In the human psyche there is a huge number of very important processes. But one of the most important of them is thinking. What is it, what types are there, and how does it develop? Let's try to understand this issue.
What is thinking?
In everyday life, by this term we mean verbal reasoning. From the point of view of psychology, thinking has a broader meaning. It is understood as any mental process that allows a person to solve a particular problem. People in this case perceive things without any analyzers (olfactory, auditory, tactile, visual, pain, etc.), on the basis of speech signals alone.
A bit of history
Thinking, being a kind of mental activity, has been of interest to people since ancient times. Even the philosophers of the ancient world tried to study it. They tried to give him an accurate explanation. Thus, Plato equated thinking with intuition. And Aristotle even created a whole science - logic. He divided the cognitive process into parts, including the concept, judgment and conclusion. And today to study the specificsthinking try representatives of different sciences. However, despite all the ideas expressed and the conclusions obtained as a result of numerous experiments, it has not yet been possible to come to a single clear definition of this process.
Thinking patterns in young children
This process is considered by the science of psychology. At the same time, the discipline identifies three main forms of thinking that preschool children have. This is visual-effective and visual-figurative, as well as space-time, or temporal.
The development of thinking in children is conditionally divided into certain stages. Moreover, each of them the kids go through in the process of learning about the world around them. Consider the development of each of the forms of thinking in more detail.
Visual-Effective View
The development of this type of thinking in young children occurs due to their direct perception of the world around them. This is the time when the baby begins its interaction with various objects. Of all the processes that develop in the psyche, the main role is given to perception. All experiences of a little man are focused on those phenomena and things that surround him.
Thinking processes in this case are externally oriented actions, which, in turn, are visually effective.
The development of visual-active thinking allows children to discover for themselves the extensive connections between a person and objects in his environment. During this period, the child acquiresthe necessary experience. He begins to regularly and persistently reproduce elementary actions, the purpose of which is the result he expects. The experience gained will later become the basis of more complex mental processes.
This stage in the development of thinking in children, which has a visual-effective form, is unconscious. He is only included in the process of movements made by the baby.
Development of visual-effective thinking
In the process of orienting and visual actions performed by him during manipulations with various objects, a certain image is formed. At an early stage in the development of thinking of a visual-effective type, the main sign of a thing for a baby is its size, shape. Color does not yet have its fundamental meaning.
A special role in the development of thinking at this stage will be played by various movements aimed at the development of effective and visual mental processes. Gradually, the baby learns to correlate the sizes of two or more objects, their shape, as well as their location. He strings rings onto the pyramid, puts cubes on top of each other, and so on. He will take into account the various characteristics of objects and select them in shape and size much later.
No tasks for the development of thinking of this type should be given to the baby, since its formation occurs, as a rule, independently. An adult only needs to interest the little man in a toy and make him want to interact with it.
Features regarding the development of thinking of this type,are especially pronounced, for example, when playing with a matryoshka. The kid, trying to get the desired result, will apply two halves that are not at all suitable for each other by force. And only after he is convinced that all his actions do not lead to the desired result, he will begin to sort through the details until he gets the right one. In order to speed up the development of thinking in children, manufacturers design toys in such a way that they themselves “tell” the baby which of the elements is best.
After mastering external orienting actions, the child acquires a skill in the ratio of various characteristics of objects. From this moment, the laying of the foundation of visual perception will begin, when the baby will compare one toy with others.
The next stage in the development of visual-effective thinking begins after the children reach the age of 2. Toddlers begin to pick up things visually, based on the existing sample. An adult during such a game offers the child to give him exactly the same object. The little student must react to this and choose the most suitable among all the toys.
A little later, as this type of thinking develops, children are able to acquire permanent patterns. They will then compare all items with them.
Development of visual-figurative thinking
This type of mental process begins to form in babies, whose age is approaching three years. By this time, children are producing complexmanipulation using a visual-effective form.
For the development of this type of thinking, as well as any other, the baby will need educational toys. This will speed up the process a lot. The most suitable for this are compound toys, when using which the baby needs to correlate the available parts by color and size.
The child begins to perform the first reproducing actions by the end of the first year of his life. He takes his toys out of the box and then scatters them around. And even after the adult puts things in order in the room, the kid will get them again. A little later, the child begins to collect small-sized toys in the container he has. It is important for an adult to support such an undertaking, and to speed up the process of forming visual-figurative thinking, to show himself how all things can be put in a box or other container. The child in this case will enjoy not the result, but the action itself.
Very useful for children is such a toy as a pyramid. It is important for parents to teach their baby to put on and take off her rings correctly. How to develop thinking with the help of such a toy? An adult should set the rod in front of the child and show him how to properly string and then remove the rings. At the initial stage, the parent can even take the baby’s pen and, putting a pyramid detail into it, string everything together with him. After doing this exercise several times in a row, the child can be allowed to do it on their own.
For older kidsactions with such a toy can be somewhat diversified. They are invited to lay out a track from the rings, placing the details from largest to smallest.
Games for the development of thinking of a figurative type with preschool children are recommended to be carried out using two pyramids. In this case, the baby is shown, for example, a green ring, and asked to find a part of the same color on the second toy.
The development of thinking in preschool age at the initial stages occurs with the inextricable connection of speech and action. But some time passes, and the child begins to precede his actions with words. First, he talks about what he is going to do, and then he does what he planned. At this stage of life, there is a transition of visual-effective thinking into visual-figurative. The child already has enough life experience to imagine certain objects in his head, and only then perform some actions with them.
In the future, in the thinking of preschool children, an ever greater role is given to the word. But still, until about 7 years of age, mental activity remains concrete. In other words, it is not yet isolated from the general picture of the surrounding world. From about the age of 6, the development of figurative thinking allows preschoolers to boldly put into practice the factual material they have. At the same time, children begin to generalize various phenomena and draw the necessary conclusions for themselves.
Visual-verbal thinking
What is typical for this stage of a child's mental development? The formation of visual-verbal thinking occurs most of all on the basis ofdescriptions and explanations, and not on the perception of objects. At the same time, the baby continues to think in concrete terms. So, the child already knows that metal objects sink in water. That is why he has complete confidence that the nail, placed in a container with liquid, will go to the bottom. Nevertheless, he seeks to back up his knowledge with personal experience.
This is the age when kids are very inquisitive. They ask a lot of questions that adults should definitely give them an answer. This is necessary for the development of children's thinking. At first, questions are usually associated with violations of the usual order of things for kids. For example, they need to know why a toy broke. Later, questions about the outside world begin to emerge.
The development of the thinking of younger students, as well as children of middle preschool age, is beginning to pick up speed. The activity of the child who sat down at the desk undergoes significant changes. The development of schoolchildren's thinking is influenced by the expansion of the range of those subjects that arouse their interest. This is where the role of the teacher becomes very important. The teacher should encourage the children in the class to freely express their own thoughts using words. They are encouraged to think first, and then begin to perform certain actions.
And despite the fact that the development of thinking in younger schoolchildren is still at the stage of a concrete-figurative form, its abstract type begins to be laid in them. The mental processes of a small person beginspread to surrounding people, plants, animals, etc.
The development of memory, attention, thinking of a younger student will depend, first of all, on the correct selection of a training program. Children who are offered material of increased complexity, by the age of 8, show higher abilities for abstract reasoning than their peers who study according to standard teaching aids.
Spatio-temporal thinking
An adult is well aware of the fact that time is a relative and ambiguous concept. Children have yet to get acquainted with this.
Psychologists have long noticed the fact that a child navigates in time, using a significant impression for him, an expectation of something or a bright event. It turns out that the baby is well oriented in the past and future, but there is no present time for him. The child's current moment is the one that is happening at this second.
It is much easier to learn time for those children who have been instilled with a specific daily routine from early childhood. After all, their body is already adjusted to the existing rhythm of life. That is why in the brain of such a child, the idea of time periods develops much faster. If today the baby ate at noon, and yesterday his mother fed him in the afternoon at 2 o'clock, then it is rather difficult for him to navigate in time.
In order to accelerate the development of attention and thinking of the spatio-temporal type in a child, parents should introduce him to the concept of time from a very early age. This does not require separate conversations. It is enough just to pronounce temporary concepts in words. This should happen in the process of communicating or playing with the baby. An adult just needs to comment on their plans and actions.
A little later, parents are encouraged to designate specific time periods. This will allow the concept of the past, present, and future to be deposited in the child’s head.
Particular lessons in the development of thinking of preschool children, parents can conduct starting from the age of two of their child. These kids are already aware of the change of seasons. Adults, on the other hand, need to draw the child's attention to the changes that occur in nature during the transition from one season to another. At the same time, you need to not only tell the baby about them, but also ask, for example, about what changes he sees on the playground or in the park.
Critical thinking
Various tasks involving real objects, the child begins to solve after 4-5 years. This is facilitated by the development of his visual-figurative thinking. Various models and schemes arise in the mind of a preschooler. He is already beginning to analyze and generalize the information received from the outside world. The achievement by the child of this stage in the development of thinking should be the reason for the transition to a new step in life, where a critical form of vision of the world will begin to form. Why is this direction considered important? In order to understand this, it is necessary to define the very concept of critical thinking. In modern psychology, this term has been given several interpretations. Howeverthey all have the same meaning. So, critical thinking is understood as a complex thought process, the beginning of which is the receipt of information by the child. It ends with the adoption of a deliberate decision with the formation of a personal attitude to a particular subject.
The development of critical thinking allows you to develop the child's ability to raise new questions, to develop arguments in defense of their own opinions, as well as the ability to draw conclusions. These children interpret and analyze information. They always reasonedly prove their own position, while relying on the opinion of the interlocutor and on logic. Therefore, they can always explain why they agree or disagree with a particular issue.
The development of critical thinking begins at preschool age. This is evidenced, for example, by the question "Why?". The child at the same time shows the adult that he wants to know the causes of natural phenomena, human actions and events that he sees. In this case, it is important for parents not only to answer the question of their child, but also to help him in an objective assessment of the facts. After that, the kid must draw certain conclusions and form his own attitude to the information received. And do not think that a good child should not argue with the elders. After all, the principle according to which the baby is obliged to do only what adults tell him is no longer suitable for the existing reality. Of course, in the family it is necessary to respect elders and communicate politely with loved ones, but without using technology.development of critical thinking, it will be difficult for a child to adapt when entering school to the requirements of curricula. After all, most of them require a completely different approach to the study of the material.
High demands in this direction are already being made to younger students. The success of studies in the first grade no longer depends on the ability of children to count, write and read. Children are offered the solution of simple logical problems. In addition, younger students should draw their own conclusions by reading short texts. Sometimes the teacher even invites the child to argue with him, so that the latter proves to the teacher that he is right. This approach in the education system is found in many modern curricula.
Critical Thinking Development Technology offers parents a number of tips to help them in the right upbringing:
- From an early age, a child must be taught to think logically. To do this, you need to reason more often with him and be sure to justify your opinion.
- Teach your baby to develop critical thinking in various ways, including during the game.
- Compare objects with the child, find differences and common features in them. After that, the kid must definitely draw his own conclusions.
- Don't accept an answer like "Because I want to." The child must name the real reason, giving their own reasoning.
- Let the child doubt. In this case, he will become distrustful of certain facts, and he will want to know more about the object that caused the dispute.
- Try to teach the child to draw conclusionsonly after finding out all the information. Parents should tell them that criticizing something they know nothing about is simply unwise.
Creative thinking
Psychologists distinguish between such a thing as creativity. By this term, they understand the ability of a person to see ordinary things in a new light, which allows you to find a unique solution to emerging problems.
Creative thinking is the exact opposite of stereotyped thinking. It allows you to get away from the usual look, from banal ideas, and contributes to the birth of original solutions.
Researchers of intellect have long made an unambiguous conclusion that a person's creative abilities have a weak connection with his intellect. In this case, the features of temperament come to the fore, as well as the ability to quickly assimilate information and generate new ideas.
The creative abilities of a person are manifested in various types of his activities. That is why parents are trying to get an answer to the question: "Is it possible to develop creative thinking in a child?". Psychologists give an unequivocal answer to this: yes. This process will be especially effective at preschool age. Indeed, at this time, the psyche of children is very receptive and plastic. Plus, kids have great imaginations. Thanks to these qualities, the age from 3 to 7 years is very favorable in order to develop the creativity of the individual. There are many ways to do this, and, above all, with parents. The fact is that it is close peoplewill best be able to organize an effective process of creative development for their child. All this happens because:
- parents are an authority for a child, and he highly appreciates communication with them;
- moms and dads know their child well, and therefore they can choose for him the most effective development opportunities that will be of interest to the baby;
- parents' attention is devoted to only one of their children, and the teacher needs to distribute it among a group of children;
- emotional contacts with significant adults for the baby give him special joy from joint creativity;
- parents, as a rule, use various means for the effective process of developing memory and thinking, which makes it possible to almost double the effectiveness of the result.
How can this process be accelerated? The technology for the development of thinking involves performing some exercises with the child. One of them is writing. Parents can come up with a fantasy tale with their son or daughter, the main characters of which will be the characters chosen by their child in the form of objects, pictures, simply voiced orally. When writing a story unfamiliar to a child, it is recommended not to choose dogs, foxes and chickens that are familiar to him. Otherwise, it will be quite difficult to move away from the well-known plot. The main character can be one of the home furnishings or household items. You can also come up with a resident who secretly settled in your house. In this case, you can compose a unique story. But in generalwriting can be done on any topic that comes to mind.
The development of creative thinking will be helped by drawing or folding from paper, wood, plastic and other geometric blanks of certain shapes, which later need to be given names.
Parents can also join their children in putting together plant and animal pictures, collages, furniture and buildings using colorful illustration pieces. The development of creative thinking will also be facilitated by the creation of entire landscapes or portraits from such material.
