The development of imaginative thinking in preschool age. Types of thinking in preschool children. The development of thinking in children

To understand how small man perceives the reality around him, you need to have an idea of ​​how the child comprehends and systematizes the information received from the outside world.

Therefore, understanding the patterns of development of mental processes in children preschool age will make communication between parents and a small child more productive and enjoyable.

Thinking of preschoolers: stages and features

Visual-Action Thinking

In the earliest period of his life, at the age of one and a half to two years, the baby “thinks” with his hands - disassembles, examines, sometimes breaks, thus, trying to explore in an accessible form and form his idea of ​​what surrounds him.

Therefore, we can talk about a visual-active way of thinking. That is, the child's thinking is completely conditioned by his active actions aimed at researching and changing the objects around him.

Ways to develop visual - effective thinking

At this stage, the main task of the parents is not to interfere with the desire of the little researcher to try everything with his own hands. Despite the fact that, undoubtedly, in the process of his actions, the baby can break something, break, damage, and even injure himself. Therefore, it is important to encourage his desire to learn, while not forgetting about safety measures.

This type of thinking is well trained by toys, the elements of which somehow reflect the result of the child's actions - sorters, kits for applied activities, classes with different materials - loose sand, cereals, water, snow.

Try to form a clear connection between the child during the game - "action-result of action", this will be useful for future lessons in logic and mathematics.

Visual-figurative type of thinking

At the next stage, from three to four years old and up to the first grade, the child actively forms a visual-figurative type of thinking. This does not mean that the previous, visual-effective, is supplanted, no. Simply, in addition to the already existing skills of mastering the surrounding objects by actively perceiving them with “hands”, the baby begins to think in terms of a system of images. This type of thinking is especially clearly reflected in the child's developing ability to draw.

When drawing any object, for example, a house, children rely on their idea of ​​it, on those of its characteristic features (roof, walls, window) that are imprinted in their memory. At the same time, the resulting image is not individualized - it is only an image that has developed in the child's mind at a given moment in time.

It is very important that the child likes to visualize, to embody in reality the images that arise in his mind.

This is well promoted by drawing, modeling, design, and application.

Verbal - logical thinking

At the age of 5-7 years, the following type of thinking begins to actively develop in preschoolers - verbal-logical. The ability not only to communicate facts, but also to subject them to a detailed analysis in verbal form speaks of a well-developed verbal-logical thinking.

For example, if a child of three or four years old is asked, "What is a cat?" A child of five to six years old will most likely answer this question like this: "A cat is an animal that catches mice and loves milk." This answer demonstrates the child's visual ability to analyze - one of the most important mental operations, which is a kind of "engine" for the development of thinking in preschool children.

Creative thinking

This type of thinking characterizes the ability to be creative - that is, to create new, non-standard solutions. The successful development of the child's creative abilities will largely depend on the desire of the parents to develop creativity in him.

Unlike previous types of thinking, the creative type is not determined by the factors of growth and the formation of the child's intellectual abilities.

Such forms of mental activity as fantasy and imagination are characteristic of any child and are an essential condition for the emergence of the creative process. It is only important to create an environment in which the little person can develop his creative impulses. Absolutely all types of creativity will help in this: literary, visual, choreographic, musical.

Children who are incapable of creativity - no, the parents of the preschooler should remember this. Even children who are lagging behind in development are able to find original creative solutions to the proposed problems, if classes with parents and teachers contribute to this.

Mental operations and their role in the development of thinking in preschoolers

The universal mental operations inherent in human thinking are analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization and classification. It is the ability to use these operations that determines the development of thinking in preschool children.

Comparison

In order for a child to fully be able to use this category, it is necessary to teach him the skill of seeing the same in different, and different in the same. Starting from the age of two, teach your baby to compare and analyze objects by comparing homogeneous features, for example: shape, color, taste, consistency, set of functions, etc.

It is necessary that the child understands the importance of analysis based on homogeneous features, be able to identify and name them. Expand the horizons of the concepts being compared - let it be not only objects, but also natural phenomena, seasons, sounds, properties of materials.

Generalization

This mental operation becomes available to a preschooler at the age of 6-7 years. A child at the age of three or four years perfectly operates with the words "cup", "spoon", "plate", "glass", but if you ask him to name all this group of objects in one word, he will not be able to do it.

However, as the vocabulary and coherent speech are filled, the use of generalizing concepts will become available to preschoolers, and they will be able to operate with them, expanding their thinking abilities.

Analysis

This way of thinking makes it possible to "dismember" the analyzed object, the phenomenon into its constituent components, or to reveal a number of separate, characteristic features and traits.

Ask your child to describe the plant. At the age of 3-4 years, he will most likely indicate and name its parts without difficulty: stem, leaves, flower, thus demonstrating his ability to analyze. The analysis can be directed not only at the "dismemberment" of the concept, but also at the isolation of the exclusive features peculiar only to it.

Synthesis

Thinking operation opposite to analysis. If by analyzing, the child "dismembers" the object, the concept of a phenomenon, then the synthesis, as a result of the analysis, will allow him to combine the signs obtained separately. This operation is very well illustrated by the preschooler's mastering the skills of coherent reading. From individual elements (letters and sounds), he learns to add syllables, from syllables - words, words form sentences and text.

Classification

Mastering this method of mental action will allow the child to identify the similarities or differences of certain objects, concepts and phenomena. By highlighting one, but, as a rule, an essential feature, the baby can classify the group of objects in question.

For example, toys can be classified according to the material from which they are made - these are toys made from wood, plastic, soft toys, from natural materials, etc.

Exercises to develop skills in analysis, synthesis and classification

"What's superfluous?"

Place in front of the child several pictures of objects that he understands. You can use children's lotto cards, you can make pictures yourself.

For example, the pictures show the following items: an apple, a candy, and a book. The child must analyze and correctly classify these items. An apple and candy can be eaten, but a book cannot. This means that a picture with a book in this row will be superfluous.

"Puss in a poke" (we train the skills of analysis and synthesis)

One of the players (if the child is still small and does not speak very well, let it be an adult) takes a picture from the children's loto, and describes what is depicted on it, without showing it to another player. In this case, the object itself cannot be called! The other player must guess from the description of what is shown in the picture. Over time, when the child grows up (starting from 4-5 years old), you can change roles - let the child describe what is shown in the picture, and the adult player guesses. In this case, not only mental abilities are trained, but also the skills of coherent speech.

"Pick a pair" (train analysis, comparison)

Requires two sets of children's lotto with the same cards. One child (player) takes a card and, without showing it, explains to other players what is drawn on it. Other players, analyzing, offer their own version of the card, which, in their opinion, depicts what the first child described. If the description and the answer coincide, two identical cards are removed from the game, and the game continues further, with the remaining cards.

"What is it?" (analysis, comparison, generalization)

Invite your child to describe the following vocabularies using a generalizing word.

• glass, plate, fork, knife; /dishes/;
• plum, apple, orange, banana; /fruits/;
• sparrow, stork, goose, dove; /birds/;
• cat, pig, rabbit, sheep; / animals, pets /;
• rose, tulip, lily of the valley, poppy; /flowers/.

Come up with vocabulary on your own, over time complicate tasks, move from simple objects to concepts and phenomena (seasons, human feelings, natural phenomena, etc.).

The development of thinking in preschool children is a task whose solution directly depends on how successfully the child has mastered and can use the above mental operations.

Classes and games aimed at their training will ensure not only the intellectual development of the preschooler, but the harmonious formation of the personality of the growing child as a whole, because it is developed thinking that distinguishes a person from other living beings.

Teacher, specialist of the children's development center
Druzhinina Elena

Useful development video creative thinking children:

In psychology, there are three forms of thinking in preschool children: visual-effective, visual-figurative and spatio-temporal (temporal). The features of the development of thinking of preschoolers of each of the above types will be discussed in this article. You will learn what stages the child goes through in the process of studying the outside world and how the thinking of boys differs from the thinking of girls.

Features of the development of visual-active thinking in preschool children

The development of a child's thinking at an early age occurs through the direct perception of the world around him. He begins to interact with objects. Among all the processes developing in the psyche, the fundamental role is assigned to perception. Both the child's consciousness and his behavior are almost completely determined by what he perceives at the moment. All his experiences focus on those objects and phenomena that surround him.

Thought processes, which are external orienting actions, are visual and effective: using this form, children discover numerous connections between them and the objects of the world around them. External actions represent the basis and starting point, which serves as the starting point for the formation of all other forms of thinking.

The child receives the necessary experience when he begins to persistently and regularly reproduce the same elementary actions, as a result of which he receives the expected result. Ultimately, this experience will form the basis of the more complex thought processes developing in the child's head.

This experience at the initial stages of the development of visual-active thinking in preschoolers is unconscious and is included in the direct process of performing an action. It is important to note that objects in this case are not only carriers of practical and consumer functions, but also general characteristics, which are often abstract concepts. The actions that the child performs with objects are aimed at isolating their main features.

How visual-action thinking develops in preschool children

In the process of visual and orientational actions, formed during manipulations with various objects, visual images are formed. At this stage in the development of visual-active thinking in preschool children, for a child, the main signs of things are their shape and size. In early childhood, color is not fundamental to recognizing things. Children pay attention to contours and overall shape.

A special role is played by correlating actions, which are aimed at the development of visual and effective thought processes. The kid here manipulates two or more objects and learns to gradually correlate their size, shape, place where they are. He begins to perform actions with several objects - string rings on the pyramid, puts cubes on top of each other. However, in the course of these processes, he does not take into account the characteristics of objects, he will begin to select them in accordance with the shape and size much later, as well as arrange them in a given order.

For this reason, most toys designed for children of this age (this includes various pyramids, cubes, nesting dolls, etc.) assume correlating actions. At the same time, for the development of visual-effective thinking in preschool children, they should all be aimed at obtaining a certain result, so that all manipulations have one common goal. Corresponding actions can be performed depending on the order that the adult suggests. If a child is engaged in imitation, that is, he performs the same actions as an adult participant in the game, then the result will be obtained only with the direct participation of the mentor. However, for the formation of effective thinking in children, it is necessary that the baby independently learns to highlight the most important characteristics of objects, select components and assemble them in the correct order.

This type of thinking in children is formed for the most part independently. The participation of an adult should be limited to only one thing: he needs to interest the child in the subject and arouse the desire to start interacting with it. At first, the child can begin to practically test objects, since he has not yet mastered the skills of visual comparison of size and shape. The peculiarity of the development of this type of thinking in children is clearly manifested in the example of playing with a matryoshka: by applying two halves that do not fit each other, the baby will try to get the desired result by force - to squeeze in the wrong part. As soon as he is convinced that his actions do not bring the desired result, he will start using other elements until he gets the right part in his hands. For the development of thinking in children, toys are designed in such a way that they themselves will tell you which element is most suitable. Sooner or later, the baby will be able to independently achieve the long-awaited result.

After external orienting actions are mastered, the child begins to visually correlate the characteristics of things. Here, the laying of visual perception takes place, when the qualities of one object are taken by him as a model with which the baby will compare the properties of other things. The manifestation of this ability is the selection of details by eye. This significantly speeds up the interaction with objects, since a practically directed action is produced immediately, the process of practical trials moves aside.

At the next stage in the development of thinking, when children reach the age of two, they are already able to select objects visually according to the model. During the game, an adult invites the child to give him exactly the same object, to which he must react correctly and choose the most suitable thing from the whole mass of toys, in his opinion. However, thinking here is directed to three key filters - first, the child will look for an object that is suitable in shape, then in size, and only in last by color. It turns out that a new perception is formed for already known characteristics that the child uses regularly, and subsequently it is transferred to less significant indicators.

It is worth noting that the peculiarities of the development of thinking in children at an early age are such that they cannot correctly choose an object of a rather complex shape, especially if an adult invites the child to find several things at once. In addition, the child may completely lose sight of characteristics that do not seem very important to him. For example, if he needs to build a pyramid of a certain size out of cubes according to the pattern, then he will not pay attention to the colors, although he already knows how to distinguish them.

A little later, with the development of this type of thinking, children acquire permanent patterns with which they can compare all objects. They are things whose form is very pronounced, or ideas about them. For example, a baby can perceive everything triangular as a house, and everything round as a ball. This will tell the parents that their baby has already acquired certain ideas about the shape of objects, and they are fixed in his brain in connection with certain things.

Ideas about the shapes of objects are formed depending on how quickly the baby begins to master visual orientation. So that the development of this form of thinking in children is not inhibited, and his ideas about the characteristics of objects become as extensive as possible, the child needs to get acquainted with the properties of things when they are in a certain environment. He has to be in constant interaction with a rich sensory environment, and it is this environment that influences his further development, both physical and mental.

The child regularly reproduces and repeats correlating actions. Due to this, certain mental actions are formed in his head. One of the features of the development of this form of thinking in children is that even at this age, babies begin to have actions that they perform only in their minds, without resorting to external influences... For example, in his mind through sight he can choose the most suitable detail.

Psychology of the development of visual-figurative thinking in younger preschoolers

At the heart of the guess, the test that went through mental analysis is associated with the images of objects. For about three years, children of primary preschool age develop visual-figurative thinking. At an early age, this form of thinking in children is just emerging, which is why the baby can use it only within a limited range of tasks. The psychology of the development of thinking in children at this age is such that he performs more complex actions with the help of a visual-effective form.

For the development of all types of thinking, children of early preschool age need certain developmental toys, without which these processes can be seriously delayed. The most suitable are composite toys, when using which the baby needs to correlate parts by size or color. Sometimes during the game, two identical things are used at once, one of which serves as a model, and the second is needed in order to reproduce the action with the object.

One of the earliest reproductive actions is the insertion of one object into another. Towards the end of the first year of life, the child takes his toys out of the box and places them back. First he takes them out and then scatters them. If an adult collects them back, then the baby will get them again. This continues several times in a row.

After a few more months, the child quickly collects small toys in a specific container. An adult should support this undertaking and for the formation of a visual figurative thinking show children how to collect toys in a small box, and then transfer them to some other container. If the child is interested in this, such an activity will greatly captivate him. However, he will enjoy the process itself, not the final result.

Interaction with inserts in the process of forming visual-figurative thinking in children is a more complex process. A similar set consists of several items of approximately the same shape, but of different sizes. The main task of the child when playing with inserts is to correlate the size of objects in order to develop hand coordination. These items are very useful for the development of not only perception, but also thinking.

How to develop visual-figurative thinking in preschool children

Another extremely useful toy is the pyramid. Parents should teach the child how to play with her correctly - first of all, put on and take off rings. For babies, the most suitable will be a pyramid with large multi-colored rings located on a rod of short length (about 20 cm). How to develop thinking in a child using this toy? The adult should place the rod in front of the child and show how to string the rings and how to remove them. The parent can take the baby's hand and place the pyramid ring into it. After the exercise has been done several times, you can let the child do it on his own.

For the development of figurative thinking in children under one and a half years old, the simplest pyramid is required - a maximum of five rings. An adult must disassemble it himself and show the baby all the necessary manipulations. Now there are pyramids with rings of different sizes - this task will become more difficult for the child, but it will significantly accelerate his development. At first, the kid will string rings, not paying attention to the size, but in this case there is a way out: buy a pyramid with a conical rod. The ring, which should be at the top, cannot be put on below.

When the baby is a little older, for the development of visual-figurative thinking of preschoolers, actions with the pyramid can be diversified. Invite him to fold the path, placing the rings from largest to smallest. At first, let him not pay attention to their size, but later he himself will learn to lay out a narrowing path.

A pyramid with colorful rings is a great material for teaching a child to distinguish between colors. However, in this case, the adult will not only have to take part in the game, but also comment on it. Therefore, in this case, for the development of figurative thinking in preschool children, two pyramids will be required at once. The kid is shown a red ring and asked to find a similar color. If he coped with the task, he is shown that the rings match in color and is praised. In the case when the child brought the wrong ring, he is again asked to bring the ring of the desired color, but the wrong option is removed.

At first, the baby's speech is inextricably linked with his actions, but over time, words begin to precede any actions. He will first say what he is going to do, and only after that he will do what he planned. At this stage of development, visual-active thinking turns into visual-figurative. The child has accumulated enough life experience to imagine certain objects in his head and perform certain actions with them.

In the future, the thinking of preschool children develops on the basis of the relationship between image, word and action, where the word begins to play an increasing role. Nevertheless, until about the age of seven, the child's thinking is concrete, that is, it is not isolated from what he perceives in the life around him. Starting from about six years old, the development of figurative thinking of preschoolers allows them to skillfully apply the available factual material, generalize it and draw the necessary conclusions.

Development of the form of visual and verbal thinking in a child

The development of visual-verbal thinking in a child is based not only and not so much on the perception of objects as on the descriptions and explanations received from the parents orally. Despite this, the baby still thinks in concrete terms. For example, he already knows that metal objects sink in water, so he is sure that the nail will sink. However, he reinforces this with personal experience, which is expressed by the words: "I myself saw how the nail was sinking."

At this age, children are very curious and ask adults a lot of questions. For the development of thinking in preschool children, parents or educators must have an answer to every question. The first questions are often related to a violation of the usual order of things, for example, when a toy that used to work normally breaks down. The child is interested in adults how to be and what to do. Somewhat later, questions arise about what surrounds him.

The development of thinking in children of middle preschool age and younger schoolchildren is accelerating. When a child goes to school, the nature of his activities undergoes significant changes. For example, the range of subjects that make up his interest is greatly expanding. The teacher guides the children in the class so that they can freely express their thoughts in words. They are encouraged to think first and then perform a certain action. Despite the fact that in the junior school age children still think in concrete-figurative concepts, abstract thinking is already laid in them. Their mental processes begin to spread to animals, plants, people around them, etc.

However, in this case, the pace of development depends, first of all, on how correctly the training program is selected. If children are engaged in a program of increased complexity, then by about eight years of age their ability for abstract reasoning is much higher than that of peers who are taught according to standard patterns. The main advantage of this method is that the teacher is always perfectly aware of what factual material needs to be used and how the thought processes of a particular student are formed.

Stages of development of spatial-temporal thinking of children

Another type of thinking in preschool children is spatio-temporal or temporal. Adults are well aware that time is a very ambiguous and relative concept. Children also think about something similar, but initially they should be introduced to this concept. Child psychologists have long noted the fact that the main reference point for a child in relation to time is a bright event or a significant impression, expectation of something. In this case, it turns out that the baby is perfectly oriented both in the past and in the future, but the present is absent. The child imagines the present as the present moment, what is happening this second.

It was noticed that even very young children are able to learn what is repeated every day - morning, evening, night. It is easier for the child to navigate in time if the parents wish him good morning or good night. Due to the fact that the thinking of preschool children is visual-figurative, it is difficult for them to operate with abstract concepts.

Time is precisely an abstract category - it is impossible to see, feel or hear it.

One of the features of the development of temporal thinking in preschool children is the "natural sense of time", because even babies are guided by their internal biological clock, laid down in them by nature.

If children from a very early age were instilled with a clear time schedule, then it will be much easier for them to assimilate the time. Their body adjusts to the existing rhythm of life, so the idea of ​​time periods is formed in their brain much faster than those of those children who do not have a certain routine. If today the baby was fed at noon, and yesterday at 2 pm, it is much more difficult for him to navigate in time.

Children start to become interested in watches from about three or four years old. If the baby has good natural data, then by this age he is able to navigate in them. For the development of space-time thinking of children from an early age, parents must acquaint them with the very concept of time.

You should not devote any separate conversations to this, you just need to say words denoting temporary concepts in the process of playing and communicating with the baby. As a result, the adult simply comments on his actions and plans. It is these concepts that are first fixed in the mind of the child. At the same time, they may relate not to daily activities, but to what parents tell their offspring.

A little later, you can begin to designate more specific time periods, so that the child's head develops a concept of the past, present and future. This is far from as easy as it might seem at first glance, since the baby often confuses these words. It is difficult for him to understand abstract concepts, but over time he will master this too. You can immediately give information on calendar concepts - days, months, weeks, etc. In order for all of them to be constantly in his sight, you need to purchase a special children's calendar and hang it in the baby's room.

You should be prepared for the fact that spatial thinking in children is insufficiently developed, and the baby is not immediately able to remember such complex words and concepts. Parents need to be patient, gradually and consistently teach the child time. Every morning you need to tell him about what day of the week is today, the day of the month, etc. Over time, he will learn to independently determine them on the calendar. Parents need to think about how to turn this process into a fun game. It is most convenient if temporary concepts will be mentioned in conversations and plans.

So that the child can quickly remember what a week is, the easiest way is, starting on Monday, to circle each day that has passed. When Sunday evening comes, the baby needs to be shown that 7 days have passed, which make up one line on the calendar. Due to the fact that the child thinks objectively and visually, it will be much easier for him to remember the concept of the week using this approach.

You can do a little differently - buy a calendar with large cells and draw some image in them every day that has passed. It should symbolize an event related to the life of the baby on this day. You can also mark important family holidays and other dates on the calendar. Thanks to this approach, the baby by about five years old will learn to prepare for future events, will begin to plan and allocate his time.

The peculiarities of the development of thinking in preschoolers are such that already at the age of two, the child is able to realize that the seasons are changing. This process may be accelerated if the parents draw the baby's attention to the changes that occur in nature when the seasons change. You can not only tell your child about these changes, but also ask him, for example, about how the park or playground looked like until recently. The kid, of course, will not be able to immediately remember in what sequence the months pass, so this topic must be returned again and again. Books for children also touch upon the concept of seasons and times in general in one way or another.

Only after the child has figured out the days, weeks, years and months, you can move on to the clock. So that these conversations do not go to waste, it is better to acquaint him with the numbers from 1 to 12. The easiest way to talk to a kid about a watch is on the example of a large dial with graduations applied to it. Parents should tell him how the minute and hour hands move, and a child aged five to seven is able to perceive and assimilate such information.

After he remembers all this, you need to train him day after day, asking where the arrows are when he gets out of bed or goes to bed.

Early Childhood Development: Differences in Thinking Boys and Girls

Studies have shown that girls are born more mature than boys. Boys begin to walk 2-3 months later and speak 5 months later. And already by the period of puberty, this interval increases to 2 years.

The different sex of children is not only differences in primary and secondary sex characteristics. It is also a different brain, and a different psyche and a different development of thinking: in younger preschool girls, it is higher.

At preschool age, girls are ahead of boys in the development of verbal (oral, verbal) abilities. They differ little from them in the speed of mastering speech, but after 2 years the girls become more sociable, willingly contact with other children. The girls' speech is more correct.

Boys, unlike girls, have better spatial thinking. As a rule, it is more difficult for them to clothe their thoughts in the form of a correctly constructed statement.

The processes of perception, the development of thinking in younger preschoolers and their memory are also very different. Girls, when solving spatial problems, mainly use speech supports, and when solving speech or logical ones, figurative and emotional ones.

Boys are always more information-oriented, and girls are always more focused on relationships between people. Whereas boys ask questions to get specific information, girls ask questions to establish emotional contacts.

In girls at preschool age, the right hemisphere matures more slowly, and in boys, the left. It is because of this physiological feature that girls under 10 years old better remember numbers, and they find it easier to solve logical problems. However, their memory development is completed faster.

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Evgeniya Bogatova
Features of the development of cognitive processes in children 3-4 years old

Preschool age is a period of intensive formation of the child's psyche. In all areas of the mental development significant changes are taking place. They are due to many factors: speech and communication with adults and peers, different forms knowledge and inclusion in different kinds activities (play, productive, household)... Along with the changes, complex social forms of the psyche arise, such as the personality and its structural elements(character, interests, etc., abilities and inclinations... Between cognitive processes close relationships are beginning to be established.

Speech. Have children 3-4 years, there is an intensive formation of speech, which goes into process joint activities with an adult. Speech rearranges all mental processes: perception, thinking, memory, feelings, etc. The mastery of speech allows the child to control his behavior, think to fantasize, build an imaginary situation, be aware of his actions.

Speech children basically continues to remain situational and dialogical, but it becomes more complex and deployed... The vocabulary increases over the year to an average of 1,500 words. Individual differences range from 600 to 2300 words. Vocabulary changes speeches: the proportion of verbs, adjectives and other parts of speech increases in comparison with nouns. The length of sentences increases, complex sentences appear. In speech children the fourth year of life, there is another peculiarity: being engaged in any business, children often accompany their actions with a quiet speech that is hard to understand for others - By "wrapping"... These "Talking to yourself" are of great importance to child development... With their help, the child keeps in memory the goals he has set for himself, makes new plans, ponders ways to achieve them, and finally, verbally performs actions that he omits in reality.

Perception. Cognition a person around the world begins with sensations and perception. Leading cognitive the function is perception. The importance of perception in the life of a preschooler is very great, since it creates the foundation for development of thinking, promotes the development of speech, memory, attention, imagination. Good developed perception can manifest itself in the form of the child's observation, his the ability to notice the features of objects and phenomena, details, dashes that an adult will not notice. V process learning, perception will be improved and honed in process coordinated work aimed at development of thinking, imagination, speech.

The perception of a preschool child is involuntary. Children do not know how to control their perception, they cannot independently analyze this or that object. In subjects, preschoolers notice not the main signs, not the most important and essential, but what clearly distinguishes them from the background of others items: color, size, shape. Thus, the perception of a younger preschooler 3-4 years old is objective in nature, that is, the properties of an object, for example, color, shape, taste, size, etc., are not separated from the object in the child. He sees them as one with the object, considers them inseparably belonging to him. Upon perception, he sees not all the characteristics of the object, but only the most striking ones and by them distinguishes the object from others. For example: the grass is green, the lemon is sour and yellow. Acting with objects, the child begins to discover their individual qualities, to comprehend a variety of properties. it develops his ability to separate properties from an object, to notice similar qualities in different objects and different in one.

Imagination. In the fourth year of life, the imagination of a child still poorly developed... The kid can be easily persuaded to act with objects, transforming them (for example, using a wand as a thermometer, but the elements "Active" imagination, when the child is carried away by the image itself and the ability to act independently in an imaginary situation, only begin to form and manifest. In younger preschoolers, an idea is often born after an action has been completed. And even if it is formulated before the start of activity, it is very unstable. The idea is easily destroyed or lost in the course of its implementation, for example, when faced with difficulties or when the situation changes. The very emergence of an idea occurs spontaneously, under the influence of a situation, an object. Toddlers do not yet know how to direct their imaginations.

In preschool age, imagination is mostly involuntary, the child does not have a consciously set goal to create any image. The subject of fantasy becomes that which greatly excited, carried away him, amazed: a fairy tale read, a cartoon seen, a new toy. Throughout the preschool age, the imagination needs an external support, the function of which can be performed by various real objects, toys, roles taken by the child in the game, illustrations for literary works, etc.

Attention. The level of a child's progress, the productivity of educational activity largely depends on the degree of attention formation. Characteristic feature the attention of a preschool child is that it is caused by externally attractive objects. Focused attention remains as long as interest in the perceived remains. objects: objects, events, people. Attention in preschool age rarely arises under the influence of any set goal, that is, it is involuntary. Involuntary attention appears as if by itself, without an effort of will. In the minds of the little ones children are fixed then that is bright, emotional. Child not able to for a long time to keep his attention on one subject, he quickly switches from one activity to another.

With age, in during the game, learning, communicating with adults, voluntary attention begins to form. Voluntary attention requires volitional efforts from a person for its appearance. Arbitrary attention is necessary in order to do not what you want, but what is necessary. In the game, in the classroom kindergarten the child learns to accept a verbal task and translate it into self-command, mastering the simplest skills of self-control.

And yet the level development attention is still low. The child is easily distracted, can quit the job and do something else. Ability of children manage your attention is very small. It is difficult to direct the child's attention to the subject using verbal directions. To shift his attention from object to object, it is often necessary to repeat the instruction.

Thinking. In the younger preschool age, thinking functions in objective activity. The child solves practical problems with the help of instrumental and correlative actions, that is, with the help of visual-active thinking.

At three or four years old, a child tries to analyze what he sees around him; compare objects with each other and draw conclusions about their interdependencies. In everyday life and in the classroom, as a result of observing the environment, accompanied by explanations from an adult, children gradually get an elementary idea of ​​the nature and life of people. The child himself seeks to explain what he sees around. Three-year-old children understand only the final goal, which must be achieved (it is necessary to take out a candy from a high vessel, fix a toy, but they do not see the conditions for solving this problem. Therefore, their actions are chaotic - trying in nature. Clarification of the task makes the actions problematic, searching.

In all types of preschooler activities develop mental operations, such as generalization, comparison, abstraction, classification. The first mental operations - comparison and generalization - are formed in the child during the development of objective, mainly instrumental actions. Children can compare objects in color and shape, distinguish differences in other ways. They can generalize objects by color (it's all red, shape (it's all round, size (it's all small).

Memory. The memory of a 3-4 year old preschooler is involuntary and is characterized by imagery. The child does not set before himself conscious goals, to remember anything. Memorization and recall occur independently of his will and consciousness. Only that which was directly related to his activity is well remembered, it was interesting and emotionally colored. Nevertheless, what is remembered remains for a long time.

The main type of child's memory is figurative memory. These are ideas about the people around them and their actions, about household items, about fruits and vegetables, about animals and birds, about space and time, etc. develop motor memory, the content of which changes significantly. The child's movements become more complex, may involve several components (children dancing and waving handkerchiefs).

Until 3-4 years of age, a child's memory is mostly unintentional. The child does not yet know how to set a goal to remember and remember. He does not take possession of those ways, techniques that would allow him to deliberately carry out processes memorization and playback. It is involuntary memorization that provides him with different knowledge about objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, their properties, connections, about people, their relationships and activities.

High level development involuntary memory is an important prerequisite development of arbitrary memory processes the richer the experience and knowledge children captured by them involuntarily, the easier it is to development of arbitrary memory... The most favorable conditions for mastering voluntary memorization and reproduction are created in play, when memorization is a condition for the child to successfully fulfill the role he has assumed. The number of words that a child remembers when acting, for example, in the role of a customer, being executed by an order to buy certain items in a store, turns out to be higher than the number of words memorized at the direct request of an adult.

Arbitrary memorization at 3-4 years old can also be mechanical in nature. Mechanical memorization is based on repeated repetition; it is not based on understanding the memorized material. Children easily memorize meaningless material, for example, counting rhymes, verbal puns, incomprehensible phrases, poems, and also resort to verbatim reproduction of the not always meaningful name of the material.

So, in the preschool period, the formation and development of basic cognitive processes... This happens thanks to the participation of adults who organize, control and evaluate the behavior and activities of the child, act as a source of diverse information. Adults, parents, educators largely determine the originality and complexity of the mental preschooler development, since they include the child in different areas of life, correcting the process of its development.

When a childhood friend meets, many years later, mental manipulation with images enables a person to reproduce some necessary details of information and to recognize the features of a school friend in the changed appearance. At this moment, visual-figurative thinking is triggered.

Peculiarities

In psychology, this type of thinking is referred to as a symbolic act of thought, in which a problem is modeled and solved with the help of representations. This involves mental work with the handling of objects and visual images. This type of thought process helps the subject to recreate the variety of different characteristics of a particular phenomenon or object, to establish their unusual combination.

Visual-figurative thinking is inextricably linked with real actions and objects. In this it differs from imagination, in which the image is recreated from memory. This type of thought process is subordinate to perception or representation.

It is dominant in children between the ages of 2 and 5. Kids think in visual images and do not know concepts.

Let's give an example. The child is shown two completely identical balls made of dough. He visually examines them, estimates the volume. Then a cake is made from one ball. The volume has not increased, but the shape has changed. Nevertheless, now the cake needs a lot of space on the table, which means, according to the baby, there is more dough in it than in the ball. In children, this type of mental activity is subordinate to perception, so it is difficult for them to abstract from what immediately catches the eye.

Older preschoolers and children of primary school age are also characterized by a visual-figurative thought process. When a teacher, when explaining new material, reinforces the information by demonstrating an object or its image, then he uses the visual-figurative thinking of schoolchildren.

Mastering manual skills is achieved through this type of thinking. In developed forms, such thinking is characteristic of people of creative professions. Writers, poets, designers, fashion designers, painters, sculptors, musicians, actors are able to vividly and vividly represent certain objects, phenomena or events.

The combination of some elements of the object, their movement, the ability to highlight the main signs in the mind create the basis for the formation of a visual-figurative thought process. For this purpose, special tasks have been developed.

Combination

This exercise allows the baby create a new object based on a set of specific images. The source material can be digital and alphabetic symbols, mathematical signs, geometric shapes. For example, a child is asked to portray a cat or a dog from digital characters. Often, the baby is given complete freedom of action and they look in which direction he directs his fantasy.

Finding and restoring the missing part also belongs to the combination group of exercises. The game "Chessboard" is also used. The essence of the game boils down to creating a field from various elements, while it is necessary to alternate particles.

Gradually increase the size of fields and the time for their reproduction.

Transformational

For this type of exercise take a finished finished image and invite the child to change it, create something completely new... Usually matches or sticks are used, from which a certain figure is folded. The kid should shift several matches so that a new object is obtained. Sometimes it is suggested to remove a few sticks to change the image.

Painting is a great speed challenge. For example, all the participants in the game are given leaflets with twenty letters "M" depicted. Each graphic sign needs to be turned into a new object, but so that all 20 created images can be recognized by others. Then the originality and recognizability of the objects depicted are discussed.

Why is it important?

This type of thinking is clearly manifested in preschool age. At this stage, there is an accumulation of various visual, tactile, sound displays, with the help of which it is easier for the baby to interact with the outside world. In the thought process, carried out with the help of images, imagination, spatial perception, logical construction of structural chains, and assessment of the situation are actively used. The child develops the ability to visualize an object without having it in sight.

The use of images forms the aesthetic component of the personality, develops creative thinking, accelerates the solution of logical and mathematical problems.

How to shape?

The active formation of such thinking begins at the age of three. Gradually, certain images are formed, information is accumulated, obtained in early childhood by feeling and examining things. Then the children's imagination develops rapidly, and the baby is able to think out or imagine a phenomenon, an object, an integral situation. It is necessary to teach the child to mentally see objects in different spatial positions, to change their location in the mind.

To diagnose the required degree of development of a visual-figurative thought process, psychologists use various techniques.

• There is a way to work with ridiculous images. The kid is offered a picture with a character who finds himself in an unusual situation, when the hero has to perform an action unusual for him. For example, instead of a chick, a frog sits in the nest, and the bird brings her a bone for food. The child explains why the image does not correspond to reality. He must determine how it happens in nature and offer his own version of the development of events. If the child coped well with 7 out of 10 tasks, then his visual-figurative thinking is on high level development.
• The construction method involves painting the image. The speed and accuracy of the reaction are evaluated. The kid is given pictures with drawn familiar animals, toys, geometric shapes. He should complete the drawing in one and a half minutes. The speed of the assignment is important.
• The “Collect the picture” technique involves the restoration of a whole image from familiar fragments. Evaluation criteria are determined by the speed of execution. With good imaginative thinking, the child should spend several minutes assembling the picture. During this time, the baby connects imagination, memory and applies the method of exclusion.
• There is also a technique based on finding an extra image. The kid is given several pictures that are similar in some groups of signs. He must find a print that does not correspond to the main composition of the grouped images.

Development methods

A three-year-old child needs collapsible toys... First, he is shown the correct disassembly and assembly of the pyramid, then the kid must repeat the steps. Over time, they add the study of the properties of the subject. The kid learns to determine the shapes, sizes of objects, to distinguish shades. It is important to interest the child, to involve him in drawing with pencils, felt-tip pens, crayons, paints. Before drawing or building a tower, the child should talk about their next steps.

Children 5-6 years old perfectly develop a figurative thought process with the help games with constructors... They master the construction of visual spatial models that reflect the connections and relationships of real things. The development of the imaginative thought process forms flexibility, mobility and the ability to operate with visual images.

For older preschoolers, the development of the thought process with the help of images stimulates the use of the following methods and techniques:

• observation of natural phenomena with the subsequent description and image of the information seen or heard;
• assembly of puzzles;
• solving puzzles, puzzles, riddles;
• sketches from memory;
• the image on a sheet of concepts that do not have visual signs: fun, joy, sound, friendship, melody, thought;
• modeling from plasticine, clay;
• visiting museums, exhibitions, excursions;
• creation of different applications.

The development of preschoolers includes the following main stages of learning:

• demonstration;
• explanation;
• joint work;
• independent actions according to the model and creativity, not limited to a certain framework.

The formation of the child's thought process with images is facilitated by exercises where it is proposed to describe a rainbow, sunset, dew drop, massage brush or any other phenomena and objects. Exercises with varying sticks or matches, turning over some symbolic signs, for example, the letter "E", are widely used to obtain another letter: "Ш".

By thinking we mean the human ability to reason, reflecting reality through a word, concept, judgment, representation. In terms of form, the following types of it are distinguished: visual-figurative, visual-effective, abstract-logical.

The first of them is more inherent in people of creative professions. Its essence is psychological relationships and connections with people, objects, events, circumstances, processes.

Imaginative thinking is a cognitive process in which a mental image is formed in a person's consciousness, reflecting the perceived object of the environment. Imaginative thinking is realized on the basis of ideas of what a person perceived before. In this case, images are extracted from memory or created by imagination. In the course of solving mental problems, these images can undergo such changes that lead to finding new, unexpected, extraordinary, creative solutions to complex problems.

How do we use imaginative thinking?

Thanks to imaginative thinking, you can learn to find a way out of difficult situations, solve difficult problems. For example, you can use the following visualization technique for this purpose:

1. Present your problem in the form of a picture-image. For example, you have a business problem. Think of it as a withering tree.

2. Create and draw images of the cause of what is happening and images of “rescuers” that will help you find a solution. For example, an excess of sun (too many outdated, oppressive, previously made decisions that prevent you from thinking creatively. An excess of sun can also represent, for example, increased competition). Think about what it takes to save the plant: watering (new ideas and solutions), or sun protection, or inviting a specialist gardener, or fertilizing the soil, or something else?

3. Do not rush yourself, rethinking does not come instantly, but soon it will certainly come in the form of insight.

Thinking imaginatively can help us calm down by providing psychological protection against an unnerving situation or an unpleasant person. We tend to take what is happening to heart, and therefore need to protect the psyche from overload. Most often, the technique of presenting the offender in an absurd or comical form is used. For example, you are hurt and offended by someone's stinginess. Do not be offended, better imagine a thrifty hamster with huge, full cheeks. Well, he can't live without supplies, that's how it is. Should I be offended? You better smile. Imagine a merciless satrap completely naked - this is ridiculous and ridiculous, and his cry will no longer have power over you.

There is an assumption that the ability to visualize the future increases the chances of its implementation. The more colorful and detailed the visualization is, the better. True, there is a caveat: as with all good things, in this visualization one should observe the measure. The main principle- "do no harm".

The use of imaginative thinking makes life more interesting, and communication and self-realization - more complete.

Development of imaginative thinking

How to develop imaginative thinking?

Here are some exercises that can help you do this:

- Look at any item you choose. Consider it for some time. With your eyes closed, visualize it in detail. Open your eyes, check how fully and accurately everything was presented and what was "overlooked".

- Remember how the thing that you put on (put on shoes) looks like. Describe it in detail, try not to miss a single detail.

- Imagine an animal (fish, bird, insect) and think about what benefit or harm it can bring. All work should be done mentally. It is necessary to "see" the animal and clearly imagine everything that is associated with it. For example, a dog. See how she meets her, how she happily wags her tail, licks her hands, looks into the eyes, plays with the child, protects you in the yard from offenders ... All events should take place like in a movie. Unleash your imagination. This exercise can be done different ways: using unrelated associations or as a film with a sequential storyline with a logical continuation.

Figurative thinking in children

Children can easily imagine in their imagination both objects and circumstances, it is as natural for them as breathing. In childhood, imagination merges with thinking so that they cannot be separated. The development of a child's thinking occurs during games, drawing, modeling, construction. All these activities force us to imagine this or that in the mind, which becomes the basis of figurative thinking. On this basis, verbal and logical thinking will subsequently be formed, which cannot be dispensed with in the classroom.

Children's perception of the world through images contributes to the development of imagination, fantasy, and also becomes the basis for the development of creative potential, which is so important for achieving success in any business.

What exercises contribute to the development of figurative thinking in children?

1. We read or tell stories with facial expressions, gestures, emotions.

2. We play, reincarnating. We play with children, change roles and images. We encourage children's transformation games.

3. We draw - and remember, and compose, and re-invent. Have your child recall a character from a recently read fairy tale or cartoon character. And then let him draw him a new friend or just a new character. The result is "kalyaka malyaka"? Finish it so that something new or something recognizable comes out.

4. We compose. You can start yourself - about what you see: about this little sprout that has made its way between the stones, about this tireless ant carrying three times its weight, about this grasshopper ... Compose together, do not be afraid to fantasize and encourage the child's imagination.

5. Riddles are a real find. They can be made along the way, they can be invented. They force you to consider objects and phenomena from different angles, to think outside the box and not give up.

6. We observe and notice: what or what does this cloud, this pebble, this snag look like?

Thinking games will greatly help your child gain new knowledge, compare, remember, reveal the relationship between phenomena, learn about the world and develop.

Creative thinking in adults

There is a simple test to check if your imaginative thinking is well developed. To do this, you need to choose any picture (do not try to take complex images right away, start with simple ones), look at it for some time (about a minute), trying to take into account all the nuances - the arrangement of lines and objects, color and shades, plot and other nuances. After you feel that everyone has noticed, close your eyes and mentally achieve a detailed reproduction. See her with your eyes closed clearly and clearly. Happened? Fine! This means that you only need to maintain the level of imaginative thinking you already have. But if the pictures did not work out, if there were tricks or vague forms, train by doing this exercise.

A sophisticated option is to render abstract images. You can draw one yourself from dots, broken lines, patterns, using different colors and shapes, and then remember. Pay attention to details and individual signs... Games for the development of thinking are easy to find on the Internet, on sites dedicated to self-development. Developing simulators also help in this. For example, in the game "Pyramidstroy" imaginative thinking, coupled with imagination, will help to remember completely unrelated words, combining them into an incredible story. Exercises and games for the development of thinking help a lot to maintain brain activity in good shape, they should be paid attention to throughout life.

The development of imaginative thinking improves creativity, favors the manifestation of creativity, the generation of new ideas. In addition, thanks to the development of figurative thinking, memorization improves, assimilation of new things is facilitated, intuition improves, and flexibility of thinking appears.

We wish you confidence in your abilities and successful self-development!

Imaginative thinking has a number of features that turn it into a universal tool that can and should be used by any person in his life.

Anastasia Kondratyeva
Thinking: forms, properties, types, ways of development in children

Thinking- the process of mediated and generalized cognition (reflection) of the surrounding world. Its essence is in reflection: 1) general and essential properties of objects and phenomena, including those properties that are not perceived directly; 2) essential relationships and regular connections between objects and phenomena.

Basic forms of thinking

There are three main forms of thinking: concept, judgment and inference.

A concept is a form of thinking that reflects the general and, moreover, essential properties of objects and phenomena.

Each object, each phenomenon has many different properties, signs. These properties, signs can be divided into two categories - essential and insignificant.

The judgments reflect the connections and relationships between objects and phenomena of the surrounding world and their properties and signs. Judgment is a form of thinking that contains the affirmation or denial of any position regarding objects, phenomena or their properties.

Inference is a form of thinking in which a person, comparing and analyzing various judgments, deduces a new judgment from them. A typical example of inference is the proof of geometric theorems.

Properties of thinking

The main properties of human thinking are its abstraction and generalization. The abstraction of thinking lies in the fact that, thinking about any objects and phenomena, establishing connections between them, we single out only those properties, signs that are important for solving the question before us, distracting from all other signs, in this case us not interested: listening to the teacher's explanation in the lesson, the student tries to understand the content of the explanation, highlight the main thoughts, connect them with each other and with their past knowledge. At the same time, he is distracted from the sound of the teacher's voice, the style of his speech.

Abstraction of thinking is closely related to its generalization. Highlighting the most important aspects, connections and relations that are essential from one point of view or another, we thereby focus our thought on the general that characterizes entire groups of objects and phenomena. Each object, each event, phenomenon, taken as a whole, is unique, as it has many different sides and signs.

Types of thinking

In psychology, the following simple and somewhat conditional classification of types of thinking is widespread: 1) visual-effective, 2) visual-figurative, and 3) abstract (theoretical) thinking. Thinking is also distinguished intuitive and analytical, theoretical, empirical, autistic and mythological.

Visual and effective thinking.

In the course of historical development, people solved the tasks facing them, first in terms of practical activity, only then did theoretical activity stand out from it. Practical and theoretical activities are inextricably linked.

Only as practical activity develops, it stands out as a relatively independent theoretical thinking activity.

Not only in the historical development of mankind, but also in the process of the mental development of each child, the starting point will be not purely theoretical, but practical activity. It is within this latter that the child's thinking first develops. In preschool age (up to three years inclusive), thinking is mainly visual and effective. The child analyzes and synthesizes cognizable objects as he practically separates, dismembers and re-unites, correlates, connects with each other certain objects perceived at a given moment with his hands. Curious children often break their toys precisely in order to find out “what's inside”.

Visual-figurative thinking.

In its simplest form, visual-figurative thinking occurs mainly in preschoolers, that is, at the age of four to seven years. Although the connection between thinking and practical action is preserved, it is not as close, direct and immediate as before. In the course of analyzing and synthesizing a cognizable object, the child does not necessarily and does not always have to touch the object that interests him with his hands. In many cases, systematic practical manipulation (action) with an object is not required, but in all cases it is necessary to clearly perceive and visualize this object. In other words, preschoolers think only in visual images and do not yet possess concepts (in the strict sense).

Abstract thinking.

On the basis of practical and visual-sensory experience, children at school age develop, first in the simplest forms, abstract thinking, that is, thinking in the form of abstract concepts.

The mastery of concepts in the course of mastering by schoolchildren the foundations of various sciences - mathematics, physics, history - is of great importance in the mental development of children. The formation and assimilation of mathematical, geographical, physical, biological and many other concepts in the course of schooling are the subject of numerous studies. The development of abstract thinking in schoolchildren in the course of mastering concepts does not at all mean that their visual-effective and visual-figurative thinking now ceases to develop or disappears altogether. On the contrary, these primary and original forms of any mental activity continue to change and improve, developing together with abstract thinking and under its influence.

Intuitive and analytical thinking.

Analytical thinking is characterized by the fact that its individual stages are clearly expressed and the thinker can tell another person about them. An analytically thinking person is fully aware of both the content of his thoughts and the operations that make them up. Analytical thinking in its extreme form takes the form of careful deductive (from general to particular) inference.

Intuitive thinking is characterized by the absence of clearly defined stages. It is usually based on a reduced perception of the entire problem at once. In this case, a person achieves an answer, which may be right or wrong, with little or no awareness of the process by which he received this answer. Therefore, the conclusions of intuitive thinking need to be verified by analytical means.

Intuitive and analytical thinking mutually complement each other Through intuitive thinking, a person can often solve problems that he would not have solved at all, or, at best, would have solved more slowly through analytical thinking.

Theoretical thinking.

Theoretical thinking is thinking that does not lead directly to practical action. Theoretical thinking is opposed to practical thinking, the conclusion of which is, according to Aristotle, an act. Theoretical thinking is guided by a special attitude and is always associated with the creation of a specific "theoretical world" and drawing a fairly clear border between it and the real world.

Empirical thinking.

At least three vital functions of empirical thinking can be distinguished.

First, empirical thinking provides a person with an awareness of the similar and the different. The most important task of thinking when faced with an infinite variety of sensually given properties and relationships of things is to separate them, to focus on similar and different, and to identify a general idea of ​​objects.

Second, empirical thinking allows the subject to determine the measure of similarity and difference. Depending on the practical tasks of everyday life, a person can define the same objects, phenomena, situations as more or less similar and different.

Thirdly, empirical thinking makes it possible to group objects according to generic relations, to classify them.

Ways to develop thinking

Development of visual - effective thinking of children.

By the age of 5-6, children are taught to perform actions in the mind. The objects of manipulation are no longer real objects, but their images. Most often, children present a visual, visual image of an object. Therefore, the child's thinking is called visual-effective.

For the development of visual-active thinking, the following methods of working with children should be used:

1) Teaching the analysis of a visual image (an adult can draw the child's attention to individual elements of objects, ask questions about similarities and differences).

2) Learn to determine the properties of objects (children do not immediately understand that different objects can have similar properties; for example: "Name 2 objects that have three characteristics at once: white, soft, edible").

3) Learning to recognize an object by describing possible actions with it (for example, a riddle).

4) Learning to find alternative ways of action (for example, "What to do if you need to know the weather outside?").

5) Learning to compose story stories.

6) Learning to draw logical conclusions (for example, "Petya is older than Masha, and Masha is older than Kolya. Who is the oldest?").

Development of logical thinking in children.

For the development of logical thinking in preschool children, the following techniques are used:

1) Teaching the child to compare objects (for example, "Find 10 differences in the following pictures").

2) Teaching the child to classify objects (for example, the game "What is superfluous?").

3) Teaching the child to search for the same properties or attributes of objects (for example, among the toys, invite the child to find 2 identical ones).

Development of logical thinking in primary school children:

1) The use of exercises aimed at developing the ability to divide objects into classes (for example, "Read the words (lemon, orange, plum, apple, strawberry) and name the berries and fruits").

2) Formation of the ability to give definitions to concepts.

3) Formation of the ability to highlight the essential features of objects.

Thinking acts mainly as a solution to tasks, questions, problems that are constantly put forward before people by life. Problem solving should always give a person something new, new knowledge. The search for solutions is sometimes very difficult, so mental activity, as a rule, is an active activity that requires focused attention and patience. The real process of thought is always a cognitive process.

Bibliography:

1. Brief psychological dictionary / ed. A. V. Petrovsky, M. G. Yaroshevsky. - Rostov-nD, 1998.

2. Gippenreiter Yu. B. Introduction to general psychology: Tutorial/NS. B. Gippenreiter. - M.: Omega L, 2006.

3. Tertel A. L. Psychology. Course of lectures: Textbook / A. L. Tertel. - M.: Prospect, 2006.

4. Diagnostics and correction of mental development of preschoolers: Textbook / Ed. Ya.L. Kolominskiy, E.A. Panko. - Mn., 1997.

5. Uruntaeva GA Practicum on child psychology: textbook / GA Uruntaeva, Yu. A. Afonkina. - M.: Education, 1995.

In the period of preschool childhood, there is a transition from visual-active thinking (typical of children 3-4 years old) to visual-figurative (5-6 years old) and verbal (6-7 years old).

Special studies by G.I. Minskoy showed that the experience accumulated by a child in solving visual-effective tasks (the formation of orientation mechanisms in the conditions of the task and the activation of speech forms of communication) can have a decisive influence on the transition to visual-figurative and verbal thinking. In other words, the organization of attention, the formation of speech, etc. are important for the development of a child's thinking.

The famous psychologist J. Piaget distinguishes four stages in the development of the child's intellect. At the stage of sensorimotor, or practical thinking (from birth to 2 years), the child learns the world as a result of their actions, movements, manipulations with objects (visual-active thinking). With the appearance of speech, the stage of preoperative thinking begins (lasting from 2 to 7 years), during which speech develops, the ability to mentally (internally) imagine external object actions (visual-figurative and verbal-logical thinking) is formed.

Of greatest interest to us is the stage of preoperative thinking, namely visual-figurative.

Imaginative thinking is the main type of thinking in a preschooler child. It appears in its simplest forms already in early childhood, revealing itself in the solution of a narrow range of practical problems related to the child's objective activity, using the simplest tools. By the beginning of preschool age, children solve in their mind only those tasks in which an action performed by a hand or a tool is directly aimed at achieving a practical result - moving an object, using it or changing it.

The main feature of visual-figurative thinking is the child's solution of life tasks not only in the course of practical actions with objects, which is characteristic of visual-effective thinking in the early period of development, but also in the mind based on images - ideas about these objects. The successful implementation of these mental procedures is possible only if the child can combine and combine different parts of objects and things in his mind, and, in addition, highlight in them essential invariant features that are important for solving various problems. The level of formation of visual-figurative thinking is determined mainly by the development of visual perception, short-term and long-term memory. By about the age of four, the preschooler as a whole has completed the process of forming the basic mental functions, which creates the necessary basis for the formation and intensive development of the child's visual-figurative thinking. It is also appropriate to recall the position of L.S. Vygotsky on the direct influence of the emerging speech on the rooting and intensification of the development of visual-figurative thinking and the formation of its reflexive characteristics.

It should be noted that the ability to operate with representations is not a direct result of the child's assimilation of knowledge and skills. An analysis of a number of psychological studies makes it possible to master the belief that this ability arises in the process of interaction of various lines of the child's psychological development - the development of object and instrumental actions, speech, imitation, play activity, etc. Initial stages development of visual-figurative thinking closely adjoins the development of perception processes. The fact is that when solving certain perceptual tasks (for example, choosing according to a model), the processes of perception proceed in close connection with the processes of representations: in order to choose from a number of objects corresponding to the model, it is necessary to have a certain idea of ​​this sample.

In visual-figurative thinking, the ability to present objects in the way they were perceived is the initial one. After all, before you can operate with an image, you need to have it.

The features of the transition from visual-active thinking to visual-figurative thinking were studied in the work of PI. Minsk (executed under the leadership of A.V. Zaporozhets). Children were offered tasks in which they needed to bring an object closer to themselves with the help of various kinds of levers.

Research has shown that the successful transition from the visual-effective to the visual-figurative is determined by the level of orientation-research activities aimed at identifying the essential links of the situation.

Further research in this direction, carried out by T.S. Komarova, made it possible to obtain a number of important factors that reveal some of the mechanisms of the transition from visual-effective to visual-figurative thinking.

The work was carried out according to a special methodology and made it possible to establish that during the formation of visual-figurative thinking, the actions of children, which were previously carried out with real objects, begin to be reproduced in terms of presented without reliance on real things, i.e. there is a kind of withdrawal of actions from reality. This separation is carried out much more successfully if it does not appear immediately, but goes through intermediate stages, when the child reproduces these actions not with real objects themselves, but with their substitutes - models. At first, the model can act as an exact copy of the object, but here, too, fundamental changes are already taking place in the child's activity - he acts with the model of the object and, with the help of an adult, is brought to the understanding that this model and actions with it must be correlated with the original. In other words, children quickly learn that their actions relate to the original, although they are performed with a model. This is a key moment in the formation of figurative thinking, in which models and actions with them play an important role.

In a number of domestic studies, the structure of visual-figurative thinking is revealed and a characteristic of some features of its functioning is given (B.G. Ananiev, L.L. Gurova, V.P. Zinchenko, E.N. Kabanova-Meller, T.V. Kudryavtsev, F.N.Shemyakin, I.S.Yakimanskaya and others). The main means of implementing this form of thinking are images that can differ in the degree of generalization, in the ways of formation and functioning. Cognitive activity itself acts as an operation with images.

Some authors (T.V. Kudryavtsev, I.S. Yakimanskaya, etc.) draw attention to the need for a clear distinction between two concepts - the type of image and the type of operating with the image. A number of studies have shown that the type of image manipulation does not, to a certain extent, depend on the type of the images themselves.

In other studies, there is evidence that the type of image (its structure, its functional features) affects the process of operating, expanding or narrowing the capabilities of the latter (V.P. Zinchenko, N.N. Poddyakov).

In the works of I.S. Yakimanskaya identified three types of image manipulation. The first type is characterized by reinforcement to represent objects (or parts of them) in different spatial positions. The second type is characterized by the transformation of the structure and spatial position of the original image. The third type of operation is the construction of fundamentally new images, based on complex transformations of the original images.

Many authors (A.V. Zaporozhets, A.A.Lublinskaya, J. Plaget, etc.) consider the emergence of visual-figurative thinking as a key moment in the mental development of a child. However, the conditions for the formation of figurative thinking in preschoolers, the mechanisms of its implementation are far from fully studied.

In a number of studies (T.V. Kudryavtsev, I.S.Yakimanskaya, and others), the main types of image manipulation have been identified. One of these types is the mental reproduction of an object in different spatial positions. Such an operation is an essential moment in the functioning of visual-figurative thinking of children and is important in the process of carrying out children's activities. The ability of children to represent objects in different spatial positions is a rather complex skill. It includes, as initial links, other, simpler skills, for example, the presentation of objects in the position in which they were in the process of direct perception.

The transition to the skills to represent objects in different spatial positions can be carried out on the basis of the formation of intermediate skills. They consist in the fact that the child represents different spatial positions of the hidden parts of the object by the visible ones. It is important to note that these skills play the role of not only an intermediate stage leading to the formation of more complex skills. They have an independent meaning in the development of the child's cognitive activity.

One of the important signs of the development of visual-figurative thinking is how much the new image differs from the initial data on the basis of which it is built.

The degree of difference between the newly formed image and the initial images reflecting the conditions of the problem characterizes the depth and radicality of the mental transformations of these initial images.

In their daily life, preschool children very early encounter the change and development of various objects and phenomena. Experimental studies, as well as systematic observations of the activities of preschoolers, give reason to believe that one of the peculiar forms of sensory generalization, which goes far beyond the directly perceived and is the starting point for the development of more complex forms of generalization, arises in the process of children learning objects in their change and development. ... Feature such cognition is the formation in this process of special ideas that reflect the sequence of changes, transformations of the object, which are inaccessible to direct perception.

An important condition for the emergence of visual-figurative thinking is the formation in children of the ability to distinguish between the plan of real objects and the plan of models reflecting these objects. With the help of such models, the child imagines the hidden sides of the situation. In the process of using models, children form special actions with a dual orientation - they are carried out by the child on the model, and they relate to the original. This creates the prerequisites for the "separation" of actions from the model and from the original and their implementation in terms of ideas.

The development of figurative reflection of reality in preschoolers proceeds mainly along two main lines: a) improvement and complication of the structure of individual images, providing a generalized reflection of objects and phenomena; b) the formation of a system of specific ideas about a particular subject. Individual representations included in this system are of a specific nature. However, being combined into a system, these representations allow the child to carry out a generalized reflection of the surrounding objects and phenomena.

The main line of development of visual-figurative thinking is the formation of the ability to operate with images of objects or their parts. The basis for such an operation is the ability of children to arbitrarily actualize these images. Such skills arise in children in the course of mastering two closely interrelated systems of actions. First, a system of analyzing actions is formed, in the process of which the child is taught to sequentially highlight the main and then derivative parts of the subject, that is, they are taught to go from the general to the particular.

Then, in productive activity, a system of reproductive actions is formed, in the process of which the child is taught to recreate, first, the main parts of objects, and then derivatives. The logic of reproduction corresponds to the logic of the analysis of an object and unfolds from the general to the particular.

In the course of such training, children develop the ability to arbitrarily actualize the idea of ​​a perceived object and then embody this idea in construction or drawing.

An essential moment in the development of visual-figurative thinking is the formation in children of a certain technique of operating with images. The basis of such an operation is the use by children of a special group of means of mental activity, with the help of which various kinds of mental movements of objects in space are carried out.

Figurative thinking is the main type of thinking in children 5-6 years of age. And as studies of psychologists show, already at this age children can master many of the possibilities associated with this type of thinking. For example, They can learn to mentally transform images of real objects, build visual models (such as diagrams) that reflect the essential properties of objects or phenomena, plan their actions in their mind.

The ability to use model images in thinking, which begins to develop in children of 3-4 years old, becomes in children 5-6 years old the basis for understanding various relationships of objects, allows children to assimilate generalized knowledge and apply them in solving new mental problems. This ability is manifested, in particular, in the fact that children easily and quickly understand the schematic images offered by adults and use them with success.

In children 5-6 years old, visual figurative thinking takes on leading importance. As a rule, older preschoolers turn to visual-active thinking only in cases of solving problems that cannot be solved without effective tests, and these tests often acquire a systematic character. So, in the task where the children were asked to guide the doll along a given path by pressing the buttons, the older preschoolers, after two or three unsuccessful presses, proceeded to testing the buttons, and some of the children developed a testing system - the child studied their effect on the movement of the doll in a certain order.

Tasks in which connections that are essential for achieving the goal can be found without trial, older preschoolers usually solve in their minds, and then perform unmistakably practical action.

Younger preschoolers solve similar problems with the help of external orienting actions, i.e. at the level of visual-action thinking. So, if children are offered the task of using a lever, where the direct result of the action is to move his near shoulder away from himself, and indirectly in the approach of the far one, younger preschoolers try to move the lever in different directions until they find the one they need.

Children 4-5 years old, when solving simpler, and then more complex problems with an indirect result, gradually begin to move from external tests to tests performed in the mind. After the child is introduced to several versions of the problem, he can solve a new version of it, no longer resorting to external actions with objects, but get the necessary result in his mind.

The ability to generalize the experience gained, to move on to solving problems with an indirect result in the mind arises due to the fact that the images used by the child themselves acquire a generalized character, reflect not all the features of the object, situation, but only those that are essential from the point of view of solving one or a different task.

Our analysis of both domestic and foreign studies shows that the development of visual-figurative thinking is a complex and lengthy process. N.N. Poddyakov showed that the development of the internal plan in preschool children goes through the following stages:

1st stage. The child cannot yet act in the mind, but is already able to manipulate things in a visual-effective plan, transform the objective situation directly perceived by him with the help of practical actions. At this stage, the development of thinking consists in the fact that at first the situation is given to the child visually, in all essential signs, and then some of them are excluded, and the emphasis is placed on the child's memory. Initially, the development of intelligence proceeds through the development of recalling what they had previously seen, heard, felt what they had done, through the transfer of solutions once found to a problem on new conditions and situations.

2nd stage. Here speech is already included in the statement of the problem. The task itself can be solved by the child only externally, through direct manipulation of material objects or by trial and error. Some modification of the previously found solution is allowed when it is transferred to new conditions and situations. The detected solution in verbal form can be expressed by the child, therefore at this stage it is important to get him to understand the verbal instructions, formulation and verbal explanation of the solution found.

3rd stage. The problem is solved already in a visual-figurative plan by manipulating images-representations of objects. The child is required to understand the methods of action aimed at solving the problem, their division into practical - transformation of the objective situation and theoretical - awareness of the way the requirement is made.

4th stage. This is the final stage, at which the task, following the found its visual-effective and figurative solution, is reproduced and implemented in the internally presented plan. Here, the development of intelligence is reduced to the formation of the child's ability to independently develop a solution to a problem and consciously follow it. Thanks to this learning, there is a transition from the external to the internal plan of action.

So, visual-figurative thinking acquires the main significance in the cognition of the world around by preschoolers. It gives the child the opportunity to assimilate generalized knowledge about objects and phenomena of reality, becomes a source of children's creativity.

The level of development of visual-figurative thinking, achieved in preschool age, is of lasting importance for the entire subsequent life of a person, serves as the main contribution that preschool childhood makes to the general process of mental development.