Psychology of cognitive processes. Mental cognitive processes Cognitive processes are referred to in psychology

Lecture 7. Cognitive mental processes

Cognitive mental processes are the channels of our communication with the world. The incoming information about specific phenomena and objects undergoes changes and turns into an image. All human knowledge about the surrounding world is the result of the integration of individual knowledge obtained with the help of cognitive mental processes. Each of these processes has its own characteristics and its own organization. But at the same time, proceeding simultaneously and harmoniously, these processes imperceptibly for a person interact with each other and as a result create for him a single, integral, continuous picture of the objective world.

1. Feeling- the simplest cognitive mental process, during which there is a reflection of individual properties, qualities, aspects of reality, its objects and phenomena, the connections between them, as well as the internal states of the body that directly affect the human senses. Sensation is the source of our knowledge of the world and ourselves. The ability to sense is present in all living organisms that have a nervous system. Conscious sensations are characteristic only for living beings with a brain. The main role of sensations is, in fact, to quickly bring to the central nervous system information about the state of both the external and internal environment of the body. All sensations arise as a result of the action of stimuli-irritants on the corresponding sense organs. In order for a sensation to arise, it is extremely important that the stimulus that causes it reaches a certain value, called absolute lower threshold of sensation. Each type of sensation has its own thresholds.

But the sense organs have the property of adapting to changing conditions, in connection with this, the thresholds of sensations are not constant and are able to change when moving from one environmental condition to another. This ability is called sensation adaptation. For example, when moving from light to dark, the sensitivity of the eye to various stimuli changes tenfold. The speed and completeness of adaptation of various sensory systems is not the same: in tactile sensations, with smell, a high degree of adaptation is noted, and the lowest degree is observed with pain sensations, since pain is a signal of a dangerous disorder in the body, and rapid adaptation pain could threaten him with death.

The English physiologist C. Sherrington proposed a classification of sensations: Exteroceptive sensations- ϶ᴛᴏ sensations arising from the influence of external stimuli on human analyzers located on the surface of the body.

proprioceptive sensations- ϶ᴛᴏ sensations that reflect the movement and position of parts of the human body.

Interoceptive sensations- ϶ᴛᴏ sensations reflecting the state of the internal environment of the human body.

By the time the sensations occur relevant and irrelevant.

For example, a sour taste in the mouth from a lemon, a feeling of the so-called ʼʼʼʼʼʼ pain in an amputated limb.

All sensations have the following characteristics:

quality- an essential feature of sensations, which makes it possible to distinguish one of their types from others (for example, auditory from visual);

intensity- a quantitative characteristic of sensations, which is determined by the strength of the acting stimulus;

duration- the temporal characteristic of sensations, determined by the time of exposure to the stimulus.

2. Perception- ϶ᴛᴏ a holistic reflection of objects and phenomena of the objective world with their direct impact at the moment on the senses. Only humans and some higher representatives of the animal world have the ability to perceive the world in the form of images. Together with the processes of sensation, perception provides direct orientation in the surrounding world. It involves the selection of the basic and most significant features from the set of fixed features with simultaneous abstraction from the non-essential ones (Fig. 9). Unlike sensations, which reflect individual qualities of reality, perception creates an integral picture of reality. Perception is always subjective, since people perceive the same information differently based on abilities, interests, life experience, etc.

Consider perception as an intellectual process of successive, interconnected acts of searching for features necessary and sufficient for the formation of an image:

‣‣‣ primary selection of a number of features from the entire flow of information and the decision that they belong to one specific object;

‣‣‣ search in memory for a complex of signs close in sensations;

‣‣‣ assignment of the perceived object to a certain category;

‣‣‣ search for additional features that confirm or refute the correctness decision;

‣‣‣ final conclusion about which object is perceived.

To the main properties of perception relate: integrity- internal organic interconnection of parts and the whole in the image;

objectivity- an object is perceived by a person as a separate physical body isolated in space and time;

generality- assignment of each image to a certain class of objects;

constancy- the relative constancy of the perception of the image, the preservation of the object of its parameters, regardless of the conditions of its perception (distance, lighting, etc.);

meaningfulness- understanding the essence of the perceived object in the process of perception;

selectivity- preferential selection of some objects over others in the process of perception.

Perception happens outward directed(perception of objects and phenomena of the external world) and internally directed(perception of one's own states, thoughts, feelings, etc.).

According to the time of occurrence, perception is relevant and irrelevant.

perception must be erroneous(or illusory) such as visual or auditory illusions.

The development of perception is very great importance for learning activities. Developed perception helps to quickly assimilate a larger amount of information with a lower degree of energy costs.

3. Submission- ϶ᴛᴏ the mental process of reflecting objects and phenomena that are not currently perceived, but are recreated on the basis of previous experience. Ideas arise not by themselves, but as a result of practical activity.

Since the basis of representations is the past perceptual experience, the main classification of representations is based on classifications of types of sensations and perceptions.

Main view properties:

fragmentation- in the presented image, any of its features, sides, parts are often absent;

instability(or impermanence)- the representation of any image sooner or later disappears from the field of human consciousness;

variability- when a person is enriched with new experience and knowledge, there is a change in ideas about the objects of the surrounding world.

4. Imagination- ϶ᴛᴏ cognitive mental process, which consists in the creation of new images by a person based on his ideas. Imagination is closely related to the emotional experiences of a person. Imagination differs from perception in that its images do not always correspond to reality, they may contain, to a greater or lesser extent, elements of fantasy, fiction. Imagination is the basis of visual-figurative thinking, which allows a person to navigate the situation and solve problems without direct practical intervention. It especially helps in cases where practical actions are either impossible, or difficult, or inappropriate.

When classifying the types of imagination, they proceed from basic characteristics – degree of volitional effort and degree of activity.

Recreating imagination manifests itself when it is extremely important for a person to recreate the representation of an object according to its description (for example, when reading a description of geographical places or historical events, as well as when meeting literary characters).

Dream- ϶ᴛᴏ imagination aimed at the desired future. In a dream, a person always creates an image of what is desired, while in creative images the desire of their creator is not always embodied. Dream - ϶ᴛᴏ the process of imagination, not included in creative activity, i.e., not leading to the immediate and immediate receipt of an objective product in the form artwork inventions, products, etc.

Imagination is closely related to creativity. creative imagination It is characterized by the fact that a person transforms his ideas and creates independently a new image - not according to a familiar image, but completely different from it. In practical activity, the process of artistic creation is connected, first of all, with the phenomenon of imagination in those cases when the author is no longer satisfied with the reconstruction of reality by realistic methods. Turning to unusual, bizarre, unrealistic images makes it possible to enhance the intellectual, emotional and moral impact of art on a person.

Creation- ϶ᴛᴏ activity that generates new material and spiritual values. Creativity reveals the need of the individual for self-expression, self-actualization and realization of their creative potential. In psychology, there are creative activity criteria:

creative is such an activity that leads to a new result, a new product;

since a new product (result) must be obtained by chance, the process of obtaining the product itself must also be new ( new method, reception, method, etc.);

the result of creative activity should not be obtained using a simple logical conclusion or action according to a known algorithm;

creative activity, as a rule, is aimed not so much at solving a problem already set by someone, but at an independent vision of the problem and determining new, original solutions;

creative activity is usually characterized by the presence of emotional experiences preceding the moment of finding a solution;

creative activity requires special motivation.

Analyzing the nature of creativity, G. Lindsay, K. Hull and R. Thompson tried to find out what hinders the manifestation of creative abilities in humans. Οʜᴎ found that interferes with creativity not only insufficient development of certain abilities, but also the presence of certain personality traits, for example:

- a tendency to conformism, i.e., the desire to be like others, not to differ from most people around;

- Fear of appearing stupid or funny;

- fear or unwillingness to criticize others because of the idea formed since childhood about criticism as something negative and offensive;

- excessive conceit, i.e., complete satisfaction about one's personality;

- the prevailing critical thinking, i.e., aimed only at identifying shortcomings, and not at finding ways to eradicate them.

5. Thinking- ϶ᴛᴏ the highest cognitive process, the generation of new knowledge, a generalized and indirect reflection of reality by a person in its essential connections and relationships. The essence of this cognitive mental process is the generation of new knowledge on the basis of human transformation of reality. This is the most complex cognitive process, the highest form of reflection of reality.

subject-effective thinking is carried out during actions with objects with direct perception of the object in reality.

Visual-figurative thinking occurs when presenting objective images.

abstract-logical thinking is the result of logical operations with concepts. Thinking wears motivated and purposeful nature, all operations of the thought process are caused by the needs, motives, interests of the individual, his goals and objectives.

Thinking is always individually. It makes it possible to understand the patterns of the material world, cause-and-effect relationships in nature and social life.

The source of mental activity is practice.

The physiological basis of thinking is reflex activity brain.

An exceptionally important feature of thinking - ϶ᴛᴏ is inseparable connection with speech. We always think in words, even if we don't speak them out loud.

Active research into thinking has been going on since the 17th century. Initially, thinking was actually identified with logic. All theories of thinking can be divided into two groups: the first are based on the hypothesis that a person has innate intellectual abilities that do not change over the course of life, the second on the idea that mental abilities are formed and developed under the influence of life experience.

To the main mental operations relate:

analysis- mental division of the integral structure of the object of reflection into its constituent elements;

synthesis- reunification of individual elements into a coherent structure;

comparison- establishing relationships of similarity and difference;

generalization– identification of common features based on the combination of essential properties or similarities;

abstraction- the allocation of any side of the phenomenon, which in reality does not exist as an independent one;

specification- distraction from common features and highlighting, emphasizing the particular, single;

systematization(or classification)- mental distribution of objects or phenomena in certain groups, subgroups.

In addition to the types and operations listed above, there are thinking processes:

judgment- a statement containing a specific thought;

inference- a series of logically connected statements leading to new knowledge;

definition of concepts- a system of judgments about a certain class of objects or phenomena, highlighting their most common features;

induction- derivation of a particular judgment from a general one;

deduction- the derivation of a general judgment from particular ones.

Basic quality thinking characteristics these are: independence, initiative, depth, breadth, speed, originality, criticality, etc.

The concept of intelligence is inextricably linked with thinking.

Intelligence- ϶ᴛᴏ the totality of all mental abilities that provide a person with the opportunity to solve various problems. In 1937 ᴦ. D. Wexler (USA) developed tests for measuring intelligence. According to Wexler, intelligence is the global ability to act intelligently, think rationally and cope well with life's circumstances.

L. Thurstone in 1938 ᴦ., exploring the intellect, singled out its primary components:

counting ability- the ability to operate with numbers and perform arithmetic operations;

verbal(verbal) flexibility- the ability to find the right words to explain something;

verbal perception- ability to understand spoken and written language;

spatial orientation- the ability to imagine various objects in space;

memory;

reasoning ability;

the speed of perception of similarities and differences between objects.

What determines intelligence development? Intelligence is affected by both hereditary factors and state environment. The development of intelligence is influenced by:

‣‣‣ genetic conditioning - the influence of hereditary information received from parents;

‣‣‣ the physical and mental state of the mother during pregnancy;

‣‣‣ chromosomal abnormalities;

‣‣‣ environmental living conditions;

‣‣‣ features of the child's nutrition;

‣‣‣ social status of the family, etc.

Attempts to create a unified system of ʼʼmeasurementʼʼ of human intelligence run into many obstacles, since intelligence includes the ability to perform mental operations of completely different quality. The most popular is the so-called IQ(abbreviated as IQ), which allows you to correlate the level of intellectual capabilities of an individual with the average indicators of his age and professional groups.

There is no consensus among scientists about the possibility of obtaining a real assessment of intelligence using tests, since many of them measure not so much innate intellectual abilities as knowledge, skills and abilities acquired in the learning process.

6. Mnemic processes. Today in psychology there is no single, complete theory of memory, and the study of the phenomenon of memory remains one of the central tasks. Mnemic processes, or memory processes, are studied by various sciences that consider the physiological, biochemical and psychological mechanisms of memory processes.

Memory- ϶ᴛᴏ form mental reflection, which consists in fixing, preserving and subsequent reproduction of past experience, making it possible to reuse it in activities or return to the sphere of consciousness.

Among the first psychologists who began experimental studies mnemonic processes, was the German scientist G. Ebbinghaus, who, investigating the process of memorizing different phrases, deduced a number of laws of memorization.

Memory connects the subject's past with his present and future - ϶ᴛᴏ the basis of mental activity.

To memory processes include the following:

1) memorization- such a process of memory, as a result of which the new is consolidated by linking it with the previously acquired; memorization is always selective - not everything that affects our senses is stored in memory, but only what matters to a person or aroused his interest and greatest emotions;

2) preservation– the process of processing and retaining information;

3) reproduction– the process of retrieving stored material from memory;

4) forgetting- the process of getting rid of long-obtained, rarely used information.

One of the most important characteristics is memory quality,ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ is due to:

memorization speed(number of repetitions required to retain information in memory);

forgetting speed(the time during which the memorized information is stored in memory).

There are several grounds for classifying the types of memory: according to the nature of the mental activity that prevails in the activity, according to the nature of the goals of the activity, according to the duration of consolidation and preservation of information, etc.

The work of different types of memory obeys some general laws.

The Law of Understanding: the deeper the comprehension of what is remembered, the easier the latter is fixed in memory.

Law of Interest: interesting things are remembered faster because less effort is spent on it.

Installation law: memorization is easier if a person sets himself the task of perceiving the content and remembering it.

Law of First Impression: how brighter than the first the impression of what is remembered, the stronger and faster its memorization.

Context law: information is easier to remember if it is correlated with other simultaneous impressions.

The law of the volume of knowledge: the more extensive the knowledge on a particular topic, the easier it is to remember new information from this area of ​​knowledge.

The law of the volume of stored information: the greater the amount of information for simultaneous memorization, the worse it is remembered.

Deceleration law: any subsequent memorization inhibits the previous one.

End law: what is said (read) at the beginning and end of a series of information is better remembered, the middle of the series is remembered worse.

The law of repetition: repetition improves memory.

In psychology, in connection with the study of memory, one can come across two terms that are very similar to each other - ʼʼmnemonicʼʼ and ʼʼmnemonicʼʼ, the meanings of which are different. Mnemic means ʼʼpertaining to memoryʼʼ, and mnemonic- ʼʼrelated to the art of memorizationʼʼ, i.e. mnemonics- ϶ᴛᴏ memorization techniques.

The history of mnemonics is rooted in Ancient Greece. Ancient Greek mythology speaks of Mnemosyne, the mother of the nine muses, the goddess of memory, memories. Mnemonics received special development in the 19th century. in connection with the laws of associations that have received theoretical justification. For better memorization, various mnemonic techniques. Let's give examples.

Association method: the more various associations arise when storing information, the easier the information is remembered.

Link method: combining information into a single, integral structure with the help of key words, concepts, etc.

Place method based on visual associations; having clearly imagined the subject of memorization, one must mentally combine it with the image of the place, which is easily retrieved from memory; for example, in order to remember information in a certain sequence, it is essential to break it down into parts and associate each part with a certain place in a well-known sequence, for example, the route to work, the arrangement of furniture in the room, the arrangement of photographs on the wall, and etc.

A well-known way of remembering the colors of the rainbow, where the initial letter of each word of the key phrase is the first letter of the word denoting the color:

to each - to red

hunter - about range

and does - and yellow

h nat - h eleniy

G de- G blue

With goes– With blue

f azan – f purple

7. Attention- ϶ᴛᴏ arbitrary or involuntary orientation and concentration of mental activity on some object of perception. The nature and essence of attention cause controversy in psychological science; there is no consensus among psychologists regarding its essence. The complexity of explaining the phenomenon of attention is due to the fact that it is not found in a ʼʼpureʼʼ form, it is always ʼʼattention to somethingʼʼ. Some scientists believe that attention is not an independent process, but is only a part of any other psychological process. Others believe that this is an independent process that has its own characteristics. Indeed, on the one hand, attention is included in all psychological processes, on the other hand, attention has observable and measurable characteristics (volume, concentration, switchability, etc.), which are not directly related to other cognitive processes.

Attention is a necessary condition for mastering any kind of activity. It depends on the individual typological, age and other characteristics of a person. Given the dependence on the activity of the individual, three types of attention are distinguished.

involuntary attention is the simplest form of attention. He is often called passive or forced since it arises and is maintained independently of human consciousness.

Arbitrary attention controlled by a conscious purpose, connected with the will of man. It is also called volitional, active or deliberate.

Post-voluntary attention also has a purposeful character and initially requires volitional efforts, but then the activity itself becomes so interesting that it practically does not require volitional efforts from a person to maintain attention.

Attention has certain parameters and features, which are largely a characteristic of human abilities and capabilities. To basic properties of attention usually include the following:

concentration- ϶ᴛᴏ indicator of the degree of concentration of consciousness on a certain object, the intensity of connection with it; concentration of attention implies the formation of a temporary center (focus) of all psychological activity of a person;

intensity- characterizes the efficiency of perception, thinking and memory in general;

sustainability- the ability to maintain high levels of concentration and intensity of attention for a long time; determined by the type of the nervous system, temperament, motivation (novelty, importance of needs, personal interests), as well as external conditions of human activity;

volume- a quantitative indicator of objects that are in the focus of attention (for an adult - from 4 to 6, for a child - no more than 1-3); the amount of attention depends not only on genetic factors and on the capabilities of the short-term memory of the individual, the characteristics of perceived objects and the professional skills of the subject also matter;

distribution- the ability to focus on several objects at the same time; at the same time, several focuses (centers) of attention are formed, which makes it possible to perform several actions or monitor several processes at the same time without losing any of them from the field of attention;

switching - the ability to more or less easily and fairly quickly move from one type of activity to another and focus on the latter.

Lecture 7. Cognitive mental processes - the concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Lecture 7. Cognitive mental processes" 2017, 2018.

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cognitive processes- These are mental processes that ensure the receipt, storage and reproduction of information and knowledge from the environment.

We can say that when they talk about abilities, talent, genius, intelligence and level of development, they mean, first of all, cognitive processes. A person is born with these inclinations, but at the beginning of life he uses them unconsciously; in the future, they are formed. If he learns to use them correctly, and most importantly, develop them, he will be able to achieve the most ambitious goals.

There are different classifications of cognitive processes, most often there are eight of them. Brief description of them:

1. Memory: it is a system of remembering, forgetting and reproducing the experience gained over time. In the psychology of cognitive processes, memory ensures the integrity of the personality.
2. Attention: it is the selective direction of perception towards something. At the same time, attention is not considered a separate cognitive process, but rather a property of the others.
3. Perception: sensory knowledge of objects of the surrounding world, subjectively presented as direct, immediate. It is very closely connected with sensations, through which information enters the brain and is the material for processing, evaluation and interpretation by perception.
4. Thinking: this is an opportunity to gain certain knowledge about phenomena that cannot be perceived with the help of other cognitive processes. It can be verbal-logical, visual-entrepreneurial, practical, visual-figurative.
5. Imagination: the ability of a person to spontaneously arise or deliberately build images, ideas, ideas of objects in the mind. It is the basis of visual-figurative thinking.
6. Speech: the process of communication, which is manifested through the use of language. A person is able to perceive and accept language constructs, create and reproduce his thoughts with the help of language.
7. Performance: the ability to reflect in the mind the quality of various objects. There are speech, phonetic, auditory, intonational, musical and visual representations.
8. Feel: the ability of a person to feel specific phenomena and objects around him. Our consciousness, one might say, exists only thanks to them. There are taste, visual, olfactory, auditory and tactile sensations (however, some scientists believe that these are only the main ones, there are also additional ones). The information received with the help of sensations (sense organs) is transmitted to the brain and perception comes into play.

On our site you can find a lot of materials on the theory and training of various cognitive processes:

• (also develops attention).
• (trains imagination, memory and representation).
• (training thinking).

Diagnostics of cognitive processes in adults and children

In psychiatry, there are a huge number of tests and techniques that diagnose cognitive processes.

Children's tests can be divided by age:

• From 3 to 6.
• From 7 to 16.

Tests for schoolchildren from 3 to 6 years old:

• "Cut out the shapes." For psychodiagnostics of visual-effective thinking.
• "Remember and dot". The amount of attention.
• “Who is missing something? ". For psychodiagnostics of children's thinking.
• "Find the sound." To test phonemic awareness.
• "Divide into groups." For the diagnosis of figurative-logical thinking.

Tests for children from 7 to 16 years old:

• "20 words". To assess the development of memorization techniques.
• "Comparison of concepts". To assess the ability to carry out analytical and synthetic activities.

Adult Tests:

• "Anagrams - 2011. Form A". To identify the level of fluency of abstract-logical thinking and combinatorial abilities.
• "Learning words according to A. R. Luria". For the study of memory processes.
• "Quantitative Relations". To assess logical thinking.
• "Munstenberg test". Noise immunity and selectivity of attention.

Whatever the level of your cognitive processes, you must train them, and ideally you need to do this constantly.

Let's focus on each cognitive process and find out what games and exercises exist to develop it. Of course, a full disclosure of the topic in the volume of an article for a blog is impossible, so this is only basic information.

Memory

Exercise One: memorization of words.

Read the following list: drum, chair, carpet, letter, cork, implement, saucepan, painting, vase, pin, bag. Take 30 seconds to memorize them. Don't try to use mnemonics.

Exercise two: remember yesterday.

Our memory deteriorates because we very rarely try to remember past events and do not keep a diary. So sit down in a quiet place and try to recreate in great detail yesterday.

Exercise three: kitchen.

Right now, try to remember how your kitchen (or any other room you know well) looks like in detail.

Attention

Exercise One: Stroop test.

Look at the picture and name the colors in which each word is written.

Exercise two: radio.

Turn on a song that has a lot of words. After 10 seconds, start to gradually reduce the volume. Set the lowest limit where you can still make out what is being said. Start listening to this song again. This exercise will allow you to focus only on her.

Exercise three: observation.

Find an image of an unknown painting on the Internet. Look at her for one minute. Close your eyes and try to reproduce it exactly. Open your eyes and compare the results.

Perception

An exercise: overcoming noise (selectivity of perception).

This exercise will require at least four people. The members of each pair are placed from each other at the maximum possible distance (in the corners of the room). After that, everyone starts talking at the same time. The task of each participant is to carry on a dialogue with their partner, despite the noise.

Thinking

Exercise One: brain box.

Choose any three topics. This may be the plot of a recently watched movie, an idea, news. Now start meditating on the first topic for three minutes. When finished, move on to the second topic, then to the third.

Exercise two: find the reason.

The exercise must be done in a company. One person performs an action from only one reason known to him, and the second participant must guess it. And so on until all the motives of the behavior of the first participant are clarified.

Imagination

Exercise One: random words.

Pick ten random words from a book or magazine. Tie them together to make a short story, diluting them with other words.

Exercise two: idea from chaos.

Take a sheet of paper and randomly place a few dots on it. Connect them with lines. What associations does the figure evoke? What does she look like? Two people can play the same game. One draws, the second guesses and vice versa.

Speech

These exercises are suitable for a child from 2 to 6 years.

Exercise One: words starting with a certain letter.

Ask your child to name as many words starting with a certain letter as possible.

Exercise two: search for verbs.

Choose nouns for your child (“house”, “road”, “car”) and let him choose verbs for them. For example, a car - rides, slows down, turns, stops, accelerates.

Exercise three: a retelling of what was read.

Choose a story that is likely to be of interest to your child. Read it. Now invite him to retell the text, ask clarifying questions.

Performance

For the formation and development of spatial representation, we recommend that you collect puzzles as much as possible and play with the Lego constructor. This activity is useful both for a child and is not shameful for an adult.

Feel

Exercise One: watching a tree (visual sensation).

Look out the window and watch a tree or any other large object. Appreciate its height, beauty, colors. Compare with other trees.

Exercise two: compare sounds.

Go out to the balcony again and listen to the sounds. Choose the two most intense and loudest. Start comparing.

Exercise three: taste sensations.

If you have two types of cheese or other product, cut it into small pieces and try alternately. What is the difference? Find 5 differences.

We wish you good luck!

Chapter 3. Psychology of cognitive processes

1. Sensations and perceptions

Let us consider the structure of cognitive processes by which a person receives and comprehends information, displays the objective world, transforming it into his own subjective image.

When describing the process of constructing an image of a perceived object, a distinction is made between the stimulus and activity paradigm (S.D. Smirnov).

So, between these two thresholds there is a zone of sensitivity in which the excitation of the receptors entails the transmission of a message, but it does not reach consciousness. These signals enter the brain and are processed by the lower centers of the brain (subconscious, subliminal Perception), not reaching the cerebral cortex and not being realized by a person, but this information accumulated can influence a person's behavior. The same effect of subconscious perception is possible if the exposure time or the interval between signals was less than 0.1 sec, and the signals did not have time to be processed at the level of consciousness.

Intentional and unintentional perception

Depending on the purposeful nature of the personality's activity, perception is divided into intentional (voluntary) and unintentional (involuntary).

Unintentional (involuntary) Perception is caused both by the features of the objects of the environment (their brightness, proximity, unusualness), and by their correspondence to the interests of the individual. In unintentional perception, there is no predetermined goal of activity. There is also no volitional activity in it.

AT intentional perception a person sets the goal of activity, making certain volitional efforts for the better realization of the intention that has arisen, arbitrarily chooses objects of perception.

In the process of human cognition of the surrounding reality, Perception can turn into observation. Observation is the most developed form of intentional perception. Observation is understood as a purposeful, systematically carried out Perception of objects, in the knowledge of which a person is interested.

Observation is characterized by great activity of the individual. A person does not perceive everything that caught his eye, but singles out the most important or interesting to him.

By differentiating the objects of perception, the observer organizes Perception in such a way that the objects of perception do not slip out of the field of his activity.

The systematic nature of purposeful perception makes it possible to trace the phenomenon in development, to note its qualitative, quantitative, and periodic changes. Thanks to the inclusion of active thinking in the course of observation, the main thing is separated from the secondary, the important from the accidental. Thinking helps to clearly differentiate objects of perception. Observation ensures the connection of perception with thinking and speech. In observation Perception, thinking and speech are combined into a single process of mental activity.

The act of observation reveals the extreme stability of a person's voluntary attention. Thanks to this, the observer can observe for a long time and, if necessary, repeat it several times. If a person systematically exercises in observation, improves the culture of observation, then he develops such a personality trait as observation.

Observation is the ability to notice the characteristic, but subtle features of objects and phenomena. It is acquired in the process of systematically doing what you love and therefore is associated with the development of the professional interests of the individual.

The relationship of observation and observation reflects the relationship between mental processes and personality traits. Observation, which has become a property of the individual, rebuilds both the structure and the content of all mental processes.

Perceptual disturbance

With a sharp physical or emotional overwork, sometimes there is an increase in susceptibility to ordinary external stimuli. Daylight suddenly blinds, the color of surrounding objects becomes unusually bright. The sounds are deafening, the slamming of the door sounds like a gunshot, the clatter of dishes becomes unbearable. Odors are perceived acutely, causing severe irritation. Tissues touching the body appear rough. Visions can be moving or stationary, of unchanging content (stable hallucinations) and constantly changing in the form of a variety of events that play out as on stage or in a movie (scene-like hallucinations). There are single images (single hallucinations), parts of objects, bodies (one eye, half of the face, ear), crowds of people, flocks of animals, insects, fantastic creatures. Content visual hallucinations has a very strong emotional impact: it can frighten, cause horror, or, on the contrary, interest, admiration, even admiration. It is impossible to convince a hallucinating person that the hallucinatory image does not exist: “How can you not see, because here is a dog, red hair, here it is, here it is ...”. It is believed that hallucinations occur in the presence of a hypnotic paradoxical phase of the brain, in the presence of braking state in the cerebral cortex.

Allocate pseudohallucinations- when images are projected not into external space, but into internal space: "voices sound inside the head", visions are perceived by the "mental eye". pseudo-hallucinations can be in any sensory sphere: tactile, gustatory, visual, kinesthetic, sound, but in any case they are not identified with real objects, although they are clear images, in the smallest detail, persistent and continuous. pseudohallucinations arise spontaneously, regardless of the will of the person and cannot be arbitrarily changed or expelled from consciousness, they are in the nature of "imposition".

The combination of pseudo-hallucinations with a symptom of alienation, "made" ("made by someone") is called Kandinsky's syndrome: a person has a feeling of influence from the outside. There are 3 components of this syndrome:

1. ideational - "made, violent thoughts", there is an unpleasant feeling of "internal openness";
2. sensory - “made-up sensations” (“pictures are forcibly shown ...”);
3. motor - “made movements” (“someone acts with arms, legs, body, makes you walk strangely, do something ...”).

Illusions, that is, erroneous perceptions of real things or phenomena, should be distinguished from hallucinations. The obligatory presence of a genuine object, although perceived erroneously, is the main feature of illusions, usually divided into effective, verbal (verbal) and pareidolic.

Unlike cognitive processes (perception, memory, thinking, etc.), attention does not have its own special content; it manifests itself, as it were, within these processes and is inseparable from them. attention characterizes the dynamics of mental processes.

Physiologically, this is explained by the fact that under the influence of a prolonged action of the same stimulus, excitation, according to the law of negative induction, causes inhibition in the same area of ​​​​the cortex, which leads to a decrease in the stability of attention.

However, the lack of stimuli and information is an unfavorable factor. Studies have shown that when a person is isolated from stimuli coming from the environment and from his own body (sensory deprivation, when a person is placed in a soundproof chamber, put on lightproof glasses, placed in a warm bath to reduce skin sensitivity), then physically normal healthy man rather quickly begins to experience difficulties in controlling his thoughts, he loses orientation in space, in the structure of his own body, he begins to hallucinate and have nightmares. When examining people after such isolation, they observed disturbances in the perception of color, shape, size, space, time, and sometimes the constancy of perception was lost.

All this indicates that a certain influx of signals from the external environment is necessary for normal perception. At the same time, an excessive influx of signals leads to a decrease in the accuracy of perception and human response to errors. These restrictions on the possibility of simultaneous perception of several independent signals, information about which comes from the external and internal environment, are associated with the main characteristic of attention - its fixed volume. An important feature of the amount of attention is that it is difficult to regulate during training and training. But still, you can develop attention with the help of psychological exercises, for example:

1. "Games of the Indians" for the development of attention span: two or more competitors are shown many objects at once for a short time, after which each separately tells the judge what he saw, trying to list and describe in detail as many objects as possible. So, one magician achieved that, quickly passing by the shop window, he could notice and describe up to 40 objects.
2. "Typewriter"- This classic theatrical exercise develops concentration skills. Each person is given 1-2 letters from the alphabet, the teacher says the word and the participants have to “tap” it on their typewriter. They call the word and clap, then the person with whose letter the word begins clap, then the teacher's clap - the second letter, the student's clap, etc.
3. "Who quickly?" People are encouraged to cross out a common letter in a column of any text as quickly and accurately as possible, such as "o" or "e". The success of the test is evaluated by the time of its execution and the number of errors made - missing letters: the smaller the value of these indicators, the higher the success. At the same time, success must be encouraged and interest stimulated.
   To train the switching and distribution of attention, the task should be changed: it is proposed to strike out one letter with a vertical line, and the other with a horizontal one, or, on a signal, alternate the strikethrough of one letter with the strikethrough of another. Over time, the task can become more difficult. For example, cross out one letter, underline another, and circle the third.
   The purpose of such training is the development of habitual actions brought to automaticity, subordinated to a specific, clearly perceived goal. The time of tasks varies depending on age (younger schoolchildren - up to 15 minutes, teenagers - up to 30 minutes).
4. "Observation" Children are invited to describe in detail the school yard from memory, the way from home to school - something that they have seen hundreds of times. The younger students make such descriptions orally, and their classmates fill in the missing details. Teenagers can write down their descriptions and then compare them with each other and with reality. In this game, the connections between attention and visual memory are revealed.
5. "Proofreading" The facilitator writes several sentences on a piece of paper with skipping and rearranging letters in some words. The student is allowed to read this text only once, immediately correcting the mistakes with a colored pencil. Then he passes the sheet to the second student, who corrects the remaining errors with a pencil of a different color. It is possible to conduct competitions in pairs.
6. "Fingers" Participants sit comfortably in chairs or chairs, forming a circle. The fingers of the hands placed on the knees should be interlaced, leaving the thumbs free. On the command “Start,” slowly rotate the thumbs around each other at a constant speed and in the same direction, making sure that they do not touch each other. Focus on this movement. At the command "Stop" stop the exercise. Duration 5-15 minutes. Some participants experience unusual sensations: enlargement or alienation of the fingers, an apparent change in the direction of their movement. Someone will feel intense irritation or anxiety. These difficulties are connected with the singularity of the object of concentration.

3.1 Sensation as a cognitive process

3.2 Perception

3.3 Attention.

3.4 Memory

3.5 Types and processes of thinking

3.6 Imagination

3.7 The role of speech in human life

The mental processes by which images environment, as well as images of the organism itself and its internal environment, are called cognitive mental processes. It is cognitive mental processes that provide a person with knowledge about the world around him and about himself.

Flowing simultaneously, these processes interact with each other so smoothly and so imperceptibly for us that at every given moment we perceive and understand the world not as a heap of colors, shades, shapes, sounds, smells that need to be sorted out in order to establish what to why, and not as a picture depicted on some kind of screen, but as a world outside of us, filled with light, sounds, smells, objects, inhabited by people, having a perspective and clearly perceived, as well as hidden, not perceived in the given moment plan.

Let us now consider in more detail those basic cognitive mental processes that are involved in the construction of images of the surrounding world.

Feeling as a cognitive process

Feel- this is a reflection in the human mind of individual properties of phenomena and objects that directly affect our senses.

The sense organs are the mechanisms by which information about

the world around us enters the cerebral cortex (CMC). With the help of sensations, the main external signs objects and phenomena (color, shape, taste, sound, etc.), as well as the state internal organs.

The physiological basis of sensations is the activity of a special

nervous apparatus - analyzer. The analyzer consists of:

1. Peripheral department, or receptor. Over two thousand years ago

The ancient Greek scientist and thinker Aristotle identified five receptors: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. Receptors convert the energy of external influence into a nerve impulse.

2. Conductive afferent(to the cerebral cortex) and efferent

(from the cerebral cortex) nerves that connect the peripheral section of the analyzer with its central section.

3. The central cortical sections (brain end), where the processing of nerve impulses coming from the peripheral sections takes place.

Types of sensations

Sensations can be classified depending on the nature of the stimuli affecting a given analyzer, and the sensations that arise in this case.

W painful sensations caused by exposure to electromagnetic waves emitted physical bodies, on the visual analyzer.

auditory sensations reflect the effect of sound waves created by the vibration of bodies.

Olfactory sensations is the result of exposure to odorous substances on the peripheral endings of the analyzer, embedded in the mucosa

lining of the nose.

Taste sensations are a reflection chemical properties flavoring substances dissolved in saliva or water.

tactile sensations are detected when touching objects of the outside world.

Motor sensations reflect the movement and position of the body itself, and inner feelings- the internal state of the body.

According to the location of the receptors, all of the listed sensations can be

subdivided into exteroceptive, interoceptive and proprioceptive.

Exteroceptive- arising from the impact of external stimuli on receptors located on the surface of the body: visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile sensations.

proprioceptive- reflect the movements of our body, since their receptors

located in the internal organs and tissues of the body and provide information about the position of the body and its movements.

Interoceptive - internal sensations give an idea of ​​the state

internal organs, hunger, thirst, pain, etc.

The quality of sensations of all kinds depends on analyzer sensitivity

the corresponding type. Our sense organs differ from each other in varying degrees of sensitivity to the phenomena they display. High sensitivity is inherent, for example, in visual and auditory analyzers, while the sensitivity of the tactile analyzer is quite low.

Experimentally, the minimum strength of any stimulus was established, under the action of which a barely noticeable sensation appears. This minimum stimulus strength is called lower absolute sensitivity threshold.

The lower this threshold, the higher analyzer sensitivity. upper threshold- this is the maximum strength of the stimulus, above which the irritation ceases to be felt.

The sense organs are able to change their characteristics, adapting to changing conditions. This ability is called sensation adaptation. Thus, the sensitivity of the visual analyzer decreases sharply with intense light stimulation, when a person enters a brightly lit space from a semi-dark room. Conversely, with dark adaptation, the sensitivity of the eyes increases:

when moving from a brightly lit room in the dark, a person at first does not see anything, and only after a while gradually begins to distinguish the outlines of the objects surrounding him.

The speed and completeness of adaptation of various sensory systems is not the same: high adaptability is noted in the sense of smell (you get used to an unpleasant smell), in tactile sensations (a person quickly stops noticing the pressure of clothing on the body), and visual and auditory adaptation occurs much more slowly. Pain sensations are distinguished by the least degree of adaptation: pain is a signal of dangerous disturbances in the functioning of the body, and it is clear that rapid adaptation of pain sensations could threaten him with death.

The interaction of sensations is manifested in sensitization. Unlike adaptation, which in some cases is an increase in sensitivity, and in others, on the contrary, its decrease, sensitization is always an increase in sensitivity. Often, in case of violation of the activity of one of the analyzers, one can observe an increase in the sensitivity of others. There is a kind of compensation: a person has lost

hearing, but his eyesight and the action of other analyzers are sharpened. In addition, sensitization can also be achieved as a result of special exercises.

Perception

Perception- this is the process of reflecting objects and phenomena of reality in all the variety of their properties and aspects that directly affect the senses.

Sitting down at a desk, we see its color, rectangular shape, we feel the hardness of the wood, the smooth surface, i.e., through sensation we determine the properties of the desk.

At the same time, we have a holistic image of the desk with all its properties - design, color, hardness of the material, etc. We can say that perception is expressed by a set of figurative sensations. At the same time, it is not reduced to the sum of individual sensations, but represents a qualitatively new stage of sensory cognition with such inherent features as objectivity, integrity, structure, constancy, meaningfulness.

Perceptual Properties

objectivity perception is defined as the relation of information received from the outside world to the objects of this world. We see not just white, but white snow, White flower, a white coat, we hear the sounds of a human voice, birdsong, we perceive the taste of candy, etc. So, objectivity is formed only when the analyzers interact with the objects themselves.

Integrity and inextricably linked structure perceptions mean that the psyche normal person configured to perceive precisely objects, and not individual lines, spots, etc.

constancy there is an independence of the perception of the properties of objects from the conditions in which this perception occurs.

Due to this property, a person perceives the surrounding

objects as relatively constant in shape, size, color, etc. The lecturer sees the faces of everyone sitting in the audience approximately the same in size, although the images of the faces of students in the last desks should be much smaller than those sitting in the front rows. An interesting fact reported by the climbers. It turns out they

at first they see people and machines on the ground as very small, but soon constancy is restored and all objects are perceived as they should be, that is, of normal size.

The perception of an object is closely related to its meaningfulness understanding it

entities. In other words, perception always involves some interpretation of the data received by the senses about objects and phenomena of the external world. In perception, there is always a figure and a background, although objects can be very different, including those that are not divided into a figure and a background. In addition, they can change places. Many visual illusions and the so-called ambiguous drawings are based on this, in which either the figure or the background are perceived alternately. (drawing "two vases")

We see either two profiles or one vase. Seeing both at the same time

shapes is impossible. One of them is perceived only as a background. In this figure, the selection of the object of perception is associated with its comprehension.

Dependence of perception on content mental life person is named apperceptions. Thanks to apperception, it is possible to control the process of perception, creating certain attitudes towards perception. Studies have shown that attitude can even determine the perception of a person's height. So, the same person was introduced to different groups of students of one of the universities, but each time he was assigned new titles and titles. When this person was introduced as a student, his height was determined to be an average of 171 cm; when he was named department assistant

psychology, his height increased to 176 cm; with the title of "associate professor" his height exceeded 180 cm; and the professor's height became 184 cm.

Perceptual disturbance

With a sharp physical or emotional overwork, sometimes there is an increase in susceptibility to ordinary external stimuli. Daylight suddenly blinds, the color of the surrounding objects becomes unusually bright. The sounds are deafening, the slamming of the door sounds like a shot, the smells are perceived sharply and annoying. These changes in perception are called hyperesthesia. The opposite state is hypoesthesia, which is expressed in a decrease in susceptibility to external stimuli and is associated with mental fatigue.

hallucinations- these are perceptions that arose without the presence of a real object (visions, ghosts, imaginary sounds, voices, smells). Hallucinations are a consequence of the fact that perception is saturated not with external real impressions, but with internal images. People who are hallucinating actually see, hear, smell, rather than imagine or imagine. For the hallucinator, subjective sensory sensations are just as valid as those coming from the objective world.

should be distinguished from hallucinations illusions, i.e. erroneous perception of real things or phenomena. The obligatory presence of a genuine object, although perceived erroneously, is the main feature of illusions. Illusions can be affective, verbal (verbal), pareidolic.

affective(affect - short-term, strong emotional arousal) illusions are most often caused by fear or anxious depressed mood. In this state, even clothes hanging on a hanger can seem like a robber.

Verbal illusions consist in a false perception of the content of the actual conversations of others; it seems to a person that these conversations contain allusions to some of his unseemly acts, bullying, hidden threats against him.

Very interesting and indicative are the pareidolic illusions, usually caused by a decrease in the tone of mental activity, by general passivity. The usual patterns on the wallpaper, cracks in the ceiling, various chiaroscuro are perceived as bright pictures, fantastic monsters.

The best known illusions of visual perception, the so-called geometric illusions. Most geometric illusions can be seen as either a distortion in the perception of magnitude or a distortion in the perception of the direction of lines. An example of a segment length illusion is the Muller-Lyer illusion: two lines equal length, one of which ends in converging, and the other in divergent wedges, are perceived by a person as not equal in length (draw on the board). At the same time, the effect of the illusion is so stable that it occurs even if a person knows about the reason for its occurrence.

Attention

Any human activity requires concentration and direction, that is, attention - the most important condition for the flow of all mental processes in a person.

Attention called the focus of mental activity on certain objects or phenomena of reality, while abstracting from everything else. Attention is the selection of an object or phenomenon of reality from many others surrounding a person.

Types of attention

Attention can be involuntary (unintentional) or voluntary (intentional).

involuntary attention arises without any intention and without prior

the set goal. It is caused by the characteristics of the stimuli acting on a person, for example, the strength of the stimulus (strong sound or bright light); contrast of the stimulus (a large object among small ones, light among dark ones); the significance of the stimulus for a given person (for example, the crying of a child for a mother in the midst of noise), etc.

But involuntary attention in a person also largely depends on the state and well-being, mood and feelings, expectations and dreams, needs and interests.

Arbitrary attention arises intentionally, as a result of conscious

the set goal. It arises in a person and develops in the process of labor, since without it it is impossible to carry out and maintain labor activity. Such attention is possible with a clear goal setting, real tasks, interest, moral support, material equipment, support from management and others. In addition, the maintenance of voluntary attention depends on the awareness of duty and duty; understanding the purpose and objectives of the activities performed; sustainability of interests; habitual working conditions; availability favorable conditions to perform the activity.

Some psychologists also distinguish post-voluntary attention, which combines some features of voluntary and involuntary attention.

Attention has some features that are manifested to different degrees in different people. So, properties:

1. Concentration(concentration) - the selection by consciousness of an object and the direction of attention to it.

2. Sustainability- greater resistance to distractions, due to which a person long time may be focused on some object or action.

3. Intensity- the quality that determines the effectiveness of perception,

thinking, memory and clarity of consciousness in general.

4. attention span- the number of objects perceived simultaneously (for an adult - from 4 to 6 objects, for a child - no more than 2 - 3).

5. Distribution- the ability to simultaneously monitor several objects or perform various actions.

6. Switching- conscious shifting of attention to a new object.

Memory

Everything that happens in our psyche, in a sense, remains in it. Sometimes forever. As a trace of the past, its sign, image.

Memory is the process of memorization, preservation and subsequent

reproduction by the individual of his experience.

The ability to constantly accumulate information is the most important feature psyche, is universal in nature and in many cases is realized automatically, almost unconsciously. As an example, we can cite a true story that has become a classic in psychology. A completely illiterate woman fell ill and in her delirium shouted out Latin and Greek sayings, the meaning of which she clearly did not understand. It turned out that in childhood she served with a pastor who liked to memorize quotations from ancient classics aloud. The woman involuntarily remembered them forever, which she had not suspected before the illness.

All living beings have memory. The brain not only stores our knowledge about the world around us in memory, but also has the ability to reproduce this knowledge at our request, to establish an associative connection between events, since both memory and associations are closely related.

Types of memory :

motor (motor)- manifested in memorization and reproduction

movements and their systems (it underlies the development and formation of physical dexterity, skill in work, sports, walking, writing).

emotional– it is a reaction to experienced feelings (for example, positive and negative feelings do not disappear without a trace, but are remembered and reproduced); it affects the formation of personality and allows you to regulate your behavior depending on previously experienced feelings.

figurative- preservation and reproduction of images previously perceived

objects and phenomena of reality; it is visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory; reaches the highest development among artists, musicians, writers, tasters, when the accuracy of the reproduction of an object depends on its fixation in memory;

verbal-logical (verbal)- the highest form of memory inherent only to man, expressed in the memorization and reproduction of thoughts, words and expressions. With its help, the information base of the human intellect is formed.

arbitrary and involuntary; their difference in the purposes and methods of memorization and reproduction (for example, voluntary memory is active when a special goal is set - to remember, and volitional efforts are consciously applied for this; and involuntary memory is more often when such a special goal is not set, and this process is passive, without volition).

According to the time of memorizing the material, the memory is divided into short-term

long-term, operational and intermediate. Any information first enters short-term memory, which ensures that the information presented once is remembered. a short time(5 - 7 minutes), after which the information can be completely forgotten, or transferred to long-term memory, but subject to 1 - 2-fold repetition.

short term memory(KP) is limited in volume, with a single

Presentation in the CP contains an average of 7 ± 2 units of information. This is the magic formula of human memory, i.e., on average, at one time a person can remember from 5 to 9 words, numbers, numbers, figures, pictures, etc. The main thing is to ensure that these “elements” are more informationally saturated for grouping, combining numbers, words into a single holistic "image". The amount of short-term memory varies from person to person.

It can be used to predict the success of training, resorting to the formula:

Scope of CP/2 + 1 = predicted academic grade.

long term memory(DP) provides long-term storage of information.

It is of two types:

1. DP with conscious access (i.e. a person can voluntarily extract,

recall the relevant information).

2. DP is closed (a person in natural conditions does not have access to it, but only with hypnosis, with irritation of parts of the brain, he can access it and update images, experiences, pictures of his whole life in all details).

RAM manifested in the course of execution and maintenance

a certain activity, which occurs due to the preservation of information coming from both the CP and the DP, necessary for the performance of actions.

Intermediate memory ensures the preservation of information during

several hours. It accumulates during the day, and the time of nighttime sleep is given by the body to clear the intermediate memory, categorize the information received over the past day, and translate it into long-term memory. After sleep, the intermediate memory is again ready to receive new information. In a person who sleeps less than three hours a day, the intermediate memory does not have time to be cleared, as a result, the performance of mental, computational operations is disrupted,

attention, short-term memory decrease, errors appear in speech, in actions.

Long-term memory with conscious access is characterized by the pattern of forgetting: everything unnecessary, secondary, as well as a certain percentage of necessary information is forgotten. To reduce forgetting, a number of operations must be performed.

First, understand, comprehend information (mechanically learned, but not fully understood, it is forgotten quickly and almost completely - forgetting curve 1a (Fig. 2.6).

Secondly, repeat the information (the first repetition is necessary 40 minutes after memorization, since after an hour only 50% of the mechanically memorized information remains in memory). It is necessary to repeat more often in the first days after memorization, because during this period the losses from forgetting are maximum. It is better to act like this: on the first day - 2 - 3 repetitions, on the second - 1 - 2, from the third to the seventh - one repetition each, after that

- one repetition with an interval of 7 - 10 days. Remember that 30 repetitions in a month is more effective than 100 repetitions in a day. Therefore, systematic, without overload, study, memorization in small portions during the semester with periodic repetitions after 10 days is much more effective than concentrated memorization of a large amount of information in a short session, causing mental and mental overload and leading to almost complete forgetting of information a week after the session. .

Rice. 2.6.

Main memory processes- memorization, recognition, reproduction,

remembering and, consequently, forgetting.

memorization– (with it the activity of memory begins), fixing the images and impressions that arise in the mind under the influence of objects and phenomena of reality in the process of sensation and perception. It can be unintentional (involuntary) or intentional (arbitrary).

Recognition– re-perception of an object that was previously perceived.

Playback- images fixed in memory are actualized (revived) without relying on the secondary perception of certain objects,

i.e., the image (object) is revived in its absence. It is voluntary and involuntary.

Remembrance– most active form playback related to

tension of the brain and requiring certain volitional efforts. It will be more successful if the fact is not reproduced in isolation, but in connection with other facts, events, circumstances and actions preserved in memory (for example, recalling a lost book is always associated with where the person was before and reproduces the sequence of events, which makes it easier this process).

Forgetting– the process of gradual (over time) disappearance of what was in memory. It can be full, partial, long, short, temporary. It should be remembered that the process of forgetting proceeds unevenly: at first faster, then slower.

Memory efficiency depends on a number of conditions, these include:

1. Goals of memorization (how firmly, how long a person wants to remember).

If the goal is to learn in order to pass the exam, then soon after it a lot will be forgotten. If the goal is to learn for a long time, for the future professional activity, the information is little forgotten.

2. Memorization techniques. They are like this:

Mechanical verbatim repetition. Working mechanical

memory, a lot of effort, time is spent, and the results are low. Mechanical

memory is based on repetition of material without comprehension;

Logical retelling, which includes: logical understanding of the material, systematization, highlighting the main logical components of information, retelling in your own words. Logical memory (semantic) works. It is based on the establishment of semantic connections in the memorized material.

Logical memory is 20 times more efficient than mechanical memory;

Figurative memorization techniques (translating information into images, graphics,

diagrams, pictures). In this case, figurative memory is involved. She happens

different types: visual, auditory, motor-motor, gustatory,

tactile, olfactory, emotional.

Mnemotechnical methods of memorization(to make it easier to remember). Among them:

1. The formation of semantic phrases from the initial letters of the memorized information (“Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting” - about the sequence of colors in the spectrum: red, orange, etc.).

2. Rhythmization - translation of information into poems, songs, lines related

certain rhythm or rhyme.

3. Memorizing long terms with the help of consonant words (for example, for foreign terms, they look for Russian words similar in sound; so, in order to remember the medical concepts of “supination” and “pronation”, they use the consonant comic phrase “soup carried and spilled”).

4. Finding bright, unusual images, pictures that are connected with the information that needs to be remembered by the “bundle method”. For example, we need to remember a set of words: pencil, glasses, chandelier, chair, star, beetle. This is easy to do if you imagine them as "characters" of a bright, fantastic cartoon, where a slender dandy in "glasses" - a "pencil" - approaches a plump lady, a "chandelier", at which a "chair" looks playfully, on whose upholstery sparkle " stars". Such a fictional cartoon

it is difficult to forget or confuse. To increase the efficiency of memorization using this method, you should greatly distort the proportions (a huge "bug"); present items in active action("pencil" fits); increase the number of items (hundreds of "stars"); swap the functions of objects (“chair” to “chandelier”). Try to memorize a list of words in this way, spending 3 seconds each: grass, house, peacock, dress, glasses, paper clip, nail, glue. Managed?

5. Visualization method: figuratively, mentally represent in different details

("see") the memorized information.

6. Method of Cicero. Imagine that you are walking around your room, where everything is familiar to you. Arrange the information that you need to remember mentally as you move around the room. You will be able to remember everything again by imagining your room - everything will be in the places where you placed it during the previous “bypass”.

7. When memorizing numbers, numbers, you can use the following techniques:

Identify the arithmetic relationship between groups of numbers in a number:

for example, in the phone number 35-89-54 the dependence is 89 = 35 + 54;

Select familiar numbers: for example, in the number 859314, select 85 - the year

the birth of a brother, 314 - the first digits of the number "pi", etc.;

“hook method” - replacing numbers with images: for example, 0 is a circle, 1 is a pencil,

2 - swan, 3 - pitchfork, 4 - sail, 5 - star, 6 - beetle, 7 - gallows, 8 - sand

hours, etc. You can replace numbers with letters and words. For example, replacing

numbers 1, 2, 3, 8 with the last consonants in the name of these numbers: 1 - one - H, 2 - two - B, 3 - three - R. And replace the numbers 4.5, 6, 7.9 with the initial consonants in their name: 4 - H, 5 - P, 6 - W, 7 - S, 9 - D.

Types and processes of thinking

Thinking- this is the most generalized and indirect form of mental reflection, establishing connections and relationships between cognizable objects. Allocate different types thinking.

Visual Action Thinking relies on the direct perception of objects, the real transformation of the situation in the process of actions with objects.

Visual-figurative thinking characterized by reliance on representations and images. Its functions are associated with the representation of situations and changes in them that a person wants to achieve as a result of his activity, which transforms the situation. Its very important feature is the compilation of unusual, incredible combinations of objects and their properties.

In contrast to the visual-effective, here the situation is transformed only in terms of the image.

Verbal-logical thinking- a kind of thinking carried out with the help of logical operations with concepts. It is formed over a long period (from 7-8 to 18-20 years old) in the process of mastering concepts and logical operations in the course of training. There are also theoretical and practical, intuitive and analytical, realistic and autistic, productive and reproductive thinking.

theoretical and practical thinking differs in the type of tasks being solved and the resulting structural and dynamic features. Theoretical is the knowledge of laws, rules. The main task of practical thinking is to prepare the physical transformation of reality: setting a goal, creating a plan, project, scheme. Practical thinking provides a very limited opportunities to test hypotheses, all this makes it sometimes more difficult than theoretical.

Also shared intuitive and analytical (logical) thinking. In this case, they are usually based on three signs: temporal (time of the process), structural (division into stages), level of flow (consciousness or unconsciousness).

Analytical thinking is deployed in time, has clearly defined stages, is represented in the human mind. Intuitive thinking is characterized by the speed of flow, the absence of clearly defined stages, and is minimally conscious.

realistic thinking is directed mainly to the external world, regulated by logical laws, and autistic connected with the realization of human desires (which of us did not wishful thinking). Sometimes the term is used egocentric thinking, it is characterized by the inability to accept the point of view of another person.

It is important to distinguish productive (creative) and reproductive (reproductive) thinking based on the degree of novelty of the result of mental activity.

The structure of the thought process of solving the problem can be represented as follows:

1. Awareness of the problem situation.

2. Statement of the problem.

3. Limitation of the search area.

4. Building a hypothesis.

5. Testing the hypothesis.

6. Evaluation of actions and results.

Allocate basic mental operations: analysis, comparison, synthesis,

generalization, abstraction, etc.:

analysis is a mental operation of dividing a complex object into

its constituent parts or characteristics;

comparison- a mental operation based on establishing similarities and differences between objects;

synthesis- a mental operation that allows in a single process to mentally move from parts to the whole;

generalization- mental association of objects and phenomena according to their common and

essential features;

abstraction(distraction) is a mental operation based on

highlighting the essential properties and connections of the subject and abstracting from others,

insignificant.

The main forms of logical thinking are a concept, a judgment, a conclusion.

concept- a form of thinking that reflects the essential properties, connections and

the relationship of objects and phenomena, expressed by a word or a group of words. Concepts can be general and singular, concrete and abstract.

Judgment- a form of thinking that reflects the relationship between objects and phenomena; assertion or denial of something. Judgments are true and false.

inference- a form of thinking in which a certain conclusion is made on the basis of several judgments. There are inductive, deductive, and analogical inferences. Induction- a logical conclusion in the process of thinking from the particular to the general.

Deduction- a logical conclusion in the process of thinking from the general to the particular. Analogy- a logical conclusion in the process of thinking from particular to particular (based on some elements of similarity).

Individual differences in the mental activity of people are associated with such qualities of thinking as the breadth, depth and independence of thinking, flexibility of thought, quickness and criticality of the mind.

Ways to activate thinking. Now let's look at how we can

promote the development of thinking.

First of all, it is necessary to note the special role of self-organization, awareness of the methods and rules of mental activity. A person must also manage such stages of thinking as setting a task, creating optimal motivation, regulating the direction of involuntary associations, maximizing the inclusion of both figurative and symbolic components, using the advantages of conceptual thinking, and reducing excessive criticality when evaluating the result. All this

allows you to activate the thought process, make it more effective. Enthusiasm, interest in the problem, optimal motivation are the most important factors in the productivity of thinking.

A number of factors impede a successful thought process: inertia,

stereotyped thinking; excessive commitment to the use of familiar methods of solving, which makes it difficult to look at the problem in a new way; fear of error, fear of criticism, fear of "turning out to be stupid", excessive criticality to one's decisions; mental and muscular tension, etc.

Imagination

Along with perception, memory and thinking, imagination plays an important role in human activity. In the process of reflecting the surrounding world, a person, along with the perception of what is affecting him at the moment, or the visual representation of what has affected him before, creates new images.

Imagination is the mental process of creating something new in the form of an image,

ideas or ideas. A person can mentally imagine what he did not perceive or did not do in the past, he may have images of objects and phenomena that he had not encountered before. Imagination is peculiar only to man and is a necessary condition for his labor activity. Imagination is always a certain departure from

reality. But in any case, its source is objective reality.

Types of imagination

There are several types of imagination, the main ones are -

passive and active.

Passive, in turn, is divided into arbitrary

(reverie, dreams) and involuntary(hypnotic state, fantasy in dreams).

active imagination always aimed at solving a creative or personal problem. A person operates with fragments, units of specific information in a certain area, combining them in various ways.

Recreating imagination - one kind of active when it happens

construction of new images, representations in accordance with the stimulation perceived from the outside in the form of verbal messages, diagrams, conditional images, signs, etc.

Despite the fact that its products are brand new, previously not

images perceived by a person, it is based on previous experience.

anticipatory imagination underlies a very important human ability: to anticipate future events, to foresee the results of one's actions, etc. younger man, the stronger and brighter his imagination is oriented to the distance. In the elderly and old people, the imagination is more connected with the events of the past.

creative imagination- a kind of imagination, when a person independently creates new images and ideas that are of value to other people or society as a whole, and which are embodied (“crystallized”) into specific original products of activity. Creative imagination is a necessary component and basis of all types of human creative activity.

passive imagination subject to internal, subjective factors.

In the process of such passive imagination, an unreal, imaginary satisfaction of any need or desire is carried out. This is the difference from realistic thinking, which is aimed at real, and not imaginary, satisfaction of needs. Passive imagination includes fantasy - a kind of imagination that gives images that do not correspond much to reality. Dreams are a fantasy associated with desires, most often a somewhat idealized future.

A dream differs from a dream in that it is more realistic and more connected with reality. Dreams are passive and involuntary forms of imagination that reflect many vital human needs.

4.1 Attention

4.2 Feeling

4.3 Perception

4.4 Memory

4.5 Thinking

4.6 Imagination

4.1. A person cognizes the world around him with the help of attention, sensations, perception, memory, thinking and imagination. Each of these cognitive processes provides knowledge of certain properties of the surrounding world.

1.Attention as an orienting-search process directs and focuses consciousness on certain objects of reality while simultaneously abstracting from others, determines selectivity, selection of information coming through the senses.

Attention is associated with the activity of a number of brain structures, primarily the reticular formation and attention neurons, located mainly in the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex. The physiological basis of attention is the conditionally orienting reflex “What is it?” (I.P. Pavlov) Ukhtomsky A. A. - the dominant focus of excitation in the cerebral cortex.

Properties attention :

volume- an indicator of the number of objects that are simultaneously in the field of attention (for an adult, on average, it is equal to five to seven objects);

sustainability- time characteristic of attention, an indicator of the duration of maintaining the intensity of attention;

concentration-indicator of the degree of concentration of consciousness on the object;

distribution- the ability to keep attention on several objects at the same time, which makes it possible to perform several actions at once, keeping them in the field of attention;

switching- an indicator of the speed of transition from one type of activity to another;

objectivity- the ability to allocate certain complexes of signals in accordance with attitudes and personal significance; for example, while listening to music, a person does not pay attention to other sounds.

Depending on the conditions of occurrence, there are various types of attention.

Types of attention

Attention is a necessary condition for successful human activity. Therefore, it is important to develop attention management skills. At the same time, one should take into account attention-grabbing factors:

the nature of the irritation (novelty, contrast, physical characteristics - the size of the object, etc.);

the attitude of the stimulus to needs (what is important for a person is more in line with his needs, will attract his attention first of all).

To maintain attention, one must also neutralize factors that reduce his sustainability:

monotony and stereotyping of the actions performed;

monotony and insufficiency (excess) of information.

So, attention in a special way organizes the processes of mental reflection of reality, the primary form of which is feeling-psychic process of reflection of individual properties of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world.

4.2. In fact, sensations are products of processing by the central nervous system (and primarily by the cerebral cortex) of stimuli that arise in the process of human life.

The anatomical and physiological apparatus that serves to receive and process such stimuli, I. Pavlov called analyzer.

Each analyzer consists of the following organs:

receptor(sensory organ) - sensory cells "tuned" to receive certain stimuli (auditory, gustatory, etc.) and convert their effects into electrochemical impulses;

nerve (conduction) pathways, transmitting these impulses to the central nervous system;

analyzer center- a specialized area in the cerebral cortex, in which impulses are "decoded", the physiological process turns into a mental one (sensations) and a person realizes that he is affected - noise, smell, heat, etc.

There are the following types of sensations:

External (exteroceptive), arising from the impact of stimuli on receptors located on the outer surface of the body - visual (the most important for the functioning of the human psyche), auditory, tactile, olfactory and gustatory;

Organic (interoceptive), signaling what is happening in the body (feeling pain, hunger, thirst, etc.);

Kinesthetic (proprioceptive) with the help of which the brain receives information about the position and movement of various parts of the body; their receptors are located in muscles and tendons.

To the number sensations relate:

a) adaptation - the adaptation of the sense organs (eyes, auditory analyzers, etc.) to the strength of the acting stimuli. It can manifest itself as a complete disappearance of sensation as a result of prolonged exposure to a stimulus, or as an increase or decrease in sensitivity under the influence of an irritant;

b) sensitization - an increase in the sensitivity of analyzers due to an increase in the excitability of the cerebral cortex under the influence of the simultaneous activity of other analyzers. For example, the feeling of rhythm contributes to increased musculoskeletal sensitivity. It can also be developed with the help of special exercises (for musicians - auditory sensitivity, for tasters - olfactory and gustatory, etc.);

in) interaction sensations - can be illustrated by the studies of Academician P.P. Lazarev, who found that eye lighting makes audible sounds louder. Sound stimulation (for example, whistling) can exacerbate the work of visual sensation, increasing its sensitivity to light stimuli.

d) the phenomenon of contrast - a different sensation of the same stimulus depending on the experience or the simultaneous action of another stimulus. Weak stimuli increase sensitivity to other simultaneously acting stimuli, and strong ones decrease it;

e) successive images - the continuation of sensations after the cessation of the stimulus.

E) synesthesia- (from Greek - joint feeling) increased interaction of analyzers can lead to the fact that under the influence of one stimulus additional sensations characteristic of another may arise. For example, music can cause color sensations, some colors can cause sensations of coolness or warmth. One of the subjects with exceptionally pronounced synesthesia, the famous mnemonist Sh., was studied in detail by A. R. Luria.

4.3. As a result of the processing of information by the senses, individual sensations are combined into integral images of objects and phenomena of the environment. The process of creating these images is called perception.

Perception is a holistic reflection of objects and phenomena of the objective world with their direct impact at a given moment on the senses.

The physiological basis of perception is the complex activity of the system of analyzers of the cerebral cortex, comparing various types of incoming sensations.

Compared with sensations, perception is a higher form of analytical and synthetic activity of the brain, without which a meaningful understanding of the nature of the acting stimulus is impossible. It is it that ensures the selection of the object of perception, on the basis of which the synthesis of all its properties in a holistic image is carried out.

Types of perception:

1. Depending on the goal: intentional (based on a conscious goal and volitional efforts) and unintentional.

2. Depending on the presence of an organization: organized (depending on the second signal system, they are purposeful, systematic) and unorganized.

3.Depending on the form of reflection:

The perception of time is a reflection of objective reality, the speed and sequence of life phenomena, based on the rhythmic change of excitation and inhibition.

The perception of movement is a reflection in time, changes in the position of objects or the observer himself in space.

Observing the movement perceive: character, shape, amplitude, direction, speed, duration and acceleration.

The perception of space is the perception of form, size, volume, objects. the distance between them of the relative position, distance and direction in which they are located.

The main properties of perception are:

constancy- the immutability of the image of perception under changing physical conditions; for example, the color and shape of familiar objects are perceived in the same way regardless of the conditions of observation; thanks to this, a person can perceive and cognize the world of stable things that retain their main features with the slightest change, for example, illumination or distance to the perceived object;

objectivity- the perception of the external world not in the form of a set of sensations unrelated to each other, but in the form of objects isolated in space; at the same time, the perceived reality is divided into two layers - the image of the object (figure) and the image of the space surrounding the object (background); it is interesting that different objects stand out as figure and background depending on the person's past experience; such dependence on the content of human mental activity is called apperception;

integrity- independence of the perceived image from distortion and replacement of its components; for example, it is possible to preserve a portrait resemblance by depicting a person with both strokes and dotted lines, and other elements; the perception of figures and their parts not separately, but in the form of integral images, makes it possible to explain some illusions of perception, for example, the illusion of an arrow;

(the length of the middle part of the first arrow seems to be greater than the length of the second; explained by the installation: if the whole is larger, then its parts are also larger)

generality- the possibility of correct identification of an object and its assignment to a certain class, regardless of its individual characteristics; thus, we can recognize a table as such, regardless of its shape, size, etc.; read any text, regardless of the features of the font or handwriting. These properties are not innate and develop throughout life.

Selectivity- This is the ability of a person to perceive only those objects that are of greatest interest to him.

The conditions for the formation of adequate perception (and sensory forms of cognition in general) are human activity, the establishment of feedback in practical interaction with the outside world, the provision of a certain minimum and habitual structuring of information coming from outside.

These conditions and properties must be taken into account by a person in the development of perception, observation (learning not only to look, but also to see, not only to listen, but also to hear, etc.) as a result of observation - a deliberate, planned perception of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world.

4.4. The images that have arisen in the process of perception are preserved and made possible in the future to work on them by the memory of a person - the process of capturing, preserving and restoring past experience. It is based on the property of the brain to retain traces of external influences, as well as influences coming from within the body.

The physiological basis of memory is the traces of former nervous processes stored in the cerebral cortex of the cerebral hemispheres. As a result of the plasticity of the nervous system, any process does not pass without a trace for the nervous tissue, leaving a trace in it in the form of functional changes. In the future, this facilitates the course of nervous processes during their repetition. In the last 30 years, studies have been carried out that have shown that the imprinting, preservation and reproduction of traces are associated with deep biochemical processes, in particular with RNA modification, and that memory traces can be transferred by humoral, biochemical way. Intensive research began on the so-called reverberation processes of excitation, which began to be regarded as the physiological substrate of memory. Studies have emerged that have attempted to isolate the areas of the brain required for trace retention and the neurological mechanisms underlying remembering and forgetting.

There are several main approaches to the classification of types of memory:

1) according to the nature of the mental activity that prevails in the activity, memory is divided into:

motor;

emotional;

figurative;

verbal-logical;

2) by the nature of the objectives of the activity for:

involuntary;

Arbitrary;

3) by the duration of consolidation and preservation of the material (in connection with its role and place in the activity) on:

short-term;

long-term;

operational.

4) the degree of meaningfulness of memorization (mechanical, logical, or semantic, memory

There are several memory levels depending on the duration of saving information:

instantaneous (sensory) memory - stores information about how the world is perceived at the level of receptors for 0.3-1.0 s; of particular importance is instantaneous visual (iconic) memory, which, by retaining images for the period of closing the eyes during blinking and other movements, provides a unified perception of the world; with the help of iconic memory, a person can receive much more information than he can later reproduce; this fact is used in the well-known phenomenon of the "25th frame", when, during editing, every 25th frame is pasted into the film with information gradually accumulating, as studies have shown, in the subconscious;

short-term memory - provides prompt storage and processing of information coming from the senses in limited portions (7 + 2 structural units);

intermediate memory - stores information for several hours and has a much larger capacity than short-term memory; An interesting hypothesis is that during the period of nocturnal sleep, information in small portions (7 + 2 units) enters short-term memory, where it is processed (at the stage " slow sleep") and stored for further processing (at the stage of "REM sleep");

long-term memory - stores information throughout a person's life and has an unlimited volume; At the same time, repetition is considered the main mechanism for transferring information from short-term memory to long-term memory.

memory processes.

1. Memorization is the imprinting in the mind of a person of the forms he has received, which are necessary for enrichment with new knowledge, experience, forms of behavior. The productivity of memorization also depends on how memorization is carried out: in general or in parts. In psychology, there are three ways of memorizing a large amount of material: holistic, partial and combined. The first method (holistic) consists in the fact that the material (text, poem, etc.) is read from beginning to end several times, until complete assimilation. In the second method (partial), the material is divided into parts and each part is memorized separately. First, one part is read several times, then the second, then the third, and so on. The combined method is a combination of holistic and partial. The material is first read in its entirety one or more times, depending on its volume and nature, then difficult passages are highlighted and memorized separately, after which the entire text is read again in its entirety. If the material, for example, a poetic text, is large in volume, then it is divided into stanzas, logically complete parts, and memorization occurs in this way: first, the text is read once or twice from beginning to end, its general meaning is clarified, then each part is memorized, after which the material is read in its entirety again.

2. Preservation is the retention of acquired knowledge in memory for a long time.

3. Reproduction is the activation of previously fixed content of the psyche.

4. Recognition is a phenomenon of the psyche that allows the memory process to function more efficiently. Occurs in the process of re-perception.

5. Forgetting is expressed in the inability to restore previously perceived information. The physiological basis of forgetting is some types of cortical inhibition that interferes with the actualization of temporary neural connections. Most often, this is the so-called extinction inhibition, which develops in the absence of reinforcement.

It should be noted that forgetting proceeds unevenly over time. The greatest loss of material occurs immediately after its perception, and in the future, forgetting goes more slowly. For example, Ebbinghaus's experiments showed that an hour after learning 13 meaningless syllables, forgetting reaches 56%, but in the future it goes more slowly. Moreover, the same pattern is characteristic of forgetting meaningful material. However, the process of forgetting can be slowed down. To do this, it is necessary to organize a repetition of the perceived material in a timely manner, without postponing this work for a long time.

Although memory depends on many factors (features of the nervous system, environment, nature of activity, attitudes, personality traits), there is a common way to improve it - mastering productive memorization techniques.

R. Granovskaya divides the methods of productive memorization into two groups:

based on the introduction of artificial logical connections from the outside into the memorized material (mnemonic techniques);

based on the identification of logical connections in the memorized material.

Mnemonic techniques (from the Greek tpetotkop - the art of memorization) are based on the formation of associative links between the elements of the memorized and the reference series. Well-known objects can act as a reference row (location of rooms in an apartment, houses on the street); visual images; words organized into a meaningful phrase.

So, to remember the order of colors in the spectrum, the phrase "Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant sits" is used, in which the first letters of each word are simultaneously the first letters of the corresponding color of the spectrum. Phone numbers are memorized by linking them to well-known dates of events or by breaking them into parts in a certain rhythmic structure.

Techniques based on identifying logical connections in the memorized material include a number of logical operations: semantic grouping (breaking the material into parts), highlighting semantic strongholds (giving a name to each selected part), drawing up a plan. In addition, it has been found that the memorization of material improves if it is included in vigorous activity. Therefore, by the way, it is better to read the material and retell it several times than just read it several times without retelling it.

The quality of memorization also depends on the number of repetitions. It is advisable to repeat the information at certain intervals - after 15-20 minutes, after 8-9 and 24 hours.

It is equally important to create a positive emotional background and set (in the form of self-instruction) for long-term memorization.

So, images of the external world are stored and processed in the memory, secondary images arise - representations, which later provide an opportunity to generalize the perceived information, to highlight logical connections in it. Thinking is responsible for this - the highest form of mental reflection, establishing connections and relationships between cognizable objects and phenomena.

4.5. Thinking is based on the complex analytical and synthetic activity of the cerebral cortex.

Thinking- this is the most generalized and mediated form of mental reflection, establishing connections and relationships between cognizable objects.

Direct, sensory knowledge of objects and phenomena in sensations and perceptions is replaced in thinking by logical knowledge: observing some phenomena, we judge others that are connected in a certain way with them. Thus, thinking opens the way for obtaining new knowledge, revealing the hidden properties of things, including those that are generally inaccessible to the human senses. For example, X-rays were discovered by their effect on a photographic plate.

The physiological basis of thinking is the interaction of the first and second signal systems in the work of the cerebral cortex. The leading role belongs to the second signal system - cortical connections, which provide a reflection of reality on the basis of words, concepts, categories and their corresponding images.

All parts of the cerebral cortex are involved in the implementation of the thinking process. Due to their interaction, complex temporal connections and relationships (associations) are formed by the brain ends of the analyzers. Further, they are differentiated, refined, consolidated and become a new physiological basis for more accurate knowledge about the external world. The performance of these mental actions is provided by the systems of functionally integrated neurons (neural codes) of the brain, which are responsible for the performance of specific mental operations.

Mainproperties of thinking:

abstraction, which consists in the fact that, thinking about any phenomena, we single out only those signs of them that are important for solving the problem, being distracted from the unimportant ones;

generalization, which implies, as a result of highlighting important, essential features, the concentration of thought on the general that characterizes entire classes of phenomena.

The process of thinking itself unfolds in a certain sequence with the help of such operations:

comparison - comparison of the selected features of objects and phenomena in order to find similar and different properties;

analysis (from the Greek - decomposition, dismemberment) - the mental dismemberment of an object or phenomenon into parts, the allocation of certain of its elements, properties, connections;

synthesis (from Greek - connection, composition) - the mental reunification of the whole from parts, the connection of various sides, elements of objects or phenomena into a single whole;

abstraction (from lat. - distraction) - mental isolation of essential properties, signs of objects or phenomena while simultaneously abstracting from non-essential ones;

generalization - a mental union of objects or phenomena according to their common essential features;

Concretization - a mental transition from the general to the singular, the use of the identified patterns in specific examples.

Thinking operates with elementary (image, representation) and logical forms of thinking. The latter include:

concept - a form of thinking that reflects the essential properties, connections and relationships of objects or phenomena, expressed by a word or a group of words;

judgment - a form of thinking containing the affirmation or denial of the connection between objects and phenomena;

inference - a form of thinking in which a new judgment is derived on the basis of several judgments.

Allocate such types of thinking:

1. According to the method of material transformation: visual-effective, carried out during practical actions with specific objects; visual-figurative, involving the operation of images and representations; verbal-logical (abstract), operating with logical forms of thinking.

2. By the type of tasks to be solved: theoretical - practical.

3. According to the degree of deployment: discursive, that is, based on logic and intuitive.

4. According to the degree of novelty: reproductive (in a known way) and productive.

5. By the nature of generalizations: empirical (everyday) and scientific (theoretical).

6. In relation to the real and internal world: realistic and autistic.

All types of human thinking are inextricably linked with speech - the process of formulating and transmitting thoughts through language. In speech, connections are established between the meanings of words, therefore it is the only possible form of verbal-logical thinking. Studies have shown that not a single complex thought can be expressed without inner speech, the manifestations of which in the form of electrical discharges can be registered with special devices. Similar electrical discharges are also recorded in non-speech types of thinking.

The development of thinking is possible, first of all, under the condition of awareness of the laws of mental activity. The productivity of mental activity increases the development of such qualities of thinking as independence, depth of mind, criticality, breadth of mind, etc.

If thinking operates mainly with concepts, then imagination (a form of mental reflection, consisting in the creation of new images based on previously perceived ones) operates with representations.

It is generally accepted that means of thinking images and verbal designations of objects and phenomena that are subjected to mental analysis appear. The first of these allows you to significantly increase the productivity of the thinking process (for example, chess players), but for most people, speech still acts as its leading means.

Speech - the process of reflecting objective reality in the form of linguistic or other symbols used in thinking, and their subsequent sound or written reproduction. Consequently, speech, as a mental process, performs two main functions - designation (in thinking) and communication (when exchanging information with other people through the use of language). It is the property of man alone.

The physiological basis of speech is the connection of the corresponding sections of the cerebral cortex, on the one hand, with thought processes, and on the other hand, with the neuro-physiological activity of the sound apparatus.

A more detailed consideration of the physiological foundations of speech requires an understanding of the most complex system of conditioned reflexes. It is based on the second signal system, the conditioned stimuli of which are words in their sound or figurative form. Being at first neutral stimuli, they become conditionally verbal in the process of their re-combination with the primary signals, which form images of specific objects and phenomena in the mind. As a result, they acquire semantic meaning, become signals of direct stimuli with which they were previously combined.

In thinking, as a mental cognitive process, two type of speech: sign (figurative), using signs and images of objects and phenomena of the objective world, and verbal-logical, realizing logical reasoning in mental operations using words denoting certain objects and phenomena. At the same time, it is believed that the productivity of sign speech in thinking is many times greater than the verbal-logical one.

In communication, the types of speech are much more diverse. Here, external and internal speech, written and oral, dialogical and monologue, contextual and situational, etc.

It is customary to judge the quality of speech, as a means of thinking, by its main features: content (the direction of the thoughts expressed in it) and consistency (the consistency of the use of verbal and figurative designations of objects and phenomena of the objective and subjective world in it).

Speech, actively participating in the process of human thinking, at the same time, as it were, acts as an external expression of the quality of the functioning of mental cognitive processes as a whole. However, its characteristics, as well as the characteristics of other cognitive processes, are significantly influenced by a relatively independent group of mental processes related to the emotional-volitional sphere of human mental activity, formed on the basis of mental emotional-volitional processes.

4.6.At the heart of the imagination lies the process of formation of new combinations of already established neural connections in the cerebral cortex. As a result, imagination makes it possible to predict the final result of the activity, and also ensures the creation of a program of behavior in cases where the problem situation is characterized by uncertainty.

As in the presentation process, physiological basis imagination is the connection between the neurons of the cerebral cortex. However, it is formed not on the basis of perceived material, but with the use of already meaningful experience and knowledge. As a result of this complex mental activity, new combinations of temporary connections formed in the past experience that have not previously taken place in the real process of perception, which form the basis of images of the imagination, arise.

Imagination techniques are:

Agglutination (from Latin - to glue) - a combination, a fusion of individual elements or parts of various objects into a single image;

accentuation - an increase or decrease in individual features, parts of an object;

schematization - emphasizing the similarities of various objects and smoothing out their differences (as, for example, in patterns and ornaments);

typification - highlighting the essential, repeating in homogeneous images, the creation of generalized, typical images.

hyperbolization is an exaggeration or reduction of an object in comparison with the real one.

Depending on the degree of human activity, there are the following types of imagination:

passive, which can be intentional (dreams - images of fantasy, deliberately caused, but not implying implementation) and unintentional (dreams, hallucinations, etc.);

active, subdivided into recreative (creation of images from the words of other people, on the basis of written and material documents) and creative (creation of a new, original image).

A special kind of imagination is dream as an image of the desired future. Depending on the degree of possibility of realization, a dream can be real or unreal. An unreal dream closes a person in his inner world, does not allow you to realize yourself as a person. A real dream is a necessary condition for the realization of a person's creative potential.

Imagination and creativity as a process of creating new, original products and ideas are inextricably linked. According to the degree of novelty and originality distinguish between recreative and creative imagination.

Despite the unusual, originality of images of the imagination, creative imagination is carried out in accordance with certain patterns and techniques. On this basis, a theory and methods for solving creative problems are developed, as well as methods for enhancing the search for creative ideas, which primarily include:

the method of "brainstorming" (brainstorming), which consists in overcoming stereotypical forms of decision-making through ideas, without evaluating them as true or false (such an assessment is made later, in the expectation that among the ideas expressed there will be several that contain successful solutions);

the method of focal objects, which involves transferring the features of randomly selected objects to the object under study (focal) in order to obtain unusual combinations that can overcome psychological inertia (for example, if the "eagle" is taken as a random object, and the "pen" is taken as the focal object, a combination of the "winged pen" type is obtained etc., developing which you can sometimes come up with original ideas); method control questions, which involves the use of leading questions like "And if you do the opposite?" and etc.