Imagination as a mental cognitive process. Types and processes of imagination. Theoretical aspects of the study of imagination

Imagination– the mental process of creating an image of an object or situation by restructuring existing ideas. Images of the imagination do not always correspond to reality; they contain elements of fantasy and fiction. If the imagination draws pictures to the consciousness that nothing or little corresponds in reality, then it is called fantasy. If the imagination is directed to the future, it is called a dream. The process of imagination always occurs in inextricable connection with two other mental processes - memory and thinking.

Types of imagination:

Active imagination- using it, a person, through an effort of will, at his own request, evokes in himself the corresponding images.

Passive imagination– his images arise spontaneously, regardless of the will and desire of a person.

Productive imagination- in it, reality is consciously constructed by man, and not simply mechanically copied or recreated. But at the same time, she is still creatively transformed in the image.

Reproductive imagination– the task is to reproduce reality as it is, and although there is also an element of fantasy here, such imagination is more reminiscent of perception or memory than creativity.

Functions of imagination:

Figurative representation of reality;

Regulation of emotional states;

Voluntary regulation of cognitive processes and human states;

Formation of an internal action plan.

Ways to create imagination images:

Agglutination– creating images by combining any qualities, properties, parts.

Accenting- highlighting any part, detail of the whole.

Typing- the most difficult technique. The artist depicts a specific episode that absorbs a lot of similar ones and thus is, as it were, their representative. A literary image is also formed, in which the typical features of many people of a given circle, a certain era are concentrated.

Imagination processes, like memory processes, can vary in the degree of voluntariness or intentionality. An extreme case of involuntary imagination is dreams, in which images are born unintentionally and in the most unexpected and bizarre combinations. The activity of the imagination, which unfolds in a half-asleep, drowsy state, for example, before falling asleep, is also involuntary at its core.

Among the various types and forms of voluntary imagination, one can distinguish reconstructive imagination, creative imagination and dream.

Recreating Imagination manifests itself when a person needs to recreate a representation of an object that matches its description as fully as possible.

Creative imagination characterized by the fact that a person transforms ideas and creates new ones not according to an existing model, but by independently outlining the contours of the created image and choosing the necessary materials for it.

A special form of imagination is dream– independent creation of new images. The main feature of a dream is that it is aimed at future activities, i.e. A dream is an imagination aimed at a desired future.

The images that a person creates in his dreams are distinguished by the following features:

bright, lively, specific character, with many details and particulars;

weak expression of specific ways to realize a dream, imagination of these ways and means in the most general terms in the form of some trend);

the emotional richness of the image, its attractiveness for a dreaming person;

the desire to combine dreams with a feeling of confidence in its feasibility, with a passionate desire to turn it into reality.

If the voluntary or active imagination is intentional, i.e. is associated with volitional manifestations of a person, then passive imagination can be intentional and unintentional. Intentional Passive Imagination creates images that are not associated with will. These images are called dreams. In dreams, the connection between imagination and the needs of the individual is most clearly revealed. The predominance of dreams in a person’s mental life can lead him to a separation from reality, a withdrawal into a fictional world, which, in turn, begins to inhibit the mental and social development of this person.

Unintentional passive imagination observed when the activity of consciousness weakens, its disorders, in a half-asleep state, in sleep, etc. The most significant manifestation of passive imagination is hallucinations, in which a person perceives non-existent objects. When classifying types of imagination, we proceed from two main characteristics. This is the degree of manifestation of volitional efforts and the degree of activity, or awareness.
IMAGINATION TEST

This test will help you identify your propensity for fantasy and intuitive thinking.

Instructions

It is necessary to express your attitude to each of the statements given in the task using one of three answers - “yes”, “no” and “I can’t say definitely”.

1. I am able to clearly remember at least one event that happened to me when I was no more than two years old.

2. When I was a child, I could imagine myself flying with such clarity that I began to believe in the reality of this act.

3. As a child, I simply enjoyed fairy tales.

4. Having grown up, I still adore fairy tales.

5. When I was little, I played fairy tales and often believed that I was a fairy-tale hero (Kolobok, Little Red Riding Hood, prince, orphan, etc.).

6. Having grown up, from time to time I get used to some kind of role.

7. I would like to be under hypnosis (I enjoy being under hypnosis).

8. I remember my dreams easily.

9. At will, I can usually wake up or even change a dream.

10. Before I fall asleep, I have distinct visions.

11. Remembering some significant events, I can relive them - again see what happened then, hear sounds, voices, feel excitement.

12. It’s easy for me to conjure up the image of a friend.

13. I usually remember my dreams with all the pictures and details, and not just their fragments.

14. When I was a child, there was always a friend in my imagination - a person, animal or inanimate object - with whom I talked and shared my feelings.

15. I get great pleasure from napping during the day.

16. If I closed my eyes and imagined that I was holding a child, a cat or a dog in my arms, I could easily feel the weight and warmth of this body.

17. If I want to imagine a scene from my favorite movie and close my eyes, I will be able to clearly evoke it in my imagination.

18. While reading a book, I can easily relate to the character and feel what he is going through.

19. I get lost very quickly when doing physical activities (dancing, running, etc.).

20. I like wide open windows.

For each answer, the subject receives:

"yes" -2 points;

“I can’t say definitely” - 1;

The points are added up.

RESULT.

From 27 to 40 -You live in a fantasy world, exceptionally rich in details. “Going down to earth,” you find yourself on someone else’s territory.

From 13 to 26 -You experience isolated flashes of intuition. But your imagination depends on your mood.

From 0 to 12 - Your distinctive features are “down to earth” and pragmatism. Relying on solid ground, you cannot tear yourself away from it, and therefore are almost deprived of the gift of foresight.

How to determine the level of development of your imagination. Practical work.

Exercise 1. Analyze your recreating imagination. To do this, solve the following 4 problems. (We warn you that you cannot make any drawings when solving.)

1. Imagine an equilateral triangle, each side of which is 6 m. Mentally extend the base of the triangle to the left by 6 m and parallel to it through the vertex of the triangle, draw the same segment to the left. Connect the ends of parallel lines with a straight line. What kind of figure did you get?

2. Imagine that from point A you walked south 10 steps, then turned east and also took 10 steps, then again took 10 steps south, and then turned west, walked the same amount and finally took 10 steps on North. What figure is obtained from the indicated segments?

3. Imagine a circle: Place a point in the center of the circle, draw two parallel lines at an equal distance from it (inside the circle), and then draw two perpendicular lines to these straight lines at the same distance from the center. What shape is inside the circle?

4. Imagine a square. Draw diagonals in it. Then use two horizontal lines to divide the square into equal parts. How many figures did you get and what kind?

Check the correctness of the solution to each problem using the drawing. Then count the number of points received: conditionally, the solution to the first problem is estimated at 4 points, the second -5 points, the third -6 points, the fourth -15 points.

Calculate how many points you received and how much time it took to solve the problems. answer

Task 2. Set your level of creative thinking. To do this, solve the following problems:

1. Mentally imagine that you have a wooden ball with a diameter of 30 mm. Come up with it and write it down on paper.

(in words or drawing) as many things as possible that can be made using this item. Work for 5 minutes. Compare your solution with the options of your comrades. Each proposed option is worth 2 points.

For similar options, award 1 point, for witty and original ones - 4 points.

2. Within 5 minutes, come up with (and write down) as many options for using an ordinary pencil as possible. Keep in mind that you can come up with the most ridiculous - from the point of view of common sense - things, an indispensable condition is that a pencil can actually be used in this capacity (for example, instead of a rolling pin when rolling out dough, etc.).

Introduction

The role of imagination in human life has received special attention since ancient times. Interest in this mental process is still great today. After all, imagination has enormous social significance. The ability to create something new and unusual gives people the opportunity to expand their knowledge about the world and human relationships. All this would be impossible without imagination.

The role of imagination is now generally accepted. It participates in the transformation of existing ideas and concepts, expands the sphere of cognition, promotes the development of thinking, education of the emotional sphere, and has a significant impact on the formation of personality.

Any human activity is connected with imagination, since it is impossible to engage in work without imagining its current and final result. Without imagination, science, art, technology and cultural life in general would not exist.

The process of imagination allows you to make decisions and find a way out of a problem situation even in the absence of the necessary completeness of knowledge. In other words, if a person has not encountered something in his own experience, this does not prevent him from imagining and creating images, thereby using and developing creative thinking. Creativity reveals the specificity of a person’s personality, his emotions, feelings, and attitude towards the world around him.

S.L. Rubinstein talks about the value of imagination, which, according to him, lies in the fact that people not only contemplate and know, but also change the world, transforming it. In order to transform reality in practice, you need to be able to transform it mentally. Imagination satisfies this need. Imagination is inextricably linked to our ability to change the world, effectively transform reality and create something new.

Despite the fact that the mental processes with which imagination is connected (perception, memory, thinking, etc.) and what significance they have in human life have been well studied, we still do not know the mechanisms and essence of imagination.

This circumstance prompted many researchers to study imagination in general psychology: L.S. Vygotsky, S.L. Rubinstein, R.S. Nemov, A.V. Petrovsky, M.G. Yaroshevsky, A.G. Maklakov, V.V. Davydov, M.V. Gamezo, I.A. Domashenko, V.A. Sitarov, D.N. Uznadze and others. The following scientists also separately considered this problem in special psychology and pedagogy: K. Burklen, P. Willey, L.S. Vygotsky, A.G. Litvak, V.M. Sorokin, O.V. Borovik, G.V. Nikulina, V.P. Ermakov, G.A. Yakunin and others.

It is obvious that the importance of imagination in human mental development is great. It must be said that in general psychology the most important aspects of the problem of imagination have been studied very deeply and comprehensively. Specialists in the field of typhlopsychology have studied this problem in relation to the blind and visually impaired much less fully than general psychology has done in relation to normally sighted people. Meanwhile, the role of imagination in the lives of people with visual impairments is especially great.

In view of this, I had a desire to summarize the existing knowledge about imagination in order to better understand the essence of this process, expand my understanding in this area, and also understand the question of what role imagination plays in the life of people with profound visual impairments.

1. Study of imagination in general psychology

.1 The concept of imagination. Physiological foundations of imagination. Approaches to the Study of Imagination

Speaking about the concept of imagination, it must be said that it has an inextricable connection with such mental processes as perception, memory and thinking. But it is significantly different from them. And, taking into account the statement of L.S. Vygotsky regarding the difference between imagination and other forms of mental activity, it is important to note that imagination does not repeat in the same combinations and forms individual impressions that were accumulated before, but builds new series from previously accumulated impressions. In other words, introducing something new into the very course of our impressions and changing these impressions so that as a result a new, previously non-existent image appears, constitutes, as we know, the very basis of the activity that we call imagination.

According to V.A. Sitarov, imagination consists of a mental departure beyond the boundaries of the directly perceived, helps to anticipate events, refreshes experience gained in the past and existing information in a new context of cognition.

Imagination reflects a person’s subjective world, his vision of the world around him. The work of imagination is especially relevant in situations where there is not enough information to carry out mental operations; then, with the help of imagination, we find solutions and a way out of the current situation, by predicting the intermediate and final results of our activities.

V.A. Sitarov gives it the following definition:

Imagination is the mental process of creating images of objects, products of activity, circumstances by bringing a person’s existing knowledge into a new combination under conditions of uncertainty of the current problem situation.

M.V. Gamezo offers a similar definition of imagination based on comparisons with other mental functions:

Imagination (fantasy) is a mental process that consists of creating new images based on data from past experience. This is the ability to imagine an absent or really existing object, hold it in consciousness and mentally manipulate it. Imagination reflects the real world, but in new, unusual, unexpected combinations and connections. It differs from figurative memory (idea), since it is a fundamentally new image, dynamic, and the act of memorization and preservation is absent. Imagination differs from thinking, since it proceeds in figurative form, and thinking in concepts. It is associated with thinking, since it arises in a problem situation and represents an analytical-synthetic activity of the brain (old objects are divided into parts and combined into a new image, for example, “mermaid”).

Similar judgments about the concept and essence of imagination were put forward by: S.L. Rubinstein, R.S. Nemov, A.G. Maklakov, A.V. Petrovsky, M.G. Yaroshevsky, E.I. Nikolaeva, V.P. Ermakov, G.A. Yakunin, A.G. Litvak and other researchers).

Further, speaking about the physiological aspect of imagination, I would like to give an example described by L.S. Vygotsky. Speaking about the work of the cerebral cortex, L.S. Vygotsky compares the work of the brain to a track left by a wheel on the ground, which subsequently facilitates movement. The essence of this example is that the brain, by storing our previous experience, makes it easier to reproduce this experience in the future. But if the work of the brain consisted only of reproducing information, a person would not be able to adapt to constantly changing conditions.

In view of this, L.S. Vygotsky identifies the following function - combining or creative.

The combining activity of the brain is based on the preservation in the brain of traces of previous excitations, but the essence of this function is that having traces of excitations, the brain combines them into new combinations that were not encountered in its actual experience.

Such human activity, based not only on the reproduction of his previous experience, but also on the creation of something new, is called creative.

This creative activity, based on the combining ability of our brain, is called imagination or fantasy.

Considering this issue, A.G. Maklakov connects the process of imagination with the regulation of organic processes in the body and movement. Due to the fact that the physiological mechanisms of imagination are associated not only with the cortex, but also with deeper structures of the brain. In particular, the hypothalamic-limbic system plays a major role here.

Further, A.G. Maklakov notes that imagination influences many organic processes: the functioning of the glands, the activity of internal organs, metabolism in the body, etc. For example, the idea of ​​a delicious dinner causes profuse salivation, and instilling in a person the idea of ​​a burn, one can cause real signs of a “burn” on the skin. On the other hand, imagination also influences human motor functions. For example, if we imagine that we are running along a stadium track during a competition, the devices will record subtle contractions of the corresponding muscle groups.

Thus, we can conclude that the brain as a whole has a regulatory effect on all organs of the human body. In turn, imagination, like other mental processes, has a significant impact on the functioning of many systems of the human body. This means that imagination plays a huge role in the formation of a person’s personality and life in general.

In his essay L.S. Vygotsky identifies several forms of connection between imagination and reality, which, in his opinion, will help to better understand the mechanism of imagination and its connection with creative activity.

Firstly, imagination is based on a person’s previous experience, consisting of images of reality.

Further L.S. Vygotsky formulates the first and, according to him, the most important law that the creative activity of the imagination depends on the richness and diversity of a person’s past experience, which is the material from which fantasy constructions are created. Therefore, the richer a person’s experience, the wider the material available to his imagination.

Secondly, L.S. Vygotsky identifies the highest form of connection between fantasy and reality - the connection between the final product of imagination and a real phenomenon. This form of connection is made possible by others' or social experiences. In other words, if no one observed the described phenomenon, then a correct representation would be impossible.

The third form of connection between the activity of imagination and reality, which the author identifies, is an emotional connection. The essence of this connection is that images and impressions that have a common emotional coloring are united, even if they are not similar. In this case, feelings influence imagination, but there is also a feedback loop in which imagination influences our emotions. For example, the acting, their experiences disturb us and make us think, put ourselves in their place. That is, even if we know that all this is fictional, feelings arise in us that are experienced in reality.

The essence of the fourth form of connection is that the product of fantasy can become an object that does not correspond to a really existing object. Such a product can be created from several elements that, interacting, form a qualitatively new thing, which from the moment of its appearance begins to influence other things in the surrounding world.

By connecting these four forms, we can conclude that the mechanisms of human creative activity are not only thoughts and feelings, but also their direct connection and interaction.

Summarizing the above, it can be noted that many researchers, studying imagination, adhere to the provisions presented by L.S. Vygotsky as fundamental. This suggests that L.S. Vygotsky made enormous contributions to the study of imagination and psychology in general. He examined the imagination and its role in the human psyche in great detail, focusing on all aspects of this function. But research does not stand still, because questions about the mechanisms and physiological basis of imagination remain not fully understood. Recently, we have learned more about the physiological aspects of imagination, about the structures of the central nervous system with which it is associated. This allows further research to be carried out, both in general and special psychology, based on the experience and knowledge provided by scientists in this area.

1.2 Types and functions of imagination

psychological imagination passive

Types of imagination

In general and special psychology, imagination is divided according to several criteria:

.by degree of activity:

Active or voluntary, which in turn is divided into creative or productive (creating new images) and recreating or reproductive (creating from a model).

Passive or involuntary, which is divided into intentional (dreams) and unintentional (dreams, affect).

.by the nature of the image: concrete and abstract.

S.L. Rubinstein, revealing the essence of each type of imagination, says that all types of personality orientation find manifestation in the imagination and, thus, give rise to different levels of imagination.

The difference between these levels is determined, first of all, by how conscious and active a person’s attitude to this process is.

With passive imagination, the change of images, which occurs under the influence of little-conscious needs, drives, tendencies, regardless of any conscious intervention of the subject, occurs spontaneously, involuntarily. Images of the imagination seem to spontaneously transform, emerging before the imagination, rather than being formed by it; there is no actual manipulation of images here yet. This form of imagination occurs in drowsy states, in dreams, and in pathological disorders of consciousness (hallucinations). In these cases, behind the image, affective moments of needs and drives are usually hidden as driving forces. This subset of passive imagination is unintentional.

Speaking about passive imagination, it should be noted that people are characterized by deliberate imagination, expressed in images of fantasy, but not associated with volitional action. These images have a connection with interests and needs. Most often they are joyful and pleasant. Such forms of passive imagination are called dreams.

It should be noted that the predominance of dreams in a person’s mental life can lead him to a separation from reality, withdrawal into a fictional world, which, in turn, begins to inhibit the mental and social development of this person.

And with active imagination, a person’s conscious, active attitude to the formation and transformation of images plays an increasingly important role. In accordance with the goals that a person’s conscious creative activity sets for itself. The basis of this work of imagination is the ability to arbitrarily evoke and change the necessary ideas.

Within the framework of active imagination, a recreative, creative imagination is distinguished, and some authors separately highlight a dream.

A.G. Maklakov gives an example of reconstructive imagination, when a person needs to recreate the idea of ​​an object or phenomenon as fully as possible, based on a verbal description. We encounter this type of imagination when we read descriptions of geographical places or historical events, as well as when we get to know literary characters. It should be noted that the recreating imagination forms not only visual ideas, but also tactile and auditory ones, which makes it possible to more fully form an image.

Creative imagination, in contrast to recreating, involves the independent creation of new images that are realized in original and valuable products of activity. Creative imagination is different in that in it reality is consciously constructed by a person, and not simply mechanically copied or recreated. But at the same time, she is still creatively transformed in the image.

S.L. Rubinstein notes that imagination and creativity are closely related. The connection between them, however, is not that creativity is a product of the imagination. The leading one is the inverse relationship; imagination is formed in the process of creative activity. Specialization of various types of imagination is not so much a prerequisite as a result of the development of various types of creative activity. Therefore, there are as many specific types of imagination as there are unique types of human activity - constructive, technical, scientific, artistic, pictorial, musical, etc. All these types of imagination, formed and manifested in various types of creative activity, constitute a type of the highest level - creative imagination.

A special form of active imagination is a dream. This process takes the form of a special internal activity, which consists in creating an image of what a person would like to accomplish. The main feature of a dream is that it is aimed at future activities. It acts as an incentive or motive for an activity, the final completion of which was delayed for various reasons. ,

Moreover, several subtypes of this type of imagination should be distinguished. Most often, a person makes plans for the future and in his dreams determines the ways to achieve his plans. In this case, the dream is an active, voluntary, conscious process.

But in some cases, the dream acts as a substitute for activity. Dreams remain just dreams and are never realized in creative activity. As a result of a series of failures, a person abandons the implementation of his plans in practice and plunges into a dream. In this case, the dream appears as a conscious, voluntary process that has no practical completion. This type of dream is also typical for people with visual impairments, which can negatively affect their life activity and personal development as a whole.

A.G. Maklakov notes the positive meaning of dreams, which consists in ensuring the safety of the regulatory mechanisms of the body's systems. Failures in practical activities in most cases contribute to the formation of a negative mental state, which can be expressed in an increased level of anxiety, a feeling of discomfort, or even depressive reactions. In turn, a negative mental state acts as one of the factors causing difficulties in a person’s socio-psychological adaptation and the formation of maladaptive ones. In this situation, a dream can act as a unique form of psychological defense, providing temporary escape from problems that have arisen, which contributes to a certain neutralization of the negative mental state and ensuring the preservation of regulatory mechanisms while reducing the overall activity of a person.

Depending on the nature of the images with which the imagination operates, a distinction is sometimes made between concrete and abstract imagination.

The images with which the imagination operates may be different; these can be single images, burdened with many details, and typified images, generalized diagrams, symbols. Accordingly, there are diverse types of imagination - more concrete and more abstract. The difference between concrete and abstract imagination is the difference between the images with which the imagination operates. Abstract imagination uses images of a high degree of generalization, generalized images - diagrams, symbols (in mathematics). Abstract and concrete imagination are not polar; There are many mutual transitions between them.

1.3 Functions of imagination

R.S. Nemov identifies the following functions:

The first of them is to represent reality in images and be able to use them when solving various problems. This function of imagination is associated with thinking.

The second function of imagination, highlighted by R.S. Nemov, consists of regulating emotional states. With the help of his imagination, a person is able to at least partially satisfy many needs and relieve the tension generated by them. This vital function is especially emphasized and developed in psychoanalysis.

The third function of imagination is associated with its participation in the voluntary regulation of cognitive processes and human states, in particular perception, attention, memory, speech, and emotions. With the help of evoked images, a person can pay attention to the necessary events. Through images, he gains the opportunity to control perceptions, memories, and statements.

The fourth function of imagination is the formation of an internal plan of action - the ability to carry them out in the mind, manipulating images.

Finally, the fifth function is planning and programming activities, drawing up such programs, assessing their correctness and the implementation process.

M.V. Gamezo identifies the following functions:

Cognitive function. Thanks to imagination, concentration of attention, thinking, and memory occurs. Thus, the world around us is learned more deeply.

The second function is regulatory. It is expressed in planning and regulation of activities, anticipation of the result of work (anticipation); in the regulation of cognitive processes.

The third function highlighted by M.V. Gameso is an affective function. Its essence lies in the fact that imagination, participating in the regulation of emotional states, can replace unmet needs.

Functions of imagination identified by L.S. Vygotsky:

The main function of the imagination is to organize forms of behavior that have never before been encountered in human experience. Further L.S. Vygotsky notes several functions of different natures, but closely related to the main function of finding behavior that corresponds to new environmental conditions.

The first function of L.S. Vygotsky calls it consistent. Its essence is that everything that we do not know from our own experience, we know through our imagination.

The second function of imagination is L.S. Vygotsky calls it emotional; it lies in the fact that every emotion has its own specific, not only external, but also internal expression, and, therefore, fantasy is the instrument that directly carries out the work of our emotions. It is known that not all of our impulses and drives receive their fulfillment. Therefore, the question follows: what is the fate of those nervous excitations that arise quite realistically in the nervous system, but do not receive their implementation? They receive the character of a conflict between human behavior and the environment. If he does not get a way out in other forms of behavior, then a neurotic disease may develop. And so the function of sublimation, that is, the socially higher realization of unrealized possibilities, falls to the lot of the imagination.

Thus, having noted the types and functions of imagination, it must be said that imagination plays an important role in the implementation of many processes occurring in our body. It covers the conscious and unconscious sphere of brain activity, which increases interest in the further study of imagination and its role in human life.

1.4 Development of imagination

Based on research by L.S. Vygotsky, it is important to note that the sensitive period of imagination development is preschool age. A child’s imagination develops most productively under the influence of adults.

A.G. Maklakov notes that the development of imagination occurs during human ontogenesis and requires the accumulation of a certain stock of ideas, which can later serve as material for creating images of the imagination. Imagination develops in close connection with the development of the entire personality, in the process of training and education, as well as in unity with thinking, memory, will and feelings.

Despite the difficulty of determining the stages of development of imagination in humans, certain patterns in its formation can be identified. Thus, the first manifestations of imagination are closely related to the process of perception. The connection between perception and imagination is visible when a child begins to process received impressions in his games, modifying previously perceived objects in his imagination (a chair turns into a cave or an airplane, a box into a car). But the first images of the child’s imagination are always associated with activity. The child does not dream, but embodies the processed image in his activity, and the leading type of activity of the child is play.

The next stage, highlighted by A.G. Maklakov, is associated with the age when a child masters speech. Speech allows you to include in the imagination not only specific images, but also more abstract ideas and concepts. Moreover, speech allows the child to move from expressing images of imagination in activity to their direct expression in speech.

The stage of mastering speech is accompanied by an increase in practical experience and the development of attention, which allows the child to more easily identify individual parts of an object, which he already perceives as independent and with which he increasingly operates in his imagination. However, the synthesis occurs with significant distortions of reality. Due to the lack of sufficient experience and insufficient critical thinking, the child cannot create an image that is close to reality. The main feature of this stage is the involuntary nature of the emergence of imagination. Most often, images of imagination are formed in a child of this age involuntarily, in accordance with the situation in which he finds himself.

The next stage in the development of imagination, which is highlighted by A.G. Maklakov, is associated with the appearance of its active forms. At this stage, the process of imagination becomes voluntary. The emergence of active forms of imagination is initially associated with stimulating initiative on the part of an adult. For example, when an adult asks a child to do something, he activates the imagination process. Later, the child begins to use his own imagination without any adult participation. This leap in the development of imagination is reflected, first of all, in the nature of the child’s games. They become focused and story-driven. The things surrounding the child become not just stimuli for the development of objective activity, but act as material for the embodiment of images of his imagination.

Another major shift in imagination occurs during school age. The need to understand educational material determines the activation of the process of recreating imagination. In order to assimilate the knowledge that is given at school, the child actively uses his imagination, which causes the development of the ability to process images of perception into images of imagination. But it should be noted that the recreating imagination is not always capable of developing vivid images. This may be due to a misunderstanding of the material being studied (high speed of delivery of material, insufficient amount of information, etc.). In this case, the reconstructive imagination will not develop properly, which may negatively affect the further development of the child’s psyche.

People's imagination is developed differently, and it manifests itself differently in their activities and social life. Individual characteristics of the imagination are expressed in the degree of development of the imagination, which is characterized by the vividness of the images and the depth with which the data of past experience is processed, as well as the novelty and meaningfulness of the results of this processing. Poor development of imagination is expressed in a low level of processing of ideas and entails difficulties in solving mental problems that require the ability to visually imagine a specific situation. With an insufficient level of imagination development, a rich and emotionally diverse life is impossible.

Knowledge of the mechanisms of imagination development plays an important role in studying the psyche of normally sighted people and people with impaired vision. It is important to understand that imagination with impaired vision develops according to the same laws as with normal vision and has the same importance in the lives of the blind and visually impaired as in the lives of the sighted. But, at the same time, the process and development of the imagination of people with impaired vision has a number of features, which will be discussed in the next chapter, where I analyzed research conducted within the framework of special psychology.

2. Study of imagination in special psychology

.1 The influence of visual pathology on the process of imagination

It is often believed, writes P. Willey, that a blind person is devoid of any imagination. Because we are misled by words. Many people understand the word “image” as a visual image and therefore believe that a blind person cannot have as developed an imagination as a sighted person. In fact, the imagination of a blind person, associated with spatial concepts, is no less developed than that of the sighted. However, the spatial representations of the blind cannot be as vivid and concrete as those of the sighted. But in order to imagine various combinations of events, the interaction of various characters and actions, vision is not required for this. You just need to have a subtle and flexible mind, the ability to deeply feel and mentally transform into other people, to be transported to other conditions, you need to have curiosity and a certain goal setting. All this can happen to a blind person in the same way as to a sighted person.

Imagination expands the boundaries of human knowledge from early childhood. It has a significant impact on the development of personal qualities, promotes the development of thinking, will, feelings and emotions.

Visual impairment to a certain extent limits the development of imagination. However, thanks to compensatory mechanisms and restoration of sensory development, logical thinking, as well as the active functioning of other mental functions, people with impaired vision can achieve significant results in their activities. Imagination, as a motive of activity, plays a significant role in the processes of vision compensation and personality development.

Imagination is of great importance for the blind. It expands his sensory experience, clarifies existing ideas. Being an anticipatory reflection and facilitating adaptation to the rapidly changing conditions of the surrounding world, imagination turns out to be necessary for the blind.

It is worth noting that the most important criterion for the richness of the reserves of imagination is the time of onset of the visual defect, which is essential for the mental and physical development of the child. The earlier blindness occurred, the more noticeable are the secondary deviations, in particular the poverty of imagination. The later a child loses his sight, the greater the volume of visual representations he has, which can be recreated through verbal descriptions. But if you do not develop visual memory, partially preserved after loss of vision, a gradual erasure of visual images occurs.

The essence of imagination, as noted by A.G. Litvak, lies in the process of transformation, combining previous experience. Litvak further notes that qualitative and quantitative changes in memory images in cases of visual impairment complicate the process of combining them, thereby complicating the development of mechanisms for transforming ideas. Consequently, the development of the imagination of people with visual impairments is slowed down both due to the impoverishment of sensory experience and due to difficulties in the formation of imagination mechanisms.

As N.M. Nazarova notes, loss of vision forms the originality of the emotional-volitional sphere, character, and sensory experience. The blind have difficulties in playing, learning, and mastering professional activities - that is, in those types of activities where imagination plays a very important role. The identified difficulties, in turn, can lead to negative consequences in the form of complex personal experiences and, as a consequence of these experiences, to “going into a dream.”

V.M. Sorokin emphasizes that such a phenomenon is extremely dangerous for people with visual impairments. The harmfulness of this phenomenon lies in the fact that inadequate dreams of a blind person can either suspend his activity, replacing real activity, or, conversely, acquiring elements of reality, activate it in the direction of achieving an impossible goal. Therefore, a special role in the formation of a child’s personality is played by his inclusion in active play, learning and work activities in order to avoid the development of such forms of fantasy.

According to V.M. Sorokin and A.G. Litvak, in order to avoid these negative phenomena, a blind person must deeply understand his defect and have an idea of ​​his capabilities. When training such people, adequate images should be formed that correspond to their capabilities, age, and needs. After all, the main point in the imagination is needs, and the content of a person’s dreams is a reflection of his needs. ,

And when forming adequate images, it is necessary to remember that often blind people form ideas that are largely based on schematism and verbalism.

Therefore, competently implemented pedagogical work is necessary, the selection of teaching methods and techniques that will meet the needs and capabilities of a blind person.

After all, a blind person has every opportunity for a high level of psychophysical development and full knowledge of the world around him, relying on intact analyzers. In the conditions of special training, adequate techniques and methods of using auditory, skin, olfactory, vibration and other analyzers are formed, representing the sensory basis for the development of mental processes. Thanks to this, higher forms of cognitive activity develop, which are leading in the compensatory restructuring of perception.

To summarize the above, it must be said that profound visual impairments have a greater negative impact on the process of imagination. Although, according to the born blind A.M. Shcherbina, which is cited by A, G. Litvak, vision loss contributes to the development of higher mental functions. Since a blind person, being separated from the outside world, creates his own inner world through imagination, which makes his imagination vivid and more vivid than that of the sighted. However, it should be borne in mind that people with profound visual impairments have a narrowing of sensory cognition, which can indeed have a significant impact on the reconstruction of imaginary images.

An important practical conclusion follows from the above. For the development of imagination in the blind and visually impaired, early and comprehensive development of sensory skills and the creation of ideas on its basis are necessary. ). It is especially important when these ideas are deeply comprehended by the blind, so that temporary connections do not fall apart, and he can subsequently operate with his knowledge. Therefore, competently organized training and education of the blind ensures the full development of their imagination and reduces the risk of negative consequences that accompany loss of vision functions. It is also equally important to understand that the effect of correctional work depends not only on the selected methodological techniques, but also on the targeted and systematic nature of this work. Otherwise, the achieved correction effect may not be stable. Therefore, I would like to note once again that properly organized training for people with visual impairments can ensure the full development of their imagination.

2.2 Features and functions of the imagination of the blind

As noted earlier, the process of imagination occurs in the blind according to the same laws as in the sighted. But in conditions of visual impairment, the imagination of the blind has some peculiarities.

A.G. Litvak identifies the following characteristic points: a decrease in the level of originality, which manifests itself in the impoverishment of plots; stereotypicality of the created images, their schematic nature and conventionality; replacing images of the imagination with images of memory; the phenomenon of perseveration - the tendency to repeat the same images with minor changes. In addition, A.G. Litvak names a number of other features, expressed in a decrease in the mobility and plasticity of images, which prevents the blind from imagining the rotation of objects in their minds, which in turn entails difficulties in implementing spatial orientation. Among other things, A.G. Litvak identifies a feature associated with a decrease in the ability to anticipate - forecast. The author also notes the aspect that imagination is closely related to the emotional sphere of the individual. And emotional coloring is one of the main features of fantasy images. Further A.G. Litvak characterizes the imagination of the blind as emotionally immature, since its images, as a rule, are not emotionally expressive.

During the study conducted by G.V. Nikulina, whose goal was to study the characteristics of creative imagination associated with the artistic and speech activity of students, analyzed the quality of images of creative imagination recreated by normally sighted and visually impaired students. A comparative analysis was carried out in grades 1 and 3 among blind, visually impaired and normally sighted children. This analysis shows that the fairy tales invented by students with visual impairments are generally very similar to the plots of works known to students and have some minor changes. The plots of fairy tales created by normally sighted and visually impaired 3rd graders are characterized by novelty and originality (compared to first-graders of the same groups). This allows us to talk about the static, viscous nature of the imagination of children with visual impairments, which manifests itself in the fact that most children were unable to create their own original plot. And also during the study the following features were discovered: insufficient differentiation of imagination; the predominance of fairy tales, the plot of which was replaced by a simple listing of the actions of the characters, while children with normal vision observed a complete plot in fairy tales.

Analysis of the experiment showed that the process of creative imagination in students with visual impairments obeys the general patterns of development of this process. With age, all groups of students increase the number of images created, the degree of their detail, and the number of fairy tales with a complete plot increases. From grades 1 to 3, the number of students who are able to subordinate their creative imagination to the task assigned by the experimenter increases. However, an analysis of creative imagination revealed some lag in the development of this process in students with impaired vision. Blind and visually impaired people recreate a significantly smaller number of images and their detail is practically absent. Children with visual impairments have difficulty creating a story.

Next, a plan for a training experiment was outlined, aimed at developing the ability to build a plan, determine the relationships between images and detail them. This experiment consisted of 4 stages.

At stage 1, the skills were formed to master the methods of constructing images, to include them in certain situations and to detail them. The visually impaired were asked to describe in detail the hero of the given plot.

At stage 2, the ability to follow a detailed plan in the form of pictures was developed, each of which corresponded to one of the episodes of the fairy tale.

At stage 3, the ability to follow the plan was consolidated. And at stage 4, the ability to perform a series of sequential actions in the mind was formed: draw up a plan for a fairy tale, present it in the form of a diagram, then tell the fairy tale, detailing the characters.

Having analyzed the data from the training experiment, G.V. Nikulina notes that the work completed by students after the experiment is of higher quality. The indicator of detailed images, the presence of a plot and its originality has increased, which indicates the development of students’ ability to create a holistic plan for their work and follow it in verbal reproduction. This gives reason to believe that ways to develop the creative imagination of children with visual impairments are effective and should be used in teaching.

As noted by A.G. Litvak, the creative imagination of the blind suffers more than the recreating one due to the poverty of ideas. And also a low level of creative imagination is associated with the fact that the absence or impairment of visual functions creates obstacles for a child to master the culture of mankind, since culture is designed for normal psychophysical organization. This means that creative activity in many areas of culture is possible only with vision. But along with this position, which was expressed by L.S. Vygotsky, A.G. Litvak emphasizes that creative imagination is not limited to the sphere of art, but permeates all types of human activity. Therefore, it should be noted that visual defects limit the development of imagination only in certain areas of activity. Characterizing creative imagination in general, A.G. Litvak emphasizes the decline in its quantitative productivity and connects this with the poverty and monotony of associative connections that underlie the production of fantasy images.

As for the issue of reconstructive imagination among the blind, there are also some features that V.M. emphasized in his article. Sorokin. Namely, it was found that the compositions of children with visual impairments have inaccuracy in conveying spatial relationships. And compositions are often fragmentary in nature, characterized by the absence of some components. Further V.M. Sorokin highlights such features of the construction of compositions of blind people as stereotyping, a low level of variability, and a decrease in the total number of reconstructed images. In addition, the author notes a decrease in the level of voluntary control over the course of associative processes and insufficient criticality in relation to the products of one’s own imagination, which is expressed in the introduction of foreign objects into the composition.

But these negative aspects of the development of reconstructive imagination in the blind can be overcome through specially organized training, using various techniques for activating the imagination.

It should be noted that in addition to the main functions of the reconstructive imagination (reflective and regulatory), it performs a compensatory function, consisting in the possibility of a certain replenishment of ideas about the surrounding world and expanding their circle. Imagination acts as a means of enhancing the cognitive capabilities of the blind. But at the same time it needs correction before development.

The more developed the imagination, writes O.V. Borovik, the easier it is for a child to solve problems that require both visual-figurative thinking and verbal-logical thinking. That is why imagination is considered as one of the means of correction.

With the help of reconstructive imagination, blind people transform emerging images in their imagination based on verbal descriptions and existing ideas, as a result of which they adequately imagine objects that were not directly perceived by them.

The development of reconstructive imagination helps fill gaps in sensory knowledge, and also prevents the transition to passive imagination, which can prevent a blind person from leading an active life. The transition to passive forms of imagination is harmful for the blind, since on their basis he receives suspicious support, leading him away from harsh reality, which in turn leads to alienation from the real world.

But passive forms of imagination should not be viewed only from a negative point of view. Most often, dreams and daydreams serve as compensation. They alleviate feelings of inferiority, play a role in emotional adaptation, and reduce the level of neuropsychic stress. But it is important to remember that the excessive functioning of passive forms of imagination, leading to autization of the individual, may even complicate the process of social rehabilitation of the visually impaired. The tendency of blind people to develop autistic imagination is associated with a lack of sensory experience, playful and productive activities, limited communication, and a decrease in general motor activity. The characteristics of family upbringing also play an important role in this. Thus, the reasons for passive imagination are largely related to the environment in which the child lives and is raised, under the pressure of which the personality is formed.

Despite the limited capabilities, the imagination of the blind is widely used in the processes of activity; it compensates for the shortcomings of perception and the poverty of sensory experience, thus performing, in addition to its main functions, compensatory ones.

Based on the research provided, the following conclusion can be drawn. The process of imagination in people with impaired vision occurs according to the same laws and performs the same functions as in those with normal vision. But under the condition of vision loss, their imagination proceeds with some peculiarities, which does not mean the impossibility of high development of this mental function and has an additional function, which is compensatory and plays a vital role in the life of blind people

Conclusion

Summing up the work done, first of all it must be said that imagination in the life of people with visual impairments is of great importance. Imagination does not stand as a separate function; it is closely related to other higher mental functions and is the most important link in human development and life.

The main goal of education and training is a harmoniously and comprehensively developed personality. And without imagination, learning and any other activity are impossible, therefore, the development of imagination from childhood is necessary for the full development of the individual and its formation in society.

People with visual impairments are partially deprived of a complete understanding of the world around them, which in turn has an extremely negative impact on their development and life in general. But this does not mean that their imagination cannot be developed as well as that of sighted people. After all, as is known, the mechanisms of imagination in the blind and sighted are identical, therefore, with the right choice of teaching methods and techniques, a high level of development of their imagination can be achieved.

Despite the importance of the development of the imagination process in people with visual impairments, it must be said that not too many studies have been conducted regarding the disclosure of all the features of the development and formation of the imagination of the blind. Therefore, it is important that research in this direction does not stop. So that, in turn, teachers can use them to develop high-quality teaching techniques and methods, overcoming the difficulties of developing the imagination of blind people. Thereby facilitating their successful integration into society and improving the quality of life indicators of this group of people.

In my work, I tried to summarize and highlight the existing knowledge in this area, as well as highlight the main directions in which the study of imagination is carried out and show the role that imagination plays in the life of people with profound visual impairments.

List of used literature

1.Borovik O.V. Defectology. // Using imagination tasks as a method of correctional work //. - M.: Shkola-Press, 1999.

.Bürklen K. Psychology of the Blind. - M.: State educational and pedagogical publishing house, 1934.

.Willey P. Psychology of the blind. - Leningrad: State educational and pedagogical publishing house, 1931.

.Vygotsky L.S. Psychology. - M.: EKSMO-Press, 2000.

.Vygotsky L.S. Imagination and creativity in childhood: A psychological essay. // Creativity and imagination. - M.: Education, 1991.

.Vygotsky L.S. Imagination and creativity in childhood: A psychological essay. // Imagination and reality. - M.: Education, 1991.

.Gamezo M.V. General psychology. - M.: Os-89, 2007.

.Ermakov V.P., Yakunin G.A. Basics of typhlopedagogy. - M.: Vlados, 1999.

.Litvak A.G. Psychology of the blind and visually impaired: A textbook for students of higher pedagogical educational institutions. - St. Petersburg: Karo, 2006.

.Maklakov A.G. General psychology. - St. Petersburg: Peter-Press, 2008.

.Nazarova N.M. Special pedagogy. - M.: Academy, 2000.

.Nemov R.S. General fundamentals of psychology. - M.: Vlados, 2003.

.Nikolaeva E.I. Psychology of children's creativity. - St. Petersburg: Speech, 2006

.Nikulina G.V. Development of the creative imagination of younger visually impaired schoolchildren associated with their artistic and speech activities. // Psychological and pedagogical foundations of correctional and educational work with the blind and visually impaired //. - Len.: 1991.

.Petrovsky A.V., Yaroshevsky M.G. General psychology. - M.: Education, 1973.

.Rubinshtein S.L. Fundamentals of general psychology. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2000.

.Sitarov V.A. Didactics. - M.: Academy, 2002

.Sorokin V.M. Issues of training and education of the blind. // Psychological and pedagogical foundations of correctional and educational work with the blind and visually impaired //. - Len.: 1991.

.Sorokin V.M. Some features of reconstructive imagination in general and special psychology. // Psychological and pedagogical foundations of correctional and educational work with the blind and visually impaired //. - Len.: 1991.

.Sorokin V.M. Passive imagination of the blind and visually impaired. // Psychological and pedagogical foundations of correctional and educational work with the blind and visually impaired //. - Len.: 1991.

1.1 Imagination as a cognitive mental process. Types and properties of imagination

Imagination is the main visual-figurative thinking, which allows a person to navigate a situation and solve problems without the direct intervention of practical actions. It helps him in many ways in those cases of life when practical actions are either impossible, or difficult, or simply impractical or undesirable.

Imagination is a mental cognitive process of creating new ideas based on existing experience, i.e. the process of transformative reflection of reality (V. G. Krysko).

The physiological basis of imagination is the complex analytical and synthetic activity of the brain: the actualization of nervous connections, their disintegration, regrouping and unification into new systems. In this way, images arise that do not coincide with previous experience, but are not divorced from it. Presumably its physiological mechanisms are located not only in the cortex, but also in deeper parts of the brain. In particular, the hypothalamo-limbic system plays a big role here.

The physiological foundations of imagination constitute residual forms of processes:

· Excitation and inhibition;

· Irradiation and concentration;

· Positive and negative induction;

· Analysis and synthesis in the cortical sections of various analyzers.

As a result of this complex nervous activity, new, unrealistic images of the imagination arise, which arise both consciously and unconsciously.

There are several types of imagination, among which the main ones are passive and active. Passive, in turn, is divided into voluntary (daydreaming, daydreaming) and involuntary (hypnotic state, dream fantasy). Active imagination includes artistic, creative, critical, recreating and anticipating... Close to these types of imagination is empathy - the ability to understand another person, to be imbued with his thoughts and feelings, to sympathize, to rejoice, to empathize...

Under conditions of deprivation, different types of imagination intensify, so, apparently, it is necessary to give their characteristics.

Active imagination is always aimed at solving a creative or personal problem. A person operates with fragments, units of specific information in a certain area, their movement in various combinations relative to each other. Stimulation of this process creates objective opportunities for the emergence of original new connections between the conditions recorded in the memory of a person and society. In an active imagination there is little daydreaming and “groundless” fantasy. Active imagination is directed to the future and operates with time as a well-defined category (that is, a person does not lose his sense of reality, does not place himself outside of temporary connections and circumstances). Active imagination is directed more outward, a person is mainly occupied with the environment, society, activities and less with internal subjective problems. Active imagination, finally, is awakened by a task and directed by it; it is determined by volitional efforts and is amenable to volitional control.

Recreating imagination is one of the types of active imagination, in which new images and ideas are constructed in people in accordance with externally perceived stimulation in the form of verbal messages, diagrams, conventional images, signs, etc.

Despite the fact that the products of reconstructive imagination are completely new images that have not previously been perceived by a person, this type of imagination is based on previous experience. K.D. Ushinsky considered imagination as a new combination of past impressions and past experience, believing that the recreating imagination is a product of the influence of the material world on the human brain. Basically, reconstruction/imagination is a process in which recombination occurs, the reconstruction of previous perceptions in a new combination.

Anticipatory imagination underlies a very important and necessary human ability - to anticipate future events, foresee the results of one’s actions, etc. Etymologically, the word “anticipate” is closely related and comes from the same root with the word “see,” which shows the importance of understanding the situation and transferring certain elements of it into the future based on knowledge or predicting the logic of the development of events.

Thus, thanks to this ability, a person can “with his mind's eye” see what will happen to him, to other people or to surrounding things in the future. F. Lersch called this the Promethean (looking forward) function of the imagination, which depends on the magnitude of the life perspective: the younger the person, the more and more clearly the forward orientation of his imagination is represented. In older and older people, the imagination is more focused on events of the past.

Creative imagination is a type of imagination in which a person independently creates new images and ideas that are valuable to other people or society as a whole and which are embodied (“crystallized”) into specific original products of activity. Creative imagination is a necessary component and basis of all types of human creative activity.

Images of creative imagination are created through various techniques of intellectual operations. In the structure of creative imagination, two types of such intellectual operations are distinguished. The first is the operations through which ideal images are formed, and the second is the operations on the basis of which the finished product is processed.

One of the first psychologists to study these processes, T. Ribot, identified two main operations: dissociation and association. Dissociation is a negative and preparatory operation during which sensory experience is fragmented. As a result of such preliminary processing of experience, its elements are able to enter into a new combination.

Without prior dissociation, creative imagination is unthinkable. Dissociation is the first stage of creative imagination, the stage of preparing material. The impossibility of dissociation is a significant obstacle to creative imagination.

Association is the creation of a holistic image from elements of isolated units of images. The association gives rise to new combinations, new images. In addition, there are other intellectual operations, for example, the ability to think by analogy with partial and purely accidental similarities.

Passive imagination is subject to internal, subjective factors; it is tendentious.

Passive imagination is subordinated to desires, which are thought to be realized in the process of fantasy. In the images of passive imagination, the unsatisfied, mostly unconscious needs of the individual are “satisfied”. The images and ideas of passive imagination are aimed at strengthening and preserving positively colored emotions and at repressing and reducing negative emotions and affects.

During the processes of passive imagination, an unreal, imaginary satisfaction of any need or desire occurs. In this way, passive imagination differs from realistic thinking, which is aimed at real, and not imaginary, satisfaction of needs.

The materials of passive imagination, like active imagination, are images, ideas, elements of concepts and other information gleaned through experience.

Thus, we can highlight that imagination is associated with our ability and need to create something new." And further: "Imagination is a departure from past experience, its transformation. Imagination is a transformation of the given, carried out in figurative form." The main feature of the imagination process, writes E. I. Ignatiev, in one or another specific practical activity is the transformation and processing of perceptual data and other material of past experience, resulting in new impressions".

Many researchers note that imagination is the process of creating new images visually. This tendency relegates imagination to forms of sensory material. The nature of imagination is synthesis, the unity of the logical and the sensual.

Imagination is an analytical-synthetic activity that is carried out under the guiding influence of a consciously set goal or feelings, experiences that possess a person at the moment. Most often, imagination arises in a problematic situation, i.e. in cases where it is necessary to find a new solution, i.e. an anticipatory practical action of reflection is required, which occurs in a concrete figurative form, as a result of operating with images.

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Introduction

1. What is imagination

2. Functions of imagination

Conclusion

Bibliography.

Introduction

Imagination is a special form of the human psyche, standing apart from other mental processes and at the same time occupying an intermediate position between perception, thinking and memory.

The specificity of this form of mental process lies in the fact that imagination is probably characteristic only of humans and is strangely connected with the activities of the body, being at the same time the most “mental” of all mental processes and states. The latter means that the ideal and mysterious character of the psyche is not manifested in anything other than the imagination. It can be assumed that it was imagination, the desire to understand and explain it, that attracted attention to psychic phenomena in ancient times, supported and continues to stimulate it in our days.

However, the phenomenon of imagination remains mysterious today. Humanity still knows almost nothing about the mechanism of imagination, including its anatomical and physiological basis. The questions of where imagination is localized in the human brain, and with the work of which neural structures known to us it is connected, have not yet been answered today. At least, we can say much less about this than, for example, about sensations, perception, attention and memory, which have been studied to a sufficient extent.

1. What is imagination

Imagination plays a huge role in human life. Thanks to imagination, a person creates, intelligently plans and manages his activities. Almost all human material and spiritual culture is a product of people's imagination and creativity. Imagination also plays a huge role in the development and improvement of man as a species. It takes a person beyond the limits of his momentary existence, reminds him of the past, and opens up the future.

If we turn to V. Dahl's explanatory dictionary: “Imagination is 1-mental representation, the ability to reproduce someone, something in the mind, in fantasy. 2-conjecture, the fruit of fantasy.

Imagination is the ability to imagine an absent or truly non-existent object, holding it in consciousness and mentally manipulating it.

Possessing a rich imagination, a person can “live” in different times, which no other creature in the world can afford. The past is recorded in memory images, arbitrarily resurrected by an effort of will, the future is presented in dreams and fantasies.

Imagination is a person’s change and transformation of his ideas based on:

isolating from the holistic image of an object any of its elements or properties. This is, for example, the representation of one form of stone tool as suitable for cutting, another as piercing; the idea of ​​the size of the stick as a means of lengthening the arm;

changes in the magnitude, size of objects towards exaggeration (hyperbole) or understatement in comparison with the real ones and in this way creating all kinds of fantastic images (giants, gnomes, etc.);

combining in one’s imagination their parts or elements isolated from different objects and thus creating a mental image, the representation of a new object that did not previously exist in nature (the sphinx among the ancient Egyptians, the bull-man among the Assyrians, the centaur among the ancient Greeks);

designing an object in connection with its purpose, for example a spear; mentally endowing this weapon with the properties of hitting a target from afar (throwing) or close (strike, powerful thrust) and, in connection with this, giving a special shape to each of these weapons (light dart and heavy spear);

mental strengthening of any property or quality, giving this property disproportionately greater or special significance in the characteristics of an object (cunning in a fox, cowardice in a hare);

transfer to other objects (the leader of the tribe is as cunning as a fox; enemies are cowardly as hares);

mental weakening of any property or quality of an object, leading to a stronger degree to the construction of a contrasting image, endowed with properties directly opposite to the original one (many characters of folk epics, fairy tales);

creating a new image as a result of the generalization of features observed in a number of similar objects (typification of the image in fiction; for example, the literary heroes Onegin, Pechorin, Oblomov, Samgin, Korchagin and others are endowed with features typical of that era, the class of which they are exponents ).

Imagination is the main visual-figurative thinking, which allows a person to navigate a situation and solve problems without the direct intervention of practical actions. It helps him in many ways in those cases of life when practical actions are either impossible, or difficult, or simply impractical or undesirable.

Imagination differs from perception, which is the process of a person receiving and processing various information entering the brain through the senses, and which ends in the formation of an image, in that its images do not always correspond to reality; they contain elements of fantasy and fiction. If the imagination draws to consciousness such pictures that nothing or little corresponds in reality, then it is called fantasy. If, in addition, the imagination is aimed at the future, it is called a dream.

Imagination can be of four main types:

Active imagination is characterized by the fact that, using it, a person, of his own free will, by an effort of will, evokes in himself the appropriate images.

Passive imagination lies in the fact that its images arise spontaneously, regardless of the will and desire of a person.

Productive imagination is distinguished by the fact that in it reality is consciously constructed by a person, and not simply mechanically copied or recreated. At the same time, this reality is creatively transformed in the image.

Reproductive imagination - when used, the task is to reproduce reality as it is, and although there is also an element of fantasy here, such imagination is more reminiscent of perception or memory than creativity.

The process of imagination in the practical activities of people is primarily associated with the process of artistic creativity. Thus, the direction in art called naturalism, as well as partly realism, can be correlated with the reproductive imagination. Based on paintings by I.I. Shishkin, for example, botanists can study the flora of the Russian forest, since all the plants on his canvases are depicted with “documentary” accuracy. The works of democratic artists of the second half of the 19th century I. Kramskoy, I. Repin, V. Petrov, with all their social emphasis, are also a search for a form that is as close as possible to copying reality.

In art, the source of any direction can only be life, which also acts as the primary basis for fantasy. However, no imagination is capable of inventing something that a person would not know. In this regard, it is reality that becomes the basis of the creativity of a number of art masters, whose flight of creative imagination is no longer satisfied by realistic, and even more so naturalistic means of imagination. But this reality is passed through the productive imagination of creators; they construct it in a new way, using light, color, filling their works with air vibration (impressionism), resorting to dotted images of objects (pointillism in painting and music), decomposing the objective world into geometric figures ( cubism), etc.

Therefore, we encounter productive imagination in art in cases where the artist is not satisfied with recreating reality using a realistic method. His world is a phantasmagoria, an irrational imagery, behind which there are quite obvious realities. For example, the fruit of such imagination is M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”, the fiction of the Strugatsky brothers, etc. Appeal to such unusual and bizarre images makes it possible to enhance the intellectual, emotional and moral impact of art on a person.

Most often, the creative process in art is associated with active imagination: before capturing any image on paper, canvas or sheet music, the artist creates it in his imagination, making conscious volitional efforts. Often the active imagination so captivates the creator that he loses touch with his time, his “I”, getting used to the image he creates. Much evidence of this is given in the literature.

Less often, passive imagination becomes the impulse of the creative process, since spontaneous images independent of the will of the artist are most often the product of the subconscious work of his brain, hidden from him. And, nevertheless, observations of the creative process described in the literature make it possible to give examples of the role of passive imagination in artistic creativity. Thus, Franz Kafka gave an exceptional role to dreams in his work, capturing them in his fantastically gloomy works.

In addition, the creative process, as a rule, begins with a volitional effort, i.e. from the act of imagination, gradually captures the author so much that the imagination becomes spontaneous, and it is no longer he who creates the images, but the images own and control the artist, and he submits to their logic.

The work of human imagination is not limited to literature and art. It manifests itself to no lesser extent in scientific, technical, and other types of creativity. In all these cases, fantasy as a type of imagination plays a positive role.

But there are other types of imagination - dreams, hallucinations, reveries and daydreams. Dreams can be classified as passive and involuntary forms of imagination. Their true role in human life has not yet been established, although it is known that in a person’s dreams many vital needs are expressed and satisfied, which, for a number of reasons, cannot be realized in real life.

Hallucinations are fantastic visions that apparently have almost no connection with the reality around a person. Typically, hallucinations are the result of certain mental or bodily disorders and accompany many painful conditions.

Dreams, unlike hallucinations, are a completely normal mental state, which is a fantasy associated with a desire, most often a somewhat idealized future.

A dream differs from a dream in that it is somewhat more realistic and more closely related to reality, that is, in principle, feasible. Dreams and daydreams occupy a fairly large part of a person's time, especially in youth. For most people, dreams are pleasant thoughts about the future. Some also experience disturbing visions that give rise to feelings of anxiety, guilt, and aggressiveness.

2. Functions of imagination

phenomenon imagination physiological

The human mind cannot remain in an inactive state, which is why people dream so much. The human brain continues to function even when new information does not enter it, when it does not solve any problems. It is at this time that the imagination begins to work. It has been established that a person, at will, is not able to stop the flow of thoughts, stop the imagination.

In the process of human life, the imagination performs a number of specific functions (Fig. 2), the first of which is to represent reality in images and be able to use them when solving problems. This function of imagination is connected with thinking and is organically included in it.

The second function of imagination is to regulate emotional states. With the help of his imagination, a person is able to at least partially satisfy many needs and relieve the tension generated by them. This vital function is especially emphasized and developed in such a direction of psychology as psychoanalysis.

The third function of imagination is associated with its participation in the voluntary regulation of cognitive processes and human states. With the help of skillfully created images, a person can pay attention to the necessary events; through images, he gains the opportunity to control perceptions, memories, and statements.

The fourth function of imagination is to form an internal plan of action, i.e. the ability to perform them in the mind, manipulating images.

The fifth function of imagination is planning and programming activities, drawing up such programs, assessing their correctness, and the implementation process.

With the help of imagination, a person can control many psychophysiological states of the body and tune it to upcoming activities. There are known facts indicating that with the help of imagination, purely by will, a person can influence organic processes: change the rhythm of breathing, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, etc. These facts underlie auto-training, which is widely used for self-regulation.

With the help of special exercises and techniques, you can develop your imagination. In creative types of work - science, literature, art, engineering, etc., the development of imagination naturally occurs in these types of activities. In autogenic training, the desired result is achieved through a special system of exercises that are aimed at learning through willpower to relax individual muscle groups, for example, muscles of the arms, legs, head, torso, and arbitrarily increase or decrease pressure and body temperature, using imagination exercises for this purpose. heat, cold.

Conclusion

To summarize this test, it should be emphasized that imagination is the main driving force of a person’s creative process and plays a huge role in his entire life. This happens because all life activities are, to one degree or another, connected with creativity, from cooking at home to creating literary works or inventing. Without a creative approach, it is difficult to solve any problem, and therefore creative abilities must be developed in a person from early childhood.

The main role in terms of developing the child’s creative abilities belongs, first of all, to his parents, who should not waste time and work with the child constantly.

Educational institutions also play a vital role in developing human imagination and creativity. The level of development of a particular child and, ultimately, the entire human potential of the state depends on how professionally teachers and teachers treat their work, how correctly and interestingly the educational program is developed for the child.

Bibliography

1. Bruner D.S. Psychology of cognition. Beyond immediate information. - M., 1977

2. Imagination and its role in cognition. - M., 1979

3. Korshunova L.S., Pruzhinin B.I. Imagination and rationality. Experience in methodological analysis of the cognitive function of imagination. - M., 1989

4. Nemov R.S. Psychology. Textbook for higher education students ped. textbook establishments. General fundamentals of psychology. - M.: Education: VLADOS, 1995

5. Fundamentals of psychology: Pidruchnik / Zagal. Ed. O.V. Kirichuk, V.A. Romentsya. - K.: Libed, 1995

6. Romanets V.A. Psychology of creativity. - K., 1971

7. Rubinshtein S.L. Fundamentals of General Psychology: Volume 1, 1989

8. Vachkov I.V. Introduction to the specialty "psychologist" - Moscow-Voronezh 2004

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Imagination as a form of mental reflection, the creation of images based on previously formed ideas. The essence, types and role of imagination in scientific, technical and artistic creativity. Development of imagination in the process of creative activity.

Imagination as a mental process

Imagination is a special form of the human psyche, standing apart from other mental processes and at the same time occupying an intermediate position between perception, thinking and memory.

Imagination is a mental process consisting of the creation of new images (ideas) by processing the material of perception and ideas obtained in previous experience.

One of the specific characteristics of a person, which sharply distinguishes him from an animal, is the ability to act in accordance with an imaginary situation, which is often completely different from the situation perceived at the moment. This feature allows a person, in contrast to an animal, to consciously overcome “situational limitations”, “constrained by a given situation”, to overcome the influence that determines his behavior only “here” and “now” of a given situation.

Imagination is a mental cognitive process of creating images of objects that were previously partially or completely not perceived by the subject. This is a specific transformation of a person’s past experience.

Along with the term “imagination”, the term “fantasy” is widely used in our speech. In everyday understanding, they are most often not identical. The word “imagination” is usually associated with the idea of ​​something real and feasible, while the word “fantasy” has the meaning of something unrealistic and unrealistic. Some scientists also differentiate these concepts, using the term “fantasy” to designate one of the types of imagination - creative. They use the concept of fantasy only to describe artistic and creative activity. Usually in the psychological literature the concepts of “imagination” and “fantasy” are considered equivalent.

Imagination is the most important element of the process of cognition and human activity. Imagination contributes to the anticipation of the future in the form of images, the content of which is a possible and/or necessary future. At the same time, it participates in the revival and reconstruction of images of what has already happened. This process was named by L.N. Tolstoy as “imagination of the past.” If we look at the history of mankind, we can find a preferred type of imagination in each era. For example, fantastic monsters, mythological creatures - all this is a product of the imagination of people of that era when man could not otherwise explain the laws of the existence of the world.

Closely related to the needs and interests of the individual, the imagination creates images of the desired future in the form of dreams and other ideal ideas with their specific intellectual and moral orientation.

Imagination is characterized by a three-phase character: images of the imagination arise on the basis of perception, memory representations, on the basis of knowledge and previous life experience; then, in the process of transforming images, a “flying away” from the source material occurs; in the last phase, the creation of new images leads to a deepening of knowledge of reality and prediction of subsequent actions.

The connection between imagination and practical activity

Imagination is connected with a person’s practical activity in two ways: on the one hand, a person’s practical attitude to the world is the supplier of the “building material” that forms the basis of imagination; on the other hand, the source of fantasy is rooted in those needs and desires that precede their real satisfaction. The interaction of the subject with objective reality determines the emergence of imagination in the process of searching for something new, unknown to him.

Functions of the imagination

Imagination, in one form or another, “permeates” all human activity. It accompanies us when we read a book, listen to music, work in a workshop, talk with a neighbor or sleep peacefully. Scientists say that it is to the imagination that we owe everything that constitutes scientific and technological progress. That is why the functions of the imagination are so numerous.

The cognitive function is that imagination contributes to the expansion and deepening of knowledge. As varieties of cognitive function, we can name, on the one hand, a generalization function, manifested in the generation of diverse elements, situations, opportunities, and, on the other, a synthetic function, which consists in the creation of a holistic new formation (a new combination of images through their partial transformation). Many discoveries and inventions occur through the creation of new images, therefore imagination is an indispensable psychological factor in search creative activity.

Anticipation function (anticipating) - images of the imagination are the basis of a mental state aimed at what can or should happen, as well as preliminary settings in perception and action. Thanks to the images of the imagination, the process of anticipating the result of the situation under discussion, the subsequent course of action, deed is facilitated, and in speech terms, the mental construction of a phrase is facilitated.

The regulatory function assumes that images of the imagination acquire motivating meaning and promote human activity in a certain direction. Images of the imagination, being associated with needs, interests and other components of personality orientation, become one of the psychological factors of creative inspiration.

The control and corrective function of imagination is that they allow you to correct errors and shortcomings, as well as improve the methods and techniques of the work performed.

The function of emotional influence can also be carried out by images of the imagination. Vivid images of the imagination, distinguished by sensual vividness, influence the emotional background of the activity, stimulate an increase or decrease in mood in its process. They can both promote passion for work and hinder the work or educational process.

Connecting imagination with reality

There is no one-to-one correspondence between the images of the imagination and the phenomena of reality reflected in them, since the imagination is not a copy of the present. Imagination is a model of the expected, based on the experience of the subject, which comes from knowledge of the past and present state of the system being reconstructed. However, any fantasy images are determined. No, and there cannot be a meaningless fantasy in which the objective world would not be reflected in one way or another: natural or social. However, the degree of adequacy of the reflection of reality in fantasy may vary. On this basis, an attempt was even made to classify fantasy (imagination) into the following types: 1) rational fantasy, reflecting the essential aspects of an object, 2) illusion, in which appearance is taken for essence, and 3) mystification, in which objective reality is deliberately distorted.

Theoretical concepts of imagination

The creation of an adequate theory of imagination largely depends on the choice of basic facts and on the rational organization of experimental research. Representatives of different psychological schools made an attempt to answer the question about the reason for the emergence of something new, about the creation of images of the imagination.

The hypothesis of recognition of creative ideas was based on the fact that an artist, composer or scientist “recognizes” his future work.

Some concepts were based on the intuition of scientists, others on experimental results. Finally, two main theoretical approaches to the problem of imagination have been developed:

· Extremely idealistic view. Imagination is an inherently spontaneous creative force.

· Extremely mechanistic view. He was characterized by the desire to derive all the features of his products from images of perception, from data stored in memory.

A special place in revealing the nature of imagination belongs to psychoanalysis, which began precisely with the study of one of the forms of fantasy - dreams. Sigmund Freud conducted detailed analyzes of the dreams of his patients. He showed that all the elements of a dream, considered by patients to be incoherent, meaningless and absurd, are in close connection with the entire inner life of a person and have a deep psychological meaning. A dream has real sources of two types: external reality and internal psychological life. Fantasy, according to Freud, manifests itself not only in dream images, but also in works of art. It is subject to certain laws that govern the entire unconscious sphere: when forming images of the imagination, shifting and condensation mechanisms work, symbols are used that replace faces, body organs, etc. These mechanisms, according to Freud, manifest themselves in all forms of fantasy - in abnormal desires, in delusional ideas of a psychopath, in dreams, etc.

Freud's student Carl Jung introduces into science the concept of “archetype,” which he interprets as the basis of the collective unconscious, which determines the life and creative activity of an individual (population). Archetypes are inherited by a person. They represent “technical forms of comprehension” of reality, therefore the symbols and images of human fantasy are determined by these archetypes. Jung argued that something new in human creativity is based on what is already known to mankind, i.e. on the archetype. He assigned a purely reproductive role to fantasy and believed that it was not characterized by the creation of something new.

A serious attempt to introduce the problematic of fantasy into a broader psychological context was made by Gestalt psychology. She put forward the idea of ​​the integrity of a self-regulating system, which led its authors to the question of the possibility of the emergence of erroneous decisions, options that are not related to the knowledge acquired and already developed skills. They associated this idea with the imagination and its characteristics.

Imagination in the structure of mental processes

Imagination, based on images of perception, is at the same time its objective support, especially in the case when an object or its image with unclear outlines is perceived. Deepening the perception of an object with the help of imagination, in turn, depends on the clarity of the posed cognitive task.

There are also various internal relationships and complex relationships between the images of memory and imagination. Memory images are one of the essential foundations of imagination. The richer the content of memory and the more actively a person can operate with its images, the more likely this represents a favorable psychological prerequisite for the development of imagination. Images of imagination and emotional memory are closely related. Remembering the experience activates the images of the reconstructive imagination; the abundance and dynamism of these images, in turn, increase a person’s emotionality.

Attention is a condition for regulating the activity of the imagination and increasing its cognitive level.

The connection between imagination and thinking has its own characteristics. They have many similarities, but it would be wrong to identify these mental processes.

The first difference concerns the tasks that these processes solve. The main task of the imagination is to transform past impressions into new ones. The task of thinking is to know the truth. Thinking uses mental operations to solve its problems. Imagination has its own set of “techniques” for creating imaginary images, such as hyperbolization, schematization, etc. Imagination has limitations associated with the volume of images with which we operate. From this point of view, the possibilities of thinking (especially verbal-logical) are limitless.

However, these two processes in reality are inextricably unified. Their relationship is manifested in the fact that in the most unrestrained fantasy there will inevitably be elements of mental activity, just as in the most rigorous reasoning elements of fantasy are inevitable.

Some psychologists believe that if thinking is “deprived” of imagination, it will be creatively sterile.

Quite often, a certain mental structure of a person is planned in advance by him as a result of the synthetic activity of thinking and imagination. These include hypotheses. In order to obtain the truth from hypotheses, one must get rid of everything fantastic, but one must not forget that the beginning of creating a hypothesis, like all scientific research, is the scientist’s imagination. Therefore, we can say that imagination, in a certain sense, is the beginning of mental activity.

Considering the process of creating imaginary images, researchers talk about two mechanisms underlying it. One was defined as the “mechanism of depreciation,” sometimes it is also called “axiomatization.” In the process of creative imagination, a person eliminates side details and throws away ballast. Spearman spoke about the need for the “disappearance” of some part of knowledge as an important condition for creativity, noting that by removing inappropriate features one can only increase the expressiveness of a work of art.

Description of work

Imagination is a special form of the human psyche, standing apart from other mental processes and at the same time occupying an intermediate position between perception, thinking and memory.
Imagination is a mental process consisting of the creation of new images (ideas) by processing the material of perception and ideas obtained in previous experience.