Imagination as one of the cognitive and mental processes - report. Abstract: Imagination as a mental process Methods of creating images

Imagination is a mental cognitive process of creating new ideas based on existing experience, i.e. a process of transformative reflection of reality. A person may imagine the world around him in a somewhat erroneous and even distorted way. A distorted view of the world often takes on the characteristics of fixed concepts and beliefs that are difficult to correct. But in general, with proper reliance on the data of past experience, imagination is a powerful means for a person to understand the world and reconstruct it.

In general, imagination is a change and transformation by a person of his ideas based on:

- isolating from a holistic image of an object of any of its elements or properties;

- changes 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.);

- connections in one’s imagination, their parts or elements isolated from different objects and in this way creating a mental image, a representation of a new object that did not previously exist in nature;

- design 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;

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

- transfer this property on other objects (the leader of the tribe is as cunning as a fox; enemies are cowardly as hares);

- mental weakening any property or quality of an object, in its strong degree leading 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 generalization of features observed in a number of similar objects (typification of an image in fiction; for example, the literary heroes Onegin, Pechorin, Oblomov, Samgin, Korchagin, etc. are endowed with features typical of that era, the class of which they are exponents).

Physiological basis of imagination constitute residual (trace) processes of 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 combinations of temporary connections formed in past experience, which did not take place in the real process of perception, arise and form the basis of imaginary images.

Imagination is a mental process creating new images, ideas and thoughts based on existing experience, restructuring a person’s ideas.
A person can imagine the world around him in a somewhat erroneous and even distorted way (for example, endowing it with mythical creatures, creating and developing various religious beliefs, etc.). Such a distorted view of the world often takes on the characteristics of fixed concepts and beliefs that are difficult to correct. But in general, with proper reliance on the data of past experience, imagination is a powerful means for a person to understand the world and reconstruct it.
Imagination, as a mental cognitive process, is closely interconnected with all other cognitive processes and occupies a special place in human cognitive activity. Thanks to this process, a person can anticipate the course of events, foresee the results of his actions and actions. It allows you to create behavior programs in situations characterized by uncertainty.
From a physiological point of view, imagination is the process of formation of new systems of temporary connections as a result of complex analytical and synthetic activity of the brain.
In the process of imagination, systems of temporary nerve connections seem to disintegrate and unite into new complexes, groups of nerve cells are connected in a new way.
In general, imagination is a change and transformation by a person of his ideas based on:
1) isolating from the holistic image of an object any of its elements or properties;
2) changes in the size of objects towards exaggeration (hyperbole) or reduction in comparison with the real ones and in this way creating all kinds of fantastic images (giants, gnomes, etc.);
3) combining parts or elements isolated from different objects and thus creating a mental image, representing a new object that did not previously exist in nature (the sphinx among the ancient Egyptians, the man-ox among the Assyrians, etc.);
4) 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);
5) mental strengthening of any property or quality, giving this property disproportionately greater or special significance in the characteristics of the object (the cunning of the fox);
6) transferring this property to other objects (the leader of the tribe is cunning, like a fox, etc.);
7) mental weakening of any property or quality of an object, leading to the construction of a contrasting image, endowed with properties directly opposite to the original one (many fairy tale characters, for example Puss in Boots, Little Thumb);
8) creating a new image as a result of generalization of features observed in a number of similar objects (typification of the image in fiction: Onegin, Pechorin, Oblomov, etc.).
In Fig. 1 types of imagination are considered.
Imagination in different people is characterized by the following characteristics: vividness of images, stability, breadth, novelty, truthfulness, originality, type of representations (visual, auditory, etc.), arbitrariness.


Rice. 1. Types of imagination

Functions of imagination according to R.S. Nemov:
. representation of reality in images and the ability to use them;
. regulation of emotional states;
. voluntary regulation of cognitive processes and human states;
. formation of an internal action plan;
. planning and programming activities;
. management of the psychophysiological state of the body. Imagination plays a particularly important role in scientific and artistic creativity, since without active imagination creativity is generally impossible.
Imagination manifests itself in various forms (Fig. 25).


Rice. 25. Forms of imagination

Imagination helps a scientist build hypotheses, mentally imagine and perform scientific experiments, search for and find non-trivial solutions to problems. Imagination plays an important role in the early stages of solving a scientific problem and often leads to remarkable insights.

The presence of creativity in the imagination allows us to consider fantasy (as imagination can be called) and thinking as a single mental activity. But at the same time, there are differences between them.

Imagination is the mental process of creating new images based on the transformation of past experience. This is of course a reflection of reality, but a person transforms something previously displayed. And, please note, unlike thinking, imagination does not operate with concepts. Only images!

How is imagination related to reality?

Imagination is a property characteristic only of man and arises only with the emergence of labor, cognitive activity. This fact alone suggests that the connection between reality and imagination is direct. The following relationships will be of interest to us:

New images are always composed of elements reflected in reality;

Images are evoked and generated by the real demands of reality;

Based on the images of the imagination, new real objects, processes and phenomena are created;

Images of the imagination evoke very real feelings in a person;

Finally, images of the imagination can become a stimulus that pushes a person to active, transformative activity.

These relationships convince us that imagination is developed not only among those who “have their head in the clouds,” but is also a necessary basis for any creative process, the basis of human activity.

Techniques of imagination.

Techniques of imagination, or techniques of associating an image (creating associations) are divided into three groups:

Combining parts (combining). When given the task of drawing a non-existent animal, a person simply takes part from a bird, part from a tiger, part from a frog, etc., and gets something that does not exist in reality.

Combining and emphasizing common features (typification, emphasis, exaggeration (hyperbolization), understatement).

Rethinking. Such associations may be made based on a contrast, an unexpected combination, a clash of views, theories, or simply a change in perspective.

Types of imagination.

Imagination can be passive or active.

Passive imagination does not require any special actions or efforts on our part. If we talk about the norm of such imagination, then it is necessary to list dreams, waking images (at the moment when a person has not yet completely shaken off the torpor of sleep and does not clearly grasp the connection with reality), images (images of habits). If we talk about pathology, then we will talk about hallucinations that can occur in a person due to some kind of mental illness or under the influence of stimulants.

Passive imagination is not purposeful; it is an unconscious or subconscious processing of information from past experience. Such images have no obvious external influence.

Active imagination is a purposeful, conscious (in accordance with the goal) imagination, controlled by human thinking. These are our dreams, our creativity. It lies at the heart of creating something new, at the heart of new scientific discoveries.

What place does imagination occupy in the structure of personality?

Imagination is associated with sensation and perception - they provide the basis for transformation;

It exists in unity with memory, but memory strives to maintain accuracy, and imagination changes the nature of connections and thereby ensures novelty;

Together with thinking, it forms something new, but if thinking requires greater sufficiency of information, then imagination is often included in action when there is insufficient information; thinking cognizes connections and relationships of objective reality, while imagination creates new relationships and connections; scientific truths are revised and grow old, but figurative works created with the help of imagination practically do not age;

Images of the imagination can evoke real feelings;

Imagination can also be correlated with the volitional organization of the personality, if this imagination is effective.

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.).

Imagination is a reflection of the future, the creation of a new image based on past experience. Imagination helps to predict events in the more or less distant future based on accumulated information.

Imagination is a mental cognitive process that consists of:

• 1. In constructing the image of the means and the final result of the subject’s objective activity;
• 2. In creating a behavior program when the problem situation is uncertain;
• 3. In the production of images that do not program, but replace activity;
• 4. In creating images that correspond to the description of the object.

The essence of imagination lies in the transformation of ideas, the creation of new images based on existing ones. The processes of imagination are of an analytical-synthetic nature, as are the processes of thinking, memory, and perception. Its main tendency is to transform memory representations, which ultimately ensures the creation of an obviously new situation that has not previously arisen.

Imagination reflects reality in new, unusual, unexpected combinations and connections.

Types of imagination:

• Passive (unintentional; intentional)
• · Active (creative; recreating)

Passive imagination is characterized by the creation of:

Images that don't come to life

Programs that are not implemented or cannot be implemented at all.

Passive imagination can be intentional or unintentional.

Unintentional passive imagination is activated against the will of a person. It is observed with weakened activity of consciousness, with its disorders, in a semi-asleep state or in a dream.

Intentional passive imagination creates images that are not associated with the will that could contribute to their implementation. The predominance of dreams in the process of imagination indicates certain developmental defects.

Active imagination can be restorative and creative.

Recreating imagination is based on the creation of certain images that correspond to the description. On the basis of the recreating imagination, an attitude is formed - a representation of upcoming events and an appropriate attitude towards them. This should be taken into account when analyzing human behavior.

Sometimes a person’s behavior is guided by events he imagines that did not actually take place.

Creative imagination involves the independent creation of images that are realized in original and valuable products of activity. It is an integral part of technical, artistic and any other type of creativity.

Creative imagination is a much more complex process than recreative imagination.

Forms of manifestation of imagination.

Imagination can manifest itself in different forms. These include:

• · dreams,
• · dreams,
• · hallucinations,
• · dreams.

Dreams are desires pushed back in time.

However, imagination can also act as a substitute for activity, its surrogate. Then a person withdraws from reality into the realm of fantasy in order to hide from tasks that seem insoluble to him, from the need to act, from the hardships of life.

Such fantasies are called dreams. Dreams reflect the connection between fantasy and our needs.

Hallucinations are fantastic visions that have almost no connection with reality. If dreams can be considered a completely normal mental state, then hallucinations are usually the result of certain mental or bodily disorders and accompany many disease states.

Hallucinations are the most indicative manifestations of passive unintentional imagination, in which a person perceives a non-existent object.

Dreams also fall into the category of passive, unintentional forms of imagination. Their true role in human life has not yet been established, although it is known that in dreams many vital human needs find expression and satisfaction, which, for a number of reasons, cannot be realized in life.