Human thinking and intelligence: how the concepts differ

Despite the fact that many equate the concepts of intelligence and thinking, there is a difference between them. While thinking is a designation for human mental activity, intelligence is the ability for this process. The following difference: thinking is a basic innate complex of cognitive capabilities, intelligence is a more complex structure that can be developed. At the same time, thinking, as a basic component of intelligence, can develop simultaneously with it.

AI Philosophy

The philosophy of artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of philosophy that attempts to answer the following questions:

What is the essence of intelligence? Can a machine completely replace the thinking of the human mind?
Is the nature of a computer and the human brain the same? What methods does the human brain use to create consciousness (or at least the illusion of it)?
Can a machine have a mind, mental states, consciousness similar to that of a human? Can a machine feel?

These three questions regarding thinking and intelligence in philosophy reflect the different interests of AI scientists. The scientific answer to these questions depends entirely on the definitions used of “intelligence,” “consciousness,” and “machine.”

Some of the main tenets of AI philosophy include:

Turing's "Polite Convention": "If a machine behaves as intelligently as a human, then it is as intelligent as human beings."
Offer Gift.
Newell and Simon's physical symbol system hypothesis: “The physical symbol system has all the necessary and sufficient means for the general activity of the intellect.”
John Searle's argument: "A perfectly programmed computer with the right inputs and outputs would have a mind indistinguishable from the human mind."
Hobbes' mechanism: "Reason is nothing more than calculation."

The topic of intelligence in psychology and philosophy is still open. Until now, no concept has been accepted as the only correct one; research in this area continues. In addition to the biological basis of cognition, psychologists focus on historical, evolutionary, social, emotional, moral, cultural aspects and contexts. The concept of intelligence does not apply only in the theoretical or abstract plane, but also extends into the real world.

Thinking what it is

Thinking is the highest level of human consciousness, allowing a person to navigate the world around him, accumulate experience, and form an idea of objects and phenomena. It is an internal system capable of modeling the patterns of the world around a person, predicting possible developments of events, analyzing what is happening and accumulating unique truths.

Main functions: setting a goal and planning its achievement, finding a way out of various situations, monitoring what is happening and assessing the degree of achievement of set goals based on personal motivation. In psychology, there are different types of thinking, both healthy and pathological.

Characteristics of intelligence and related abilities

The developed thinking of Homo sapiens allowed him to separate from the rest of the animal world and take a dominant position on the entire planet. It is worth noting that the influence of a person’s intelligence absolutely extends beyond his own life, that is, it has a posthumous influence on the existence of future generations. Of course, this quality must be equally combined with other abilities of the individual, otherwise it will not have such significant significance, for example, without the skills of cognition, learning and logical thinking. It is also required to be able to analyze information for its subsequent systematization, classify the applicability of data in various respects, find certain connections, differences, and patterns, as well as associate the information received with any other and similar ones.

In total, we can distinguish seven main parameters by which the level of intelligence development of a particular person can be characterized.

Breadth of thinking. It refers to the ability of an individual to cover the issue under consideration completely without losing the original input data about it. This parameter also includes the ability to see the variability of the solution to a specific task.
Curiosity. A person’s desire for a comprehensive knowledge of a particular phenomenon he is studying in certain essential respects. Without the development of this quality, any cognitive activity in itself becomes difficult.
Critical thinking. A necessary skill for strictly assessing the results of one’s own intellectual activity. It is expressed in the ability to subject one’s judgments to critical evaluation, discard wrong decisions, and stop performing unnecessary actions if they are inconsistent with the task at hand.
Depth of mind. The main purpose of this characteristic is the ability to separate the main from the secondary, significant from everything else, and also to distinguish between the concepts of necessary and accidental.
Evidence of thinking. A fairly significant trait, thanks to which a person is able to find the right facts, patterns and arguments at the right moment that could convince other people of the correctness of the individual’s conclusions and judgments.
Logical thinking. The ability to arrange all facts and judgments in a certain strict sequence, take into account all aspects and characteristics of the object under consideration, and trace every possible relationship.
Mobility and flexibility of the mind. The ability to make the widest use of existing experience, operational research and establishment of connections and relationships between new subjects, as well as the ability to overcome stereotyped and stereotyped thinking.

Nature and main species

Main characteristics

Generalization of the reflection of reality - searching for individual objects and phenomena and moving to the general;
Indirect cognition of objective reality - on the basis of indirect information we can judge the properties of objects and phenomena;

Physiology

I. P. Pavlov - academician, Nobel Prize laureate; he and his school developed their theory of the thinking process

Thinking is a function of the brain. There are several theories of the physiology of thinking. Following the works of I.P. Pavlov, thought is a consequence of the reflexive connection between a person and reality. Its implementation requires the work of several brain systems.

The first of these is the subcortical region. It is activated by unconditional stimuli from the external or internal world. The second system is the cerebral hemispheres without the frontal lobes and speech departments. The principle of its operation: stimuli are “connected” to an unconditional response by a temporary (conditional) connection. This is the first signaling system

The physiological basis of thinking is the work of the cerebral cortex. It is characterized by processes common to the nervous system, mainly a combination of dominant excitation with surrounding inhibition.

Neurophysiology

At present, the neurophysiological basis of thinking is not fully known.

Certain information was obtained using EEG

. Thus, during mental activity, an increase in spatial synchronization occurs in the frontal leads. This was first established by M. N. Livanov in his experiments. Infraslow potentials intensify and become more frequent during certain types of mental activity, namely, during mental stress, zeta waves become shorter. According to temporary characteristics, they show readiness for mental activity. However, the EEG method remains extremely limited in terms of studying thinking.

Intelligence

There are many definitions of intelligence. It characterizes the following abilities:

cope with new or difficult situations;
learn from experience;
adapt to new circumstances;
adaptive behavior in the context of changing conditions.

In addition to the definition of the concept of intelligence, there are differences in the opinions of scientists even on whether it should be understood as one whole, or whether it is divided into several relatively different types.

For example, according to the theory of American psychologist Robert J. Sternberg, intelligence consists of 3 components:

analytical thinking, mainly involved in solving problems that a person has encountered in the past;
creative thinking used to find ways to solve problems;
practical thinking related to everyday life.

His colleague, Howard Gardner, identifies 8 types of thinking and intelligence:

linguistic;
logical-mathematical;
visual-spatial;
motor;
musical;
interpersonal;
intrapersonal;
natural.

Later he identified the 9th type, the so-called. existential intelligence.

Edward Thorndike identifies only 3 main types of intelligence:

theoretical (abstract);
practical (specific);
social – the ability to control others (includes emotional intelligence).

From the listing of the above-mentioned components, it becomes clear that some of them have a greater connection with the theoretical part of life (education), others with the practical (work experience, the art of coping with life). The ability to achieve high incomes is a matter of practical application of theoretical knowledge acquired through study, observation, and education. Both the first part (acquiring knowledge) and the second (the ability to apply it in practice) can fail. Some people who have good thinking and intelligence do not receive an education that matches their IQ level. Reasons can range from financial, geographical, political factors to excessive criticism of teachers.

Social intelligence is also important. It includes the ability to process, recognize, control emotions, build quality, long-term relationships, and collaborate with others. Social skills have a significant impact on obtaining jobs or lucrative orders. Success is predetermined by the following skills:

appeal to people;
impression;
good work in a team and with superiors;
creating an appropriate network of contacts and acquaintances;
penetration into the secrets of the organizational structure;
understanding the written and unwritten rules of behavior in the new team.

Relationship between mental and emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a person’s ability to recognize, identify (reflect), manage their emotions, understand the emotions of other people, and effectively influence them. These abilities, according to experts, are the most important for life.

In management practice, EI is underestimated; in companies and organizations it is still customary to look at successful performance results as the fruits of high mental qualities of employees. In fact, a person’s feelings and emotions (as well as their relationship with the mind) are very important

They influence what gets our attention, how we think, and what we decide. For example, a hungry person in a shopping center sees food, a well-fed person sees shoes, books

The relationship between mental and emotional intelligence has not yet been fully correlated. But many interesting things are already known. A person’s creative abilities and successful activities are the result of his productive thinking, the essence of which is complex. These qualities are not due only to high mental abilities. They are the result of a combination of rational thinking ability and EI proportional to the nature of the situation.

The characteristics of thinking and intelligence in psychology suggest that very smart people do not always have highly productive thinking. Their productive thinking may be lower than that of the average intelligent person.

People who score more than 120 on IQ tests have only a 5-15% chance of successful leadership. They do not have a good ability to inspire and motivate other people.

Signs of High Intelligence

Every person has different abilities. Scientists have presented a list of features that are characteristic of people with high intelligence:

High level of anxiety. Experts explain this by saying that people with high IQs are able to analyze a situation and predict its outcome. Highly intelligent people most often suffer from depression and insomnia, which develop due to the ability to anticipate unpleasant situations and think about them.
Change of daily routine. Most people live according to this routine: they wake up early in the morning and go to bed in the evening; this type is called “larks”. As for the opposite type, “owls,” they are more often susceptible to diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Nevertheless, such people show higher analytical results, have good concentration, and are also less tired. Most managers and people who hold other responsible positions are night owls.
Sense of humor. The ability to understand humor is associated with a rich vocabulary and verbal development. Highly intelligent people have the talent to make fun of any topic, including themselves.
Sloppyness. Experts believe that high intelligence is associated with a tendency toward creative disorder. In their opinion, an improperly organized place has a disciplinary effect and helps to activate mental processes, as well as enhance creativity.
Self-criticism. People with this trait tend to doubt the quality of their knowledge. The more a person is aware, the more a range of questions are revealed to him to which he does not yet know the answers. And, on the contrary, less developed people are always confident in their knowledge and try not to torment themselves with “unnecessary” doubts. The connection between self-criticism and intelligence level is a scientifically proven fact, and is called the “Dunning-Kruger effect.”
Laziness is a sign of high intelligence. Scientists have come to the conclusion that it is precisely this that is the hallmark of smart and thoughtful people. They are sure that more superficial people do not know how to use their free time rationally. According to research, highly intelligent people behave less actively than those who are not highly knowledgeable. Thus, experts came to the following conclusion: the higher the intelligence, the lower the activity.

Editor's note: Risk of stroke

Undoubtedly, signs of a high IQ include good memory, an analytical mind, and the ability to learn. But if a child’s natural gift begins to be developed from a young age, it will reveal itself in its entirety. In those families where parents are actively involved with their children, they grow up to be inquisitive, smart and sociable children.

2.Types of thinking. Visually effective. Pre-conceptual and conceptual thinking

Visually effective –

characteristic of animals as well. The monkeys in Köhler's experiments were unable to reach a banana suspended from the ceiling until Sultan thought of using a box that was in the room, but it had to be turned over and used as a stand to reach the banana.

Piaget's children are at the level of sensorimotor intelligence - they develop visually effective thinking.

In the 1980s, American psychologists the Gardner couple managed to teach chimpanzees the language of the deaf and mute (they cannot speak due to limitations in the articulatory apparatus and phonemic hearing). The monkeys constructed phrases from several words, some even used words in a figurative sense, for example, the word “dirty” for a person who does not fulfill their wishes. But in terms of development, chimpanzees do not exceed a 3-5 year old child.

Pre-conceptual thinking

Children's judgments are singular, about a given specific subject, and relate to visual reality. These are often judgments based on similarity or difference. The earliest form of proof is an example. A feature of pre-conceptual thinking is egocentrism

, that is, there is no ability to freely transfer the origin of coordinates, decentration in relation to one’s own “I”.
Other properties are syncretism
(the tendency to connect everything with everything, to operate with isolated cases),
transduction
(the transition from particular to particular, bypassing the general, mixing essential and non-essential properties), inconsistency of volume and content. Example. The cards contain the following items: 2 stones, 3 buckets, 7 dogs and 2 horses. Question: What are more living beings or physical bodies? Answer: living beings.

Insensitivity to contradictions.

Living sun? – yes. Why? - It's moving.

Confusing the relationship of natural causation with the relationship of human intention and its implementation.

The children interviewed by Piaget believed that rivers were dug by people, and mountains arose from the resulting earth.

Lack of ideas about conservation of quantity

: they judge the amount of a substance by one parameter, the height of the liquid in the vessel, and do not take into account the volume. Before the child's eyes, a ball of dough is turned into a flat cake and placed on the table. Question: where is more dough? - In a flatbread. Awareness of the identity of the changing object is acquired gradually.

Visible, easily perceived properties seem to be more important than essential ones.

Big things are always heavy, small things are always light. Hence the inaccessibility of such a fundamental physical concept as mass.

Types of thinking in psychology

There are several types of thinking in psychology.

All of them represent, as it were, different levels of representation of reality, different levels of abstraction

Visual-effective thinking
. This is the primary level of understanding reality. In this case, thought processes are not yet separated from actions. It’s as if a person “thinks with his hands.” This type of thinking is predominant in children under three years of age. Thus, the child compares objects by placing them next to each other; synthesizes and analyzes, building a “house” from cubes and breaking toys; generalizes and classifies, arranging cubes by color, shape and size. In adults, such thinking does not disappear, but only fades into the background; it is used in cases where it is not possible to accurately predict events: when mastering unfamiliar equipment, rearranging furniture, etc.
Visual-figurative thinking
. This is a higher level of understanding of reality. Here, thought processes are ahead of actions, and not vice versa, as was the case in the previous case. To imagine an object and characterize its properties, a person no longer needs to touch it with his hands. This kind of thinking prevails in a child between four and seven years old. In adults, it manifests itself when, for example, they are planning an apartment renovation: a person can already imagine in advance what the room will look like, what color the wallpaper and ceiling will be, etc.
Verbal and logical thinking
. These are completely abstract thought processes that operate with concepts and logical constructs; such constructions sometimes may not have a visual image at all - such are, say, concepts like “honesty”, “cost”, etc. With the help of such thinking, a person determines the general patterns of various natural phenomena and generalizes visual material. It is clear that such thinking cannot be accessible to a small child, since at an early age a person has not yet accumulated a sufficient amount of figurative material.

Concept

From Latin this word is translated as understanding, knowledge. Intelligence is the ability of our brain to understand and solve certain problems.

Plato was the first to raise the idea of the cult of intellect. In all his texts he attached great importance to thinking. He wrote that life without curiosity, the desire to learn new things, is impossible. Plato was fully supported by his student Aristotle, who developed the concept of the primacy of reason. He said that the one who has the inclination to rule should rule, and others should obey.

The level of mental abilities can be developed and increased, or it can be decreased. Academician Moiseev states that intelligence is the creation of a successful strategy, planning your steps, which will help you achieve your desired goal. This is the organization of one’s life and activities with the help of other abilities, which include: learning, thinking, the ability to classify, integrate, isolate unnecessary things, find connections and patterns.

The main properties of intelligence are:

curiosity - the desire to learn something new, to explore phenomena; depth of mind - the ability to find the main and important things in a pile of information, and weed out the unnecessary; logic - consistency of reasoning, the ability to build reasonable and correct chains, taking into account relationships and details; mental flexibility - a person’s ability to use his capabilities, experience, knowledge, without using templates, but creating his own solutions to problems; breadth of thinking - the ability to fully study data, not lose information, see several solutions to a problem; critical thinking - the ability to evaluate the result of work, find the right ones and weed out the false ones, also the ability to change the path if it is not the true one; evidence of the mind is to find facts and use them at the right moment to make sure that the goal is correct.

In ordinary life, an individual always uses his thinking abilities to understand the world around him, take next steps and find the optimal solution. It is quite difficult to imagine even a day of life without the ability to analyze the situation and compare facts and objects.

Only through the thought process is there the possibility of self-development and personal improvement. Without intelligence, a person would not be able to make scientific breakthroughs, create cures for dangerous diseases, create music, or paint pictures.

Individual characteristics

The traditional concept in psychology distinguishes the classification into three types of intelligence:

Innate, which cannot be learned and instilled.
Social-behavioral, which can be traced in actions and statements
Assessable, it is measurable through psychological tests.

People differ not only in the presence of abilities, but also in their qualitative characteristics, a set that is characteristic of the individual. It is impossible to say unequivocally that a talented artist will be the same in dancing. But the fact that differences in the level of mental activity are noticeable almost from birth is possible.

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If a child shows curiosity about the world around him, causes a lot of trouble by unwinding toilet paper, knocking over food, or dragging a domestic cat by the tail - rest assured, this is a sign of high intelligence. But the quiet one, with whom, according to the parents, they were lucky, is unlikely to stand out with a high level of IQ. To evaluate it correctly, assessment techniques are used in the form of tests with different tasks for different age categories.

What does intellectual level depend on?

We receive a certain set of qualities from birth, by inheritance. It is impossible to influence them. But we are talking about only half of the skills. The other is acquired during growing up and depends not only on natural data: the mobility of neurons, reaction speed, the nature of the nervous system, but also on the social environment in which the personality develops.

The emotional connection between the child and mother is of particular importance for the development of mental abilities. Children who are surrounded by love, affection and care show better results on intelligence assessment tests.

Age differences

Measuring intelligence in the same person at different ages will give interrelated results. That is, if a child at 5 years old was distinguished by intelligence and intelligence, indicators of brain activity. most likely to remain high at 20 and 40 years of age. However, a 100% guarantee cannot be given.

For example, Pascal, being 13 years old, participated in meetings of the academic council on mathematics, and Einstein at the age of 15 was expelled from school for poor performance.

Comparing the indicators of different age groups, we will see certain patterns:

the coefficient increases until the age of 17-18, slowing down during transition periods when the brain is “busy” solving other issues;
after 20 years, development slows down significantly;
logical, analytical and arithmetic potential is revealed by the age of 30;
medicine is easier at the age of 40-45, psychology after 50;
All years are submissive to art; researchers have not established restrictions.

An interesting fact is that there is no obligatory regression of intellectual activity. Of course, in older people, physiological processes affecting the cerebral cortex are disrupted, but a person gains important life experience that helps him apply the knowledge that he has accumulated.

Gender differences

Although the stereotype about the huge difference in mental abilities of the stronger and weaker sex is constantly discussed in society, no one has yet been able to scientifically substantiate the existence of an “intellectual gap.” Indeed, the average level of intelligence is approximately the same for men and women. The difference is observed in the following aspects:

girls under 15 develop much faster than boys;
Males are better able to shine with mathematical talents, while women are distinguished by the development of speech, emotional activity and creative skills;
The priority of the fair half is non-standard thinking.

Differences between mind and intelligence

Comparing mind and intelligence, we can formulate the following differences:

Intelligence allows you to obtain and assimilate knowledge. A person with high intelligence has more extensive knowledge. While the mind makes it possible to apply the acquired knowledge in real life.
Intelligence accumulates ready-made answers and solutions, sometimes turning into erudition. An intelligent person thinks better and deeper, and is able to create new ways and approaches to solving problems. In other words, having a mind allows you to understand the surrounding reality more broadly and deeply and act according to the situation.
The intellect is inclined to theorize, while the mind is aimed at comprehending specific, real, sensory-perceptible phenomena.
A person with intelligence acts rationally and competently in real life. A person with intelligence can win a landslide victory in a scientific dispute thanks to his reading, erudition, and logic, but at the same time make many mistakes in life.
In a situation of uncertainty and the need to make a decision, you need the mind, not the intellect. Because it is the mind that is able to predict the result of actions and the further development of the situation.
Education organizes and improves the mind, but does not replace it. Therefore, among intellectuals you can sometimes meet people who are not very smart.
Mind is possible without intelligence, although in this case intelligence may be in its infancy (for example, in animals). Intelligence without mind, in the sense of the rational or worldly mind, can also be.

Developed thinking as the basis of the mind can compensate for poor memory, lack of information or factual knowledge, therefore the presence of intelligence is more important for life than intelligence.

Rational thinking

Life does not stand still, it is constantly changing, in order to keep up with the times, you need to be able to adapt to new conditions. A smart person will not invent something new if there is no reason for it. He is able to show flexibility of thinking and rationality, and find another, simpler and more optimal way to solve a problem.

You need to be able to look at a problem from different angles, look for more than one solution, but have several backup options. A highly intelligent person can be critical of his decisions and thoughts, and be able to admit his own imperfections and mistakes.

He does not consider himself superior or smarter than others; he is able to adequately assess his own knowledge. Self-improvement and a thirst for knowledge will help you make yourself better. A person with high intelligence never stops there; he always strives for improvement.

What is the difference between mind and consciousness?

Intelligence

- this is a person’s thinking program, a set of behavior patterns in certain conditions, a behavioral cast, based on the memory of an individual person, recorded in the experience of solving certain problems.
Consciousness
is a way or variation on the theme of solving the same problems in the context of real Time.

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Thinking and intelligence

Intelligence is the totality of a person’s mental abilities

ensuring the success of his cognitive activity.
In a broad sense, this term is understood as the totality of all cognitive functions of an individual
(perception, memory, imagination, thinking), and in a narrow sense - his mental abilities1. In psychology there is a concept of the structure of intelligence, however, the understanding of this structure varies widely depending on

Thinking and intelligence are terms that are similar in content. Their relationship becomes even clearer if we switch to everyday speech. In this case, the word “mind” will correspond to intelligence. We say “smart person”, denoting individual characteristics of intelligence. We can also say that “the child’s mind develops with age,” this conveys the problem of intellectual development. We can associate the term “thinking” with the word “deliberation.” The word “mind” expresses a property, an ability, and “deliberation” expresses a process. Thus, both terms express different aspects of the same phenomenon. A person endowed with intelligence is capable of carrying out thinking processes. Intelligence

is the ability to think, and thinking is the process of realizing intelligence.

In psychology there is a concept of the structure of intelligence ,

however, the understanding of this structure varies widely depending on the views of a particular psychologist.
For example, the famous scientist R. Cattell
identified two sides in the structure of intelligence: dynamic - “
fluid”,
and static - “crystallized”
.
According to his concept, “fluid intelligence” manifests itself in tasks whose solution requires quick and flexible adaptation to a new situation. It depends more on the person's genotype. “Crystallized intelligence” is more dependent on the social environment and manifests itself when solving problems that require relevant skills and experience.

You can use other models of the structure of intelligence, for example, highlighting the following components in it:

ability to learn (quickly master new knowledge, skills and abilities);
the ability to successfully operate with abstract symbols and concepts;
ability to solve practical problems and problem situations;
the amount of available long-term and working memory.

Accordingly, intelligence tests include several groups of tasks. These are tests that reveal the amount of knowledge in a certain area; tests that evaluate a person’s intellectual development in connection with his biological age; tests that determine a person’s ability to solve problem situations and intellectual tasks. In addition, there are special tests. For example, on abstract-logical or spatial thinking, on verbal intelligence, etc.

The most well-known tests of this type include:

Stanford-Binet test
— assesses the child’s intellectual development;
Wechsler test
— assesses the verbal and non-verbal components of intelligence;
Raven's test
- non-verbal intelligence;
Eysenck test (IQ)
— determines the general level of intelligence development.

Violations

With the development of mental illness, disturbances in thinking processes may occur:

Horse racing. They are characterized by answers without understanding the words, chaotic associations, and errors must be corrected only after focusing attention on them. In addition to this, distractibility increases.
Inconsistency of judgment. The nature of judgments becomes unstable. Tasks are performed correctly, incorrectly, the process occurs one by one. Fluctuations in judgment appear with any changes in the conditions for performing tasks.
Inertia. During the development of this disorder, a slowdown in mental processes is observed. Patients cannot answer questions normally and do so after a long pause.
Slipping. It manifests itself in the fact that the patient, when solving problems, unexpectedly strays from the intended plan and gives preference to false judgments and associations.
Responsiveness. It occurs more often in patients who suffer from cardiovascular diseases. It manifests itself as an inability to navigate in time and space. A person begins to consider various pictures as reality.

From the editor: Techniques for developing abstract thinking

Primary mental abilities

These abilities constitute the fundamental elements of intelligence and all human activity. The number of such primary mental abilities is quite large. For example, the famous intelligence researcher J. Guilford discovered 120 such elementary factors, thanks to the development of which the quality of mental activity of any individual increases.

Some primary mental abilities can be divided into a number of categories, listed below.

Ability to perform mental operations. Includes analysis, synthesis and comparison of objects and phenomena. This also includes the creation of complex mental structures and the ability to draw competent conclusions.
Verbal abilities. They determine the possibilities of understanding speech and using speech units both in the course of their own inventions and reasoning, and for communication with other people.
Memory. It implies the maximum volumes of stored information, the speed of assimilation and long-term memorization, as well as the duration of its availability for use at any time.
Ability to perform basic arithmetic operations, oral and written calculations in an acceptable time frame.
The ability to navigate in space, as well as visually determine the sizes, volumes and shapes of various objects.

The combination of these abilities implies the presence of a certain intellectual level of development of the individual. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that all of the above primary characteristics are rarely developed to an equally high degree, which is undoubtedly influenced to a certain extent by the hereditary factor.

Structure of intelligence

Like any ability, intelligence is a complex of various personality qualities. Psychologists have not yet come to a consensus on what is included in the structure of intelligence. And the point here is not so much the lack of knowledge of this mental phenomenon, but the fact that intelligence is different. Agree, the mental abilities of a mathematician and a writer differ, not quantitatively, but qualitatively. But we will talk about the types of intelligence and their characteristics in another article.

In order not to get confused in the various manifestations of this ability to think, we identified the concept of general intelligence or primary mental abilities.

The main, general factor (factor G) that determines a person’s level of intelligence is the speed of information processing, including the speed of acquiring new knowledge, comprehending it, establishing connections (associations) with previous experience and long-term retention in memory.

In addition to the general factor, there are several more primary mental abilities that form the basis of intelligence:

Verbal abilities, which determine the understanding of speech and the use of words both to convey information and in the process of thinking.
Memory, including the amount of information stored, how quickly it is remembered, and how long it is stored.
The ability to orientate in space, the ratio of volume, size and shape of objects.
The ability to perform mental operations: analysis, comparison, synthesis, create complex mental structures and draw conclusions.
Ability to operate with numbers within the framework of elementary arithmetic operations.

These are the most basic, elementary factors that determine the level of intelligence. In fact, there are much more of them. For example, one of the famous intelligence researchers, J. Guilford, identified 120 primary mental abilities, the development of which can provide a person with a high level of intelligence.

Thinking

Thinking is one of the cognitive processes. It is mainly about working with information, ideas, concepts. Thinking allows a person to find correlations and solve problems.

Functions of thinking:

formation of concepts;
recognition and search for relationships;
problem solving;
creating something new.

The result is new information, experience, knowledge.

Properties

With regard to thinking, several properties are distinguished:

Convergence. The ability to stick to a specific topic, follow the line of logical context.
Divergence. Also called artistic, creative thinking, characterized by a wide range of possibilities.
Worldview. Determines how much knowledge and problems a person can incorporate or solve in their thinking.
Depth. Determines the extent to which a person can go into detail about a problem (for example, through analysis).
Accuracy (reliability). Determines how logical, practical, and correct the ideas are.
Independence. The ability to solve problems may be more or less dependent on the help of other people.
Flexibility. The ability to break away from thought patterns and find the most effective solution to a given problem (for example, overcoming functional fixation).
Criticality. The ability to conduct a critical analysis of individual knowledge and the process of solving a problem.

Types

Thinking is divided into several types according to various parameters.

Concrete VS Demonstrative VS Abstract:

Concrete - directly refers to practical subjects, a person thinks that he will do. This option is impractical, time-consuming, and tedious.
Indicative - before starting to do something, a person imagines how it will happen. This option is more practical and faster.
Abstract - a person does not imagine any objects, thinks abstractly. This is how, for example, mathematical equations are solved.

Analytical VS Synthetic:

Analytical - analyzes the whole thing, divides it into smaller parts, which it analyzes again.
Synthetic - combining knowledge and facts into one concept.

In practice, both types are often used.

Convergent VS Divergent:

Convergent – searching for one correct solution.
Divergent – search for all possible solutions.

Due to the similarity of these types, they are also often used together - first divergent thinking, then convergent thinking.

Reasoning

It is a thinking process in which conclusions are based on information.

Ways of reasoning:

Deduction is the subtraction of conclusions for a specific case from general rules (one is determined from the set). Example: Socrates is a man → man is mortal → Socrates is mortal. Deduction never brings any new information.
Induction - goes in the opposite direction than deduction - from one to many. It is a matter of establishing general rules based on specific cases. Example: Peter has a car → Alexander has a car → all men have cars. Inductive judgments are always applied only with a certain probability, never with 100%. All scientific theories are based on inductive reasoning.

Thinking and problem solving

Mental operations are purposeful mental manipulation of mental content aimed at solving both theoretical and practical problems.

Mental operations are divided into 2 categories:

Logical operations are governed by precise rules that should not be violated. In the process of solving a problem, a person follows an algorithm (just like a computer). The solution is correct and accurate. However, in everyday life this is an impractical and time-consuming path.
Heuristic operations are abbreviated thinking practices that lead to results without individual consideration of all options and alternative approaches. The results are assessed in terms of suitable/unsuitable. This option is extremely fast and efficient compared to the previous one, but it is also saddled with a high error rate.

Lecture No. 5 Thinking, intelligence for the discipline OP.02 Psychology

Lecture No. 5. Thinking, intelligence. Speech activity of the individual.

Plan:

Concepts of "thinking"
Levels, types and functions of human thinking
Forms of thinking and classification
Concepts of “intelligence”, “mind”.
Imagination as a type of thinking.
The concept of “speech activity”
Functions of speech activity.

Three riddles

put the pencil in the room so that no one could step over or jump over it. How did I do this? I PUT IT BY THE WALL

Mary's father has 5 daughters: Chacha, Chichi, Cheche, Chocho. What is the name of the 5th daughter? MARY

WITH

there is a rich house and a poor one. They are burning. Which house will the police extinguish? POLICE DO NOT FIGHT FIRES

There is an expression: “If God wants to punish a person, he deprives him of his mind”... Intelligence, thinking, intelligence have always been considered a human dignity, and the absence of intelligence is a great misfortune. In many fairy tales, the main character has to solve 3 riddles in order to save his life or get the hand and heart of a beautiful princess. One of the most difficult is considered to be: “What is the fastest thing in the world?” And the smart hero replies: “Human thought is the fastest.”

What is thought? Thinking? Do I need to specifically learn to think and is it possible to learn this?

Possession of reason, the ability to think is the most important difference between a person and other living beings. Thinking allows a person to adapt to the environment, set goals and achieve them, penetrate into the essence of things and phenomena, and communicate with other people.

What is thinking?

Thinking

- this is an indirect and generalized reflection of reality by a person in its essential connections and relationships. Thinking is seen as a process, and thought as the result of this process.

We experience the world around us through sensations and perceptions. We see an object, taste it, touch it; we perceive color and shape and thus recognize its properties, qualities, features. But in this way we can perceive only isolated facts of the surrounding world. In the process of thinking, a person goes beyond the scope of sensory knowledge, i.e. begins to cognize such phenomena of the external world, their properties and relationships, which are not directly given in perception and therefore not observable.

For example, the following facts are known: sand is free-flowing, a cube has six sides, and an apple has a spherical shape. At the same time, the volume of the Earth, the chemical composition of glass (the main component of which is sand), the design features of a cube-shaped building, etc. - all this cannot be known through direct perception. The process of thinking helps to understand their nature.

Albert Einstein, when asked by his son what he is famous for, replied: “A blind beetle crawling on the surface of a ball believes that it is moving on a plane, but I was able to see this surface as curved.”

In thinking we deal with the reflection of the most general and essential properties, objects and phenomena.

– Think about what unites us all, so different? We are all living, intelligent beings – people. When we pronounce the word “man,” we immediately understand that we are talking about a living being with consciousness, able to speak, work, etc. This is the generalized

idea of who a person is.

Thinking is not only a process of generalization , but also of indirect

knowledge of reality. The mediation of our thinking lies in the fact that we reflect reality, relying on the knowledge and skills already known, accumulated by mankind, and enshrined in language. By mastering speech and language, we learn to think. And vice versa: “He who thinks clearly speaks clearly.” Speech allows one word or phrase to reflect a whole class of concepts, the meaning of certain phenomena.

Thinking allows us to foresee the course of events and the results of our own actions. For example, it is impossible to observe many disease processes occurring in the human body, however, by studying the symptoms of the disease, analyzing cause-and-effect relationships, the doctor draws a conclusion about the origins of the disease and methods of treating it.

Mental activity occurs in the form of mental operations.

Let's consider the basic mental operations.

Analysis

- This is the mental division of a whole into parts. It is based on the desire to understand the whole more deeply by studying each of its parts. For example: A girl is standing, waiting for a guy on a date (or vice versa, as you like), but he is not there. She begins to come up with reasons why he didn't come. Analyzes, that is. Or, for example, you asked a friend for something, he refused. Do you think what you did was wrong, how you should have behaved so that he would not refuse the request. Also analysis.

Synthesis

- This is the mental connection of parts into a single whole. Example: by the external manifestations of a person, we are trying to determine his character, personality traits, and create a portrait. When reading, individual letters, words, and phrases are highlighted in the text, and at the same time they are continuously connected with each other: letters are combined into words, words into sentences, sentences into certain sections of the text. Or let’s remember the story about any event - individual episodes, their connection, dependence, etc.

Comparison

– comparison of objects and phenomena to detect similarities and differences between them. Example. A person is interested in books insofar as he is interested in, say, science fiction. When he comes across a book, he pays attention to those details that can show that it relates specifically to science fiction. On the cover you can find the name of a familiar author; if the author is unknown, then the title of the work or the characteristic design of the cover may indicate that the book belongs to a particular genre. Therefore, when encountering two books, a science fiction lover will compare them by authors, titles, and design. And, without even looking inside, he may give preference to one book or another. Another person is also interested in books, but his interest is professional: he is engaged in publishing. Such a person will most likely compare books with each other on other grounds: the quality of the paper, the way the cover is designed, the size of the book, and some other technical characteristics.

Generalization

- the mental unification of objects or phenomena based on common and essential properties and characteristics for them, the process of reducing less general concepts into more general ones. For example, from past experience we know that Muscovites are arrogant snobs and rednecks. And when we meet a new person and find out that he is a Muscovite, we immediately think of him as a snob and a redneck.

Abstraction

- this is the mental selection of essential properties of objects and phenomena while simultaneously abstracting from non-essential ones. To think abstractly means to be able to consider some property, side of a cognizable object without connection with other features of the same object. For example, when we say “table,” we represent a certain image of a whole class of objects. This concept unites our ideas about different tables. Either we don’t like a person because of his character, but he is a great specialist, and we ignore the fact that, for example, he swears, but he repairs televisions efficiently and for free.

Specification

- this is the selection from the general of one or another specific feature or property. Specification always acts as an example or as an illustration of something general. Example. We cannot speak about some aspects in the abstract; we take the conversation to the individual. Instead of saying: “I don’t like it when people are late,” we say: “I don’t like Sasha because he’s late.”

All thought processes do not occur in isolation, but in various combinations.

The following types

thinking:

Visual-effective thinking

– a type of thinking that involves solving mental problems in terms of practical activities. An example of this type of thinking is reaching distant objects by overcoming physical obstacles on the way to them. If a child wants to take an object that is attractive to him, which lies far away and which cannot be reached with his hand, then he can use a stick for this. If the attractive object is located high up, the child can use a chair to get it.

Visual-figurative

– thinking is based on ideas or perceptions, since problems are solved through images. A type of thinking that does not require systematic practical manipulation of an object, but in all cases presupposes a clear perception and representation of this object. Such thinking operates with visual images - drawings, diagrams, plans. Instead of practically solving the problem of conveniently arranging furniture in a room, moving heavy objects from place to place and observing what happens as a result, a person can mentally rearrange these objects and, having obtained a situation as a result of a figurative transformation, evaluate the result.

Verbal-logical

- this is a type of thinking that relies on concepts and reasoning, as well as logical actions with them to obtain conclusions and conclusions. For example, mental calculations. Or mentally “playing out” the development of the situation. This type of thinking is typical for adults, since it is faster and more convenient and does not require external surroundings. True, sometimes even an adult, in order to understand the design of something, needs to see an image or do some kind of action.

Main forms

thinking are concepts, judgments and inferences.

Concept

- this is a form of thinking that reflects the most general signs and properties of objects or phenomena of the objective world, expressed in words.

Judgment

– this is a form of thinking that reflects the connections between concepts, expressed in the form of affirmation or denial. Usually a judgment consists of two concepts: subject and predicate. For example, “white robe.” Any judgment can be true or false, i.e. correspond or not correspond to reality. For example: “Some students are excellent students,” “All buildings are architectural monuments.”

Inference

- this is a form of thinking through which a new judgment is derived from two or more judgments - a conclusion. We obtain inference, as new knowledge, by deducing it from existing knowledge.

For example: “All fish breathe through gills.”

"Perch - fish"

"Perch breathe through gills."

The following qualities of the mind are considered to be individual characteristics of thinking: depth, criticality, flexibility, breadth of mind, speed, originality and inquisitiveness.

How do you understand each of the properties listed?

Imagination

- this is the mental process of creating new images of objects and phenomena by transforming existing ones. This is an advanced reflection of reality in new, unexpected and unusual combinations and connections.

Like thinking, imagination is an analytical-synthetic activity that is carried out under the influence of a consciously set goal, or feelings and experiences that possess a person at the moment.

Most often, imagination arises in a problem situation when a quick search for a solution is required. However, in contrast to thinking, anticipatory reflection (anticipating specific practical actions) in the imagination occurs in the form of vivid ideas. Thanks to our imagination, even before starting work, we can imagine the finished result of our work.

There are two types

imagination: active and passive.

Active imagination

characterized by randomness of occurrence, with the active participation of consciousness and will. A person sets a goal for himself: to invent, present something in the form of an image, and, controlling the entire process, solves a certain problem (the creativity of writers, artists).

Active imagination can be recreative

, in which the image of an object or phenomenon is created from words, according to description;
and creative
.

Creative imagination

- this is imagination, in which completely new images are created, completely and in parts different from everything known.

Passive imagination

characterized by the involuntary emergence of images without the participation of consciousness and will (dreams, hallucinations, images arising in delirium).

Imagination has a psychotherapeutic function. Through imagination you can have a positive impact on a person’s mental state and behavior. By voluntarily evoking certain images in oneself, a person can change his own physical and mental state. For example, when we imagine a hot summer, we may feel warmth; imagining that we are in the cold, we will feel cold. There are often cases of suggestion of various diseases. Thus, medical students in the first years of training find themselves with many different diseases. This is especially evident in impressionable people with a rich imagination.

Finally, imagination allows a person to satisfy his needs to some extent. If, for example, someone has offended a person, then, imagining what he would say to the offender, the person, to a certain extent, will satisfy the need for revenge and this will calm him down.

Intelligence

– general ability to understand and solve problems.

What is this?

Intelligence refers to the system of all human cognitive abilities (perception, memory, thinking, imagination) and the ability to solve problems without trial and error in the mind. However, there are many paradoxical definitions of intelligence created by psychologists. “Intelligence is what intelligence tests measure,” Alfred Binet avoided answering when asked to tell what it is. An even more elegant definition comes from Mac Nimar: “Every person knows what intelligence is. This is something that others don’t have!”

Heredity or ability?

For a very long time, there were two opinions regarding intelligence. According to the first of them, intelligence is a purely hereditary trait: either a person is born smart or not. According to the second point of view, intelligence is related to the speed of perception or response to external stimuli. As early as 1816, the German astronomer Bessel claimed that he could determine the level of intelligence of his employees by the speed of their reaction to a flash of light.

So, intelligence is a very general mental ability that includes the ability to make inferences, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, understand complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience. It's not just book study, narrow academic knowledge, or test-taking skills. On the contrary, intelligence reflects a broader and deeper ability to understand the world around us, understand the essence of things and figure out what to do in a given situation.

The level of intelligence is the level of development of thinking abilities relative to age. People with insufficient intelligence suffer from oligophrenia - congenital dementia. In addition, there is also acquired dementia - dementia.

What is mind? Who is a smart person?

Mind

- the ability to think, the ability to find solutions to life’s problems, the ability to see and predict the consequences of one’s actions. The opposite of intelligence is stupidity, the absence of intelligence is dementia.

An intelligent person is a person who knows how to think, uses his head (not everyone does this and not always) and has the necessary material for this (subject knowledge).

Think - understand and analyze what is happening, make adequate decisions, take into account consequences and draw conclusions, able to actively and independently solve life or situational problems.

People don't always use their minds; in everyday life it is replaced with varying degrees of success when habits and automatisms have been developed, when education, and sometimes people simply turn off their heads and rely on their emotions and feelings. Specific analysis shows that most people seem to think barely more than 10% of the time. People often do stupid things not because of a lack of intelligence, but because of a lack of habit of using it. Not all people like to think, this is not always accepted, and at least most women live most of the time, guided not by their minds, but by their feelings. We can say that an intelligent person is one who tightly controls his consciousness on a high note of concentration at a strictly specified point.

Intelligence is not the same as education. Education enriches and sharpens the mind, but does not replace it, and among highly educated people you can sometimes find people who are not very smart. Intelligence is not the same thing as intelligence, if intelligence is understood as the ability to quickly answer test questions, solve logical problems and puzzles. Intelligence is not only the ability to think (thought), it is also life experience that involves the use of ready-made solutions, it is also cunning, ingenuity and other ways of finding the desired solution.

It is curious that a person thinks not only with his head; in solving problems in life, a person’s whole body is involved: sometimes helping him, sometimes hindering him. An intelligent person can be distinguished from a stupid one by the expression of his eyes, by his intonation and even by his gait. The mind is also influenced by the hormonal situation in the body: an increase in the level of testosterone (male sex hormone) improves intelligence and the ability to spatial (topographic) thinking.

The most important achievement of man, which allowed him to use universal human experience, both past and present, was speech communication, which developed on the basis of work activity. Speech

is language in action.
Language
is a system of signs, including words with their meanings and syntax - a set of rules by which sentences are constructed. A word is a type of sign, since the latter are present in various kinds of formalized languages. With the help of speech, people move from an image to a concept; with the help of speech, one can create such units of a mental act as judgment and inference; with the help of speech, one can build logical structures and think about things that have never been directly perceived by people. For example, a person can have his own picture of past times, a picture of the future. Speech allows you to build logical chains and create theories about phenomena that fundamentally cannot be perceived by humans, for example, such as the structure of atoms, chemical processes occurring in a living organism, cosmogonic theories or theories of the origin of life on Earth. Speech is of such great importance in the processes of thinking that it can be considered in the same context with the processes of thinking.

Speech activity

is an active, purposeful process of creating and perceiving statements, carried out using linguistic means during the interaction of people in various communication situations.

Speech activity is one of the most complex types of activity in all its parameters. For example, I ask my neighbor at the table to pass me a piece of bread. The act of activity, taken as a whole, is not completed: the goal will be achieved only if the neighbor actually gives me the bread. Thus, speaking further about speech activity, we are not entirely precise: it will be of interest to us and we will further consider not the entire act of speech activity, but only a set of speech actions that have their own intermediate goal, subordinate to the goal of the activity as such.

Speech has three functions:

The function
of designation
distinguishes human speech from animal communication. A person has an idea of an object or phenomenon associated with a word.

Generalization function

is due to the fact that a word denotes not only a single, given object, but also a whole group of similar objects and is always the bearer of their essential characteristics.

Expression function,

those. transfer of information. If the first two functions of speech can be considered as internal mental activity, then the communicative function acts as external speech behavior aimed at contacts with other people.

Associated with consciousness as a whole, human speech is included in certain relationships with all mental processes; but the main and determining thing for speech is its relationship to thinking.

Since speech is a form of existence of thought, there is unity between speech and thinking. But this is unity, not identity. Equally illegitimate are the establishment of identity between speech and thinking, and the idea of speech as only an external form of thought.

In psychology, there are two main types of speech: external and internal.

. External speech includes written and oral (dialogic and monologue).

Speech has certain characteristics

The content of a speech depends, first of all, on the value of the facts conveyed in it and on the ability of its author to communicate.

The understandability of speech depends on its semantic content, on its linguistic features and on the relationship between its complexity, on the one hand, and the level of development, range of knowledge and interests of listeners, on the other.

Expressiveness of speech requires taking into account the situation of the speech, clarity and distinctness of pronunciation, correct intonation, and the ability to use words and expressions with figurative and figurative meaning.

Contacts between people are possible with the presence of speech, and the extent to which this speech is understandable, the more effective communication will be. The word is of great importance in medicine, which implies not only the culture of speech, but also a sense of tact, the ability to lift the patient’s mood, and not to injure him with a careless statement.

Obviously, everyone needs to speak well: engineers, workers, and managers. But it is especially necessary for doctors to be able to manage their words, for whom the word is the most important tool, sometimes working miracles. A word can cheer you up, instill hope, and open up prospects. Sometimes the word acts as a therapeutic agent and helps improve health.

The word strengthens trust, allows you to tune in to the right wave, and achieve the desired result. What to look for in a doctor’s speech? First of all, it's tone. The physician's tone should always be friendly. “I want to help you,” the nurse and doctor seem to say, reinforcing their words with a smile. The doctor’s speech should not contain harsh words and expressions; it is advisable to choose gestures that are more open and inviting.

One of the main qualities is clarity and accessibility of speech. The patient must also be sure that he is understood and that they are trying to help him. The multinational composition of patients makes it necessary for a physician to know the mentality of different peoples, at least at an amateur level.

An equally important quality is the persuasiveness of speech. In order for the speech to be convincing, the physician must be confident in the correctness of his words. The richer a doctor’s vocabulary, the easier it is for him to communicate with patients.

The ability to listen and hear is also necessary for a physician. Sometimes the ability to listen to a patient becomes more important than medicine, and sometimes it helps to find the right method of treatment.

For a physician, everything is important: how to present yourself, how to communicate, and how to draw certain conclusions.

Reflection

Technique “Reflex Screen”

It was interesting to me…
Today we figured it out...
I realized today that...
It was difficult for me...
At the next lesson I want...

Homework.

Textbook “Psychology for secondary medical institutions” Polyantseva O.I., pp. 69-76, pp. 72, 76 - thinking disorders, speech disorders, notes.