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Creative thinking and its features. How to develop a person's creative thinking

Thinking is closely connected with creativity, but these two processes - creative and thinking - cannot be identified. Thinking is one of the types of cognition, while creativity is possible not only in the sphere of cognition, but, for example, in movement, singing, art, etc.

An important contribution to the study of creative thinking was made by J. Guildford (1967). He distinguished two types of thinking: convergent and divergent. Convergent (convergence) thinking is necessary to find one single correct answer. Basically specific solutions there may be several, but their number is still limited. divergent Guilford defines thinking as "a type of thinking that goes in different directions", thanks to this thinking, original and unexpected solutions arise. Guilford considered the operation of divergence to be the basis of creativity as a general creative ability.

Guilford also identified four main features of creativity:

  • 1) originality - the ability to produce unusual ideas, images, associations, answers. Creative person almost always and everywhere seeks to find its own solution, different from others;
  • 2) semantic flexibility - the ability to see an object from a new angle, find opportunities for its new use, expand the functional application in practice;
  • 3) figurative adaptive flexibility - the ability to change the perception of an object in such a way as to see its new sides hidden from observation;
  • 4) semantic spontaneous flexibility - the ability to produce a variety of ideas in an uncertain situation, in particular in one that does not contain guidelines for these ideas.

Subsequently, other attempts were made to define creative thinking, but they brought little new to its understanding, which was proposed by J. Gilford.

The creative process includes different stages: generation, or generation, of ideas, analysis and refinement of the put forward ideas and selection of the best ideas from several. In life situations, all three stages of the creative process are not always present. Therefore, situations can be divided based on which of the stages is most represented. There are tasks in which it is required to show the ability to generate ideas (the first stage of the creative process): the criterion for completing such tasks is the quantity and quality of the ideas put forward. There are situations that mainly require the ability to analyze and refine already put forward ideas (the second stage of creativity). In this case, a person must identify the consequences of accepting each of the ideas, find ways to enhance positive effects and ways to minimize negative ones. Finally, there are situations in which it is necessary to compare possible alternative ideas in terms of their practical value.

Today, psychologists are convinced that creative thinking can be taught. To do this, it is necessary to develop the appropriate abilities involved in the creative thinking process and overcome internal barriers to creativity. Psychologists usually name four internal barriers to creativity:

  • 1) conformism - the desire to be like others. People are afraid to express original ideas, so as not to stand out from the rest. These fears are most often associated with the sad childhood experience of misunderstanding and condemnation of their ideas by adults or peers;
  • 2) rigidity - the difficulty of switching from one stereotypical point of view to another. Rigidity does not allow to improve ready-made solutions, to see the unusual in the ordinary, the familiar;
  • 3) the desire to find an answer immediately. It has been noticed that the best solutions come during a "creative break", when a person gives himself the opportunity to distract himself from the problem, to relax. If he seeks to resolve it immediately, by all means, then the risk of a premature, ill-considered decision is very high;
  • 4) censorship - internal criticism of any own idea. People with severe internal censorship prefer to wait for a natural resolution of the problem or try to shift the responsible decision to someone else. Such lack of initiative is usually formed in children whose parents adhere to an authoritarian style of upbringing and tend to criticize the child's actions for any reason.

There are two competing ways of thinking: critical and creative. critical thinking is aimed at identifying flaws in the judgments of other people. Creative thinking is associated with the discovery of fundamentally new knowledge, the generation of one's own original ideas, and not with the evaluation of other people's thoughts. A person who has a too pronounced tendency to criticize gives it the main attention, although he could devote this time to creativity. On the contrary, a person who has a constructive, creative thinking dominates the critical, often unable to see the shortcomings of their own judgments and assessments.

The way out of this situation is to simultaneously develop both critical and creative thinking in the child from childhood. It is important to take care that both these types of thinking are in balance, accompany and periodically replace each other in any mental act. If a person expresses any idea, then he must immediately critically comprehend it. If an original, new thought is expressed by someone else, then along with its criticism, it is imperative to offer your own solution. In the lives of most people, in order to maximize their creative output, a reasonable combination of creative and critical thinking is necessary.

Psychologists are trying not only to find out how a person solves new and creative problems, but also to find ways to increase the creative potential of the individual. Among the proposed methods, the brainstorming method developed by N. Osborne and the synectics method of J. Gordon gained particular popularity.

At the heart of the method brainstorming lies the idea that the process of hypotheses must be separated from their evaluation. In everyday life, our assessments often hold back the flight of our fantasy and imagination, do not allow bold and innovative ideas to “break through” into consciousness. Therefore, the refusal of evaluation and criticism when participating in a brainstorming session helps to find original solutions. There are usually three phases of brainstorming: warm-up, idea generation, and evaluation. During the warm-up, people are given simple, often comic tasks like "How to transfer water in a sieve?". At the stage of generating ideas, a problem situation is proposed that needs to be resolved. Any ideas, even comic ones, are encouraged. All ideas are captured. Typically, a group of six to eight people is most effective. At the third stage, a group of experts evaluates each of the proposed ideas and selects the most promising ones.

Method synectics was developed as a modification of the brainstorming method, but in the process of practical use it turned out that it is suitable for finding not only a group, but also an individual solution. This method uses the main property of analogies: comparison of some complex object (process) with a simple one. At the same time, the properties of a complex object are better understood and understood. There are direct, personal, symbolic and fantastic analogies.

Straight analogy is used when a direct comparison of the object under study with well-known objects and processes is possible. The analogy is of particular value when objects are chosen from completely different areas of knowledge and practical activity than is customary for a person. For example, you can imagine a familiar person in the form of household utensils: a kettle or a vacuum cleaner.

Personal analogy (empathy) is used when a person puts himself in the place of the object being studied. So, the designer of a machine can imagine himself in the form of a bushing or gear, the architect of a bridge - in the form of its supporting structure. At the same time, the forces that act on a given object are better understood, and its strengths and weaknesses are clearly manifested.

Symbolic analogy allows you to display the object under study in a symbolic form, to select such symbols (signs) that better express its basic patterns. An example is tasks for finding items that symbolize professions: a teacher, a doctor, a driver.

fantastic analogy involves a comparison of the objects under study with fabulous, fantastic characters. It allows you to focus on as yet impossible, but desirable properties and features. It is likely that the idea of ​​an airplane was born on the basis of its fabulous prototype - the flying carpet.

The use of the synectics method involves the active involvement of the imagination in the process of solving problems.

- a complex and largely mysterious process that has gone through a long path of evolution. We use it all the time, but very rarely think about its essence. Why do some people find themselves at a loss when life presents them with difficult tasks? And others, seemingly not really straining themselves, find completely original solutions that allow them not only to solve the problem that has arisen, but also to achieve success, make a career, become a leader? Because the latter are smarter than the former?

Not at all. A huge number of people are used to solving problems in a standard way, following the learned rules or a given algorithm. We are taught this way at school, so when faced with a problem, we ask friends for advice or look for ready-made recipes on the Internet. And there are people who find themselves custom solution and even enjoy it. Why? Because they have a creative mind.

The importance of creative thinking, creativity, creative approach to business can be heard everywhere today. These qualities are indicated in vacancies for prestigious positions, they are offered to be developed at numerous seminars, trainings, and coaching. Teachers talk about them to parents, leaders to subordinates. But unfortunately, for many, these concepts remain vague and obscure. Let's look into them.

Creativity as an activity

Let's start with the fact that the ability to create is inherent only in man, and the need for creative activity is present in all people from birth. Yes, yes, children are born with this need. The potential, of course, is different for everyone, but it is there, and it can be developed at any age.

Creativity in psychology is defined as a spiritual and practical activity aimed at creating something new. This new can be born in any field, and not just in the field of art or science. In construction and pedagogy, in cooking and management - creativity is possible everywhere.

Any human activity can be of two types:

  • Reproductive is a reproducing activity according to a given pattern. For example, when a child writes a dictation, a housewife bakes a cake according to a recipe, a builder builds a house according to a drawing, or a needlewoman knits a scarf according to a pattern. This is a very important and necessary activity, a necessary part of training, professionalism is impossible without it. And in everyday life there is no point in “reinventing the wheel” every time.
  • Creative activity is what is called creativity, it is distinguished by the novelty of the result or methods. It is built on the basis of reproductive, but, having mastered professional techniques, a person begins to feel the need to do something of his own, original, new, since he is bored and uninterested in following only someone else's model.

But it is not for nothing that creativity is called spiritual and practical activity. The need to create something new gives rise to an idea, a plan, a project in a person. Here is the emergence of a new original idea and understanding the ways of its implementation is creative thinking.

"Discovery" of creative thinking

For a long time, until the middle of the 20th century, the abstract- logical thinking. Its strict laws, deduced by ancient philosophers, were studied at school, and people who were not inclined to logical thinking were treated condescendingly. Even tests for the level of intelligence (IQ), developed at the beginning of the last century, were focused on testing the possession of logic and the development of abstract-logical thinking.

But it turned out that among individuals with an intelligence level above 135%, there are almost no outstanding scientists, world-famous cultural figures, artists, writers, and those who have achieved great success in business. People who get high marks on these tests are unable to solve non-standard problems, they cannot come up with anything new and original. And the dynamically developing industry, the emergence of new industries and services, and increasing competition required non-standard solutions.

Tests were refined, improved, entire research teams were engaged in them, for example, at Stanford University in the USA, but still this did not solve the problem. People with high IQ, responsible, erudite, highly intelligent professionals were unable to go beyond strict instructions and come up with something of their own. But success was achieved by the middle peasants, those whose level of intelligence was only slightly higher than the permissible limit of the norm.

It was then that it became clear that logical thinking is not a panacea and is more productive and effective thinking - creative. It allows a person:

  • find a way out of seemingly hopeless situations;
  • solve non-standard tasks that are not amenable to algorithmic methods;
  • discover new scientific laws;
  • create new things;
  • see any problem from a completely non-standard angle of view.

After all, it was not for nothing that A. Einstein said: "I would never have made my discoveries in the process of rational thinking."

Thinking "in different directions"

Significantly, one of the first to speak about a special type of thinking was intelligence researcher and developer of IQ tests J. Gilford. Years of research led him to the conclusion that the most amazing scientific discoveries and original inventions are made not on the basis of logic, but contrary to it. And classical logical thinking, both deductive and inductive, is not able to solve non-standard problems in which there is no single correct answer.

  • A special kind of thinking that contradicts the logical, but is the basis of creativity, Guilford called "divergent" - divergent, going in different directions, multidirectional.
  • This thinking differs from standard logical thinking, which is linear, that is, directed in one direction, focused on achieving the only correct or optimal solution.

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, psychologists actively studied creative thinking, as they realized that human civilization exists, and the state prospers thanks to creative people endowed with creative abilities. Those who have long been condescendingly called eccentrics.

Features of creative thinking

Today, this kind of thinking is treated with due respect, and many books have been written about it. And you and I can highlight its features and even “try on” them for ourselves.

Associativity

J. Gilford, calling this thinking divergent, emphasized its non-linear nature. It obeys not the laws of logic, but the laws of associations. The process of creative thinking looks something like this: some thought, idea, task, flaring up in the human brain with a bright spark, scatters hundreds of impulses through neural circuits. This idea evokes many associations, and the most diverse, seemingly completely unrelated information is involved in solving the problem.

Creative thinking in structure resembles an extensive network, a web that connects different parts and departments of the brain. And a brilliant idea, or even more than one, cannot but fall into such a web. Nonlinear thinking provides a person with the opportunity to see the problem from different angles, to find different ways her decisions. The famous American poet and literary critic Ezra Pound wrote: "Genius ... is the ability to see ten things where an ordinary person sees one, and a talented person sees two or three, plus the ability to reflect this multiple perception in the material of his art."

non-standard

This is one of the most important characteristics of creative thinking, which avoids any standards or patterns, does not obey the strict rules and laws of the algorithm. A person who owns this thinking is able to find a non-standard solution to even the most banal, mundane and boring task.

Moreover, creative people give out original solutions even when there is no special need for this. Because creative thinking is largely spontaneous, as it is connected with the subconscious, with the area of ​​intuition.

figurative character

Creative thinking relies on images, not concepts. It is in the form of a vivid image that an idea or idea appears, and imagination for creativity has greater value than rational thought. After all, imagination is responsible for the process of the birth of new images. By the way, it is no coincidence that the center of creative abilities is located in the right hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for operations with images.

But this does not mean that words and concepts do not participate in creative thinking. They are necessary in order to comprehend, analyze, verify the correctness of the born idea, and in order to acquaint other people with it.

problematic

The source and accumulator of creative thinking is a problem. It can be generated by the process of development of science, and the needs of improving technology, and the evolution of art, and the development of business, and simply life circumstances.

If a person has a penchant for creativity, but there is no problem, then he will invent it or find it and will be happy with it, since a creative person evaluates any problem as a stepping stone to success, to the realization of his own "I". And sometimes the very discovery of a problem is a genuine discovery and depends on the degree of giftedness of the discoverer.

Openness to new

Creative thinking requires a variety of knowledge, and the more areas of life or science are connected to the thinking process, the better. This is due to the associative nature of creative thinking. The more spontaneous, easy the process of the birth of associations, the higher the person's ability to be creative.

But associations are connections between different blocks of information stored in our memory. Therefore, interest in everything new, greedy (and sometimes indiscriminate) absorption of new knowledge is salient feature creativity. After all, comprehension of the new is a stimulus for creative thinking, and information is construction material for creativity.

Can creative thinking be controlled?

For a long time, many researchers considered creativity to be a spontaneous process, and creative thinking to be intuitive, uncontrollable, and subject to inspiration.

In a way, they are right, of course. Creativity does not obey cold reason. But for the most part such reasoning tried to justify the spontaneity of the creators. So it was until they decided to put creative thinking at the service of business.

In the middle of the 20th century, many design bureaus, firms, and offices appeared in the United States, whose specialists were obliged to give rise to new, original, and preferably brilliant ideas for business promotion, advertising, marketing, etc. Naturally, those who paid the salaries of these specialists was not going to wait for inspiration to descend on his employees and they would be illuminated by a brilliant idea.

It was then that psychologists began to study creative thinking in earnest. By the way, not only in the West, but also in our country. Moreover, the need for new ideas and brilliant discoveries in our country was of a state nature, and research was also supported by the state.

As it turned out, creative thinking is indeed connected with the subconscious, but it can be influenced, albeit also using original methods.

  • Need a problem. It is she who starts the process of thinking. And the more complex and non-standard this problem is, the greater the guarantee that thinking will move to a creative level. The problem, or rather thinking about it, activates the brain, creates dozens or even hundreds of foci of excitation in the cerebral cortex. Without the active work of the brain, the birth of associations, the connection of the subconscious and creative thinking is impossible. Just lying on the couch waiting for inspiration is pointless.
  • Need a push. Under normal, comfortable conditions, our thinking is linear. It's easier, lighter, less energy is wasted. Thought, like a bundle of electrochemical impulses, also moves more easily along the beaten path in the neural circuits of the brain. And it leads to a template solution or to the conclusion that there is no solution at all. Therefore, at present, many methods have been developed that force the thought to leave the beaten path of standard solutions and thereby activate creative thinking. But sometimes an external impetus is enough for such activation: an unusual event, a vivid image, a cascade of associations.
  • We need a positive incentive. The incentive can be different - from the expected praise, to a solid fee or even the pleasure that many people receive from the creative process itself.

It turned out that envy can be an effective stimulus. Yes, yes, ordinary envy - when, reading about the successes of others, considering the results of someone else's creativity (published books, paintings, crafts, etc.), a person begins to think that he could do it too.

Creative thinking is a very important and necessary mental process, but it is not a gift of God inherent in the chosen few. Creativity is available to absolutely everyone, you can develop abilities for it at any age, the main thing is to awaken the need for this in yourself.

How creative thinking works in practice - learn from the video.

Creative thinking and creativity are undoubtedly useful skills modern man. However, it is difficult to find good courses, trainings, schools, books and textbooks for the formation and improvement of these skills. In this regard, this section of the site was created, which is dedicated to the methods and techniques of development creative thinking. The section is a complete training for the development of creative thinking and imagination and contains lessons, articles, tasks, puzzles, videos, tests and many other useful materials.

If you have read 99 Francs or Generation P, watched films by Tarkovsky or David Lynch, seen paintings by Leonardo da Vinci or Picasso, you must have wondered: how can people create so many new interesting ideas and amazing concepts? If these creative thinkers make you want to be like them, then you will find a lot of useful information in this section.

The more unusual life is, the more interesting it is to live. In life, we often need a creative approach. The ability to think outside the box makes us witty, resourceful, successful, enterprising, lucky, and wealthy. The ability to be creative can always come in handy.

It is often argued that creative thinking cannot be taught. This is not entirely true. Of course, the innate abilities of a person are very important. But usually it is adults who are truly characterized by creative thinking, the ability for which is not only innate, but is acquired with upbringing and experience. Real works of art are made by adults who have achieved a certain skill in thinking and acting creatively. And if a person does not develop his creative potential, then he is unlikely to achieve the ability to create, even if in childhood, he showed any ability.

So, there is something that creative people know and can do. They acquired these knowledge and skills not genetically from their parents, but accumulated them during their lives. Let's try to find and unravel their secrets.

What is creative thinking and creativity?

To explain and describe what creative thinking is and what its features are is a rather difficult task. One of the few definitions of creativity/creative thinking is given by psychologist O.K. Tikhomirov:

« Creative thinking- one of the types of thinking, characterized by the creation of a subjectively new product and neoplasms in the cognitive activity itself to create it. These neoplasms relate to motivation, goals, assessments, meanings. Creative thinking is distinguished from the processes of applying ready-made knowledge and skills, called reproductive thinking. »

OK. Tikhomirov
General psychology. Dictionary / under. ed. A.V. Petrovsky // Psychological Lexicon. Encyclopedic Dictionary: In 6 volumes / ed. L.A. Karpenko; under total ed. A.V. Petrovsky. — M.: PER SE, 2005.

This definition highlights main characteristic creative thinking - the presence of a result, something subjectively new that a person has created.

It is important to understand that creative thinking or creativity is precisely a WAY of thinking, a certain PROCESS that leads to the creation of something new. Naturally, there are many techniques to organize your thinking so that you can get something new as a result. A number of studies and tests show that most of the methods can be adjusted to certain logical schemes, which are part of the lessons in this section.

To understand the peculiarities of your creative thinking, we suggest you take a special psychological test.

Creativity Test

This test was created as an interpretation of the methodology for diagnosing personal creativity, developed by E. E. Tunik, and allows you to determine four features of a creative person: curiosity, imagination, complexity and risk appetite.

To correctly interpret the answers, you should follow several rules during the test:

  • Among the following short sentences, you will find some that definitely suit you better than others. For them, select the answer "Yes". Some sentences are only partially suitable for you, they should be answered with “Maybe”. Other statements will not suit you at all, the answer is “No” for them. For those statements about which you cannot come to a decision, the last option is "Don't know".
  • There are no right or wrong answers here. Note the first thing that comes to mind when you read a sentence. This task has no time limit, but work as quickly as possible. Remember that as you answer each sentence, you should note how you really feel. For each question, select only one answer.
  • Since the test is based on personal perception, you should not expect it to objectively test your abilities. To a greater extent, it reflects your idea of ​​\u200b\u200bits creative abilities. Remember that creativity is not an innate characteristic, but a quality that can be developed.
  • Test data will be recorded after you answer the last question and see confirmation of the end of the test. If you finish the test before the last question and close the page, no data will be saved.
  • Test data will be recorded after you answer the last question and see confirmation of the end of the test. If you finish the test before the last question and close the page, no data will be saved. If you have already taken this test, a sign will be displayed in the left menu.

On the other hand, creative thinking is associated not so much with logical schemes, but with developed associative thinking and human imagination. All this can be developed with special exercises, which are another important component of this section.

This section contains methods for developing the ability to think creatively in oneself: to be able to always find several options in everything, and choose the best one from them.

Teaching methodology

As already mentioned, there are many approaches to understanding creative thinking, and therefore there are many ways to teach creative thinking. Among the popular approaches to the analysis of creativity are: the concept of lateral thinking, the theory of inventive problem solving, synectics, the 6 hats method and others. Most of these approaches have similar features, but if you try to practice all these techniques at the same time, you can get confused.

After analyzing many approaches to creativity, our creative team came to the conclusion that the most universal theory is the concept of lateral thinking by Edward De Bono (as well as its interpretation by Philip Kotler), which is aimed at understanding the logic of building new ideas. It was the concept of lateral thinking that formed the basis of this training. Also in this training, a number of important techniques for developing creative thinking from other theories were used to expand on de Bono's concept.

In addition, concepts that deserve special attention have been moved to LESSON 5 so that you can try other creative thinking techniques.

Plan of the education

The whole training is divided into several lessons, which are designed to reveal different aspects of creative thinking in you. After completing all the lessons, you will receive a handicap in order to be able to apply and constantly improve your creative thinking.

Creative games

As well as

And also on our site you will find useful materials, articles, videos, tasks, puzzles, pictures, photos and much more, which reveals the features of a person's creative thinking. As a result, after this training, you will clearly understand how the creative thinking process works and will have sufficient skills to create something new.

Ability to be creative and interesting person partly acquired with education and depends on our innate characteristics. But believe that this ability can be acquired and developed, the main thing here, as usual, is desire.

We wish you good luck in developing creative thinking!

It happens that a person needs to solve a certain problem, the method of solving which he already knows. As a rule, a person is sure in advance of the success of solving a problem. In such cases, one speaks of reproductive thinking. So, a teenage schoolboy can solve the most difficult problem from study guide designed for students elementary school. Of course, in this case, the teenager will remember and think, performing the mental actions considered by us in the previous paragraph (analysis, synthesis, etc.).

Along with this, there is Thinking as a creative process in which the performance of mental actions leads to the discovery of something new - knowledge, a mode of action, a method for solving a problem. A scientist who discovers a new law, an inventor who constructs a new device thinks creatively... It is important that the student thinks creatively too, thinking about whether it is possible to solve an already solved problem in another way.

One of the most important concepts of the psychology of thinking as a creative process is the concept of a problem situation. This is a situation of intellectual difficulty, characterized by the fact that in the personal experience of the subject there are not sufficient means (landmarks, knowledge, methods of action) for its immediate resolution. This mental state is accompanied by corresponding emotions (surprise, doubt, annoyance, anxiety, hope, etc.). The presence of certain motives determines the search activity of the subject, aimed at resolving the problem situation, at discovering the unknown.

This activity is carried out in the promotion and testing of hypotheses. In everyday consciousness, the point of view has become widespread, according to which the advancement of hypotheses is the prerogative of a scientist, inventor, etc. At the same time, it is not taken into account that everyday human thinking cannot do without a hypothesis. The task of carrying a bulky object through a narrow door can give rise to more than one hypothesis.

Hypotheses arise in solving problematic tasks that someone proposes to the subject, tasks that have already been formulated by someone. Meanwhile, there are studies showing that Creative skills A person develops not only in solving problems, but also, which is especially important, in discovering, discerning problems, in formulating the problems themselves. It turns out that the appearance of hypotheses in thinking is preceded by other creative processes.

Indeed, does anyone have the habit of "presenting" pedagogical tasks to the teacher in a ready-made, formulated form? In the overwhelming majority of cases, he must himself, in interaction with people, discover problems, transform them into tasks, and only after that deal with the solution. Therefore, it is professionally important to cultivate sensitivity to problems. Indeed, in many cases, professional failures are explained not by the erroneous solution of problems, but by the fact that the corresponding problems are not isolated from reality and are not transformed into tasks.

For example, from the text of the psychological and pedagogical characteristics of the personality of a schoolchild, compiled by a student during the period of pedagogical practice, it followed that Seryozha studies poorly, is unsure of himself, timid, and is not popular among classmates. In another part of the description, the student-trainee described the course and result of the experiment on studying the self-assessment of the student's personality, which was carried out according to special technique. Experience has shown that Sergey's self-esteem is high. These two facts are not correlated with each other, as a result, the future teacher "lost" an interesting problem, the study of which would undoubtedly contribute to the development of her psychological preparation. We must agree with T.V. Kudryavtsev that "the true criterion for the success of training a specialist should be the assessment of the degree of formation of students' abilities to independently identify, set and solve ... problems."

In this context, a positive assessment should be given to those pupils and students who ask the teacher or teacher questions on the merits of the new material. Such behavior is the result of seeing the problem, a sign of thinking in the context of the creative process, the creativity of the individual. Conditions for the development of this quality should be created already at the early stages. educational system, which has not yet been sufficiently taken into account. A. G. Asmolov notes: “Teaching at school is the supply of answers without questions from students. Is it any wonder after this that the famous children's "why" disappears without a trace at school?

He plagued adults with the question "Why?"
He was nicknamed "the little philosopher".
But as soon as he grew up, they began to
Present answers without questions.
And since then he is no one else
Do not bother with the question "Why?"
S. Ya. Marshak

With the help of thinking, a person creates in the brain a mediated and generalized idea of ​​the surrounding reality, something that cannot be perceived directly by the senses - to see, touch, smell, etc. - a person imagines, based on the acquired experience.

Imagination helps him to be transported into the past and the future, planning his own activities and anticipating the results in advance. Thus, what cannot be known directly is known indirectly, unknown qualities are determined with the help of known ones.

Types of thinking

Thanks to the ability for creative thinking, a person has managed not only to adapt himself to the environment - all living beings can do this - but also to adapt environment to your own needs, rebuilding and processing, making it comfortable.

This gave man advantages over other inhabitants of the planet.

Thinking developed in stages, and during the existence of man it has been constantly improved. Here are the forms, depending on the stages of development, psychologists distinguish:

  1. The formation of the thinking abilities of a reasonable person began with actionable thinking, which helped our ancestors create objects that make it easier, for example, to obtain food - a factor that plays a decisive role in the issue of survival. After a person made a spear, there was no need to catch up with the prey - it was possible to throw a weapon at it from a distance. At this stage in the development of thinking, it had a purely practical application - people invented tools for a specific purpose, in order to immediately use them. In its infancy, practical thinking is present in some species of primates - examples are known when a chimpanzee or an orangutan found a long stick and tried to knock down a fruit hanging on a tree with it.
  2. The next step was visual-figurative thinking. At this stage, a person has gained the ability to imagine in his mind various actions with objects known to him, without seeing them in front of him. Also, this type of thinking allows you to recognize already known features in unfamiliar objects and make assumptions about their purpose on this basis. So, a person who has seen a large spear will easily guess what a dart is.
  3. Verbal-logical thinking appeared as a result of the development of the language - the more complex it became and the more abstract concepts it could express, the more deepened and expanded the thinking became. With the help of this type of mental activity, people have learned to create abstract concepts. It was this kind of thinking that helped to take a step from the simplest practical measurements of something to the creation of the science of geometry, the formulation of its concepts and patterns.
  4. From here it was a stone's throw to creative thinking, which includes all the previously listed types of mental activity and allows you to compose novels, paint pictures and music, make discoveries and make inventions. After the advent of creative thinking, the process of creating a new one accelerated incomparably - revolutionary changes and achievements in various spheres of human activity became possible throughout the life of one generation.


Imagination is essential to creative thinking. Unlike sensory perception, imagination allows you to imagine - to imagine - objects, phenomena and events that do not exist and did not actually exist. Imagination can be active and passive.

In the first case, the images he created are based on the surrounding reality. They arise in the head of a person, obeying his will, and reflect part of his personality, feelings and experiences. It is active imagination that is necessary for inventions and creativity.

The images of the passive imagination come spontaneously, regardless of the will of the person, and very rarely serve as a source of something productive.

The power of imagination helps a person to relieve the tension that arises in anticipation of certain events. When he imagines his desire has already been fulfilled, it is easier for him to wait for its actual fulfillment, and the presentation of some kind of unpleasant situation helps to prepare psychologically for its possible occurrence.

Positive images that are born in the imagination serve as the basis for auto-suggestion (self-hypnosis) and help relieve stress. Imagination regulates cognitive abilities - sensory perception, memory, attention, speech. With it, you can reproduce the past situation and imagine the future, planning your actions.

Features of creative thinking

Creative thinking largely depends on the individual characteristics of the individual and his mental organization. Specialists distinguish two main types of creative thinking: concrete-figurative and verbal-logical.

The first type of thinking is more conducive to the development of artistic creativity. In concrete-figurative thinking, the right hemisphere of the brain, which is sometimes called the "emotional brain", dominates.

People whose intellectual activity is dominated by the left cerebral hemisphere have a verbal-logical type of thinking. They easily operate with abstract concepts, formulas, symbols. Among people with this type of thinking, admirers of the exact sciences prevail - mathematics, physics, chemistry

The famous German psychologist Carl Jung proposed a slightly different formulation of the types of thinking. He attributed people with developed inclinations towards artistic creativity to the intuitive type, which is characterized by a predominance of emotions, as well as spontaneity of thinking.

Those in whose thinking logic prevails over emotions, Jung considered the owners of the thinking type of the intellectual process. For them, logical evidence is more important, and they prefer logical verification of theoretical knowledge to intuition. According to the features described, it can be understood that the thinking type is characteristic of those who are engaged in scientific research.

The features of creative thinking are inherent in any of the above human psychotypes. At the same time, both the concrete-figurative and the verbal-logical type of intelligence have a common feature - the ability to create abstractions, combining all images into one common one.

Also, creative thinking is characterized by heuristics, a sudden insight - from the ancient Greek "eureka" - "found" (according to legend, Archimedes exclaimed so, having made another discovery). This concept means the ability of thinking to go beyond the established generally accepted framework, without having a complete package of data necessary to solve a particular problem, to intuitively find the right path.

In addition, among the features of creative thinking, psychologists call the following features:

  • originality and originality. Creative thinkers prefer to find their own path rather than follow the beaten path. If they take on the solution of a natural science problem or the creation of a work of art, they try to come up with something new, something that has never existed and is not like anything else;
  • semantic flexibility - an attempt to consider a problem or subject from a different, previously unexamined point of view, in order to discover new properties or new solutions and reveal hidden potential;
  • figurative flexibility, the ability to change the usual view of an object, to discover new, unexpected properties and aspects that make its use unique;
  • spontaneous flexibility, meaning switching from one thought to another, the ability to perceive information and generate ideas, find ways to solve problems and issues where they are not visible to others.

Conclusion

The thought process is the main engine of human development. The evolutionary development of the human brain continues - it becomes more perfect. The ability for creative thinking allows Homo sapiens to climb higher on the evolutionary ladder.