According to the genetic classification, they are 3 levels of development.

1. Visual-effective thinking.
This is the earliest and simplest type of thinking in a child who is "captured" by the situation and action. Thus, a visual-effective solution of the problem is carried out with the help of a real physical transformation of the situation. The child analyzes and synthesizes objects as he practically separates and reassembles, correlates, connects certain objects with each other with his hands. Curious children often break toys in order to see "what's inside."

2. Visual-figurative thinking.
Visual-figurative thinking occurs at the age of 4-7 years. The connection between thinking and practical actions remains, but is not as close, direct and immediate as before. This type of thinking is associated with the representation of the situation and changes in it and is characterized by the appearance of an image in which the vision of an object from several points of view can be recorded simultaneously. Instead of operating with objects, the child begins to operate with their images and mentally perform operations that are not feasible in reality.
3. Verbal-logical thinking.
In the course of further improvement, thinking refuses to operate with objects as a whole and proceeds to the mental operation of properties that are relevant in each given case. Verbal-logical thinking is characterized by the use of concepts, logical constructions, functions on the basis of linguistic means, and various types of generalizations are formed and function in its structure.
How is thinking related to development?
For the mental activity of a person, its relationship is essential not only with sensory cognition, but also with language, with speech. This is one of the fundamental contradictions between the human psyche and the psyche of animals.
The elementary thinking of animals always remains only visual and effective; it cannot be abstract, mediated cognition. Such primitive thinking operates with objects on a visual-effective plane and does not go beyond it. Only with the advent of speech does it become possible to abstract one or another of its properties from the cognizable object and fix the idea or concept of it in the word. Thought acquires in the word the necessary material shell, in which alone it becomes a direct reality for other people and for ourselves. The deeper and more thoroughly a thought is thought out, the more clearly and clearly it is expressed in words, in oral and written speech. And vice versa, the more the verbal formulation of a thought is perfected, the more distinct and understandable this thought itself becomes. Human thinking, in whatever forms it may be carried out, is impossible without language.

Man's thinking develops, his intellectual abilities improve. Psychologists have long come to this conclusion as a result of observations and the application in practice of methods for the development of thinking. In practical terms, the development of intelligence is traditionally considered in three directions: phylogenetic, ontogenetic and experimental. Phylogenetic aspect involves the study of how human thinking has developed and improved in the history of mankind. ontogenetic includes the study of the process and the allocation of stages in the development of thinking throughout the life of one person, from birth to old age. Experimental approach to solving the same problem is focused on the analysis of the process of development of thinking in special, artificially created (experimental) conditions, designed to improve it.

One of the most famous psychologists of our time, the Swiss scientist J. Piaget proposed a theory of the development of intelligence in childhood, which had a great influence on the modern understanding of its development. In theoretical terms, he adhered to the idea of ​​a practical, active origin of the main intellectual operations.

The theory of the development of the child's thinking, proposed by J. Piaget, was called "operational" (from the word "operation"). An operation, according to Piaget, is “an internal action, a product of the transformation (“interiorization”) of an external, objective action, coordinated with other actions into a single system, the main property of which is reversibility (for each operation there is a symmetrical and opposite operation). psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M., 1981. - S. 47.

In the development of operational intelligence in children, J. Piaget identified the following four stages:

• 1. The stage of sensorimotor intelligence, covering the period of a child's life from birth to about two years. It is characterized by the development of the ability to perceive and cognize the objects surrounding the child in their fairly stable properties and features.
• 2. Stage of operational thinking, including its development at the age of two to seven years. At this stage, the child develops speech, an active process of interiorization of external actions with objects begins, and visual representations are formed.
• 3. The stage of specific operations with objects. It is typical for children aged 7-8 to 11-12 years. Here mental operations become reversible.
• 4. Stage of formal operations. In their development, it is reached by children in middle age: from 11-12 to 14-15 years. This stage is characterized by the child's ability to perform mental operations using logical reasoning and concepts. Internal mental operations are transformed at this stage into a structurally organized whole. Nemov R.S. Theories of the development of children's intelligence, including Piaget's concept, are considered in more detail in the second volume.

In our country, the theory of the formation and development of intellectual operations, developed by P. Ya. Galperin, has received the widest practical application in teaching mental actions. Galperin P.Ya. Formation of mental actions // Reader in general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M., 4981.

This theory was based on the idea of ​​a genetic dependence between internal intellectual operations and external practical actions. Earlier this position was developed in the French psychological school (A. Vallon) and in the works of J. Piaget. L.S. based his theoretical and experimental works on it. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, V.V. Davydov, A.V. Zaporozhets and many others.

P.Ya. Galperin introduced new ideas into the relevant area of ​​research. He developed a theory of the formation of thinking, called the concept of the systematic formation of mental actions. Galperin singled out the stages of internalization of external actions, determined the conditions that ensure their most complete and effective translation into internal actions with predetermined properties.

The process of transferring an external action inward, according to P.Ya. Galperin, is carried out in stages, passing through strictly defined stages. At each stage, the given action is transformed according to a number of parameters. This theory states that a full-fledged action, i.e. an action of the highest intellectual level cannot take shape without relying on previous ways of performing the same action, and ultimately on its original, practical, visually effective, most complete and detailed form.

The four parameters by which the action is transformed as it moves from outside to inside are the following: the level of performance, the measure of generalization, the completeness of the operations actually performed, and the measure of mastery.

According to the first of these parameters, the action can be on three sublevels: action with material objects, action in terms of loud speech and action in the mind. The other three parameters characterize the quality of the action formed at a certain level: generalization, secrecy and mastery.

The process of formation of mental actions, according to P.Ya. Galperin is presented as follows:

• 1. Familiarization with the composition of the future action in practical terms, as well as with the requirements (samples) that it will eventually have to meet. This familiarization is the orienting basis for future action.
• 2. Performing a given action in an external form in practical terms with real objects or their substitutes. Mastering this external action proceeds along all the main parameters with a certain type of orientation in each.
• 3. Performing an action without direct reliance on external objects or their substitutes. Transfer of action from the external plan to the plan of loud speech. The transfer of an action to a speech plane, - P.Ya. Galperin considered, - means not only the expression of an action in speech, but, first of all, the verbal performance of an objective action See: Galperin P.Ya. Formation of mental actions // Reader in general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M., 1981.

• 4. Transferring the loud speech action to the internal plan. Free pronunciation of the action entirely "to oneself."
• 5. The performance of an action in terms of inner speech with its corresponding transformations and reductions, with the departure of the action, its process and details of execution from the sphere of conscious control and the transition to the level of intellectual skills and abilities.

A special place in research on the development of thinking belongs to the study of the process concept formation. It represents the highest level of formation of speech thinking, as well as the highest level of functioning of both speech and thinking, if considered separately.

From birth, the child is given concepts, and this fact is generally recognized in modern psychology. How are concepts formed and developed? This process is the assimilation by a person of the content that is inherent in the concept. The development of a concept consists in changing its volume and content, in expanding and deepening the scope of this concept.

The formation of concepts is the result of a long, complex and active mental, communicative and practical activity of people, the process of their thinking. The formation of concepts in an individual has its roots in deep childhood. L.S. Vygotsky and L.S. Sakharov were among the first psychologists in our country who studied this process in detail See: Vygotsky L. S., Sakharov L. S. The study of the formation of concepts: Methods of double stimulation // Reader on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M., 1981.

They established a series of stages through which the formation of concepts in children passes.

The essence of the methodology used by L.S. Vygotsky and L.S. Sakharov (she received the name of the “double stimulation” technique) boils down to the following. The subject is offered two series of stimuli that play a different role in relation to behavior: one is the function of the object to which the behavior is directed, and the other is the role of a sign with which the behavior is organized.

For example, there are 20 volumetric geometric shapes, different in color, shape, height and size. On the lower flat base of each figure, hidden from the gaze of the subject, unfamiliar words are written denoting the concept being assimilated. This concept includes several of the above features at the same time, for example, size, color and shape.

The experimenter, in front of the child, turns over one of the figures and gives him the opportunity to read the word written on it. Then he asks the subject to find all the other figures with the same word, without turning them over and using only the signs noticed on the first figure shown by the experimenter. Solving this problem, the child must explain aloud what signs he is guided by, choosing the second, third, etc. to the first figure.

If at some step the subject made a mistake, then the experimenter himself opens the next figure with the desired name, but one on which there is a sign that was not taken into account by the child.

The described experiment continues until the subject learns to accurately find figures with the same names and determine the features included in the corresponding concept.

With the help of this technique, it was found that the formation of concepts in children goes through three main stages:

• 1. The formation of an unformed, disordered set of individual objects, their syncretic coupling, denoted by one word. This stage, in turn, is divided into three stages: the selection and combination of objects at random, the choice based on the spatial arrangement of objects, and the reduction to one value of all previously combined objects.
• 2. Formation of concepts-complexes on the basis of some objective features. Complexes of this kind have four types: associative (any externally noticed connection is taken as a sufficient basis for classifying objects in one class), collection (mutual complement and association of objects on the basis of a particular functional attribute), chain (transition in association from one attribute to another so , that some objects are combined on the basis of some, and others - on completely different signs, and all of them are included in the same group), a pseudo-concept (externally - a concept, internally - a complex).
• 3. Formation of real concepts. Here, the child's ability to isolate, abstract elements and then integrate them into a holistic concept, regardless of the objects to which they belong, is assumed. This stage includes the following stages: the stage of potential concepts, at which the child singles out a group of objects according to one common feature; the stage of true concepts, when a number of necessary and sufficient features are abstracted to define a concept, and then they are synthesized and included in the corresponding definition.

Syncretic thinking and thinking in concepts-complexes are typical for children of early, preschool and primary school age. A child comes to thinking in real concepts only in adolescence under the influence of learning the theoretical foundations of various sciences. The facts obtained by L.S. Vygotsky and L.S. Sakharov, in this respect are quite consistent with the data that J. Piaget cites in his work on the development of children's intelligence. With adolescence, he also associated the transition of children to the stage of formal operations, which, apparently, implies the ability to operate with real concepts.

In conclusion, let us consider the information theory of intellectual-cognitive development associated with the information-cybernetic theory of thinking. Its authors, Klar and Wallace, suggested that a child from birth has three qualitatively different, hierarchically organized types of productive intellectual systems: 1. A system for processing perceived information and directing attention from one type of it to another. 2. The system responsible for setting goals and managing purposeful activities. 3. A system responsible for changing existing systems of the first and second types and creating new similar systems.

Klar and Wallace put forward a number of hypotheses regarding the operation of systems of the third type:

• 1. At a time when the body is practically not busy processing incoming information from the outside (when, for example, it is sleeping), the third type system processes the results of previously received information that precedes mental activity.
• 2. The purpose of this revision is to identify consequences of previous activity that are sustainable. Thus, for example, there are systems that manage the recording of previous events, the division of this record into potentially stable, consistent parts with each other, and the determination of this consistency from element to element.
• 3. As soon as such a consistent sequence is noticed, another system comes into play - the one that generates a new one.
• 4. A higher level system is formed, which includes the previous ones as elements or parts.

So far, we have considered the natural ways of individual development of thinking. The data obtained in recent years at the intersection of general and social psychology show that the formation of thinking can be stimulated by group types of intellectual work. It has been observed that the collective activity of solving problems contributes to the enhancement of the cognitive functions of people, in particular, the improvement of their perception and memory. Similar searches in the field of the psychology of thinking led scientists to the conclusion that in some cases, with the possible exception of complex individual creative work, group mental work can contribute to the development of individual intelligence. It has been found, for example, that teamwork helps generate and critically screen creative ideas.

One of the methods of organizing and stimulating group creative intellectual activity is called “brainstorming” (literally “brainstorming”). Its implementation is based on the following principles:

• 1. To solve a certain class of intellectual problems for which it is difficult to find the optimal solution, working on them individually, a special group of people is created, between whom interaction is organized in a special way, designed to obtain a "group effect" - a significant increase in the quality and speed of accepting the desired solutions compared to individual search.
• 2. Such a working group includes people who differ from each other in psychological qualities that are collectively necessary to find the optimal solution (one, for example, is more inclined to express ideas, and the other to criticize them; one has a quick reaction, but not in able to carefully weigh the consequences, the other, on the contrary, reacts slowly, but carefully thinks through each step, one seeks risk, the other is prone to caution, etc.). thinking creativity intelligence
• 3. In the created group, due to the introduction of special norms and rules of interaction, an atmosphere is created that stimulates joint creative work. Any idea, no matter how strange it may seem at first glance, is encouraged. Only criticism of ideas is allowed, not the people who expressed them. Everyone actively helps each other in their work, the provision of creative assistance to a group partner is especially highly appreciated.

Under the conditions of such organized group creative work, a person of average intellectual abilities begins to express almost twice as many interesting ideas as when he thinks about solving a problem alone.

4. Individual and group work alternate with each other. At some stages of the search for a solution to the problem, everyone thinks together, at others, everyone thinks separately, at the next stage, everyone works together again, and so on.

The described technique of stimulating individual thinking was created and used until now mainly with adults. However, we think that it would be very useful for the development of thinking in children, and most importantly, for uniting the children's team and developing in children of different ages the skills and abilities of interpersonal communication and interaction necessary in modern life.

Thinking is the height of bliss and joy

life, the most valiant occupation of man.

Aristotle

Thinking, its types and formation Contents

1. General concept of thinking.

2. Thought processes.

3. Judgment and inference

4. Concept. Assimilation of concepts.

5. Understanding. Solving mental problems.

6. Types of thinking.

7. Individual differences in thinking.

8. Formation of thinking in children.

9. List of references.

1. General concept of thinking

Objects and phenomena of reality have such properties and relations that can be known directly, with the help of sensations and perceptions (colors, sounds, shapes, placement and movement of bodies in visible space), and such properties and relations that can be known only indirectly and through generalization. , i.e. through thinking. Thinking is a mediated and generalized reflection of reality, a type of mental activity, which consists in knowing the essence of things and phenomena, regular connections and relationships between them.

The first feature of thinking is its indirect character. 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 also indirect knowledge.

The second feature of thinking is its generalization. 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, language. Verbal designation refers not only to a single object, but also to a whole group of similar objects. Generalization is also inherent in images (representations and even perceptions). But there it is always limited visibility. The word allows you to generalize without limit. Philosophical concepts of matter, motion, law, essence, phenomenon, quality, quantity, etc. - the broadest generalizations expressed by the word.

Thinking is the highest level of human cognition of reality. Sensual basis of thinking are sensations, perceptions and representations. Through the sense organs - 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 tasks that life puts before a person, he reflects, draws conclusions and thereby cognizes the essence of things and phenomena, discovers the laws of their connection, and then transforms the world on this basis.

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 primarily in isolating and isolating an object or its attribute, in abstracting from the concrete, individual and establishing the essential, common to many objects.

Thinking acts mainly as a solution to problems, questions, problems that are constantly put forward before people by life. Solving problems should always give a person something new, new knowledge. The search for solutions is sometimes very difficult, so mental activity, as a rule, is an active activity that requires focused attention and patience. The real process of thought is always a process not only cognitive, but also emotional-volitional.

The objective material form of thinking is language. A thought becomes a thought both for oneself and for others only through the word - oral and written. Thanks to the language, people's thoughts are not lost, but are transmitted in the form of a system of knowledge from generation to generation. However, there are additional means of transmitting the results of thinking: light and sound signals, electrical impulses, gestures, etc. Modern science and technology widely use conventional signs as a universal and economical means of transmitting information.

Putting on a verbal form, the thought at the same time is formed and realized in the process of speech. The movement of thought, its refinement, the connection of thoughts with each other, and so on, occur only through speech activity. Thinking and speech (language) are one.

Thinking is inextricably linked with speech mechanisms, especially speech-auditory and speech-motor.

Thinking is also inextricably linked with the practical activities of people. Any type of activity involves thinking, taking into account the conditions of action, planning, observation. By acting, a person solves any problems. Practical activity is the main condition for the emergence and development of thinking, as well as a criterion for the truth of thinking.

Thinking is a function of the brain, the result of its analytical and synthetic activity. It is provided by the operation of both signaling systems with the leading role of the second signaling system. When solving mental problems in the cerebral cortex, a process of transformation of systems of temporary neural connections takes place. Finding a new thought physiologically means closing the nerve connections in a new combination.

Thinking is the height of bliss and joy

life, the most valiant occupation of man.

Aristotle

THINKING, ITS TYPES AND FORMATION

1. General concept of thinking.

2. Thought processes.

3. Judgment and inference

4. Concept. Assimilation of concepts.

5. Understanding. Solving mental problems.

6. Types of thinking.

7. Individual differences in thinking.

8. Formation of thinking in children.

9. List of references.

1. General concept of thinking

Objects and phenomena of reality have such properties and relations that can be known directly, with the help of sensations and perceptions (colors, sounds, shapes, placement and movement of bodies in visible space), and such properties and relations that can be known only indirectly and through generalization. , i.e. through thinking. Thinking is a mediated and generalized reflection of reality, a type of mental activity, which consists in knowing the essence of things and phenomena, regular connections and relationships between them.

The first feature of thinking is its indirect character. 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 also indirect knowledge.

The second feature of thinking is its generalization. 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, language. Verbal designation refers not only to a single object, but also to a whole group of similar objects. Generalization is also inherent in images (representations and even perceptions). But there it is always limited visibility. The word allows you to generalize without limit. Philosophical concepts of matter, motion, law, essence, phenomenon, quality, quantity, etc. - the broadest generalizations expressed by the word.

Thinking is the highest level of human cognition of reality. Sensual basis of thinking are sensations, perceptions and representations. Through the sense organs - 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 tasks that life puts before a person, he reflects, draws conclusions and thereby cognizes the essence of things and phenomena, discovers the laws of their connection, and then transforms the world on this basis.

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 primarily in isolating and isolating an object or its attribute, in abstracting from the concrete, individual and establishing the essential, common to many objects.

Thinking acts mainly as a solution to problems, questions, problems that are constantly put forward before people by life. Solving problems should always give a person something new, new knowledge. The search for solutions is sometimes very difficult, so mental activity, as a rule, is an active activity that requires focused attention and patience. The real process of thought is always a process not only cognitive, but also emotional-volitional.

The objective material form of thinking is language. A thought becomes a thought both for oneself and for others only through the word - oral and written. Thanks to the language, people's thoughts are not lost, but are transmitted in the form of a system of knowledge from generation to generation. However, there are additional means of transmitting the results of thinking: light and sound signals, electrical impulses, gestures, etc. Modern science and technology widely use conventional signs as a universal and economical means of transmitting information.

Putting on a verbal form, the thought at the same time is formed and realized in the process of speech. The movement of thought, its refinement, the connection of thoughts with each other, and so on, occur only through speech activity. Thinking and speech (language) are one.

Thinking is inextricably linked with speech mechanisms, especially speech-auditory and speech-motor.

Thinking is also inextricably linked with the practical activities of people. Any type of activity involves thinking, taking into account the conditions of action, planning, observation. By acting, a person solves any problems. Practical activity is the main condition for the emergence and development of thinking, as well as a criterion for the truth of thinking.

Thinking is a function of the brain, the result of its analytical and synthetic activity. It is provided by the operation of both signaling systems with the leading role of the second signaling system. When solving mental problems in the cerebral cortex, a process of transformation of systems of temporary neural connections takes place. Finding a new thought physiologically means closing the nerve connections in a new combination.

2. Thought processes

The mental activity of a person is a solution to various mental problems aimed at revealing the essence of something. A mental operation is one of the ways of mental activity through which a person solves mental problems.

Thinking operations are varied. These are analysis and synthesis, comparison, abstraction, concretization, generalization, classification. Which of the logical operations a person will use will depend on the task and on the nature of the information that he subjects to mental processing.

Analysis is the mental decomposition of the whole into parts or the mental separation of its aspects, actions, relations from the whole.

Synthesis is the reverse process of thought to analysis, it is the unification of parts, properties, actions, relations 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 activity of man. In labor activity, people constantly interact with objects and phenomena. Practical development of them led to the formation of mental operations of analysis and synthesis.

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 select one or more of their features, according to which the comparison will be made.

The comparison can be one-sided, or incomplete, and multi-sided, or more complete. Comparison, like analysis and synthesis, can be of different levels - superficial and deeper. In this case, a person's thought goes from external signs of similarity and difference to internal ones, from the visible to the hidden, from the phenomenon to the essence.

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

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.

Thinking activity is always aimed at obtaining some result. A person analyzes objects, compares them, abstracts individual properties in order to reveal what is common in them, in order to reveal the patterns that govern their development, in order to master them.

Generalization, therefore, is the selection in objects and phenomena of the general, which is expressed in the form of a concept, law, rule, formula, etc.

3. Judgment and inference

Human thinking proceeds in the form of judgments and conclusions. 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. A consistent 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.

An inference is a conclusion from several judgments that gives us new knowledge about objects and phenomena of the objective world. Inferences are inductive, deductive and by analogy.

Inductive reasoning is a reasoning from the singular (private) to the general. From judgments about several isolated cases or about groups of them, a person draws a general conclusion.

Reasoning in which the thought moves in the opposite direction is called deduction, and the conclusion is called deductive. Deduction is the derivation of a particular case from a general position, the transition of thought from the general to the less general, to the particular or singular. In deductive reasoning, knowing the general position, rule or law, we draw a conclusion about particular cases, although they have not been specially studied.

Inference by analogy is inference from particular to particular. The essence of inference by analogy is that on the basis of the similarity of two objects in some respects, a conclusion is made about the similarity of these objects in other respects. Inference by analogy underlies the creation of many hypotheses and conjectures.

4. Concept. Assimilation of concepts

The results of people's cognitive activity are recorded in the form of concepts. To know an object means to reveal its essence. A concept is a reflection of the essential features of an object. In order to reveal these signs, it is necessary to study the subject comprehensively, to establish its connections with other subjects. The concept of an object arises on the basis of many judgments and conclusions about it.

The concept as a result of the generalization of people's experience is the highest product of the brain, the highest stage of cognition of the world.

Each new generation of people learns scientific, technical, moral, aesthetic and other concepts developed by society in the process of historical development.

To assimilate a concept means to realize its content, to be able to identify essential features, to know exactly its boundaries (volume), its place among other concepts in order not to be confused with similar concepts; be able to use this concept in cognitive and practical activities.

5. Understanding. Solving mental problems

The mental activity of a person is manifested in the understanding of the objects of thinking and in solving various mental problems on this basis.

Understanding is the process of penetrating thought into the essence of something. The object of understanding can be any object, phenomenon, fact, situation, action, speech of people, work of literature and art, scientific theory, etc.

Understanding can be included in the process of perceiving an object and be expressed in recognition, awareness of it, it can also be carried out outside of perception.

Understanding is a prerequisite for solving mental problems.

Acting, a person solves various problems. A task is a situation that defines the action of a person who satisfies a need by changing this situation.

The essence of the task is to achieve the goal. A person solves complex problems in several stages. Having realized the goal, the question, the need that has arisen, he then analyzes the conditions of the task, draws up an action plan and acts.

A person solves some problems directly, by performing habitual practical and mental actions, and solves other problems indirectly, by acquiring the knowledge necessary to analyze the conditions of the problem. Tasks of the latter type are called mental tasks.

Solving mental problems goes through several stages. The first stage is the awareness of the question of the task and the desire to find an answer to it. Without a question there is no task, there is no activity of thinking in general.

The second stage of solving mental problems is the analysis of the conditions of the problem. Without knowing the conditions, it is impossible to solve a single problem, either practical or mental.

The third stage of solving a mental problem is the solution itself. The decision process is carried out through various mental actions using logical operations. Mental actions form a certain system, successively replacing each other.

The last step in solving mental problems is to check the correctness of the solution. Checking the correctness of the decision disciplines mental activity, allows you to comprehend each step of it, find unnoticed errors and correct them.

The ability to solve mental problems characterizes the human mind, especially if a person can solve them independently and in the most economical ways.

6. Types of thinking

Depending on what place the word, image and action occupy in the thought process, how they relate to each other, three types of thinking are distinguished: concrete-active, or practical, concrete-figurative and abstract. These types of thinking are also distinguished on the basis of the characteristics of the tasks - practical and theoretical.

Concrete-effective thinking is aimed at solving specific problems in the conditions of production, constructive, organizational and other practical activities of people. Practical thinking is primarily technical, constructive thinking. It consists in the understanding of technology and in the ability of a person to independently solve technical problems. The process of technical activity is the process of interaction between mental and practical components of work. Complex operations of abstract thinking are intertwined with the practical actions of a person, inextricably linked with them. The characteristic features of concrete-effective thinking are pronounced observation, attention to details, particulars and the ability to use them in a specific situation, operating with spatial images and schemes, the ability to quickly move from thinking to action and vice versa. It is in this kind of thinking that the unity of thought and will is manifested to the greatest extent.

Concrete-figurative, or artistic, thinking is characterized by the fact that a person embodies abstract thoughts, generalizations into concrete images.

All three types of thinking are closely related to each other. Many people have equally developed concrete-active, concrete-figurative and theoretical thinking, but depending on the nature of the tasks that a person solves, then one, then another, then a third type of thinking comes to the fore.

If thinking is considered in the process of its development in children, then it can be found that concrete-active thinking arises first of all, then concrete-figurative, and, finally, abstract-logical. But the features of each of these types of thinking in children are somewhat different, their connection is simpler.

7. Individual differences in thinking

The types of thinking are, at the same time, typological features of the mental and practical activities of people. Each type is based on a special relationship of signaling systems. If concretely-active or concretely-imaginative thinking prevails in a person, this means the relative predominance of the first signal system over the other; if verbal-logical thinking is most characteristic of a person, this means the relative predominance of the second signal system over the first. There are other differences in the mental activity of people. If they are stable, they are called qualities of the mind.

The concept of the mind is broader than the concept of thinking. The mind of a person is characterized not only by the features of his thinking, but also by the features of other cognitive processes (observation, creative imagination, logical memory, attentiveness). Understanding the complex connections between objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, an intelligent person must understand other people well, be sensitive, sympathetic, kind. The qualities of thinking are the basic qualities of the mind. These include flexibility, independence, depth, breadth, consistency and some other thinking.

The flexibility of the mind is expressed in the mobility of thought processes, the ability to take into account the changing conditions of mental or practical actions and, in accordance with this, change the methods of solving problems. The flexibility of thinking is opposed to the inertia of thinking. A person of inert thought is more likely to reproduce what he has learned than to actively search for the unknown. An inert mind is a lazy mind. Flexibility of the mind is an obligatory quality of creative people.

The independence of the mind is expressed in the ability to raise questions and find original ways to solve them. The independence of the mind presupposes its self-criticism, i. the ability of a person to see the strengths and weaknesses of his activity in general and mental activity in particular.

Other qualities of the mind - depth, breadth and consistency are also important. A person with a deep mind is able to "get to the root", to delve into the essence of objects and phenomena. People with a consistent mind are able to reason strictly logically, convincingly prove the truth or falsity of any conclusion, and check the course of reasoning.

All these qualities of the mind are brought up in the process of teaching children at school, as well as through persistent work on oneself.

8. Formation of thinking in children

A child is born without thinking. In order to think, it is necessary to have some sensual and practical experience fixed by memory. By the end of the first year of life, the child can observe manifestations of elementary thinking.

The main condition for the development of children's thinking is their purposeful education and training. In the process of upbringing, the child masters objective actions and speech, learns to independently solve first simple, then complex tasks, as well as understand the requirements of adults and act in accordance with them.

The development of thinking is expressed in the gradual expansion of the content of thought, in the consistent emergence of forms and methods of mental activity and their change as the general formation of the personality. At the same time, the child's motives for mental activity - cognitive interests - also increase.

Thinking develops throughout a person's life in the process of his activity. At each age stage, thinking has its own characteristics.

The thinking of a young child acts in the form of actions aimed at solving specific problems: get some object that is in sight, put rings on the rod of a toy pyramid, close or open a box, find a hidden thing, climb into a chair, bring a toy, etc. .P. While performing these actions, the child thinks. He thinks by acting, his thinking is visual and effective.

Mastering the speech of the surrounding people causes a shift in the development of the child's visual-effective thinking. Through language, children begin to think in general terms.

Further development of thinking is expressed in a change in the relationship between action, image and word. Words play an increasingly important role in solving problems.

There is a certain sequence in the development of types of thinking in preschool age. Ahead is the development of visual-effective thinking, followed by the formation of visual-figurative and, finally, verbal thinking.

The thinking of secondary school students (11-15 years old) operates with knowledge acquired mainly verbally. When studying a variety of subjects - mathematics, physics, chemistry, history, grammar, etc. - students deal not only with facts, but also with regular relationships, general connections between them.

In high school age, thinking becomes abstract. At the same time, the development of concrete-figurative thinking is also observed, especially under the influence of the study of fiction.

Learning the basics of science, students learn systems of scientific concepts, each of which reflects one of the aspects of reality. The formation of concepts is a long process, depending on the level of generalization and abstractness of them, on the age of schoolchildren, their mental orientation and teaching methods.

There are several levels in the assimilation of concepts: as students develop, they come closer to the essence of the subject, the phenomenon designated by the concept, it is easier to generalize and connect individual concepts with each other.

The first level is characterized by an elementary generalization of specific cases taken from the personal experience of schoolchildren or from the literature. At the second level of assimilation, separate features of the concept are distinguished. Students either narrow the boundaries of the concept, or unnecessarily expand it. At the third level, students try to give a detailed definition of the concept, indicating the main features and give true examples from life. At the fourth level, there is a complete mastery of the concept, an indication of its place among other moral concepts, and the successful application of the concept in life. Simultaneously with the development of concepts, judgments and conclusions are formed.

Students in grades 1-2 are characterized by categorical, affirmative judgments. Children judge any subject one-sidedly and do not prove their judgments. In connection with the increase in the volume of knowledge and the growth of the vocabulary, schoolchildren in grades 3-4 have problematic and conditional judgments. Grade 4 students can reason based not only on direct, but also on indirect evidence, especially on specific material taken from personal observations. In middle age, schoolchildren also use disjunctive judgments and more often substantiate and prove their statements. High school students practically master all forms of expression of thought. Judgments with assumption expressions, assumptions, doubts, etc. become the norm in their reasoning. With equal ease, older students use inductive and deductive reasoning and reasoning by analogy. They can independently pose a question and prove the correctness of the answer to it.

The development of concepts, judgments and conclusions takes place in unity with mastery, generalization, etc. Successful mastery of mental operations depends not only on the assimilation of knowledge, but also on the special work of the teacher in this direction.

9. References

1. Psychology. ed. A.A. Zarudnoy, Minsk, "The Highest School", 1970

2. How to engage in self-education. A.I. Kochetov, Minsk, "The Highest School", 1986

1. Introduction.

1.1 Chapter 1: Thinking as a concept in psychology

1.2 Types of thinking

1.3 Basic mental operations

1.4 Forms of thought

2.1 Chapter 2: Solving mental problems. Intelligence

2.2 Personality and its interests

2.3 Solving mental problems

2.4 Individual qualities of thinking

2.5 Intelligence

3. Conclusion

1. Introduction

Thinking- a psychological and cognitive process of reflection in the human mind of complex connections and relationships between objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. The task of thinking is to reveal the relationships between objects, to identify connections and separate them from random coincidences. Thinking operates with concepts and assumes the functions of generalization and planning. The concept of thinking is the highest cognitive process, which significantly distinguishes it from other processes that help a person navigate in the environment; since in this concept the totality of all cognitive processes can be traced. Thinking is a process, moreover, a complex one, proceeding in the human mind and possibly without the manifestation of visible actions.

The difference between thinking and other mental processes of cognition lies in the fact that it is always associated with an active change in the conditions in which a person finds himself. Thinking is always directed towards solving a problem. In the process of thinking, a purposeful and expedient transformation of reality is carried out. The process of thinking is continuous and proceeds throughout life, transforming along the way, due to the influence of such factors as age, social status, and the stability of the environment. The peculiarity of thinking is its mediated character. What a person cannot know directly, directly, he knows indirectly, indirectly: some properties through others, the unknown through the known. Thinking is distinguished by types, ongoing processes and operations. The concept of intelligence is inextricably linked with the concept of thinking. Intelligence is the general ability to learn and solve problems without trial and error i.e. "in the mind". Intelligence is considered as the level of mental development achieved by a certain age, which manifests itself in the stability of cognitive functions, as well as in the degree of assimilation of skills and knowledge (according to the words of Zinchenko, Meshcheryakov). Intelligence as an integral part of thinking, its integral part and in its own way a generalizing concept.

Chapter 1.

1.1 Thinking as a concept in psychology

In the process of sensation and perception, a person cognizes the world around him as a result of its direct, sensual reflection, it is this concept that is interpreted as thinking. Thinking- the process of reflection in the human mind of reality through the synthesis and analysis of all cognitive processes. In practice, thinking as a separate mental process does not exist, it is present in all cognitive processes: in perception, attention, imagination, memory, speech. Thinking is a single mental cognitive process, but it is realized with the help of a number of subprocesses, each of which is an independent and, at the same time, integrated process with other cognitive forms. The higher forms of these processes are necessarily associated with thinking, and the degree of its participation determines the level of their development. No regularity can be perceived directly by the senses. Any conscious human activity can serve as an example; looking out the window, we can determine by the wet roof or puddles that it was raining; standing at a traffic light, we expect a green light, as we realize that it is this signal that serves as an incentive to action. In both cases, we perform a thought process, i.e. we reflect the essential links between phenomena by comparing the facts. For cognition, it is not enough just to notice the connection between phenomena, it is necessary to establish that this connection is a common property of things. On this generalized basis, a person solves specific problems. Thinking provides an answer to questions that cannot be obtained by the simplest sensory reflection. Thanks to thinking, a person correctly orients himself in the world around him, using previously obtained generalizations in a new, specific environment. Human activity is reasonable due to the knowledge of the laws, the interconnections of objective reality. The main task with which the thought process begins is the formulation of the problem and the determination of ways to solve it. In order to solve the problem as a result of the thought process, it is necessary to come to a more adequate knowledge. To such an increasingly adequate cognition of its subject and the solution of the problem facing it, thinking proceeds through diverse operations that make up various interrelated and mutually transitioning aspects of the thought process.

Establishing universal relationships, generalizing the properties of a homogeneous group of phenomena, understanding the essence of a particular phenomenon as a variety of a certain class of phenomena - such is the essence of human thinking. The definition of thinking most often includes the following features:

1. A mental process that provides the orientation of the subject in intersubject connections and relations, by influencing objects on each other, by using tools and measuring instruments, by including signs and symbols in the organization of thinking.

2. A process that initially arises on the basis of practical actions and directly sensory knowledge.

3. A process that, as it develops, goes beyond practical actions.

4. The process, the result of which is a generalized reflection of reality based on intersubject connections and relationships.

5. A process that always proceeds based on existing knowledge.

6. It comes from living contemplation, but is not reduced to it.

7. The process is associated with the practical activities of a person.

All of the above points are directly related and more understandable when considering such structural units as types of thinking.

1.2 Types of thinking

1. Theoretical - knowledge of laws and rules. Using this type of thinking, a person in the process of solving a problem refers to concepts, ready-made knowledge obtained by other people, as a rule, having no experience in solving this problem.

2. Practical - development of means to a solution, setting a goal, creating a plan, a sequence of actions. The material that a person uses in practical thinking is not concepts, judgments and conclusions, but images. They are retrieved from memory or creatively recreated by the imagination. In the course of solving mental problems, the corresponding images are mentally transformed so that a person, as a result of manipulating them, can directly see the solution of the problem of interest to him.

3. Visual-effective - the main task of this type is the perception of objects and their transformation in reality, the correct actions with these objects aimed at solving the problem. The result is the creation of some material product. When objects influence each other in the course of manipulative activity, a person relies on a number of universal operations: practical analysis of objects and phenomena (knowledge and use of the physical qualities of objects); practical synthesis (when transferring skills). Such thinking is limited by individual sensory-motor experience and the scope of the situations in which it is formed and flows.

4. Visual-figurative - during the course of this type of thinking, a person is attached to reality, uses specific images to solve the situation that has arisen, and the images themselves necessary for thinking are presented in his short-term and operative memory. It is characteristic for manifestation in momentary situations, directly in the reality that a person is in a given period of time.

5. Verbal-logical thinking is a type of thinking mediated by signs, from which concepts are directly formed. Verbal-logical thinking is carried out through a speculative logical connection of specific objects, objects, processes and phenomena with sounds, with linguistic sounds, with words and phrases, with concepts, expressed in the language in the form of words and signs, and denoting these objects and objects. Here it is appropriate to note that thinking is objectively connected not only with imagination, memory, perception, but also with speech, in which thinking is realized and with the help of which it is carried out. Aimed mainly at finding common patterns in nature and human society. With this kind of thinking, it is important to understand the difference, it lies in the fact that a person perceives not an image, but a literal reflection, or sound contact (speech) occurs; Based on these types of perception, a person compares the received information into an image, or coordinates his further actions to solve the problem.

In psychology, there is a different classification of types of thinking, so let's consider a few more types or how they are classified by the "fundamental types" of thinking.

· autistic thinking- This type of thinking is aimed at satisfying one's own interests. Needs in this case are more personally oriented. In many ways, autistic thinking is the opposite of realistic thinking. In the autistic type of thinking, actual, generally accepted associations are inhibited, as if relegated to the background, personal guidelines, in turn, dominate, in some cases affects prevail. Thus, personal interests are given scope for associations, even if they give rise to logical inconsistencies. Autistic thinking breeds illusions, not truths.

· realistic thinking- correctly reflects reality, makes human behavior reasonable in various situations. The purpose of the operations of realistic thinking is to create a correct picture of the world, to find the truth.