There is thinking. What is thinking? Specifics of imaginative thinking

Thinking is the mental process of modeling the laws of the surrounding world on the basis of axiomatic provisions. However, in psychology there are many other definitions.

Information received by a person from the surrounding world allows a person to imagine not only external, but also inner side an object, to imagine objects in their absence, to foresee their changes over time, to rush with thought into the vast distances and microcosms. All this is possible thanks to the thinking process.

Process Features

The first feature of thinking is its indirect nature. What a person cannot know directly, directly, he knows indirectly, indirectly: some properties through others, the unknown through the known. Thinking is always based on the data of sensory experience - sensations, perceptions, ideas - and on previously acquired theoretical knowledge. Indirect knowledge is mediated knowledge.

The second feature of thinking is its generality. Generalization as knowledge of the general and essential in the objects of reality is possible because all the properties of these objects are connected with each other. The general exists and manifests itself only in the individual, in the concrete.

People express generalizations through speech and language. A verbal designation refers not only to a single object, but also to a whole group of similar objects. Generalization is also inherent in images (ideas and even perceptions). But there it is always limited by clarity. The word allows one to generalize limitlessly. Philosophical concepts of matter, motion, law, essence, phenomenon, quality, quantity, etc. - the broadest generalizations expressed in words.

Basic Concepts

The results of people's cognitive activity are recorded in the form of concepts. Concept– is a reflection of the essential features of the subject. The concept of an object arises on the basis of many judgments and conclusions about it. The concept as a result of generalizing people's experience is superior product brain, the highest level of knowledge of the world.

Human thinking occurs in the form of judgments and inferences. Judgment is a form of thinking that reflects the objects of reality in their connections and relationships. Each judgment is a separate thought about something. The sequential logical connection of several judgments, necessary in order to solve any mental problem, understand something, find an answer to a question, is called reasoning. Reasoning has practical meaning only when it leads to a certain conclusion, a conclusion. The conclusion will be the answer to the question, the result of the search for thought.

Inference- this is a conclusion from several judgments, giving us new knowledge about objects and phenomena of the objective world. Inferences can be inductive, deductive, or by analogy.

Thinking and other mental processes

Thinking is the highest level of human knowledge of reality. The sensory basis of thinking is sensations, perceptions and ideas. Through the senses - these are the only channels of communication between the body and the outside world - information enters the brain. The content of information is processed by the brain. The most complex (logical) form of information processing is the activity of thinking. Solving the mental problems that life poses to a person, he reflects, draws conclusions and thereby learns the essence of things and phenomena, discovers the laws of their connection, and then, on this basis, transforms the world.

Thinking is not only closely connected with sensations and perceptions, but it is formed on the basis of them. The transition from sensation to thought is a complex process, which consists, first of all, in isolating and isolating an object or its sign, in abstracting from the concrete, individual and establishing the essential, common to many objects.

For human thinking, the relationship is more important not with sensory knowledge, but with speech and language. In a more strict sense, speech is a process of communication mediated by language. If language is an objective, historically established system of codes and the subject of a special science - linguistics, then speech is a psychological process of formulating and transmitting thoughts through the means of language. Modern psychology does not believe that internal speech has the same structure and the same functions as expanded external speech. By internal speech, psychology means a significant transitional stage between the plan and developed external speech. A mechanism that allows you to recode the general meaning into a speech utterance, i.e. inner speech is, first of all, not a detailed speech utterance, but only a preparatory stage.

However, the inextricable connection between thinking and speech does not mean that thinking can be reduced to speech. Thinking and speech are not the same thing. Thinking does not mean talking to yourself. Evidence of this can be the possibility of expressing the same thought in different words, and also what we don’t always find the right words to express your thoughts.

Types of thinking

• Thinking without imagery (eng. imageless thought) is thinking “free” from sensory elements (images of perception and representation): understanding the meaning of verbal material often occurs without the appearance of any images in consciousness.
• Thinking is visual. A method for solving intellectual problems based on internal visual images.
• Discursive thinking (discursus – reasoning) is a person’s verbal thinking mediated by past experience. Verbal-logical, or verbal-logical, or abstract-conceptual thinking. Acts as a process of coherent logical reasoning, in which each subsequent thought is conditioned by the previous one. The varieties and rules (norms) of discursive thinking are studied in most detail in logic.
• Complex thinking is the thinking of a child and an adult, carried out in the process of unique empirical generalizations, the basis for which are the relationships between things revealed in perception.
• Visual-effective thinking is one of the types of thinking, distinguished not by the type of problem, but by the process and method of solution; the solution to a non-standard problem is sought through the observation of real objects, their interactions and the implementation of material transformations in which the subject of thinking himself takes part. The development of intelligence begins with it both in phylo- and ontogenesis.
• Visual-figurative thinking is a type of thinking that is carried out on the basis of transformations of images of perception into images-representations, further changes, transformations and generalization of the subject content of ideas that form a reflection of reality in an imaginative-conceptual form.
• Figurative thinking is a process of cognitive activity aimed at reflecting the essential properties of objects (their parts, processes, phenomena) and the essence of their structural relationship.
• Practical thinking is a thinking process that occurs in the course of practical activity, in contrast to theoretical thinking aimed at solving abstract theoretical problems.
• Productive thinking is a synonym for “ creative thinking”, associated with solving problems: new, non-standard intellectual tasks for the subject. The most difficult task facing human thought is the task of knowing oneself.
• Theoretical thinking - the main components are meaningful abstractions, generalizations, analysis, planning and reflection. Her intensive development its subjects are facilitated by learning activities.

Basic thought processes

Human mental activity is the solution of various mental problems aimed at revealing the essence of something. A mental operation is one of the methods of mental activity through which a person solves mental problems. Mental operations are varied. This is analysis and synthesis, comparison, abstraction, specification, generalization, classification. Which logical operations a person will use will depend on the task and on the nature of the information that he is subjected to mental processing.

Analysis and synthesis

Analysis is the mental decomposition of a whole into parts or the mental isolation of its sides, actions, and relationships from the whole. Synthesis is the opposite process of thought to analysis; it is the combination of parts, properties, actions, relationships into one whole. Analysis and synthesis are two interrelated logical operations. Synthesis, like analysis, can be both practical and mental. Analysis and synthesis were formed in the practical activities of man. In their work, people constantly interact with objects and phenomena. Their practical mastery led to the formation of mental operations of analysis and synthesis.

Comparison

Comparison is the establishment of similarities and differences between objects and phenomena. The comparison is based on analysis. Before comparing objects, it is necessary to identify one or more of their characteristics by which the comparison will be made. The comparison can be one-sided, or incomplete, and multilateral, or more complete. Comparison, like analysis and synthesis, can be at different levels - superficial and deeper. In this case, a person’s thought comes from external signs similarities and differences to internal ones, from visible to hidden, from appearance to essence.

Abstraction

Abstraction is the process of mental abstraction from certain features, aspects of a particular thing in order to better understand it. A person mentally identifies some feature of an object and examines it in isolation from all other features, temporarily distracting from them. Isolated study of individual features of an object while simultaneously abstracting from all others helps a person to better understand the essence of things and phenomena. Thanks to abstraction, man was able to break away from the individual, concrete and rise to the highest level of knowledge - scientific theoretical thinking.

Specification

Concretization is a process that is the opposite of abstraction and is inextricably linked with it. Concretization is the return of thought from the general and abstract to the concrete in order to reveal the content. Mental activity is always aimed at obtaining some result. A person analyzes objects, compares them, abstracts individual properties in order to identify what they have in common, in order to reveal the patterns that govern their development, in order to master them. Generalization, therefore, is the identification of the general in objects and phenomena, which is expressed in the form of a concept, law, rule, formula, etc.

Stages of thinking development

The ability to think, as a reflection of the connections and relationships existing between things, manifests itself in a person in a rudimentary form already in the first months of life. Further development and improvement of this ability occurs in connection with: a) the child’s life experience, b) his practical activities, c) mastering speech, d) the educational influence of schooling. This process of thinking development is characterized by the following features:

• In the early childhood The child’s thinking is visual and effective in nature; it is associated with the direct perception of objects and manipulation with them. The connections between things reflected at first are of a generalized nature, only under the influence life experience followed by more precise differentiation. Thus, already in the first year of life, a child, having burned himself on a shiny teapot, withdraws his hand from other shiny objects. This action is based on the formation of a conditioned reflex connection between the skin sensation of a burn and the visual sensation of the shiny surface of the object on which the child was burned. However, later, when touching shiny objects in some cases was not accompanied by a feeling of a burn, the child begins to associate this sensation more accurately with the temperature characteristics of the objects.
• At this stage, the child is not yet capable of abstract thinking: he develops concepts (still very elementary) about things and the connections that exist between them only in the process of directly operating with things, actually connecting and separating things and their elements. A child of this age thinks only about what is the subject of activity; his thinking about these things ceases along with the cessation of activity. Neither the past, nor even the future are yet the content of his thinking; he is not yet able to plan his activities, foresee its results and purposefully strive for them.
• A child’s mastery of speech by the end of the second year of life significantly expands his ability to generalize things and their properties. This is facilitated by naming different objects with the same word (the word “table” equally means dining, kitchen, and desk tables, thus helping the child to form general concept about the table), as well as designating one object with different words with a broader and narrower meaning.
• The concepts of things formed by the child are still very strongly connected with their specific images: gradually these images, thanks to the participation of speech, become more and more generalized. The concepts with which the child operates at this stage of thinking development are initially simply of an objective nature: an undifferentiated image of the object he is thinking about appears in the child’s mind. Subsequently, this image becomes more differentiated in its content. Accordingly, the child’s speech develops: first, only nouns are noted in his dictionary, then adjectives and, finally, verbs appear.
• A significant restructuring of the thinking process occurs in children before school age. Communication with adults, from whom children receive verbal descriptions and explanations of phenomena, expands and deepens children's knowledge about the world around them. In this regard, the child’s thinking gets the opportunity to focus on phenomena that are only thought and are no longer the object of his direct activity. The content of concepts begins to be enriched due to conceivable connections and relationships, although reliance on concrete, visual material remains for a long time, right up to primary school age. The child begins to be interested in the causal connections and relationships of things. In this regard, he begins to compare and contrast phenomena, more accurately highlight their essential features, and operate with the simplest abstract concepts (material, weight, number, etc.). With all this, the thinking of preschool children is characterized by imperfections, replete with numerous errors and inaccuracies, which is due to the lack of necessary knowledge and insufficient life experience.
• At primary school age, children begin to develop the ability for purposeful mental activity. This is facilitated by a program and teaching methods aimed at imparting to children a certain system of knowledge, mastering certain thinking techniques through exercise under the guidance of a teacher (during expository reading, when solving problems on certain rules etc.), enrichment and development in the process of learning correct speech. The child increasingly begins to use abstract concepts in the process of thinking, but in general his thinking continues to be based on concrete perceptions and ideas.
• The ability for abstract logical thinking develops and improves in middle school and, especially, in high school age. This is facilitated by mastering the fundamentals of science. In this regard, the thinking of high school students proceeds on the basis of scientific concepts, which reflect the most essential features and interconnections of phenomena. Students are accustomed to a precise logical definition of concepts; their thinking in the learning process acquires a planned, conscious character. This is expressed in purposeful thinking, in the ability to build evidence of the propositions put forward or analyzed, analyze them, find and correct errors made in reasoning. Great importance at the same time, speech acquires - the student’s ability to accurately and clearly express his thoughts in words.

Thinking Strategies

When solving any problem, we use one of three thinking strategies.

• Random search. This strategy follows trial and error. That is, an assumption is formulated (or a choice is made), after which its validity is assessed. So assumptions are made until the right solution is found.
• Rational overkill. With this strategy, a person explores a certain central, least risky assumption, and then, changing one element each time, cuts off the wrong directions of the search. By the way, artificial intelligence operates on this principle.
• Systematic search. With this thinking strategy, a person embraces with his mind the entire set of possible hypotheses and systematically analyzes them one by one. Systematic enumeration is rarely used in everyday life, but it is this strategy that allows you to most fully develop plans for long-term or complex actions.

Psychologist Carol Dweck has spent her career studying performance and mindset, and her latest research shows that your predisposition to success depends more on your attitude than on your IQ. Dweck discovered that there are two types of mindsets: a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

If you have a fixed mindset, you believe that you are who you are and cannot change it. This creates problems when life challenges you: if you feel like you have to do more than you can handle, you feel hopeless. People with a growth mindset believe that they can become better if they put in the effort. They outperform people with a fixed mindset, even if they have lower intelligence. People with a growth mindset approach challenges as opportunities to learn something new.

No matter what type of mindset you currently have, you can develop a growth mindset.

• Don't remain helpless. Each of us finds ourselves in situations where we feel helpless. The question is how we respond to this feeling. We can either learn a lesson and move on, or we can despair. Many successful people would not have become so if they had succumbed to feelings of helplessness.

Walt Disney ( Walt Disney) was fired from the Kansas City Star because he "lacked imagination and lacked good ideas", Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a TV anchor in Baltimore because she was "too emotionally involved in her stories", Henry Ford had two failed car companies before starting Ford, and Steven Spielberg ) was expelled several times from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.

• Give in to passion. Inspired people relentlessly pursue their passions. There may always be someone more talented than you, but what you lack in talent you can make up for with passion. Passion keeps the desire for excellence in inspired people undiminished.

Warren Buffett recommends finding your passion using the 5/25 technique. Make a list of 25 things that are important to you. Then cross off 20 starting from the bottom. The remaining 5 are your true passions. Everything else is just entertainment.

• Take action. The difference between people with a growth mindset is not that they are braver than others and are able to overcome their fears, but that they understand that fear and anxiety are paralyzing, and The best way cope with paralysis - do something. People with a growth mindset have an inner core and realize that they don't have to wait for the perfect moment to move forward. By taking action, we transform worry and anxiety into positive, directed energy.
• Walk an extra kilometer or two. Strong people do their best even in their own time. worst days. They always push themselves to go a little further.
• Expect results. People with a growth mindset understand that they will fail from time to time, but that doesn't stop them from expecting results. Expecting results keeps you motivated and pushes you to improve.
• Be flexible. Everyone faces unexpected difficulties. Inspired people with a growth mindset see this as an opportunity to become better, not a reason to give up on a goal. When life challenges you strong people will look for options until they get the result.

• Research shows that chewing gum helps improve thinking skills. Chewing gum increases blood flow to the brain. Such people have better ability to concentrate and remember information. Good to use chewing gum, which do not contain sugar to avoid any side effects.
• When you study, try to activate all your senses. Different parts of the brain remember different sensory data. For example, one part of the brain is responsible for recognizing and remembering pictures, and another is responsible for sounds.
• As mentioned, puzzles can actually be very useful. They force you to think deeply about something. They stimulate the brain and also awaken a person’s ability to comprehend. Try buying a puzzle magazine to get more exercise.
• After a healthy sleep, it will be easier for you to think.
• Mediation helps improve thinking. Every day, devote 5 minutes to such activities in the morning and the same amount of time before bed.

An integral part of human life is thinking. The definition of this concept was given in ancient times. Scientists and thinkers have been interested in this question at all times. And today this phenomenon cannot be considered fully studied.

History of the study of thinking

At all times, scientists have been interested in such a phenomenon as thinking. This concept was defined back in ancient period. Wherein Special attention focused on understanding the essence of invisible phenomena. was the first to raise this issue. It is to him that humanity owes the emergence of such concepts as truth and opinion.

Plato viewed this issue a little differently. He believed that thinking is a cosmic essence that the human soul possessed before entering the earthly body. He believed that this is not a creative activity, but a reproductive one, aimed at “remembering” the knowledge that was “forgotten.” Despite the rather fantastic reasoning, it is Plato who is credited with studying such a concept as intuition.

Aristotle gave a thorough explanation of what thinking is. The definition included categories such as judgment and inference. The philosopher developed a whole science - logic. Subsequently, on the basis of his research, Raymond Lull created the so-called “thinking machine”.

Descartes perceived thinking as a spiritual category, and considered systematic doubt to be the main method of knowledge. Spinoza, in turn, believed that this is a physical mode of action. Kant's main achievement was the division of thinking into synthetic and analytical.

Thinking: Definition

The processes occurring in the human brain have always aroused increased interest. Therefore, there are many theories about what thinking is. The definition suggests itself as follows: this cognitive activity which is carried out by man. This is a kind of way of perceiving and reflecting reality.

Main result mental activity is a thought (it can manifest itself in the form of awareness, concept, idea or in other forms). However, this process should not be confused with sensation. Thinking, according to scientists, is inherent only to humans, but animals and lower forms of life organization also have sensory perceptions.

It is worth noting a number distinctive features, which characterize thinking. Definition this term gives the right to say that it allows one to obtain information about those phenomena that cannot be perceived through direct contact. Thus, there is a relationship between thinking and analytical abilities.

It is worth noting that a person’s ability to think manifests itself gradually as the individual develops. So, with a person’s knowledge of the norms of language, features environment and other forms of life, it begins to acquire new forms and deeper meanings.

Signs of thinking

Thinking has a number of defining characteristics. The following are considered the main ones:

• this process allows the subject to navigate interdisciplinary connections, as well as understand the essence of each specific phenomenon;
• it arises on the basis of existing theoretical knowledge, as well as previously performed practical actions;
• the thought process is always based on fundamental knowledge;
• As it develops, thinking can go far beyond the limits of practical activity and existing ideas about certain phenomena.

Basic mental operations

At first glance, the definition of the word “thinking” does not reveal the entire essence of this process. To better understand its meaning, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the basic operations that reveal the essence of the term:

• analysis - dividing the subject being studied into components;
• synthesis - identifying relationships and combining disconnected parts;
• comparison - identifying similar and different qualities items;
• classification - identifying the main features with subsequent grouping according to them;
• specification - isolating a certain category from the general mass;
• generalization - combining objects and phenomena into groups;
• abstraction - the study of a specific subject independently of others.

Aspects of thinking

Thinking and approach to problem solving are influenced by significant aspects that are formed in the process of human life. It is worth noting the following significant points:

• the national aspect is the mentality and specific traditions that are historically inherent in a person living in a certain area;
• socio-political norms - are formed under the pressure of society;
• personal interests are a subjective factor that can affect final decision problematic issue.

Types of thinking

As already mentioned, back in the ancient period this concept was given a definition. The types of thinking are as follows:

• abstract - implies the use of associative symbols;
• logical - established constructions and common concepts are used;
• abstract-logical - combines the operation of symbols and standard constructions;
• divergent - searching for several equal answers to the same question;
• convergent - allows only one correct way to solve a problem;
• practical - involves the development of goals, plans and algorithms;
• theoretical - implies cognitive activity;
• creative - aims to create a new “product”;
• critical - checking the available data;
• spatial - the study of an object in all the diversity of its states and properties;
• intuitive - a fleeting process with the absence of clearly defined forms.

Phases of thinking

Researchers pay attention to the active, dynamic nature of thinking. Considering that its main goal is to solve problems, the following main phases can be distinguished:

• awareness of the presence of a problem (results from the flow of information that has been processed over a certain period of time);
• searching for a possible solution and forming alternative hypotheses;
• comprehensive testing of hypotheses for their applicability in practice;
• solving a problem is manifested in obtaining an answer to a problematic question and fixing it in consciousness.

Levels of Thinking

Determining the level of thinking first interested Aaron Beck, who is rightfully considered the father of cognitive psychology. He believed that on an unconscious level, a person is guided by beliefs and established patterns. In this regard, the following levels of thinking are distinguished:

• voluntary thoughts that are on the surface of consciousness (they are easy to recognize and control);
• automatic thoughts are some stereotypes that are established both in society and in the human mind (in most cases they are laid down in the process of upbringing and training);
• Cognitive beliefs are complex constructs and patterns that arise at an unconscious level (they are difficult to change).

Thinking process

The definition of the thinking process states that it is a set of actions with the help of which a person decides certain logic problems. As a result, fundamentally new knowledge can also be obtained. This category has the following distinctive features:

• the process is indirect;
• relies on previously acquired knowledge;
• largely depends on contemplation of the environment, but is not limited to it;
• connections between different categories are reflected in verbal form;
• has practical significance.

Qualities of the mind

Determining the level of thinking is inextricably linked with the definition. These include the following:

• independence - the ability to generate original ideas and thoughts without resorting to the help of others, without using standard schemes and without succumbing to outside influence;
• curiosity - the need to obtain new information;
• speed - the time that passes from the moment of awareness of the problem to the generation of the final solution;
• breadth - the ability to apply knowledge from different industries to solving the same problem;
• simultaneity - the ability to look at a problem from different angles and generate diverse ways to resolve it;
• depth is the degree of mastery of a particular topic, as well as understanding the essence of the situation (implies an understanding of the causes of certain events, as well as the ability to foresee the further scenario of events);
• flexibility - the ability to take into account the specific conditions in which a problem arises, moving away from generally accepted templates and algorithms;
• consistency - establishing an exact sequence of actions in solving problems;
• criticality - the tendency to deeply evaluate each of the ideas that arise.

What methods of determining the level of thinking are known?

The researchers noted that the thought processes of different people proceed differently. In this regard, there is a need for such work as determining the level logical thinking. It is worth noting that quite a lot of methods have been developed on this issue. The most commonly used are the following:

• "20 words" is a test that helps identify a person’s memory abilities.
• "Anagrams"- a technique that is aimed at determining the ability for combinatorial thinking. The test also allows you to identify your aptitude for communication.
• "Identification of significant features"- a technique for determining thinking, which is designed to reveal a person’s ability to distinguish between primary and secondary phenomena.
• "Learning words"- determines how developed the abilities associated with memorizing and reproducing information are. The test also allows you to assess the state of memory and concentration in people suffering from mental illness.
• "Quantitative Relationships"- test for the level of logical thinking in adolescents and adults. The conclusion is drawn based on the solution of 18 problems.
• "Link's Cube"- this is a technique that is aimed at identifying special abilities in a person (observation, a tendency to analyze, the ability to identify patterns, etc.). By solving constructive problems, one can assess the degree of a person’s intelligence.
• "Building a fence"- test for the level of development of thinking. It is determined how well the subject understands the final goal and how accurately he follows the instructions. Pace and coordination of actions are also considered determining factors.

How to develop thinking: step-by-step instructions

If the identification test shows unsatisfactory results, do not immediately give up. You can develop this ability as follows:

• write down your ideas, as well as the progress of solving the problem (this allows you to use more parts of the brain);
• pay attention to logic games (the most a shining example are chess);
• buy several collections of crosswords or puzzles and devote all your free time to solving them;
• to activate brain activity is necessary (this may be an unexpected change in daily routine, new way performing usual actions);
• physical activity (it is best to give preference to dancing, as it forces you to constantly think and remember the pattern of movements);
• get busy fine arts, which will help you find new forms of presenting your ideas;
• force your brain to absorb new information (you can start studying foreign language, watch a documentary, read a section of an encyclopedia, etc.);
• approach solving problems systematically, and not chaotically (this process includes an established sequence of stages - from recognizing the problem to developing a final solution);
• do not forget about rest, because for the brain to work most productively, it needs to be given time to recover.

Thinking and psychology

It is worth noting that this concept is being studied very actively in psychology. The definition of thinking is simple: a set of processes of mental activity on which cognitive activity is based. This term is associated with categories such as attention, association, perception, judgment and others. It is believed that thinking is one of the highest functions of the human psyche. It is considered as an indirect reflection of reality in a generalized form. The essence of the process is to identify the essences of objects and phenomena and establish relationships between them.

(Petukhov) The diversity of the phenomenology of thinking requires its different psychological definitions. In an attempt to describe this phenomenology as a whole, psychology uses the definition of thinking in a broad sense: this is the active cognitive activity of the subject, necessary for his full orientation in the surrounding natural and social world. When solving more specialized research problems, when studying specific psychological mechanisms of higher cognitive processes, thinking is determined by in the narrow sense- as a problem solving process. Thinking as a problem solving process. The definition of thinking in the narrow sense is used mainly in experimental studies of specific psychological mechanisms of cognition, in diagnosing intellectual abilities and managing the creative process. The understanding of thinking as a problem-solving process was first proposed in the Würzburg school of “psychology of thinking.” Any task has an objective and subjective (psychological) structure. Objectively, the task includes: 1) a set of certain conditions; 2) the requirement that must be achieved by complying with them. In the psychological structure of a task, the requirement corresponds to a subjectively set goal, and the conditions correspond to the means of achieving it. Thus, in the general psychological theory of activity, a task is defined as a goal set under certain conditions (A.N. Leontiev). It is easy to understand that in this definition, the process of solving a problem is the process of achieving a psychologically determined goal already set by the subject, the process of searching for the necessary means for this in objectively given conditions. A complete definition of thinking in the narrow sense requires a number of clarifications and distinctions.

The first of these is discrimination solving a problem as a product, i.e. an already found solution (English, solution) and as the process itself, so to speak, a “solution” (English, solving). The study of the psychological mechanisms of mental activity cannot be carried out only by fixing its established products and presupposes, first of all, an analysis of the processes of their generation. Thus, thinking should be defined as the process of solving a problem. The second distinction is related to the presence or absence in the subject’s past experience of ready-made means of solving the task. If such means exist, then the situation will not be problematic for the subject, and its solution will actually come down to the use of the formed mental skill, to the reproduction of existing knowledge and skills. Such thinking is called reproductive, without generally considering it to be thinking in the proper sense. Only in the absence of ready-made means of achieving a goal does the need arise to search for, create, construct them, and this process requires productive, creative thinking. A task with a set goal and the absence of means to achieve it is called creative, and thinking should now be defined as the process of solving creative problems. The third clarification concerns to the concept of purpose. The goal can be precisely determined when acceptance of the stated requirement does not require additional effort from the subject. However, in other cases, the very transformation of an objective requirement into a subjective goal becomes an independent problem for the subject. Such situations are the empirical basis for studying the processes of goal formation in mental activity, and thinking itself acts as a process of not only solving, but also setting problems. Finally, the fourth clarification is related to specifics of the psychological study of thinking. Unlike other sciences, psychology considers thinking as a process of solving a problem by a specific individual, subject. In modern psychology, the concept of the subject of thinking is defined quite broadly, which makes it possible to involve in the study of the process of solving a problem personality traits a person, characteristics of his need-motivational, emotional sphere, individual characteristics, etc.

Thinking (Tikhomirov) is a process of cognitive activity, the products of which are characterized by a generalized and indirect reflection (a thought that reflects the distinctive essential features of objects and phenomena) of reality. Thinking– this is a process that is characterized as the cognitive activity of the subject. The product of mental activity is generalized and mediated reality. According to them, thoughts differ from images of sensations, perceptions, etc. 2 properties of generalized and indirect reflection: 1) content – ​​a set of characteristics, phenomena or objects reflected in the concept. 2) the scope of concepts - a set of objects or phenomena that belong to the characteristics of the reflected concepts. Indirect reflection- such knowledge of the subject about the world around him, which is given to him directly through his senses. For the first time, scientific research into thinking began at the Würzburger School (Külpe, N. Ach, K. Bühler, O. Selz). the method of somatic introspection is ordinary natural introspection, which does not involve decomposition into elements. Contents that differed from images were observed in consciousness.

Thinking– problem solving process. The task was considered from an objective (external observation) and subjective point of view (if the objective requirements contained in the task become a subjectively accepted goal). The process of solving a problem is achieving a set goal using certain means. If there are means, then the task is reproductive (resources from past experience). If there are no funds, then the task is to find means – productive thinking (creative).

Thinking (James) – replacement of the whole with its parts and associated properties and means. Conditions – the subject’s interest in deducing properties or consequences from specific empirical factors. The derivation of a property from facts is unknown in advance to the subject. The content of the thought process lies in the subject’s identification of such a hidden property from the facts, which is associated with the properties and will lead the subject to a decision. To isolate an essential attribute (found property), the subject must demonstrate insight. This is the first characteristic of thinking. Thinking is not only the replacement of parts of the whole, but also an essential attribute is associated with the desired properties and consequences. This connection is known from past experience. Every thought process is based on previous knowledge.

Types of thinking (P. Breuler): autistic thinking (function – to give oneself pleasure), realistic thinking (function – knowledge of the surrounding world). The classification is based on 2 criteria: the reality of representation in thinking, the function of thinking.

Types of thinking (B.M. Teplov): practical (the result is immediately implemented in practice, strict time frames, high sense of responsibility), theoretical (it is not necessary to apply immediately, less strict time frames, lower degree of responsibility). The classification is based on 3 criteria: the connection between the result of the activity and practice, time limitations, and the degree of responsibility for the error.

Types of thinking (Rubinstein): visual-effective up to 2-3 years (visually, with practical actions), visual-figurative from 2-3 to 6-7 years (visual, images), verbal-logical from 7 and by 11-12 years (verbal, logical laws and rules). Criteria: forms of presentation of the problem to the subject, basic methods of solving the problem.

THINKING

THINKING

Only at the beginning 20th century concrete studies of M. acquired the features of genuine historicism and works appeared that systematized the previously accumulated numerous. ethnographic quality data. the originality of M. peoples standing at relatively low levels of socio-economic. and cultural development (L. Lévy-Bruhl, Veyle, etc.). Despite all the unsatisfactory theoretical interpretations of the facts stated in them. These materials of the work had the significance that they showed the inconsistency of the position about the immutability of human laws. spirit and introduced the idea of ​​qualities into the doctrine of M. changes that it undergoes in the course of history. development. The second direction of research, which played an important role in understanding the nature and mechanisms of M., consisted of experimental work devoted to the study of human prehistory. M. is his geneticist. roots in the animal world. Already the first systematic research (W. Köhler, R. Yerkes, H. N. Ladygina-Kots) of intellectual behavior great apes showed that in higher animals there is a complex activity, the nature of which is similar to M., although it occurs in the form of external movement. operations (“practical”, or, according to Pavlov, “manual thinking” of animals). The study of the intellectual behavior of higher animals, deepening the genetics. approach to M., at the same time, raised the problem of fundamental qualities for specific research. thinking about change. processes during the transition to humans. Concretizing Engels' position on the role of labor in the formation of man, Vygotsky showed that "M." animals turns into genuine, human. M. under the influence of crossing the line of development of practical. objective actions and the line of development of vocal reactions, which must occur in conditions of collective labor activity. As a result, vocal signals, through which animals communicate, are increasingly transformed from instinctively expressive to reflective of content and become carriers of generalizations that are developed into practical ones. experience, i.e. acquire the function of meaning. On the other hand, practical. intellectual behavior is “verified”, mediated by language, verbal concepts and, due to this, turns out to be able to acquire in the course of further development internal shape speech processes characteristic of verbal-logical. M. Studies of the intellectual behavior of apes gave, on the other hand, impetus to the experimental study of the processes of practical, so-called. “visually effective” M. and in humans. Almost immediately after the work of W. Köhler, numerous methods were started using the fundamental method he developed. studies on children. These studies made it possible to identify and describe visual-action processes. M. as components of the necessary stage of intelligence. child development. In further works, among which the studies of A. Wallon and J. Piaget are widely known, it was experimentally shown that verbal-logical. M. develops from practical. intellectual operations through their “interiorization”, i.e. through the transition of previously external objective actions into internal, mental actions, which take place in the conditions of the child’s communication with others and in connection with his success speech development. Great contribution to the theory of ontogenetics. The development of mathematics was contributed by the research of L. S. Vygotsky and his school, devoted to the problem of the active formation of thinking. processes. The significance of these studies is that M.’s development is considered not as occurring on its own under the influence of the accumulation of knowledge and its systematization, but as a process of the child’s assimilation of socially and historically developed intelligence. actions and operations. Since this assimilation has a strictly natural character, by controlling it, it is possible to actively and systematically form the necessary thinking in students. processes - to program their development (P. Ya. Galperin).

By accepting information from the world around us, it is with the participation of thinking that we can realize and transform it. Their characteristics also help us with this. A table with this data is presented below.

What is thinking

This is the highest process of cognition of the surrounding reality, subjective perception. Its uniqueness lies in the perception of external information and its transformation in consciousness. Thinking helps a person gain new knowledge, experience, and creatively transform ideas that have already been formed. It helps to expand the boundaries of knowledge, helping to change the existing conditions for solving assigned problems.

This process is the engine of human development. In psychology there is no separately operating process - thinking. It will necessarily be present in all other cognitive actions of a person. Therefore, in order to somewhat structure this transformation of reality, types of thinking and their characteristics were identified in psychology. A table with these data helps to better assimilate information about the activities of this process in our psyche.

Features of this process

This process has its own characteristics that distinguish it from other mental

1. Mediocrity. This means that a person can indirectly recognize an object through the properties of another. Types of thinking and their characteristics are also involved here. Briefly describing this property, we can say that cognition occurs through the properties of another object: we can transfer some acquired knowledge to a similar unknown object.
2. Generality. A combination of several properties of an object. The ability to generalize helps a person to learn new things in the surrounding reality.

These two properties and processes of this human cognitive function are encompassed by the general characteristic of thinking. Characteristics of types of thinking - a separate area general psychology. Since types of thinking are characteristic of different age categories and are formed according to their own rules.

Types of thinking and their characteristics, table

A person perceives structured information better, so some information about the types of cognitive process of cognition of reality and their description will be presented systematically.

The best way to understand what types of thinking are and their characteristics is the table.

Visual-effective thinking, description

In psychology, much attention is paid to the study of thinking as the main process of cognition of reality. After all, this process develops differently for each person, it works individually, and sometimes the types of thinking and their characteristics do not correspond to age standards.

For preschoolers, visual and effective thinking comes first. It begins its development in infancy. Descriptions by age are presented in the table.

Visual-figurative thinking

Types of thinking in psychology and their characteristics occupy an important place, since the age-related formation of other cognitive processes depends on their development. With each age stage, more and more mental functions are involved in the development of the process of cognition of reality. In visual-figurative thinking, imagination and perception play almost a key role.

Verbal and logical thinking

It is carried out using logical manipulations with concepts. Such operations are designed to find something in common between different objects and phenomena in society and the environment around us. Here images take a secondary place. In children, the beginnings of this type of thinking occur at the end of the preschool period. But the main development of this type of thinking begins at primary school age.

Empirical thinking

The characteristics of the main types of thinking include not only the three types described above. This process is also divided into empirical or theoretical and practical.

Theoretical thinking represents the knowledge of rules, various signs, and the theoretical basis of basic concepts. Here you can build hypotheses, but test them in practice.

Practical thinking

Practical thinking involves transforming reality, adjusting it to your goals and plans. It is limited in time, there is no opportunity to study many options for testing various hypotheses. Therefore, for a person it opens up new opportunities for understanding the world.

Types of thinking and their characteristics depending on the tasks being solved and the properties of this process

They also divide types of thinking depending on the tasks and the subjects of the tasks. The process of cognition of reality happens:

• intuitive;
• analytical;
• realistic;
• autistic;
• egocentric;
• productive and reproductive.

Every person has all these types to a greater or lesser extent.