Concept, types and theories of thinking. Coursework: Basic theories of thinking in Western and domestic psychology

Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov.

Faculty of Teacher Education.

Essay

in the discipline "General Psychology"

on the topic of:

"Psychological theories of thinking."

Completed:

3rd year student

Faculty of Soil Science

Ogorodnikov S.S.

Moscow 2014

Content

Introduction…………………………………………………………….3 Chapter 1. Associative theory……………………………………………………4 Chapter 2 Würzburg School…………………………………………...5 Chapter 3. Reproductive theory of O. Seltz……………………………..6 Chapter 4. Behaviorism ……………………………………………………8 Chapter 5. Gestalt – psychology………………………………………………………..10 Chapter 6 . Piaget's theory of cognitive development……………………….11

Chapter 7. Productive thinking……………………………………..13

Chapter 8. Theories that are not widely used……….13

Conclusion……………………………………..………………………...16

Literature……………………………………………………..…………………………16

Introduction

The psychology of thinking is one of the most complex areas of general psychology. In the last century, this science has actively developed. Various methods, theories, and concepts were proposed. Therefore, in the psychology of thinking we can observe sharply manifested differences between psychological schools.

This paper examines the main theories of thinking put forward by scientists at different times. An attempt has been made to show the cause-and-effect relationship and logic of the emergence of various theories of thinking from the 17th century to the present day.

There are many definitions of thinking in the literature; we will give just one of them. “Thinking can be defined as the area human activity and the ability of an individual to obtain knowledge about reality on the basis of reasoning and other mental actions with ideas, knowledge or concepts.”

V.M. Rozin identifies four main types of thinking:

1.Philosophical.

2. Scientific.

3. Various areas life (artistic, religious, etc.).

4. Practical, at the behavioral level.

However, there are other classifications. Without dwelling on this issue in detail, we note that different schools Depending on the method, different types of thinking were studied. The difference in research methods and definitions largely explains the fundamentally different approaches of researchers to this issue. For a teacher, the study of various theories of thinking is especially important, since this knowledge can be used by him in teaching practice.

Chapter 1. Associative theory

The founder of this theory can be considered the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1639). He considers thinking processes as processes of associative connections, following one after another. Although he does not introduce the term “association” itself.

Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677) highlighted the concept of “contiguity” in time or space as a necessary condition for the formation of an association. This condition is directly related to memory: a person who has a memory of some event, faced with something similar, now instantly reproduces the images stored in memory.

The term association was first introduced by John Locke (1632-1704). According to Locke, association is the cause of habit formation and the condition for the emergence of false ideas. He also formulates the concept of generalization. The main point is that all human knowledge comes with experience.

The classic association originates from D. Hartley’s book “Observation of Man.” The author believed that mental and nervous processes occur in parallel.

To form associations it is necessary:

Contiguity in time.

Repetition frequency.

Within the framework of subjective idealistic philosophy, these provisions were developed by D. Hume (1711-1776). From his point of view, the process of thinking is making copies of impressions and their subsequent association.

IN In the 19th century, associative psychology was widely used in various fields of science. Without being able to dwell in detail on the development of this theory, we note that in accordance with the laws of NEP, the processes of thinking and learning belong to the laws of memory.

Important generalizations were made by T. Tsigin: “thinking does not always consist of a series of simple ideas. At a higher stage of its development, it is composed of ... judgments and conclusions.” In his opinion, from a scientific point of view, it is more convenient to reduce these concepts to the process of ordinary association. As a result, all the various forms of thinking must be reduced to the laws of simple association.

Let us distinguish two types of thinking: voluntary and involuntary.

The first ultimately comes down to the second. Associative psychology defines thinking as the process of remembering and reproducing. In this case, a natural question arises: how does the discovery of something fundamentally new occur? It is impossible to clearly answer this question within the framework of the associative theory, so other psychological theories of thinking have arisen.

Chapter 2 Wurzburg School

The Würzburg school marked the beginning of the experimental study of thinking. Speaking against associationism, representatives of the Würzburg school improved the introspective method. But later they came to the conclusion that it was not suitable for experiments.

Let's consider the main research results of this school:

Discovery of nonsensory components of thinking.

As part of the experiments carried out by Messer Watt, subjects were asked to perform some task and describe the process of thinking. No one mentioned the presence of images during the task. People could not explain how they completed the task.

Further research by K. Büller confirmed the theory of non-figurative (non-imaginative) thinking.

The process of thinking is not limited to the work of memory. During the experiments, semantic connections were identified, key links in the thinking process that constitute and define thought.

2. Installation problem. In the course of his experiments, Watt discovered three factors that determine the response during controlled associations:

A) Installation – task, instructions, past experience.

B) The word is a stimulus.

C) Associations associated with the stimulus word.

The main conclusion is that thinking processes are determined by the setting (instruction) that precedes them.

3. The important role of activity when concentrating on some object of perception is emphasized. Activity comes first, and the act of perception itself and the mechanism of ideas are in second place.

Chapter 3. Reproductive theory of O. Seltz

He made an attempt to experimentally restore the thinking process and proposed some scheme for this process. When performing a task, the thinking process begins not with working with the presented stimulus, but with a complex and reconstruction of conditions. For example, during a test, a student solves a problem. He has a general solution scheme, which includes a sequence of actions, the ability to work with units of measurement, and the like. Using this knowledge, he can answer the specific question of the problem. In this case, the solution process is “filling in the complex based on the anticipation of a general scheme about the unknown.” In other words, the student’s abstract solution scheme is concretized.

This example illustrates the deterministic updating of solution tools.

Seltz himself did not conduct such complex experiments, but limited himself to easier tasks, for example, completing a word according to clues in the form of its definition and several letters. Because of this, he did not have material characterizing methods of generalization and identification of new patterns. K. Duncker notes that these experiments by Seltz illustrate elementary cases of solution.

From Seltz's point of view, thinking functions as a system of operations that is activated sequentially. This process can be compared to drawing a polygon: having correctly drawn one line, we can also draw the next one. The author understands operations as repeating processes leading to the achievement of a set goal.

Selz identified three general intellectual operations:

Complementing the complex is the search for the unknown; purpose of this search is to fill the “empty space” in a certain complex.

Abstraction is one of the processes that leads to the discovery of the unknown. With its help you can select general methods solving similar problems.

Reproduction of similarities - in this case, the unknown is discovered by drawing analogies with similar cases from the past. This process is close to the associative process, but has a clearly defined goal.

The operations identified by Seltz can be characterized as processes that fit well into the thinking scheme he proposed.

The concept of a problematic task was highlighted. It consists of three components:

What you are looking for

Requirements for what should be found

Starting stimulus

Since Seltz's concept did not consider solutions to real problems, it became necessary to correlate the constructed idea of thinking and its implementation in the process of solving real problems. The method of introspection, which was the central link in Selz's research, did not allow this to be done. Ways to solve this problem have been proposed within the framework of behaviorism and Gestalt psychology.

Chapter 4. Behaviorism

Behaviorism as a separate branch of psychology arose in the twentieth century. Human thinking was presented as “machine-like,” which was explained by the presence of reflexes, the same as those of animals. The teaching adopted two main components of the reflex:

The stimulus is the initial link.

Reaction is the final link.

Referring to Charles Darwin's theory, psychologists argued that the psyche performs an adaptive function that allows it to adapt to environmental conditions. E. Thorndike (1874-1949) made an attempt to identify the thinking of animals and humans. The method of experimental observation and description of behavior in situations that prevent the achievement of any goal has come to the fore.

This method can be called the “obstacle method.” During the experiment, the animals were placed in a “problem cage” that had an obstacle (latch, lock, etc.). By trial and error, the animal coped with the obstacle, and the fact of successful behavior was reinforced and repeated after some time in other cells. As a result of his research, Thorndike discovered three laws of learning that can be used when teaching a person:

Law of exercise

Law of Effect

The law of recency of learning

However, it should be noted that strictly speaking, these laws are laws of training, and not laws of thinking.

D. J. Otson is the main theorist of behaviorism. He rejected two main provisions of previous theories.

1. Consideration of consciousness within the framework of psychology.

2. Introspection as a method of psychological research.

According to Otson, all reactions of the body, regardless of their complexity, ultimately come down to movement. Thinking is motor behavior. Vernal speech (sounds) turns into inner speech (thinking itself).

There are three main types of thinking:

Answering standard questions in which the order of words does not change (in fact, this is not thinking, but a reaction to a familiar stimulus).

The solution to a problem known to man is so rare that verbal behavior such as attempts is required (the use of various mathematical formulas).

Solving new problems through trial and error.

During the development of the theory, training became the main task of teaching. Various training exercise systems have been created.

Further development of the doctrine was found in post-neobehaviourism. The idea of learning management was put forward, which should eliminate errors. The problem of understanding is completely removed from the learning process. Learning should become absolutely controllable (programmed learning theory).

Gestalt psychologists criticized behaviorism.

Chapter 5. Gestalt - psychology

Representatives of this movement made constructive criticism of all previous schools that studied this issue.

The main differences between the concepts are listed below in tabular form.

Table 1. Differences between Gestalt psychology and basic theories of thinking

Various directions

Gestalt - psychology

Sequential education association (Associative thinking).

Statement on the integrity (gestalt) of new psychological processes.

Extraordinary thinking (Wurzburg school).

The principle of similarity (identity) between the laws of thinking and perception.

Reproductive nature of thinking (Selts).

Productivity is a specific characteristic of psychological processes.

The process of thinking as a process of trial and error (Behaviorism).

The process of thinking as a set of processes of understanding.

A prominent representative of this trend was the Soviet scientist L.S. Vygodsky.

Criticizing behaviorism, Keller noted that it is necessary for an animal to perform tasks that correspond to the animal’s species experience. Puzzle tasks were replaced with comprehension tasks.

Wertheimer (1912) wrote an article about the “phi phenomenon.” The main conclusion of the scientist is that sequential, partial stimuli are not perceived individually, but as a gestalt - an integral structure. Based on this, many laws of perception were derived.

The most important of them are four:

Law of figure and ground.

Law of constancy.

Law of transposition.

Law of Pregnancy.

All of them show that gestalt is an image that provides an adequate perception of the constant qualities of objects.

Chapter 6 Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget's theory of cognitive development stands apart from other theories. Taking part in the processing of IQ tests, the scientist noticed that children of the same age make the same type of mistakes that were not characteristic of older participants in the study. Based on this, Piaget theorized that children of the same age are at the same stage of development and exhibit similar cognitive abilities.

Reasoning like behaviorists, the researcher believed that the emergence and development of thinking is a manifestation of biological adaptation to the environment.

As a result of this, an internal understanding of the world is formed, which allows one to formulate actions in new situations for rapid adaptation. There are two ways to process accumulated knowledge:

Assimilation - external events and impressions are ordered (connected) into a subjective system.

Accommodation - subjective schemes are adjusted and transformed under the influence of external influences.

Based on the research, Piaget identified four stages of age-related cognitive development, presented below in table form.

Table 2. Stages of cognitive development according to Piaget.

Stage

Age, years

Emerging abilities

Sensorimotor intelligence

0-2

Storing images in memory; development of motor and sensory abilities.

Preoperative thinking

2-7

Mastering language, concepts and their meanings. Formation of symbolic thinking.

Specific operations

7-11

The ability to classify, compare, systematize specific material.

Formal transactions

11-14

Ability to think logically, abstractly, abstractly.

Great importance Representatives of cognitivism paid attention to the development of speech. Believing that speech is the main stimulus for the formation of thinking, since with its help the child assimilates and forms concepts.

By relating an object to a certain concept, one can make a prediction as to what properties it will have. (For example, relating the object pear to the concept fruit, one can assume that the object will have taste and can be eaten).

Chapter 7. Productive Thinking

The concept of productive thinking belongs to Gestalt psychology. However, it is highlighted in a separate chapter, since it is extremely important in pedagogical practice.

Productive thinking is based on a problem situation. And insight is the “end” of the thinking process. At this stage, a certain understanding has been achieved and a new gestalt is formed.

The concepts of centering and re-centering were highlighted.

Centering is how we view the parts in relation to the whole. Recentering is a natural process in which the situation changes in relation to the goal being achieved.

From the point of view of Z.I. Kalmykova, developmental education should form productive, creative thinking. The main indicators of such thinking are:

1) Originality of thought, the ability to give non-standard answers.

2) The rapid emergence of non-standard associations.

3) An unusual solution to the problem posed.

4) Speed of thought (the number of associations or ideas that arose in a certain time).

5) The ability to discover new functions of an object or its part.

Chapter 8. Theories that are not widely accepted

This chapter briefly examines theories of thinking that, in the author's opinion, have not received wide enough distribution.

Conflict theory. When there is a discrepancy between a person’s desires and reality, thinking arises as a necessary phenomenon that serves to resolve the conflict. If there is no conflict, a person's actions can be considered automatic, and the thinking process does not occur. The author of this theory is John Dune.

Thinking in Freud's psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud believed that thinking is determined by the need to satisfy the needs that arise in a person. Thinking is an attribute of the conscious “I”, but is influenced by the unconscious. Thus, the thinking process realizes the unconscious aspirations of a person within the social environment.

Information-cybernetic theory. The development of this theory is associated with the development of high-level programming languages, such as C/C++. An analogy is drawn between human thinking processes and the processes of algorithmization of computer operation. The theory operates with the following concepts: cycle, algorithm, operation. This theory is mainly used in the development of artificial intelligence models.

From a pedagogical point of view, this theory is applicable when using the programmed learning method. As an example of a teaching aid in which this approach is implemented, one can cite Nentvig’s book “Chemical Simulator”. It presents a new approach to the study of chemistry and presentation of material; learning is built as a cycle computer program; Without completely mastering one of the sections, the student will not be able to move on to the next one.

Under the influence of the rapid development of cybernetics in the 60s of the twentieth century, the semantic theory of thinking by O.K. Tikhomirov. Within the framework of this theory, the principle of selectivity of thinking was formulated.

O.A. Skorlupina identifies three stages in the development of semantic theory.

1. The subject of research is thinking, as the highest form of reflection of matter.

2. Mental activity as a self-regulating system.

3. Thinking as an open psychological system that generates new formations “meanings, values, goals, etc.”

Among researchers at Moscow State University, semantic theory has become widespread and more developed. There is a whole “Tikhomirov school”. The scientist's followers study the connection between the psychology of thinking and the psychology of computerization. Applied research is also actively carried out. We can say that this theory is currently being successfully developed.

The theory of systems thinking. One of the youngest theories, which originated at the end of the last century in the USA. The main goal of this theory is to develop in a person the ability to think systematically, that is, not just to solve problems, but also to predict the consequences that a decision can lead to after a long period of time. The theory is closely related to synergetics. Its use is relevant in solving economic, environmental and other pressing problems. At present, this theory has not received final completion.

In particular, attempts are being made to characterize the role of mystical experience in the processes of thinking and to show its connection with the development and formation of religions.

The influence of a person’s thinking on his health, success, and self-realization is widely discussed in popular science literature.

All kinds of courses on “Business Thinking”, “Success Thinking”, etc. are gaining increasing popularity. Time will tell how productive these educational programs will be, but we can already say that without reliance on scientific psychology and without scientific justification for the pedagogical feasibility of these programs, real benefits can hardly be expected from them.

Conclusion

The work examined the main theories of thinking and their interrelation. A brief overview of the current development of this psychological direction is given.

Without claiming depth of presentation, the author hopes that this small analysis in the most general terms gives an idea of such a complex and important process - the process of thinking.

Literature

Wertheimer M. Productive thinking: Trans. from English M.: "PRESS" 1987 – 335s.

Bulletin of Moscow University. Series No. 14 Psychology. No. 2 2008 – 190 p.

Kalmykova Z.I. Productive thinking as the basis of learning ability. – M.: Pedagogy, 1981. – 200 p.

Maklakov A.G. General psychology: textbook for universities. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2012 – 583 p.

Matyushkin A.M. Psychology of thinking. Thinking as a solution to problem situations: tutorial. M.: "KDU"., 2009 - 189 p.

Meadows D.H. ABC of systems thinking. M.: “BINOM”., 2011 – 343 p.

Nentvig J. et al. Chemical simulator: a programmed manual for high school. M.: Mir., 1986 – 470 p.

Orlov Yu.M. Healthy thinking. M.: “Sliding”, 2006 – 87 p.

Rozin V.M. Thinking and creativity. M.: “PER SE”, 2006 – 358 p.

Skorlupina O.A. The formation of a semantic theory of thinking and the problem of ontologization of psychology. Bulletin of the Altai State Pedagogical Academy. Barnaul "Altai State Pedagogical Academy". No. 6-1, 2006, pp. 10-18 [Electronic version]: – URL: http://elibrary.ru/download/62648904.pdf (access date 11/30/2014).

Surkov D.V. Corporality, mentality and spirituality as basic categories of thinking and the place of mystical experience in thinking. Omsk Scientific Bulletin. Omsk: Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Omsk State Technical University", No. 3 (98) 2011, p. 92-95 [Electronic version]: –URL: http://elibrary.ru/download/62879617.pdf (accessed November 30, 2014).

Chernetskaya N.I. Creative thinking as the highest form of thinking Bulletin of the Adyghe State University. Series 3: Pedagogy and psychology. Maykop: Adyghe State University No. 2 2009, pp. 225-230. [Electronic version]: – URL: http://elibrary.ru/download/10853860.pdf (accessed November 30, 2014).

Let's consider the most well-known theories that explain the thinking process. They can be divided into two large groups: those that proceed from the hypothesis that a person has natural intellectual abilities that do not change under the influence of life experience, and those that are based on the idea that a person’s mental abilities are mainly formed and developed during life. .

Concepts according to which intellectual abilities and intelligence itself are defined as a set of internal structures that ensure the perception and processing of information in order to obtain new knowledge constitute one group of theories of thinking. It is believed that the corresponding intellectual structures exist in a person from birth in a potentially ready-made form, gradually manifesting (developing) as the organism matures.

This idea of a priori existing intellectual abilities - inclinations - is characteristic of many works in the field

"Book information: Melhorn G., Melhorn H.-G. Geniuses are not born. - M., 1989.

thinking carried out in the German school of psychology. It is most clearly represented in the Gestalt theory of thinking, according to which the ability to form and transform structures, to see them in reality is the basis of intelligence.

In modern psychology, the influence of the ideas of the theories discussed can be traced in the concept of schema. It has long been noted that thinking, if it is not associated with any specific, externally determined task, is internally subject to a certain logic. This logic, which is followed by a thought that has no external support, is called a scheme.

It is assumed that the scheme is born at the level of internal speech, and then guides the development of thought, giving it internal harmony and consistency, logic. A thought without a schema is usually called an autistic thought; its features have already been discussed by us. A scheme is not something given once and for all. It has its own history of development, which occurs due to the assimilation of logic, means of controlling thought. If a certain scheme is used quite often without any special changes, then it turns into an automated thinking skill, into a mental operation.

Other concepts of intelligence involve the recognition of the innateness of mental abilities, the possibility and necessity of their lifetime development. They explain thinking based on impact external environment, from the idea of the internal development of the subject or the interaction of both.

Peculiar concepts of thinking are presented in the following areas of psychological research: in empirical subjective psychology, associative in nature and introspective in the main method; in Gestalt psychology, which differed from the previous one only by the denial of elemental mental processes and the recognition of the dominance of their integrity over the composition of these elements, including in thinking; in behaviorism, whose supporters tried to replace the process of thinking as a subjective phenomenon with behavior (overt or hidden, mental); in psychoanalysis, which subordinated thinking, like all other processes, to motivation.

Active psychological research into thinking has been conducted since the 17th century. At this time and during the next rather long period in the history of psychology, thinking was actually identified with logic, and conceptual theoretical thinking was considered as its only type to be studied.

logical thinking, which is sometimes not entirely correctly called logical (incorrectly because logic is present in any other type of thinking no less than in this one).

The ability to think itself was considered innate, and thinking, as a rule, was considered outside of development. The intellectual abilities at that time included contemplation (some analogue of modern abstract thinking), logical reasoning and reflection (self-knowledge). Contemplation, in addition, was understood as the ability to operate with images (in our classification - theoretical imaginative thinking), logical reasoning - as the ability to reason and draw conclusions, and reflection - as the ability to engage in introspection. The operations of thinking, in turn, were considered generalization, analysis, synthesis, comparison and classification.

Thinking in associative empirical psychology in all its manifestations was reduced to associations, connections between traces of the past and impressions received from present experience. The activity of thinking and its creative nature were the main problem, which (like selectivity of perception and memory) this theory could not solve. Therefore, its supporters had no choice but to declare mental creative abilities a priori, independent of associations with the innate abilities of the mind.

In behaviorism, thinking was considered as a process of forming complex connections between stimuli and reactions, developing practical skills and abilities related to problem solving. In Gestalt psychology, it was understood as an intuitive perception of the desired solution through the discovery of the connection or structure necessary for it.

It cannot be said that both recent trends in psychology have not provided anything useful for understanding thinking. Thanks to behaviorism, practical thinking entered the sphere of psychological research, and in line with Gestalt theory, they began to pay special attention to moments of intuition and creativity in thinking.

Psychoanalysis also has certain merits in solving problems of the psychology of thinking. They are associated with drawing attention to unconscious forms of thinking, as well as studying the dependence of thinking on human motives and needs. The ones we have already discussed can be considered as unique forms of thinking in humans. defense mechanisms, which also began to be specifically studied for the first time in psychoanalysis.

In domestic psychological science, based on the doctrine of activity nature. human psyche, thinking has received a new interpretation. It began to be understood as a special species cognitive activity. Through the introduction of the category of activity into the psychology of thinking, the opposition between theoretical and practical intellect, subject and object of knowledge was overcome. Thus, a new one was opened for specific research; previously invisible connection that exists between activity and thinking, as well as between various types thinking itself. For the first time, it became possible to raise and solve questions about the genesis of thinking, its formation and development in children as a result of targeted training. Thinking in the theory of activity began to be understood as the ability to solve various problems and expediently transform reality, aimed at revealing aspects of it hidden from direct observation.

A. N. Leontiev, emphasizing the arbitrary nature of the highest forms of human thinking, their arbitrariness from culture and the possibility of development under the influence of social experience, wrote that human thinking does not exist outside of society, outside of language, outside of the knowledge accumulated by mankind and the methods of mental activity developed by it: logical, mathematical and other actions and operations... An individual becomes a subject of thinking only after mastering language, concepts, and logic. He proposed a concept of thinking, according to which there are relationships and analogies between the external structures that constitute behavior and the internal structures that constitute thinking and activity. Internal, mental activity is not only derived from external, practical activity, but has fundamentally the same structure. In it, as in practical activities, individual actions and operations can be highlighted. At the same time, external and internal elements of activity are interchangeable. The structure of mental, theoretical activity may include external, practical actions, and vice versa, the structure of practical activity may include internal, mental operations and actions.

The activity theory of thinking contributed to the solution of many practical problems related to the learning and mental development of children. On its basis, such theories of learning were built (they can also be considered as theories of development

Chapter ]]. Psychology of activity and cognitive processes

thinking), like the theory of P.Ya. Galperin, the theory of L.V. Zankov, the theory of V.V. Davydov.

In the last few decades, based on successes in the development of ideas from cybernetics, computer science, and high-level algorithmic languages in mathematical programming, it has become possible to build a new, information-cybernetic theory of thinking. It is based on the concepts of algorithm, operation, cycle and information. The first denotes a sequence of actions, the implementation of which leads to the solution of the problem; the second concerns the individual action, its character; the third refers to performing the same actions repeatedly until the desired result is obtained; the fourth includes a set of information transferred from one operation to another in the process of solving a problem. It turned out that many special operations that are used in computer information processing programs and in the process of solving computer problems are similar to those that people use in thinking. This opens up the possibility of studying the operations of human thinking on a computer and building machine models of intelligence.

DEVELOPMENT OF THINKING

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

One of the most famous psychologists of our time, the Swiss scientist J. Piaget proposed a theory of the development of intelligence in childhood, which had a great influence on the modern understanding of its development. In theoretical terms, it is

adhered to the idea of the practical, activity-based origin of basic intellectual operations.

The theory of the development of a child’s thinking, proposed by J. Piaget, was called “operational” (from the word “operation”). An operation, according to Piaget, is “an internal action, a product of transformation (“interiorization”) of an external, objective action, coordinated with other actions into a single system, the main property of which is reversibility (for each operation there is a symmetrical and opposite operation)” 1 .

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

1. The stage of sensorimotor intelligence, covering the period of a child’s life from birth to about two years. It is characterized by the development of the ability to perceive and cognize the objects around the child in their fairly stable properties and characteristics.

2. The stage of operational thinking, including its development from the ages of two to seven years. At this stage, the child develops speech, the active process of internalization of external actions with objects begins, and visual representations are formed.

3. Stage of specific operations with objects. It is typical for children aged 7-8 to 11-12 years. Here mental operations become reversible.

4. Stage of formal operations. Children reach it in their development in middle age: from 11-12 to 14-15 years. This stage is characterized by the child’s ability to perform mental operations using logical reasoning and concepts. Internal mental operations are transformed at this stage into a structurally organized whole 2.

In our country the widest practical use in teaching mental actions received the theory of the formation and development of intellectual operations, developed by P.Ya. Galperin 3. This theory was based on the idea of a genetic dependence between internal

"Anthology on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M.. 1981. - P. 47.

2 The theories of the development of children's intelligence, including Piaget's concept, are discussed in more detail in the second volume of the textbook.

^Galperin P.Ya. Formation of mental actions // Reader on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M.,"1981.

them by intellectual operations and external practical actions. Previously, this position was developed in the French psychological school (A. Vallon) and in the works of J. Piaget. L. S. Vygotsky, A. N. Leontiev, V. V. Davydov, A. V. Zaporozhets and many others based their theoretical and experimental works on it.

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

Transfer process external action inside, according to P.Ya. Galperin, occurs in stages, passing through strictly defined stages. At each stage, a given action is transformed according to a number of parameters. This theory states that complete action, i.e. an action of the highest intellectual level cannot take shape without relying on previous methods of performing the same action, and, ultimately, on its original, practical, visually effective, most complete and expanded form.

The four parameters by which an action is transformed when it moves from outside to inside are the following: level of execution, measure of generalization, completeness of actually performed operations, and measure of mastery. According to the first of these parameters, action can be at three sublevels: action with material objects, action in terms of loud speech and action in the mind. The other three parameters characterize the quality of an action formed at a certain level: generalization, abbreviation and mastery.

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

1. Familiarization with the composition of the future action in practical terms, as well as with the requirements (samples) that it will ultimately have to meet. This familiarization is the indicative basis for future action.

2. Performing a given action in external form in practical terms with real objects or their substitutes. Mastering this external action follows all the main parameters with a certain type of orientation in each.

3. Performing an action without direct support on external objects or their substitutes. Transferring action from the external plane to the loud speech plane. Transferring an action to the speech plane, P.Ya. Galperin believed, means not only the expression of an action in speech, but, first of all, the speech execution of an objective action 1.

4. Transfer of loud speech action to the internal plane. Freely pronounce the entire action “to yourself.”

5. Performing an action in terms of internal speech with its corresponding transformations and abbreviations, with the departure of the action, its process and details of execution from the sphere of conscious control and the transition to the level of intellectual skills.

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

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

The formation of concepts is the result of long-term, complex and active mental, communicative and practical activity of people, the process of their thinking. The formation of concepts in an individual has its roots in deep childhood. L.S. Vygotsky and L.S. Sakharov were among the first psychologists in our country who studied this process in detail 2. They established a series of stages through which children's concept formation occurs.

The essence of the technique that L.S. Vygotsky and L.S. Sakharov used (it was called the “double stimulation” technique) boils down to the following. The subject is offered two series of stimuli that perform different roles depending on

"Cm.: Galperin P.Ya. Formation of mental actions // Reader on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M., 1981.

2 See: Vygotsky L. S., Sakharov L. S. Study of concept formation: Methodology of double stimulation // Reader on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M., 1981.

bearing on behavior: one is the function of the object to which behavior is directed, and the other is the role of the sign with the help of which behavior is organized.

For example, there are 20 three-dimensional geometric shapes, different in color, shape, height and size. On the lower flat base of each figure, hidden from the view of the subject, are written unknown words, denoting an acquired concept. This concept simultaneously includes several of the above characteristics, for example, size, color and shape.

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

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

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

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

1. Formation of an unformed, unordered set individual items, their syncretic coupling, denoted by one word. This stage, in turn, breaks down into three stages: selecting and combining objects at random, choosing based on the spatial arrangement of objects, and bringing all previously combined objects to one value.

2. Formation of concept complexes based on some objective characteristics. Complexes of this kind have four types: associative (any externally noticed connection is taken as a sufficient basis for classifying objects into one class), collection (mutual addition and association of objects based on a particular functional characteristic), chain (transition in association from one characteristic to another so that some objects are combined on the basis of some, and others - on completely different characteristics, and all of them are included

into the same group), pseudo-concept (externally - a concept, internally - a complex).

3. Formation of real concepts. This assumes the child’s ability to isolate, abstract elements and then integrate them into a holistic concept, regardless of the objects to which they belong. This stage includes the following stages: the stage of potential concepts, in which the child identifies a group of objects one by one common feature; the stage of true concepts, when a number of necessary and sufficient indications to define a concept, and then they are synthesized and included in the corresponding definition.

Syncretic thinking and thinking in complex concepts are characteristic of early, preschool and younger children school age. A child comes to thinking in real terms only in adolescence under the influence of learning. theoretical foundations different sciences. The facts obtained by L.S. Vygotsky and L.S. Sakharov, in this regard, are quite consistent with the data that J. Piaget cites in his works on the development of children's intelligence. Adolescence is also associated with the transition of children to the stage of formal operations, which, apparently, presupposes the ability to operate with real concepts.

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

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

1. At a time when the body is practically not busy processing incoming information from the outside (when, for example, it is sleeping), the third type system processes the results of previously received information that precedes mental activity.

2. The purpose of this processing is to identify consequences of previous activity that are sustainable. For example, there are systems that manage the recording of previous

events, dividing this record into potentially stable parts consistent with each other and determining this consistency from element to element.

3. As soon as such a consistent sequence is noticed, another system comes into play - the one that generates a new one.

4. A higher level system is formed, including the previous ones as elements or parts.

So far we have considered the natural ways of individual development of thinking. Data received for last years at the intersection of general and social psychology, show that the formation of thinking can be stimulated by group types of intellectual work. It has been observed that collective problem-solving activities enhance people's cognitive functions, in particular improving their perception and memory. Similar searches in the field of psychology of thinking have led scientists to the conclusion that in some cases, with the exception, perhaps, of complex individual creative work, group mental work can contribute to the development of individual intelligence. It has been found, for example, that teamwork facilitates the generation and critical selection of creative ideas.

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

1. To solve a certain class of intellectual problems for which it is difficult to find an optimal solution, working on them individually, a special group of people is created, between whom interaction is organized in a special way, designed to obtain a “group effect” - a significant increase in the quality and speed of making the desired decision compared to searching for it individually.

2. In a similar working group include people who differ from each other in psychological qualities, which are collectively necessary to find the optimal solution (one, for example, is more inclined to express ideas, and the other to criticize them; one has a quick reaction, but is not able to carefully weigh its consequences, the other , on the contrary, reacts slowly, but carefully thinks through every

walk your step; one tends to take risks, the other tends to be cautious, etc.).

3. In the created group, through the introduction of special norms and rules of interaction, an atmosphere is created that stimulates joint creative work. The expression of any idea is encouraged, no matter how strange it may seem at first glance. Only criticism of ideas is allowed, not of the people who expressed them. Everyone actively helps each other in their work; providing creative assistance to a group partner is especially highly appreciated.

In conditions of such organized group creative work, a person of average intellectual ability begins to express almost twice as much interesting ideas than in the case when he thinks about solving the problem alone.

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

The described technique for stimulating individual thinking was created and has so far been used mainly when working with adults. However, we think that it would be very useful for the development of thinking in children, and most importantly - for unity children's group and formation in children of different ages necessary in modern life skills and abilities interpersonal communication and interactions.

Topics and questions for discussion at seminars Topic 1. The nature and types of thinking.

1. The concept of thinking, its difference from other cognitive processes.

2. Types of thinking, their features.

3. Operations of thinking.

4. Thinking processes.

5. Thinking and emotions.

6. Autistic and realistic thinking.

7. Individual characteristics of thinking.

Subject 2. Creative thinking.

1. Definition of creative thinking.

2. Conditions for the productivity of creative thinking.

3. Factors that hinder creative thinking.

4. The concept of intelligence according to J. Guilford.

5. Intelligence tests and IQ.

6. The relationship between IQ and life success.

Topic 3. Theories of thinking in psychology.

1. Associative theory of thinking.

2. Understanding thinking in behaviorism and Gestalt psychology.

3. Logical theory of thinking (S.L. Rubinstein).

4. Activity theory of thinking (A.N. Leontiev, P.Ya. Galperin, V.V. Davydov).

5. Information-cybernetic theory of thinking.

T eat a 4. Development of thinking.

1. Alternative approaches to the development of thinking.

2. The concept of the development of children's intelligence according to J. Piaget.

3. The theory of the systematic formation of mental actions by P.Ya. Galperin.

4. The theory of concept development according to L.S. Vygotsky.

5. Information theory of cognitive development.

6. Stimulating the development of thinking using brainstorming techniques.

Themes For abstracts

1. Thinking, emotions and motivation: problems of connecting thinking, its products with reality.

2. Psychology of creative thinking.

3. Concept, tests and IQ.

4. Development of thinking.

This idea of a priori existing intellectual abilities - inclinations - is characteristic of many works in the field

"Book information: Melhorn G., Melhorn H.-G. Geniuses are not born. - M., 1989.

Other concepts of intelligence involve the recognition of the innateness of mental abilities, the possibility and necessity of their lifetime development. They explain thinking based on the influence of the external environment, from the idea of the internal development of the subject or the interaction of both.

logical thinking, which is sometimes not entirely correctly called logical (incorrectly because logic is present in any other type of thinking no less than in this one).

Psychoanalysis also has certain merits in solving problems of the psychology of thinking. They are associated with drawing attention to unconscious forms of thinking, as well as studying the dependence of thinking on human motives and needs. The defense mechanisms we have already discussed can be considered as unique forms of thinking in humans, which also began to be specifically studied for the first time in psychoanalysis.

In domestic psychological science, based on the doctrine of activity nature. human psyche, thinking has received a new interpretation. It began to be understood as a special type of cognitive activity. Through the introduction of the category of activity into the psychology of thinking, the opposition between theoretical and practical intellect, subject and object of knowledge was overcome. Thus, a new one was opened for specific research; the previously invisible connection that exists between activity and thinking, as well as between different types of thinking itself. For the first time, it became possible to raise and solve questions about the genesis of thinking, its formation and development in children as a result of targeted training. Thinking in the theory of activity began to be understood as the ability to solve various problems and expediently transform reality, aimed at revealing aspects of it hidden from direct observation.

A. N. Leontiev, emphasizing the arbitrary nature of the highest forms of human thinking, their arbitrariness from culture and the possibility of development under the influence of social experience, wrote that human thinking does not exist outside of society, outside of language, outside of the knowledge accumulated by mankind and the methods of mental activity developed by it: logical, mathematical and other actions and operations... An individual becomes a subject of thinking only after mastering language, concepts, and logic. He proposed a concept of thinking, according to which there are relationships and analogies between the external structures that constitute behavior and the internal structures that constitute thinking and activity. Internal, mental activity is not only derived from external, practical activity, but has fundamentally the same structure. In it, as in practical activities, individual actions and operations can be distinguished. At the same time, external and internal elements of activity are interchangeable. The structure of mental, theoretical activity may include external, practical actions, and vice versa, the structure of practical activity may include internal, mental operations and actions.

Chapter ]]. Psychology of activity and cognitive processes

thinking), like the theory of P.Ya. Galperin, the theory of L.V. Zankov, the theory of V.V. Davydov.

DEVELOPMENT OF THINKING

adhered to the idea of the practical, activity-based origin of basic intellectual operations.

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

3. Stage of specific operations with objects. It is typical for children aged 7-8 to 11-12 years. Here mental operations become reversible.

In our country, the theory of the formation and development of intellectual operations developed by P.Ya. Galperin 3 has received the widest practical application in teaching mental actions. This theory was based on the idea of a genetic dependence between internal

"Anthology on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M.. 1981. - P. 47.

2 The theories of the development of children's intelligence, including Piaget's concept, are discussed in more detail in the second volume of the textbook.

^Galperin P.Ya. Formation of mental actions // Reader on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M.,"1981.

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

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

4. Transfer of loud speech action to the internal plane. Freely pronounce the entire action “to yourself.”

"Cm.: Galperin P.Ya. Formation of mental actions // Reader on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M., 1981.

2 See: Vygotsky L. S., Sakharov L. S. Study of concept formation: Methodology of double stimulation // Reader on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M., 1981.

bearing on behavior: one is the function of the object to which behavior is directed, and the other is the role of the sign with the help of which behavior is organized.

For example, there are 20 three-dimensional geometric shapes, different in color, shape, height and size. On the lower flat base of each figure, hidden from the view of the subject, are written unfamiliar words denoting the concept being acquired. This concept simultaneously includes several of the above characteristics, for example, size, color and shape.

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

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

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

1. The formation of an unformed, disordered set of individual objects, their syncretic cohesion, denoted by one word. This stage, in turn, breaks down into three stages: selecting and combining objects at random, choosing based on the spatial arrangement of objects, and bringing all previously combined objects to one value.

into the same group), pseudo-concept (externally - a concept, internally - a complex).

3. Formation of real concepts. This assumes the child’s ability to isolate, abstract elements and then integrate them into a holistic concept, regardless of the objects to which they belong. This stage includes the following stages: the stage of potential concepts, in which the child identifies a group of objects based on one common feature; the stage of true concepts, when a number of necessary and sufficient features are abstracted to define the concept, and then they are synthesized and included in the corresponding definition.

Syncretic thinking and thinking in complex concepts are characteristic of children of early, preschool and primary school age. A child begins to think in real terms only in adolescence under the influence of learning the theoretical foundations of various sciences. The facts obtained by L.S. Vygotsky and L.S. Sakharov, in this regard, are quite consistent with the data that J. Piaget cites in his works on the development of children's intelligence. Adolescence is also associated with the transition of children to the stage of formal operations, which, apparently, presupposes the ability to operate with real concepts.

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

2. The purpose of this processing is to identify consequences of previous activity that are sustainable. For example, there are systems that manage the recording of previous

events, dividing this record into potentially stable parts consistent with each other and determining this consistency from element to element.

3. As soon as such a consistent sequence is noticed, another system comes into play - the one that generates a new one.

4. A higher level system is formed, including the previous ones as elements or parts.

So far we have considered the natural ways of individual development of thinking. Data obtained in recent years at the intersection of general and social psychology show that the formation of thinking can be stimulated by group types of intellectual work. It has been observed that collective problem-solving activities enhance people's cognitive functions, in particular improving their perception and memory. Similar searches in the field of psychology of thinking have led scientists to the conclusion that in some cases, with the exception, perhaps, of complex individual creative work, group mental work can contribute to the development of individual intelligence. It has been found, for example, that teamwork facilitates the generation and critical selection of creative ideas.

2. Such a working group includes people who differ from each other in psychological qualities that are collectively necessary to find an optimal solution (one, for example, is more inclined to express ideas, and the other to criticize them; one has a quick reaction, but is not able to carefully weigh its consequences, the other, on the contrary, reacts slowly, but carefully thinks through each

walk your step; one tends to take risks, the other tends to be cautious, etc.).

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

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

Topics and questions for discussion at seminars Topic 1. The nature and types of thinking.

1. The concept of thinking, its difference from other cognitive processes.

2. Types of thinking, their features.

3. Operations of thinking.

4. Thinking processes.

5. Thinking and emotions.

6. Autistic and realistic thinking.

7. Individual characteristics of thinking.

Subject 2. Creative thinking.

1. Definition of creative thinking.

2. Conditions for the productivity of creative thinking.

3. Factors that hinder creative thinking.

4. The concept of intelligence according to J. Guilford.

5. Intelligence tests and IQ.

6. The relationship between IQ and life success.

Topic 3. Theories of thinking in psychology.

1. Associative theory of thinking.

2. Understanding thinking in behaviorism and Gestalt psychology.

3. Logical theory of thinking (S.L. Rubinstein).

4. Activity theory of thinking (A.N. Leontiev, P.Ya. Galperin, V.V. Davydov).

5. Information-cybernetic theory of thinking.

T eat a 4. Development of thinking.

1. Alternative approaches to the development of thinking.

2. The concept of the development of children's intelligence according to J. Piaget.

3. The theory of the systematic formation of mental actions by P.Ya. Galperin.

4. The theory of concept development according to L.S. Vygotsky.

5. Information theory of cognitive development.

6. Stimulating the development of thinking using brainstorming techniques.

Themes For abstracts

1. Thinking, emotions and motivation: problems of connecting thinking, its products with reality.

2. Psychology of creative thinking.

3. Concept, tests and IQ.

4. Development of thinking.

Thinking- this is a socially determined, inextricably linked with speech, mental process of searching and discovering something essentially new, a process of reflecting reality in its essential connections and relationships.

Types of thinking:

Contents of the tools used	Visual and verbal
Degree of correspondence with reality	Realistic, idealistic, eutistic
Degree of novelty and originality	Reproductive and creative
Degree of conscious control and management	Voluntary (there is a purposeful effort) and involuntary
Character of the course	Logical (analytical) and intuitive
Worldview position	Scientific and religious
Nature of the problem being solved	Theoretical (based on theoretical reasoning) and practical (based on solving practical problems)
Deployment horsefly	Discursive (mediated by the spoon of reasoning rather than perception) and intuitive (based on direct sensory perceptions)

Types of theories of thinking.

Associative theory of thinking. Presentation of thinking in behaviorism and Gestalt psychology. Logical theory of thinking, including operations of analysis, generalization, comparison and classification (S.L. Rubinstein). Thinking as reflection, contemplation and problem solving. Activity theory of thinking (A.N. Leontiev, P.Ya. Galperin, V.V. Davydov, O.K. Tikhomirov). Information-cybernetic theory of thinking.

Associationist theory. The first ideas about the universal laws of mental life were associated with the formation of connections (associations). So, in the 17th century. it was believed that a connection, a chain of ideas, forms an opinion. The development of thinking is imagined as a process of accumulation of associations. The psychology of thinking at that time was not yet identified as a separate section. On at this stage development of science, thinking was not considered as a special form of activity of the subject. Therefore, a chain of images and representations was taken as the basis of any mental process; it arose spontaneously. The associationist approach to thinking coexisted with the formally logical one (T. Ziegen). Thinking was often compared with logic; conceptual and theoretical thinking was highlighted, which was often wrongly called logical. Intellectual abilities at that time included “worldview”, logical reasoning and reflection (self-knowledge). The approach to explaining thinking as an association of ideas gained strength in the 18th-19th centuries. L. S. Vygotsky (20-30s of the XX century) had an ambivalent attitude towards this direction in psychology. He denied antisocialist interpretations of concepts, and more simple shapes connected generalizations with associations. This approach to explaining thinking was developed by Yu. A. Samarin, and A. F. Esaulov emphasized the role of associations in the mechanisms of thinking.

Wurzburg school . In contrast to associationism, representatives of the Wurzburg school (O. Külpe, N. Ach, K. Marbach, etc.) considered thinking as an internal action (act). The search for objective research methods began. For example, N. Akh developed a technique for creating artificial concepts. The mechanism for the development of thought was considered to be the process of identifying relationships between opinions. Tasks were considered as a determinant of thinking - the work of the “I”. In the context of thinking as a problem-solving process, thinking and mental activity were distinguished, and the concept of attitude was used to explain the state of accepting a task. This state of consciousness is diffuse, but it influences the selection and dynamics of the content of thinking. The Wurzburg school isolated thinking as an independent activity, but separated it from practical activity, language and sensory images. An example of consistent idealism can be the following reasoning of one of the representatives of this school: “We will not only say: I think, therefore I exist, but also: the world exists as we establish and define.” Thinking was considered by supporters of the Wurzburg school as the functioning of intellectual operations. O. Selz developed these ideas. He understood thinking as the process of performing intellectual operations determined by the structure of the general task and anticipation (foresight) of the results of these operations. According to the views of A. Selz, intellectual operations are the addition of a complex of abstraction and reproduction of similarities. A follower of O. Seltz was the Dutch psychologist A. de Groot. He set himself the goal of describing the thought process underlying the game of chess; he identified four successive stages: orientation, examination (the chess player makes preliminary estimates), research, finishing. In modern psychology, this direction was developed by Russian scientists S. L. Rubinshtein, A. V. Brushlinsky, L. V. Gurova, Ukrainian psychologists A. V. Skripchenko, T. V. Kosma, T. K. Chmut, O. G. Ball and others. The searches of A.V. Skripchenko and his students were especially fruitful. They studied the age-related dynamics of thinking in the system of other cognitive processes, operations in their interrelation, from simple ones that cannot be divided to complex ones. Gestalt psychology. Representatives of this trend (M. Wertheimer, W. Keller, K. Koffka, K. Duncker) began a new approach to thinking, considering it as an act of restructuring situations. They considered the primary content of any mental process to be holistic formations-configurations, forms, or “gestalt”. Thinking was considered as sudden, not prepared by analytical activity aimed at identifying the essential features of a problem situation. As M. Wertheimer and K. Duncker note, the solution to the problem lies in the fact that individual elements of the problem situation begin to be perceived in a new gestalt, in new relationships; those. the problematic situation is restructured, its elements reveal new signs and relationships. The process of solving a problem itself is aimed at discovering a new property of an object that exists in a certain system of relationships with other elements of the problem. The solution to the problem occurs as a gestalt, as a holistic formation, which represents a certain step in this process.

Behaviorism. This is a direction in psychology of the 20th century. Its founder, J. Watson, interpreted thinking in an expanded manner, comparing it with internal broadcasting or with means of non-verbal communication. J. Watson distinguished three forms of thinking: 1) simple deployment of language skills; 2) solving problems that are not new, but those that are rarely encountered; 3) solving complex problems that require verbal expression of considerations before performing certain actions.

Behaviorism has several directions. According to one of them (J. Watson), the main unit of behavior analysis is the connection between stimulus and response. Representatives of the second direction consider behavior as a purposeful process, including indicative cognitive activity as an indirect link. Within the framework of the first direction (S. Ghazri, K. Hull, B. Skinner), the problems of thinking were not developed. The second direction (E. Tolman) is a product of the interaction of behaviorism with Gestalt psychology and constitutes a cognitive theory of behavior. Cognitive processes act as the main integrators of individual behavioral acts of the subject. The result of learning is a “cognitive structure” (i.e. a certain reflection of the situation). The solution to a problem is determined by its structure, on which the actualization of experience and understanding of the connections and essential relationships between the elements of the problem depend. A new approach to the study of behavior was proposed by J. Miller, Y. Galanter and K. Pribram in the book “Plans and Structure of Behavior.” They understand the structural organization of behavior as the influence on the system and the comparison of these influences with momentary experience. If certain influences have already taken place in the life of the subject, he acts guided by experience, and if these influences do not correspond to the acquired experience, then the subject resorts to search or indicative reactions. The matching operation is called comparison. In addition, the authors introduce such concepts as “image” and “plan”. There are plans in all mental processes. When solving problems, two types of plans are implemented:

* Systematic - a detailed search is carried out, all objects are analyzed;

* Heuristic - a partial search is carried out, only part of the objects is analyzed.

O.K. Tikhomirov notes that thinking in these theories is considered as a “process in the body,” in isolation from the motivational-emotional sphere.

Psychoanalysis. Representatives of this direction view thinking as a motivational process. In Z. Freud's work "Wit and its relation to the unconscious", "wit" is explained as a manifestation of creative thinking, which is based on unconscious primary motives. Wit and its results can arise due to the dissatisfaction of primary needs, i.e. creativity is a subordinated satisfaction of these needs. Mental activity can occur under the influence of an unconscious motive or its substitute - the desired motive. Psychoanalysis only partially touched upon the problems of the connection between thinking and motives. The question of how motivation influences the organization and structure of mental activity has not been studied. The theory of autistic thinking (E. Bleuler) is associated with psychoanalysis. Autism explained as dominance inner life, withdrawal from the outside world. Manifestations of artistic thinking are dreams, mythology, folk beliefs, schizophrenic thinking, etc. E. Bleuler in his concept shows the regulating influence of the motivational-emotional sphere on thinking.

Motivation theory. According to the cognitive theory of motivation, the motivation of human behavior comes from cognition, according to it. Within the framework of this theory, the connection between thinking and the level of aspirations and the influence of achievement motivation on this process are studied. The theory of achievement motivation explains the actual motive as a product of integration or even competition of two tendencies - the subject is afraid of failure and strives to experience the pleasure of success. The process of cognition is influenced by various motives, their hierarchy is studied by the cognitive theory of motivation. The choice of motive depends on how the subject perceives the situation, his aspirations, his ideals. There is a special need to correct the discrepancy between various motives and attitudes. This problem is solved by the theory of cognitive dissonance (L. Festinger). Within the framework of the mentioned theory, the behavior of the subject is studied in order to bring it into line with ideas about how one should behave, and the phenomenon of dissonance between the motives for making a choice and after its implementation is studied.

Humanistic psychology. Within the framework of this direction, the motives of self-actualization are explored. C. Jung began studying these motives, but A. Maslow analyzed them more deeply. In the list of personality traits that self-actualize, there are many that relate to thinking (effective perception of reality, a comfortable attitude towards reality, the constant emergence of new things in understanding what is happening, a sense of humor, etc.). So, researchers, analyzing the motives of self-actualization, trace their influence on thinking.

Operational concept of intelligence.. In the works of J. Piaget and his colleagues, thinking is considered as a biological process. J. Piaget uses the concept of “intelligence” rather than thinking, analyzes such interpretations of intelligence as “mental adaptation to new conditions” (E. Claparède, W. Stern), as “an act of sudden understanding” (K. Bühler, W. Keller ) . J. Piaget is characterized by a genetic approach to solving problems of intelligence. According to Piaget's theory, five stages can be distinguished in this process (or five stages in the construction of operations). The stage of sensorimotor intelligence (from 8-10 months to 1.5 years). Symbolic, or pre-conceptual intelligence (from 1.5-2 to 4 years). The stage of intuitive (visual) intelligence (from 4 to 7-8 years). The stage of concrete operations (from 7 - 8 to 11 -1 2 years). The stage of formal operations, or reflective intelligence (from 11 -12 to 14- 15 years old).To describe the main aspects of intelligence, J. Piaget uses biological, physical concepts, as well as concepts from logic and mathematics.

Theory of ontogenetic development of thinking. . In the 20s - 40s of the XX century. L. S. Vygotsky, A. R. Luria, A. V. Zaporozhets, P. P. Blonskaya studied the development of thinking in children, linking it with such phenomena as intelligence and broadcasting. A particularly important contribution to the theory of the ontogenesis of thinking was made by the studies of L.S. Vygotsky and his followers. These scientists view the development of thinking as a process of a child’s assimilation of socially and historically developed mental actions and operations. This process can be actively and systematically controlled (P. Ya. Galperin).

Theory of thinking as an information processing system. With the advent of electronic computers, an understanding of thinking as an information processing system arose (A. Newell, G. Simon, M. Minsky, J. McCarthy, J. Miller, Y. Galanter, K. Pribram). The primary task was to trace the flow of information in the “system” (i.e., in the brain). The main concepts of this approach are those related to cognitive activity: information, input, processing, encoding and subroutine. V. N. Pushkin, O. K. Tikhomirov and others attached particular importance to collecting information about the signs of elements of a problem situation.

Active theory of thinking. In context, the relation of thinking to objective reality, it is considered as a process and as an activity (A. N. Leontiev, V. V. Davydov, V. L. Popluzhny, 0. K. Tikhomirov). This approach made it possible to enrich the psychology of thinking with data on the importance of motivation, emotions, and goal setting in mental activity; about the dependence of mental actions on these components; about the role of control over thinking, an evaluative attitude towards one’s thinking, etc. The active approach allows us to consider mental activity as a condition for the self-development of personality.

Theories of thinking

Let's consider the most well-known theories that explain the thinking process. They can be divided into two groups: those that proceed from the hypothesis that a person has natural intellectual abilities that do not change under the influence of life experiences, and those that are based on the idea that a person’s mental abilities are mainly formed and developed in the process his life.

Theories according to which intellectual abilities and intelligence itself are defined as a set of internal, innate structures that ensure the perception and processing of information in order to obtain new knowledge constitute one group of theories of thinking. These theories assert that the corresponding intellectual structures, given to a person from birth in almost ready-made form, gradually unfold and begin to operate as the brain matures.

1. Thinking as an association of ideas.

The first ideas about the universal laws of human mental life were associated with the principle of associations, i.e., the formation and actualization of connections between ideas (ideas). This principle served as the basis for designating a whole direction in psychology - associationism. The doctrine of associations, prepared by the works of ancient philosophers, was developed and widely disseminated in the 17th-18th centuries. The basic law of associations was formulated as follows: the more often it is repeated, the stronger and truer the association. Four types of associations were distinguished: 1) by similarity, 2) by contrast, 3) by proximity in time or space, 4) by relation. The patterns of associations were studied in the works of D. Hartley, J. Priestley, J. S. Mill, D. Mill, A. Bain, T. Ziegen and others.

The psychology of thinking during this period had not yet emerged as an independent section. psychological science. At this stage of the development of scientific knowledge there was still no idea of thinking as a special form of activity of the subject. The involuntary following of images-representations was accepted as a type of any mental process: thinking is always imaginative thinking, the process is always an involuntary change of images. The development of thinking is a process of accumulation of associations. The associationist approach to thinking coexisted with the formal-logical characteristics of thinking. It was believed that mental processes could not be subjected to experimental study at all: thinking was proposed to be studied only from the products of human culture. Since the question of the reproduction of ideas was one of the main issues of the associative theory of mental activity, it is often called the theory of reproductive thinking. Associations by similarity play a special role in thinking. IN Russian literature The associationist approach was developed by Yu. A. Samarin and P. A. Shevarev. The importance of associations as a mechanism of thinking is emphasized by A. F. Esaulovsh.

2. Thinking as action.

The section “psychology of thinking,” different from the more broadly understood doctrine of mental activity, was first highlighted by psychologists belonging to the so-called Würzburg school, who, in contrast to associationism, considered thinking as an internal action. Experimental studies of thinking began, which, however, were very limited, since they consisted exclusively in using the method of systematic introspection.

The following ideas about the processes of human thinking were formulated. Thinking is the act of considering relationships. By relation was meant everything that does not have the character of sensations, the whole variety of categorical syntheses, the whole system of categories. Discretion of a relationship was considered to be somewhat independent (from a psychological point of view) from the perceptions of the members of that relationship. It was stated that the process of understanding occurs without significant support from randomly emerging sensory ideas, that is, it is ugly. It was believed that knowledge develops. This development begins with discerning the relationships between the material elements of experience. The process of development of thoughts was understood as a process of discerning ever new relationships between thoughts, and the discernment of these relationships was derived to a large extent from the “beloved knowledge” of previous thoughts. Thinking is the work of the “I”, subordinated to a specific task, from which a determining tendency emanates. Self-observation was recognized as the main method for studying thinking. Having isolated thinking into an independent activity, the Würzburg school not only opposed, but also tore it away from practical activity, language and sensory images. At the same time, the range of issues that later became fundamental in the context of the psychology of thinking was largely predetermined: the relationship between external and internal activity, thinking and language, thinking and sensory images, the determination of thinking and its selectivity, the task and means of solving it. The study of thinking as a problem-solving process has become essentially conventional in modern psychology.

3. Thinking as the functioning of intellectual operations.

The ideas of the Würzburg school were to a certain extent developed in the works of O. Seltz, who understood thinking as the functioning of intellectual operations. Selz set himself the task of showing how the formation of one or another result of mental activity occurs, to show the function of each stage of intellectual activity in the implementation of subsequent stages, he also tried to overcome various oppositions of reproductive and productive thinking, speaking about the reproductive and productive aspects of a single intellectual activity. Developing your ideas about the problem solving process itself. O. Selz attaches the greatest importance to the very first phase - the formation of a general task as a result of processing the material given by the experimenter, the main link of which is to highlight the objective relationships between elements. As a result, a problem complex is formed in which: a) the characteristics of the known are highlighted, b) the place of the unknown, the sought-after is determined, c) the relationship between the given and the sought-after is highlighted. O. Selts saw the essence of the problem in the incompleteness of the complex. This incompleteness may concern either a component of the complex or a relationship between known components. The formation of a general task consists of creating a specific scheme in which what is being sought is characterized through the place it occupies in the complex. Seltz introduced important concept“anticipation”: what is being sought is anticipated. If what we were looking for were unknown at all, it could not be found. The unknown receives, as it were, an indirect definition through its relationship to the known. The formation of a common task lies in identifying the relationship between the known and the sought and creating on this basis an anticipation of the sought.

In general, O. Selz’s work is characterized by the fact that for the first time in the history of experimental research on thinking, he began to study it as a process that consistently unfolds over time, in which its previous stages prepare and condition subsequent stages, with a constant return to the conditions of the problem. Selz was also the first in the history of psychology to pose the problem of basic intellectual operations and try to study their composition in detail.

4. Thinking as an act of restructuring a situation.

A new aspect of thinking was highlighted in the works of representatives of Gestalt psychology (M. Wertheimer, W. Köhler, K. Koffka, K. Duncker) - a direction of psychological science that arose in Germany at the beginning of this century and also criticized associationism. The idealistic concepts of E. Husserl and A. Bergson, mainly their position on direct contemplation of the essence of things, had a strong influence on representatives of Gestalt psychology. The central position of this school was the following: the primary and main content of any mental process is not individual elements - sensations, but some integral formations - configurations, forms, or “gestalts”. The main object of experimental study among representatives of this direction was perception, then some conclusions were transferred to the study of thinking. The initial fact in the study of perception was the division of the visual field into figure and ground. Factors contributing to the perception of figures, or gestalts, were studied: the proximity of individual elements to each other, the similarity of elements, the orientation towards a good figure.” Specifically, psychological ideas about thinking consisted in its interpretation as a sudden understanding of significant relationships in a problem situation, not prepared by immediate previous analytical activity. This relationship is directly perceived as a direct reflection of the sensory characteristics of objects.

As a result of a systematic experimental study of the intellectual behavior of anthropoids, W. Köhler came to the conclusion that in the great apes there is intelligent behavior “of the same kind as in humans,” he absolutized the similarities and underestimated the fundamental qualitative difference between the behavior of anthropoids and the mental activity of humans. W. Köhler characterized intellectual behavior as sudden, independent of previous activity and completely opposite to tests as random acts. Fundamentally the same principles were formulated in the study of human mental activity. The solution to the problem is that parts of the problem situation begin to be perceived in a new gestalt, in new relationships. Problem situation is restructured, as a result of which objects turn in new directions and reveal new properties. The essence of solving the problem is to reveal a new property of an object, determined by its perception in new relationships. The solution to a problem acts as a gestalt, as a holistic formation that determines specific steps.

The works of representatives of Gestalt psychology contributed to rethinking the subject of the psychology of thinking and methods of its research. A psychologist studying thinking now turns not only to the thinking of his colleague, but also to the mind of his distant anthropoid ancestors. The method of self-observation is not applicable to them. The works of representatives of Gestalt psychology raised a number of fundamental questions about the psychology of thinking, although their own specific solution These issues raised significant objections. These are, first of all, questions about the specifics of creative (or productive) thinking, about how something new is created in the process of thinking, about the role of past experience in solving problems, about the relationship between thinking and knowledge, gradual and sudden in the process of solving problems. It is the representatives of Gestalt psychology who are credited with introducing the idea of functional development into the psychological study of thinking, and thereby into psychology as a whole. The solution to the same problem consists of qualitatively different phases - the phase of finding the principle, the main idea of the solution and the phase of its verification or implementation. Functional development is expressed not only in the fact that the process consists of qualitatively heterogeneous phases, but also in the fact that the same elements of the situation have different meanings for the subject at different stages of development. different stages solving the problem. It is with this that the phenomenon of restructuring is connected, which, however, was not analyzed in any detail by representatives of Gestalt psychology, which led to significant criticism, sometimes unfairly leading to denial of the very phenomenon of restructuring, and an underestimation of the idea of functional development as a whole.

5. Thinking as behavior.

Behavioral psychology, or behaviorism, is one of the most influential trends in foreign psychology of the 20th century, which took shape at the beginning of the century. For J. Watson, the subject of psychology is behavior, which must be studied strictly objectively. J. Watson understood human thinking very broadly, identifying it with internal speech and even means of nonverbal communication. J. Watson identified three main forms of thinking: a) simple development of speech skills (reproduction of poems or quotes without changing the order of words); b) solving problems that are not new, but rarely encountered, so that they require verbal behavior (attempts to remember half-forgotten poems); c) solving new problems that put the body in a difficult situation, requiring a verbal solution before any openly expressed action is taken.

The psychology of J. Watson's behavior was internally contradictory. Objective analysis of behavior initially did not include the study of cognitive or orientational activity as mediating the process of formation of a complex skill. An important idea of the genetic approach is implemented in a mechanistic form: the process of acquiring new forms of behavior is understood as a simple mechanical process of consolidating randomly successful reactions. Thinking and consciousness were considered as a special type of behavior, that is, as a real activity of the subject, which is subject to the same objective study as other types of behavior.

A new approach to the study of behavior was proposed by D. Miller, Y. Galanter and K. Pribram in the book “Plans and Structure of Behavior”; it was called “subjective behaviorism” by the authors. The authors called their theory of behavior “TOTE”. Structural organization behavior is now understood as follows: the impact on the system is a comparison with some “past states”. Depending on this comparison, either special reactions of the body are carried out, if the impact corresponds to past experience, or search, indicative reactions, if the impact does not correspond to past experience. The results after them are evaluated by the body, and only after achieving some satisfactory result is the final action carried out. Thus, the “TOTE” scheme actually asserts the presence in the structure of each type of activity, firstly, a special process of comparison or corporation of influence from outside with the state of the system itself and, secondly, a special process of evaluation of the results carried out by the system of actions.

The limitation of the approach of the authors of “subjective behaviorism” to the characteristics of human thinking lies in the fact that it is actually considered as a process in the body, since the concept of “plan” is used as the main concept, and the plan, according to the authors’ concept, is represented in any behavior of organisms. Eliminating inconsistencies is essentially an adaptation process. The concept of behavior in general and thinking in particular remains naturalistic. There is no analysis of the processes of generating new plans, generating criteria that make selective (as opposed to systematic) search possible. “Images” and “plans” turned out to be divorced from the motivational-emotional sphere.

6. Thinking as a motivated process.

The problem of the motives of human behavior was put forward to the fore by psychoanalysis. It was believed that human activity and behavior are based on two main, or basal, motives: the first is associated with a person’s sexual life, and the second with his aggressiveness (sex and aggression). The motives of an adult and his behavior are a product of transformation, the transformation of a child’s motives. The concepts of “sex” and “aggression” are interpreted very broadly, for example, in relation to a child, “sex” is expressed in the pleasure created by stimulation of sensitive zones of the body; all those positive emotions that arise in a child when any sensitive zones of the body are irritated are interpreted as a manifestation of innate sexuality postulated as a fact. Early manifestations of childhood aggressiveness include biting and fighting; over the years, aggressiveness increases. The main motives are unconscious in nature; they have areas of their manifestation: dreams, slips of the tongue, slips of the tongue, symptoms of illness (especially neurosis).

The method of free associations, which also reveals some features of human mental activity, has also been widely used in psychoanalysis. Thus, involuntary imaginative thinking and free associations are interpreted in psychoanalysis as one of the most important areas of manifestation of unconscious motives. The connection between images and motives can be different. Errors can also occur in mental activity.

Freud also owns a special work that can be attributed to the psychology of thinking, it is called “Wit and its relation to the unconscious.” Wit is one of the manifestations of creative thinking, characterized by the generation of contextual meanings. The basis of wit is always unconscious primary motives. Direct relation The theory of sublimation also has something to do with the psychology of thinking, according to which creativity arises as a result of restrictions that are imposed on the possibilities of direct satisfaction of primary needs; a “roundabout”, sublimated satisfaction arises, but of the same needs.

When assessing the psychoanalytic approach to the study of motivation for thinking, it is necessary to take into account the limitations of the general theory of motivation proposed by psychoanalysis, as well as the limitations of the analysis of the connections between motivation and thinking. The first is manifested in a biologizing, individualistic approach to motivation, and the second is that thinking (dreaming, wit, creativity) is interpreted only as an area of manifestation of motivation, while the specific contribution of motivation to the organization and structure of mental activity has not been studied. The theory of creativity as the sublimation of biological motives also has no scientific basis. The method of interpreting dreams, i.e., studying the manifestations of motives in imaginative thinking man, as well as the interpretation of the relationship between consciousness and the unconscious as purely antagonistic. At the same time, it is important to emphasize the positive things that are associated with psychoanalysis: emphasizing the importance of the problem of motives, analysis of the manifestations of motives in thinking, the significance of the unconscious in thinking, an attempt to highlight specific features of the unconscious in comparison with consciousness (ignoring contradictions, the timeless nature of the unconscious).

For the psychology of thinking, the cognitive theory of motivation is essential. Proponents of the cognitive theory of motivation go from motive to cognition, and not vice versa, as was the case in early psychoanalysis, where the move from motive to cognition was rather presented. By cognitive processes in this context we mean the plans that a person makes (meaning conscious plans), the goals that a person sets for himself, the expectations that he is aware of, the risks that a person consciously takes. The central position of the theory is formulated as follows: the motivation of human behavior is built in accordance with cognition. Within the framework of the cognitive theory of motivation, we discuss classical studies level of aspirations, research on achievement motivation. This type of motivation is usually described as the tendency to define one's own goals in accordance with some quality standards of the product or the activity itself. The achievement motive is diagnosed based on some characteristics of the subject’s cognitive activity (fantasy).

7. Thinking as a biological process.

An important area of research is the work of J. Piaget and his colleagues. Piaget uses the concept of “intelligence” rather than “thinking.” When he talks about the psychology of thinking, he means only a certain interpretation of thinking, mainly the one that is presented in the works of representatives of the Würzburg school and to which he is critical. J. Piaget defines intelligence as the progressive reversibility of mobile mental structures; he believes that intelligence is a state of equilibrium to which all successively located adaptations of the sensorimotor and cognitive order gravitate, as well as all assimilative and accommodating interactions of the body with the environment.

One of the starting points is the distinction between object and subject. An object is some external given that exists outside the subject; it is unchangeable. The subject is individual subject, viewed from the point of view of action. A certain relationship develops between them. J. Piaget's theory includes two main components: the doctrine of the functions of intelligence and the doctrine of the stages of development of intelligence.

In its most general form, intelligence is understood as the further development of certain fundamental biological characteristics, fundamental in the sense that they are inseparable from life. The following characteristics stand out as such characteristics: organization and adaptation are the main functions of intelligence, or functional invariants. Invariant characteristics are considered as properties of biological functioning in general. The organization of intellectual activity means that in each intellectual activity of the subject it is possible to isolate something whole and something included in this whole as an element with their connections. The meaning of the term assimilation comes down to emphasizing the reconstruction by the subject in the course of his cognitive activity of certain characteristics of the cognizable object. Accommodation is the process of adaptation of the cognizing subject itself to the various demands put forward by the objective world. Not only does the individual reproduce the individual and integral characteristics of the cognizable object, but the subject himself changes in the course of cognitive activity. The cognitive experience that a given person has accumulated by a certain period is called cognitive structure by J. Piaget. One of the features of the functioning of the human intellect is that not all content received from the external world can be learned, but only that which at least approximately corresponds to the internal structures of the individual. When describing the functioning of the intellect, the term schema is used as one of the main ones - this is a cognitive structure that refers to a class of similar actions that have a certain sequence, which represents a strong interconnected whole in which its constituent acts of behavior closely interact with each other. In the concept of schema, J. Piaget's idea about the organized nature of intelligence is further concretized. One of the fundamental concepts in J. Piaget’s theory is the concept of equilibrium. This refers to the balance between assimilation and accommodation. Two types of intelligence functioning form balanced and unbalanced equilibrium states.

The concept of J. Piaget is one of the most developed and influential concepts. The attractive aspects of this concept are the genetic approach to solving general psychological problems, the identification of specific stages of development, the careful development of a clinical research method, emphasizing that intellectual activity not only reproduces the features of some external objects, but is also characterized by a change in the cognitive subject itself, which predetermines subsequent opportunities knowledge of new objects, the desire to connect intelligence with a wider class of life processes. However, one cannot fail to note the limitations of this concept. Trying to identify the main characteristics of intelligence, J. Piaget solves this problem by attracting, first of all, biological and even physical concepts. J. Piaget describes the development of the structure of intelligence using the concepts of logic and mathematics. However, in these concepts it is extremely difficult to express the new quality that appears at the level of human intelligence in comparison with what is in biological, physical or abstract logical-mathematical systems.

Thus, these theories of thinking are interesting and educational. Also, each theory has its positive and negative sides. Many scientists have worked on these theories. Much in these theories remains unclear, but also not one of these theories can be completely and specifically refuted.