EntranceTikhomirov psychology of thinking. ABOUT
IN last years The information theory of thinking has gained a certain popularity, which, unlike many authors, we consider it necessary to clearly distinguish from the actual psychological theory of thinking. The first is often formulated as a description of thinking at the level of elementary information processes and deals primarily with non-quantitative characteristics of information processes. The meaning of the information theory of thinking (for example, in the works of Simon and Newell) is as follows. The main premise of explaining human thinking at the level of information processing is the position that complex thinking processes are composed of elementary processes of symbol manipulation. IN general view these elementary processes are usually described as follows: read a symbol, write a symbol, copy a symbol, erase a symbol, and match two symbols. It is easy to see that “elementary information processes” or “elementary processes of symbol manipulation” are nothing more than elementary operations in the work calculating machine. Thus, the requirement to study thinking “at the level of elementary information processes” is actually deciphered as a requirement to explain human thinking exclusively in a system of concepts that describe the operation of a computing device.
The main working concepts within the framework of the analyzed concept are: 1) information, 2) information processing, 3) information model. Information is essentially a system of signs or symbols; processing of information - various kinds of transformations of these signs according to given rules (“manipulation of symbols,” as some authors say); information model (or “problem space” as opposed to the task environment) - information about the problem presented or accumulated (in the form of a code description) in the memory of the solving system. The idea that the behavior of a thinking person is based on a complex, but finite and well-defined set of rules for processing information, has become, according to supporters of information theory, a kind of position differentiating “scientific” and “non-scientific” (i.e., allowing “ mysticism") approaches.
What does thinking mean psychologically? Does the information approach describe the actual processes of human thinking, or does it abstract from such characteristics of it, which are precisely the most significant? We extract answers to these questions not from the experience of modeling mental processes, but from the experience of theoretical and experimental analysis of thinking processes.
Psychologically, thinking often acts as an activity to solve a problem, which is usually defined as a goal given under certain conditions. However, the goal is not always “given” from the very beginning: even if it is set from the outside, it can be quite vague, allowing ambiguous interpretation, therefore goal formation or goal setting is one of the most important manifestations of the activity of thinking. On the other hand, the conditions in which the goal is set are not always “definite”; they still need to be isolated from the general situation of activity on the basis of orientation and analysis of this situation. Task like this goal must be formulated under certain conditions. Consequently, thinking is not just a solution, but also the formation of a problem.
What is included in the conditions of the problem or what does the person solving the problem deal with? These can be real objects, and finally, people, if we consider cases of so-called visual-effective thinking. These can be signs if we consider cases of verbal thinking. Is it enough to say about human verbal thinking that it “operates with signs” in order to express the essential aspects of thinking? No, not enough! Following Vygotsky, when analyzing verbal thinking, we distinguish the sign itself, the subject-relatedness and meaning of the sign. “Operating with signs,” a person operates with meanings, and through them, ultimately, with objects of the real world. Thus, if we describe human thinking only as the manipulation of signs, then we will distract from the most important psychological content of thinking as an activity real person. This is exactly what the information theory of thought does.
Real objects, or so-called objects, included in the conditions of the problem, have such an important characteristic as value; actions with these objects, i.e., transformations of the situation, also have different values. There are different sources of formation of values of the same element of the situation and different relationships between these values. The formal presentation of the conditions of a task (for example, in the form of a graph or a list of signs), while reflecting some reality, is at the same time abstracted from such objective (assigned to the subject) characteristics of the conditions of the task, such as the relationship between the various values of elements and methods of transforming the situation, as the intention of the author of the task. These characteristics, which are lost in a formal presentation, not only really exist, but also determine (sometimes primarily) the course of activity to solve the problem. Thus, the psychological and informational characteristics of the task structure clearly do not coincide.
The result of mental activity is often human-generated signs (for example, the naming of a plan of action leading to the achievement of a goal), which, however, have a certain meaning (for example, they embody a principle of action) and value. For the person solving the problem, the meaning of the signs must be formed, and the value must act as an assessment.
Object psycho logical analysis mental activity of a person can be: characteristics of the operational meaning of the situation for the decisive one, the meaning of specific attempts to solve the problem, the meaning of re-examination, the meaning of individual elements of the situation in contrast to their objective meaning; characteristics of processes, the emergence and development of meanings of the same elements of the situation and the entire situation as a whole at different stages of the problem solving process, the relationship between non-verbalized and verbalized meanings of various types of formations in the course of problem solving; processes of interaction of semantic formations in an organization research activities, in determining its volume (selectivity) and direction; the process of emergence and satisfaction of search needs; change in subjective value, significance of the same elements of the situation, and actions, expressed in a change in their emotional coloring (with constant motivation); the role of the changing scale of subjective values in organizing the search; formation, dynamics personal meaning the situation of the task and its role in organizing activities to solve the problem (Tikhomirov, 1969).
When a person solves mental problems, such real functional formations as meaning (operational and personal) and the value of objects for a person are not simply correlated (“neutral”) with the information characteristics of the material, but are directly involved in the processes of managing the activity of solving the problem. It is this fact of fundamental importance that creates, first of all, the qualitative originality of mental activity in comparison with the process of information processing; taking into account or not taking this fact into account distinguishes between psychological and information theories of thinking.
Differentiation of information and psychological theories thinking is a necessary condition development of the latter, which must first of all reflect the specifics of creative processes, usually different from routine, template, already established ones. But the development itself psychological problems thinking not only does not close the way for cooperation between psychologists and cyberneticists, it makes such cooperation productive, since at present it is becoming more and more obvious that the design and operation of human-computer systems can only be effective when taking into account the specifics of subsystems, i.e. e, the specifics of human thinking in comparison with information processes implemented by automata.
LITERATURE
Tikhomirov O.K. The structure of human mental activity. M., 1969.
The semantic theory of thinking (Tikhomirov, 1984), developed since the mid-60s, is designed to explain the semantic regulation of specific mental activity. The main concept in this theory is the concept of a dynamic semantic system (DSS), first introduced by L. S. Vygotsky (1984). It seems to us productive to consider the DSS as a functional regulatory system that unfolds in the course of mental activity (the most developed idea of the functional system belongs to P.K. Anokhin).
The semantic theory of thinking is based on L. S. Vygotsky’s position on the connection between intellect and affect. “...A deterministic analysis of thinking necessarily involves revealing the driving motives of thought, needs and interests, motivations and tendencies that direct the movement of thought in one direction or another” (Vygotsky, 1982, p. 21). There is also a reverse influence of thinking on the affective, volitional side of mental life. Analysis, dividing a complex whole into units, shows that “there is a dynamic semantic system that represents the unity of affective and intellectual processes. It shows that every idea contains, in a processed form, a person’s affective attitude towards the reality represented in this idea” (ibid. , p. 22).
In the works of A. N. Leontiev, thinking is considered as an activity that has “affective regulation, directly expressing its bias” (Leontiev, 1967, p. 21). “Like practical activity, internal activity also meets certain needs and, accordingly, experiences the regulating effect of emotions” (Leontyev, 1964). Within the framework of the activity approach, an idea has been developed according to which “in fact, the basis of activity lies” functional system integrated and cognitive processes" that, thanks to this system, a person's emotions become "smart", and intellectual processes acquire an emotional-figurative character and become meaningful" (Leontyev, 1994, p. 11). V. K. Vilyunas (1976) notes that emotions violate the equivalence of guidelines in a choice situation, highlighting only some of them. Thus, emotions contribute to the identification of goals.
In the theory under consideration, the solution of mental problems is understood as the formation, development and interaction of various operational semantic formations. The concept of DSS allows us to adequately describe the most important aspects of the thought process: the development of the meanings of the final goal, intermediate goals and subgoals, the emergence of plans, as well as the formation of the meanings of the elements and the meaning of the situation as a whole. It is emphasized that these processes are carried out in the unity and interaction of the cognitive and emotional aspects.
The central structural formation of the DSS for regulating activity in solving problems is the meaning of the final goal, which goes through a number of stages of formation and formation (Vasiliev, 1977). Under the influence of the meaning of the final goal, the meaning of the situation develops, mediated by the development of the operational meanings of the elements of the situation. The meaning of the final goal simultaneously determines the formation of the meanings of intermediate goals (which determine the selectivity and regulation of activity at the stage of finding a solution), and ultimately the formation and development of the operational meaning of the situation (in the direction of its narrowing).
The development of meaning itself occurs under the regulating influence of the process of goal formation. The goal “mediates the movement of meaning in activity, and the fate of meaning in activity depends on it to a decisive extent” (Vasiliev, Popluzhny, Tikhomirov, 1980, p. 2). Goal formation is interpreted as a process of constant development of the meaning of a goal through its specification and enrichment through the identification of new subject connections and relationships. Understood in this way, goal formation is mediated by the development of meanings of various kinds of formations: elements and actions with them, the situation as a whole, attempts and re-examination of the situation. The thought process represents the unity of the processes of goal and meaning formation.
The patterns of semantic dynamics in the course of regulating the solution of mental problems reveal a unified process of development of meanings. This process can occur at different levels, which continuously interact with each other.
Intellectual emotions are anticipatory and heuristic, i.e. they signal the generation of new semantic formations in mental activity and perform an integrative function, uniting these new formations into higher-level integrity. They also carry out fine regulation of mental activity and influence its structure in accordance with semantic development. This function of emotions is based on the fact that emotional development is an aspect of semantic development. Emotions “set the task of meaning” and are “the sensory fabric of meaning.”
Effective mental activity is based on DSS - a functional system of integrated cognitive and emotional processes in which emotions become “smart” because they are assessments of new semantic formations obtained during the holistic and intuitive processing of subject content. This processing is emotional and figurative in nature and is semantic in its essence. The DSS goes through a number of stages in its formation along with the deployment of activities. At the initiation stage, emotional anticipation and identification of the subject of mental activity occurs, which is the gnostic contradiction. At the stage of goal formation, the general project for transforming the problem situation is emotionally anticipated and highlighted. This moment of “emotional solution” to the problem is preceded by processes of shifting emotiogenic zones and emotional cumulation. The emotional zone is a search area containing emotionally charged components. Cumulation of emotions is an increase in the emotional coloring of a component during the transition from one emotiogenic zone to another. The general project is developed through concretization and brought to the form of an acceptor of the results of the action. The process of concretization also includes intellectual emotions that evaluate the intermediate products of this process. At the implementation stage, emotions are involved in detecting and supporting specific actions that correspond to the acceptor of results.
The specific mechanisms by which intellectual emotions influence mental activity are emotional consolidation, emotional guidance and emotional correction.
The first mechanism ensures the consolidation of certain components of mental activity (such as an element, a method of acting with it, a decision principle, an intermediate result), which during the search acquire meaning for the subject and emotional coloring. These emotionally charged components determine the meaning of certain directions of search, are used in solving a given problem, and are subsequently transferred to solving other problems.
The second mechanism ensures the return of the search to previously emotionally charged components, isolated as a result of the functioning of the mechanism of emotional consolidation. The return is carried out according to semantic connections, and intellectual emotion is a signal of an “adequate” return. The basis of emotional guidance is the comparison of semantic regulators of different levels (personal and operational meanings), which occurs through holistic and intuitive processes of processing subject content.
The third mechanism (emotional correction) ensures a change in the nature of search actions under the influence of the emerging intellectual emotion (for example, choosing a direction and fixing the search zone, reducing the volume of the search zone, the emergence of new goal-setting tactics). In a more general sense, emotional correction of behavior is understood as “bringing the general direction and dynamics of behavior in accordance with the meaning of this situation and the actions performed in it for the subject, to satisfy his needs and interests, to realize his values"(Zaporozhets, 1986, p. 266). In relation to mental activity, a change in the nature of search actions means that intellectual emotions perform not only a signaling (presenting) function, but also an incentive function. They encourage the subject to search for new ways to transform a problem situation, to challenge from memory, and in case of absence, to the creation of new means of transforming the problem situation.
As for specific motivation, initially uncertainty correlated with the incompleteness of the subject’s orientation, determined by the peculiarities of information perception and the structures of thinking itself (“Structure of mental activity” by O.K. Tikhomirov, 1969, “Psychological analysis of problem solving” by L.L. Gurova, 1976) . In the psychology of thinking, heuristic strategies were considered in connection with a person’s ability to overcome a situation of uncertainty in conditions of scarcity or inaccessibility of information. Uncertainty concerned not only the conditions of the problem, but also the means that must be used to solve it.