Text of the book “General Psychology: Answers to Examination Papers”

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May 27, 2019

1. What it is
2. Properties of perception
3. Its types
4. Errors in perception (illusions)
5. How people perceive each other

Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. Today I want to talk about a very interesting thing - a person’s perception of the world around him and other people.

Let's take a look at this process from a psychological point of view to understand its essence. We will find out what properties it has, what types it is divided into, what errors sometimes arise and how a person perceives another person. I hope it will be interesting.

Perception - what is it?

The term "perception" can be considered in two contexts. In one of them:

Perception is the process through which images of the surrounding world are formed, a reflection of reality in the psyche.

In this case, the concept is a verb, that is, an action.

In another context, perception is a noun, an object, a result, an image itself.

Most often, science (what is this?) uses the first version of meanings. We will rely on it in this article.

Perception is synonymous with the word perception, which, in turn, translated from Latin perceptio means subjective, sensory knowledge of the environment. Words such as appreciation, acceptance, contemplation and others are also used equally.

What is perception in simple words? In the process of life, a person does not stop learning about the world. For example, in a store you are interested in some thing: you take it in your hands to understand what its texture, weight, density, color, smell, taste and so on, that is, you use the necessary senses (food - taste, book - vision).

All these characteristics cause different sensations, which together give rise to the image of the object. The process of cognition, therefore, is perception.

It is important to note that perception in psychology is not just the sum of sensations. It also includes our individual knowledge and beliefs about the world. This phenomenon is closely related to other mental processes: memory, thinking, speech, motivational sphere and attention.

Basic properties

Constancy

One of the important properties of perception is contrast. For the first time, as a certain property of perception, constancy was considered by scientists Martius and Wundt in 1889 .

Constancy of perception is the ability of a person to perceive objects in their constant size or color, despite their different distances or illumination.

A classic example of such awareness of the environment can be a car of a particular brand. We can see it at arm's length or several tens of meters away.

The further the car is from us, the smaller it will be in size. But only visually. In any case, we will perceive this driving vehicle to be exactly the size that we see close up, that is, in real parameters.

A white car or house wall will look much darker in the evening or at night, but this does not change our perception of color .

A wall or a car will still remain objectively white for us.

If this property of perception did not exist, a person would have to constantly change his behavior in relation to certain objects . After all, people walking far along the road will seem like gnomes, and at home they will seem like blocks from children's toys, but this, of course, does not happen.

It is curious that a person’s ability to constant perception is formed in the process of gaining life experience , and is not acquired from birth.

Cases are described when people who grew up in a dense forest, when they first came to the plain, initially perceived distant objects as small.

And people who regained their sight only after surgery tried to jump out of a ward window somewhere on the fifth floor, without really assessing the distance . The objects below also seemed simply small to them.

However, a person quickly stops making such mistakes. If the body did not perceive objects as constant in size at different distances, a change in visual dimensions would not allow us to correctly navigate in space.

Objectivity

This property of perception helps people and most animals perceive their surroundings not as a chaotic set of sensations, but as the presence of certain objects .

It, too, is not initially developed in living beings, but comes in the process of the child’s development, along with the gradual knowledge of the world around him.

I.M. Sechenov determined that this process is activated during direct contact of the child with some object. Without movement and human activity in general, the objective perception of the world would be very poor.

, motor skills play an important role in the development of the objectivity of human perception :

• movement of the hands, especially the fingers;
• eye movement to determine the contours of an object;
• head movement and other movements.

However, the ability to perceive the environment in this way is partly biologically determined. This can be seen in the behavior of baby animals that are born already active.

For example, guinea pigs immediately perceive the image of a mother, a drinking bowl or a feeder. But chicks of sparrows or pigeons have very poor orientation and actually perceive surrounding objects only after a certain time after birth.

It is curious that in the first days, dog puppies are very poorly oriented.

But then their objective perception actively develops and becomes much more meaningful than that of guinea pigs.

Apparently, because they have to gradually acquire , developing not only the senses, but also thinking.

Integrity

Another characteristic feature of our psyche. A certain object, phenomenon or image is perceived as something whole, and not scattered .

More clearly, when we see the nose, mouth and ears on the human body, we do not perceive them separately, as something functioning independently.

In the same way, a house is not considered a set of separately located boards, bricks, etc. Here, previous experience gained in life is also of great importance .

For example, seeing a stranger standing sideways to us, we notice only one of his hands if the second is not extended forward. But the image of a person is already preserved in the consciousness, as a creature with two hands, ears, etc. We, as it were, complete the complete image without seeing it.

It is curious that sometimes this additional drawing can somewhat distort the overall perception , especially in a child. If, say, the child’s father is a tall man and wears a mustache, mustachioed people will immediately seem somewhat taller to his little son than other people.

Meaningfulness

The perception of a phenomenon and an object is inextricably linked with human thinking.

Perception delivers information to the brain, thinking processes it, comprehends it and sets the task of what to do with this information.

Seeing an unfamiliar object, a person immediately tries to recognize it, compare it with something that is already known or at least similar . That is, in this case, perception does not just make up a photograph of what was seen, it is also constantly looking for a way out of the current situation, comprehending it.

Let's say, while looking for a way out in an unfamiliar room, we come across a locked door. The senses signal that there is no passage here, but that’s not all. Together with thinking, the search for a key, master key or something similar begins.

Thus, the meaningfulness of perception can change the state of the seen object or phenomenon.

Structurality

This property of perception is inextricably linked with its integrity. Often, in order to objectively understand a particular phenomenon, a person needs to understand its structure. This realization does not come immediately:

1. When listening to some new melody, the human ear does not immediately perceive its individual notes and fragments, their recognition occurs gradually, at the same time, the most complete sensation of this music, its perception will come precisely with the recognition of these fragments.
2. Often, knowledge of any complex mechanisms comes only with the study of their structure; sometimes a large object as a whole is difficult to perceive at all without studying its structure.
3. Structural perception is especially characteristic of young children; when they get acquainted with new toys, they often take them apart.

Apperception

This is the name given to the dependence of the consciousness’s perception of reality on the general psychological state of a person and his lifestyle.

How is it shown:

1. Usually, we automatically compare any new object with something we have already seen, for example, it resembles a circle, a triangle or some other geometric figure; children associate many trees or bushes with some kind of animal or toy.
2. Apperception directly depends on age and level of knowledge : a child perceives any circle in a circle, an adult can immediately note the center of the circle, possible diameter, etc.
3. Experience or inclinations are of great importance ; the same circle will most likely remind a circus lover of an arena, and it will remind a schoolchild of geometry lessons.
4. are of great importance - a cook, for example, will quickly determine the recipe for a dish, but an ordinary lover of a quick meal will most likely not notice some of the ingredients.

Properties of perception

It is customary to distinguish 7 properties of perception:

1. Selectivity is the preferential selection of one object against the background of others due to the impossibility of embracing a large number of them at the same time. In a bookstore, you will sort through books one after another to decide which one is worth buying for further reading. When you have a specific book in your hands, at that moment all attention is focused on it: the reader examines it externally, reads the title, contents, skims through. The rest seem to not exist, fade into the background. But as soon as interest in this publication disappears, attention moves to the next one. What was in the hands fades into the background.
2. Objectivity of perception – represents the assignment of an object to a certain category of environmental objects. For example, green, round, hard and sweet is an apple, a fruit, and green, long and growls is a crocodile, an animal.
   Often the recognition process does not occur immediately: a person is forced to spend some time and additional effort to determine the type of object being studied (come closer, listen or smell).

   Recognition also divided into specific and nonspecific: the first is what is familiar to us (on the street I recognize my husband’s car). The second type helps to determine only the type of object, its superficial characteristics (on the street I see a lot of moving objects and identify them as cars, but I don’t know whose they are, their year of manufacture, history, etc.).

   In this regard, objectivity influences human behavior: if you offer him a familiar scrambled egg for dinner, the latter will be quickly eaten. In the case where we have an unfamiliar product in front of us, the majority will most likely show caution - they will be more closely interested in the proposed dish.

3. Apperception is expressed in dependence of image formation on mental experience and personal characteristics of the individual.
   Simply put, people perceive the same object differently, based on their beliefs, attitudes, values ​​and needs. The short video below shows this property of human perception in simple pictures that everyone sees differently:
4. Integrity is a property that demonstrates the fact that an image is always perceived as a whole based on the totality of sensations received from it. That is, it cannot be created by color or sound alone. The important factor here is movement. For example, a frog does not perceive a fly as a fly if it remains motionless, so it will not hunt it.
5. Structurality lies in the fact that perception is not the sum of individual sensations. The image is born only through their interaction. Each element becomes significant when related to the whole. For example, a large, iron thing floating on water is a steamship, a large and iron thing on rails is a train: replacing one element changes the image. Also, when a person listens to music, he does not perceive each note separately: he hears the whole melody. Playing notes in different order and key changes the entire melody.
6. Constancy is the relative constancy of surrounding objects. Why relative? During the day, you can clearly see that your house is blue in color, but as night falls, it turns gray. At the same time, you know for sure that the house is yours, since you do not attach importance to the fact of a change in visual perception. If this property did not exist, then with the onset of night, screams of horror and despair would be heard everywhere: people would not recognize their homes, other landmarks would be also lost.
7. Meaningfulness is the awareness of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. For example, if we see a spoon, we immediately understand what it is for and how to use it. This confirms the fact that perception is not innate: we learn it throughout life.

Measure seven times - cut once

The meaningfulness of thinking is nothing more than the quantity and quality of meanings obtained through thinking. The following types of thinking are distinguished:

• Incoherent (nonsense).
• Connected.
• Boolean.
• Reasonable.
• Wise.

Most people have coherent thinking. Reasonable thinking is given to a minority of humanity. Wise thinking is not even worth talking about, since it is a rare gift.

All the knowledge we gain through studying the world around us and ourselves must go through a process of comprehension. In other words, everything new - be it a melody, or a book read, or information heard - must be passed through our mind.

People who possess such a trait as meaningfulness treat any new knowledge with respect. Respectfully accepting information, a person analyzes it, tries to understand how he can apply this knowledge in his life, subsequently making it useful for himself.

Let's simulate the situation. Let's return to our school desks for a while and move on to the history lesson. The teacher tells with inspiration about the Mongol-Tatar invasion (the topic can be any).

We recommend: Perception as a mental process

The class is immediately divided into several categories. The first are “it went into one ear and out the other,” that is, they are not able to comprehend. The students do not let into their minds what they are trying to convey to them, and sit, staring with an indifferent gaze into some space.

The second are useless readers. They did everything: read, listened, considered themselves highly developed scholars, but these actions were meaningless, which means that reading loses its meaning. It is important to understand: it is not the number of books read that is valuable, but the volume of what is understood and comprehended independently.

Still others are superficial critics. Neither the topic nor the academic subject are important to them, they are always ready to refute everything and argue with foam at the mouth, such people are also devoid of meaningfulness.

The fourth group is meaningful people. Their percentage does not exceed the number of others, which is a reason for sadness. They are easy to distinguish in this class. They listen and hear. They sit as if spellbound, catching every word like a breath of fresh air. They allow new knowledge to flow through the mind, resulting in meaning-making.

The following question follows from this: how do we understand that knowledge is authoritative for us? This is done according to several criteria:

• It is pleasant for you to accept knowledge; it is as if you are internally filled with joy.
• New, fresh knowledge inspires you to new beginnings and changes.
• Bad character traits, as well as habits, are not a hindrance to knowledge!
• The source of knowledge must be credible sources.
• Knowledge must be obtained from someone who himself follows the same path (Why listen to someone who does not know how to listen and hear himself?)

Confucius said that the way of thinking is the noblest of all. A person who knows how to think, analyze, has at least a drop of wisdom and will never “step on a rake.” Others may eventually come to the same decisions, beaten down by experience.

The unlearned seem richer in words, because what is on their minds is also on their tongues. This has probably happened to everyone: a person looks smart, intelligent until he speaks. What you sometimes don’t hear! But meaningful speech is one of the important criteria of rationality.

We all belong to the species “homo sapiens” - that’s what biologists have dubbed us, but can researchers in the field of psychology call everyone that? You may be thinking, “Is it meaningful to speak? What could be simpler? – in fact, it is quite difficult.

Meaningful speech is a complex construction in which both interlocutors take part. Their interaction must be extremely subtle and attentive. The conversation goes to hell if your thesis was ignored or simply not understood by the interlocutor.

You can’t suddenly swoop down on a person and start dumping out all the information. Constructing a conversation correctly is also an art. Speaking meaningfully is beautiful.

First, you need to indicate your intentions, determine the context (who or what you want to talk about or learn about). Then - a brief statement of your thoughts, this is what meaningful people do! There is no need to immediately talk for an hour about something that the interlocutor may not be interested in!

Did you see any interest? Wonderful! We give a detailed answer, justify all theses, bring our speech to the denouement - to the point for which, in fact, you started this conversation.

We recommend: What is motivation?

It is according to this scheme that the speech of a meaningful individual is constructed. It is impossible to call a reasonable speech when a person started about one thing, jumped to another, and ended with a third, which is not at all related to the first two. We should watch ourselves, what we say and how we do it.

Types of perception

The world is huge and diverse: each object or phenomenon is perceived through different receivers or analyzers, one of which is always leading.

When reading printed information, we rely more on vision, when eating - on taste sensations, hugging a person, we perceive him through the body, tactile contact.

There are several classifications of types of perception:

By modality:

1. visual – creating a visual image:
2. auditory – receptivity to sounds;
3. tactile perception – reading information about the environment through tactile sensations;
4. olfactory – distinguishing odors;
5. gustatory – building an image using taste sensations.

Depending on the host analyzer:

1. Simple sight is sight, hearing and touch. All healthy people have this type of perception. Depending on which analyzer a person uses most often, he is classified as a group of people with the corresponding type of perception: kinesthetic (sensations, movement) - a person (he is called a kinesthetic) reads information, relying most on the movement of objects, the sensations that these objects call. In his speech the words “take”, “grasp”, “try”, “feel”, “feel” are constantly heard;
2. auditory (sound) - most of the perception of the world occurs through hearing. Such people often say “I hear”, “listen”, “listen”, “sounds” and others;
3. visual (vision) – the leading receiver is the eyes: “I see”, “I look”, “I imagine”.

Thus, by listening to how a person speaks, one can calculate his individual type of simple perception. This knowledge will help solve the eternal problem of interaction - the inability to understand each other. The latter occurs precisely because of different abilities to “see” the world.

By updating method:

Perception in psychology can also be voluntary or involuntary . The first necessarily has a goal, intention and awareness of actions. For example, a child reads a book and understands why he is doing it. He directs all his attention to this activity, focuses his vision on the letters, and holds the textbook in his hands.

Involuntary perception is caused by the environment, not by the individual's goals. A striking example: the reaction of the leg to a neurologist’s hammer, with which he hits under the kneecap to check physiological reactions.

Text of the book “Human Psychology. Introduction to the psychology of subjectivity"

2.4. Intelligent human life

Man as a subject of knowledge. Psychology of perception. Human memory. Thinking as a human ability. Psychology of imagination. Attention and its psychological characteristics

Man as a subject of knowledge

Human life requires active exploration

objective laws of the surrounding reality. Understanding the world and building an image of this world are necessary for a full orientation in it, for a person to achieve his own goals. Knowledge of the surrounding world is included in all spheres of human activity and the main forms of its activity.

Cognitive activity constitutes a special aspect of the subject’s life. Reason, along with the desirable and feeling sides, is one of the main components of human subjectivity. The human mind and the highest forms of its manifestation constitute the fundamental difference between man and animal. The idea of ​​a person as a rational being, a subject of knowledge allows us to explore the forms, types, means and methods of his cognitive activity. Cognitive man is studied by various sciences - philosophy, sociology, logic, psychology, physiology, cybernetics, etc.

The object of cognitive psychology is a real person as a subject of cognitive activity, whose mind is inseparable from his needs and motives, will, emotions and feelings, the entire history of his individual development.

In this case, psychology relies on data from the study of cognitive activity obtained in other sciences.

In epistemology as a branch of philosophy, human cognition is divided into two levels - sensory

and
rational.
The first level includes cognition through the senses.
As a result of sensory cognition, a person develops an image, a picture of the surrounding world -
the world in its immediate reality and diversity. In psychology, the subject’s sensory cognition is represented primarily in the processes of perception and its private form – sensations.

The rational stage of cognition in epistemology includes human thinking. In thinking, human cognition goes beyond sensory perception and reveals essential properties, connections and relationships between objects in the surrounding world.

Thinking is a reflection of the world by the subject in concepts, judgments and conclusions.
Concepts, judgments and inferences constitute the main forms of human mental activity; they are specifically studied in formal logic
as a philosophical discipline.

The origin, content, formation and development of thinking as a fundamental generic human ability is studied in dialectical logic.

Psychology of cognition, unlike other sciences, studies the cognitive activity of a particular person in his real life and activities. In rational cognition, psychology, in addition to thinking, highlights the processes of memory, imagination, and attention.

In addition, psychology studies the real connections that exist between individual cognitive processes and studies cognitive activity as a whole.

Psychology of perception

Perception is a direct, sensory-objective reflection of the external world. Based on perception, the activity of other mental processes - memory, thinking, imagination - is possible. Perception underlies individual human cognitive development.

Perception is a reflection in the human mind of objects, phenomena, and integral situations of the objective world with their direct impact on the senses.

In the processes of perception,
a holistic image is formed:
the image of an object, the image of a situation, the image of another person, etc. The image of perception is often referred to as a perceptual image.

An integral part of the process of perception is sensation as a reflection of individual aspects of objects and phenomena.

Sensation performs the function of orienting the subject in the most elementary, immediate properties of the objective world. If perception reflects holistic objects and situations, then sensation provides information about individual elements of objects or situations. Looking at the table, we perceive it as an integral structure, as an integral object; at the same time, the senses inform us about the individual properties of the table (for example, its color); touching the table with our palm, we feel warmth or cold, smoothness or roughness of the surface, etc.

Basic types and properties of perception.

Perception as a direct reflection of the world is classified on various grounds.
Traditionally, five types of perception are distinguished in accordance with the leading analyzer involved in the construction of a perceptual image - visual, auditory, tactile (tactile), gustatory, olfactory.
There are also types of perception depending on the object of perception, for example, the perception of space, time, movement, speed; works of painting, music, etc.; the main phenomena of a person’s social life (another person, events in social life), etc. The perception of the surrounding world is, as a rule, complex;

it is the result of the joint activity of various sense organs.
Moreover, the perception of complex phenomena of the objective and social world is carried out primarily through the participation of the processes of memory, thinking and imagination. In other words, in many cases it is unlawful to talk about the process of perception in its “pure form”. In psychology, there is a division of types of perception depending on the participation of other psychological formations in it:
emotional perception (children’s perception of the world, perception of art), rational perception (perception subordinate to the thinking process), etc.

Each type of perception has its own specific characteristics and mechanisms. Their description represents the task of both psychology and other branches of knowledge: physiology, linguistics, cybernetics.

The psychological essence of perception can be fully represented through a description of its basic properties. The leading properties of perception in psychology are objectivity, integrity, meaningfulness, structure, constancy, and selectivity.

Objectivity

perception is manifested in the attribution of images of perception to certain objects or phenomena of objective reality. We perceive something or someone; perception connects the subject with the objective world.

The integrity of perception is expressed

is that images of perception are holistic, complete, objectively formed structures. The integrity of an object is determined by its functional purpose in human activity or life.

Meaningfulness

perception captures the connection between perception and thinking; This is perception coupled with comprehension, with awareness of an object or phenomenon. The perception of the subjective world includes knowledge, past experience, and mental operations of the subject.

Structurality –

a property that allows one to perceive objects in the totality of their stable connections and relationships. For example, a certain melody, played on different instruments and in different keys, is perceived by the subject as the same; they highlight the melody as an integral structure, as a combination of individual sounds.

Constancy –

the relative constancy of the perceived shape, size and color of an object, regardless of significant changes in the conditions of perception. Thanks to this property, we have the opportunity to recognize objects in different environments.

Selectivity –

preferential selection of some objects over others, due to the characteristics of the subject of perception: his experience, needs, motives, etc.

Perception as activity.

Images of perception are not created by external influences alone.
To obtain them, a special internal activity of the subject is required, a special kind of perceptual activity. Perception is a complex cognitive activity. It includes a system of perceptual actions and operations
of the subject, during which he selects the necessary and important features in the object itself, and then compares the formed image with them.
Perception includes such actions as discrimination
,
recognition
,
measurement
,
control, evaluation
, etc. The composition of perceptual actions depends on the degree of meaningfulness of perception, i.e. understanding of what is perceived, on the perceptual task facing a person, on his needs and motives.

The activity of perceiving objects and phenomena of the external world is formed during a person’s life in the process of practical operation of objects of perception. An important role in the development of perception is played by special training of children in effective perceptual actions. sensory education is most famous in pedagogy.

, developed by
M. Montessori.
In domestic psychology, the works of
A.V.
Zaporozhets and
L.A.
Wenger established the important role of the formation in children of special
sensory standards
as ideal examples of the properties of objects: systems of spectral colors, geometric shapes, musical sounds, phonemes of language, etc. Sensory standards are used by children when performing perceptual actions, they serve as unique measures that make it possible to determine the characteristics the subject being examined.

Qualifying perception as an activity gives rise to the identification of special perceptual (sensory) abilities.

Sensory abilities can be characterized by indicators of arbitrariness, quality and reliability of perceptual actions. For certain types of human activity (for example, an operator of technical controls), perceptual abilities play a leading role in the structure of professional qualities and abilities.

Human memory

The concept of memory in speech occupies a leading place among all other psychological terms. This is primarily due to the real importance of memory in human life and activity. Since ancient times, memory has been given great importance. We noted that psychology has its origins in the practical work activities of people, in the processes of their relationships and communication. At the initial stages of historical development, psychological knowledge is reflected in legends and myths as one of the earliest ways of human self-expression and forms of collective consciousness. Already from the legends of ancient Greek mythology, the large role that was assigned to memory in the development of human culture is visible. Goddess of memory Mnemosyne

was the mother of the muses, she was credited with the invention of speech and counting.
By the name of its goddess, memory in psychology is often called a mnemonic activity.
The fundamental nature of memory phenomena and processes is noted in philosophy and psychology. The philosopher A. Bergson wrote that it is in the problem of memory that it is possible to comprehend the spirit in its most expressed form.

In scientific psychology, the problem of memory, in the words of psychologist P.P. Blonsky, is “the same age as psychology as a science.” Researchers see the special place of memory among mental functions in the fact that no other function can be carried out without its participation,

Each mental function seems to have its own mnemonic aspect. At the same time, it is pointed out that memory itself is unthinkable outside of other mental processes.

The relationship between memory and other mental processes and formations is clearly revealed when distinguishing its types

(Fig. 19).
The connection between memory and perception
is fixed in the allocation of
figurative memory
or memory for images.
Figurative memory, in turn, is naturally divided into separate types associated with memorizing information received from certain analyzers: visual, auditory, gustatory, tactile and olfactory
memory.

Rice. 19. Types of memory. The relationship between memory and mental formations

Fixation in subjective experience of abilities, skills, systems of movements and actions constitutes the task and content of motor memory.

Emotional memory
is characterized by remembering and preserving the emotions and feelings experienced by the subject in certain situations. Psychology has clearly established the fact that events associated with negative or positive emotions are remembered better.

Interdependence of memory and thinking

found its expression in the distinction between
semantic and mechanical memory.
Semantic memory consists of the fact that the memorized content is subjected to active mental processing, the material is analyzed, logical parts are identified, relationships between parts are established, dependencies are generalized, etc. The connection between thinking and memory is fixed in the position established by psychology that what is remembered better is what , which is decreasing. We are talking here about specifically human semantic memory.

However, a person can remember content that he cannot or does not want to comprehend. By resorting to repeated repetition, the subject seems to “imprint” the memorized material into the brain structures. This procedure resembles the operation of mechanical devices, and therefore memory is called mechanical.

Students resort to rote memory when they cannot logically comprehend the material. Some psychologists believe that rote memory owes its origin to school.

The subject can set a conscious goal

, a memorization task, to retain the necessary content for subsequent action, to organize voluntary mnemonic actions, to make volitional efforts to preserve the material.
Such features of the subject’s actions are characteristic of voluntary memory:
here the subject provides voluntary and volitional regulation of memory processes.

Recording impressions from the surrounding world without a purpose specifically set by the individual is realized through involuntary memory.

This does not mean that the material is remembered in the form of a “continuous recording” or in a natural way; we involuntarily remember what we are actively working with, what is interesting to us, etc. In all these cases, there is no task for special memorization.

Dependence of memory on needs

,
attitudes
,
motives and goals of the subject
(from his motivation) is manifested in the characteristics of short-term and long-term memory.
Short-term memory
provides operational retention of data for the period of the subject's activity with this data. The duration of retention of any material in short-term memory is due to the need to retain intermediate elements of activity, without which it is impossible to achieve the final result (for example, multiplying two-digit numbers in the mind requires retaining intermediate results of multiplication).

Long-term memory

ensures long-term (hours, days, years, decades) preservation of the material. Crucial for long-term retention of information is a person’s intention to remember it for a long time, the need for this information for the future, and its importance in a personal sense.

The classification of types of memory from the point of view of their genetic sequence was proposed by P.P. Blonsky. He identified four main forms of memory - motor, emotional, figurative and semantic. The formation of types of memory occurs in the listed sequence.

So, memory can be found in all psychological formations. And from this position, while studying various psychological phenomena, we also study memory to a certain extent. However, a precondition for such a study should be an understanding of the specifics of memory, its functions and content, and operating mechanisms.

Memory is the process of organizing and storing past experience, making it possible to reuse it in activity or return it to the sphere of consciousness.

The definition very accurately indicates the temporal essence of memory, its relationship to the past, present and future.

Psychological mechanisms of memory.

The representation of memory in all psychological structures indicates its first distinctive, specific feature.
The peculiarity of memory as a psychological process is that it is not directly aimed at reflecting the surrounding world; it does not deal with material objects and phenomena. The reflection of the objective world is carried out in perception and thinking. Memory deals with “second reflection”, with received images and concepts.
Let us explain this situation.

The difference between memory and other psychological formations presupposes a clear indication of its function, its place in total mental activity. In our opinion, the psychologist G.K. Sereda.

“A real definition of the concept “memory,” as well as a meaningful description of each of its processes, requires an answer to two questions: what?
and for what? – accordingly, must contain two predicates. From this point of view, memory could be extremely succinctly defined as a mental process, which is a product of a previous action and a condition of a future action (process, experience).”[104] 104 Sereda G.K.
What is memory? // Psychological journal. 1985. T. 6. No. 6. P. 42.

[Close].

According to this point of view, memory always exists on the antinomy “past - future”. Every cognitive process continuously turns into memory, and every memory turns into something else.

Any mental process turns into memory at the moment when it becomes a condition for the implementation of another process (or a subsequent step of the same process). This means that, turning into a “secondary” product, acquiring the ability to be realized in terms of representation, it can serve as an internal support for the further development of the process.

Consequently, an element of memory becomes everything that, “moving away” from the “material” determination of the psyche, turns into a “secondary” product, i.e., becomes a representation.

We can say that any content of the psyche passes into memory at the moment when it ceases to be the actual
target
, actual element of the cognitive process and acquires a service function in relation to the new element that takes the place of the goal.

We can conclude that the main mechanism of human memory is its orientation to the future.

A person’s memory determines not what “has been” (past), but what “will be” (future). In other words, what “was” is fixed in memory insofar as it is needed by what “will be”, i.e. memory determines, in the exact sense of the word, not the past, but the future. Serving the future is the main function of memory. Reflection of the past acts as a means of achieving a future result.

Memory processes. Memorization

is defined as a process that ensures retention of material in memory, as the most important condition for its subsequent reproduction.
Memorization begins with imprinting, which is done unintentionally. Subsequently, a person can set goals for consciously capturing significant material; memory takes on the character of conscious memorization. In special conditions (primarily in educational activities), the need arises to use special techniques, a special organization of memorization, and it takes the form of memorization.
Psychological studies (P.I. Zinchenko, A.A. Smirnov) revealed the dependence of memorization on the nature of the activity,

from goal-setting processes, its connection with orientations to the future and the future. At the same time, a paradoxical picture of the effectiveness of voluntary and involuntary memorization emerged. Research by P.I. Zinchenko showed that direct setting of a memorization goal is not in itself decisive for effective memorization; involuntary memorization is often more productive than voluntary memorization.

In the experiments of P.I. Zinchenko asked children to classify cards according to the content of the objects depicted on them. The study revealed two important dependencies of the memorization process. Firstly, what constitutes the purpose of the action is better remembered

.
Secondly, memorization processes included in mental activity
(classifying cards), without the requirement of special memorization
, turned out to be more effective than memorizing the same cards on demand
.

In other words, involuntary memorization under these conditions turned out to be more effective than voluntary memorization. Consequently, if the material is included in the target content of a given action, it may involuntarily be remembered better than if the subject set a goal to specifically remember it.

Memorization efficiency depends on settings

subject. It does a disservice to students to try to memorize material in order to answer a lesson or test; after these events the material is quickly forgotten. Understanding the significance of the material for the future, for further education or professional activity is another matter. Material memorized with this setting is remembered longer.

Emotionally charged material is remembered better

since it is connected with the motives and interests of the subject, it becomes vitally significant. Moreover, in some cases the pleasant will be better remembered, in others - the unpleasant, depending on what in this particular case is more relevant, more significant for the subject, what has found the greatest resonance in the hierarchy of his motives. A person’s general condition also has a significant impact on memorization: his mood, vitality, fatigue, etc.

In the works of V.Ya. Lyaudis

Four mnemonic actions are identified: 1)
orientation in the material,
associated with the relationship of the elements of the memorized material to the subject’s experience;
2) grouping of material
based on the established properties of individual elements;
3) establishing intra-group relationships
between elements of the material to be memorized;
4) establishment of intergroup relations
(connections).
In this case, a mnemonic action is understood as “an action that is performed not in order to remember, consolidate, but in order to reproduce”; this provision is based on the statement that “the central function of voluntary memorization is not the consolidation and strengthening of the trace of influence, but the construction of an image of an object that regulates reproduction, determined by the upcoming use, the future”[105] 105 Lyaudis V.Ya.
Memory in the process of development. M., 1976. P. 46.

[Close].

The most complete composition of mnemonic actions was revealed in experimental studies by V.D. Shadrikova

and his students[106]
106
See: Cognitive processes and abilities in learning / Under. ed. V.D. Shadrikova. M., 1990. pp. 63–64.

[Close]. They identified the following mnemonic actions, which act as methods of voluntary memorization or organized memorization:

Rice. 20. Composition of mnemonic action

Grouping –

dividing the material into groups for some reason (meaning, associations, etc.);
highlighting supporting points -
fixing a short point that serves as support for broader content (thesis, title, questions, images of what is presented in the text, examples, etc.);
plan -
a set of strongholds;
classification -
distribution of any objects, phenomena, concepts into classes, groups based on common characteristics;
structuring –
establishing the relative arrangement of parts that make up the whole;
schematization -
an image or description of something in its main features;
analogy -
establishing similarity, similarity in certain relationships of objects, phenomena, concepts;
mnemonic techniques -
a set of ready-made, well-known methods of memorization;
recoding –
verbalization, or pronunciation, presentation of information in figurative form;
completing the memorized material
and introducing new things into the memorized - the use of verbal intermediaries, combining and introducing something according to situational characteristics, distribution by place;
serial organization of material -
establishing or constructing various sequences (distribution by volume, time, ordering in space);
associations –
establishing connections based on similarity, contiguity or opposition;
repetition –
consciously controlled and uncontrolled processes of reproducing material.

The connection of the listed mnemonic actions with thinking processes can be demonstrated using the well-known action of repetition.

As has been established in psychology, the productivity of repetition depends to a large extent on the extent to which it goes beyond simple reproduction and turns into a reconstruction of the material associated with a new, more in-depth understanding of it.

Playback –

memory process, which consists in the restoration and reconstruction of the updated memory content.
Reproduction can occur at three levels: recognition
, or reproduction based on perception;
actual reproduction as voluntary or involuntary actualization
of material stored in memory;
recall
under conditions of partial forgetting, requiring volitional effort.

Reproduction, like memorization, is associated with mental actions. Thought is included in the process of reproduction, clarifying, generalizing, systematizing, processing and reconstructing the content. “In the very essence of reproduction,” wrote S.L. Rubinshtein, - the reconstruction of what is being reproduced is laid down - as a result of its mental processing - as an essential aspect of reproduction" [107] 107
Rubinshtein S.L.
Fundamentals of general psychology: In 2 vols. M., 1989. T. 1. P. 326.

[Close]. In the reproduction of semantic content, transformation and reconstruction acquire special significance. The reconstruction reveals the impossibility of interpreting the process of reproduction only as a process of recollection, in its separation from the processes of thinking, speech, and attitudes of the subject. A person, in fact, never reproduces the content of memory in the form in which it was remembered.

As noted by S.L. Rubinstein, by its psychological nature, reconstruction is primarily the result of unintentional, but certainly directed work of thought within reproduction. Reconstruction manifests itself in various forms - changes in plan, rearrangements, restructuring of material, etc. The phenomenon of reconstruction is included in all memory processes; it forms the foundation of the functioning of memory.

But reconstruction processes are most clearly manifested in preservation and forgetting as memory processes.

Saving and Forgetting

represent two sides of a single process of long-term retention of perceived information.

Preservation is not passive storage of material, not simple conservation. Conservation is a dynamic process that occurs on the basis and under conditions of a certain way of organized assimilation, including the processing of material.

Psychologists note that the process of reconstructing material in memory has its own dynamics. In some cases, delayed reproduction may be more complete and perfect than earlier reproduction. This phenomenon in memory is called reminiscence.

Reminiscence is associated with internal work to comprehend the material, its reconstruction, and mastery of it.

Reconstruction of the content of memory, the dynamics of the processes of storage and forgetting are always determined by upcoming goals and are associated with orientation to the future. What is forgotten is what is not included in the subject’s holistic system of goal-setting, what ceases to be essential and significant for him. Everything that lies in the system of consciously organized, planned life is preserved and remembered. From the past to the future, that which serves as a condition for setting new life goals of the subject is transferred and preserved.

G.K. Sereda points out three significant features that distinguish the mnemonic processing of the material of individual experience in the process of its preservation from its mental processing[108] 108

See:
Sereda G.K.
What is memory? // Psychological journal. 1985. T. 6. No. 6. P. 45–46.

[Close].

1. Memory is a continuous, never-ending process of “self-organization” of a person’s individual experience.

2. Memory is an unconscious process that is not directly amenable to introspection and is revealed to the subject only through its “products.” Memory processes can be controlled only with the help of voluntary mental actions.

3. Unlike thinking, memory corresponds not to the goals of activity, but to the semantic relations of experience, the semantic formations of a person, and his life values.

Memory, unlike other cognitive processes, has as its subject not the connections and relationships of objective things themselves, but the relationship of subjective ideas about things to the existing picture of individual experience. Memory does not acquire new knowledge about things

,
but only organizes and reconstructs what has already been extracted.
If it constructs new knowledge, it is not through interaction with the things themselves, but from the reorganization of the ideas that correspond to them.

The area of ​​actual creativity of memory,

as G.K. believes Sereda, is not a cognitive sphere, but a sphere of personality formation. At the same time, memory does not create personality by its own means. The basis of human formation is individual experience. However, if the products of this experience were preserved in a person in the same “elemental” and dissociated form in which they were originally given to him, they could not be structured in him in any way. By combining these elements into a certain subjective integrity, memory carries out a kind of psychological creation of the individual.

From these positions, the central function of memory is leading to unity, linking the subject’s internal experience into a whole.

It is precisely due to continuous and simultaneous work with the entire cumulative picture of individual experience that the “breadth of memory” is opposed to the “narrowness of consciousness”, which expresses the “target” localization of all other cognitive processes.

The ways of organizing representations in memory processes are not inherent in memory “before experience.” As psychologists note, memory in its development always lags behind thinking by one step: new actions and operations first become (form) as mental ones and only in the process of repetition and consolidation do they turn into mnemonic actions, i.e. actions to transform and organize representations of internal experience.

At the same time, memory must “respond as a whole” to any details of experience. This means that at every moment of activity, all “past experience” is included in it, each element of “new experience” is always correlated with all “past experience”. This presupposes that experience must simultaneously appear in the form of an integrative whole. The continuous reproduction of such a whole as a necessary condition for developing life and activity constitutes the main function of memory.

Based on the foregoing, memory can be meaningfully defined as a psychological mechanism (a set of mental processes) of the systemic organization of individual experience as a necessary condition for the implementation of upcoming activities

.

Thinking as a generic human ability

The term “thinking” is familiar to each of us. Worldly wisdom notes that every person considers himself smart or smart enough. There is a well-known psychological saying about this: “Everyone complains about his memory, but no one complains about his mind.”

The concept of “thinking” denotes one of the fundamental and extremely significant psychological abilities for a person. This ability is fundamental due to the fact that in thinking a person manifests himself as a generic being;

intelligence is his distinguishing feature. The reflection of this fact in the consciousness of every person determines the social and personal significance of thinking.

Errors in perception (illusions)

There is nothing perfect in the world, and perception is no exception. For various reasons, this process can “fail” and give the individual erroneous images that do not correspond to reality.

There are two types of such violations:

1. illusions are a perverted perception of existing objects and phenomena. Illusions, in turn, are: affectogenic - they are caused by feelings and emotions. For example, an anxious person may see an approaching maniac or monster in the shadow of a tree, hear a threat in someone else’s speech, a shy person will see criticism and shaming everywhere;
2. pareidolic - the emergence of fantastic images when interacting with reality (blood in a glass instead of water, beetles instead of dirt stains). This type of illusion is a precursor to hallucinations.

Person's perception by person

An interesting picture emerges when it comes to the perception of a person by a person. Interesting because in reality we don’t see each other when we first meet as we really are, and there are many reasons for this.

Have you noticed that when you meet a person who has a pleasant appearance for you, you automatically consider him kind and good? And if he has external similarities with his beloved friend, mother, brother, then sympathy for him increases significantly?

The perception of others is determined by many more factors that we consciously or not pay attention to: posture, gestures, speech culture, manners, behavior, his profession, status and others.

So, there are 4 ways to interpret the characteristics of other people:

1. emotional – beautiful, which means good, sincere;
2. analytical - frowning eyebrows, sharp cheekbones “characterize” an evil person;
3. perceptual-associative - similar to a harmful neighbor, which means just as unpleasant;
4. social-associative – attributing social qualities to a person based on appearance. Torn, dirty clothes “tell” us about a dysfunctional personality and makes us want to stay away. But a neat suit and an expensive car elevate a stranger in our eyes.