The main form of human thought. Thinking

Thinking is a mental process of reflecting reality, the highest form of human creative activity. Thinking is a process of reflection of objects, insofar as it is a creative transformation of their subjective images in the mind of a person, their meaning and meaning in order to resolve real contradictions in the circumstances of people's life, to form its new goals, discover new means and plans for their achievement, revealing the essence of the objective forces of nature. and society.

Thinking is the purposeful use, development and increment of knowledge, which is possible only if it is aimed at resolving contradictions that are objectively inherent in the real subject of thought. In the genesis of thinking, the most important role is played by understanding (by people of each other, the means and objects of their joint activity).

Thinking without-figure(English imageless thought) - thinking, “free” from sensory elements (images of perception and representation): understanding the meaning of verbal material very often occurs without the appearance of any images in the mind (Würzburg psychologists).

Thinking visual(English visual thinking):

1. A method for solving intellectual problems based on internal visual images (representations, imaginations (A. R. Luria “A Little Book of Great Memory” (1968)).

2. A type of creative thinking, the product of which is the generation of new images, the creation of new visual forms that carry a certain semantic load and make the meaning visible.

Discursive thinking(discursus - reasoning) - verbal thinking of a person mediated by past experience. Verbal-logical, or verbal-logical, or abstract-conceptual, thinking. It acts as a process of coherent logical reasoning, in which each subsequent thought is conditioned by the previous one. The most detailed varieties and rules (norms) of discursive thinking are studied in logic.

Thinking is complex(English complex thinking) - the thinking of a child and an adult, carried out in the process of peculiar empirical generalizations, the basis for which are the relationships between things that open up in perception.

Thinking is visual-active- one of the types of thinking, distinguished not by the type of task, but by the process and method of solution; the solution of a non-standard task is sought by observing real objects, their interactions and performing material transformations in which the subject of thinking takes part. The development of intellect begins with it both in phylo- and ontogenesis.

Visual-figurative thinking- a type of thinking that is carried out on the basis of the transformation of images of perception into images-representations, further changes, transformations and generalizations of the subject content of representations that form a reflection of reality in a figurative-conceptual form.

Thinking figuratively- the process of cognitive activity, aimed at reflecting the essential properties of objects (their parts, processes, phenomena) and the essence of their structural relationship.

Thinking is practical(English practical thinking) - the process of thinking that takes place in the course of practical activity, in contrast to theoretical thinking, aimed at solving abstract theoretical problems.

Thinking is productive(eng. productive thinking) - a synonym for "creative thinking" associated with solving problems: new, non-standard intellectual tasks for the subject. The most difficult task facing human thought is the task of knowing oneself.

Thinking theoretical- the main components are meaningful abstractions, generalizations, analysis, planning and reflection. Its intensive development in its subjects is facilitated by educational activities.

Thinking is technocratic- (English technocratic thinking) - a worldview or mentality, the essential features of which are the primacy of the means over the end, the goal over the meaning and universal interests, the meaning over the being and realities of the modern world, technology (and psychotechnics) over man and his values. This is reason, which is alien to Reason and Wisdom. There are no absolute categories of morality, conscience, human experience and dignity. An essential feature of T. m. is a view of a person as a trainable programmable component of the system, as an object of a wide variety of manipulations, and not as a person who is characterized not only by amateur activity, but also by freedom in relation to the possible space of activities.

Thinking is a property of the human psyche, a reflection by the subject of the picture of reality surrounding him. Thinking is characterized by generalization, the establishment of connections and relationships between objects. It has a complex and at the same time interesting species structure. Consider the main types of thinking in psychology.

Stages of development of thinking

The complexity of the process of formation of higher mental activity helped a person to develop many types of thinking in psychology. The table contains the steps for the development of thinking.

Pre-conceptual stage	Conceptual (abstract) stage
The main role in the process of thinking is given to memory. Thinking of a child with single judgments about objects, generalization with familiar objects. Judgments are based on similarities and examples. Therefore, the upbringing of children can be effective only by examples.	Abstract thinking gradually replaces pre-conceptual thinking if the child develops correctly. In this case, he begins to operate with concepts. The change of pre-conceptual thinking to conceptual thinking is not carried out immediately, but in stages. The first rudiments appear in two-year-old children, and the development of perfect conceptual mental activity is completed in adolescence.

Classification of types of thinking in psychology

Thinking has its own typology and structure. Types of thinking in psychology can be classified according to several criteria.

sign	Typology
1. The nature of the issues being addressed.	Thinking of a theoretical (conceptual) and practical nature.
2. Originality of thinking, productivity.	Creative and non-creative types of thinking in psychology.
3. The essence of the issues being addressed.	Effective, figurative and logical types of mental activity.
4. Awareness, detail of questions.	Discursive (conclusive) and intuitive (instantaneous).

Types of thinking in psychology and their characteristics

Mental activity is determined by the means used. Allocate:

• visual-effective thinking associated with objective actions (a three-year-old kid breaks toys, collects a pyramid);
• visual-figurative mental activity is manifested in interaction with images of objects from memory (the work of a fashion designer or stylist, the creation of a mental image);
• thinking of the highest level, abstract-logical (verbal-logical) nature - operating with concepts about objects (in physics, the study of an electron without direct contact with particles).

The last type of thinking includes several subspecies.

Abstract-logical types of thinking in psychology
Theoretical and practical	Theoretical thinking is the knowledge of the theory, which includes scientific laws, rules, concepts, hypotheses. The essence of practical thinking is in the transformation of the surrounding world.
Analytical, realistic and autistic	Analytical (logical) thinking is conscious, limited in time, consists of logical stages. Realistic - focused on the environment, subject to the rules of logic. Autistic - aimed at the implementation of human needs.
productive and reproductive	Productive is the recreation of a new mental product. Reproductive is pattern reproduction.
involuntary and voluntary	Involuntary - change of images in dreams. Arbitrary - purposefulness of thought.

Let us consider the examples of abstract-logical types of thinking in psychology, briefly characterizing each.

Thinking at the level of theory and practice

Options for applying the results and the features of the questions determine the differences in thinking at the theoretical level and the practical one.

The results of theoretical thinking are not required to be applied in practice. Most often it is the development of methodology, the study of laws. For example, the theory of psychology: comprehension of laws and connections already defined by someone. Creation of the periodic table D.I. Mendeleev on the basis of systematization of data on chemical elements.

The goal of practical thinking, on the contrary, is the application of theory in practice, in real life. The psychotherapist's job is to help the client solve specific problems. Various types of thinking in psychology, a scheme for analyzing a condition, a strategy and techniques for healing are used by a doctor in practice. Or a lawyer contemplating speaking in court. From the information collected, he highlights the facts that make it possible to mitigate the guilt of the client. One of the features of practical thinking is the limited time, that is, it is required to quickly apply knowledge, any concept and types of thinking.

The psychology of a specialist, skill, professionalism in any business are predetermined by how a person uses both types of thinking. The relationship between them makes the division into theory and practice conditional. L. Rubinstein believed that thinking of any type is associated with practice. Theory is always based on practical experience.

Creative and reproductive types of thinking

The originality of the results is a sign by which thinking is divided into productive and unproductive. The product of thought can be creative and uncreative.

The non-creative type has another name - reproductive. Reproduction is a repetition, that is, this type of thinking consists in repeating the results already obtained by someone, possibly with the introduction of their own “strokes”. At the same time, the efficiency of solving the same problem increases.

According to A. Brushlinsky, uncreative thinking does not exist, since any thought process leads to the creation of a new one.

In terms of understanding creative thinking, the thought of the English doctor E. Bono is interesting: “In order to give birth to creative thoughts, one must think around.” This phenomenon has been called "lateral thinking". For example, Lagrange came up with the calculus of variations while listening to an organ in a church.

D. Gilford formulated the features of creative thinking:

• original and unusual ideas;
• the ability to be flexible, to see the situation from a different angle;
• flexibility when comparing new ideas.

The development of a creative approach is hampered by conformism, fear of criticism and mistakes, anxiety, tension and high self-esteem.

The role of logic in thinking

Depending on the time of the thinking process, its awareness and the presence of structure, logical and intuitive thinking are distinguished. Logical (analytical) is characterized by unfolding in time, clarity, its stages are always clear. The intuitive is unpredictable, unconscious, and flows quickly. It is impossible to isolate its stages.

Logical thinking works on the basis of a sequence of inferences. It obeys the rules of logic. Logic involves the study of the problem, its analysis, goal setting, identification of assumptions and methods for resolving the issue. Work on a problematic issue is built according to a clear logical scheme.

Intuition

The phenomenon of thinking based on intuition was aptly described by Edgar Allan Poe: "The gift to discover valuable things that were not sought." He emphasized that many great discoveries were made unpredictably, thanks to accidents and unexpected events.

Mental activity has always been associated with His Majesty the case. Intuitive kinds of thinking in psychology, examples of which are known to us from Faraday's Law, the discovery of radioactivity by the Curies, contributed to many interesting discoveries.

Chance does not determine everything in thinking. Even intuitive insights have their roots. According to scientists - experts in various fields, accidents contribute to a prepared mind. For example, not every person sitting under an apple tree and watching the fruit fall would formulate the Law of universal gravitation, but only I. Newton. He worked on solving the problem of gravity for a long time.

There is a hypothesis that the dominance of intuition or logic in thinking is genetically determined. According to scientists, people with the leading right hemisphere use intuition more, and those with the left hemisphere use logic.

Unconscious mental activity

Thinking is not only a level of consciousness, but also an unconscious sphere. The interactions of these spheres and the transitions of thinking from the first state to the second and vice versa are quite complex.

As a result of the interaction of consciousness and the unconscious, a solution to the problem always comes. To do this, it is important to develop purposeful thinking. The solution sometimes comes as a by-product of the main goal.

The interaction of the conscious and the unconscious is the connection between the direct and by-products of mental actions. The unconscious also affects a person and his actions, although it does not remain in consciousness, it is not expressed through speech. A side (unconscious) result of thinking is formed under the influence of the same images, phenomena, but it is not important for achieving the goal.

operational thinking

A special type of thinking is operational, which manifests itself in a number of ways:

• limited time to solve the problem;
• close relationship of perception and comprehension of information;
• information and environment are changing rapidly;
• the operator experiences a strong emotional and volitional load;
• the operator correlates information about the object with previously accumulated knowledge and creates in his mind a clear image of the managed object.

What is autistic thinking?

Another unusual type of thinking is autistic, so named from the word "autism", which translates as "flight of fantasy", "flying in the clouds" or "out of touch with reality." This type of thinking implies a weak orientation to real life and circumstances. It is not considered the norm, but it is not a pathology (disease): for example, childhood fantasies cut off from life, solving unrealistic problems. Autistic thinking can be characteristic not only of a child, but also of an adult. In this case, an already mature person does not take into account the real situation, ignores reality and presents a solution to a complex problem that does not correspond to it.

Conclusion

Thinking is a cognitive process inherent in the intellect. Thanks to him, a person can study objects and phenomena inaccessible to the senses. Allocates mental activity among other processes of cognition such a property as a generalized reflection of the surrounding world.

All kinds of thinking in psychology are purposeful and motivated. The needs, interests of a person, his goals trigger mental operations, which is characteristic of the human personality, and not just the brain. The improvement of thinking is always determined by the active desire to develop the intellect and the desire to use one's abilities.

To think, to think, to know, to create - nature has laid this amazing ability in each of us. From the moment of birth, the human brain begins to read information from the outside world, this is how a complex and multifaceted process of thinking starts. What is thinking? Its types and their characteristics will be considered in this article.

General concept

Since ancient times, people have been trying to understand what thinking is, how it originated, how it works, how this mysterious mechanism works. Scientists, philosophers tried to reveal the secrets of human consciousness and study this invisible, imperceptible matter. Many treatises, books, scientific papers and articles have been written on this topic. The mental abilities of a person have been studied and are still being studied by various scientific disciplines, but remain completely unknown. Of course, we, too, will not be able to perform a miracle and reveal as such a phenomenon of the human mind. But let's look at this concept from the standpoint of psychological science and try to understand the many types of thinking and their characteristics.

There are many definitions of thinking in psychology. Discussions about this issue are ongoing. There is no need to give all the examples and analyze each of them in detail.

The main thing is that the mind is a unique gift that is unique to man, it is a mental process that allows us to learn about the world around us. The brain reads information from the outside, analyzes it, draws certain conclusions, and on their basis a person performs actions.

At the very beginning of an individual's life, the process of cognition seems simple and primitive (of course, only at first glance), but as it develops and matures, it becomes more and more complicated. The information accumulated over time makes it possible to divide and generalize, invent and reason, design and produce, create and create, create an infinite number of variations and combinations of what is happening in the world. But at the basis of all these actions is the ability given to man by nature to think. And in psychology there is such a thing as a typology of thinking, in which it is divided into types and types, classified into different groups according to certain characteristics.

Classification

A separate subject of study in psychology is the classification and characteristics of the types of thinking. There are many visual tables that are full of a variety of information on this topic. In their abundance, it can be difficult to understand and understand the whole essence of this complex system. Let's try to single out several main groups, to which researchers pay special attention. Main types of thinking:

This group includes:

• visual and effective;
• visual-figurative;
• subject-effective;
• abstract logical thinking.

By the nature of the tasks to be solved

Thinking can be:

• theoretical;
• practical.

According to the degree of reflection

There are such varieties:

• analytical;
• intuitive;
• realistic;
• autistic;
• egocentric.

By degree of novelty

May be:

• productive;
• reproductive, sometimes referred to as introverted.

According to the degree of arbitrariness

There are such types:

• arbitrary;
• involuntary.

According to personal characteristics

Varieties:

• male;
• feminine;
• positive;
• negative;
• strategic;
• idealistic;
• irrational;
• rational;
• analytical;
• right hemisphere and left hemisphere;
• synthetic.

Scientists distinguish many more types of thinking depending on the results of a person’s activity, his mental state, worldview, perception of reality, etc.

Each of these types deserves personal attention and is considered separately in psychology, but we will consider only those indicated above.

One of the varieties of a rich choice, distinguished by psychologists, is classified by content. This group includes visual-effective, figurative, objective-effective and abstract-logical thinking.

• Visual Action Thinking. The individual, faced with immediate reality, activates this type of comprehension. He focuses on the concrete perception of objects. Such mental activity is characteristic of early childhood and begins to develop from infancy. A child who does not yet know how to think, speak and do something like an adult, explores the world by touching objects and various experiments with them. He literally tries the world with his teeth, gnaws them, knocks them against each other, sometimes breaks them. Thus, by observing, by making certain manipulations with things, a small person studies the world and draws his first conclusions from the impressions received. In the adult state, visual-effective consciousness is characteristic of workers in the production sector.
• Visual-figurative thinking. It is visually based. It begins to develop in children from the middle of preschool age, is dominant until the end of early school age. An adult also constantly uses visual-figurative perception throughout his life. The emphasis in this case is on the representation of various objects, phenomena, situations, as well as on their various transformations and transformations in the human imagination.
• Abstract logical thinking. In the course of thoughts of this nature, a person operates with abstract, abstract, non-concrete concepts. This process occurs along the following chain: perception, understanding, comprehension, generalization. That is, a person, comprehending for himself the essence, meaning and significance of something, eventually creates his individual generalized and abstract opinion about objects, phenomena, situations, independent of other members of society.
• Object-Effective Thinking characteristic of people who have built and continue to build the entire objective world around us for centuries. They come up with ideas and turn them into reality.

These types of mind, like steps, gradually lay out the path of a person’s development from the cradle to his full development as a person.

By the nature of the tasks

Separately, psychologists describe the types of mental abilities based on the nature of the goals set and the tasks performed.

• theoretical thinking. The current laws, rules, norms, theories, concepts, teachings - all this and much more is the product of a theoretical thought process that allows you to analyze the accumulated knowledge and ideas, compare them, classify and form new ones.
• empirical thinking is a kind of theoretical thinking. It is characterized by the same features, but with it the main role will be played by testing the hypothesis in practice, and not just in theory.
• practical thinking. Everything is relatively simple here: the fruits of the theory are used in practice, tested in action. All kinds of projects, plans, schemes, goals transform theoretical concepts into real practical reality. As a result of this type of thinking, an incorporeal thought takes on a tangible form through action.

According to the degree of reflection

Reflection is a look at oneself, inside oneself, deep into one's consciousness, as well as at the result of one's own actions and their rethinking.

Based on this concept, psychologists have identified another group of types of thinking.

• Analytical thinking. It is able to divide objects, phenomena, situations and problems into parts, highlighting and studying the most important of them. We observe, compare, find cause-and-effect relationships, draw conclusions, find the main thing and structure large amounts of information thanks to analytical abilities. The process of such work goes on for a long time and consistently.
• intuitive thinking to some extent it is the antipode of the analytical, as it passes quickly and unconsciously. There is neither logic, nor analysis, nor at least some reasonable explanation of what conclusions a person's consciousness makes at the moment of triggering intuition.
• realistic thinking. No evidence - no belief in anything. A realistic perception of reality gives a person the opportunity to think sensibly, soberly, adequately and logically. In the course of such a thought process, a person does not rely on his personal expectations and desires, he evaluates the world around him only from the standpoint of reality, truth and fair criticism.
• autistic thinking, on the contrary, puts at the forefront illusory desires that seem quite correct and feasible, even if they run counter to logic. There is no critical assessment of reality in this type of perception. People of this mindset are often found in the artistic direction of activity and in art.
• egocentric thinking developed in children and adults with high self-esteem, excessive self-confidence, bordering on pathological narcissism. In children, this is quite normal, as they think that the world around them revolves only around them. The child's ego is in the center of the universe, and everything that happens is perceived only from the position of the reflector "I".

In egocentric adults, such an understanding of the world and oneself is already considered a psychological problem or an incorrigible character trait.

By degree of novelty

According to the degree of novelty and originality, a separate place is given to the creative (productive) and reproductive image of consciousness.

• Productive Thinking defines a person as a creator. Here the main role is played by human fantasy, imagination. It is creative people who are capable of creating completely new ideas and previously unprecedented projects. They generate an absolutely unique and original vision of the future material and spiritual objects of their work. New concepts and images, incomparable conclusions and conclusions - all these are the fruits of the work of creative consciousness.
• reproductive thinking is the opposite of productive. This type of knowledge is based solely on ready-made solutions, images, sources and templates already available in the world. The complete absence of creative imagination and the focus only on the reproduction of previously acquired knowledge characterizes this type of mind. It is worth noting that people with a reproductive type of comprehension often have traits of an introverted character.

According to the degree of arbitrariness

Allocate a group of types of thinking according to the degree of arbitrariness.

Here everything is explained quite simply.

• Arbitrary thinking man is controlled by consciousness and will, the thought process is completely under his control.
• involuntary thinking, on the contrary, exists by itself, does not obey the efforts of the will of man. Everyone is familiar with the expressions “do it automatically”, “involuntarily do it”, “do it without realizing it”, and so this is the situation when involuntary thinking performs its functions. Involuntary consciousness is associated with the affective components of a person's attitude to objects and phenomena, various situations and problems, that is, with feelings and emotional reactions to objects of the surrounding world.

Depending on personal characteristics

There is a large group of types of thinking, depending on the personal characteristics of each person, which influence the predominance of one or another type of knowledge and perception of the world.

• Male thinking. It is generally accepted that men think logically and straightforwardly, perfectly operate iconic models and systems, as a rule, this process is always aimed at action and results. Men clearly distinguish between reason and emotions. In their opinion, feelings are extremely negatively reflected in the transformation of thoughts into a business result. According to one version, this happens because the left hemisphere type of perception and information processing prevails in the brain of men. The left hemisphere is responsible for speech, logic, analysis, operations with numbers, sequences, etc. In women, while working with information, the right hemisphere of the brain dominates. Right hemispheric cognition endows women with imagination, daydreaming, emotionality, excellent spatial orientation.
• Women's thinking is similar to intuitive thinking. Emotions for the fair sex are always in the first place, so often many conclusions and conclusions are based on feelings and premonitions. Sometimes the mood controls a woman, and the course of her thoughts can change along with changes in mood. This is only a description of a trend that appears frequently, but psychologists do not claim that women do not have either logic or rationality. On the contrary, in certain situations, women show no less than men's ability to analyze, generalize, plan and miscalculate the situation.
• positive thinking. This is about optimism. People with such traits of mind are inclined, despite obstacles, to see opportunities to achieve their goals. Such individuals always manage to soberly, realistically, and most importantly, constructively, assess the situation and tune in to success.
• negative thinking characteristic of pessimists. They are constantly dissatisfied with life, constantly complain about it, see insurmountable obstacles everywhere and in everything, thereby causing pity and sympathy for those around them.
• strategic thinking. If you tend to create far-reaching plans and at the same time give clear forecasts, then you are a strategist. People with a strategic vision of the world are capable of strictly adhering to the goal, effectively assessing the path to achieve it and never turning away from it - as a rule, these are successful businessmen and leaders.
• Idealistic thinking. An idealized view of the world is inherent in idealists. Creating an ideal version of the world in their imagination, they project it onto reality. As a rule, a mismatch occurs, and a person is greatly disappointed, refusing to accept the world as it is, imperfect and imperfect.
• Irrational thinking. Irrational people think illogically, give an incorrect assessment of phenomena and situations, cannot explain why they act one way or another, but at the same time they believe that they are doing everything right and are able to captivate those around them with their incomprehensible faith. Often it is characteristic of schizoid disorders.
• rational thinking. Arguments, facts, knowledge, skills, logic, reason - these are the foundations on which a person with a rational intellect relies. Emotions, feelings, experiences for such individuals do not matter. They always think sensibly and soberly, clearly and quickly solve the assigned tasks and find a constructive approach to everything.
• Analytical thinking. A person-analyst studies everything that happens around him slowly, thinking about everything in detail, thoroughly, always establishing the causes of what is happening, since not a single phenomenon and not a single situation in his understanding and perception of the world can be causeless.
• Synthesizing thinking. Separate facts, scattered data, scraps of information are not a problem for a person with such a mind. He will certainly recreate a complete and clear picture, collecting it piece by piece. And such complex operations absolutely do not frighten him.

Unconscious thinking

A separate concept in psychology is the concept of unconscious thinking. It implies the process of cognition of the surrounding world by the unconscious segment of the mind. The unconscious is absolutely beyond the control of its owner, it is not controlled and exists on its own. It collects and stores absolutely all information read from the outside throughout a person's life. You can compare this process with picking up the details of the designer, only this happens automatically, regardless of our desire and concentration of attention.

Information collected in the subconscious is used when it is needed.. The result of the work of the unconscious mind is these are unconscious decisions made by a person. We think that we are acting one way or another because we have long and hard searched for a logical solution in this or that situation, but we are not even aware of the influence of the unconscious on this decision. Like the far side of the moon, the unconscious mind is the most unexplored and most mysterious area of ​​the human mind.

It can be stated with certainty that it begins to develop intensively in preschool children, prevails in younger schoolchildren, and especially dominates in first graders.

Ways to determine the type of thinking

In psychology, there are several ways to determine the type of thinking, individual style. The most commonly used method for this purpose is. Tests are developed by experienced psychologists on the basis of long-term research, collection and systematization of information about the characteristics of each type of intelligence. One of these tests was created according to the method of the famous American psychologist, the largest researcher of cognitive processes, Jerome Bruner.

There is also the “Type of Thinking” technique, developed by psychologist Galina Rezalkina, in which it is proposed to answer “yes” or “no” to a number of questions. After that, points are calculated according to the proposed scales - it becomes clear what type a person has.

Thinking is a process of cognition, which is characterized by a generalized and indirect reflection of the surrounding reality.
Thinking helps us build a system of conclusions, gain new knowledge. For example, when we see strongly swaying tree branches, we conclude that it is windy outside.

Thinking is closely connected with action and speech.
Man studies reality by influencing it. Thus, action is the primary form of the existence of thinking.

Various mental operations were first created as practical ones, then they turned into operations of theoretical thinking.
Human thinking is impossible without language. The dependence between the quality of the solution of the problem and the formulation of the problem aloud or to oneself is proved. So, when the problem is formulated aloud, it is solved much better, and vice versa, when the tongue is fixed (clamped by teeth), the quality of the solution to the problem deteriorates.

Types of thinking

In genetic psychology, the following types of thinking are distinguished:

• visual and effective;
• visual-figurative;
• verbal-logical.

Visual-active thinking expressed in solving problems with the help of a real, physical transformation of the situation, manipulation with objects. Children up to three years of age have this form of thinking. The child compares objects by superimposing or placing them against each other; synthesizes, adding cubes or sticks "house"; classifies and generalizes, laying out cubes by color, etc. So the child thinks with the help of actions. The movement of the hands is ahead of thinking, which is why it is called manual.
In adults, this type of thinking manifests itself when, for example, they do housework, when rearranging furniture in a room, or when it is necessary to use unfamiliar equipment. Such thinking is possible when it is impossible to fully foresee the results of any action.

Visually - figuratively thinking has the following characteristics:

• helps to analyze, compare and generalize various images, ideas about phenomena and objects;
• recreates the whole variety of different characteristics of the subject;
• almost inseparable from imagination.

Visual-figurative thinking is manifested in preschool children from four to seven years old. Action in this type of thinking fades into the background, the child does not have to touch the object with his hands, he needs to clearly perceive and visualize this object.
A characteristic feature of the child's thinking is visibility.
In adults, visual-figurative thinking is manifested, for example, when repairing an apartment. A person can imagine in advance what the wallpaper, the color of the ceiling, etc. will look like.

Verbal-logical thinking - this is abstract thinking, which is characterized by the use of concepts, logical constructions, which sometimes do not have a direct figurative expression (for example, cost, honesty, pride, etc.).
With the help of this type of thinking, an individual establishes general patterns of development of processes in nature and society, generalizes visual material.

Thinking includes the following types of operations:

• Comparison - comparison of things, phenomena and their properties, highlighting similarities and differences;
• Analysis - mental dismemberment of a thing or phenomenon to highlight the constituent elements;
• Synthesis is a process, the reverse of analysis, which restores the whole, finding essential connections and relationships;
• Abstraction - highlighting one distinctive side of the property of an object or phenomenon;
• Generalization (generalization) - discarding single features while maintaining common ones, with the disclosure of significant relationships.

Verbal-logical thinking has its own algorithm. First, a person considers one judgment, then adds another to it and, based on them, makes a logical conclusion. For example:

• 1st proposition: All metals conduct electricity.
• 2nd judgment: iron is a metal.
• Conclusion: iron conducts electricity.

Verbal - logical thinking is the highest form of thinking, with its help a person can reflect complex connections, relationships, form concepts, draw conclusions and solve complex abstract problems.

predictive thinking

Thinking does not always obey logical laws. So, Z. Freud described predictive thinking- a type of non-logical thought process. If two sentences have the same predicates or endings, then people unconsciously associate their subjects with each other.

Advertisements work for predictive thinking. For example, the advertiser claims that "successful people wash their hair with Pantene Pro-V shampoo, hoping that the person will reason illogically, something like this:

• Successful people wash their hair with Pantene Pro-V shampoo.
• I wash my hair with Pantene Pro-V shampoo.
• So I am a successful person.

A person who cannot think according to the laws of logic, critically comprehend information, is being fooled by propaganda or fraudulent advertising.

Predicative thinking is pseudological thinking, in which different subjects are unconsciously associated with each other based on the fact that they have one common predicate.

Critical thinking can be developed by:

1. Distinguish judgments based on logic from judgments based on emotions and feelings.
2. In any information received, it is necessary to learn to see positive and negative sides ("pluses" and "minuses").
3. Notice inconsistencies in what you see and hear.
4. Do not rush to conclusions if there is not enough information.

It is important to note that all types of thinking are interconnected, and individual types can pass into each other. For example, it is difficult to separate visual-figurative and verbal-logical thinking when you have to work with diagrams and graphs. Usually all kinds of thinking are involved in a person, but one kind may prevail.

Depending on the degree and nature of the novelty of information that is comprehended by a person, the following types of thinking are distinguished:

• reproductive;
• productive;
• creative thinking.

Reproductive thinking is reflected in the reproduction by memory of certain logical rules, without establishing new associations, comparisons, analysis, etc. This can happen consciously, on an intuitive or subconscious level (for example, solving typical problems according to a predetermined algorithm).

Productive and creative types of thinking go beyond the limits of available facts, they highlight hidden properties in given objects, reveal unusual connections, ways of solving a problem, etc.
If in the process of thinking new knowledge or information is born for a person, but not new for society, then this is productive thinking. If, as a result of mental activity, something new appears for a person and for society, then creative thinking is manifested here.

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