Lecture
Это продолжение увлекательной статьи про мышление.
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meanings, a behavior. Whole model of Guilford's intelligence includes 120 different intellectual processes. All of them are reduced to 15 factors: five operations, four types of content, six types of products of mental activity.
Operations include: cognition (processes of understanding and perceiving information), memory (processes of memorizing, preserving and reproducing information), divergent productive thinking (means generating original creative ideas), convergent thinking (processes that provide a solution to problems with the only correct answer) , assessment (processes that allow to evaluate the compliance of the obtained result with the required one and on this basis to determine whether the problem has been solved or not).
The types of content of mental operations include: figurative content (visual-figurative information), symbolic content (signs, letters, etc.), semantic content (ideas and concepts), behavioral content (feelings, thoughts, moods, desires).
In turn, the products of mental activity can take the form of a unit (individual information), a class (a set of information grouped by common essential features), systems (blocks consisting of elements and connections between them) and transformations (transformation and modification of information).
Fig. 12.3. Intelligence Model proposed by J. Guilford
It should be noted that, despite numerous theoretical searches and experimental studies, there is no consensus on the structure and nature of thinking. Indisputable at the present time is that thinking is one of the higher cognitive mental processes that has a significant impact on all human activities, as well as the fact that certain mental operations can be distinguished in the structure of thinking.
The main types of mental operations include: comparison, analysis and synthesis, abstraction and concretization, induction and deduction.
Comparison The operation of establishing similarities and differences between objects and phenomena of the real world is called comparison. When we look at two things, we always notice how they are similar or how they differ.
Recognition of the similarities or differences between objects depends on which properties of the compared objects are essential for us. It should be noted that it is precisely because of this that the same objects in one case we consider similar to each other, and in the other case we do not see any similarity between them. For example, if you lay out wardrobe items on the basis of color and purpose, then in each of these cases the set of things on one shelf will be different.
We can always perform a comparison operation in two ways; directly or indirectly. When we can compare two objects or phenomena, perceiving them simultaneously, we use direct comparison. In cases where we make a comparison by inference, we use indirect comparison. In indirect comparison, we use indirect evidence to construct our inference. For example, a child, in order to determine how he grew up, compares his height with the marks on the door jamb.
The success of the comparison depends on how well the indicators are selected for comparison. For example, it is completely wrong to compare distances to two different objects, using to determine the distance in one case, the meters (or kilometers) separating you from the object, and in the other - the time that you will need to reach it. Therefore, a prerequisite for the successful implementation of the comparison operation is the need to highlight the essential features of the compared items. For example, comparing geographic zones, one cannot say that the desert zone and the forest zone differ from each other in that there are camels in the desert, and there are none in the forest. With such a comparison, we can easily make a mistake without indicating the main essential features of the objects being compared. In the given example, the error lies in the fact that the main difference between the compared geographic zones is the difference in climate, geographical location, etc. Therefore, in order for the comparison operation to be carried out successfully, it is necessary to avoid one-sided (incomplete, on one sign) comparison and aim for a lot
third-party (full, in all signs) comparison. You can not stop at the superficial comparison of objects and phenomena. Objective comparison is always possible only with a deep analysis of the essential features.
To illustrate the mistakes that we make in superficial comparison, we give the following example. Having found the similarity of objects to any one or several signs, we often admit the idea that this similarity will be present when comparing other signs of compared objects or phenomena by other signs. In such cases, we perform inference by analogy. So, based on the fact that the shape of the lunar mountains is similar to the shape of terrestrial volcanoes, it was suggested that the causes of the lunar mountains are similar to the causes of the emergence of terrestrial volcanoes. However, when using the analogy, we often can wait for erroneous conclusions. For example, you might observe a case when a child is pouring water from a puppy or kitten's watering can. At the same time, he proceeds from the conclusion that, since the flowers grow when they are watered, in order for a puppy or kitten to grow up, it must be watered.
The question involuntarily arises: “What determines the reliability of conclusions by analogy?” The reliability of conclusions by analogy depends on how interconnected are the signs that we observe in the compared subjects. Thus, the forms of all earthly volcanoes are similar to each other because they have the same origin, that is, the shape of volcanoes and their origin are interdependent.
Analysis and synthesis. Analysis is a mental dismemberment of something into parts or mental selection of individual properties of the object. The essence of this operation is that, perceiving any object or phenomenon, we can mentally select one part from another in it, and then select the next part, and so on. Thus, we can learn what parts it consists of what we perceive. Therefore, analysis allows us to decompose the whole into parts, that is, it allows us to understand the structure of what we perceive.
Along with the allocation of essential parts of the subject analysis allows you to mentally select and individual properties of the object, such as color, shape of the object, speed of the process, etc. You should pay attention to the fact that analysis is possible not only when we perceive any object, but and then when we reproduce his image from memory.
Opposite to the analysis operation is synthesis. Synthesis is a mental connection of parts of objects or phenomena into one, as well as a mental combination of their individual properties. When we look at the individual parts of the mechanism before us, we can understand how this mechanism looks and how it works. For synthesis, as well as for analysis, mental manipulation with the properties of the object is typical. Listening to the description of a person, we can recreate his image as a whole. Synthesis can be carried out both on the basis of perception, and on the basis of memories or ideas. After reading the individual phrases of a statement or logical statement, we can recreate this phrase or the statement as a whole.
It should be noted that the initial analysis and synthesis arise in practice. In childhood, when a child begins to master mental operations, there is a heightened interest in manipulating
items. Performing certain actions with objects, the child helps their mental dismemberment or connection. With age, the role of practical activities for the development of synthesis and analysis does not decrease. In order to understand the work of any mechanism, an adult in the process of learning disassembles and assembles it.
However, such actions are not always possible, so they are often replaced by the perception of each part of the subject to be highlighted. If a person who is not familiar with microbiology is shown a drop of water under a microscope, he will not be able to understand the accumulation of microorganisms he has seen. But if he shows them their images in advance, then, by examining a drop of water under a microscope, he can already identify individual living organisms.
Therefore, we can argue that throughout life a person constantly uses analysis and synthesis. These operations can be practical and theoretical (mental). It should be borne in mind that analysis and synthesis, as mental operations, are always associated with other mental actions. If the analysis is divorced from other operations, it becomes vicious, mechanical. Elements of such an analysis are observed in a child in the early stages of the development of thinking, when the child disassembles, or rather, breaks toys. Having disassembled a toy into separate parts, a small child does not use them any further. In turn, the synthesis can not be a mechanical connection of the parts and is not reduced to their sum. With proper connection of individual parts of the machine, i.e., during their synthesis, it turns out not a pile of metal, but a machine capable of moving or performing certain operations.
The ease of performing synthesis and analysis operations depends on how difficult we are trying to solve. If the items we are considering are almost the same, then we can easily find out what they look like. Conversely, if they are almost completely different, then it is much more difficult for us to find a certain similarity between them. Well stands out also that at odds with our usual views.
Being inherently opposed operations, analysis and synthesis are actually closely related. They are involved in every complex thought process. For example, when you poorly know English, you hear a conversation in this language, you try first to highlight familiar words in the phrase, and only then perceive words less familiar and then try to comprehend them. This is where the analysis functions are. However, at the same time, you are trying to put together the meaning of the words you heard and put together a meaningful phrase. In this case, you are using another mental operation - synthesis.
Of course, the operations of synthesis and analysis do not always proceed in accordance with this example. But it is indisputable that they are always present when solving a relatively complex mental task.
Abstraction and specification. Abstraction is a mental abstraction from any parts or properties of an object to highlight its essential features. The essence of abstraction as a mental operation is that when we perceive an object and select a specific part in it, we must consider the selected part or property independently of other parts and properties.
of the subject. Thus, with the help of abstraction, we can separate part of the object or its properties from the entire stream of information we perceive, that is, distract, or abstract, from other signs of the information we receive.
Абстракция широко используется нами при образовании и усвоении новых понятий, так как в понятиях отражены только существенные, общие для целого класса предметов признаки. Например, сказав «стол», мы представляем некий образ целого класса предметов. В этом понятии объединяются наши представления о разных столах. Для того чтобы сформировать данное понятие, нам пришлось отвлечься от целого ряда частных свойств и признаков, характерных только для определенного объекта или отдельной группы объектов, которые определяются сформированным нами понятием.
Сформированные нами конкретные понятия в дальнейшем используются при образовании и усвоении так называемых абстрактных понятий, которые существенно отличаются от конкретных понятий. Так, в приведенном выше примере понятие «стол» относится к конкретным понятиям, поскольку оно обозначает предмет или группу предметов в целом. В отличие от конкретных понятий абстрактными понятиями называются понятия об обобщенных признаках и свойствах предметов и явлений. К абстрактным понятиям относятся, например, такие, как «твердость», «яркость», «горечь», «мудрость» и т. п. При образовании подобных понятий особенно важно отвлечься от других свойств, поэтому образование абстрактных понятий представляет собой более трудный процесс, чем усвоение конкретных понятий. В то же время абстракция не существует без чувственной опоры, иначе она становится бессодержательной, формальной. Среди видов абстракции можно выделить практическую, непосредственно включенную в процесс деятельности; чувственную, или внешнюю; высшую, или опосредованную, выраженную в понятиях.
Следует отметить, что при осуществлении операций абстракции мы можем столкнуться с ошибками двоякого рода. В одних случаях, усваивая определенные понятия (теоремы, правила и т. д.), мы не можем отвлечься от конкретных примеров или информационного фона, с использованием которого производится (формирование данного понятия, в результате чего мы не можем использовать сформированное понятие в других условиях. При изучении правил уличного движения с использованием иллюстрированных учебников, содержащих примеры на определенное правило, человек не сразу начинает применять сформированные в процессе обучения понятия на практике, оказавшись за рулем автомобиля в несколько другой, не рассмотренной в учебнике обстановке.
Ошибкой другого рода при осуществлении операций абстракции является отвлечение от существенных признаков предмета или явления. В результате мы пытаемся обобщить то, что нельзя обобщать, и у нас формируется искаженное или ложное представление.
Конкретизация является процессом, противоположным абстракции. Конкретизация — это представление чего-либо единичного, что соответствует тому или иному понятию или общему положению. В конкретных представлениях мы не стремимся отвлечься от различных признаков или свойств предметов и явлений, а, наоборот, стремимся представить себе эти предметы во всем многообразии
properties and signs, in close combination of some signs with others. Essentially, specifying always acts as an example or as an illustration of something in common. Specifying the general concept, we understand it better. For example, the definition of the concept of “table” is the concept of “desk”, “dining table”, “cutting table”, “desktop”, etc.
Induction and deduction. In mental operations, it is customary to distinguish between two basic types of inference: inductive, or induction, and deductive, or deduction.
Induction is the transition from particular cases to a general position, which encompasses particular cases. G. Ebbingauz, studying the processes of forgetting information from individuals, discovered a general pattern and formulated one of the laws of memory, describing the process of forgetting information received by a person.
It should be noted that in the process of induction we can make certain mistakes and the conclusion made by us may not be sufficiently reliable. The reliability of inductive reasoning is achieved not only by increasing the number of cases on which it is built, but also through the use of various examples in which non-essential signs of objects and phenomena vary. In order to find out if all metal things are drowning, it is not enough to lower relatively large objects such as a fork, spoon, knife into the water, that is, to change the character of the object, leaving the volume and weight characteristics approximately the same. In addition, it is necessary to conduct experiments with smaller things, which differ significantly in their absolute weight and volume from larger objects, but have the same density and specific weight, for example, a needle, a button, etc. Therefore, to implement the correct inductive conclusions it is important to know what properties or qualities of the subject depends on the fact or phenomenon that we observe, and to establish whether this property, or quality, changes in the individual cases that we have observed.
The opposite process of induction is deduction. Deduction is an inference made in relation to a particular case based on a common position. For example, knowing that all numbers whose sum of digits is a multiple of three are divided into three, we can say that the number 412815 is divided into three. At the same time, knowing that all the birch trees shed their leaves for the winter, we can be sure that any single birch in the winter will also be without leaves.
It must be said that deduction plays a very significant role in a person’s life. Thanks to deduction, we can use the knowledge of general laws to predict concrete facts. For example, based on knowledge of the causes of a particular disease, medicine builds its preventive measures to prevent this disease.
It should be borne in mind that deductive judgments often encounter certain difficulties. These difficulties are caused by the fact that the case we are observing is not recognized as a case that falls under the action of one or another general situation. For example, in her experiments, L. I. Bozhovich asked pupils about which harrow loosens the ground more deeply — the one that has
60 teeth, or one that has 20 teeth. Most often, students found it difficult to give answers or give incorrect answers, although they knew well that the larger the area of support, the less pressure per unit surface.
The most important feature of thinking is its problem character. Any thought process in its own structure is an action or an act of activity aimed at solving a specific task. Thinking at the same time has a phase character . In the expanded thought process, since it is always directed to the solution of some task, several main stages or phases can be distinguished.
1. The initial phase of the thinking process: awareness of the problem situation, problem statement . It can begin with a sense of wonder (from which, according to Plato, all knowledge begins) caused by the situation. Difficulties in terms of actions signal a problem situation, and surprise lets you feel it. Man begins to think when he has a need to understand something. We begin to think not when everything is clear and well-known, but when something else remains incomprehensible, unknown . The main reason for the extension of the problem is the need for knowledge.
2. Phase of nomination and iteration of hypotheses, hypotheses regarding this problem.
3. The phase of mental hypothesis testing (comparisons, comparisons, etc.).
4. Phase of withdrawal, conclusion, judgment.
Problem solving is the natural end of the thinking process.
The thought process takes place as a system of consciously regulated intellectual operations.
As we formulate our thought, we form it. Thinking is a conscious process . Its most important characteristics: verification, criticism , control .
It should distinguish between thinking and intelligence. Intellect is a general ability for cognitive activity, which determines a person’s readiness to learn, use experience, etc.
As a process, thinking proceeds in three logical forms: concepts, judgments and inferences (Fig. 8).
1. Concept - mediated and generalized knowledge of the subject , based on the disclosure of its essential relationships and relationships . The form of the existence of the concept is the word ("disease", "infection", "conditioned reflex", etc.). The content of concepts is revealed in judgments.
2. Judgment - a reflection of the connections between objects and phenomena . In many cases, judgments are based on direct experience . However, not everything can be perceived directly. For example, having a correct judgment about which sound phenomena correspond to certain changes in the structure of the heart valves, one can make a judgment about whether the patient has a valve defect and, if so, what kind of defect it is.
3. Inference - such a connection between the judgments , when from the initial judgments we get new, not reducible to the previous ones . Initial judgments are called assumptions . The conclusion obtained from the judgments is called a conclusion . The final inference will be correct if two conditions are met: a) the initial data must be correct (for example, blood tests, ECG, etc.); b) the conclusion in inference (for example, the establishment of a diagnosis) must be done in accordance with certain rules - the laws of logic.
Thinking, unlike other processes, is performed in accordance with certain laws of logic. Accordingly, considering thinking as a process, in the structure of thinking it is possible to distinguish a system of logical operations that determines the structure of mental activity and determines its course, making up a single analytic-synthetic thinking activity. These include: analysis, synthesis, comparison, synthesis, abstraction, specification, classification (systematization).
1. Analysis is the mental decomposition of the whole into parts, the dismemberment of the object, phenomenon, situation and the identification of its constituent elements, parts, moments, parties. For example, it is possible to identify individual systems of organs in the human body - this allows for a more detailed study of these systems, processes, to identify their properties.
2. Synthesis - it is a mental connection of separate parts, properties, signs into a single whole.
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Analysis dismembers the problem; synthesis reintegrates data to resolve it. |
3. Comparison - mental operation, which allows to establish similarities or differences between objects and phenomena.
4. Generalization - mental isolation in objects and phenomena of the general and based on this mental integration of them according to common and essential features . A generalization may be based on different signs. It is important to have a generalization based on essential features. An example of generalization according to non-essential features is the following phrase: “Two students and rain came, one went to the university, the other - in a coat, the third - in the autumn evening”. The generalization of thinking, the ability to allocate essential features in the subjects is one of the most important indicators of the level of development of thinking.
5. Abstraction is the selection of essential properties of objects, objects, phenomena and distraction from non-essential ones . When abstracting, the selected feature is considered independently of other features. Such a property, as, for example, "elasticity", is inherent in the branch, and rubber, and muscle, and many other objects. It does not exist separately from these objects, but the abstract concept - elasticity - begins to exist abstractly in our consciousness.
6. Concretization - the transition to individual objects and phenomena with all their known and important features.
7. Classification (systematization) - the division of objects into groups and subgroups in accordance with certain principles, for example, by similarity or difference . Depending on what feature is put in the basis, the classification may be different. Examples of classifications can be Linnaeus wildlife taxonomy, the periodic table. At the same time, knowledge about objects is combined and presented in a certain order: chronological , spatial , logical (based on cause-effect relationships).
1. Visual-effective thinking . Feature: the process of thinking itself is a practical transformational activity carried out by a person with real objects . The main condition for solving the problem in this case is the correct actions with specific objects . Visual-effective thinking is associated with the work that a person does with his hands: he builds something, nails, digs, etc. This type of thinking is leading in the mental organization of activity in children under 5 years of age .
2. Visual-figurative thinking is more based on images. It is not necessary for a person to take an object in his hands, it is enough to clearly see or represent it. But just as with visual-effective thinking, the thinking process with visual-figurative thinking is directly connected with the perception of the surrounding reality, and without it cannot be carried out . In the process of visual-figurative thinking, a person compares and analyzes visual representations - this is how geometric problems are solved, so you can choose wallpaper , imagining how they will be combined with furniture or carpet on the floor. This kind of thinking is presented in children of preschool and primary school age , and in adults - among people engaged in practical work .
3. Abstract-logical (conceptual) thinking - this is such thinking, using which a person turns to concepts in the decision process, performs actions in the mind , without directly dealing with the experience gained through the senses. The search for the solution of the problem is based on already ready knowledge , expressed in a conceptual form, judgments, conclusions . It is no coincidence that this kind of thinking is also called conceptual. This kind of thinking is formed by the adolescent period . According to J.Piaget, from about 11–12 years old, a child has the ability to think logically about abstract abstract problems, there is a need to check the correctness of his thoughts, to accept the point of view of another person.
In an adult (mental norm) all types of mental activity are represented. However, depending on a number of factors - for example, the type of activity , one or another type of thinking dominates. So the kind of visual-effective thinking is widely represented among people engaged in real industrial labor, the result of which is the creation of a material product . Visual-figurative thinking is developed in those people who often have to make a decision about the objects of their activities , just by watching them, but not directly touching them. Abstract-logical thinking prevails among people in whose activities the leading role is given to abstract concepts and judgments (these are theorists, mathematicians, philosophers). In the professional work of a doctor, all three types of thinking are important.
It should be noted that all of the listed types of human thinking act simultaneously and as levels of its development.
Recently, it is customary to distinguish intuitive and analytical thinking . The word "intuition" is often used in two different meanings. In some cases, they say that a person thinks intuitively when, working for a long time on a problem, he suddenly finds a solution that he has not yet formally checked. In other cases, it is said that this person has a good intuition, if he can quickly make very successful assumptions about which of several approaches to solving the problem will be effective.
4. Analytical thinking is characterized by the fact that its individual stages are clearly expressed and the thinker can tell about them to another person. The analytically-minded person is fully aware of both the content of his thoughts and the operations that comprise them. Analytical thinking in its extreme form takes the form of a thorough deductive (from general to particular) conclusion .
5. Intuitive thinking is characterized by the fact that there are no clearly defined stages. It is usually based on a minimized perception of the whole problem at once. The person in this case reaches a response that may be right or wrong, little or not at all aware of the process by which he received this answer. As a rule, intuitive thinking is based on acquaintance with the basic knowledge in this area and with their structure, and this gives him the opportunity to be carried out in the form of jumps, quick transitions, with the omission of individual links. Therefore, the findings of intuitive thinking need to be verified by analytical tools .
Intuitive and analytical thinking complement each other. Through intuitive thinking, a person can often solve such problems that he would not solve at all, or, at best, solve more slowly through analytical thinking.
Intuition means the act of setting the structure of a task or situation without relying on expanded analytical tools. However, the correctness or erroneousness of intuition is established, ultimately, not by intuition itself, but by the method of verification. But it is intuition that allows you to quickly put forward a hypothesis or highlight the essential features of concepts before their value becomes known. The use of analogies, various heuristic methods of solving problems that do not guarantee the correctness of the solution, contributes to the development of intuitive thinking.
The process of thinking begins with a problem situation that needs to be solved, and consequently, with the formulation of a question that arises every time something is not clear to us. Therefore, the first necessary condition for the flow of the thinking process is the ability to see the incomprehensible, requiring clarification. A person with a well-developed thinking sees questions where they really are and where a person with insufficiently developed thinking, who is not used to thinking independently, everything seems to be taken for granted. It is well known that a dog licks at the sight of food, but only I. P. Pavlov saw this as a problem and, studying it, he created the doctrine of conditioned reflexes. Another example is Isaac Newton. Many people watched the fall of objects from a height to the ground, but only Newton thought about this problem and discovered the law of the world wide.
The question of why these scientists saw something that no one had seen before them is quite legitimate. What is the source of the questions? There are two such sources: practice and knowledge. As a rule, in the course of solving practical problems we “turn on” thinking and try to solve things that we have never solved. On the other hand, in order to properly raise a question, we must have the necessary amount of knowledge for this.
Suppose we learned to see the existence of a problem and correctly raise the question. But a correctly posed question does not mean the successful solution of the problem. To solve a complex mental task, it is necessary to skillfully choose the ways to solve the question posed. In some cases, we have no difficulty in solving a specific mental task or practical problem. But it often happens that we do not have the necessary knowledge or information to answer the question posed. Therefore, to solve a complex mental task, a person must be able to find the necessary information, without which it is impossible to solve the main task or problem. In this case, a person, using the capabilities of his thinking, first answers intermediate questions and only then solves the main question. Gradually supplementing the missing information, we come to solving the main problem or the question of interest.
Very often the solution to the mental problem is contained in the question itself. To see this, you need to be able to handle the available data and analyze them. However, there may be certain difficulties. Solving a difficult thinking task, a person must be able to find the data necessary for the correct formulation of the question.
When we do not have the necessary information to address the issue, we usually make a guess. The assumption is a conclusion that is based on indirect information and our conjectures when we do not have all the knowledge or enough information necessary for the correct solution of a mental task. K.E. Tsiolkovsky, not having objective information, expressed assumptions about the features of a space flight, about the speed that a rocket must have in order to overcome the earthly stress. But all these assumptions turned into scientific evidence when the first space flight was made. Thus, solving a mental problem with many unknowns, we can express the assumptions that form the basis for solving this problem. And in some cases, our decision is correct, or adequate, and in others, it is wrong. This is due to the truth or fallacy of the assumption we made. And as you probably already understood from the previous example, the criterion of the truth of our assumption is practice.
Practice is the most objective evidence of the truth of our conclusions. At the same time, we can use the practice both as a direct proof of the fidelity of our judgments, as was the case with K. E. Tsiolkovsky, and as an indirect proof. For example, in order to check the assumption of the presence of electric current in the outlet, we turn on the lamp and, based on whether it lights up or not, we draw the appropriate conclusion.
The skillful use of various techniques plays an important role in solving complex intellectual problems. So, when solving problems, we often use visual images. Another example is the use of typical techniques in solving typical problems. We are constantly confronted with this phenomenon in school, when in a mathematics or physics class the teacher explains to the students how to solve problems of one type or another. At the same time, he does not achieve an understanding of the meaning of the problem by the student and the formation of ways to find an independent solution, but teaches him how to use in practice the existing solutions. As a result, the student develops practical thinking skills.
However, there are cases when a person with a highly developed thinking tries to solve problems that are not similar to any of the known ones that do not have a ready solution. To solve such problems, we must turn to the possibilities of our creative thinking.
Psychologists have spent a lot of effort in order to understand how a person solves unusual, new, creative tasks. Nevertheless, to date, there is no exact answer to the question of how the solution of such problems occurs by man. Modern science has only a few data that allow to partially describe the process of solving such problems by a person, to describe the conditions conducive to and hindering creativity.
One of the first who attempted to answer the question of what is creative thinking, was J. Guilford. In works devoted to creativity (creative thinking), he outlined his concept according to which the level of development of creativity is determined by the dominance in thinking of four features. First, it is the originality and unusualness of the ideas expressed, the desire for intellectual novelty. A person capable of creativity, almost always and everywhere seeks to find his own solution.
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It is necessary to know What is brainstorming? “If you want to think creatively, you must learn to give your thoughts complete freedom and not try to direct them in a certain direction. This is called free association. A man says everything that comes to his head, no matter how absurd it may seem. Free association was originally used in psychotherapy, now it is also used for group problem solving, and this is called "brainstorming ." Brainstorming is widely used to solve various industrial, administrative and other tasks. The procedure is simple. A group of people is going to “freely associate” on a given topic: how to speed up the sorting of correspondence, how to get money to build a new center, or how to sell more prunes. Each participant offers everything that comes to his mind and sometimes does not seem relevant to the problem. Criticism is prohibited. The goal is to get as many new ideas as possible, because the more ideas that are proposed, the more chances for a truly good idea to appear. Ideas are carefully recorded and, at the end of a brainstorming session, are critically evaluated, and, as a rule, by another group of people. Creative thinking in a group is based on the following psychological principles (Osborne, 1957). 1. The group situation stimulates the process of developing new ideas, which is an example of a kind of social assistance. It was found that a man of average ability can come up with almost twice as many solutions when he works in a group than when he works alone. In a group, he is under the influence of many different decisions, the thought of one person can stimulate another, etc. However, experiments show that the best results are provided by the optimal alternation of periods of individual and group thinking. 2. In addition, the group situation causes competition between group members. As long as this competition does not cause critical and hostile attitudes, it contributes to the intensification of the creative process, as each participant tries to surpass the other in putting forward new proposals. 3. As the number of ideas increases, their quality increases. The last 50 ideas are, as a rule, more useful than the first 50. Obviously, this is due to the fact that the task is more and more enticing to the group members. 4. Brainstorming will be more effective if group members stay together for several days. The quality of the ideas proposed by them at the next meeting will be higher than at the first. Apparently, for the emergence of some ideas requires a certain period of their "maturation". 5. It is psychologically correct that the evaluation of the proposed ideas is carried out by other people, since usually the shortcomings of their own creativity are noticed with great difficulty. ”
From: Lindsay G.G., Hull K.S., Thompson R.F. Creative and Critical Thinking // Chrestomathy on general psychology. Ed. Yu. B. Gippenreiger, V.V. Petukhov. - M .: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1981 |
Secondly, a creative person is distinguished by semantic flexibility, that is, the ability to see an object from a new angle, the ability to discover the possibility of a new use of a given object.
Thirdly, in creative thinking there is always such a feature as imaginative adaptive flexibility, i.e. the ability to change the perception of an object in such a way as to see its new, hidden sides.
Fourthly, a person with creative thinking differs from other people by the ability to produce a variety of ideas in an uncertain situation, particularly in one that does not contain the prerequisites for the formation of new ideas. This ability of creative thinking was named by J. Guilford semantic spontaneous flexibility.
Subsequently, other attempts were made to identify the nature of creativity. In the course of these studies, conditions have been identified that contribute to the manifestation of creative thinking. For example, when meeting a new task, a person first of all seeks to use the method or method that was most successful in previous experience. Another equally significant conclusion that was made in the course of research of creative thinking is the conclusion that the more effort was spent on finding a new way to solve the problem, the higher the likelihood that this method will be used to solve another, new mental task . At the same time, this pattern may lead to the emergence of a stereotype of thinking that prevents a person from using new, more expedient ways to solve a problem. Therefore, in order to overcome the stereotype of thinking, a person must completely abandon attempts to solve a problem, and then return to it after a while, but with a firm intention to solve it in a new way.
The study of creative thinking revealed another interesting pattern. Frequent failures in solving mental problems lead to the fact that a person begins to fear meeting with each new task, and when meeting a problem his intellectual abilities are not able to manifest, as they are under the yoke of a person’s disbelief in their own strengths. Для проявления интеллектуальных способностей людей необходимо чувство успеха и ощущение правильности выполнения той или иной задачи.
В ряде исследований было установлено, что эффективность в решении мыслительных задач достигается при наличии соответствующей мотивации и определенного уровня эмоционального возбуждения. Причем этот уровень для каждого человека сугубо индивидуален.
Серьезные попытки найти ответ на вопрос, что мешает проявлению творческих способностей, предприняли Г. Линдсей, К. Халл и Р. Томпсон. Они обнаружили, что проявлению творчества мешает не только недостаточное развитие определенных способностей, но и наличие определенных личностных черт. Так, одной из ярких личностных черт, препятствующих проявлению творческих способностей, является склонность к конформизму. Данная черта личности выражается в доминирующем над творческими тенденциями стремлении быть похожим на других, не отличаться от большинства людей в своих суждениях и поступках.
Another personality trait that is close to conformism, which hinders creativity, is the fear of appearing silly or ridiculous in their judgments. In these two characteristics reflects the excessive dependence of a person on the opinions of others. There are other personality traits that interfere with the manifestation of creative thinking and are also associated with an orientation to social norms. This group of personality traits is the fear of criticizing others because of retaliation from their side. This phenomenon is due to the fact that in the process of raising children’s sense of tact and politeness towards other people's opinions, the formation of ideas about criticism as something negative and offensive takes place. As a result, the fear of criticizing others often acts as an obstacle to the manifestation of creative thinking.
The manifestation of creative abilities often prevents the overestimation of the value of their own ideas. Sometimes the fact that we ourselves have come up with
Xia us more ideas from other people. A similar phenomenon can have two outcomes. In one case, we do not accept more advanced ideas than our own. In another case, we do not want to show our idea or bring it up for discussion.
The next reason that inhibits the manifestation of creativity, is the existence of two types of thinking competing with each other: critical and creative. Critical thinking is aimed at identifying deficiencies in the judgments of other people. A person who has developed this type of thinking to a greater degree sees only flaws, but does not offer his own constructive ideas, since, again, he closes himself in search of flaws, but in his judgments. On the other hand, a person who is dominated by creative thinking, seeks to develop constructive ideas, but does not pay enough attention to the shortcomings that are contained in them, which also negatively affects the development of original ideas.
Based on the above judgments and comparing the causes and conditions that promote and prevent the manifestation of creativity, it is necessary to make one general conclusion: the ability to create should be purposefully shaped in the child in the process of his mental development.
In the formation and development of thinking, we can conditionally distinguish several stages. The boundaries and content of these stages vary from different authors. This is due to the author's position on this issue. Currently, there are several of the most well-known classifications of the stages of development of human thinking. All these approaches have certain differences from each other. However, among the generally accepted concepts and teachings can be found in common.
Thus, in most of the currently existing approaches to periodization of the stages of the development of thinking, it is considered that the initial stage of the development of human thinking is associated with generalizations. In this case, the first generalizations of the child are inseparable from practical activities, which is reflected in the same actions that he performs with objects similar to each other. This trend begins to manifest itself at the end of the first year of life. The manifestation of thinking in a child is a vital tendency, because it has a practical orientation. By operating with objects on the basis of knowledge of their individual properties, the child, at the beginning of the second year of life, can solve certain practical problems. So, a child at the age of one year and one month, in order to get the nuts from the table, can substitute a bench to him. Or another example - a boy aged one year and three months, in order to move a heavy box with things, first took out half of the things, and then performed the necessary operation. In all these examples, the child relied on the experience he had received earlier. And this experience is not always personal. A child learns a lot when watching adults.
The next stage in the development of a child is associated with mastering his speech. The words that the child takes possession of him are a support for generalizations. They are very
quickly acquire a general meaning for it and are easily transferred from one object to another. However, the meanings of the first words often include only some individual signs of objects and phenomena that the child is guided by, referring the word to these objects. It is quite natural that the sign essential for the child is in fact far from essential. The word "apple" by children is often collated with all round objects or with all objects of red color.
At the next stage of development of the child’s thinking, he can name the same subject in several words. This phenomenon is observed at the age of about two years and indicates the formation of such a mental operation as a comparison. In the future, on the basis of the comparison operation, induction and deduction begin to develop, which by three or three and a half years have already reached a sufficiently high level of development.
Based on the above information, we can identify several of the most significant features of the thinking of a child of preschool age. Thus, an essential feature of the child’s thinking is that its first generalizations are connected with action. The child thinks acting. Another characteristic feature of children's thinking is its clarity. The visibility of children's thinking is manifested in its specificity. The child thinks, relying on individual facts that are known to him and are available from personal experience or observations of other people. To the question "Why not drink raw water?" The child responds, relying on the specific fact: "One boy drank raw water and became ill."
When a child reaches school age, there is a progressive increase in the child’s mental abilities. This phenomenon is associated not only with age-related changes, but primarily with those intellectual tasks that need to be addressed by the child while studying at school. The range of concepts acquired by the child in the process of schooling is expanding more and more and includes more and more new knowledge from various fields. In this case, a transition is made from concrete to more and more abstract concepts, and the content of concepts is enriched: the child learns the variety of properties and characteristics of objects, phenomena, as well as their connections with each other; he will know which signs are significant and which are not. From the more simple, superficial connections of objects and phenomena, the schoolchild moves on to ever more complex, deep, and many-sided.
In the process of the formation of concepts, the development of mental operations takes place. The school teaches the child to analyze, synthesize, generalize, develops induction and deduction. Under the influence of schooling, the necessary qualities of mental activity develop. Knowledge acquired in school contributes to the development of the breadth and depth of thought of students.
It should be noted that with the end of school a person retains the possibility of developing thinking. However, the dynamics of this development and its focus depend only on him.
At present, modern science pays a lot of attention to the issue of the development of thinking. In the practical aspect of the development of thinking, it is customary to distinguish three main areas of research: phylogenetic, ontogenetic, and experimental.
Phylogenetic direction involves the study of how human thinking has developed and improved in the process of historical development.
Names
Piaget Jean (1896-1980) - Swiss psychologist, founder of the Geneva Epistemological Center (Geneva School of Genetic Psychology). The author of the concept of stage development of the psyche of the child. In the initial period of his activity, he described the peculiarities of children's ideas about the world: the inseparability of the world and one’s own “I”, animism, artificalism (perception of the world as created by man). Analyzed in detail the specifics of children's thinking ("Child's speech and thinking", 1923). To explain the ideas of children, he used the concept of egocentrism, by which he understood a certain position in relation to the world around him, overcome by the process of socialization and influencing the structure of children's logic. Later he paid special attention to the development of intelligence. In his studies, he tried to
to show that the development of thinking is connected with the transformation of external actions into internal ones through their transformation into operations. Much of the research in the field of intelligence, conducted by him, was reflected in the book "The Psychology of Intelligence", 1946.
The studies of J. Piaget gained wide popularity, which contributed to the creation of a scientific field, which he called genetic epistemology.
of humanity. Ontogenetic direction is associated with the study of the main stages of development in the process of one person’s life. In turn, the experimental direction is connected with the problems of experimental research of thinking and the possibility of developing the intellect in special, artificially created conditions.
The theory of the development of intelligence in childhood, proposed by J. Piaget in the framework of the ontogenetic direction, became widely known. Piaget proceeded from the statement that basic mental operations are activity-related. Therefore, it is not by chance that the theory of the development of the child’s thinking, proposed by Piaget, was called “operational”. The operation, according to Piaget, is an internal action, a product of transformation (“interiorization”) of an external objective action, coordinated with other actions into a single system, the main properties of which are reversibility (for each operation there is a symmetrical and opposite operation). In the development of mental operations in children, Piaget singled out four stages.
The first stage is sensorimotor intelligence. It covers the period of a child's life from one to two years and is characterized by the development of the ability to perceive and learn the objects of the real world that make up the child’s environment. Moreover, under the knowledge of objects is supposed to comprehend their properties and characteristics.
By the end of the first stage, the child becomes a subject, that is, he separates himself from the outside world, realizes his “I”. He has the first signs of volitional control over his behavior, and in addition to knowing the objects of the world around him, the child begins to know himself.
The second stage - operational thinking - refers to the age of two to seven years. This age is known to be characterized by the development of speech, therefore
Names
Halperin Peter Yakovlevich (1902-1988) - the domestic psychologist. The beginning of his scientific activity is connected with the history of the development of a general psycho-psychological theory of activity. On the basis of the fundamental principles of this theory, he proposed and experimentally substantiated a method of gradually forming
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Часть 1 12 Mental Processes Thinking
Часть 2 12.4. Main types of mental operations - 12 Mental Processes
Часть 3 test questions - 12 Mental Processes Thinking
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General psychology
Terms: General psychology