Before you ask questions about how you can determine the level of human thinking, you need to understand what it is. Most people take the term “thinking” literally. That is, they believe that behind this word lies a simple meaning - "the ability to think."
Of course, this is so. But the term “thinking” also has other variants of understanding, much more complicated, depending on the sphere in which the word is used. For example, the interpretation of its meaning in neuropsychology and philosophy will be different.
What is thinking?
There is no unambiguous definition for this concept. The most generalized and widespread is the interpretation that defines thinking as a complex mental process, the result of which is the modeling of patterns characteristic of the surrounding world, and the construction of conclusions based on axiomatic representations and positions.
The concept of thinking is interpreted differently. Among the most popular versions of his definition, the following stand out:
- information processing in the brain;
- the establishment and understanding of relationships with objects of surrounding reality;
- perception and reflection of objects, events, patterns;
- the formation of a personal idea of something outside the brain.
No science provides a concrete definition of the concept of thinking . For example, all of the above interpretations of this phenomenon belong to the field of psychology. Nevertheless, all scientists, regardless of their specialization, support the assertion that thinking is one of the steps in the process of cognition. It allows you to obtain, sort and systematize in the brain the knowledge of any objects, phenomena, properties, processes and other things that surround a person. Also, with the help of thinking, the mind carries out certain conclusions - this process of mental activity is called inference. It also includes the fruits of various thoughts, the construction of theories about something.
In what forms thought manifests itself, what laws it obeys - the field of interests of science, called logic. She also studies the levels of human thinking. Various psychophysiological factors that influence this process are the subject of study in many areas, not only in medical ones. However, psychology has, of course, priority in cognizing the interconnections of thinking and these factors.
How long has thinking been studied?
When exactly the study of thinking began, it is impossible to determine. It is likely that for the first time a person thought about what it is when he realized that he was able to think.
The first written evidence of thoughts on this subject dates back to antiquity. These are the philosophical works of thinkers of Ancient Greece, among which the works of Parmenides, Epicurus and Protagoras stand out. The legacy left by them formed the basis of many works of Aristotle and Pythagoras.
Doctors in antiquity thought about this concept. The level of thinking and how it is carried out has been the subject of study for Hippocrates. In the Roman Empire, Galen paid much attention to this issue. The works of Alexandrian doctors and scientists who lived in ancient times have survived to our days.
What is characterized by thinking?
Of course, there are a lot of factors characterizing the thinking process. However, all the nuances that describe mental activity can be combined into two large groups.
The first group is the characteristics that provide a generalized perception and reflection of reality surrounding a person, including information. Thinking is carried out by searching or designating specific objects, objects, phenomena. The search goes into the process of awareness, which ends with the transformation of disparate details and elements into a generalized, holistic picture.
The second group of characteristics unites the processes due to which an indirect understanding or knowledge of something is realized. In simple words, this is the level of thinking at which the brain perceives not direct information, but indirect or obtained by their own reasoning. That is, a person judges the nature and properties, the essence of something, not relying on direct, direct sources.
What types of thinking exist?
Modern classification distinguishes the following types of thinking of people:
- clearly effective;
- figurative;
- abstract logical;
- specific subject.
Each type of thought process has its own characteristics that distinguish it from others, including the level of thinking.
Vivid and vivid shapes
A clearly effective form of thinking is characteristic of very young children, on average it is observed at the age of one and a half to two years. This kind of thought process consists in the combination of cognition and various manipulations with surrounding objects, things, objects. In addition to children, this type of thinking is characteristic of certain mental illnesses or developmental disabilities. For example, it can accompany dementia. It can also become a consequence of severe brain injuries or prolonged oxygen starvation.
Figurative thinking is characteristic of children of a younger age group, starting from three years. However, unlike the visual-effective form, this species may not disappear without a trace, but develop and transform into creative thinking. This process is carried out by direct perception of objects, phenomena, events or information with the use of short-term and operational memory functions.
Abstract-logical and concrete-subject forms
The abstract-logical kind of mental activity is unique, it is inherent only in the human brain. Its essence lies in the fact that the thought process is carried out by categories that do not exist in the surrounding reality, and the construction of logical chains from them. This type of thinking begins to take shape at the age of 6-7, and it is with this developmental feature that the beginning of the education of children in schools is connected.
Specific subject thinking is a process that occurs in the brain of people who are completely devoid of imagination. In other words, it involves operations exclusively with existing objects, objects or phenomena. That is, this is the most realistic kind of mental activity.
What is the level of thinking?
As a rule, people who are far from psychology, philosophy, or other sciences that deal with the human mind, by this expression understand the degree of development of the thought process. In other words, the higher the level, the smarter the person.
However, from a scientific point of view, the level of development of thinking is completely different. The methodology for its definition and the concept itself is a subject of study in cognitive psychology. The founder of this direction in psychology, as well as the author of the theory about the division of the thought process into different levels, is Aaron Beck.
In cognitive psychology, thinking is presented in the form of layers, in each of which certain processes occur that can relate to any of the classification forms. Between themselves, the layers differ in the organization of the thought process and the degree of its depth.
How are thought process levels determined?
Diagnosing the level of thinking and determining the development of intelligence is not at all the same thing. To identify the level that the human brain is inclined to use when solving a problem, tests, questionnaires, visualization and much more are used. Of course, the higher the result of a person undergoing testing, the more developed are his mental levels.
To determine the level at which this or that form of thinking is located, specialized tasks and tests are used. For example, levels of creative thinking are identified with the help of “Find Differences” pictures, tasks in which you need to remember the location and number of graphic objects and other similar testing methods.
The greatest importance in modern life is the ability of a person to think logically, clearly realize the final goals and see the ways to achieve them. To identify such abilities, it is necessary to determine the level of logical thinking. This is done using a combination of different testing methods, as well as, if necessary, to identify the levels of other forms of thought processes.
What methods are most in demand?
Most often, the level of thinking is determined using the following testing methods:
- memorization;
- identification of an excess link or component;
- continuation of logical construction;
- definition of the main element;
- anagrams or rebuses;
- graphic tasks.
As for the names of tasks or tests, there are quite a lot of them, as well as manuals and collections dedicated to them. However, the differences between them are only in the design and number of specific tasks. For example, in one test there may be a task of memorizing by ear of twenty words, and in another - only of ten.