacy and completeness of the conceptual description of the according three experimental procedures: formative experiment, cognitive learning and microgenetic observation. 

Results. The method of L. F. Obukhova was the first significant attempt to reproduce the process and mechanisms of child’s transition from the preoperational stage of development to the operational stage in the conditions of the forming experiment. Using the method of "cognitive learning" allowed identifying the discrepancy between its actual psychological content and the interpretation of intellectual development as a spontaneous process. The evolution of microgenetic approach up to the modern position is traced through the identity of development and learning. 

Concusion. In contrast to the "cognitive learning" and microgenetic analysis method, the forming model of the study allows  recreating essential conditions of child cognitive development that are usually scattered in the spontaneous experience of the child and stretched in time.

The paper is devoted to approbating the method of negative emotion processing as the main component of the psychological support of the first-year students experiencing difficulties in adapting to university life. Many teachers associate the gradual development of intellectual activity and knowledge with teaching of school subjects. The work of P.Ya. Galperin’s disciples and followers (e.g. O.Karabanova, A.Liders, Yu.Frolov, N. Rozhdestvenskaya) showed that the scientific method is universal and can be used to develop and improve various mental properties and activities.

Using method «Perfection of Interpersonal Cognition Strategies» in psychological counseling based on P.Ya. Galperin’s theory promotes the development of adolescent reflexive mechanisms of understanding the personal characteristics of people, reducing the number of interpersonal conflicts with peers and adults, and also improving teachers’ understanding of the student personal characteristics. There are conditions under which the efficacy of mastering knowledge and cognitive skills are achieved. The educational experiment of studying the adaptation to university conditions in rural school graduates shows that mastering the cognitive processing of negative emotional experiences plays a leading role in the psychological adaptation of students. This method is an independent variable with respect to the three dependent ones, i.e. psychological adaptation in general, self-regulation of behaviour and communicative competence. The educational experiment carried out in accordance with the requirements of P.Ya. Galperin’s theory once again confirmed the high efficiency of P.Ya. Galperin’s methodology and showed that its potential capabilities are far from exhausted.

The paper is devoted to analysis of the potential of P.Ya.Galperin’s theory of gradual development of human intellectual activity for studying social cognition in children. In this area of studies the theory of gradual development of human intellectual activitycan be used to understand the child ability to manage the interpersonal situation of conflicts and to develop complex communicative skills.

There are three main areas that can employ the notions of P.Ya.Galperin’s theory. The first one relies on this method in teaching practice. The second one is devoted to the study of how social interaction in developing mental actions affects the process of gradual development of human intellectual activity and the characteristics of this activity. Within the third area, this method can be used to study the development of social knowledge in childhood.

The paper includes the examples of the experimental modeling of communicative situations as conditions for unfolding orientation processes and subsequent development of social and intellectual strategies for resolving problem in communicative situations.

The theory and method of gradual development of human intellectual activity allows to outline new directions in the research of social cognition in childhood according to three areas, namely, change of conventional practices of training communicative skills in childhood; development of the cognitive component of social emotional and communicative competence; description and elaboration of age-specific and developmental abilities to survive in complex communicative situations and plan future actions, which is a necessary condition for the development of social intelligence.

The experiments carried out within the framework of the research analysed participants’ ability to manage interpersonal relations in communicative situations. The orientational strategies used by children ib the course of the experiments were closely studied and classified.