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Interrelation of intelligence and thinking. Thinking and intelligence in psychology


The presence of elements of the mind in higher animals is currently beyond doubt by any of the scientists. Intellectual behavior represents the pinnacle of the mental development of animals. At the same time, as L.V. Krushinsky, it is not something out of the ordinary, but only one of the manifestations of complex forms of behavior with their innate and acquired aspects. Intellectual behavior is not only closely related to various forms instinctive behavior and learning, but itself is made up of individually variable components of behavior. It gives the greatest adaptive effect and contributes to the survival of individuals and the continuation of the genus during abrupt, rapidly occurring changes in the environment. At the same time, the intellect of even the highest animals is undoubtedly at a lower stage of development than the human intellect, so it would be more correct to call it elementary thinking, or the rudiments of thinking. The biological study of this problem has come a long way, and all the leading scientists have invariably returned to it. The history of the study of elementary thinking in animals has already been discussed in the first sections of this manual, so in this chapter we will only try to systematize the results of its experimental study.

Definition of human thinking and intelligence

Before talking about the elementary thinking of animals, it is necessary to clarify how psychologists define human thinking and intelligence. At present, in psychology, there are several definitions of these most complex phenomena, however, since this problem is beyond the scope of our training course, we will confine ourselves to the most general information.

According to A.R. Luria, "the act of thinking arises only when the subject has an appropriate motive that makes the task urgent, and its solution is necessary, and when the subject finds himself in a situation from which he has no way out. ready solution- habitual (i.e. acquired in the process of learning) or innate.

Thinking is the most complex form of human mental activity, the pinnacle of its evolutionary development. A very important apparatus of human thinking, which significantly complicates its structure, is speech, which allows you to encode information using abstract symbols.

The term "intelligence" is used in both a broad and a narrow sense. In a broad sense, intelligence is the totality of all cognitive functions of an individual, from sensation and perception to thinking and imagination, in a narrower sense, intelligence is thinking itself.

In the process of human cognition of reality, psychologists note three main functions of the intellect:

Ability to learn;

Operating with symbols;

The ability to actively master the laws of the environment.

Psychologists distinguish the following forms of human thinking:

● visual-effective, based on the direct perception of objects in the process of actions with them;

● figurative, based on ideas and images;

● inductive, based on the logical conclusion "from the particular to the general" (construction of analogies);

● deductive, based on a logical conclusion "from the general to the particular" or "from the particular to the particular", made in accordance with the rules of logic;

● abstract-logical, or verbal, thinking, which is the most complex form.

Verbal thinking of a person is inextricably linked with speech. It is thanks to speech, i.e. the second signal system, human thinking becomes generalized and mediated.

It is generally accepted that the process of thinking is carried out with the help of the following mental operations - analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization and abstraction. The result of the process of thinking in humans are concepts, judgments and conclusions.

Human thinking and the rational activity of animals

According to leading Russian psychologists, the criteria for the presence of the rudiments of thinking in animals can be the following signs:

"an emergency appearance of an answer in the absence of a ready-made solution" (Luria);

"cognitive selection of objective conditions essential for action" (Rubinshtein);

"generalized, mediated nature of the reflection of reality; the search for and discovery of an essentially new" (Brushlinsky);

"presence and fulfillment of intermediate goals" (Leontiev).

Human thinking has a number of synonyms, such as: "reason", "intellect", "reason", etc. However, when using these terms to describe the thinking of animals, it must be borne in mind that, no matter how complex their behavior may be, we can only talk about the elements and rudiments of the corresponding mental functions of a person.

The most correct is the one proposed by L.V. Krushinsky termed rational activity. It avoids the identification of thought processes in animals and humans. The most characteristic property of the rational activity of animals is their ability to capture the simplest empirical laws that connect objects and phenomena of the environment, and the ability to operate with these laws when building programs of behavior in new situations.

Reasoning activity is different from any form of learning. This form of adaptive behavior can be carried out at the first encounter of an organism with an unusual situation created in its environment. The fact that an animal can immediately, without special training, decide to adequately perform a behavioral act, is the unique feature of rational activity as an adaptive mechanism in diverse, constantly changing environmental conditions. Reasoning activity allows us to consider the adaptive functions of the body not only as self-regulating, but also self-selecting systems. This implies the ability of an organism to make an adequate choice of the most biologically appropriate forms of behavior in new situations. By definition L.V. Krushinsky, rational activity is the performance by an animal of an adaptive behavioral act in an emergency situation. This unique way of adapting the organism in the environment is possible in animals with a well-developed nervous system.



Thinking or cognition has many forms: daydreaming, solving problems, and looking for causes. Thinking is a process of mental processing of information. In essence, thinking is an internal representation (mental expression, modeling) of a problem or situation. For this, the main components of thinking are used: images, concepts, language and symbols. An image is a mental representation enclosed in a picture; Concepts - a generalized idea representing a class of related objects or events united by a word; Language - words or symbols and the rules for their combination, which are used for thinking and communication.

Complex thinking includes all three components, but it also includes many other components: attention, recognition, memory, decision making, intuition, knowledge, imagination, will, etc.

Thinking- the highest mental process of reflection in the mind of the general properties of objects and phenomena, contributing to the generation of new knowledge on the basis of subjective reflection and making it possible for a person to transform reality.

Images are connected with thinking through imagination - the mental process of creating new images based on previously perceived ones. 97% of people produce visual images in their minds and 92% - auditory images. Over 50% can imagine movement, touch, smell, pain. When we talk about images, we usually think of mental "pictures," but images can include other feelings as well. Some people have a rare form of imagination - synesthesia - for them, images cross the line of normal sensory barriers (feel flashes while listening to music.) Most people use images when they think, remember, solve problems. In addition to recreating in the mind of a person, there is also a direct creation of images. People with a good imagination usually show high creative abilities. In a sense, we think not only with the head, but with the whole body. Kinesthetic representations - arise on the basis of remembered or imaginary muscle sensations, such images help us think about our actions (in which direction the tap opens.) Kinesthetic images are especially important in music, sports, martial arts. If you want to demonstrate the connection between thinking and muscle activity, ask a friend to talk about a sporting event.

Concepts are a powerful tool for thinking - they allow us to think in the abstract and not pay attention to distracting details. Concept formation is the process of classifying information and converting it into categories. Basically, the formation of concepts is based on a collision with positive and negative examples. As adults, people often learn concepts through conceptual rules—principles that determine whether objects and events belong to a given class of concepts. However, the examples do not lose their relevance.


Most often, thinking occurs with the help of language, because it allows you to encode (translate) phenomena into symbols, which are already easier to manipulate.

We can say that thinking is the psychological representation and manipulation of information in order to solve various problems. There are several ways to solve problems: mechanical solutions and intuitive solutions.

Mechanical solutions - can be obtained by trial and error using mechanical memorization (a combination of numbers in the lock). They also include insight-assisted solutions - a deeper understanding of the problem (understand the puzzle) and heuristics - a random search method that can be useful when the number of alternatives is small.

Intuitive solutions or insight - it is usually based on the rearrangement of individual components of the problem. When we see a problem in a new light, the solution seems obvious. Interestingly, the intuitive solution comes either quickly or you are more likely to make a mistake.

One of the most important barriers to problem solving is fixation, the tendency to cling to wrong solutions or be blind to the alternative. This usually happens when we impose unnecessary restrictions on our thinking. Let's illustrate with a problem: How to plant four small trees so that each of them is at the same distance from each other. Despite the fact that we see the solution to this problem every day, entering the institute is a tetrahedron, there is a forced fixation of solutions in a plane where it is impossible to find the right solution.

One of the characteristics of thinking can be considered intelligence The general ability to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with environment. Like many other important concepts in psychology, intelligence cannot be directly observed, yet we certainly know that it exists. Intelligence is understood as the cognitive capabilities of a person, they allow a comprehensive assessment of memory, stock of knowledge (erudition), vocabulary, the ability to manipulate knowledge to solve problems. practical tasks and the ability to further enrich the stock of knowledge. Intelligence - this is a collective function, implying a stock of knowledge in related areas, the ability to foresee the consequences of one's actions and to rebuild in the process of a changing situation. Intelligence is assessed taking into account upbringing, education and life experience, it can be average, below average (when the subject's failures are easily predictable) and above average, found in about 3% of the population (which does not make it possible to confidently predict success life path, because it is only a potential opportunity for success, which the subject may not use). What you do is much more important than that what you could do. Of course, not all intellectually gifted people contribute to science, art or social practice (after all, this potential could go to a banal lazy person), but, as a rule, people with above-average intelligence are more persistent and have a strong motivation to learn and transform the world.

People with below average intelligence are called mentally retarded in the Russian pedagogical tradition and children with delayed success in the American one. Mental retardation- arises from different reasons: genetic, birth trauma, metabolic disorders, extreme poverty and in some cases no cause can be found at all. It is important to realize that social adaptation in most cases can help close this gap, and this is precisely the factor of delayed but possible success.

To distinguish more capable people or capable but lazy from lagging behind in 1904, American psychologists created tests that determine the intellectual level. The main idea of ​​IQ tests is that an intelligent person who is not too much affected by training can answer certain questions, and the range of questions has an age binding. Summarizing the experience of social development, blocks of questions were identified that a person with average intelligence at a certain age is able to answer. Thus, the intellectual age is determined - the age group, the questions of which the respondent confidently answers, if we divide the mental age by the chronological age and multiply by 100%, we get the IQ indicator. It becomes clear that the position of average intelligence is responsible for the correspondence of chronological age to mental age, high intelligence - indicates the predominance of mental age over chronological, low - about the opposite situation.

It can be added to the above that thinking can be inductive (from specific facts to general features), deductive (from general principles to specific situations), logical (from given information to new conclusions based on obvious rules) or illogical (intuitive or irrational), as well as creative. Creative thinking includes various styles thinking in different combinations, adding to them such features as spontaneity, flexibility and originality. We can talk about creative or creative thinking if the thought process leads to the creation of new ideas and unexpected answers to the questions posed, which are both practical and reasonable.

In the search for new, original solutions, the formulation of the problem is of great importance. When we approach the solution of a problem from only one side, that is, we mean one correct answer, this leads to convergent thinking. divergent thinking works the other way around: it helps to find many possible answers based on the same initial data, and then chooses the most suitable and practical ones.

Forms of thinking, original stages of obtaining new knowledge are the concept, judgment and conclusion. A concept is a generalized idea of ​​a group of objects or phenomena. A concept can be empirical, theoretical, concrete, abstract, worldly, etc. A person can develop concepts as a Sámi, or he can borrow them from social experience. Judgment allows you to establish a true or false connection between phenomena. Inference is the ability to draw certain conclusions based on several judgments. The formation of complete mental forms is facilitated by mental operations: analysis, synthesis, abstraction, concretization, comparison, generalization. Mental operations allow you to work with complex objects, often mental operations are presented in the form of inextricably existing pairs, for example, analysis is not able to solve problems without the use of synthesis. Analysis allows you to break a complex object into parts and consider it separately, however, the conclusions will be incorrect if you do not return the parts to a single whole, which is ensured when applying synthesis. Abstraction allows you to deal with a system of related objects, abstracting from the existence of connections and considering the object in isolation. However, only concretization is able to return the object to the system and ensure the accuracy of the model. Comparison aims to identify common features and differences in a number of subjects, and generalization makes it possible to classify them on the basis of the selected features.

Thinking and intelligence are terms that are close in content. Both terms express different aspects of the same phenomenon. A person endowed with intellect is capable of carrying out thought processes. Thinking and intellect have always been the hallmarks of a person, because we call a person Homo sapiens - a reasonable person. However, the concept of intelligence is broader than the concept of thinking. Scientists cannot give a single definition of intelligence. Everyone puts their own nuance into this concept. Some researchers focus on the fact that intelligence is the ability to acquire new knowledge and skills, while others study the social aspects of intelligence. Today in science there are two most common definitions of intelligence:

intelligence - the ability to adapt to the environment; intelligence - the ability to solve mental problems.

Many psychologists note that the intellect has a complex structure. What is included in the structure of intelligence - there are many answers to this question.

At the beginning of the XX century. Spearman came to the conclusion that each person is characterized by a certain level of general intelligence (he called it the G-factor). General intelligence determines how a person adapts to the environment. In addition, all people have developed specific abilities to varying degrees, which manifest themselves in solving specific problems of adaptation to the social environment. Subsequently, G. Eysenck interpreted the concept of general intelligence as the speed of information processing by the central nervous system(mental pace). However, the hypothesis of "speed of information processing by the brain" does not yet have serious neurophysiological arguments.

Today, the most famous is the "cubic" model of intelligence by D. Gilford. He believed that intelligence can be described in three main categories:

  • 1) operations;
  • 2) content;
  • 3) results.

Cattell distinguishes between potential and crystalline intelligence. He believes that each of us already from birth has a potential intelligence, which underlies our ability to think, abstract and reason. Around the age of 20, this intelligence reaches its greatest flowering. On the other hand, crystal intelligence is being formed,

Rice. one.

consisting of various skills and knowledge that we acquire as we accumulate life experience. Crystalline intelligence is formed precisely when solving problems of adaptation to the environment and requires the development of some abilities at the expense of others, as well as the acquisition of specific skills. Thus, the crystalline intellect is determined by the measure of mastering the culture of the society to which the person belongs. Potential intelligence determines the primary accumulation of knowledge. From Cattell's point of view, potential intelligence is independent of upbringing and environment. It depends on the level of development of the tertiary zones of the cerebral cortex.

Hebb considers intelligence from a slightly different perspective. He singles out intellect A - this is the potential that is created at the moment of conception and serves as the basis for the development of the intellectual abilities of the individual. As for intelligence B, it is formed as a result of human interaction with the environment. To date, only intelligence B has learned to evaluate, by observing how a person performs mental operations. So far, scientists have not found a way to assess the intelligence of A.

Disputes about the structure of intelligence are not accidental. They are not only of scientific interest, but also help answer the question that worries everyone - on what factors does the development of intelligence depend.

Today, scientists agree that the development of intelligence depends both on innate factors and on the upbringing and environment of the child. Hereditary factors, chromosomal abnormalities, malnutrition and illness of the mother during pregnancy, abuse of antibiotics, tranquilizers or even aspirin in the first months of pregnancy, alcohol consumption and smoking can lead to significant mental retardation of the child. But no matter what potential a child is born with, it is obvious that the forms of intellectual behavior necessary for him to survive can develop and improve only in contact with the environment with which he will interact all his life. The richer and more varied the communication of the child with the people around him, the more successful the development of his intellect will be. In this regard, the role of the social position of the family becomes clear. Wealthy families have more wide opportunities to create favorable conditions for the development of the child, the development of his abilities, his education and, ultimately, to increase the intellectual level of the child. The teaching methods used to develop the child's abilities also influence. Unfortunately, traditional teaching methods are more focused on the transfer of knowledge to the child and pay relatively little attention to the development of abilities, intelligence, and creative abilities of a person.

Thinking is a complex mental process in which objects and phenomena of the surrounding world are reflected in a generalized and indirect way.

Pure thinking, as a completely independent, self-sufficient mental process, does not really exist; it is inseparable from perception, attention, imagination, memory, speech, etc. Thinking acts like superior process that encompasses all human activities.

The ability to find something in common with the old one in a new situation, comprehension of what is common in seemingly different situations is the most important distinguishing feature of thinking (the development of thinking in children - find an extra object, what class the object belongs to, find differences in drawings, etc.)

So, thinking differs from other cognitive processes in that it generalizes and mediates cognition of objective reality.. At the same time, it relies on sensory cognition with the active interaction of a person with a cognizable object.

mental operations;

Forms of thinking;

Types of thinking.

Mental operations (processes):

Analysis - mental division of the whole into parts, properties;

Synthesis - the mental unification of parts into a single whole;

Comparison is the basis of knowledge; finding similarities and differences between objects;

Generalization - finding something in common in any objects and phenomena and combining them according to common and essential features;

Concretization - the movement of thought from the general to the particular;

· Abstraction - (on the basis of analysis) departure from a specific object to its symbol.

Forms of thinking:

Concept - the transfer of specific properties of an object or phenomenon;

Judgment - something is affirmed or something is denied (sentence)

Inference - when from 2 3 judgments we get the following judgment as a conclusion;

· Analogy - a conclusion, ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ is made on the basis of some similar features ʼʼby analogyʼʼ.

Types of thinking:

By level of development:

・Visible and effective

· Visual-figurative

Abstract-logical

By the nature of the tasks to be solved:

Theoretical - aimed at explaining the phenomena of reality;

Practical - aimed at transforming reality

According to the degree of novelty and originality:

Reproductive (reproductive)

Productive (creative) or creative.

Intelligence- ϶ᴛᴏ the totality of all mental abilities that provide a person with the opportunity to solve various problems.

Intellectual activity is a specifically human way to adapt (adapt) to the conditions of one's existence. According to the definition of the American psychologist Wexler, who created the first system for measuring the intelligence of an adult in 1939, intelligence is a global ability to act intelligently, think rationally and cope well with life's circumstances.

What determines the development of intelligence:

1. genetic conditioning - the influence of hereditary information.

2. physical and mental condition mothers during pregnancy (nutrition, health).

3. chromosomal abnormalities (Down's disease).

4. environmental conditions (medication, drug use, etc.)

Intelligence scores.

In order to carry out a more or less holistic and, therefore, accurate measurement of intelligence, two ʼʼsubtestsʼʼ are usually used:

- verbal- where tasks are proposed that require actions using words,

- non-verbal– tasks that are not related to words, speech.

The total score is the sum of them.

The most popular is the so-called ʼʼ intelligence quotientʼʼ, abbreviated as IQ (Eysenck test). This test is associated with the concept of mental age, and at the beginning of the century was used in order to be able to compare the mental development of a child with the capabilities of his peers. Later on, on the basis of calculations of the ratio of mental and chronological (real) age, an indicator called the IQ was derived. Its average value corresponds to 100 points ( from 84 to 116 - the norm) , and the lowest can approach 0, the highest - to 200. The bulk of people are considered people with average intelligence. The highest intelligence turned out to be among people whose professional experience is close to the methods of mental operations - scientists, chemists, mathematicians, teachers and students.

Tests for determining the level of intelligence (general abilities) - (except for the IQ test) Ravenna matrices, D. Wexler's verbal and non-verbal intelligence, the Amthauer method, STU, etc.

Thinking and intelligence - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Thinking and intelligence" 2017, 2018.

Thinking and intelligence are close terms. Their relationship becomes even clearer when translated into words from the ordinary Russian language. In this case, the word "mind" will correspond to the intellect. We say "intelligent person", denoting by this individual differences in intelligence. We can also say that the child's mind develops with age - this conveys the problem of the development of the intellect.

To the term "thinking" we can correspond in our ordinary language to the word "thinking" or (less normatively, but perhaps more precisely) "thinking". The word "mind" expresses a property, ability; thinking is a process. When solving a problem, we think, and do not “be clever” - this is the sphere of the psychology of thinking, not intelligence. Thus, both terms express different aspects of the same phenomenon. An intelligent person is one who is capable of carrying out thought processes. Intelligence is the ability to think. Thinking is a process in which the intellect is realized Ushakov D.V. Thinking and intelligence // Psychology of the XXI century / Ed. V.N. Druzhinin. M.: Per Se, 2003, p. 291..

Thinking and intelligence have long been considered the most important and distinctive features of a person. No wonder to determine the type modern man the term "homo sapiens" is used - a reasonable person. A person who has lost sight, hearing or the ability to move, of course, bears a heavy loss, but does not cease to be a person. After all, the deaf Beethoven or the blind Homer are considered by us as great personalities. The one who has lost his mind seems to us struck in the very essence of man.

Description various kinds and types of thinking is based on the premise that there is no thinking at all: thinking is heterogeneous and subject to detailing. Different types thoughts are divided according to their functional purpose, development, structure, means used, cognitive capabilities.

In psychology, the most common is the following classification of types of thinking: visual-effective, visual-figurative, verbal-logical. This classification is based on the genetic principle and reflects three successive levels of development of thinking. Each of these types of thinking is determined by two criteria. One of them (the first part of the names) is that specific form in which it is necessary to present a cognizable object or situation to the subject in order to be able to successfully operate with them:

The object as such in its materiality and concreteness;

The object depicted in the figure, diagram, drawing;

An object described in one or another sign system.

Another criterion (the second part of the names) is the main ways in which a person learns the world around him:

Through practical action with the object;

By operating with figurative representations;

Based on logical concepts and other symbolic formations.

The main characteristic of visual-active thinking is determined by the ability to observe real objects and learn the relationship between them in the real transformation of the situation. Practical cognitive objective actions are the basis of all later forms of thinking. With visual-figurative thinking, the situation is transformed in terms of an image or representation. Subject operates visual images objects through their figurative representations. At the same time, the image of the subject makes it possible to combine a set of heterogeneous practical operations into a coherent picture. Mastering visual-figurative representations expands the scope of practical thinking.

At the level of verbal-logical thinking, the subject can, using logical concepts, learn the essential patterns and unobservable relationships of the reality under study. The development of verbal-logical thinking rebuilds and streamlines the world of figurative representations and practical actions.

The described types of thinking form the stages of development of thinking in phylogenesis and ontogenesis. They coexist in an adult and function in solving various problems. Therefore, they cannot be evaluated in terms of greater or lesser value. Verbal-logical thinking cannot be the “ideal” of thinking in general, the end point of intellectual development.

Intelligence (from Latin intellectus - understanding, understanding, comprehension) in psychology is defined as a general ability to know and solve problems, which determines the success of any activity and underlies other abilities. The intellect is not reduced to thinking, although mental abilities form the basis of intellect. In general, the intellect is a system of all human cognitive abilities: sensation, perception, memory, representation, imagination and thinking. The concept of intelligence as a general mental ability is used as a generalization of behavioral characteristics associated with successful adaptation to new life tasks.

In 1937, D. Wexler proposed the first version of his test for measuring intelligence. He created a scale for measuring intelligence not only for children, but also for adults. The Wexler intellectual scale for children has been translated into Russian, adapted and widely used in our country. The Wechsler scale differed significantly from the Stanford-Binet test. The tasks that were offered to the subjects according to the method of L. Termen were the same for all ages. The basis for evaluation was the number of correct answers given by the subject. Then this number was compared with the average number of responses for the subjects of this age group. This procedure greatly simplified the calculation of IQ. D. Wexler proposed a qualitative classification of the levels of intelligence development, based on the frequency of occurrence of a certain IQ:

69 and below - mental defect (dementia);

70-79 - borderline level of development;

80-89 - reduced rate of intelligence;

90-109 - average level of intelligence;

110 - 119 is a good norm;

120-129-high intelligence;

130 and above - a very high intelligence.

Currently, interest in intelligence tests has significantly weakened, primarily due to the low predictive value of these methods: subjects with high performance according to intelligence tests, they do not always achieve high achievements in life, and vice versa. In this regard, the term “good intelligence” even appeared in psychology, which is understood as intellectual abilities that are effectively implemented in real life human and contributing to his high social achievements.

Today, despite attempts to isolate new "elementary intellectual abilities", researchers are generally inclined to believe that general intelligence exists as a universal mental ability. In connection with the progress in the development of cybernetics, systems theory, information theory, etc., there has been a tendency to understand intelligence as the cognitive activity of any complex systems capable of learning, purposeful processing of information and self-regulation. The results of psychogenetic studies indicate high level genetic conditioning of intelligence. Non-verbal intelligence is more trainable. The individual level of intelligence development is also determined by a number of environmental influences: the "intellectual climate" of the family, the birth order of a child in the family, the profession of parents, the breadth of social contacts in early childhood, etc.