The relationship of the body with the environment is carried out on the basis of signals entering the nervous system as a result of the direct influence of objects and phenomena of the external world on the receptors. I.P. Pavlov called this type of signaling the first signaling system. In the animal world, the first signaling system is the body's only channel of information about the state of the environment. Various objects of the external world, their physical and chemical properties (sound, color, shape, chemical composition, etc.) acquire the meaning of conditioned signals, notifying the body of the phenomena that follow them, thereby causing adaptive reactions. For example, a dormant herbivore flees at the sound of footsteps or the smell of a predator, as these stimuli signal danger.

The first signaling system of higher animals provides a fairly perfect reflection of the external world and, in connection with this, rapid and precise adaptation to the environment. I.P. Pavlov considered the first signaling system as a system of perception, impressions from all influences of the external and internal world, signaling biologically useful or harmful stimuli for the body. He wrote: “For an animal, reality is signaled almost exclusively only by irritations and their traces in the cerebral hemispheres, directly arriving by special cells of visual, auditory and other receptors of the body. This is what we have in ourselves as impressions, sensations and ideas from the surrounding external environment, both natural and our social, excluding the word, audible and visible. This is the first signaling system of reality that we have in common with animals.”

The signals of the first signaling system are specific and relate to a specific subject.

The formation of conditioned reflexes through the first signaling system constitutes in higher animals the physiological basis of their elementary concrete, or objective, thinking. The first signaling system is the same in humans and animals. In normal human life, it functions in isolation only in the first six months of life.

When a person is raised, he develops second alarm system, characteristic only of humans. This transfers the higher nervous activity of a person to a higher level. It acquires new qualities that contribute to the expansion of opportunities for communication with the outside world and the versatility of its manifestations. I. P. Pavlov called the second signaling system an “extraordinary addition” to the mechanisms of higher nervous activity in humans. The second signaling system is speech, the word, visible, audible, spoken mentally. This is the highest alarm system for the surrounding world. It consists of verbal designation of all its signals and verbal communication. The second signaling system developed in humans under the influence of the social environment during the labor process. A large role in this was played by kinesthetic irritations of the brain arising as a result of labor processes. The word for a person serves as the same physiological irritant as objects and phenomena of the surrounding world.

Verbal signals generalize the stimuli of the first signaling system. The same word “table” signals not only a specific table, but also many other tables, different in size, shape, color, etc. This fact expresses not only a generalization, but also an abstraction from specific objects of reality, i.e. e. the transition of a person from objective thinking to abstract thinking. In order for the word “table” to indicate a specific table, a clarification is necessary - “this table”. Within the second signaling system, stimuli not only from the first, but also from the second signaling system itself are generalized. For example, the word with a narrow meaning “aspen” generalizes specific stimuli of the first signal system, and the word with a broader meaning “tree” generalizes the stimuli of the second signal system.

Thus, the second signaling system is comprehensive, capable of replacing, abstracting and generalizing all the stimuli of the first signaling system. Thanks to the entire previous life of an adult, the word is connected with all external and internal irritations coming into the nervous system, it signals all of them and replaces them all, causing the same actions as them.

Another extremely important significance of the second signaling system is that it dramatically increases the volume of information - through the use of not only individual, but also the collective experience of all humanity. The verbal information a person receives from other persons - oral and especially written - has an extremely wide range (this can be information not only from living persons, but also from many previous generations). Thus, an athlete’s improvement only partially occurs due to his personal experience; through verbal information, he widely uses the experience of his coach and a huge number of other people, set out in teaching aids, textbooks, articles, etc.

The first and second signaling systems are functionally interconnected. Signals from the first signaling system, coming from various parts of the body and the environment, continuously interact with signals from the second signaling system. In this case, conditioned reflexes of the second and higher orders are formed, functionally connecting the signaling systems into a single whole. In addition, the connection between two signal systems, based on the elective (selective) irradiation of excitation, allows conditioned reflexes developed on the basis of the first signal system to be reproduced through the second signal system (A. G. Ivanov-Smolensky).

The second signaling system constitutes the physiological basis of abstract verbal thinking, which is unique to humans. Afferent signals entering the central nervous system from the speech organs, through the auditory and visual analyzers, form complex reflexes in humans that determine sound and written speech.

The localization of the functions of the second signaling system in the cerebral cortex has not yet been fully elucidated. The structures of the right and left hemispheres participate in its implementation. The dominant role in most people (right-handed) belongs to the left hemisphere. Relatively large areas of it perform complex functions related to understanding the meaning of words, coordinating the speech-motor apparatus when pronouncing them, and other processes.

First and second signaling systems

The types of GNI discussed above are common to animals and humans. It is possible to identify special typological features inherent only to humans. According to I.P. Pavlov, they are based on the degree of development of the first and second signaling systems. The first signaling system is visual, auditory and other sensory signals from which images of the external world are built. The perception of direct signals from objects and phenomena of the surrounding world and signals from the internal environment of the body, coming from visual, auditory, tactile and other receptors, constitutes the first signaling system that animals and humans have. Separate elements of a more complex signaling system begin to appear in social species of animals (highly organized mammals and birds), which use sounds (signal codes) to warn of danger, that a given territory is occupied, etc.

But only in the process of work and social life does a person develop a second signaling system - a verbal one, in which the word as a conditioned stimulus, a sign that has no real physical content, but is a symbol of objects and phenomena of the material world, becomes a strong stimulus. This signaling system consists of the perception of words - heard, spoken (aloud or silently) and visible (when reading and writing). The same phenomenon, object in different languages ​​is denoted by words that have different sounds and spellings, and abstract concepts are created from these verbal (verbal) signals. The ability to understand and then pronounce words arises in a child as a result of the association of certain sounds (words) with visual, tactile and other impressions of external objects. A subjective image appears in the brain on the basis of neural mechanisms when decoding information and comparing it with really existing material objects. With the emergence and development of the second signaling system, it becomes possible to implement an abstract form of reflection - the formation of concepts and ideas. Stimuli of the second signaling system reflect the surrounding reality with the help of generalizing, abstract concepts expressed in words. A person can operate not only with images, but also with thoughts associated with them, meaningful images containing semantic (semantic) information. With the help of a word, a transition is made from the sensory image of the first signaling system to the concept, representation of the second signaling system. The ability to operate with abstract concepts expressed in words serves as the basis for mental activity.

Language- is a means of expressing thoughts and a form of existence of thoughts. Language consolidates the results of thinking in sentences and makes it possible to exchange thoughts. Speech makes it possible to create scientific concepts and formulate laws.

Speech can participate in the regulation of the activities of various organs with the help of words. Verbal stimuli are physiologically active factors; they change the function of internal organs, the intensity of metabolic processes, and affect the muscular and sensory systems. A kind word spoken at the right time can increase productivity and promote a good mood. A carelessly spoken word in the presence of a patient can significantly worsen his condition.

Physiological basis of speech. The activity of the second signaling system is ensured by the function of the motor, auditory and visual analyzers and the frontal parts of the brain. The regulation of speech is associated with the triggering and regulatory role of the cortex, which receives afferent impulses from the receptors of the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the vocal apparatus and respiratory muscles. The cortical nucleus of the speech motor analyzer is located in the area of ​​the second and third frontal gyri - Broca's speech motor center. Speech perception occurs with the help of speech-motor and speech-auditory analyzers (Wernicke's center).

To decode speech perceived in acoustic form, the most important condition is the retention of all its elements in speech memory, and in optical form, the participation of complex search eye movements. Speech decoding processes are carried out by the temporo-parietal-occipital regions of the left hemisphere (in right-handed people). When these parts of the cortex are damaged, the understanding of logical-grammatical structures and counting operations is impaired.

The second signaling system allows for ambiguous relationships between a phenomenon, an object and its designation (word), which allowed a person to act intelligently in conditions of a probabilistic event environment (information uncertainty). This greatly contributed to the development of intuitive thinking abilities. A fundamentally new form of mental activity has emerged - the construction of inferences based on the use of multivalued (probabilistic) logic. The constant use of language has led to the fact that the human brain, as a rule, operates with imprecise concepts and qualitative assessments more easily than with quantitative categories and numbers.

Taking into account the relationship between the first and second signaling systems in a particular individual, I.P. Pavlov identified specific human types of GNI depending on the predominance of the first or second signaling system in the perception of reality.

People with a predominance of the functions of cortical projections responsible for primary signal stimuli, I.P. Pavlov classified it as an artistic type (representatives of this type have a predominant imaginative type of thinking). These are people who are characterized by vivid visual and auditory perceptions of events in the surrounding world (artists and musicians). If the second signaling system turns out to be stronger, then such people are classified as the thinking type. Representatives of this type are dominated by the logical type of thinking, the ability to construct abstract concepts (scientists, philosophers). In cases where the first and second signaling systems create nervous processes of equal strength, then such people belong to the average (mixed type), which is the majority of people. But there is another extremely rare typological variant, which includes very rare people who have particularly strong development of both the first and second signaling systems. These people are capable of both artistic and scientific creativity; I.P. Pavlov included Leonardo da Vinci among such brilliant personalities.

Lit.: Pavlov I. P., Complete. collection op., 2nd ed., vol. 3, book. 2, M.-L., 1951; Orbeli L. A., Izbr. works, vol. 3, M.-L., 1964.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

See what “First Signal System” is in other dictionaries:

first signaling system- see signaling systems. Brief psychological dictionary. Rostov-on-Don: “PHOENIX”. L.A. Karpenko, A.V. Petrovsky, M. G. Yaroshevsky. 1998 ... Great psychological encyclopedia

A system of reflecting reality in the form of sensations and perceptions, common to animals and humans; forms the basis of higher nervous activity and comes down to a set of diverse (even very complex) conditioned and unconditioned reflexes on... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

A system of conditioned reflex connections formed in the cerebral cortex of animals and humans when exposed to specific stimuli (light, sound, pain, etc.). A form of direct reflection of reality in the form of sensations and... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

The concept introduced by I.P. Pavlov to designate the system of orientation of animals to direct stimuli, which can be visual, auditory, tactile signals associated with adaptive conditioned reflex... ... Psychological Dictionary

A system of conditioned reflex connections formed in the cerebral cortex of animals and humans when exposed to specific stimuli (light, sound, pain, etc.). A form of direct reflection of reality in the form of sensations... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

First signaling system- I.P. Pavlov’s term means sensory cognition, a system of analyzers, sensory organs. * * * system of conditioned reflex connections formed in the cerebral cortex of animals and humans when exposed to sensory organ receptors... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy Natural science. encyclopedic Dictionary

See Signaling Systems. Philosophical Encyclopedia. In 5 vols. M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Edited by F.V. Konstantinov. 1960 1970 … Philosophical Encyclopedia

First signaling system

Note 1

For the first time, the concept of signaling systems was introduced by I.P. Pavlov to distinguish between the GNI of humans and animals.

The first signaling system is inherent in humans and animals. The first signaling system is characterized by its manifestation in reflexes that are formed on stimulation of the external and internal environment, in addition to the semantic word.

Signals of the first signaling system:

• Smell;
• Form;
• Taste;
• Color;
• Temperature, etc.

The receipt of such signals, from the receptors, nerve impulses of animals and humans enter the brain and can be analyzed and synthesized

Characteristic features of the first signaling system:

1. Signal certainty (any phenomena of the surrounding reality of a person or animal);
2. Reinforcement with an unconditioned stimulus (for example, defensive, food or sexual stimuli);
3. The biological nature of the target adaptation (a person or animal constantly strives for the best: food, housing, reproduction, defense).

Second signaling system

In the process of social development, the human body acquired a second signaling system, which began to ensure the formation of a general idea of ​​the surrounding reality with the help of words and speech. The second signaling system is interconnected with human consciousness and abstract thinking.

Signals of the second signaling system:

• Words of oral speech;
• Written words;
• Signs;
• Drawings;
• Formulas;
• Facial expressions;
• Gestures;
• Symbols.

The signal meaning of a word for a person lies in its semantic content.

The second signaling system is capable of replacing the stimuli of the first signaling system. Because the signals of the 1st system constantly and continuously interact with the signals of the 2nd system. Thus, a conditioned reflex of the second and subsequent higher orders arises.

Thanks to the second signaling system, a person is capable of abstract verbal thinking.

For the functioning of the second signaling system, both hemispheres of the brain are involved.

Note 2

With the 2nd signaling system, in nervous activity, the distraction and generalization of signals that directly enter the brain arose. As a result, the adaptive function of a person to the external environment is determined. Thus, the second signaling system regulates various forms of human behavior.

Characteristic features of the second signaling system:

1. Generalization of concepts and abstraction from general properties;
2. Simultaneity in the restructuring and formation of temporary nerve connections;
3. Display of temporary connections;
4. Abstraction and abstraction concepts;
5. Fatigue and the influence of reflexes.

Interaction between the first and second signaling systems

The interaction between systems consists in the manifestation of selective irradiation of nervous processes between them. This interaction is characterized by the presence of connections between the sensory zones of the cerebral cortex, which perceive stimuli and neural structures. There is also, between signal systems, braking irradiation.

Stages of interaction of signaling systems in the process of ontogenesis:

1. Implementation of conditioned reflexes at the level of the first signal system;
2. Reaction to verbal stimuli with vegetative and somatic reactions;
3. Verbal reaction, the implementation of the second signaling system (begins with the pronunciation of individual words associated with a separate subject. Then the words denote actions and experiences. A little later, words are differentiated into categories. Ultimately, with each year of the child’s life, his vocabulary increases);
4. The appearance of conditioned reflexes;
5. Development of motor and speech stereotypes.

FEATURES OF HUMAN HIGHER NERVOUS ACTIVITY.

There are first and second signaling systems.

First signaling system available in humans and animals. The activity of this system is manifested in conditioned reflexes that are formed to any stimulation of the external environment (light, sound, mechanical stimulation, etc.), with the exception of words. In a person living in certain social conditions, the first signaling system has a social connotation.

Conditioned reflexes of the first signaling system are formed as a result of the activity of cells in the cerebral cortex, except for the frontal region and the region of the cerebral speech motor analyzer. The first signaling system in animals and humans provides objective, concrete thinking.

The second signaling system arose and developed as a result of human labor activity and the emergence of speech. Work and speech contributed to the development of hands, brain and sense organs.

Operation of the second signaling system manifests itself in speech conditioned reflexes. We may not see an object at the moment, but its verbal designation is enough for us to clearly imagine it. The second signaling system provides abstract thinking in the form of concepts, judgments, and conclusions.

Speech reflexes of the second signaling system are formed due to the activity of neurons in the frontal regions and the region of the speech motor analyzer. The peripheral section of this analyzer is represented by receptors that are located in the word-pronouncing organs (receptors of the larynx, soft palate, tongue, etc.). From the receptors, impulses travel along the corresponding afferent pathways to the cerebral part of the speech motor analyzer, which is a complex structure that includes several zones of the cerebral cortex. The function of the speech motor analyzer is especially closely related to the activity of the motor, visual and sound analyzers. Speech reflexes, like ordinary conditioned reflexes, obey the same laws. However, the word differs from the stimuli of the first signaling system in that it is comprehensive. A kind word spoken at the right time promotes a good mood and increases productivity, but a word can seriously injure a person. This especially applies to relationships between sick people and health care workers. A carelessly spoken word in the presence of a patient regarding his illness can significantly worsen his condition.

Animals and humans are born only with unconditioned reflexes. In the process of growth and development, the formation of conditioned reflex connections of the first signaling system, the only one in animals, occurs. In the future, on the basis of the first signal system, connections of the second signal system are gradually formed in a person, when the child begins to speak and learn about the surrounding reality.

The second signaling system is the highest regulator of various forms of human behavior in the natural and social environment around him.

However, the second signaling system correctly reflects the external objective world only if its consistent interaction with the first signaling system is constantly maintained.