Main types, types, forms and methods of thinking in psychology and their characteristics

Types of thinking

Types of thinking by content.

Visual-effective thinking. The leading type of thinking at an early age, as it is determined by the main activity at this age - object-manipulative. This thinking is most closely related to practice, since the solution to various problems here is carried out by actually transforming a given situation. This can be observed, for example, in the play of children aged 1-3 years, when they cannot yet imagine actions with an object, so they need to feel it tactilely.
Visual-figurative thinking. This type of thinking arises in preschool age (3-7 years) and moves to the next stage only in adolescence. The essence of visual-figurative thinking is that an individual can think only in specific images. This is why the principle of visualization is so important in teaching children. In a more complex form, it is used by people of creative professions: artists, poets, architects, etc.
Abstract thinking. This type of thinking appears from about 11 years of age. The essence of abstract thinking (verbal-logical) is that it occurs based on a concept without the use of concrete experience.

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Types of thinking according to the nature of the problems being solved.

Practical thinking, as opposed to theoretical thinking, deals with real practice. Accordingly, the task of practical thinking is to transform reality.
Theoretical thinking consists of understanding the laws of phenomena. It can reflect something significant in various fields. At the same time, it is to a small extent connected with real practice, but in some cases this is a plus, since it is with the help of theoretical thinking that it is possible to create something qualitatively new. B. M. Teplov wrote about people of a theoretical type of thinking, which they carry out excellent “intellectual economy” by “reducing facts to laws, and laws to theories.”

General types of thinking can be studied in more detail in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Types of thinking

Definition of the concept

Mental activity is a mental process of a social nature .

This means that for its occurrence and development it is necessary to communicate with other people, at least with parents.

This process is a “mirror” of the surrounding world , which reflects all changes in it by obtaining information in various ways and processing in the brain.

Vision, hearing, and smell are valuable sources of information that tell a person about what is going on around him. Subsequently, this role of the informant moves to imagination and abstraction, to the logical construction of a possible result.

As a result of processing all this data, a picture of the world is drawn and a strategy for further action is developed, which is the ultimate goal of this process.

Thoughts are a product of human evolution, it has unique features unlike all other living organisms - the ability to abstraction and logic.

This allows us to anticipate possible consequences - both positive and negative. It is also an adaptation mechanism of the psyche.

In changing conditions, mental operations help an individual to form a new model of behavior in the shortest possible time, based not on experimental data, but on inferences and reasoning.

The role of thinking skills in the development of a person as a person cannot be overestimated, since this process not only accumulates the features of all other functions of the psyche, but is also an important link between them - a kind of nervous network of the human psychological world.

Specific types of thinking (reflect personal character)

By gender: masculine (characterized by orderliness and logic) and feminine (mainly built on an emotional background).
Objective and subjective thinking.
Positive thinking (operates with the positive aspects of phenomena, etc.) and negative.
Civilized and wild (aimed at the personal victory of the participant).
Non-standard, original thinking.

Types and operations of thinking.

Comparison. Finding similarities and differences between objects and phenomena.
Analysis. Identification of certain qualities, features and properties in an object.
Synthesis. Closely related to analysis. Connecting individual parts into a whole.
Abstraction. Distraction from many aspects of properties, highlighting one.
Generalization. The ability to combine similar features of phenomena and objects.

Lecture No. 8. Thinking (part 1)

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

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

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

Types of thinking

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

1) visual and effective thinking;

2) visual-figurative thinking;

3) verbal-logical (or conceptual) thinking.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There are three logical forms of thinking

: concept, judgment, inference.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Types of thinking disorders

The quality of thinking is affected by disturbances in the way of perceiving and processing information. For example, with memory or vision impairments or poor attention, a person from the outside world receives distorted information and a representation of reality. He makes incorrect conclusions and assumptions.

Another reason for impaired thinking is psychosis. The human brain no longer adheres to basic information processing systems, and this leads to disordered thoughts.

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How to determine the type?

To determine which type predominates in a person, various methods have now been developed.

The most common is a test that was developed by G.V. Rezapkina, and the technique itself bears the name of the author.

The test consists of 40 statements to which you must answer “yes” or “no” depending on whether you agree or not. Statements relate to interests, inclinations and behavioral traits.

After the survey, points are calculated according to a special system: all questions are assigned to certain columns that relate to types of thought processes. Depending on the number of points, the corresponding level of each type is distinguished:

from zero to two points weak;
from three to five average;
from five to eight high.

What refers to individual characteristics of thinking? Find out about this from our article.