Thinking as a higher mental cognitive process. Types, forms, mental operations. educational and methodological material

What are mental processes and what are they like?

Definition 1
Mental processes are mental phenomena that perform their specific functions in the integral system of the human psyche.

The emergence of this concept dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when analytical views played a leading role in science. Today, modern scientists believe that mental processes should not be considered individually, since they are all interconnected and cannot exist separately.

There are three main groups of mental processes:

• cognitive (sensation, perception, reflection, speech, attention, representation, thinking, memory, imagination)
• emotional (emotions, feelings, affects, stress)
• strong-willed (struggle of motives, decision-making, goal setting)

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Further in the article we will talk in more detail about such a cognitive psychological process as thinking.

Attention and memory

The process of cognition can be represented as a ladder, the ascent along which begins with sensations, then moves on to perception, thinking, imagination and ends at the top, which is creativity. But two cognitive processes stand apart

This is attention and memory. They play an auxiliary role and exist only in connection with other cognitive processes

But on the other hand, no intelligent human activity is possible without them.

Attention

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

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

Involuntary attention occurs on its own, under the influence of specific stimuli. Such concentration, regardless of our desire, is caused by some strong, bright, unusual objects and phenomena, or those that matter to us and are associated with our interests and needs. Voluntary attention is a conscious activity aimed at maintaining concentration on objects that do not arouse interest.

The significance of these objects is determined by the goals and objectives of the activity, and not by their brightness and unusualness. For example, to concentrate on a complex textbook text, you need to make an effort. Voluntary attention is often difficult, so it is necessary to develop conscious concentration skills.

In psychology, attention is considered both as a dynamic side of cognition and as its guide. It is this process that determines the selectivity of our consciousness, not only in terms of cognition, but also in mental activity in general.

Attention is also associated with increased activity in various centers of the brain and makes any of our activities, including cognitive ones, effective and productive. And the loss of the ability to concentrate and concentrate, the involuntary loss of attention is a serious mental illness.

Memory

You already know that the images that arise in the process of perception are unstable. In order for them to be preserved and become part of experience and material for our thinking, the work of memory is necessary

Just like attention, it is not an independent mental process. There is no memory in its pure form, outside, for example, the processes of perception, which supplies information, or thinking, which works with what is stored in memory

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

There are 4 interconnected processes in memory:

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

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

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

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

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

Thinking as a cognitive mental process

There are several definitions of the concept of “thinking” in modern psychology. In a general sense, thinking is understood as a mental process that is built on generalization and reflection of reality with verbal participation.

Thinking is one of the main human functions. Thanks to thinking, humanity has a certain set of knowledge about the structure of the world and can transfer this knowledge to subsequent generations.

Thinking includes comparison, comparison, forecasting, analysis, information search. Thinking is the highest form of cognitive activity. Thinking has a motive, a goal, involves actions, exercises control, and has a result.

Note 1

The peculiarity and difference of thinking from other psychological processes is that thinking reflects not only the external characteristics of objects, but also internal connections and relationships. Generalization is another feature of the thinking process. In other words, thinking is symbolic in nature and is expressed through speech.

Finished works on a similar topic

Course work Types of mental processes: thinking 480 ₽ Abstract Types of mental processes: thinking 280 ₽ Test work Types of mental processes: thinking 240 ₽

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Bibliography

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Phases of mental activity

Thinking represents an action that is aimed at solving a problem. Action is a process, like any process it has certain phases in its structure. The thought process consists of the following phases:

• problem occurs
• formation of an approximate solution
• mental verification of this decision (by analysis, comparison, etc.)
• conclusion

The first phase of the thought process is the emergence of a problem, sometimes it causes surprise. When a person experiences difficulty in resolving some issue, this is the phase of the problem arising. Next, the individual realizes the presence of a problem and begins mental operations aimed at finding a solution. A person analyzes each approximately suitable solution and tests the hypothesis. After this, the person makes a conclusion as to which solution is most suitable. Problem solving is the final stage of the thinking process.

Intelligence

When characterizing a person’s thinking, they primarily imply his intellectual abilities

, i.e. those abilities that ensure a person’s “inclusion” in a fairly wide range of activities and situations. These intellectual abilities of a person are primarily associated with such characteristics as:

“mental development” and;

"intelligence".

Under mental development

is understood as the totality of both knowledge, skills, and mental actions formed in the process of acquiring these skills and knowledge.
The most general characteristic of the level of mental development is the preparedness of the functioning of thinking within the limits of the age-related socio-psychological standard
(SPN).
That is, the level of mental development should reflect the most typical, general, characteristic features of mental activity for a given society, relating to both the volume and quality of knowledge and skills, and the stock of certain mental actions. The level of mental development achieved by a person depends on his intellectual abilities. Intelligence (or general mental ability) is not the sum of knowledge and mental operations, but what contributes to their successful assimilation. If intelligence is a condition for the acquisition of knowledge and skills, then mental development characterizes primarily the content, methods and forms of thinking. Intelligence
is a relatively stable structure of abilities, which are based on processes that ensure the processing of information of different quality and its conscious evaluation.
Intellectual qualities
are personality qualities that predetermine the characteristics of the functioning of the intellect.
In practice, the diagnosis of mental development arose as intelligence testing and developed in this direction throughout the first half of the twentieth century. It has even become quite common to use the Stanford-Binet IQ test as a “generalized” symbol of intelligence and level of mental development. Intelligence quotient (IQ)
is a quantitative indicator indicating the overall level of development of an individual’s thinking compared to the sample on which the intelligence test was standardized.

Forms of thinking

Scientists identify three main forms of the thinking process:

• concept
• judgment
• inference

When specific features of objects and phenomena, their general and particular characteristics, are reflected in the consciousness of an individual, this means that a certain “concept” is formed in his consciousness. A concept can be expressed in one or more words.

A form of thinking that has in its concept a positive or negative attitude towards the surrounding reality and the interconnections of the world is called judgment. All judgments can be divided into three groups:

• general (statements about all objects of a certain group)
• private (statements about some group objects)
• single (statement about one subject of the group)

Inference is understood as the isolation of a new judgment from several other judgments, for example, an inference can be made on the basis of a particular and general judgment (syllogism).

1.2. Physiological basis of thinking

Like all mental processes, thinking is an activity of the brain.

The physiological basis of thinking is temporary nerve connections (conditioned reflexes), which are formed in the cerebral cortex. These conditioned reflexes arise under the influence of second signals (words, thoughts), reflecting reality, but they necessarily arise on the basis of the first signal system (sensations, perceptions, ideas).

I.P. Pavlov wrote that “kinesthetic stimuli coming to the cortex from the speech organs are second signals, signals of signals. They represent an abstraction from reality and allow for generalization, which constitutes our superfluous, specifically human, higher thinking...”

That is, the physiological basis of thinking is brain processes at a higher level than those that serve as the basis for more elementary mental processes, such as sensation. However, at present there is no consensus on the significance and order of interaction of all physiological structures that support the thinking process. It is undeniable that the frontal lobes of the brain play a significant role in mental activity as one of the options for purposeful activity. In addition, there is no doubt about the importance of those areas of the cerebral cortex that provide gnostic (cognitive) functions of thinking. There is no doubt that the speech centers of the cerebral cortex are also involved in ensuring the thought process.

Unlike sensations, perceptions and memory, second-signal connections are more complex systems that reflect various relationships between objects and phenomena.

In thinking processes, both signaling systems are closely related to each other. The second signaling system allows for unlimited orientation in the surrounding world; through it, “the highest human adaptation - science” is created.

But the second signaling system relies on the first. If words are deprived of a certain real meaning for a person, if a person cannot correlate them with some specific objects and phenomena, then such words cease to be signals of reality. Thinking proceeds normally only with the participation of both signaling systems, but the leading role remains with the second signaling system, since the word is a signal richer in content and is associated with the processes of abstraction and generalization.

The complexity of studying the physiological foundations of thinking is explained by the fact that in practice thinking as a separate mental process does not exist. Thinking is present in all other cognitive mental processes, including perception, attention, imagination, memory, and speech. All higher forms of these processes, to a certain extent, depending on the level of their development, are associated with thinking.

Thus, thinking is a complex analytical and synthetic activity carried out by the joint work of both signaling systems. Moreover, since thinking is a reflection of reality generalized using a word, the second signaling system plays a leading role in this activity. Constant and close interaction with the first signaling system determines the inextricable connection of the generalized reflection of reality, which is thinking, with sensory knowledge of the objective world through sensations, perceptions, ideas.

Types of thinking

In modern psychological science there is no unified classification of types of thinking. Thinking is divided according to the nature of the tasks to be solved into: theoretical (conceptual and figurative) and practical (visually figurative and visually effective). The concept of theoretical thinking is understood as thinking that is aimed at searching for general patterns, more prone to scientists. It, in turn, is divided into conceptual and figurative thinking. Conceptual thinking is characterized by the use of certain concepts. When solving a mental problem, an individual does not search for new information, but uses ready-made concepts and conclusions of other people. During figurative thinking, an individual uses images that are extracted from memory and imagination.

As opposed to theoretical thinking, practical thinking is used to solve practical problems. It is divided into visual-figurative and visual-effective. Visual-figurative thinking is a process of imaginative problem solving. It involves visual modeling of a situation without performing practical actions. Visual-effective thinking involves actions with objects when solving problems. This type of thinking dominates in children under 3 years of age.

Depending on the degree of development and awareness, thinking can be discursive and intuitive. Discursive thinking is a process of mental activity in which various solution options are sorted out based on logic. Intuitive thinking, in turn, is a subconscious process; the individual somehow comes to a conclusion, but at the same time cannot explain by what principles he was guided in making a decision.

Based on novelty and originality, reproductive and productive thinking are distinguished. In reproductive thinking, an individual uses methods already known to him when solving problems; an example of reproductive thinking is a film remake. With productive thinking, new information, objects, and phenomena are recreated. An example of productive thinking is creating a new film.

Depending on the number of participants, thinking can be individual or collective.

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3.2.2 Thinking

Sensory cognition gives a person information about nine specific objects in their directly cognizable properties. However, not every phenomenon is accessible to direct sensory perception. For example, a person does not perceive ultraviolet rays, but he, nevertheless, knows about their existence and properties. Such knowledge becomes possible indirectly. This path is the path of thinking. In the most general terms, it consists in the fact that we subject some things to the test of other things and, aware of the established relations of interaction between them, judge by the change we perceive in them about the properties of these things that are directly hidden from us. Thinking is the highest cognitive process. It represents the generation of new knowledge, an active form of creative reflection and transformation of reality by man. Thinking generates a result that does not currently exist either in the activity itself or in the subject. Thinking can also be understood as the acquisition of new knowledge, the creative transformation of existing ideas. The difference between thinking and other psychological processes is also that it is almost always associated with the presence of a problem situation, a task that needs to be solved, and an active change in the conditions in which this task is given. Thinking, unlike perception, goes beyond the sensory data and expands the boundaries of knowledge. In thinking based on sensory information, certain theoretical and practical conclusions are made. It reflects existence not only in the form of individual things, phenomena and their properties, but also determines the connections that exist between them, which most often are not given directly to man in his very perception. The properties of things and phenomena, the connections between them are reflected in thinking in a generalized form, in the form of laws and entities. Thus, thinking is a generalized and indirect reflection of reality by a person in its essential connections and relationships. A generalized reflection of reality, which is thinking, is the result of processing not only the experience of an individual person and his contemporaries, but also of previous generations. A person resorts to indirect cognition in the following cases: - direct cognition is impossible due to our analyzers (for example, we do not have analyzers for capturing X-rays); - direct cognition is possible in principle, but impossible under the given conditions; - direct knowledge is possible, but not rational. Thinking makes it possible to understand the patterns of the material world, cause-and-effect relationships in nature and in socio-historical life, as well as the patterns of the human psyche. The source and criterion of mental reality, as well as the area for applying its results, is practice. In practice, thinking as a separate mental process does not exist; it is invisibly present in all other cognitive processes: perception, attention, imagination, memory, speech. The highest forms of these processes are necessarily associated with thinking, and the degree of its participation in these cognitive processes determines their level of development. The physiological basis of thinking is the reflex activity of the brain, those temporary nerve connections that are formed in the cerebral cortex. These connections arise under the influence of signals from the second system (speech), reflecting reality, but with mandatory reliance on signals from the first system (sensation, perception, ideas). In the process of thinking, both signaling systems are closely connected with each other. The second signaling system relies on the first and determines the continuous connection of the generalized reflection of reality, which is thinking, with sensory knowledge of the objective world through sensations, perceptions, and ideas. Thinking is the movement of ideas that reveals the essence of things. Its result is not an image, but a certain thought, an idea. A concept can be a specific result of thinking. In its development, thinking goes through two stages: - pre-conceptual; - conceptual. Pre-conceptual thinking is inherent in a child under five years of age. It is characterized by insensitivity to contradictions, syncretism (the tendency to connect everything with everything), transduction (the transition from the particular to the particular, bypassing the general), and the absence of the idea of ​​​​the conservation of quantity (S.L. Rubinstein). Conceptual thinking develops gradually from the child’s simple putting together of objects through the establishment of similarities and differences between them to conceptual thinking, which is formed by the age of 16-17. The human thought process is carried out in two main forms: 1) the formation and assimilation of concepts, judgments and conclusions; 2) solving mental problems. A concept is a form of thinking that reflects the essential properties, connections and relationships of objects and phenomena, which is expressed in a word or group of words. For example, the concept of “person” includes such very significant features as articulate speech, labor activity and the production of tools. Concepts are usually distinguished: - by the degree of abstraction (concrete and abstract); — by volume (single and general). When, from all the characteristics of an object, a certain set of characteristics is identified that characterizes this particular object or a group of similar ones, we are dealing with a specific concept (for example, “city”, “furniture”). If, with the help of abstraction, a certain feature is highlighted in an object and this feature becomes the subject of study and, in addition, is considered as a special subject, then an abstract concept arises (for example, “justice”, “equality”). As a structural unit of thought, a judgment is built on a set of concepts. Judgment is a form of thinking that reflects the connections between objects and phenomena of reality and their properties and characteristics. For example, the Earth revolves around the Sun. Judgments are formed in two ways: directly, when they express what is perceived, and indirectly - through inferences or reasoning. Inference is a form of thinking in which a conclusion is drawn based on several judgments. For example, all the planets in the solar system revolve around the sun. Earth is a planet in the solar system, which means it revolves around the sun. Conclusions can be reached using the following methods: induction, deduction, analogy. Induction is a logical conclusion that reflects the direction of thought from the particular to the general. Deduction is a logical conclusion that reflects the direction of thought from the general to the specific. Analogy is a logical conclusion that reflects the direction of thought from particular to particular. Each act of thinking is a process of solving a problem that arises in the course of human cognition or practical activity. Depending on the style of mental activity of a person and the accessibility of the content of the problem for him, its solution can be carried out in various ways. The least desirable method is trial and error, in which there is usually neither a sufficiently clear understanding of the task nor the construction and purposeful testing of various hypotheses. This method, as a rule, does not lead to the accumulation of experience and does not serve as a condition for human mental development. Methods for solving a mental problem, which not only allow you to quickly find an answer, but are also conditions for a person’s mental development, can be named such as passive and active use of an algorithm, targeted transformation of the conditions of the problem, heuristic ways of solving the problem. The problem solving process consists of five stages: 1. Motivation (desire to solve the problem). 2. Analysis of the problem. 3. Search for a solution to the problem based on a known algorithm, on the basis of choosing the optimal option and on the basis of a fundamentally new solution, taking into account logical reasoning, analogies, heuristic and empirical techniques. The solution to a problem is often facilitated by insight. 4. Proof and justification of the correctness of the decision. 5. Implementation and verification of the solution, and, if necessary, its correction. Thinking, unlike other processes, occurs in accordance with a certain logic. In order to identify objective relationships and interconnections between objects and phenomena during the formation of concepts, judgments, conclusions and solving mental problems, a person resorts to mental operations - compares, analyzes, generalizes and classifies. Accordingly, the following logical operations can be distinguished in the structure of thinking: 1. Comparison - establishing relations of similarity and difference. The result of comparison, in addition, can be systematization or classification - the mental distribution of objects and phenomena into groups and subgroups. Often it acts as the primary form of theoretical and practical knowledge. 2. A deeper penetration into the essence of things requires the disclosure of their internal connections, patterns and essential properties. It is performed using analysis and synthesis. Analysis is the dissection of an object, mental or practical, into its constituent elements and their subsequent comparison. Synthesis is the construction of a whole from analytically given parts. Analysis and synthesis are usually carried out together and contribute to a deeper understanding of reality. “Analysis and synthesis,” wrote S.L. Rubinstein, “common denominators” of the entire cognitive process. They relate not only to abstract thinking, but also to sensory cognition and perception. In terms of sensory cognition, analysis is expressed in the identification of some sensory property of an object that had not been properly identified before. The cognitive significance of analysis is due to the fact that it isolates and emphasizes, highlights the essential.” Theoretical, practical, imaginative and abstract intelligence in its formation is associated with the improvement of thinking operations, primarily analysis, synthesis and generalization. 3. Abstraction is the isolation of any side or aspect of a phenomenon that in reality does not exist as an independent entity. Abstraction is performed for a more thorough study and, as a rule, on the basis of a previously performed analysis and synthesis. The result of all these operations is often the formation of concepts. Not only properties, but also actions, in particular methods of solving problems, can be abstracted. Their use and transfer to other conditions is possible only when the selected method of solution is realized and meaningful regardless of the specific task. 4. Generalization acts as a connection of the essential (abstraction) and connecting it with a class of objects and phenomena. The concept becomes one of the forms of mental generalization. 5. Concretization acts as an operation inverse to generalization. This is a distraction from general characteristics and emphasizing the particular, individual. It is defined, for example, in the fact that from the general definition of a concept a judgment is derived about the belonging of individual things and phenomena to a certain class. All these operations, according to S.L. Rubinstein [65], are different aspects of the main operation of thinking - mediation (that is, the disclosure of increasingly significant connections and relationships). Let's consider the types and types of thinking, and its individual characteristics. There are different approaches to defining types of thinking. • Based on the degree of development of the tasks being solved, thinking is distinguished: - discursive (inferential); - intuitive - instantaneous, characterized by minimal awareness. • Thinking is a kind of theoretical and practical activity that involves a system of actions and operations of an indicative, research, transformative and cognitive nature included in it. Thus, according to the nature of the problems being solved, thinking is divided into: - theoretical (conceptual) conceptual thinking - this is thinking, using which a person, in the process of solving a problem, turns to concepts, performs actions in the mind, without directly dealing with the experience gained with the help of organs feelings. He discusses and searches for a solution to a problem from beginning to end in his mind, using ready-made knowledge obtained by other people, expressed in conceptual form, judgments and inferences. Theoretical conceptual thinking is characteristic of scientific theoretical research. — theoretical figurative thinking differs from conceptual thinking in that the material that a person uses here to solve a problem is not concepts, judgments or inferences, but images. They are either directly retrieved from memory or creatively recreated by the imagination. This type of thinking is used by creative people who deal with images. In the course of solving mental problems, the corresponding images are mentally transmitted so that a person, as a result of manipulating them, can directly see the solution to the problem that interests him. Both types of thinking considered - theoretical conceptual and theoretical figurative - in reality, as a rule, coexist. They complement each other and reveal to a person different but interconnected aspects of existence. Theoretical conceptual thinking provides, although abstract, but at the same time the most accurate, generalized reflection of reality. Theoretical figurative thinking allows us to obtain a specific subjective perception of it, which is no less real than an objective conceptual one. Without one or another type of thinking, a person’s perception of reality would not be as deep and versatile, accurate and rich in various shades as it actually is. - practical, carried out on the basis of social experience and experiment. • Based on the content of the tasks to be solved, the following are distinguished: - objective-effective; - visually figurative; - verbal and logical thinking. Visual-effective thinking is based on the direct perception of objects, the real transformation of the situation in the process of actions with objects. The main condition for solving the problem in this case is the correct actions with the appropriate objects. This type of thinking is widely represented among people engaged in real production work, the result of which is the creation of a specific material product. Visual-figurative thinking is characterized by reliance on ideas and images. Its peculiarity is that the thought process in it is directly related to the thinking person’s perception of the surrounding reality and cannot take place without it. Thoughts are visual and figurative, a person is tied to reality, and the images themselves necessary for thinking are presented in his short-term and operative memory (in contrast, images for theoretical figurative thinking are extracted from long-term memory and then transformed). Its functions are related to the presentation of situations and changes in them that a person wants to obtain as a result of his activities that transform the situation. In contrast to visual-effective thinking, it is transformed only in terms of image (J. Piaget) [60]. This form of thinking is most fully and comprehensively represented among children of preschool and primary school age, and among adults - among people engaged in practical work. This type of thinking is quite developed in all people who often have to make decisions about the objects of their activity only by observing them, but without directly touching them. Verbal-logical thinking is carried out using logical operations with concepts. Within this type, the following types of thinking are distinguished: - theoretical; - practical; — analytical; - realistic; - autistic; - productive and reproductive; - involuntary and voluntary. Theoretical thinking is the knowledge of laws, rules, development of concepts and hypotheses. Practical thinking is the preparation of a transformation of reality (developing a goal, creating a plan, a diagram, testing hypotheses under conditions of severe time pressure). Analytical (logical) thinking is temporary, structural (stage-by-stage) and conscious in nature. Realistic thinking is aimed at the outside world and is governed by the laws of logic. Autistic thinking is associated with the realization of a person’s desires. Productive is reproducing thinking based on novelty in mental activity, and reproductive is reproducing thinking in a given image and likeness. Involuntary thinking involves the transformation of dream images, and voluntary thinking involves the purposeful solution of mental problems. Thinking has a pronounced individual character. The peculiarities of individual thinking are manifested in different relationships of types and forms, operations and procedures of mental activity. Thus, all of the listed types of thinking coexist in humans and can be represented in the same activity. However, depending on its nature and ultimate goals, one or another type of thinking dominates. For this reason they all differ. In terms of their degree of complexity, in terms of the demands they place on a person’s intellectual and other abilities, all of these types of thinking are not inferior to each other. The most important qualities of thinking are: • Independence of thinking - the ability to put forward new problems and find ways to solve them without resorting to the help of other people. • Initiative - a constant desire to seek and find ways and means to solve a problem. • depth - the ability to penetrate the essence of things and phenomena, understand the causes and deep patterns. • LATY - the ability to see problems multilaterally, in conjunction with other phenomena. • speed - the speed of solving problems, ease of reproduction of ideas. • originality - the ability to produce new ideas that are different from generally accepted. • Inquisitiveness is the need to always find the best solution to the tasks and problems. • Criticality is an objective assessment of objects and phenomena, the desire to question the hypothesis and solution. • Hasterness - the imperceptibility of aspects of a comprehensive study of the problem, snatching only individuals from it, a statement of inaccurate answers and judgments. Thinking is required-motivated and focused in nature. All operations of the thought process are caused by the needs, motives, interests of the individual, its goals and objectives. Of great importance are a person’s active desire to develop his intelligence and willingness to actively use him in useful activity. One of the difficult problems of learning at school and a university (especially technical) is the emphasis on the development of formal logical thinking to the detriment of figurative thinking. As a result, students and students become as if enslaved by their own formal-logical thinking: the desire for creativity, high spiritual requests seem completely unnecessary to some of them. It is necessary that both of these types of thinking develop harmoniously so that imaginative thinking does not turn out to be constrained by rationality, so that a person’s creative potential does not run out. According to D. Gilford, creative thinking has the following features [10]: - originality and unusual ideas, their intellectual novelty; - the ability to manifest semantic flexibility, that is, the ability to see an object from a new angle; - figurative adaptive flexibility, that is, the ability to change perception in order to see all aspects of the object hidden from observation; Semantic spontaneous flexibility when comparing various ideas. A serious obstacle to creative thinking is the commitment to old solutions: a tendency to conformism, fear of seeming stupid and funny, extravagant or aggressive; fear of mistakes and fear of criticism; overstated assessment of their own ideas; high level of anxiety; Mental and muscle tension. The conditions of successful solving creative problems are more frequent detection and application of new methods; successful overcoming of the prevailing stereotypes; the ability to take risk, freeing from fear and protective reactions, a combination of optimal motivation and the corresponding level of emotional excitement; The variety and multidirectionality of knowledge and skills that orient thinking to new approaches. Thinking is organically related to speech and language. Their occurrence and development marks the emergence of a new special form of reflection of reality and its management. It is important to distinguish the language from speech [15]. Language is a system of conditional symbols by which combinations of sounds are conveyed that have certain meaning and meaning for people. Speech is a set of pronounced or perceived sounds that have the same meaning and also meaning as the corresponding system of written characters. The language is one for all people who use it, speech is individual. In speech, the psychology of a single person or community of people is expressed for whom these features of speech are characteristic; The language reflects the psychology of the people for whom it is native, and not only now living people, but also previous generations. Speech without assimilation of a language is impossible, while language can exist and develop relatively independently of a person, according to laws that are not related to either his psychology or his behavior. The link between the language and the speech is the meaning of the word, since it is expressed both in the units of the language and in the units of speech. Speech performs a number of functions: - expresses the individual originality of human psychology; - acts as a carrier of information, memory and consciousness; - is a means of thinking; - acts as a regulator of human communication and his own behavior; - It is a means of managing the behavior of other people. The main function of speech in humans is that it is a tool of thinking. In a word as a concept, much more information is contained than can carry a simple combination of sounds. The fact that human thinking is inextricably linked with speech is primarily proved by psychophysiological studies of the participation of the voice apparatus in solving mental problems. In the most complex and intense moments of thinking, a person has increased activity of the vocal cords. Emotional-thought outbreaks, as a rule, cause an increase in speechwriting activity. In these cases, mental operations and speech -related reactions are performed in unity and interdependence. In speech thinking, the word and thought are constantly united. The main path of development of human speech is its inclusion in the management of all cognitive processes and interconnection. Speech is actively developing during training and education. The formation and development of speech occurs during three periods: - phonetic - to assimilate the sound appearance of the word (up to 2 years); - grammatical - to assimilate the structural laws of the organization of the statement (up to 3 years); - semantic - by the assimilation of conceptual assignment (up to 17 years). Consciously and unconsciously selected images of speech behavior are fixed and become familiar in the speech activity of a person. So the style of speech activity is born, characteristic of each person, which largely determines the internal and appearance of his personality. The professional activity of a person has a great influence on the style of speech. The artist is characterized by emotional and expressive speech, for the military-command-war, for the writer-figuratively narrative, for a business person-utilitarian and pragmatic, for the scientist and teacher-conceptual-explanatory. Purposefully engaged in the development of speech, a person increases its culture, increases his erudition, which means he enriches and develops his intelligence. One of the main tasks of psychology is to reveal in each person the reserves of thinking and speech that he does not use, to outline the ways of self -learning and self -development of his creative intelligence. Control questions 1. The essence of thinking as a cognitive process. Thinking as indirect knowledge. Definition of thinking. Thinking and perception. Thinking and speech. Emotions and thinking. 2. Two signaling systems of reflection of reality, their relationship in the process of thinking. 3. Doponical and conceptual thinking. 4. Formation of concepts. 5. Mental operations. Analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction, generalization. 6. Thinking in the process of solving problems. 7. Types of thinking. Practical and theoretical thinking. Visual-effective, visual-figurative and conceptual thinking. Surgical thinking. 8. Creative thinking and the problem of intuition. 9. Individual differences in thinking. Mental activity and individual cognitive style. 10. Speech as a cognitive process and speech as a means of communication. 11. General characteristics of speech as a communicative process. The role of the language in communication. 12. Speech functions. 13. The development of speech in ontogenesis.

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