Visual-effective thinking and the role of sensory-perceptual processes in its development. article on the topic

Thinking is the mental activity of a person, which allows one to judge surrounding things, phenomena, situations; solve simple and complex problems; cope with problems and difficulties that arise throughout life.

The following features of thinking are distinguished:

• mediation, that is, a person can cognize an object or phenomenon not directly, but indirectly (indirectly): from the unknown to the known, through one properties to others;
• generality, that is, the ability to combine objects according to some characteristics.

Human mental activity is formed by special tools and mental processes:

• analysis (isolating individual properties, features from the whole);
• synthesis (establishing semantic connections between objects or phenomena);
• comparison (differences or similarities of objects, phenomena with each other);
• generalization (combining various phenomena or objects into groups based on a common feature);
• specification (return from the general to the specific);
• abstraction (identification of one main of many common features);
• analogy (transfer of knowledge about a studied subject to an unstudied or inaccessible for study).

Every person uses all these operations, consciously or unconsciously, throughout his life. But how effective is our thinking? Everything depends on the quality of a person’s upbringing from birth: on the formation of the first visual-effective thinking and the enrichment of subsequent visual-figurative thinking.

What is this in psychology?

The first stage of mental development is visual and effective thinking (from 0 to 3 years). This form of thinking is characterized by the relationship between the physical properties of an object and the possibilities of its use; it is also called “manual intelligence”.

Which hemisphere is responsible for it?

Important. The human brain is a complex system responsible for all body processes.

In the 1990s, V. Rotenberg hypothesized that the left hemisphere is responsible for logical thinking. It is narrowly focused, as it connects the object with the problem being solved. While the right one covers more expanded possibilities, correlating information from different sources, forming images. Both hemispheres work in conjunction.

“Clip thinking” as a mass superficial perception of information

Bibliographic description:

Kutuzova, N.V. “Clip thinking” as a mass superficial perception of information / N.V. Kutuzova. — Text: direct // Innovative pedagogical technologies: materials of the VIII International. scientific conf. (Kazan, May 2021). — Kazan: Young scientist, 2021. — pp. 6-8. — URL: https://moluch.ru/conf/ped/archive/278/14175/ (access date: 03/04/2021).


The thinking of a modern student is characterized by imagery, and, as mentioned in a number of publications, “clip-likeness.” “Clip” thinking is the predominance of a large amount of information of a discontinuous nature.

Key words: the term “clip thinking”, mass character, short pieces of information, pros and cons of clip thinking, reading and analysis, “long-term” thinking.

Until the early 2000s, older people were sent to study at the St. Petersburg Training and Methodological Center for Civil Defense and Emergency Situations. Recently the situation has changed. Very often, quite young students began to be sent for training. And therefore, analyzing their behavior, the question arose about a different level of perception of information. Students have difficulty perceiving information from paper media and are unable to pay attention to the teacher’s oral presentation of material for a long time. This type of thinking is the body’s protective reaction to an overabundance of information. Thus, we had to change the presentation of information, based on the positive aspects that listeners with clip thinking have.

Nowadays, a new term “clip thinking” is appearing more and more in various sources. This term is a type of thinking in which “a person perceives the world around him as a set of fragmentary, disparate, little interconnected images. A person with clip thinking can effectively work only with short pieces of information and finds it difficult to perceive large and complex volumes” [3]. Many adults and children have this type of thinking in the modern world. This type of thinking is a relatively young concept and it did not arise spontaneously. Against the backdrop of the massive emergence of television, music videos, television sitcoms, which often do not have a logical connection between the plots. The advent of mobile communications and the Internet also had an impact on the development of this type of thinking. Thinking becomes splintered, fragmented. Clip consciousness forces a person to perceive life not holistically, but as a sequence of different, unrelated events.

We see that listeners of today, unlike the generations of the 80s or 90s, have difficulty perceiving information from paper media and are not able to fix their attention on the oral presentation of the material for a long time, since the “clip” formed by the Internet and other mass media “Thinking requires images, spectacular ones, preferably ready for the perception of details, without their logical ordering. This thinking is the body’s defensive reaction to an overabundance of information.

The emergence of such a type of thinking as clip thinking is a response to the increased amount of information.

This type of thinking, like all mental processes, has both advantages and disadvantages. True, psychologists say that there are more shortcomings, and they thus aggravate the perception of the world. The task of teachers is to direct the minuses towards the pluses.

Thus, the advantages of clip thinking are:

– speed of reaction;

– ability to solve several problems simultaneously;

– protecting the brain from information overload;

– desire to cover as much information as possible.

In addition to the advantages, this type of thinking also has a number of disadvantages. What are these disadvantages?

– reduced ability to analyze information;

– reduced ability to concentrate;

– the effectiveness of training and knowledge acquisition is reduced;

– increased susceptibility to other people’s influence and manipulation;

– decreased sense of empathy;

– leads to simplification in problem solving and decision making.

What way out can be found from this situation and turn the situation towards the teacher? And there is only one way out - turn the minuses to the side of the pluses. Thus, memory training contributes to the development of the ability to assimilate large amounts of information. Developing imagination makes thinking more flexible.

Meaningful conversations also contribute to the development of analytical thinking, during which people learn to convey their thoughts to their interlocutor, conduct discussions, give arguments and defend their point of view. (in our case, seminars, round tables)

One of the main requirements in the process of training students at the St. Petersburg Training and Methodological Center for Civil Defense and Emergency Situations is the ability to build a chain of actions from the existing situation to the goal. And the creation of such chains implies the presence of “long-term” thinking.

From all of the above, it becomes clear that the phenomenon of clip thinking has more disadvantages than advantages. Research shows that, despite the development of virtual communication and friendship on social networks, representatives of the modern younger generation are becoming increasingly lonely in real life. The lack of live communication gives rise to isolation, a feeling of loneliness and dissatisfaction. First of all, you need to read more and analyze what you read. Moreover, you need to read not short stories, but voluminous works with deep meaning that call for reflection. In addition, there are many artistic and educational films, the viewing of which makes you think.

Memory training helps develop the ability to absorb large amounts of information. Developing imagination makes thinking more flexible. There are various psychological methods for training memory, attention, imagination, logical, conceptual, and imaginative thinking for children and adults. Special tests to determine different types of thinking will help evaluate the results of training.

The rejection of clip consciousness is also facilitated by meaningful conversations, during which people learn to convey their thoughts to their interlocutor, conduct discussions, give arguments and defend their point of view.

It should be remembered that clip thinking can be beneficial in certain situations that require quick reactions or frequent switching of attention, but it should not become the predominant type of thinking in everyday life.

Clip thinking is an acquired quality that is formed on the basis of changing conditions of existence and the rhythm of life, which is what our teachers focus on in their work.

A person with clip thinking perceives only fragmentary information that he is not able to compare with other information. It is not surprising that it is easier for people to perceive short information or even just a set of pictures than to read long texts, perceive context, or synthesize information from fragments.

Thus, training has to be restructured taking into account changing environmental conditions, relying on the positive aspects of clip thinking. People get used to communicating with short messages. In preparing for classes, the teacher now relies not on the textual material of the slides, but on a schematic display of key points. Teachers also use hyperlinks in their presentations, which improves reaction speed. Therefore, listeners with clip thinking are able to quickly respond to external stimuli and changes and quickly adapt to them.

Civil defense and emergency situations training programs include activities such as seminars and round tables, which develop the ability to solve several problems at the same time, conduct discussions, make arguments and defend one’s point of view. This type of thinking develops multitasking in students—the ability to do several things at once.

Solving problems at the same time, the opportunity to enter into a discussion creates a desire to cover as much information as possible. Clip thinking forces listeners to seek out and absorb more and more new information, which is very useful for intellectual development. Reduced ability to analyze, concentrate, poor assimilation of knowledge, rapid fatigue from a large amount of information is sharply reduced after attending lectures and practical classes, thanks to the experience of teachers and their desire to interest students.

Clip thinking is an acquired quality that is formed on the basis of changing conditions of existence and the rhythm of life. The task of our teachers, thanks to their professionalism, is to teach students to analyze, highlight the main thing in a large amount of information, and find what they need for each specific student.

Literature:

1. Luria A.R. Lectures on general psychology. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2012. - 320 p.
2. Psychology and pedagogy “Tomorrow exam.” - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2009. - 272 p.
3. Why clip thinking is beginning to prevail in the modern world // New Goal.ru. URL: https://newgoal.ru/klipovoe-myshlenie/ (access date: 04/18/2018).

Basic terms
(automatically generated)
: thinking, type of thinking, amount of information, type of thinking, civil defense, listener, protective reaction of the body, short piece of information, logical connection, St. Petersburg educational and methodological center.

Features of the development of visual and effective thinking in children

In the process of learning about the environment, children carry out many manipulations with surrounding objects:

• throw;
• break;
• are sorted out.

Parents often scold their children, thinking that they are acting up, but this is not the case. All this activity is precisely the result of a child’s visual and effective thinking. This is a necessary step for the further development of intelligence.

Types of thinking

Visual and effective thinking is the ability to solve practical problems using the necessary objects. This type of thinking is often called lower, elementary. It is found in the behavior of children or animals. However, research shows that visual-effective thinking is also characteristic of many types of professional activities. With its help, inventors, surgeons, managers, and generals solve quite complex problems.

Visual-figurative thinking . This type of thinking is based on resolving a problem situation using an image of an object, reproduced from memory or in the imagination.

Complex thinking is built on the basis of generalizations. Characteristic of children or peoples at the primitive stage of development. With complex thinking, the same object or phenomenon can be included in a variety of complexes.

Visual thinking is a way of solving intellectual problems based on mental visual images. The result of visual thinking is often the creation of new images and visual forms.

Imaginative thinking is a rather complex type of thinking. Imaginative thinking may be preceded by visual-effective thinking for the selection of the objective content of the image. When figurative thinking is preceded by visual-figurative thinking, abstraction and construction of a conceptual model occurs.

Practical thinking occurs in the course of practical activity. In contrast to theoretical thinking, aimed at solving abstract problems, practical thinking is associated with solving practical issues and is based on generalizing practical experience.

Diagnostic and study methods

Characteristics of levels, starting with objective perception

A child receives his first impressions of the world around him after birth. Gradually, his worldview is replenished with new sensations and images (read more about what imaginative thinking is, why it is needed, and from this article you will learn why you need to improve this way of thinking in adults and children).
The thinking of a little person consists of the concept of the properties of an object, comparing data, searching for differences, and obtaining new sensations. His parents help him in this, sharing their knowledge, teaching and educating him. With the ability to move independently, the baby expands his capabilities in exploring the world, adding new images to it. The child analyzes and systematizes the entire stock of information, creating his own picture of the world.

Closer to one year, the baby, through practical actions, trial and error, receives new information and learns the properties of objects. From one to two years - combines and operates with objects. At the same time:

• learns to understand speech;
• develops memory;
• auditory and visual perception.

By 3 years old the baby:

• significantly increases memory capacity;
• improves speech;
• learns to solve practical problems using the information received.

Manifestation of pathological variants and their correction

Attention. In children with mental disabilities, sensorimotor thinking is characterized by a lag. They do not have the skill of generalizing their experience in actions with everyday objects. Without the help of an adult, they are not able to analyze and discard erroneous options, thereby not being able to achieve their goal.

“Special” children do not have the need to connect action with speech, which indicates that their manipulations are not conscious. This is a feature of the development of oligophrenics and autists. Timely correction of these pathologies gives good results.

In adults, serious violations can manifest themselves in a rollback to the visual-effective period of thinking. Characterized by obsessive repetitive movements and manipulation of objects. It appears in schizophrenics and catatonics.

Examples of practical diagnostic methods: how is it possible using cubes and other methods?

With the help of diagnostics, specialists are able to determine the integrity of a child’s intelligence. Some techniques are:

1. "Pyramid addition" . The inspector shows the child the pyramid and asks him to disassemble it, then assemble it, taking into account the size of the rings. If the subject does not understand it, the experimenter shows how to do it and asks the child to repeat his actions. If the child does something wrong, they do not stop him; they explain his mistakes and ask him to redo it. Instead of a pyramid, you can build towers from cubes or objects from a constructor.
2. Seguin board" is a board with recesses for different figures. The difficulty depends on the age of the subject. Older children are offered boards where the inserts consist of several parts. The psychologist shows the child the assembled board, then pours out the contents and offers to assemble it.
3. “Get the cart” - a cart with a ring through which a rope is threaded is placed on the table. The child’s task is to pull the cart towards him by folding both ends of the rope. Adults don't show you how to do things right. If the rope slips, it is corrected out of sight of the person being tested. Suitable for children aged 4-5 years.

There are quite a few similar research methods. Each psychologist himself selects the closest and most informative diagnostic method to him.

Stages of development of thinking

The stages of development of thinking characterize the sequence of formation of individual mental activity (Nemov, 1990). There are four stages of development of thinking. It is quite difficult to draw clear boundaries between them. In a schematic presentation they are presented as follows.

1. Visual-effective thinking or sensorimotor thinking - thinking in the form of complex coordinated movements (sitting, standing, walking, pronouncing speech sounds, etc.), as well as through some simple actions with objects in the field of vision. Such movements and actions are carried out within the framework of research activity; with their help, one’s own body and the external environment are studied. A child can, for example, reach out to an object, touch it, grab it, hold it in his hand, push it away or throw it away, shake it, bring it to his mouth, etc. This, according to L.S. Vygotsky, is pre-verbal thinking, since it is carried out before the inclusion of speech in thinking in children under the age of 2–2.5 years.

It is believed that thinking in higher primates is similar. The term “thinking” itself seems somewhat unfortunate here, since the child does not yet have any actual thoughts. In sensorimotor acts one can, however, see prototypes of some future mental operations. If, for example, a child breaks a toy, this may be a prototype of analysis; when he drags different objects into his mouth, and then spits some out or prefers some toys to others - generalizations, abstractions. According to Bruner (1956), nothing can be incorporated into thought without first passing through the senses and especially through motor activity directed towards the external world. The development of sensorimotor thinking does not stop, however, in childhood, it continues further.

Thanks to sensorimotor thinking, the ability to coordinate various motor acts and form complex motor skills develops. Such, for example, as squatting, running, jumping, climbing, swimming, cycling, skating and skiing, throwing and catching objects, etc. Sensorimotor thinking reaches its heights of development among outstanding athletes and tightrope walkers.

Along with sensorimotor, at the early stage of development of thinking, the first operations of objective thinking are also formed, that is, the ability to adequately manipulate objects. The child learns, in particular, to eat independently with the help of a spoon, drink from a mug, he can flip a switch, pick up and put a book back, roll a toy car, strike a match on a box, hold a pencil, he can try to reach with a stick a toy that has rolled under the sofa or sweep the floor with a broom, etc.

Visual and effective thinking, characteristic of a child, is, under certain circumstances, activated in an adult, even if he has developed verbal and logical thinking. For example, when he studies a completely unfamiliar subject. He touches it, strokes it, turns it in different directions, tries to divide it into parts, etc. In historical terms, this is the thinking of a person passively adapting to certain conditions of existence. For example, he lives in a cave, since he has not yet learned how to build a home, or eats what he finds, since he does not know how to make tools. There is probably the possibility of regression of thinking to the sensorimotor level; something similar is observed, apparently, in patients with catatonia and mutism (inhibition of external and internal speech), with hysterical astasia - abasia. Stopping the development of mental activity at the sensorimotor stage is tantamount to idiocy.

2. Visual-figurative thinking , concrete thinking, objective, manual thinking (according to I.P. Pavlov), or, according to J. Piaget, the pre-operational stage of thinking - thinking through operations with visual images or, more precisely, in the form of expedient actions with various items. This type of thinking is formed in children between the ages of 2–2.5 and 4–5.5 years and is believed to represent the first stage of internalization of actions. In other words, actions with objects are based on certain cognitive schemes; the child seems to know the purpose of objects and what he can do with their help. This is already verbal or symbolic thinking, since visual images and actions with objects have names, and this is the beginning of a concept, a thought. Nevertheless, the child does not yet separate the thought about the object and this object itself; for him they are fused together.

At this stage, the child thinks mainly out loud, his inner speech is not sufficiently developed. The cognitive need is clearly expressed; the child, unlike the adult, wants to know everything. At this stage of development of thinking, it becomes obvious that the child is definitely capable of performing mental operations with the objects that he perceives, for example, the operation of comparison. If you simply ask a child: “Petya is taller than Vasya, but shorter than Kolya. Which of them is the tallest?”, then he cannot cope with such a task on his own. But if he sees these boys at least in the picture, then he solves this problem without much difficulty. The child is able to generalize, that is, to form groups of objects or their images, guided by their external characteristics, such as color and size. He can cope with the task of eliminating unnecessary things, in other words, abstracting, but even here he still prefers to rely on his sensory experience, etc.

The first judgments about the visual properties of objects arise, but there is apparently no reason to talk about logic itself; the child connects his judgments according to the rules of contiguity and similarity. The basic principles of objective thinking are egocentrism, syncretism and evidence, since mental processes are closely tied to perception. The child, apparently, already realizes that he can think, he also understands what other people think, but at the same time he believes that those around him think like himself; he cannot yet see and evaluate himself from the outside.

Observations show, however, that you can talk to a 3-4 year old child not only about what he perceives at the moment. This means that he is able to produce not only visual, but also mental images, of which he has many by this age, and therefore, he can also fantasize, although he has not yet learned to voluntarily control the flow of his ideas. Mental images arise both by association with each other and by association with visual images. Having seen, for example, a horse, the child remembers something else that was previously combined with the perception of the horse, or remembers it by observing something related to it. His mental images appear as if spontaneously; they spontaneously emerge from memory in his mind. The vividness of ideas often reaches the level of eidetism.

Representations have such distinct properties of clarity and objectivity that children do not always distinguish their fantasies from reality. In other words, it is precisely at this stage of development of thinking that it can be autistic. It is at this age that interest in fairy tales, the first dreams, fantasies, and, in patients, the syndrome of pathological fantasy arise. At the same time, fantasies in the form of unusual forms of play activity predominate.

Visual-figurative thinking is quite often updated in adults, especially if they find themselves in a completely unfamiliar situation. Sometimes they have no choice but to compare current impressions with each other and try to understand what they mean. Since this type of thinking continues to develop after childhood, it often takes a mature form, defined by the term practical thinking. Some professions are closely related to precisely this kind of thinking - these are professions where an individual has to mainly “think with his hands.” There are people with truly “golden hands” who can do almost everything, and at the same time they are not at all inclined to general thoughts.

Thanks to manual thinking, an individual acquires the ability to control a particular situation, represented by a certain configuration of objects. He is able, for example, to repair a car, renovate a house, plant a garden, and much more. etc. It is believed that it is also characteristic of representatives of operator professions - executives, managers who have to make decisions during direct observation of something in a “here and now” situation. In historical terms, manual thinking is the pre-logical thinking of Cro-Magnon. A person no longer passively adapts to a situation, as his predecessors did; to some extent, he becomes able to change it in his own interests.

For example, he does not sit by the river to catch fish with his bare hands, he is already making fishing gear. He makes other simple tools, simple types of weapons, and builds a home for himself from scrap materials. The great discoveries of primitive man were raised by him as if from the earth, literally from under his feet, since they were made by him as if in imitation of natural processes. Of course, without any imagination at all, a person would not be able to accomplish them, but in his thinking he remains largely constrained by visual impressions. One should probably assume the possibility of developmental delay at this stage of thinking, which may be tantamount to imbecility, as well as its regression to this level under the influence of illness, which is observed with catatonia and dementia.

3. Imaginative thinking , or, according to J. Piaget, the stage of concrete operations - thinking through operations with mental images or, which is approximately the same thing, with concrete and collective concepts; general and especially abstract concepts are presented in it in a vague form. Nevertheless, this thinking is inextricably linked with speech, in this sense it is verbal-figurative. This type of thinking dominates in children from 4–5 to 8–11 years old. The expression “dominates,” we note in passing, does not convey the full meaning of what is actually happening. It only means that the child’s cognitive horizons are significantly expanded, his mind decisively invades those areas of reality that were previously inaccessible to him. Generalizing and especially abstract concepts in mental activity are not sufficiently represented at this stage of development, or rather, they are too vague, their boundaries are mobile and uncertain. All operations of thinking with accessible concepts are performed, however, quite successfully.

Thinking not constrained by visual images allows one to separate different characteristics of objects and operate with such characteristics regardless of their dependence on each other. Thus, the child is able to understand that the shape and quantity of a substance are not related to one another, and the mass of an object does not depend on the material of which it is composed. For example, children can cope with the task: “What is heavier, 2 kg of fluff or 2 kg of lead?” Children aged 8–11 years old develop ideas about time, space and speed, that these phenomena can be measured using a standard, and objects can be located depending on their spatial and temporal characteristics. There is a need to independently read, watch and listen to educational television and radio programs, and discuss various problems with other people, including your own. The separation of thinking from clarity makes it possible to develop a sense of humor: everything unexpected that is associated with the free combination of representations of individual features of objects and situations seems funny.

Nevertheless, the child prefers to establish predominantly situational connections between objects and phenomena, still only guessing about cause-and-effect relationships and the strict requirements of logic. In addition, he cannot always accurately determine the line separating the real and the imaginary, the desired and the actual. In other words, this thinking is largely emotional, since it is strongly dependent on the affects and attitudes of the individual. It is worth noting that the concepts of “emotional thinking” and “autistic thinking” are not identical to one another. Emotional thinking, unlike autistic thinking, does not go beyond the limits of what is actually possible. The child, in addition, is already able to clearly distinguish between visual and mental images; he can also distinguish some of his dreams and fantasies from ideas of reality. Emotional figurative thinking is in this sense a kind of soft form of autistic thinking.

In real mental practice, the child firmly relies on previous structures of thinking and is in this sense a born realist. But in his imagination he can sometimes leave the limits of reality and sometimes have difficulty returning back to reality. When a preschooler sees, for example, a dog, he does not doubt for a second that it exists and that under no circumstances can any other living creature be represented in its image. But, listening to a fairy tale, he can completely believe it for a while, since under certain circumstances he can, as it were, identify mental images with visual ones; according to his sense of reality, some of them can still be identical to his perception. In other words, the pathological fantasies that arise in patients acquire a visual, and as they approach adolescence, a verbal character, while in their fantasies patients can completely get used to the roles they imagine.

Imaginative thinking can very often be found in adults, and in most of them it is probably predominant. Thanks to him, adult individuals are able to solve many problems. For example, they can form a more or less clear idea of ​​various objects and phenomena that they have not observed with their own eyes. They are able to navigate well in phenomena and situations about which direct sensory experience says little. In particular, about what elections, parties, culture, traditions, economics, science and much more are. etc.; in other words, people already have quite definite and fairly abstract concepts about various things. They can compare memories of the past, draw some conclusions from this, and accumulate meaningful experience. They are able to remember, for example, their own experiences, thoughts, feelings, desires, subject them to analysis, comparison, etc. Thus, for the first time, they receive broad opportunities for self-knowledge.

Imaginative thinking often helps out in situations where there is a need to make serious changes in your life. Through imagination, create, for example, new models of behavior in order to get out of a difficult situation. In complex situations where one can understand only with the help of verbal and logical thinking, imaginative thinking is not effective enough and often, unfortunately, does a disservice. For example, a certain social system in the heat of emotion is declared criminal, and the natural laws of society are explained by the whims of individual people. Here you can clearly see how legal concepts are replaced by sociological ones, and scientific ones by everyday ones. Nevertheless, figurative thinking, as it were, prepares the individual for the perception of abstract concepts and theories, and thus plays a very significant role in the formation of abstract thinking.

Historically, imaginative thinking has given man the opportunity to domesticate animals, develop agriculture and industrial production, build houses, write books and music, create writing and visual arts, and ultimately create a completely new environment different from nature. Apparently, imaginative thinking has become the main support for humans relatively recently. Thus, he learned to domesticate animals only 7–9 thousand years ago. Serbian archaeologists have established, for example, that the first house was built 6 thousand years BC. e., and according to other sources, writing and counting were invented in the 5th–7th millennium BC. e.

The pinnacle of the development of imaginative thinking is artistic thinking. A person of art presents any values ​​of existence in one light or another not in the form of mathematical formulas or scientific theories, but in the form of emotionally rich images, allegories, and metaphors. The artist does not embody a ready-made idea in images, he thinks in images, and the very understanding of this idea comes to him later. In his thinking, the artist is guided by the power of creative imagination; he, according to L.S. Vygotsky, follows the “logic of the artistic image,” and takes such logic for something real, existing in reality.

L.S. Vygotsky gives the example of A.S. Pushkin, who, while writing the poem “Eugene Onegin,” once said to his friend: “Imagine what a thing, Tatyana ran away with me, she got married. I never expected this from her.” It is by following artistic logic that a writer or artist can make a discovery that is sometimes superior in insight to science. Admittedly, F. M. Dostoevsky’s descriptions of the inner world of his heroes in depth and realism far exceed everything that the most famous psychologists were capable of decades after him. R. Descartes wrote the following words: “It may seem surprising to many that great thoughts are more often found in the works of poets than in the works of philosophers... philosophers cultivate the germs of knowledge... with the help of reason, while poets kindle them... with the help of imagination.” A conscious attempt to combine scientific and artistic thinking was first made by the outstanding logician and philosopher of our time A.A. Zinoviev, eventually creating a series of deep sociological novels about the nature of Western and communist societies.

4. Conceptual thinking (verbal-logical, abstract, theoretical, conceptual, abstract), according to J. Piaget, the stage of formal operations - thinking through logical operations with ideas and concepts of various types, including general and abstract ones. Formed between the ages of 11–12 and 14–15 years. Mental operations can be performed at this stage without any specific support and with minimal participation of subjective factors. Logically, priority is given to cause-and-effect relationships. This type of thinking continues to develop further throughout the individual's life. Abstract thinking does not guarantee the infallibility of its results. Moreover, the likelihood of errors increases even more due to the possible separation from the ground of reality. Thanks to conceptual thinking, man created science and gained the opportunity to purposefully and consciously influence natural and social reality. In addition, he was able to significantly transform previous types of thinking.

As thinking develops at each previous stage, the foundations of the next are formed. These stages do not change as if on Tuesday thinking was figurative, and on Wednesday morning it turned into conceptual. These types of thinking, moreover, do not displace each other; they exist side by side, turning on alternately depending on the nature of the mental tasks at hand. In other words, if an individual in a given situation prefers to use manual or practical thinking, this does not mean that he has not developed more mature cognitive structures. It should be noted that these types of thinking have a certain independence, independence from each other. For example, an individual’s theoretical thinking can be developed to a much greater extent than figurative or practical thinking. There are outstanding scientists who seem completely helpless in everyday life, unable, for example, to fix a faucet or use a cell phone. At the same time, the thinking of each previous stage is transformed and improved with the advent of a more mature subsequent stage.

Back to contents

Why is it important to develop thinking?

Visual and effective thinking is the starting point for the formation of other forms of intelligence. It is necessary for the independent existence of the individual. You can't do without it in everyday life.

What is the obstacle?

Important. The formation of visual and effective thinking is a natural process for a healthy child. Due to their natural inquisitiveness and temperament, some children go through this path themselves, while others need parent guides who will help, explain, and show.

We talked more about the features of visual-effective thinking in children here.

It is important to provide the opportunity to study the world around us and the processes occurring in it. But there are “special” children with intellectual disabilities who need to be worked with through repeated repetitions of certain actions.

Exercises that help you gain skills

The curiosity of children is a good incentive for the development of this thinking. The task of parents is not to block cognitive activity , while monitoring safety.
Choose multifunctional toys, various types of construction sets, and materials for children's creativity. Give your child the opportunity to participate in all household chores, using household appliances and other “adult things” under close supervision, explain, show.

Play role-playing games. Ask your child:

• feed the doll;
• ride the bear;
• give the bunny a bath.

Older children can draw shapes on a checkered piece of paper and invite them to repeat them.

As for adults, this type of thought process can be trained with the help of chess, puzzles, and modeling. You can also perform special exercises, for example:

• Take a box of matches and make shapes from them.
• Master origami.
• Draw various triangles, circles, and rhombuses on a piece of paper. Then, using scissors, cut each shape into a square.

Preface

The basis of correctional pedagogical work with children with developmental disabilities is based on the fundamental position of Russian psychology about the genetic connection of different forms of thinking.
In preschool age, three main forms closely interact: visual-effective, visual-figurative and verbal-logical thinking. These forms of thinking form that unified process of cognition of the real world, in which one or another form of thinking can predominate, and in connection with this, the cognitive process of the real world acquires a specific character. At the same time, we must remember that thinking develops in meaningful, purposeful objective actions. By performing actions with real objects, moving them in space, changing their functional dependencies, the child gets the opportunity to overcome the static nature of perception. He realizes the dynamism of the environment, and most importantly, he learns the opportunity to influence the dynamics of an object according to his own plan or in accordance with the tasks that an adult sets for him. This situation of the child’s direct influence on surrounding objects creates favorable conditions for the relationship between visual and verbal-logical forms of thinking.

The most important stage in the development of thinking is associated with the child’s mastery of speech. In the process of acting with objects, the child has an incentive to make his own statements: recording the action performed, reasoning, and conclusions. Verbal generalization of one’s own actions leads to the emergence and improvement of full-fledged images and the manipulation of them in the mental plane. It is on this basis that images and representations are formed, which become more flexible and dynamic.

The use of the developed system of classes for the development of the mental activity of children with developmental disabilities allows them to form a relationship between the main components of cognition: action, word and image.

A long-term study has shown the great role of targeted activities in the formation of thinking, their enormous contribution to the mental education of a child with developmental disabilities. Systematic correctional work arouses children's interest in their surroundings, leads to independence in their thinking, and children stop waiting for solutions to all issues from an adult.

Purposeful classes on the formation of thinking significantly change the child’s ways of orienting himself in the world around him, teach him to highlight significant connections and relationships between objects, which leads to an increase in his intellectual capabilities. Children begin to focus not only on the goal, but also on the ways to achieve it. And this changes their attitude to the task, leads to an assessment of their own actions and the distinction between right and wrong. Children develop a more generalized perception of the surrounding reality, they begin to comprehend their own actions, predict the course of the simplest phenomena, and understand the simplest temporal and causal dependencies.

Education aimed at developing thinking also has a great impact on the child’s speech development: it promotes memorization of words and the formation of the basic functions of speech (fixing, cognitive, planning). What is important is that the desire developed during classes to record identified and conscious patterns in words leads to children’s active search for ways of verbal expression and to the use of all their available speech capabilities.

The first chapter contains didactic games and exercises that develop visual and effective thinking. The second chapter is devoted to work on the formation of visual-figurative thinking. The third chapter provides lessons on the development of elements of logical thinking. Visual material is provided for each chapter.

The educational and methodological manual is addressed to teachers-defectologists, psychologists, college and university teachers, students of seminars and advanced training courses, students of pedagogical universities, parents raising preschool children with developmental disabilities.

Lecture No. 8. Thinking (part 1)

Thinking in psychology is defined as a process of human cognitive activity, which is an indirect and generalized reflection of reality by a person in its essential connections and relationships.

A person’s knowledge of the surrounding reality begins with sensations and perceptions. However, the sensory picture of the world that our sensations and perceptions create, although necessary, is not sufficient for its deep, comprehensive knowledge. In this picture of reality, there is practically no idea of ​​the complex interactions of various objects: objects, events, phenomena, etc. There is no explanation of the cause-and-effect relationships between them, their transitions into each other. Based on the data of sensations and perceptions and going beyond the sensory, thinking expands the boundaries of our knowledge. It allows you to indirectly, through inference, comprehend what is not given directly in perception. Thinking correlates the data of sensations and perceptions, compares them, and reveals their interaction. Thus, with the help of thinking, natural relationships between phenomena and objects are revealed and random coincidences are eliminated.

But, considering thinking as a relatively independent cognitive function, we should not forget that any type of thinking, even the most developed (abstract thinking), cannot be divorced from sensory knowledge of the world, since every cognitive process begins with sensations and perception. It is they who determine the adequacy of thinking as a reflection, ensuring a direct connection of human consciousness with the outside world. This reflection is continuously tested and confirms its adequacy in the process of practical activity.

Types of thinking

distinguished according to various characteristics. The main accepted classification distinguishes the following three types:

1) visual and effective thinking;

2) visual-figurative thinking;

3) verbal-logical (or conceptual) thinking.

It is in this order that types of thinking develop in the process of phylogeny and ontogenesis.

Visual-effective thinking is a type of thinking based on the direct perception of objects. The solution of the problem within its framework is carried out in the course of a real, physical transformation of the situation, in the process of actions with objects. Through physical contact with objects, their properties are comprehended.

In the process of phylogenesis, people solved the problems that confronted them, first within the framework of practical, objective activity. Only later did theoretical activity emerge from it. This also applies to thinking. Only as practical activity develops does theoretical thinking activity stand out as relatively independent. A similar process is observed not only during the historical development of mankind, but also in ontogenesis. The formation of a child’s thinking occurs gradually. First, it develops within practical activity and is largely determined by how the ability to handle objects develops.

At the initial stage of child development, such manipulation occurs spontaneously and without meaning. Further, the nature of the actions begins to acquire meaning and is determined by the qualities of the object with which the child interacts. On this basis, the earliest genetic type of thinking is formed - visual-effective. Its first manifestations can be observed already at the end of the first – beginning of the second year of a child’s life. In preschool age (up to 3 years inclusive), this type of thinking is predominant. Already the child’s first objective actions allow him to identify the characteristic features of the object of manipulation and its relationship with other objects. The child learns about objects in the surrounding world through direct contact with them. He correlates with each other certain objects or parts of objects that he perceives at the moment, both visually and through actions. Collecting pyramids, folding cubes and similar activities of a small child is nothing more than the process of comprehending the world of objects in a visually effective form, the process of developing a visually effective type of thinking. Slightly older children perform more complex manipulations, thereby learning through direct action more complex methods of articulating parts and objects.

The next type of thinking that appears in ontogenesis is visual-figurative thinking. This type is characterized by reliance on images of objects, on ideas about their properties. A person imagines a situation, imagines the changes he wants to achieve, and those properties of objects that will allow him to achieve the desired result in the course of his activity. In this type of thinking, action with the image of objects and situations precedes real actions in the subject matter. When solving a problem, a person analyzes, compares, and generalizes various images. An image can contain a multifaceted vision of an object. Therefore, this type of thinking gives a more complete understanding of the properties of an object than visual-effective thinking.

The initial stages of visual-figurative thinking are formed in children in preschool age - from 4 to 7 years. Although the connection between thinking and practical actions is preserved, it fades into the background. To understand an object, a child no longer has to directly manipulate it. It is quite enough for him to have a clear and clear idea of ​​this subject. At this stage of thinking development, children do not yet master concepts. Therefore, the first two types of thinking we considered belong to the pre-conceptual stage of thinking.

The transition to the conceptual stage is associated with the formation of the next type of thinking - verbal-logical. It represents the latest stage in the development of thinking in phylogeny and ontogenesis. Verbal-logical thinking is a type of thinking carried out using logical operations with concepts. Concepts are formed on the basis of linguistic means. The forerunner of verbal-logical thinking is inner speech. Children up to about 5 years old, even when playing alone, pronounce all their actions out loud and describe the manipulations. Closer to school age, they develop the ability for internal speech - they no longer speak out loud, but think through the sequence of their actions, that is, they begin to think not with the help of visual images, but with the help of words, which is the basis for the formation of concepts. However, the development of the verbal-logical type of thinking does not mean at all that the previous types cease to develop or even disappear completely. They continue to develop and improve under the influence of verbal and logical thinking. And in adulthood, all three types are present. There are many areas of activity in which visual-effective or visual-figurative thinking is necessary. For example, in the work of a designer one cannot do without a developed visual-effective type of thinking, and in the work of an artist or writer - without a visual-figurative one.

In addition to the classification of types of thinking in the “pre-conceptual - conceptual” plane, they are also distinguished by a number of different characteristics. Thus, they distinguish between theoretical and practical, intuitive and logical (analytical, discursive), realistic and autistic, productive and reproductive, voluntary and involuntary thinking.

Theoretical and practical types of thinking differ in the nature of the problems that need to be solved and, as a consequence of this, in a number of dynamic and structural aspects.

Theoretical thinking is the establishment of patterns in certain processes, the identification of cause-and-effect relationships, and the discovery of laws. This type of thinking is inherent in theoretical scientists and researchers. The tasks of practical thinking include the preparation and implementation of transformations of the world in terms of subject matter. Practical thinking is associated with setting goals, developing plans, projects, etc. Among modern activities, one can cite as an example the work of a programmer - when writing programs that ensure the functioning of production and product accounting, there is a considerable amount of practical thinking. In general, in the process of intense work activity, practical thinking often occurs under conditions of time shortage and the need to act in emergency mode. Therefore, practical thinking is no less complex than theoretical thinking.

Sometimes a contrast is made between theoretical thinking and empirical thinking. In this case, the criterion is different - the nature of the generalizations with which thinking deals. In the first case, these are scientific concepts, and in the second, everyday, situational generalizations.

Based on the degree of development, thinking is divided into analytical and intuitive. Analytical thinking is a process gradually unfolded over time, quite clearly represented in consciousness. The main characteristics of intuitive thinking, on the contrary, are rapidity, the absence of clearly defined stages and minimal awareness. Thus, to compare them, three characteristics are used: temporal (the time of the process), structural (division into stages), and the degree of awareness of the process.

According to the vector of direction, thinking is divided into realistic and autistic thinking. Realistic thinking is outward directed and governed by logic. Autistic thinking has the opposite vector - it is associated with a person’s desire to escape reality, delve into his inner world, and think in accordance with his own logic. It is sometimes also called egocentric thinking due to the reluctance and inability to accept someone else's point of view.

Based on the criterion of novelty and originality of the problems being solved, thinking is divided into productive (creative) and reproductive (reproducing). Productive thinking is aimed at creating a new way to solve a particular problem or improving an existing method. Reproductive thinking is characterized by the use of ready-made knowledge and skills.

According to the degree of involvement of volitional processes in thinking, it is divided into voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary thinking is involved in the purposeful solution of a given task. Involuntary thinking is a free flow of thoughts that does not pursue any goals (for example, contemplation of nature).

There are three logical forms of thinking

: concept, judgment, inference.

A concept is a reflection in the human mind of the distinctive features of objects and phenomena, their general and specific characteristics, expressed in a word or group of words. The concept represents the highest level of generalization, inherent only in the verbal-logical type of thinking. Concepts can be concrete or abstract. Concrete concepts reflect objects, phenomena, events of the surrounding world, abstract concepts reflect abstract ideas. For example, “person”, “autumn”, “holiday” are specific concepts; “truth”, “beauty”, “good” are abstract concepts.

The content of concepts is revealed in judgments, which also always have a verbal form. Judgment is the establishment of connections between concepts about objects and phenomena or about their properties and characteristics. For example, “the boiling point of water + 100 °C” - this judgment reflects the relationship between changes in the physical properties of water and the heating temperature.

Judgments can be general, particular and individual. In general, something is stated about all objects of a certain group, for example: “All rivers flow.” A particular judgment applies only to some of the objects of the group: “Some rivers are mountainous.” A single judgment concerns only one object: “The Volga is the largest river in Europe.”

Judgments can be formed in two ways. The first is a direct expression of the perceived relationship of concepts. The second is the formation of judgment indirectly using inferences. Thus, inference is the derivation of a new judgment from two (or more) already existing judgments (premises). The simplest form of inference is a syllogism - a conclusion made on the basis of a particular and general judgment. For example: “All dogs have a highly developed sense of smell” - a general premise, “Doberman is one of the breeds of dogs” - a particular premise and conclusion (inference) - “Dobermans have a highly developed sense of smell.” Any process of proof, for example, a mathematical theorem, is a chain of syllogisms that consistently follow from one another.

More complex forms of inference are deductive and inductive inferences. Deductive - follow from general premises to a particular judgment and from particular to an individual. Inductive, on the contrary, derive general judgments from individual or particular premises.

Based on such methods of reasoning, it is possible to compare with each other certain concepts and judgments that a person uses in the course of his mental activity.

Thus, for the productive course of mental activity, logical forms of thinking are necessary. They determine persuasiveness, consistency, and, consequently, the adequacy of thinking. The idea of ​​logical forms of thinking passed into psychology from formal logic. This science also studies the thinking process. But if the subject of formal logic is, first of all, the structure and result of thinking, then psychology studies thinking as a mental process, it is interested in how and why this or that thought arises and develops, how this process depends on the individual characteristics of a person, how it is connected with others mental processes.

The thinking process is carried out using a number of mental operations

: analysis and synthesis, abstraction and concretization, classification, systematization, comparison, generalization.

Analysis is the mental decomposition of an object into its component parts in order to isolate its various aspects, properties, and relationships from the whole. Through analysis, irrelevant connections given by perception are discarded.

Synthesis is the reverse process of analysis. This is the combination of parts, properties, actions, relationships into one whole. This reveals significant connections. Analysis and synthesis are two interrelated logical operations.

Analysis without synthesis leads to a mechanical reduction of the whole to the sum of its parts. Synthesis without analysis is also impossible, since it reconstructs the whole from the parts isolated by analysis. In the process of thinking, some people tend to gravitate toward analysis, others toward synthesis (an analytical or synthetic mindset). Synthesis, like analysis, can be both practical and mental. But the formation of these processes, both in phylo- and ontogenesis, is based on the practical activity of man, his mastery of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world.

Comparison is the establishment between objects of similarity or difference, equality or inequality, etc. Comparison is based on analysis. In order to carry out this operation, you must first select one or more characteristic features of the objects being compared. Then, a comparison is made based on the quantitative or qualitative characteristics of these characteristics. The number of selected features determines whether the comparison will be one-sided, partial or complete. Comparison (as analysis and synthesis) can be at different levels - superficial and deep. In the case of deep comparison, a person’s thought moves from external signs of similarity and difference to internal ones, from the visible to the hidden, from appearance to essence. Comparison is the basis of classification - the assignment of objects with different characteristics to different groups.

Abstraction (or abstraction) is a mental distraction from minor, non-essential aspects, properties or connections of an object in a given situation and the isolation of one particular aspect or property. Abstraction is possible only as a result of analysis. So, for example, when examining an object, you can consider only its color or only its shape. A person mentally identifies some feature of an object and examines it in isolation from all other features, temporarily distracting from them. The separated feature becomes an independent object of thinking. Isolated study of individual features of an object while simultaneously abstracting from all others helps a person to better understand the essence of things and phenomena. Beginning with the isolation of individual sensory properties, abstraction then proceeds to the isolation of non-sensory properties expressed in abstract concepts.

Thanks to abstraction, man was able to break away from the individual, concrete and rise to the highest level of knowledge - scientific theoretical thinking.

Concretization is the opposite process. This is the movement of thought from the general to the particular, from the abstract to the concrete in order to reveal its content. Concretization is also used in the case when it is necessary to show the manifestation of the general in the individual.

Systematization is the arrangement of individual objects, phenomena, thoughts in a certain order according to any one characteristic (for example, chemical elements in D.I. Mendeleev’s periodic table).

Generalization is the unification of many objects according to some common characteristic. In this case, single features are discarded. Only essential connections are preserved. Abstraction and generalization are two interconnected sides of a single thought process, with the help of which thought goes to knowledge.

The simplest generalizations involve combining objects based on randomly selected features. In a complex generalization, species and generic characteristics are clearly distinguished.

Psychology bookap

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

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

Article:

Table “Features of higher mental functions in mental retardation”:

Techniques and materials for correction:

auditory perception;

“Who has the bell?”

Children stand in a circle. Unnoticed by the driver, they pass the bell behind each other's backs. The driver must guess and show which child the bell rang behind.

"Guess who's playing."

The teacher places two toy hares on the table - a large one and a small one. Explains and shows how a big hare, who has a lot of strength (loudly, strongly), and how a small one (quietly) plays a drum (triangle, tambourine, etc.). Then he covers the toys with a screen and behind it plays either loud or quiet beats on the drum. Children must guess and show which hare was just playing. The game can be diversified by replacing hares with dolls, bears and other toys of different sizes.

"Run to your house"

Goal: to develop an orientation towards environmental sounds (musical).

Material: tambourine, children's chair.

Progress of the game

An adult shows the tambourine, how it sounds, and says: “We will play. As soon as the tambourine starts playing, you can run and dance. If the tambourine stops talking, you run to the chair, to your house.” The game is played several times and attention is paid to the sound of the tambourine and the absence of sound.

visual perception;

"Overlay" images

5-7 contour images (objects, geometric shapes, letters, numbers) superimposed on each other are presented. All images must be named.

"Silhouette" images

5-7 silhouette images are presented. It is necessary to name them.

"Paired" images

We offer two subject images that are very similar in appearance, but have up to 5-7 minor differences. You need to find these differences.

tactile perception;

Game "What's in the bag?"

Place various toys and small objects (buttons, balls, pine cones, dolls, animals, acorns, etc.) in a bag.

Invite your child to play: “Look what I took out of the bag. Now you get something.” When the child takes out and names all the objects, put everything back and offer to do the same, but with closed eyes, by touch, and name each object. And then let the child take the object out of the bag at the request of the adult (by touch).

Game "Body figures"

The adult draws geometric shapes on the child’s palm or back, the child guesses what the adult drew, then the adult and child change places

voluntary attention;

1. “Don’t yawn - hurry up” The number is called, the ball is thrown to one of the students, who must name the next or previous number, depending on the team. The command is given at the moment when the ball is thrown, using the words: “don’t yawn” - name the previous number; “hurry up” - name the next number. 2. “Skip the number” The participants of the game are in a circle. They are asked to count in a circle from 1 to 30. Moreover, numbers containing 3 or divisible by 3 should not be pronounced. Instead of missing a number, you can clap your hands. The player who names the prohibited number is eliminated from the game.

mnestic activity;

Game “I put in a bag...”

The teacher starts the game and says: “I put apples in the bag.” The next player repeats what was said and adds something else: “I put apples and bananas in the bag.” The third player repeats the entire phrase and adds something of his own, etc.

- Place sticks on the table from which some simple figure is made (house, square, triangle, etc.). Ask the child to look carefully at this figure for 2 seconds, then close this figure and ask him to repeat, fold the same one.

You can complicate this exercise by making a shape from sticks of different colors. The child must remember the location of the sticks by color and then put the shape together independently.

"Pig in a poke"

The teacher invites the children to take items out of the magic bag. The child must feel what is in the bag by touch. If identified correctly, he takes out the item. If you make a mistake, the item remains in the bag. Then you need to remember these items in the order in which they were taken out of the bag. You can remember this by composing a story in which these objects participate in the required sequence (at the first stage, objects that are easy to recognize by touch are used).

visual and effective thinking;

“Who loves what” Pictures with images of animals and food for these animals are selected. Pictures of animals and separate pictures of food are laid out in front of the child, and they are offered to “feed” everyone.

"Classification". The child is given a set of pictures depicting various objects. The adult asks to consider them and put them into groups, i.e. suitable with suitable.

“Find the extra picture”: development of mental processes of generalization, abstraction, highlighting essential features. Select a series of pictures, among which three pictures can be combined into a group based on some common characteristic, and the fourth is redundant. Invite your child to find the extra picture. Ask why he thinks this way. How similar are the pictures he left?

visual-figurative thinking;

"Find the extra word"

A series of words are read to the children. Each series consists of 4 words. Three words in each series are homogeneous and can be combined based on a common feature, but one word is different from them and must be excluded.

Invite the children to identify the word that is redundant.

— OLD, decrepit, SMALL, dilapidated

- BRAVE, EVIL, BOLD, BRAVE.

For children with weak auditory memory, the teacher offers pictures. Be sure to seek an explanation from the children.

“Call it in one word”

Children are asked to name a series of specific concepts in one word. For example: table, chair, sofa, bed (furniture), wolf, fox, bear, boar (wild animals), fork, plate, cup, pan (dishes), etc.

verbal-logical thinking (2-3 for each mental process).

1. “Continue the row”

A number of words are proposed, and children must complete it:

- Plum, apple...

- Birch, pine...

- Doll, bear...

- Ilya, Masha...

2. Games and exercises for composing a story based on a series of pictures. First, children must arrange the proposed pictures in the correct sequence, and then compose a story based on them.