Cognitive processes in psychology. Cheat sheet: Mental cognitive processes Properties of cognitive processes in psychology

Human cognitive activity consists of a series of cognitive mental processes: sensation, perception, attention, memory, imagination, thinking and speech.

The concept of the surrounding world is carried out at two levels: sensory cognition, which includes sensations, perceptions, ideas, and logical cognition through concepts, judgments, and inferences.

Feeling

Feeling – this is a reflection of the individual properties of objects that directly affect our senses.

Various information about the state of external and internal environment The human body receives sensations through the senses. Sensations are the source of our knowledge about the world and ourselves. All living beings with a nervous system have the ability to sense sensations. Only living beings with a brain and cerebral cortex have conscious sensations.

Objects and phenomena of reality that affect our senses are called stimuli. The sensation arises as a reaction nervous system to this or that stimulus and, like any mental phenomenon, has a reflex character.

The physiological mechanism of sensation is the activity of special nervous apparatuses called analyzers. Analyzers take the influence of certain stimuli from the external and internal environment and convert them into sensations. The analyzer consists of three parts:

Receptors, or sensory organs, that convert the energies of external influences into nerve signals (each receptor is capable only of a certain type of influence);

The nerve pathways through which these signals are transmitted back to the brain and back to the receptors;

Cortical projection zones of the brain.

Sensations can be classified on different grounds. According to the leading modality, sensations are distinguished:

· visual sensations are a reflection of colors, both achromatic and chromatic. Visual sensations are caused by exposure to light, i.e. electromagnetic waves, emitted by bodies to the visual analyzer.

· Auditory sensations are a reflection of sounds of varying heights, strength and quality. They are caused by the influence of sound waves created by vibrations of bodies.

· Olfactory sensations – reflection of smells. They arise due to the penetration of particles of odorous substances spreading in the air into the upper part of the nasopharynx, where they affect the peripheral endings of the olfactory analyzer.

· Taste sensations reflect some Chemical properties flavoring substances dissolved in water or saliva.

· Tactile sensations are a reflection of the mechanical properties of objects that are detected when touching them, rubbing them, or hitting them. These sensations also reflect the temperature of environmental objects and external pain.

These sensations are called exteroceptive, and in turn are divided into contact and distant.

Another group of sensations consists of those that reflect the movements and states of the body itself. They are called motor or proprioceptive.

There is also a group of organic sensations - internal (iteroceptive). These sensations reflect the internal state of the body.

Properties of sensations:

· quality is an essential feature of sensations that allows one to distinguish one type of sensation from another, as well as various variations within a type;

· intensity is a quantitative characteristic of sensations, which is determined by the strength of the current stimulus and functional state receptor.

Duration – a temporary characteristic of sensations.

Main sensitivity characteristics of analyzers:

· lower threshold of sensations - the minimum value of the stimulus that causes a barely noticeable sensation;

· upper threshold of sensations – the maximum value of the stimulus that the analyzer is capable of adequately perceiving;

· sensitivity range – the interval between the upper and lower threshold;

· differential threshold – the smallest detectable value of differences between stimuli;

· operational threshold – the magnitude of the difference between the signals at which the accuracy and speed of the difference reach a maximum;

· time threshold – the minimum duration of exposure to the stimulus required for the sensation to occur;

· latent period of reaction - the period of time from the moment the signal is given until the moment the sensation occurs;

· inertia – time of disappearance of sensations after the end of the impact.

A change in the sensitivity of analyzers under the influence of irritation of other senses is called the interaction of sensations, which is observed in the following phenomena:

Sensitization is an increase in the sensitivity of nerve centers under the influence of a stimulus.

Synesthesia is the occurrence, under the influence of stimulation of one analyzer, of a sensation characteristic of another analyzer.

Perception

Perception - a holistic reflection of objects and phenomena of the objective world with their direct impact at the moment on the senses. Together with the processes of sensation, perception provides direct sensory orientation in the surrounding world.

Perception is subjective - people perceive the same information differently, depending on their interests, abilities, and needs. The dependence of perception on past experience and individual characteristics of a person is called apperception.

Perceptual properties:

1. Integrity – internal organic relationship in the image. Manifests itself in two aspects: the unification of different elements as a whole; independence of the formed whole from the quality of its constituent elements.

2. Objectivity – an object is perceived by us as a separate physical body isolated in space and time.

3. Generalization – assigning each image to a certain class of objects.

4. Constancy – relative constancy of the perception of the image.

5. Meaningfulness – connection with understanding the essence of objects and phenomena through the thinking process.

6. Selectivity – preferential selection of some objects over others in the process of perception.

Types of perception:

Person's perception by person;

Time perception;

Motion perception;

Perception of space;

Perception of the type of activity.

Perception can be externally directed or internally directed.

Perception may be erroneous (illusory). An illusion is a distorted perception of a truly existing reality. Illusions are detected in the activities of various analyzers. Perception can not only be erroneous, but also ineffective.

Attention

Attention - the direction and concentration of consciousness on certain objects or certain activities while being distracted from everything else.

Attention is continuously connected with consciousness as a whole. Attention is associated with the direction and selectivity of cognitive processes. Attention is determined by:

Accuracy of perception, which is a kind of amplifier that allows you to distinguish the details of the image;

Strength and selectivity of memory, acting as a factor contributing to the retention of necessary information in short-term and operative memory;

Focus and productivity of thinking, which act as a mandatory factor in correctly understanding and solving problems.

Basic functions of attention:

· selection of significant influences and ignoring others;

· retention of a certain content of activity in consciousness until its completion;

· regulation and control of activities.

Main types of attention:

1. Depending on the volitional efforts of the individual:

· involuntary attention arises without a person’s intention to see or hear anything, without a predetermined goal, without an effort of will;

· voluntary attention – an active, purposeful focus of consciousness, maintaining the level of which is associated with certain volitional efforts aimed at combating stronger influences;

· post-voluntary attention – occurs after voluntary attention, but is qualitatively different from it. When the first positive results appear in solving a problem, interest arises, automation of activity occurs, its implementation no longer requires special volitional efforts and is limited only by fatigue, although the purpose of the work remains the same.

2. By the nature of the direction:

· externally directed attention is directed to surrounding objects;

· internal attention – directed to one’s own thoughts and experiences.

3. By origin:

· natural attention – a person’s innate ability to selectively respond to certain internal or external stimuli that carry elements of information novelty;

· socially conditioned attention develops in the process of life, as a result of training, education, and is associated with a selective conscious response to objects, with volitional regulation of behavior;

4. According to the regulation mechanism:

· direct attention is not controlled by anything other than the object to which it is directed;

· indirect attention is regulated using special means.

5. By direction to the object:

· sensory;

· intellectual.

Basic properties of attention:

1. Concentration of attention - maintaining attention on one object or one activity while distracting from everything else.

2. Stability of attention - the duration of concentration on an object or phenomenon is determined by individual physiological characteristics organism, mental state, motivation, external circumstances of the activity.

3. Volume of attention - determined by the number of objects to which attention can be simultaneously directed during the process of perception.

4. Distribution of attention - the ability of an individual to simultaneously perform two or more types of activities.

The level of human development as a being endowed with reason is determined by the effectiveness of his cognitive processes. It is they who ensure the receipt and processing of information from the outside and create a completely unique space of ours, filled with images, thoughts and feelings.

The psyche, if we understand it as the content of our inner world, is a very complex formation. All mental phenomena are divided into 3 groups: processes, properties and states. True, this division is conditional, since everything that happens in our consciousness is interconnected. and depend on emotional states and influences the formation, and images are capable of generating emotions no less strong than real phenomena. And all this is somehow connected with activity and accumulation of experience.

The place of cognitive processes in the human psyche

Despite the unity and interconnection of mental phenomena, several spheres can be distinguished, including cognitive, which includes the corresponding processes. They are also called cognitive (cognito – from Latin “knowledge”).

The content of the psyche is the result of a reflection of reality, its ideal, subjective image. Cognitive processes ensure the process of reflecting the world and forming ideal images in our minds. The level of their development determines the effectiveness of a person’s interaction with the outside world, as well as his mental and, in many ways, physical health. That is, problems associated with cognitive processes can make a person disabled, mentally retarded, or simply prevent him from adapting normally to the world.

Functions of cognitive processes

Cognitive processes are evolutionarily the “youngest” mental phenomena. Even the centers of these processes are located in the neocortex - the new cortex - the latest formation of our brain. The exception is the more ancient attention and memory, which are present even in fairly primitive living beings. But despite youth, cognitive processes perform important functions:

• Reception and differentiation of sensory information coming from the external world. In accordance with the channels of perception, all external signals are distributed between the visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory and taste analyzers.
• Processing primary information and creating holistic subjective images.
• Storage of received information.
• Establishing a connection between different areas of sensory experience, images, concepts, cognitive constructs, between new information and what is already available in experience.
• Creation of abstract concepts and signs, identification of patterns of external processes and phenomena. Using the sign function for communication (speech).
• Formation of behavior strategy and its motives.
• Goal setting, creation of promising tasks.
• Prognostic function is the ability to foresee the results of activity and plan one’s behavior.

The totality of these functions of cognitive processes is usually called cognitive or mental abilities. The more efficiently these processes perform their functions, the higher the .

Structure of cognitive processes

The cognitive sphere has a branched structure, which is associated with the complexity of the process of cognition of the world itself, which consists of several stages:

• obtaining information and primary data processing;
• analysis, comparison, synthesis and synthesis;
• remembering and storing information;
• creation of new knowledge in the form of images and concepts;
• complex operations with information at the highest level of consciousness and the formation of a cognitive strategy.

Human cognition has its own hierarchy, in which higher and lower levels of cognitive processes can be distinguished. The highest ones include the sensory-perceptual sphere, and the highest ones include thinking, imagination and the sign function, that is, speech. Along with this, there are two more cognitive processes that perform a servicing function and do not have their own content. This is attention and memory.

Sensory-perceptual sphere

This is the sphere of elementary cognitive processes, these include sensation and. On the one hand, they are the most ancient of all cognitive functions, on the other hand, they are the basis of knowledge of the world, as they ensure the entry of any information into the brain.

Feel

The various influences that the world has on a person are called signals; accordingly, the sense organs responsible for receiving these signals are receivers-receptors. Sensations are also called sensory processes (sensor - from English sensor, sensitive element). In sensations we reflect individual properties, qualities of objects, for example, color, sound, temperature, the nature of the surface, taste, etc. Sensations are fragmentary, since they do not provide a holistic picture of the world, and momentary, since they arise only at the moment of exposure to the stimulus. sense organ. The contact stopped and the sensation disappeared.

We are accustomed to thinking that there are five senses in accordance with the five main sensory channels through which information from the outside world enters the brain. These are hearing, vision, smell, touch (tactile sensations) and taste. Well, sometimes we can speculate about some mysterious sixth sense. In fact, there are much more than five types of sensations. In psychology they are divided into three groups.

• Extraceptive are exactly those five types of sensations that we all know. They arise from exposure to external stimuli and are associated with the work of receptors located on the surface of the body.
• Interaceptive or organic are the result of processing signals from our internal organs, for example, sensations of hunger, thirst, heartbeat, pain.
• Propriceptive sensations are associated with the work of receptors located in muscles and ligaments. They carry information about body position, movement (kinesthetic sensations), muscle tension, etc.

Along with these three groups, vibration sensations, for example, are sometimes considered separately - a very ancient type of mental phenomena, a kind of atavism. In the process of evolution, skin sensitivity and hearing developed from vibration sensations.

Despite the importance of sensations, we almost never deal with them in pure form, or rather, we are rarely aware of them. For us, cognition begins with the emergence in the brain of a holistic image of a phenomenon. And another process is responsible for this – perception.

Perception

This cognitive process is also called perception and, accordingly, the processes associated with it are perceptual. Unlike sensations, perception is a reflection of the world in holistic images, although it is of a momentary nature. That is, we perceive, for example, a tree only while we see it. As soon as you turn away, the image of perception disappears. What remains? What is preserved in memory.

Just like sensation, perception is associated with the main sensory channels, so it is customary to talk about auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile and gustatory images. However, only the first two species have been more or less studied. And the rest have been less studied in psychology.

In addition to these five types of perception, there are several more:

• time perception;
• motion perception;
• perception of space.

True, the latter is related to visual images, but it has its own specifics and is of a slightly different nature than the formation of other visual images.

Perception is a more complex cognitive process than sensation. It is based on the analytical and synthetic activity of the brain, involves the activity of its various parts and has several stages or stages:

• impact detection;
• discrimination is perception itself;
• identification - comparison with images in memory;
• identification – creation of a holistic image.

Perception is related to the activity and general mental state of a person. This connection is called apperception. In different emotional states, we perceive the same objects differently - this is familiar to all of us. And the richer a person’s sensory experience, the more images are stored in his memory, the richer and more varied his perception. He sees the nuances of the shades of clouds at sunset, notices the singing of birds even among the noise of the city, feels the coolness of the breeze and the aromas of a flowering meadow, in which he can identify the smells of different flowers.

Highest level of cognitive processes

Cognition does not end with the formation of images of perception. Even stored in memory, they are only building material for the highest level of cognitive processes, which includes thinking, imagination, and speech activity.

Thinking

The thought process is also a reflection of reality. But unlike direct reflection in sensations and perceptions, thinking is mediated by generalized images and concepts. They are the tools with which a person processes and transforms information received by the brain. The result of thinking is the acquisition of new knowledge that was not present in sensory experience. Thinking is a complex activity; it is organized and controlled consciously. In psychology and logic (the science of thinking), several operations of mental activity are distinguished:

• analysis – comprehension of the received data, highlighting their individual significant elements, properties, qualities;
• comparison of individual details of various objects, phenomena, etc.;
• generalization - the creation of generalized images or concepts based on the identification of essential, significant features;
• synthesis - combining individual transformed elements of information into new combinations and obtaining theoretical knowledge.

Three main types of thinking reflect different aspects and levels of this cognitive process:

• Visual-effective thinking is the elementary level at which mental operations are performed in the process of objective activity.
• Visual-figurative thinking operates with images, both concrete and abstract.
• Abstract-logical (conceptual) is the highest level of thinking, the main tools of which are concepts, signs and symbols.

These types of thinking were formed gradually in the process of the formation of man as a species, and in a child they also develop gradually. But in cognitive activity In an adult, all three are present, becoming more active depending on the situation. In addition, it should be noted that although imaginative thinking is not considered the highest level, creativity - the pinnacle of the cognition process - is based precisely on the images that are born in our consciousness.

Imagination and creativity

Imagination is responsible for the birth of new images. This is an exclusively human form of cognition. If the rudiments of elementary thinking are found in higher animals, then imagination is inherent only to us.

Imagination is a complex mental process during which comparison, analysis and combination of elements of previous experience occur, and on the basis of such combinatorial activity unique images that are absent in reality are born. Even if we imagine something we have seen repeatedly, the picture in our brain will still differ from the original.

The level of originality and novelty of imaginative images can, of course, be different, so it is customary to distinguish between two types of imagination.

• The reproductive is responsible for recreating the elements of reality according to a given model. For example, we can imagine an animal from a description or an architectural structure from a drawing. How well the idea corresponds to reality depends on the strength of our imagination and the knowledge available in our memory.
• Creative imagination is the creation of original images, ideas, projects.

Imagination underlies the highest cognitive process - creativity. It is defined as the creation of something new. Unlike other cognitive processes, creativity occurs not only at the level of consciousness, but also in the sphere of practical activity. We can say that imagination becomes creativity when its images are embodied in reality - books and paintings are written, projects and unique works of art are created, inventions are made, buildings are built, etc.

It is creativity that brings to life the results of the cognitive process, and this is the basis for the development of human civilization.

Speech

We are accustomed to considering speech as a means of communication and do not think about its role in cognitive processes. And this role is quite a big one. Speech in cognition acts as a sign function of consciousness. The highest form of thinking - logical - occurs in speech form, its tools are words-concepts and other abstract signs.

Speech performs the function of organizing and stimulating thinking, so if a deaf-mute person is not taught a special language, then his mental abilities will remain at the level of a 3-4-year-old child.

Speech is even involved in the process of perception. In order to comprehend, “accept” a perceived object in our consciousness, we must name it, designate it. And in order to understand a complex problem and find its solution, you need to “speak” this problem, express the incomprehensible through words-signs. Such is the power of the word over our mind.

Attention and memory

The process of cognition can be represented as a ladder, the ascent along which begins with sensations, then moves on to perception, thinking, imagination and ends at the top, which is creativity. But two cognitive processes stand apart. This is attention and memory. They play an auxiliary role and exist only in connection with other cognitive processes. But on the other hand, no intelligent human activity is possible without them.

Attention

This is the concentration of consciousness on external objects and phenomena or on internal processes. In order to perceive something, we must focus on it, and objects that do not fall into the sphere of attention are simply not noticed by us, that is, they are not included in the process of cognition.

There are two main types of attention: voluntary and involuntary.

• Involuntary attention occurs on its own, under the influence of specific stimuli. Such concentration, regardless of our desire, is caused by some strong, bright, unusual objects and phenomena, or those that matter to us and are associated with our interests and needs.
• Voluntary attention is a conscious activity aimed at maintaining concentration on objects that do not arouse interest. The significance of these objects is determined by the goals and objectives of the activity, and not by their brightness and unusualness. For example, to concentrate on a complex textbook text, you need to make an effort. Voluntary attention is often difficult, so it is necessary to develop conscious concentration skills.

In psychology, attention is considered both as a dynamic side of cognition and as its guide. It is this process that determines the selectivity of our consciousness, not only in terms of cognition, but also in mental activity in general. Attention is also related to increased activity various centers of the brain and makes any of our activities, including cognitive, effective and productive. And the loss of the ability to concentrate and concentrate, the involuntary loss of attention is a serious mental illness.

Memory

You already know that the images that arise in the process of perception are unstable. In order for them to be preserved and become part of experience and material for our thinking, the work of memory is necessary. Just like attention, it is not an independent mental process. There is no memory in its pure form, outside, for example, the processes of perception, which supplies information, or thinking, which works with what is stored in memory.

All our experience, including professional and sensory-emotional, is the merit of memory. But it also performs other important functions, not only shaping experience, but also establishing a connection between the present and the past. And having lost memory, a person, along with memories and accumulated experience, loses his own.

There are 4 interconnected processes in memory:

• memorization;
• storing information;
• its reproduction;
• forgetting.

The latter process is also important not only in the field of cognition, but also for maintaining a person’s emotional balance.

Memorizing and storing data is closely related not only to all cognitive processes, but also to the field of activity. To make knowledge easier to remember and retain longer, it must be included in activities: repetition, comprehension, analysis, structuring, use in practice, etc.

Memory is associative in nature, that is, effective memorization occurs through establishing a connection (association) with information we already have. A very interesting and important conclusion follows from this: the more we know, the easier it is to remember new things.

Thus, cognitive processes are a complex system mental phenomena that ensure the full existence of a person and his relationship with the outside world.

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

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

But the sense organs have the ability to adapt to changing conditions, therefore the thresholds of sensations are not constant and can change when moving from one environmental condition to another. This ability is called adaptation of sensations. For example, when moving from light to dark, the sensitivity of the eye to various stimuli changes tens of times. Speed ​​and completeness of adaptation of various sensory systems is not the same: in tactile sensations, with smell, a high degree of adaptation is noted, and the lowest degree is with pain sensations, since pain is a signal of dangerous violation in the functioning of the body, and rapid adaptation of pain sensations can threaten its death.

The English physiologist C. Sherrington proposed a classification of sensations, presented in Fig. 8.

Exteroceptive sensations- these are sensations that arise when external stimuli influence human analyzers located on the surface of the body.

Proprioceptive sensations– these are sensations that reflect the movement and position of parts of the human body.

Interoceptive sensations– these are sensations that reflect the state of the internal environment of the human body.

According to the time of occurrence of sensations there are relevant And irrelevant.

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

Rice. 8. Classification of sensations (according to Ch. Sherrington)

All sensations have the following characteristics:

♦ quality– an essential feature of sensations that allows one to distinguish one type from another (for example, auditory from visual);

♦ intensity– a quantitative characteristic of sensations, which is determined by the strength of the current stimulus;

♦ duration– a temporary characteristic of sensations, determined by the time of exposure to the stimulus.

2. Perception- this is a holistic reflection of objects and phenomena of the objective world with their direct impact at the moment on the senses. Only humans and some higher representatives of the animal world have the ability to perceive the world in the form of images. Together with the processes of sensation, perception provides direct orientation in the surrounding world. It involves identifying the main and most significant features from the complex of recorded features, while simultaneously abstracting from the unimportant ones (Fig. 9). Unlike sensations, which reflect individual qualities of reality, with the help of perception an integral picture of reality is created. Perception is always subjective, since people perceive the same information differently depending on abilities, interests, life experience, etc.

Rice. 9. Classification of types of perception

Let us consider perception as an intellectual process of successive, interconnected acts of searching for signs necessary and sufficient for the formation of an image:

Primary selection of a number of features from the entire flow of information and making a decision that they relate to one specific object;

Searching in memory for a complex of signs similar in sensations;

Assigning a perceived object to a specific category;

Search for additional signs that confirm or refute the correctness of the decision;

The final conclusion about what object is perceived.

To the main properties of perception relate: integrity– internal organic relationship between parts and the whole in the image;

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

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

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

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

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

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

According to the time of occurrence, perception occurs relevant And irrelevant.

Perception may be wrong(or illusory), such as visual or auditory illusions.

The development of perception has a very great importance For educational activities. Developed perception helps to quickly assimilate a larger amount of information with less energy expenditure.

3. Presentation- this is the mental process of reflecting objects and phenomena that are not currently perceived, but are recreated on the basis of previous experience. Ideas do not arise on their own, but as a result of practical activity.

Since ideas are based on past perceptual experience, the main classification of ideas is built on the basis of classifications of types of sensations and perceptions (Fig. 10).

Rice. 10. Classification of types of representations

Basic properties of views:

fragmentation– the presented image often lacks any of its features, sides, or parts;

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

variability– when a person enriches himself with new experience and knowledge, a change in ideas about the objects of the surrounding world occurs.

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

Rice. eleven. Classification of types of imagination

When classifying types of imagination, they proceed from the main characteristics - degree of volitional effort And degree of activity(Fig. 11).

Recreating Imagination manifests itself when a person needs to recreate the idea of ​​an object based on its description (for example, when reading descriptions of geographical places or historical events, as well as when meeting literary characters).

Dream is an imagination aimed at a desired future. In a dream, a person always creates an image of what he wants, while in creative images the desire of their creator is not always embodied. A dream is a process of imagination that is not included in creative activity, that is, it does not lead to the immediate and direct receipt of an objective product in the form work of art, inventions, products, etc.

Imagination is closely related to creativity. Creative imagination characterized by the fact that a person transforms his existing ideas and creates independently new image- not in a familiar image, but completely different from it. In practical activity, the phenomenon of imagination is primarily associated with the process of artistic creativity in cases where the author is no longer satisfied with recreating reality using realistic methods. Turning to unusual, bizarre, unrealistic images makes it possible to enhance the intellectual, emotional and moral impact of art on a person.

Creation is an activity that generates new material and spiritual values. Creativity reveals the individual’s need for self-expression, self-actualization and the realization of one’s creative potential. In psychology, the following are distinguished: criteria for creative activity:

♦ creative activity is that which leads to obtaining a new result, a new product;

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

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

♦ creative activity, as a rule, is aimed not so much at solving a problem already set by someone, but at independently seeing the problem and identifying new, original solutions;

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

♦ creative activity requires special motivation.

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

– a tendency to conformism, i.e. the desire to be like others, not to differ from the majority of people around them;

– fear of seeming stupid or funny;

– fear or reluctance to criticize others due to the idea of ​​criticism formed since childhood as something negative and offensive;

– excessive conceit, i.e. complete satisfaction with one’s personality;

– predominant critical thinking, i.e., aimed only at identifying shortcomings, and not at finding ways to eradicate them.

5. Thinking- this is a higher cognitive process, the generation of new knowledge, a generalized and indirect reflection of reality by a person in its essential connections and relationships. The essence of this cognitive mental process is the generation of new knowledge based on man’s transformation of reality. This is the most complex cognitive process, the highest form of reflection of reality (Fig. 12).

Rice. 12. Classification of types of thinking

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

Visual-figurative thinking occurs when imagining object images.

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

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

♦ The source of mental activity is practice.

♦ The physiological basis of thinking is reflex activity of the brain.

♦ An extremely important feature of thinking is the inextricable connection with speech. We always think in words, even if we don't say them out loud.

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

To the main mental operations relate:

analysis– mental division of the integral structure of the reflected object into its constituent elements;

synthesis– reunification of individual elements into an integral structure;

comparison– establishing relations of similarity and difference;

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

abstraction– highlighting any aspect of a phenomenon that in reality does not exist as an independent one;

specification– abstraction from general features and highlighting, emphasizing the particular, individual;

systematization(or classification)– mental distribution of objects or phenomena into certain groups, subgroups.

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

judgment– a statement containing a specific thought;

inference– a series of logically related statements leading to new knowledge;

definition of concepts- a system of judgments about a certain class of objects or phenomena, highlighting them most general signs;

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

deduction– derivation of a general judgment from particular ones.

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

The concept of intelligence is inextricably linked with thinking.

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

L. Thurstone in 1938, exploring intelligence, identified its primary components:

counting ability– ability to manipulate numbers and perform arithmetic operations;

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

verbal perception– ability to understand oral and written language;

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

memory;

reasoning ability;

quick perception of similarities and differences between objects.

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

Genetic conditioning is the influence of hereditary information received from parents;

Physical and mental state of the mother during pregnancy;

Chromosomal abnormalities;

Environmental living conditions;

Features of the child's nutrition;

Social status of the family, etc.

Attempts to create a unified system for “measuring” human intelligence encounter many obstacles, since intelligence includes the ability to perform completely different-quality mental operations. The most popular is the so-called intelligence quotient(abbreviated as IQ), which allows one to correlate the level of an individual’s intellectual capabilities with the average indicators of his age and professional groups.

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

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

Memory- this is a form of mental reflection, which consists in consolidating, preserving and subsequently reproducing past experience, making it possible to reuse it in activity or return to the sphere of consciousness.

Among the first psychologists who began experimental studies of mnemonic processes was the German scientist G. Ebbinghaus, who, by studying the process of memorizing various word combinations, derived a number of laws of memorization.

Memory connects the subject’s past with his present and future - this is the basis of mental activity.

TO memory processes include the following:

1) memorization- a memory process that results in the consolidation of something new by associating it with something previously acquired; memorization is always selective - not everything that affects our senses is stored in memory, but only what is important to a person or aroused his interest and the greatest emotions;

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

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

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

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

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

♦ speed of forgetting(the time during which remembered information is stored in memory).

There are several bases for classifying types of memory (Fig. 13): according to the nature of mental activity that prevails in the activity, according to the nature of the goals of the activity, according to the duration of consolidation and storage of information, etc.

Rice. 13. Classification of types of memory

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

Law of comprehension: The deeper the understanding of what is memorized, the easier it is fixed in memory.

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

Installation law: Memorization occurs more easily if a person sets himself the task of perceiving the content and remembering it.

Law of first impression: The brighter the first impression of what is being remembered, the stronger and faster its memorization.

Law of Context: information is more easily remembered if it is correlated with other simultaneous impressions.

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

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

Law of braking: any subsequent memorization inhibits the previous one.

Edge law: What is said (read) at the beginning and end of a series of information is better remembered; the middle of the series is remembered worse.

Law of repetition: repetition promotes better memory.

In psychology, in connection with the study of memory, you can find two terms, very similar friends to each other - “mnemonic” and “mnemonic”, the meanings of which are different. Mnemic means "pertaining to memory" and mnemonic– “related to the art of memorization”, i.e. mnemonics These are memorization techniques.

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

Association method: The more diverse associations that arise when memorizing information, the easier the information is remembered.

Link method: combining information into a single, holistic structure using supporting words, concepts, etc.

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

A well-known method for memorizing the colors of the rainbow is where the initial letter of each word is key phrase is the first letter of the color word:

To every – To red

hunter - O range

and wants - and yellow

h nat – h green

G de – G blue

With goes– With blue

f adhan – f purple

7. Attention- this is a voluntary or involuntary direction and concentration of mental activity on any object of perception. The nature and essence of attention cause disagreements in psychological science; there is no consensus among psychologists regarding its essence. The difficulties in explaining the phenomenon of attention are caused by the fact that it is not found in a “pure” form, it is always “attention to something.” Some scientists believe that attention is not an independent process, but is only part of any other psychological process. Others believe that this is an independent process with its own characteristics. Indeed, on the one hand, attention is included in all psychological processes, on the other hand, attention has observable and measurable characteristics (volume, concentration, switchability, etc.) that are not directly related to other cognitive processes.

Attention is a necessary condition mastering any type of activity. It depends on the individual typological, age and other characteristics of a person. Depending on the activity of the individual, three types of attention are distinguished (Fig. 14).

Rice. 14. Classification of types of attention

Involuntary attention– the simplest type of attention. It is often called passive, or forced, since it arises and is maintained independently of human consciousness.

Voluntary attention controlled by a conscious goal, connected with the will of a person. It is also called strong-willed, active or deliberate.

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

Attention has certain parameters and characteristics, which in many ways are a characteristic of human abilities and capabilities. TO basic properties of attention usually include the following:

concentration– this is an indicator of the degree of concentration of consciousness on a certain object, the intensity of connection with it; concentration of attention presupposes the formation of a temporary center (focus) of all human psychological activity;

intensity– characterizes the effectiveness of perception, thinking and memory in general;

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

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

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

switching – the ability to more or less easily and fairly quickly transition from one type of activity to another and concentrate on the latter.

Emotions and feelings

Emotions and feelings are a person’s experiences of his relationship to objects and phenomena of reality, to what he knows, to himself and other people.

Emotion– this is a direct reflection of the existing relationship, an experience associated with the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of needs. Emotions are involved in all mental processes in any human condition. They are able to anticipate events that have not yet occurred and can arise in connection with ideas about previously experienced or imagined situations.

Feeling- a more complex, established attitude of a person to what he knows and does. As a rule, a feeling includes a whole range of emotions. Feelings are unique to humans, they are socially determined, they give fullness and brightness to our perception, so emotionally charged facts are remembered longer. U different nations and in different historical eras feelings are expressed differently.

Emotions and feelings are inextricably linked with the physiological state of the human body: with some, a person feels a surge of strength, an increase in energy, and with others, decline and stiffness. Emotions and feelings are always purely individual. Some of them are congenital, some are acquired during life as a result of training and upbringing. The more complexly organized a living being is, the higher the level on the evolutionary ladder it occupies, the richer the range of emotions and feelings that it is capable of experiencing. The oldest in origin, the simplest and most common emotional experiences among living beings are pleasure obtained from the satisfaction of organic needs, and displeasure if the corresponding needs remain unsatisfied.

In psychology, there are several basic, or fundamental, emotions: joy, surprise, suffering, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame.

Depending on the combination of speed, strength and duration of feelings, the following are distinguished: types of emotional states: mood, passion, affect, inspiration, stress, frustration (a state of disorganization of consciousness and personal activity due to severe nervous shock).

Emotions and feelings are inseparable from a person’s personality. Emotionally, people differ from each other in many ways: emotional excitability, duration, stability, strength and depth of the emotional experiences they experience, the dominance of positive or negative emotions.

Improving higher emotions and feelings means personal development person. This development can be carried out in several directions:

Inclusion in emotional sphere new objects, people, events, etc.;

Increasing the level of conscious control of your feelings;

The gradual inclusion into the moral sphere of increasingly higher values ​​and norms, such as conscience, decency, sense of duty, responsibility, etc.

So, creation mental images environment is carried out through cognitive mental processes, which are consolidated into a single, holistic cognitive mental activity of a person. The image of the surrounding world is a complex mental formation, the formation of which involves various mental processes.

Cognition is a very voluminous and polysemantic term. Most often, gender is understood as the process of obtaining and constantly updating the knowledge necessary for a person.

In philosophy cognition is understood as a set of procedures and methods for a person to acquire knowledge about the world and himself. - This is primarily a mental activity, the result of which is awareness of the material world, but knowledge can also give rise to fantasies that are far from reality.

Cognition is a specific, unique human activity aimed at creating an ideal model of the environment. In it, man acts as an active principle, subject activities to master reality. His sensory and logical activity is aimed at an object, acting in cognitive interaction as a more passive principle.

From the point of view of the modern theory of knowledge, ideal models created by a subject in the course of cognitive activity are never identical, identical to their object.

Cognition, thus, is defined as a process generated by various human needs of comprehending the relationships accessible to the subject between him and the object, the result of which is this or that information about reality.

In psychology is a term that refers to the human ability to think, remember, and anticipate. The generic nature of the term is emphasized here, as it is used to refer to all processes associated with the acquisition of knowledge. The concepts of “cognition” and “knowledge” always coexist with each other, since the latter denotes the goal and result of the entire process of cognition. Modern psychology especially emphasizes the active, creative nature of the cognitive process, its irreducibility only to a reflection of the objective world.

Cognitive mental processes

Cognitive processes

The process of human cognition is divided into a number of stages of changes in incoming information - from perception to practical action.

Isolating them in cognitive processes individual species to a large extent conditionally, however, it helps in the practical study of the psyche.

In modern psychology it is customary to distinguish two groups of cognitive processes:

• specific;
• nonspecific.

Specific cognitive processes

Specific or actually cognitive- these are sensory processes (sensations, perceptions) and rational processes (concepts, judgments, etc.). Based on these processes, which are carried out with the help of the senses and the brain, the subject’s knowledge about the world and about himself is formed.

Among the specific processes usually considered are:

— the process of primary information processing at the level of individual properties of objects and phenomena; they are the product of the five senses - vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste;

- the result of processing information at a higher level, in which the data of individual sense organs is summarized and on this basis a holistic image of an object, phenomenon, or person is created. The term “perception” (from Lat. perception- representation, perception);

- the highest level of reflection of reality, characteristic only of man, the result of which is a generalized knowledge of objective reality, identification of the most significant features of objects and phenomena. The main tools of thinking are: concepts, judgments and inferences.

Nonspecific cognitive processes

Nonspecific or universal are processes such as memory, attention, imagination, will. They are also called “cross-cutting”, since they provide not only cognitive, but also all other mental and behavioral processes. Universal processes provide not only cognitive activity, but also the objective and practical activity of each individual, giving it originality and uniqueness:

Allows a person to record the fact of interaction with the environment and save it in the form of experience, as well as use it in behavior;

Helps select the most important information, ensures the selection of effective action programs and maintains constant control over their implementation;

Imagination helps to predict events in the more or less distant future based on accumulated information;

Will- this is the ability to fulfill one’s desires, goals set for oneself, both cognitive and objective-practical.

1.Sensory-perceptual cognitive processes. Sensation and perception

2.Integrative cognitive processes. Memory, representation, attention, imagination.

The mental processes by which images of the environment are formed, as well as images of the organism itself and its internal environment, are called cognitive mental processes.

Cognitive processes– sensation, perception, thinking, imagination and memory – form the information base, the orienting basis of the psyche. It is cognitive mental processes that provide a person with knowledge about the world around him and about himself.

Cognizing and transforming the world, a person reveals stable, natural connections between phenomena. Patterns, internal connections of phenomena are reflected in our consciousness indirectly - in external signs phenomena, a person recognizes signs of internal, stable relationships. Noticing connections between phenomena, establishing the universal nature of these connections, a person masters the world, rationally organizes his interaction with it, he carries out mental activity - a generalized orientation in the world.

1. Sensory-perceptual cognitive processes. Sensation and perception.

FEELING

Sensation is a mental cognitive process of reflection in human consciousness of individual properties, qualities of objects and phenomena that directly affect our senses.

A sense organ is an anatomical and physiological apparatus located on the periphery of the body or in the internal organs; specialized to receive exposure to certain stimuli from the external and internal environment.

The analyzer is a complex nervous mechanism that performs a subtle analysis of the surrounding world, that is, it identifies its individual elements and properties. Analyzers can be external or internal. External analyzers have receptors located on the surface of the body - the eye, ear, etc. Internal analyzers have receptors located in internal organs and tissues.

TYPES OF SENSATIONS

Visual sensations are sensations of light and color. Visual sensations arise as a result of the influence of light rays (electromagnetic waves) on the retina, which contains two types of cells - rods and cones, so named for their external shape. In daylight, only cones are active. In low light (at dusk), the cones stop working and a person sees mainly gray (achromatic) colors.

A disease in which the functioning of the rods is disrupted and a person sees poorly or does not see anything at dusk and at night, but during the day his vision remains relatively normal, is called “night blindness,” since chickens and pigeons do not have rods and see almost nothing at dusk. The most common is red-green blindness, called color blindness (named after the English scientist D. Dalton, who first described this phenomenon). Colorblind people cannot distinguish between red and green, so they cannot be drivers, pilots, firefighters, artists, etc.

Auditory sensations arise through the organ of hearing. There are three types of auditory sensations: speech, music and noise. In these types of sensations, the sound analyzer identifies four qualities: sound strength (loud - weak), height (high - low), timbre (the originality of the voice or musical instrument), sound duration (sounding time), as well as tempo-rhythmic features of sequentially perceived sounds. .

Hearing for speech sounds is called phonemic hearing. It is formed depending on the speech environment in which the child is raised. Mastering a foreign language involves developing new system phonemic hearing. A child’s developed phonemic hearing significantly affects the accuracy of written speech, especially in primary school. Musical hearing is nurtured and formed, just like speech hearing.

Noises can evoke a certain emotional mood in a person (the sound of rain, the rustling of leaves, the howling of the wind), sometimes they serve as a signal of approaching danger (the hiss of a snake, the menacing barking of a dog, the roar of a moving train) or joy (the patter of a child’s feet, the steps of an approaching loved one, the thunder of fireworks ). In teaching practice, we often encounter the negative effects of noise: it tires the human nervous system.

Vibration sensations reflect vibrations of an elastic medium. A person gets such sensations, for example, when he touches the lid of a sounding piano with his hand. Vibration sensations usually do not play an important role for humans and are poorly developed. However, they reach a very high level of development in many deaf people, for whom they partially replace missing hearing.

Olfactory sensations. The ability to smell is called the sense of smell. The olfactory organs are special sensitive cells that are located deep in the nasal cavity. Individual particles of substances enter the nose along with the air that we inhale. U modern man olfactory sensations play a relatively minor role. But blind-deaf people use their sense of smell, just as sighted people use their vision and hearing: they identify familiar places by smell, recognize familiar people, etc.

Taste sensations arise with the help of the taste organs - taste buds located on the surface of the tongue, pharynx and palate. There are four types of basic taste sensations: sweet, bitter, sour, salty. A person’s sense of taste is highly dependent on the feeling of hunger and smell. With a severe runny nose, any dish, even your favorite, seems tasteless. The tip of the tongue tastes sweets best. The edges of the tongue are sensitive to sour, and its base to bitter.

Skin sensations - tactile (touch sensations) and temperature (warm or cold sensations). There are different types of nerve endings on the surface of the skin, each of which gives the sensation of touch, cold, or heat. Temperature sensations have a very pronounced emotional tone. Thus, average temperatures are accompanied by a positive feeling, the nature of the emotional coloring for warmth and cold is different: cold is experienced as an invigorating feeling, warmth - as a relaxing one. High temperatures, both in the cold and warm directions, cause negative emotional experiences.

Motor (or kinesthetic) sensations are sensations of movement and position of body parts. Thanks to the activity of the motor analyzer, a person gains the opportunity to coordinate and control his movements. Receptors of motor sensations are located in the muscles and tendons, as well as in the fingers, tongue and lips, since it is these organs that carry out precise and subtle working and speech movements.

Visceral (organic) sensations tell us about the work of our internal organs - the esophagus, stomach, intestines and many others, in the walls of which the corresponding receptors are located. While we are full and healthy, we do not notice any organic sensations. They appear only when there is a malfunction in their work or a disease develops. Organic sensations are closely related to human organic needs.

Tactile sensations are combinations of skin and motor sensations when feeling objects, that is, when touching them with a moving hand. The combination of skin and motor sensations that arise when feeling objects, i.e. when touched by a moving hand, it is called touch. The organ of touch is the hand.

The feeling of balance reflects the position occupied by our body in space. When we first get on a two-wheeled bicycle, skate, roller skate, or water ski, the most difficult thing is to maintain balance and not fall. The sense of balance is given to us by an organ located in the inner ear. It looks like a snail shell and is called a labyrinth. When the position of the body changes, a special fluid (lymph) vibrates in the labyrinth of the inner ear, called the vestibular apparatus.

Painful sensations have a protective meaning: they signal a person about trouble that has arisen in his body. Complete insensitivity to pain is a rare anomaly, and it brings serious trouble to a person. Painful sensations have a different nature. Firstly, there are “pain points” (special receptors) located on the surface of the skin and in the internal organs and muscles. Secondly, sensations of pain arise when an extremely strong stimulus acts on any analyzer.

Basic patterns of sensations

In order for a sensation to arise, the irritation must reach a certain magnitude. Stimuli that are too weak do not cause sensation. The minimum magnitude of the stimulus that gives a noticeable sensation is called the absolute threshold of sensation.

Each type of sensation has its own threshold. The value of the absolute threshold characterizes the absolute sensitivity of the senses, or their ability to respond to minimal influences. The lower the threshold of sensation, the greater the absolute sensitivity to these stimuli.

Another important characteristic of the analyzer is its ability to distinguish changes in the strength of the stimulus. That smallest increase in the strength of the current stimulus, at which a barely noticeable difference in the strength or quality of sensations occurs, is called the threshold of sensitivity to discrimination.

Adaptation - with prolonged exposure to various stimuli, the sensation gradually decreases. This phenomenon is based on complex processes occurring both in the receptor apparatus and in the central parts of the nervous system. Interaction of sensations. The work of one analyzer can influence the work of another, strengthening or weakening it. For example, weak musical sounds can increase the sensitivity of the visual analyzer, while sharp or strong sounds, on the contrary, worsen vision. Rubbing the face with cool water, mild sweet and sour taste sensations may sharpen vision.

A defect in the operation of one analyzer is usually compensated by increased work and improvement of other analyzers when one of them is lost. The remaining intact analyzers, with their clearer work, compensate for the activity of the “retired” analyzers (in blind-deaf people).

Development of sensations. The development of sensations occurs in connection with practical, labor activity person and depends on the requirements for the functioning of the senses. A high degree of perfection is achieved, for example, by the olfactory and gustatory sensations of tasters who determine the quality of tea, wine, perfume, etc. The accuracy of determining sounds in pitch is influenced, for example, by the instrument a person plays. A feature of the human sensory organization is that it develops during life. Sensitivity is a potential human property. Its implementation depends on the circumstances of life and the efforts that a person puts into their development.

PERCEPTION

Sensations and perceptions are links in a single process of sensory cognition. They are inextricably interconnected, but also have their own distinctive features. In contrast to sensation, during perception a person does not learn individual properties of objects and phenomena, but objects and phenomena of the surrounding world as a whole.

Perception is a reflection of objects and phenomena, integral situations of the objective world in the totality of their properties and parts with their direct impact on the senses.

There are no special sensory organs. Physiological basis perception is a complex activity of a system of analyzers. Any object or phenomenon of reality acts as a complex, complex stimulus. Perception is the result of the analytical-synthetic activity of the cerebral cortex: individual excitations and sensations are connected with each other, forming a certain integral system.

Types of perception. Depending on which analyzer plays the predominant role in perception, visual, tactile, kinesthetic, olfactory and gustatory perceptions are distinguished. Complex types of perception are represented by combinations, combinations various types perception. Unlike sensations, images of perception usually arise as a result of the work of several analyzers. Complex types of perception include, for example, the perception of space and the perception of time.

Perceiving space, i.e. The distance of objects from us and from each other, their shape and size, a person is based on visual sensations, and on auditory, skin and motor sensations.

In the perception of time, in addition to auditory and visual sensations, motor and organic sensations play an important role. The perception of time is understood as the process of reflecting the duration and sequence of events occurring in the objective world. Only very short periods of time are amenable to direct perception. When we are talking about longer periods of time, it is more correct to talk not about perception, but about the representation of time. The perception of time is characterized by a high degree of subjectivity. Time periods filled with positively emotionally charged actions and experiences of a person are perceived as shorter. Unfilled or filled with negatively colored emotional moments are perceived as longer. Time filled interesting work proceeds much faster than when engaged in monotonous or boring activities.

Basic properties of perception

Selectivity of perception. Of the huge number of diverse influences, we highlight only a few with great clarity and awareness. What is in the center of a person’s attention during perception is called the object (subject) of perception, and everything else is the background. The subject and the background are dynamic, they can change places - what was the object of perception can become the background of perception for some time. Perception is always selective and depends on apperception.

Apperception is the dependence of perception on the general content of a person’s mental life, his experience and knowledge, interests, feelings and a certain attitude towards the subject of perception. Sometimes a person perceives not what is, but what he wants. ABOUT visual illusions artists, architects, and tailors know it well. For example, vertical stripes on a dress visually “make” a woman taller. Try holding your hand very cold water, and then put it in a warm place. It will seem to you that your hand has almost fallen into boiling water. If you eat a piece of lemon or herring and wash it down with tea with a little sugar, the first sip will seem very sweet.

Individual characteristics perception. People differ:

1) by the nature of receiving information. A holistic (synthetic) type of perception is distinguished. This type is characterized by a focus on the essence, meaning, generalization, and not on details and particulars. The detailing (analytical) type of perception is focused on details.

2) by the nature of the reflection of the information received. Here we distinguish between descriptive and explanatory types of perception. The descriptive type is focused on the factual side of information: it reflects what it sees and hears, getting as close as possible to the original data, but often without delving into its meaning. The explanatory type tries to find the general meaning of information.

3) by the nature of the personality’s characteristics. Here, an objective type of perception is distinguished, when a person is focused on the accuracy of perception and impartiality. Subjective type, when perception is subject to a subjective attitude towards what is perceived, a biased assessment of it, pre-existing preconceived thoughts about it. This is the most common everyday type of perception.

Observation is perception, closely related to the activity of thinking - comparison, discrimination, analysis. Observation is the purposeful, systematic perception of objects and phenomena in the knowledge of which we are interested. To observe means not just to look, but to examine, not just to listen, but to listen, to listen, not just to smell, but to sniff.

Observation involves a clear understanding of the objectives of the observation and the development of a plan for its implementation. Clarity of the purpose and objectives of observation activates an important characteristic of perception - selectivity. Perception, attention, thinking and speech are combined during observation into a single process of mental activity. Observation is a personality trait, the ability to observe and notice characteristic, but little noticeable features of objects, phenomena, and people. It is closely related to the development of a person’s professional interests, as it is improved in the process of systematically engaging in the chosen occupation.

Thus, the variety of sensations is a reflection of the many existing properties of his habitat that are significant for a person and his interaction with this environment. Sensations and perceptions are links in a single process of sensory cognition. Perception is a reflection of objects and phenomena, integral situations of the objective world in the totality of their properties and parts with their direct impact on the senses.

2. Integrative cognitive processes. Memory, representation, attention and imagination.

Memory is the process of remembering, preserving, reproducing and forgetting past experience, making it possible to reuse it in activity or return to the sphere of consciousness.

Memory is the main condition for human mental development and ensures the unity and integrity of the individual. The psychological basis of memory is consciousness. The physiological basis of memory is the formation, preservation and actualization (demand) of temporary nerve connections through the occurrence of physical and chemical processes in the cortex and subcortex of the brain.

Types of memory can be divided into three groups:

1)​ what a person remembers (objects and phenomena, thoughts, movements,

feelings). Accordingly, they distinguish between motor, emotional, verbal-logical and figurative memory;

2) how a person remembers (accidentally or intentionally). Here they highlight

voluntary and involuntary memory;

3) how long the memorized information is retained. These are short-term, long-term and working memory.

Motor (motor) memory allows you to remember abilities, skills, various movements and actions. If it were not for this type of memory, then a person would have to learn to walk, write, and perform various activities all over again.

Emotional memory helps us remember the feelings, emotions, experiences that we experienced in certain situations. Emotional memory is of great importance in the formation of a person’s personality, being the most important condition his spiritual development.

Semantic, or verbal-logical memory is expressed in the memorization, preservation and reproduction of thoughts, concepts, reflections, and verbal formulations. The form of thought reproduction depends on the level speech development person. The less developed speech is, the more difficult it is to express the meaning in your own words.

Figurative memory. This type of memory is associated with our senses, through which a person perceives the world around us. In accordance with our senses, there are 5 types of figurative memory: auditory, visual, olfactory, gustatory, tactile. These types of figurative memory are developed unevenly in humans; one is always predominant.

Voluntary memory presupposes the presence of a special goal to remember, which a person sets and applies appropriate techniques for this, making volitional efforts.

Involuntary memory does not imply a special goal to remember or recall this or that material, incident, phenomenon; they are remembered as if by themselves, without the use of special techniques, without volitional efforts. In the development of memory, involuntary memorization precedes voluntary memorization. A person involuntarily remembers not everything, but what is connected with his personality and activities. What we involuntarily remember, first of all, is what we like, what we paid attention to, what we actively and enthusiastically work on. Therefore, involuntary memory also has an active character. Animals already have involuntary memory. The best way to remember and retain it in memory for a long time is to apply knowledge in practice. In addition, memory does not want to retain in consciousness what contradicts the attitudes of the individual.

Short-term and long-term memory. These two types of memory differ in the duration of retention of what a person remembers. Short-term memory has a relatively short duration - a few seconds or minutes. It is sufficient for accurate reproduction of events that have just occurred, objects and phenomena that have just been perceived. After a short time, the impressions disappear, and the person usually finds himself unable to remember anything from what he perceived. Long-term memory ensures long-term retention of material. The important thing is to remember it for a long time, the need for this information, and its personal significance for a person.

They also allocate RAM - storing some information for the time necessary to perform an operation, a separate act of activity. For example, in the process of solving any problem, it is necessary to retain in memory the initial data and intermediate operations, which may later be forgotten, until the result is obtained.

All types of memory are necessary and valuable in themselves; in the process of human life they are generalized and interact with each other.

Memory processes

The basic processes of memory are memorization, reproduction, storage, recognition, forgetting. The quality of operation of the entire memory apparatus is judged by the nature of reproduction. Memory begins with remembering.

Memorization is the imprinting of images of objective reality perceived by the human consciousness in a short period of time, ensuring the preservation of material in memory for its subsequent reproduction.

With unintentional memorization, a person does not set a goal to remember and does not make any effort for this. This is how something that vividly interests a person or evokes a strong and deep feeling in him is remembered. But any activity requires that a person remember many things that are not remembered by themselves. Then deliberate, conscious memorization comes into force, i.e. the goal is set to remember the material.

Mechanical memorization is based on the consolidation of individual connections and associations. Semantic memorization is associated with thinking processes. If memorization has the character of specially organized work associated with the use of certain techniques for the best assimilation of knowledge, it is called memorization.

Memorization depends: a) on the nature of the activity, on the processes of goal setting: voluntary memorization, based on a consciously set goal - to remember, is more effective than involuntary;

b) from installation - remember for a long time or remember for a short time. We often set out to memorize some material knowing that, in all likelihood, we will only use it on a certain day and then it will not matter. Indeed, after this period we forget what we have learned.

c) from the emotions experienced. It is better to learn material that is emotionally charged, interesting, and personally significant.

Methods of random or organized memorization:

1. Grouping - dividing the material into groups for some reason (by meaning, associations, etc.), highlighting strong points (thesis, titles, questions, examples, etc., in this sense, compiling cheat sheets: useful for memorization), plan - a set of support points; classification - distribution of any objects, phenomena, concepts into classes, groups based on common characteristics.

2. Structuring the material - establishing relative position parts that make up the whole.

3. Schematization - description of information in basic terms.

4. Analogy - establishing similarities, similarities between phenomena, objects, concepts, images.

5. Mnemonic techniques - certain techniques or methods of memorization.

6. Recoding - verbalization or pronunciation, presentation of information in figurative form.

7. Completing the memorized material, introducing new things into memorization (using words or intermediary images, situational features).

8. Associations - establishing connections based on similarity, contiguity or opposition.

9. Repetition - consciously controlled and uncontrolled processes of reproducing material. Memorization occurs faster and is more durable when repetitions do not immediately follow each other, but are separated by more or less significant periods of time (it is better to take breaks from two hours to a day).

Preservation is the assimilation by the human consciousness of previously perceived images of objects and phenomena. The duration of storage depends on the time. 20 minutes after memorization, 58.2% of information is retained, after an hour - 44.2%, after 8 hours - 35.8%, after 24 hours - 33.7%. Criteria for storing material in memory: reproduction and recognition.

Reproduction is the actualization of images of objects and phenomena, thoughts, actions and deeds fixed by the human consciousness. Reproduction can occur at three levels: recognition, reproduction itself (voluntary and involuntary), remembering (in conditions of partial forgetting, requiring volitional effort).

When unintentionally reproducing a thought, word, etc. are remembered by themselves, without any conscious intention on our part. Unintentional reproduction may be caused by associations. We say: “I remembered.” Here thought follows association. In intentional recollection we say, “I remember.” Here associations already follow thought.

If reproduction is associated with difficulties, we talk about recollection. Remembering is the most active reproduction; it is associated with tension and requires certain volitional efforts. The success of recall depends on understanding the logical connection between the forgotten material and the rest of the material, which is well preserved in memory. It is important to evoke a chain of associations that indirectly help to remember what is needed.

Recognition is the simplest form of reproduction. Recognition is the development of a feeling of familiarity when experiencing something again. This is a process that is characterized by the fact that images fixed in memory arise without relying on secondary perception of objects. It's easier to learn than to reproduce.

Forgetting is the process of erasing previously imprinted images in a time period. Forgetting begins soon after memorization and at first proceeds at a particularly rapid pace. In the first 5 days, approximately 75% of information is forgotten, and in the next 25 days - another 4%. 31 days after memorization, 21% of the original memorized information remains. Therefore, you should repeat what you have learned not when it has already been forgotten, but while forgetting has not yet begun. To prevent forgetting, a quick repetition is enough, but to restore what has been forgotten requires a lot of work.

Memory qualities: 1) speed of memorization; 2) durability; 3) accuracy of memory - absence of distortions, omissions of essential things, 4) readiness of memory - the ability to quickly retrieve from memory what is needed at the moment.

PERFORMANCE

Images of objects and phenomena that we do not currently perceive are called representations. Representations can be evoked through the mechanism of associations, using words or descriptions. The difference between ideas and perceptions is that ideas give a more generalized reflection of objects. Ideas are very unstable, fickle and fragmentary. Representations are the result of processing and generalization of past perceptions. Those born blind have no ideas about colors and colors; those born deaf have no ideas about sounds. Representation is associated with the work of figurative memory.

Representation is a higher level of cognition than perception; it is a stage of transition from sensation to thought; it is a visual and at the same time generalized image that reflects characteristic features subject. In formation general ideas vital role plays speech, naming a number of objects in one word. Ideas are formed in the process of human activity, therefore, depending on the profession, one type of ideas predominantly develops.

ATTENTION

The human brain constantly receives a huge amount of information, from which it is necessary to select the most necessary. The mechanism of choice is attention. Attention is a mental cognitive process of selective orientation and concentration of consciousness on certain objects and phenomena.

Attention is not an independent mental function. This special shape human mental activity; it is included as a necessary component in all types of mental processes. Attention is a characteristic of any mental process: perception, when we listen, consider; thinking when solving a problem; memory, when we remember something or try to remember; imagination, when we try to clearly imagine something. Thus, attention is the ability to choose what is important for oneself and focus one’s perception, thinking, imagination, etc. on it.

Attentiveness is an important quality of any profession. Types of attention:

1. involuntary - does not require volitional effort, attracts with the novelty, unusualness, significance of the object (for example, advertising a product);

2. voluntary - controlled by volitional effort and directed towards a specific object depending on the task;

Basic properties of attention. There are five properties of attention: concentration, stability, volume, distribution and switching.

1. Focus is maintaining attention on one object or one activity while distracting from everything else. Focus is associated with deep, effective interest in an activity, an event or fact. The degree or strength of concentration is the concentration or intensity of attention.

Concentration is the absorption of attention on one object or one activity. An indicator of intensity is the inability to distract attention from the subject of activity by extraneous stimuli. For example, a child puts together a new construction set. He is completely absorbed in his work, is not distracted for a minute, does not notice how time passes, does not respond to phone calls, you can call him, call him to dinner - he does not answer, and sometimes he does not even hear.

2. Stability is a long-term retention of attention on an object or some activity. Sustained attention is one that can remain continuously focused on one subject or the same work for a long time. Full stability is maintained for 15-20 minutes;

Unstable attention is periodically weakened or distracted.

3. Volume is the number of objects that are covered by attention simultaneously, at the same time. The attention span of adults usually ranges from 4 to 6 objects. The scope of attention largely depends on knowledge of objects and their connections with each other.

4. Distribution of attention is the ability to perform two or more different activities while maintaining your attention on them. Attention can be divided simultaneously between several different activities. For example, a student at a lecture divides his attention between what he is writing down and what he is hearing at the moment.

5. Switching attention is a conscious and meaningful movement of attention from one object or action to another, it is a restructuring of attention, its transition from one object to another in connection with a change in the tasks of the activity. Conscious switching of attention should not be confused with distractibility of attention. Normally, switching occurs 3-4 times per second. Different activities require different forms of attention.

The development and strengthening of voluntary attention is facilitated by:

​ a person’s awareness of the significance of the task: why the task is more important, the stronger

the desire to fulfill it, the more attention is attracted;

 interest in the final result of the activity makes you remind

to yourself that you need to be attentive;

​ organization of activities.

Attention and distraction. Attention is usually opposed to absent-mindedness. In our language, absent-mindedness is often understood as a synonym for inattention. However, these terms are not always the same.

Absent-mindedness may be the result of instability, weakness of attention. A person cannot concentrate on anything for a long time; his attention constantly jumps from one thing to another. For example, such attention is typical for children; it is also observed in adults, especially in a state of fatigue, during illness.

One of the causes of inattention is lack of mental activity. Personal orientation plays a huge role in the development of attention.

Imagination

Imagination is a mental cognitive process of creating new images, ideas, thoughts based on existing ideas and life experiences. The material for imagination is past impressions, sensations, life experiences, and knowledge. Psychological mechanisms imagination:

The images that arise in the imagination always contain features of images already known to a person. But in the new image they are transformed, changed, combined into unusual combinations. The essence of imagination lies in the ability to notice and highlight specific signs and properties in objects and phenomena and transfer them to other objects. There are several imagination techniques.

Combination is a combination of individual elements of various images of objects in new, more or less unusual combinations. Combination is a creative synthesis, and not a simple sum of already known elements, it is a process of significant transformation of the elements from which a new image is built.

Emphasis - emphasizing certain features (for example, the image of a giant). This method underlies the creation of caricatures and friendly caricatures (smart - a very high forehead, lack of intelligence - low).

Individual characteristics of imagination are determined by:

1) the degree of ease and difficulty with which imagination is given to a person;

2) characteristics of the created image (absurdity, original find);

3) in which area is the creation of new images brighter and faster (personal orientation).

Manifestations of imagination: dream (images of the desired future associated with reality); fantasy (images partially related to reality); dreams (complete separation from reality).

Thus, integrative cognitive processes include memory, representation, attention, imagination and memory. Integrative cognitive processes are the main conditions for human mental development; they ensure the unity and integrity of the individual.

3.Higher mental cognitive processes. Thinking, intelligence and speech.

THINKING

Thinking is a socially conditioned cognitive process inextricably linked with speech, characterized by a generalized and mediated reflection of connections and relationships between objects in the surrounding reality

The mental activity of people is carried out with the help of mental operations: comparison, analysis and synthesis, abstraction, generalization and concretization. All these operations are different aspects of the main activity of thinking - the disclosure of more significant objective connections and relationships between objects, phenomena, and facts.

1. Comparison is a comparison of objects and phenomena in order to find similarities and differences between them. Successful comparison of objects and phenomena is possible when it is purposeful, that is, it occurs from a certain point of view. It can be aimed either at establishing the similarity of objects, or at establishing differences, or at both at the same time. By comparing things, phenomena, their properties, comparison reveals identity and difference. Revealing the identity of some and the differences of other things, comparison leads to their classification. Classification is made according to some characteristic that turns out to be inherent in each item of this group. Thus, in a library, books can be classified by author, by content, by genre, by binding, by format, etc. The characteristic by which the classification is made is called the basis of classification.

2. Analysis and synthesis are the most important mental operations that are inextricably linked. In unity they provide complete and comprehensive knowledge of reality. Analysis provides knowledge of individual elements, and synthesis, based on the results of analysis, combining these elements, provides knowledge of the object as a whole.

Analysis is the mental division of an object or phenomenon into its constituent parts or the mental isolation of individual properties, features, and qualities in it. Analysis can also be a mental selection as a whole of its individual properties, features, and aspects. Analysis is possible not only when we perceive an object, but also when we remember it and imagine it. Analysis of concepts is also possible, when we mentally identify their various features, analysis of the train of thought, proof, explanations, etc.

Synthesis is a mental connection of individual parts of objects or a mental combination of their individual properties. If analysis provides knowledge of individual elements, then synthesis, based on the results of analysis, combining these elements, provides knowledge of the object as a whole. There are two types of synthesis: as a mental unification of parts of a whole and as a mental combination of various signs, properties, aspects of objects and phenomena of reality.

3. Abstraction is the mental selection of essential properties and features of objects or phenomena while simultaneously abstracting from non-essential features and properties. The attribute or property of an object identified in the process of abstraction becomes independent objects of thinking. Thus, in all metals we can distinguish one property - electrical conductivity.

4. Generalization and specification.

Abstraction underlies generalization - the mental unification of objects and phenomena into groups according to those common and essential features that are highlighted in the process of abstraction.

Concretization is a mental transition from the general to the individual, which corresponds to this general. Concretization plays a significant role in the explanation that we give to other people. In educational activities, to concretize means to give an example, an illustration, a specific fact that confirms a general theoretical position, rule, law (for example, a grammatical, mathematical rule, a physical, socio-historical law, etc.). The lack of specification leads to formalism of knowledge; the particular provides significant assistance to the understanding of the general.

Forms of thinking:

1. A concept is a form of thinking that reflects the general and essential properties of objects and phenomena. For example, the concept of “tree” includes all the characteristics inherent in a tree, and does not include what is characteristic only of birch, or spruce, or oak, etc. Reflecting the general, essential, and natural in objects or phenomena of reality, the concept is the highest level of reflection peace.

2. Judgments are the main form of thinking, reflecting connections and relationships between objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, their properties and characteristics. Judgment is a form of thinking that contains the affirmation or denial of any position regarding objects, phenomena or their properties.

Judgments can be general, particular and individual. In general judgments, something is affirmed or denied regarding all objects and phenomena united by a concept, for example: “All metals conduct electricity.”

Judgment reveals the content of concepts. To know an object or phenomenon means to be able to make a correct and meaningful judgment about it, that is, to be able to judge it. The truth of judgments is verified by a person's social practice.

3. Inference is a form of thinking in which a person, comparing and analyzing various judgments, derives a new judgment from them. Typical example inferences - proof of geometric theorems. A person uses mainly two types of inferences - inductive and deductive.

Induction is a method of reasoning from particular judgments to a general judgment, the establishment of general laws and rules based on the study of individual facts and phenomena. Induction begins with the accumulation of knowledge about the largest possible number of homogeneous objects and phenomena, which makes it possible to find similarities and differences in objects and phenomena and omit the unimportant and secondary. Summarizing the similar features of these objects and phenomena, they draw a general conclusion or conclusion, establish general rule or law.

Deduction is a method of reasoning from a general judgment to a particular judgment, knowledge of individual facts and phenomena based on knowledge of general laws and rules. Deductive reasoning gives a person knowledge about the specific properties and qualities of a separate object based on knowledge of general laws and rules. For example, knowing that all bodies expand when heated, a person can foresee that railway rails on a hot summer day will also expand, and therefore, when laying railway track builders leave a certain gap between the rails.

4. Reasoning is a person’s practical thought, expressed in the unity of concepts, judgments, and conclusions

Solving a mental problem begins with a thorough analysis of data, understanding what is given and what a person has at his disposal. These data are compared with each other and with the question, and correlated with the person’s previous knowledge and experience. A person tries to use principles that have been successfully applied before in solving a problem similar to a new one. On this basis, a hypothesis (assumption) arises, a method of action, a path to solution is outlined. Practical testing of the hypothesis and testing of the solution path can show the fallacy of the intended actions.

Types of thinking

​ in form and content, concretely effective, visually

figurative and abstract logical thinking.

​ by the nature of the problems being solved, thinking can be theoretical and

practical.

​ according to the degree of development and awareness, thinking can be

analytical (logical) and intuitive.

​ according to the degree of novelty and originality, thinking can be classified as

reproductive (reproducing) and productive creativity.

Concretely effective is thinking that comes down to real, practical actions of a person in a clearly perceived situation (setting). Here, internal, mental actions are reduced to a minimum, and the task is mainly solved through external, practical actions with real material objects. This type of thinking can already be observed in children early age, starting from 6–8 months of life.

Visual-figurative thinking is thinking in which problems are solved not by manipulating real, material objects, but by means of internal actions with images of these objects. This thinking is very clearly manifested when understanding, for example, complex pictures, complex situations.

Abstract-logical thinking is the highest type of human thinking, dealing with concepts about objects and phenomena, and not with the objects, phenomena or their images themselves, and is expressed in words or other signs. This type occurs entirely on the internal, mental plane.

The division of thinking into theoretical and practical is very conditional and relative; we are talking only about the predominance of certain components and its direction. Theoretical and practical thinking are distinguished by the type of problems being solved and the resulting structural and dynamic features.

Theoretical thinking is aimed at understanding the most general laws and rules. It operates with the most general categories and concepts. All kinds of scientific concepts, theories, methodological foundations of science are the product of this type of thinking. Theoretical thinking is the basis of scientific creativity.

The main task of practical thinking is the preparation of physical transformations of reality, that is, setting a goal, creating a plan, project, scheme of actions and transformations. Its ability lies in the fact that it is often deployed in conditions of time shortage, and also in the fact that in the conditions of practical activity its subject has disabilities to test hypotheses.

It is important to distinguish between productive and reproductive thinking, based on the degree of novelty of the product obtained in the process of mental activity in relation to the subject’s activities.

Productive thinking generates new knowledge, new material or ideal results. Productive, for example, is the thinking of a scientist making a new discovery, a writer creating a new work, an artist painting a new picture.

Reproductive is thinking that rediscovers already known knowledge or recreates something that was once created by someone. Reproductive thinking is typical for people who repeatedly solve typical problems. In this type of thinking, a person follows a known, well-trodden path, which is why this type of thinking is also called uncreative.

A distinction is also made between intuitive and analytical (logical) thinking. Three characteristics are usually used: temporal (time of the process), structural (divided into stages), level of occurrence (awareness or unconsciousness).

Analytical thinking unfolds in time, has clearly defined stages, and the thinking process itself is conscious. Unlike analytical thinking, intuitive thinking is characterized by rapidity, there are no stages in it, and, finally, its process is realized to a minimal extent.

Realistic thinking is based on real knowledge about the world, is aimed at achieving goals determined by vital needs and circumstances, it is regulated by logical laws, and its flow is consciously controlled and directed.

Autistic thinking is based on arbitrary, irrational assumptions while ignoring real facts. Its main driving and guiding force is poorly realized or unconscious desires or fears. It is more related to the realization of desires.

Intelligence

Individual differences in the mental activity of people are manifested in various qualities of thinking. The most significant of them are independence, breadth, depth, flexibility, speed and criticality.

1. Independence of thinking is manifested in a person’s ability to put forward new ideas, problems and find the necessary answers and solutions, without resorting to the opinions and frequent help of other people. Independent thinking has always been considered one of the most important dimensions of personality. Anyone who does not have independent thinking is guided only by other people's knowledge, experience, opinions, and when solving any questions and problems, they rely on ready-made formulas and template solutions.

2. Breadth of mind is manifested in a person’s broad outlook, in active cognitive activity, covering the most diverse areas of science and practice.

3. Depth - the ability to penetrate into the essence of the most complex issues, the ability to see a problem where other people have no questions.

4. Since thinking can be broad, it means that someone can also have narrow thinking, the subject of which is some small (narrow) part of reality. Narrow thinking can be meaningful and deep (the thinking of a “narrow specialist”), or it can be poor, shallow, and superficial.

5. Flexibility of mind is expressed in the ability to be free from accepted stereotyped techniques and methods of solving problems of any content and level, in the ability to quickly change one’s actions when the situation changes, quickly switch from one method of solution or behavior to another, diversify attempts to solve a problem or task, and thereby finding new ways to solve them faster.

6. An important quality of the mind is the ability to foresight. The development of this particular quality allows a person to productively perform the function of managing an activity, especially if this activity involves many people. “To manage is to foresee,” says an old saying.

Speech is the process of individual use of language for the purpose of communicating with other people, the material carrier of thinking.

In order to speak and understand someone else’s speech, you need to know the language and be able to use it.

Language is a system of conventional symbols with the help of which combinations of sounds are transmitted that have a certain meaning and meaning for people. Language is developed by society and is a form of reflection of their social existence in the public consciousness of people.

Language is a rather complex formation. Each language has a certain system meaningful words, which is called the lexical composition of the language. In addition, a language has a certain system of various forms of words and phrases, which constitutes the grammar of the language, as well as a certain sound, or phonetic, composition, characteristic only of this particular language. The main purpose of language is that, being a system of signs, it ensures that each word has a specific meaning. The main functions of speech include message, designation, expression, influence. With the help of speech, we express our thoughts, express our attitude towards the object or phenomenon we are talking about. But for successful military professional activity, the influencing function of speech is most significant.

The influencing function of speech is to encourage a person to perform tasks using words. Speech influence can change the mental state, feelings and motives of people’s behavior. The influencing function of speech is widely used in educational work, in leadership and command. There are several types of speech: oral, written and internal. In turn, oral speech is divided into dialogical and monological. We use dialogical speech when we have a conversation. Having contact with the interlocutor helps to omit certain points in the speech. In other cases, dialogic speech can be more detailed, for example, when there is a scientific debate, a commander is talking with a subordinate about service issues, etc. In these cases, expanded sentences are used to ensure a more complete achievement of the content and expressiveness of speech.

Monologue speech is a speech by one person, for example a lecture, report. Here the direct contact is weaker, it is more difficult to assess how people listening to the speech perceive the speech. Monologue speech requires a lot of knowledge, general culture, correct pronunciation, self-control, active and systematic transmission of information, accurate descriptions, definitions, skillful handling of comparisons, etc.

The manifestation and use of oral speech in everyday communication is called communication speech: Its influence extends to all aspects of the life and activities of military personnel. It influences relationships, the formation of public opinion and relationships.

Written speech is the process of transmitting speech information using letter symbols. This type of communication is the most difficult. To convey the mental state, emotions, thoughts, it is necessary to present information and facts in the most complete, consistent and understandable way.

Inner speech is pronounced mentally. It does not perform the function of communication, but serves to carry out the thinking process and is the basis for the formation of mental actions. Often we say to ourselves what we intend to say to other people. Therefore, internal speech provides the semantic side of external speech.

The depth of perception of command speech depends on a number of conditions. The clearer, more precise and definite the order or requirement is formulated, the easier and more complete its understanding and comprehension by subordinates. The brevity and restraint of the order, along with the external calm and respectful tone of the commander himself, inspires the subordinate with confidence in the successful completion of the task. The order, the demand of an authoritative commander is immediately internally accepted by subordinates and becomes the motive for their activity.

Required individual approach to the formation of speech skills. But in most cases there is only one way: reading fiction, speaking at seminars and public events.

Thus, thinking is a socially conditioned cognitive process inextricably linked with speech, characterized by a generalized and mediated reflection of connections and relationships between objects in the surrounding reality. Individual differences in the mental activity of people are manifested in various qualities of thinking. Speech is the process of individual use of language for the purpose of communicating with other people, the material carrier of thinking.

So, the connection between speech and thinking not only allows us to penetrate deeper into the phenomena of reality, into the relationships between things, actions and qualities, but also has a system of syntactic constructions that make it possible to formulate a thought and express a judgment. Speech has more complex formations that provide the basis for theoretical thinking and which allow a person to go beyond immediate experience and draw conclusions in an abstract verbal-logical way. The apparatuses of logical thinking also include those logical structures, the model of which is the syllogism. The transition to complex forms of social activity makes it possible to master those means of language that underlie the highest level of knowledge - theoretical thinking. This transition from the sensory to the rational constitutes the main feature of human conscious activity, which is a product of socio-historical development.

Questions for self-study:

1.​ Creativity.

2. Mnemonic processes. Thinking, intelligence and speech.