Despite the fact that all people are characterized by common features of perception, each of us is endowed with individually peculiar differences in this process. The individual nature of perception is manifested in different dynamics, accuracy, depth, emotionality and similar characteristics of our perception.

Types of information perception

When perceiving information, a person may be dominated by certain images, for example, auditory, visual, etc. A person whose visual images predominate in the perception of information is called a visual. A typical cognitive position for the visual is the desire to look, imagine, observe. It is known from the history of science that this type of perception was characteristic of A. Einstein. “I think with visual sensations,” the great scientist said about himself.

A person whose auditory images predominate in the perception of information is called an auditory person. The typical cognitive position for him is to listen and speak.

A person who is dominated by haptic images in the perception of information when combined with smell and some other sensory impressions is called a kinesthetic. The typical cognitive position for him is to act and feel. In a stressful situation, such a person tries to "hide" in one dominant sensory channel. In comfortable conditions, all sensory channels of a person open, which is a prerequisite for creative activity.

Perception types

Depending on individual differences, the following types of perception are distinguished:

• analytical, synthetic and analytical-synthetic;
• subjective, objective and subjective-objective;
• artistic, thoughtful and artistic-thinking.

The analytical type is characterized, first of all, by the "stuck" details of objects and phenomena. Such people focus on all the details, however, it is sometimes a problem for them to understand the general essence of the phenomenon. For people of the synthetic type, a generalized reflection of phenomena and the definition main point what is happening. They perceive general impression, not attaching importance to details, are not inclined to delve into them. Analytic-synthetic perception is equally characterized by attempts to understand the essence of the phenomenon, and in fact to confirm it. They simultaneously perceive the details, and the object, and the phenomenon as a whole.

The subjective type of perception is characterized by the coloring of images of perceived objects or events with one's own emotions, experiences, hesitations, and one's attitude towards them. This perception is rather disorganized. For the objective type, on the contrary, accuracy, impartiality and neutrality are inherent in the perception of phenomena. The subjective-objective type combines the features of the two previous ones.

The artistic type of perception characterizes people who are dominated by the first signal system - the image. It is easier for them to perceive figurative information (mainly visual or auditory). The thinking type is dominated by the second signal system - the word. Verbally presented information (also predominantly visual or auditory) is easier for them to perceive. In people with an artistic and mental type of perception, there is no unambiguous dominance of the second or first signal system.

Men and women: differences in perception - video

Having become acquainted with how complex the process of perception is, we can easily understand that different people it runs differently. Each person has his own individual "manner" to perceive, his usual ways of observing, which are explained by the general features of his personality and the skills that have been created in the course of his life.

Let us list the most characteristic signs in which individual differences in perception and observation can be expressed.

Some people are inclined in the process of perception and observation to pay attention mainly to the facts themselves, others - to the meaning of these facts. The former are mainly interested in description, the latter in explaining what they perceive and observe. Perception and observation of the first type are called descriptive, the second type - explanatory.

These typological differences are largely explained by the peculiarity of the relationship between the two signal systems. The propensity and ability for an explanatory type of observation is associated with a relatively greater role second signal system.

There is a very important difference between objective and subjective types of perception. Objective perception is a perception characterized by accuracy and thoroughness, which is little influenced by the observer's preconceived thoughts, desires and mood. A person perceives the facts as they are, without adding anything from himself and little resorting to conjecture. Subjective perception is characterized by opposite features: what a person sees and hears are immediately joined by images of the imagination and various assumptions; he sees things not so much as they really are, but as he wants them to be.

Sometimes the subjectivity of perception is expressed in the fact that a person's attention is directed to those feelings that he experiences under the influence of perceived facts, and these feelings obscure the facts themselves from him. It is not uncommon to meet people who, no matter what they talk about, most of all talk about their own experiences, about how they got excited, frightened, moved, and very little can be said about the events that caused all these feelings.

In other cases, the subjectivity of perception is manifested in the desire to form a general impression of the observed fact as soon as possible, even if there were not sufficient data for this. This feature is clearly revealed in experiments with a tachistoscope, when a word is shown for such a short period of time that it is obviously impossible to read it in its entirety. For example, the word "desk" is shown. With an objective type of perception, a person first reads "kont"; at the second indication, he can already read “offices” and, finally, after the third indication - “desk”. The process of perception is quite different for a representative of the subjective type. After the first showing, he reads, for example, “basket”, after the second - “castor oil”, after the third - “desk”.

When characterizing individual differences in perception and observation essential has that feature which is called observation. This word denotes the ability to notice signs and features in things and phenomena that are essential, interesting and valuable from any point of view, but little noticeable and therefore eluding the attention of most people. Observation is not limited to mere ability to observe. It involves curiosity, a constant desire to learn new facts and their details, a kind of "hunting for facts." Observation is manifested not only during those hours when a person is specially engaged in observations in a laboratory, museum, at an observation post, etc.

We call observant a person who is able to notice valuable facts “on the go”, in any situations of life, in the course of any activity. Observation implies a constant readiness for perception.

Observation - very important quality, the value of which affects all areas of life. It is especially necessary in certain types of activity, for example, in the work of a scientist. No wonder the great Russian scientist I.P. Pavlov made the inscription on the building of one of his laboratories: “Observation and observation”.

Without observation, the work of a writer-artist is impossible: it enables the writer to accumulate those stocks of life impressions that serve as material for his works.

Review questions

1. What is perception and how does it differ from sensation?

2. What are the physiological basis of perception?

3. List the conditions on which the grouping (grouping) of individual spots and lines in visual perception depends.

4. What is the significance of past experience for perception?

5. What is called an illusion?

6. Explain the illusions depicted in fig. 12 and 13.

7. What is called observation?

8. List the conditions on which the quality of observation depends.

Chapter V. ATTENTION

General concept about attention

Attention is the focus of consciousness on a particular object. The object of attention can be any object or phenomenon of the external world, our own actions, our ideas and thoughts.

I am reading a book and am completely occupied with the content of the story; I hear conversations going on in the room, but I don't pay attention to them. But then one of those present began to tell something interesting, and I notice that my eyes are automatically running over the lines of the book, and my attention has turned to the conversation.

And first and then I simultaneously heard the conversation and read the book. But the organization of my mental activity was completely different in both cases. At first my consciousness was directed to understanding what was being read; the content of the book was in the center, and the content of the conversation was on the periphery, on the edge of consciousness. Then consciousness went to listen to the conversation; the conversation became the center of consciousness, and the reading of the book was at the edge of it. My attention, we say, has shifted from reading a book to listening to a conversation.

As a result of the direction of consciousness on a certain object, it is recognized clearly and distinctly, while all other stimuli acting at the same time are experienced more or less vaguely and indistinctly. At the time when my attention was occupied by the book, I perceived its content with complete clarity, but I heard the conversation vaguely, as they say, "out of the corner of my ear." If I were suddenly asked what the conversation was about, I would probably be able to reproduce only fragments of phrases that were little connected with each other. But the matter immediately changed as soon as my attention shifted from the book to the conversation. Now I perceive the content of the conversation with complete clarity, and from the book only vague shreds of thoughts reach me, although my eyes continue to read.

In the phenomena of attention, the selective nature of consciousness is revealed: if a person pays attention to some objects, then he is thereby distracted from others.

Attention cannot be called a special mental process in the same sense as we call perception, thinking, remembering, etc., special processes. At every moment of his life, a person either perceives something, or remembers something, or thinks about something or dreams about something. But there cannot be a moment when a person is busy with the process of attention. Attention is a property of the psyche, it is a special side of all mental processes.

Perception largely depends on the characteristics of the individual. Our knowledge, interests, habitual attitudes, emotional attitude to what affects us, affect the process of perception of objective reality, which means that there are individual differences in perception. These differences are large, but certain types of these differences. These should first of all include the differences between holistic and detailed, or synthetic And analytical, perception.

Holistic, or synthetic, the type of perception is characterized by the fact that persons prone to it most clearly present the general impression of the object, the general content of perception, the general features of what is perceived. People with this type pay the least attention to details and details, they capture the meaning of the whole, and not the detailed content. In order to see the details, they have to set themselves a special task, the fulfillment of which is sometimes difficult for them. Persons with detailed or analytical, on the contrary, are prone to a clear selection of details and details. The object or phenomenon as a whole, the general meaning of what was perceived, fades into the background for them, sometimes they are not even noticed at all. Their stories are always filled with details and descriptions of particular details, behind which the meaning of the whole is very often lost.

The above characteristics of the two types of perception are characteristic of the extreme poles. Most often they complement each other, since the most productive perception is based on the positive characteristics of both types.

There are other types of perception, for example descriptive And explanatory. Persons related to descriptive type, are limited to the factual side of what they see and hear, do not try to explain to themselves the essence of the perceived phenomenon. The driving forces of people's actions, events or phenomena remain outside the field of their attention. On the contrary, persons related to explanatory type, are not satisfied with what is directly given in perception. They always try to explain what they see or hear. This type of behavior is more often combined with a holistic or synthetic type of perception.

Also allocate objective And subjective types of perception. The objective type of perception is characterized by strict correspondence to what is happening in reality. Persons with a subjective type of perception go beyond what is actually given to them, and bring a lot of themselves. Their perception is subject to a subjective attitude to what is perceived, an increased biased assessment, a pre-existing biased attitude. Such people, talking about something, tend to convey not what they perceived, but their subjective impressions about it. They talk more about how they felt or what they thought at the time of the events they are talking about.

Of great importance among individual differences in perception are differences in observation . Observation- this is the ability to notice in objects and phenomena that which is little noticeable in them, does not catch the eye by itself, but which is significant or characteristic from any point of view. A characteristic feature of observation is the speed with which something subtle is perceived. Observation is not inherent in all people and not to the same degree; it depends on the individual characteristics of the individual. For example, curiosity is a factor contributing to the development of observation.

There are differences in perception according to intentionality . It is customary to allocate unintentional(or involuntary) and deliberate(arbitrary) perception. With unintentional perception, we are not guided by a pre-set goal or task - to perceive a given object. Perception is guided by external circumstances. Intentional perception, on the contrary, from the very beginning is regulated by the task - to perceive this or that object or phenomenon, to get acquainted with it. Intentional perception can be included in any activity and carried out in the course of its implementation. But sometimes perception can act as a relatively independent activity. Perception as an independent activity appears especially clearly in observation, which is deliberate, planned and more or less prolonged (even with

(32) intermittent) perception in order to trace the course of a phenomenon or those changes that occur in the object of perception. Therefore, observation is an active form of sensory knowledge of reality by a person, and observation can be considered as a characteristic of the activity of perception.

The development of perception.

The role of activity of observation is exceptionally great. It is expressed both in the mental activity that accompanies observation, and in the motor activity of the observer. Operating with objects, acting with them, a person better knows many of their qualities and properties. For the success of observation, its planned and systematic nature is important. Good observation, aimed at a broad, versatile study of the subject, is always carried out according to a clear plan, a certain system, with consideration of some parts of the subject after others in a certain sequence. Only with this approach, the observer will not miss anything and will not return a second time to what was perceived.

However, observation, like perception in general, is not an innate characteristic. A newborn child is not able to perceive the world around him in the form of a complete objective picture. The ability of object perception in a child manifests itself much later. The child's initial selection of objects from the surrounding world and their objective perception can be judged by the child's examination of these objects, when he does not just look at them, but examines them, as if he is feeling them with his eyes. According to B. M. Teplov, the signs of object perception in a child begin to appear in early infancy (two to four months), when actions with objects begin to form. By five or six months, the child has an increase in cases of fixing the gaze on the object with which he operates. However, the development of perception does not stop there, but, on the contrary, is just beginning.

In the process of teaching a child at school, perception is actively developing, which during this period goes through several stages: 1 - the formation of an adequate image of an object in the process of manipulating this object; 2 - children get acquainted with the spatial properties of objects with the help of hand and eye movements; then, at higher levels mental development children acquire the ability to quickly and without any external movements to recognize certain properties of perceived objects, to distinguish them from each other on the basis of these properties (moreover, any actions or movements no longer take part in the process of perception).

The most important condition for the development of perception is labor, which children can manifest itself not only in the form of socially useful labor, for example, in the performance of their household duties, but also in the form of drawing, modeling, playing music, reading, etc., i.e., in the form of a variety of cognitive objective activities. No less important for child participation in the game. During the game, the child expands not only his motor experience, but also his understanding of the objects around him.

How and in what ways are the features of children's perception manifested in comparison with an adult? First of all, the child makes a large number of mistakes in assessing the spatial properties of objects. Even a linear eye children are much less developed than adult. An even greater difficulty for children's perception of time. It is very difficult for a child to master such concepts as "tomorrow", "yesterday", "earlier", "later". Certain difficulties arise in children when perceiving images of objects. So, looking at the picture, telling what is drawn on it, the children school age often make mistakes in recognizing the depicted objects and name them incorrectly, relying on random or unimportant signs.

An important role in all these cases is played by the lack of knowledge of the child, his small practical experience. This also determines a number of other features of children's perception: insufficient ability to distinguish the main thing in what is perceived; omission of many details; limitation of perceived information. Over time, these problems are eliminated, and by the senior school age, the perception of the child practically does not differ from the perception of the adult.

33. Illusions and hallucinations, their types and causes.

In some pathological conditions, especially in mental and nervous diseases, the processes of perception may be disturbed. However, perceptual deviations can be observed in quite healthy people. These include illusions - distorted perception of a real-life object or phenomenon. Illusions are classified: - according to the sense organs: visual, auditory, tactile, etc.; - depending on the main causes underlying the distortion of perception: physical, physiological and mental illusions.

Physical illusions are explained by objective physical laws and do not depend on the person himself (it is also captured by a camera) (a spoon in a glass of water seems to be broken due to the different light-refracting properties of water and air). Physiological illusions find their explanation in the peculiarities of the structure and activity of our sense organs (if you press on the eyeball from the side, the object we are looking at will split in two due to an increase in the disparity of its image on the retinas of the eyes). Mental illusions are associated both with various mental states of a person, and with some psychological features of perception. In healthy people, against the background of various mental states (expectation, anxiety or fear), mental illusions often arise (in a dark room we are frightened by the figure at the window, and this is just a coat; in every tree standing by the road, we see the person we are waiting for).

Illusions are often caused by the ambiguity of perception that arises due to a lack of essential information or an excess of irrelevant information in the image. The ambiguity of perception also arises in cases where several significant images can be extracted from the same image.

Particularly numerous visual illusions(optical illusions) arising from the reflection of certain spatial properties of objects (lengths of segments, sizes of objects and angles, distances between objects, shape) and movement. The following types of visual illusions are distinguished: 1. Illusions associated with the structure of the eye (illusions resulting from the effect of excitation irradiation in the retina - an apparent increase in the size of light figures on a black background compared to dark figures equal size on a white background or at low background brightness - the reverse picture). So a white square on a black background seems larger than a similar black square on a light background. 2. Reassessment of the length of vertical lines in comparison with horizontal ones with their actual equality. 3. Illusions due to contrast. The size of the figures depends on the environment (the circles are an Ebbinghaus illusion). 4. Transferring the properties of the whole figure to its separate parts. We perceive the visible figure, each part of it, not in isolation, but always in a known whole. (Muller-Lyer illusion - straight lines ending in differently directed angles appear to be unequal in length). The reverse cases of visual illusions are also possible, when, due to the large difference between two adjacent parts, the impression of a side difference of the figures as a whole arises, although they are the same (Yastrov's illusion). 5. Apparent distortion of the direction of the lines due to hatching, intersections with other lines (parallel lines seem to be curved under the influence of other lines crossing them - the Zellner illusion). 6. A number of illusions are known. An illusion that occurs when perceiving a face in a photograph or drawing: the eyes will always look directly at you, regardless of the angle from which we look at it. This illusion has not yet been fully explained.

Visual illusions have also been found in animals. Disguise is based on the practical use of illusions, which is a protective device for animals, birds, fish, insects (for example, mimicry - merging with the background, or the use of a deforming pattern that violates the outlines of the body).

Causes, causing illusions, are diverse and not clear enough. For example, the illusion of an arrow is explained by the property of the integrity of perception: we perceive the figures we see and their parts not separately, but in a certain ratio, and we mistakenly transfer the properties of the whole figure to its parts (if the whole is larger, then its parts are also larger). However, a convincing interpretation has not been found for all types of visual illusions.

Illusions can be observed not only in the field of vision, but also in other areas of perception. This is how the illusion of gravity of A. Charpanier is known: if you lift two identical in weight and appearance, but different in volume of an object, then a smaller one will be perceived as heavier (and vice versa). At the heart of this illusion: what we know - the greater the value, the volume, the greater the weight. And when this expectation is not true, an illusion arises. In the field of touch, Aristotle's illusion is known: if we cross the index and middle fingers and simultaneously touch them to a ball or pea (roll them), then we will perceive not one ball, but two.

Illusions can also arise under the influence of previous perceptions. Such, for example, are the contrasting illusions that are observed during the development of an attitude according to the Uznadze method. After repeated (33) perception of strongly differing objects (by weight, size, volume, etc.), objects that are equal in the same respect are perceived by a person as unequal, an object that is located in the place of a previously perceived smaller object seems large. Contrasting illusions are often observed in the field of temperature and taste sensations: after a cold stimulus, a thermal stimulus seems hot, after a sour or salty sensation, sensitivity to sweet increases.

So, the illusion is characterized by the presence of sensory messages misinterpreted by one person, and sometimes by many people.

hallucinations- these are disorders of perception, when a person, due to disturbances in mental activity, sees, hears, feels something that does not exist in reality. It is a perception which is said not to be based on an external object, otherwise it is an "imaginary, false perception".

Hallucinations are, as a rule, a consequence of the fact that perception is saturated not with external real impressions, but with internal images of a person who is in the grip of hallucinations. They are experienced as truly perceived, i.e. people actually see, hear, smell, and do not imagine or imagine during a hallucination. For the hallucinator, subjective sensory sensations are just as valid as those coming from the objective world.

We can observe hallucinations in mental illnesses, and also in healthy people in sensory isolation experiments or when certain drugs (hallucinogens) are used; hallucinations can also be suggested to a person in deep hypnotic sleep.

Hallucinations are usually classified according to the sense organs: visual, auditory, olfactory, and others. Of greatest interest are usually visual hallucinations, which are distinguished by an unusual variety: visions can be formless (smoke, flame, fog), or vice versa, seem clearer than images of real objects. The magnitude, color, mobility of phenomena are also characterized by a large amplitude. The content of visual hallucinations has a very strong emotional impact: it can frighten, cause horror or, on the contrary, interest, admiration.

Great importance in psychiatric diagnosis is given to the division of hallucinations into true and false (pseudohallucinations). true hallucinations characterized by sensory clarity, they unfold in the real space of a particular analyzer and "patients not only think that they see and hear, but actually see and hear" (E. Kraepelin). The behavior of patients usually corresponds to the content of hallucinatory experiences, and they are convinced that the people around them see and hear the same thing as they do. Pseudo-hallucinations differ from true themes that with them there is no complete sensual-bodily clarity of images, and this brings them closer to ideas. Patients talk about what they see and hear, adding "as if", although they insist on the reality of their hallucinations. A pseudo-hallucinatory image unfolds in the imagined, or rather, intrapsychic (subjective) space of a particular analyzer, so patients can report the ability to “see” beyond the horizon line or through opaque barriers, and also report voices “inside the head”. Sometimes from the group of pseudohallucinations, extracampal hallucinations, which are projected out of reach of the corresponding analyzer. At the same time, patients "see" behind themselves, behind the wall, "hear" for many hundreds of kilometers.

In healthy people, against the background of fatigue or exhaustion, sometimes visual or auditory hallucinations similar to pseudohallucinations occur for a short time when falling asleep.

Visual and auditory hallucinations are often divided into simple(photopsia - perception of flashes of light, stars, sparks; acoasma - perception of sounds, noise, crackling, whistling, crying) and complex(verbal - perception of articulate speech).

Hallucinations also occur in conditions of sensory isolation. An experiment carried out at McGill University in 1956 by Heron and his collaborators is known here. Also known is the experiment of Lilly, a neurophysiologist, who in 1953 tried to test for himself what experience an organism immersed in an aquatic environment can acquire in the absence of interaction with its familiar environment. He spent several hours isolated in a caisson (a large tank filled with water with a high concentration of salt, the temperature of the water is close to human body temperature). Since then, many features of the "caisson" have been studied in order to understand how this inner reality arises. The primary role here is played by the absence of the effect of gravity, since. the subject retains 90% of the energy that under normal conditions he spends on overcoming his own gravity, and this energy can be directed to internal activity.

34. Representations, their main characteristics.

We receive primary information about the world around us through sensation and perception. The excitation that arises in our sense organs does not disappear without a trace at the very moment when the action of stimuli on them ceases. After that, so-called successive images arise and persist for some time. However, the role of these images for the mental life of a person is relatively small. Much more important is the fact that even long after we have perceived an object, the image of this object can be again - accidentally or intentionally - caused by us. This phenomenon is called "representation". Thus , performance - this is a mental process of reflecting objects or phenomena that are not currently perceived, but are recreated on the basis of our previous experience.

The representation is based on the perception of objects that took place in the past. Several types of views can be distinguished:- memory representations(representations that have arisen on the basis of our direct perception in the past of an object or phenomenon); - representations of the imagination. At first glance, this type of representation does not correspond to the definition of the concept of "representation", because in the imagination we display something that we have never seen, but this is only at first glance. Imagination is not born in an empty place, And if, for example, we have never been to the tundra, this does not mean that we have no idea about it. We saw the tundra in photographs, in films, and also got acquainted with its description in a geography or natural history textbook, and on the basis of this material we can imagine the image of the tundra. Consequently, the representations of the imagination are formed on the basis of the information received in past perceptions and its more or less creative processing. The richer the past experience, the brighter and fuller the corresponding representation can be.

Representations do not arise by themselves, but as a result of our practical activities. At the same time, representations are of great importance not only for the processes of memory or imagination, they are extremely important for all mental processes that ensure human cognitive activity. The processes of perception, thinking, writing are always associated with representations, as well as memory, which stores information and through which representations are formed.

Views have their own characteristics:

- visibility . Representations are sensually visual images of reality, and this is their proximity to the images of perception. But perceptual images are a reflection of those objects of the material world that are perceived at the moment, while representations are reproduced and processed images of objects that were perceived in the past. Therefore, representations never have the degree of clarity that is inherent in the images of perception - they, as a rule, are much paler.

- fragmentation . Representations are full of gaps, certain parts and features are presented brightly, others are very vague, and still others are absent altogether. For example, when we imagine someone's face, we clearly and distinctly reproduce only individual features, those on which, as a rule, we fixed our attention. The remaining details only slightly protrude against the background of a vague and indefinite image.

- instability and fickleness . Thus, any evoked image will disappear from the field of your consciousness, no matter how hard you try to keep it. And you will have to make another effort to call it again. In addition, representations are very fluid and changeable. One or the other details of the reproduced image come to the fore in turn. Only in people who have a highly developed ability to form representations of a certain type (for example, musicians have the ability to form auditory representations), these representations can be sufficiently stable and permanent.

It should be noted that representations are not just visual images of reality, but always to a certain extent generalized images. This is their closeness to concepts.

) Generalization exists not only in those representations that relate to a whole group of similar objects (the representation of a chair in general, etc.), but also in the representations of specific objects. We see each object familiar to us more than once, and each time we form some new image of this object, but when we evoke an idea of ​​​​this object in our minds, the resulting image is always generalized. This generalized image is characterized, first of all, by the fact that it emphasizes and gives with the greatest brightness the permanent features of a given object, and on the other hand, the features characteristic of individual, private memories are absent or presented very palely.

Our ideas are always the result of a generalization of individual images of perception. The degree of generalization contained in a representation can vary. Representations characterized by a high degree of generalization are called general notions.

Thus: On the one hand, representations are visual, and in this they are similar to sensory and perceptual images. On the other hand, general representations contain a significant degree of generalization, and in this respect they are similar to concepts. Thus, representations are a transition from sensory and perceptual images to concepts.

Representation, like any other cognitive process, performs a number of functions in the mental regulation of human behavior. Most researchers identify three main functions: - signal(the essence consists in reflecting in each specific case not only the image of an object that previously influenced our senses, but also diverse information about this object, which, under the influence of specific influences, is transformed into a system of signals that control behavior. I. P. Pavlov believed that representations are the first signals of reality, on the basis of which a person carries out his conscious activity.He showed that representations are very often formed according to the mechanism of a conditioned reflex.Thanks to this, any representations signal specific phenomena of reality.When you encounter some kind of then an object or some phenomenon, then you form ideas not only about how it looks, but also about the properties of this phenomenon or object.It is this knowledge that subsequently acts as a primary orienting signal for a person.For example, when you see an orange there is an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bit as an edible and rather juicy object. Therefore, an orange is able to satisfy hunger or thirst); - regulating(is closely related to the signaling function and consists in the selection of the necessary information about an object or phenomenon that previously affected our senses. Moreover, this choice is not carried out abstractly, but taking into account the real conditions of the upcoming activity. Thanks to the regulatory function, precisely those aspects, for example, motor notions based on which greatest success problem is solved); - tuning(manifested in the orientation of human activity depending on the nature of the impacts environment. So, studying the physiological mechanisms of voluntary movements, I. P. Pavlov showed that the emerging motor image provides the setting of the motor apparatus for the performance of the corresponding movements. The tuning function of representations provides a certain training effect of motor representations, which contributes to the formation of the algorithm of our activity).

Thus, representations play a very significant role in the mental regulation of human activity.

35. Classification of representations (by modality, content, degree of generalization), their characteristics.

Currently, there are several approaches to constructing a classification of representations. Since ideas are based on past perceptual experience, the main classification of ideas is based on the classification of types of sensation and perception. Therefore, it is customary to distinguish the following types of representations: visual, auditory, motor (kinesthetic), tactile, olfactory, gustatory, temperature and organic.

It should be noted that this approach to the classification of representations cannot be considered as the only one. So, B. M. Teplov said that the classification of representations can be carried out according to the following criteria: 1) according to their content representations of mathematical, geographical, technical, musical, etc. .; 2) by degree of generalization; From this point of view, one can speak of private and general representations. In addition, the classification of representations can be carried out according to the degree of manifestation volitional effort.

Classification of representations, which is based on sensations, i.e. by types of analyzers:

visual representations . Most of the ideas we have are connected with visual perception. A characteristic feature of visual representations is that in some cases they are extremely specific and convey all the visible qualities of objects: color, shape, volume. However, most often in visual representations, one side predominates, while others are either very unclear or absent altogether. For example, often our visual images are devoid of three-dimensionality and are reproduced in the form of a picture, but not a three-dimensional object. Moreover, these paintings in one case can be colorful, and in other cases - colorless. The nature of our visual representations mainly depends on the content and the practical activity in the course of which they arise. Thus, visual representations play a central role in the visual arts, because not only drawing from memory, but also drawing from nature is impossible without well-developed visual representations. An important role is played by visual representations in the pedagogical process. Even the study of such a subject as literature requires, in order to successfully master the material, the "inclusion" of the imagination, which, in turn, relies heavily on visual representations.

In area auditory representations are essential speech And musical representation. In turn, speech representations can also be divided into several subtypes: phonetic representations And timbre-intonation speech representations. Phonetic representations take place when we present a word by ear without associating it with a specific voice. Such representations are of great importance in the study of foreign languages. Timbre-intonation speech representations take place when we imagine the timbre of the voice and characteristics intonation of a person. Such representations are of great importance in the work of an actor and in school practice when teaching a child expressive reading.

The essence of musical representations mainly lies in the idea of ​​the ratio of sounds in height and duration, since a musical melody is determined precisely by pitch and rhythmic ratios.

Another class of views - motor representations . By the nature of their occurrence, they differ from visual and auditory ones, since they are never a simple reproduction of past sensations, but are always associated with actual sensations. Every time we imagine the movement of any part of our body, there is a slight contraction of the corresponding muscles. If we exclude the possibility of this reduction, then representations become impossible. It has been experimentally proven that whenever

we imagine the pronunciation of a word motorically, the devices note the contraction in the muscles of the tongue, lips, larynx, etc. Therefore, without motor representations, we could hardly use speech and communication with each other would be impossible. Thus, with every motor representation, rudimentary movements are made, which give us the corresponding motor sensations. But the sensations received from these rudimentary movements always form an inseparable whole with one or another visual or auditory image. At the same time, motor representations can be divided into two groups: submissions O movement of the whole body or its individual parts And speech motor representations. The former are usually the result of a fusion of motor sensations with visual images (for example, imagining bending the right arm at the elbow, we usually have a visual image of a bent arm and motor sensations coming from the muscles of this arm). Speech motor representations are a fusion of speech-motor sensations with auditory images of words.

It should be noted that auditory representations are also very rarely purely auditory. In most cases, they are associated with motor sensations of the rudimentary movements of the speech apparatus. Representing an object, we accompany visual reproduction with a mental pronunciation of the word denoting this object, therefore, together with a visual image, we reproduce an auditory image, which, in turn, is associated with motor sensations. A relatively clear visual representation is possible only when reproduced together with an auditory image.

Thus, all the main types of our representations turn out to be related to each other to one degree or another, and the division into classes or types is very arbitrary. We are talking about a certain class (type) of representations in the case when visual, auditory or motor representations come to the fore.

Another type of representation is spatial representations . The term "spatial representations" is applied to those cases where the spatial form and placement of objects are clearly represented, but the objects themselves can be represented very indefinitely. As a rule, these representations are so schematic and colorless that at first glance the term "visual image" is inapplicable to them. However, they still remain images - images of space, since they convey one side of reality - the spatial arrangement of things - with complete clarity.

Spatial representations are mainly visual-motor representations, and sometimes the visual, sometimes the motor component comes to the fore. In everyday life, we also use this type of representation, for example, when it is necessary to get from one point to another, we imagine a route and move along it; the image of the route is constantly in our minds. As soon as we are distracted, i.e. this idea leaves consciousness, we can make a mistake in movement, for example, pass our stop. Therefore, when moving along a route, spatial representations are very important. Spatial representations are also very important in mastering a number of scientific disciplines.

Also, all views are different. by degree of generalization: on single And are common . One of the main differences between representation and perception images is that perception images are always only single, that is, they contain information only about a specific object, and representations are very often generalized. Single representations are representations based on the observation of one subject. Are common representations are representations that generally reflect the properties of a number of similar objects.

It should also be noted that all representations are different according to the degree of manifestation of volitional efforts. At the same time, it is customary to distinguish between arbitrary and involuntary representations. involuntary e representations are representations that arise spontaneously, without activating the will and memory of a person. Arbitrary representations are representations that arise in a person as a result of an effort of will, in the interests of the goal.

36. Individual features of representations and their development.

All people differ from each other in the role that representations of one kind or another play in their lives. In some, visual representations predominate, in others auditory, and in others, motor representations. The existence of differences between people in terms of the quality of representations was reflected in the doctrine of "types of representations". In accordance with this theory, all people can be divided into four groups depending on the predominant type of representations: persons with a predominance of visual, auditory and motor representations, as well as persons with representations of a mixed type (use representations of any type approximately equally).

A person with a predominance of ideas visual type, remembering the text, he imagines the page of the book where this text is printed, as if mentally reading it. If he needs to remember some numbers, such as a phone number, he imagines it written or printed. A person with a predominance of ideas auditory type, remembering the text, as if he hears the spoken words. They also remember numbers in the form of an auditory image. The person with the predominance of representation motor type, remembering the text or trying to remember any numbers, pronounces them to himself.

It should be noted that people with pronounced types are extremely rare. Most people have representations of all these types to one degree or another, and it can be quite difficult to determine which of them play a leading role in a given person. Moreover, individual differences in this case are expressed not only in the predominance of representations of a certain type, but also in the features of representations. Thus, in some people representations of all types are of great brightness, liveliness and fullness, while in others they are more or less pale and schematic. People who are dominated by bright and lively ideas are usually referred to as the so-called figurative type. Such people are characterized not only by the great clarity of their representations, but also by the fact that representations play an extremely important role in their mental life. For example, remembering any events, they mentally "see" pictures of individual episodes related to these events; thinking or talking about something, they make extensive use of visual images, etc.

All people have the ability to use any kind of representations. Moreover, a person must be able to use representations of any type, since the performance of a certain task, for example, mastering educational material, may require it to preferentially use representations of a particular type. Therefore, it is advisable to develop ideas.

Today, there is no data that allows us to unequivocally indicate the time of the appearance of the first representations in children. It is quite possible that already in the first year of life, ideas, while still closely connected with perception, begin to play a significant role in the mental life of the child. However, a number of studies have shown that the first memories of life events in children refer to the age of one and a half years. Therefore, we can talk about the appearance of "free ideas" in children at this particular time, and by the end of the second year of life, visual representations already play a significant role in the life of the child.

Speech (auditory-motor) representations also reach a relatively high development in the second year of life, since without this the process of mastering speech and the rapid growth of the child's vocabulary observed at this age would not be possible. The appearance of the first musical auditory representations, expressed in the memorization of melodies and in their independent singing, belongs to the same period.

Representations play an exceptionally important role in the mental life of a preschool child. Most studies have shown that a preschooler, as a rule, thinks visually, in images. Memory at this age is also largely based on the reproduction of ideas, so the first memories of most people are in the nature of pictures, visual images. However, the first ideas in children are rather pale. Despite the fact that representations are more significant for a child than for an adult, they are more vivid in an adult. This suggests that in the process of human ontogenesis, the development of ideas takes place.

Psychological experiments show that the brightness and accuracy of representations increase under the influence of exercises. Our representations develop in the course of activity, and that activity which requires the participation of representations of a certain quality.

The most important condition for the development of ideas is the presence of a sufficiently rich perceptual material. The essence of this statement is that our ideas largely depend on the usual way of perception, and this must be taken into account when solving specific problems. For example, most people often represent words of a foreign language visually, and words of their native language - auditory-motor. This is explained by the fact that we constantly hear our native language and learn speech in the process of communicating with people, and as a rule, we study a foreign language from books. As a result, representations of foreign words are formed in the form of visual images. For the same reason, our ideas about numbers are reproduced in the form of visual images.

The fact that representations are formed only on the basis of perceptual images must be taken into account in the learning process. It is inexpedient to set premature tasks that require free, unsupported perception, handling of representations. For example, if you ask students to mentally imagine the location of the cities of Moscow and Tver on a map, they are unlikely to be able to do this if they do not know the map well.

The most important stage in the development of representations is the transition from their involuntary emergence to the ability to arbitrarily evoke the necessary representations. Research has shown that there are people who are not capable of arbitrarily evoking ideas. Therefore, the main efforts in the formation of the ability to operate with representations of a certain type should be directed to the development of the ability to arbitrarily call these representations. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that any representation contains an element of generalization, and the development of representations follows the path of increasing the element of generalization in them.

An increase in the generalizing value of representations can go in two directions. One way is the way schematization. As a result of schematization, the representation gradually loses a number of particular individual features and details, approaching the schema. This path is followed, for example, by the development of spatial geometric representations. The other way is the way of development typical images. In this case, representations, without losing their individuality, on the contrary, become more concrete and visual and reflect a whole group of objects and phenomena. This path leads to the creation of artistic images, which, being as specific and individual as possible, can contain very broad generalizations.

37. Features of attention as a mental process. Objective and subjective phenomena of attention and inattention.

Attention in its subjective and objective manifestations clearly demonstrates the systemic nature of human mental activity. Any form of such activity - be it active perception, in-depth reflection, concentration on memory images or on the qualitative performance of complex motor coordination - presupposes, requires, and even is a direct expression of the work of attention. Moreover, attention has always been associated with such fundamental concepts of psychology as consciousness and will. Hence it is clear that the fate of the problem of attention and the history of its discussion were inextricably linked with the history of psychology. There was a time when the concept of attention was eliminated from scientific psychology, declared a fiction and a source of pseudo-problems. At the same time, applied aspects of attention continued to occupy the minds of representatives of various professions: teachers, actors, lawyers, doctors, operators. technical systems, cosmonauts, etc. Thanks to this, there was a continuous enrichment of the factual base of the psychology of attention, stimulation of experimental studies of attention. Of course, in parallel, the creation of new theories, explanatory schemes and models of this "mysterious" process took place.

Attention is a psychological phenomenon with respect to which there is still no consensus among psychologists. On the one hand, the question of the existence of attention as an independent mental phenomenon is considered: some authors argue that attention cannot be considered as an independent phenomenon, since it is present to some extent in any other mental process; others defend the independence of attention as a mental process.

On the other hand, there is disagreement about , to what class of mental phenomena attention should be attributed. Some believe that attention is a cognitive mental process. Others associate attention with the will and activity of a person, based on , that any activity, including including cognitive, is impossible without attention, and attention itself requires the manifestation of certain volitional efforts.

Example: a student is doing a task, his mental activity is directed to something or focused on something. This orientation and concentration of mental activity on something specific is called attention..

In turn, the direction of mental activity should be understood as its selective nature, i.e. selection from the environment of specific objects, phenomena that are significant for the subject, or the choice of a certain kind of mental activity. The concept of orientation also includes the preservation of activities for a certain period of time. For example, you can easily direct your attention to the solution of a certain task, but if you cannot keep the object of the corresponding activity in the field of your attention, then you are unlikely to be able to solve this task.

Another characteristic of attention is concentration - a greater or lesser depth in the activity. Obviously, the more complex the task, the greater should be the intensity and intensity of attention, i.e., greater depth is required. On the other hand, concentration is associated with distraction from everything extraneous. Otherwise, when you fail to distract yourself from the outsider, the solution of the problem becomes more complicated.

Direction and focus are closely related. One cannot exist without the other. However, despite the close relationship between them, these concepts are not identical. Orientation is associated with the transition from one classes to another, and concentration - with depth in the lesson.

In order to understand what role attention plays in a person's mental activity, imagine that you are looking at some group of objects. Some objects that are in the center of your visual field will be perceived most clearly by you, others that are on the periphery of your visual field will be less distinct. A similar analogy can be built in relation to our consciousness: what makes up the meaning of our

activity, occupies the center of our consciousness, and what is currently insignificant goes to the periphery, or "side field" of consciousness. It should be noted that this analogy is just an analogy. You can look at some object, but at the same time think about something completely different. In this case, the "central field" of your consciousness will be occupied by what you think about, and not by what you look at. If we represent our consciousness graphically, then we should draw two circles: one inside the other. The large circle will be called the zone of unclear consciousness, and the small circle - the zone of clear and distinct consciousness, or the zone of attention.

Thus, attention provides clarity and clarity of consciousness, awareness of the meaning of mental activity at one time or another.

Attention, like any mental process, is associated with certain physiological phenomena. In general, the physiological basis for the isolation of individual stimuli and the flow of processes in a certain direction is the excitation of some nerve centers and the inhibition of others.

Subjectively, the state of attention is characterized by the division of the current experience into two parts. The units of the focal area are stable, they are perceived clearly and distinctly, brightly and vividly, while the contents of the periphery of consciousness are vaguely and, as it were, merge. The clarity of complex, holistic images is spoken of in cases where details are distinguishable in them, and distinctness, if these images stand out sharply from other contents of consciousness. So, from the inside, attention is characterized by increased clarity and distinctness. perception of the objects on which it is focused.

(It can also be said that the state of attention is characterized by the division of the current experience into two parts: into a figure and a background (Gestalt psychology), or, according to Titchiner, use the wave metaphor - max attention on the crest).

Externally (objectively) the state of attention is characterized by two kinds of changes in our movements. First, there are a number of movements of an adaptive nature, as a result of which the stimulus that has attracted attention can more successfully affect our perceiving organ. In the case of "internal attention", i.e. attention to ideas or thoughts, as such an adaptive movement, for example, setting our eyes to infinity should be considered: it eliminates everything that is in front of us from the field of view and thereby helps to fix the thought that has attracted our attention. Secondly, when we are attentive, we delay all movements that are not of this adaptive character; thinking, peering or listening, we usually stop moving our hands, stop talking, slow down our steps. In addition, the state of attention also affects the internal motor processes of our body, primarily on breathing. With attention, breathing slows down. Also, an objective characteristic of attention is a mnemonic criterion - "The true art of memory is attention."

The phenomena of inattention include states of absent-mindedness. They differ both in their nature and in the reasons that presumably cause them. The distraction of the first type can be the result of fatigue, headache, monotonous activity, then the eyes rush into space, the sounds coming from the outside merge into a monotonous rumble, the consciousness is flooded with random uncontrolled perceptions and memories of a fragmentary nature. But they also distinguish states of imaginary absent-mindedness, when absent-mindedness is a negative consequence of deep internal concentration, it is divided into poetic (a person is in a state of daydreaming, daydreaming) and professorial (concentration on a problem, searching for a solution to a problem, etc.) absent-mindedness. Student absent-mindedness acts as a consequence of the extreme mobility and distractibility of attention, here attention involuntarily and chaotically moves from one external object to another. Senile absent-mindedness is characterized by poor switching in combination with insufficiently active concentration. There is also a class of phenomena of habitual inattention: we do not notice the ticking of the clock, the pressure of clothes and shoes, the beating of the heart, breathing, etc.

38. Classification of types of attention.

In modern psychology, it is customary to distinguish several types of attention, for the following reasons:

1. By object (by modality (quality) of activity):

• 
  Sensual (sensory)
• 
  Mental (directed to thought)
• 
  Executive (directed to movement)
• 
  Affective (for emotion)

• 
  Immediate(the object is interesting in itself)
• 
  mediated(derivative, apperceptive - an object is interesting in connection with something that attracts a person)

• 
  involuntary(passive, reflex) - depends on the characteristics of the object. Activity captures a person by itself, because of its fascination, entertainment or surprise. Usually, when involuntary attention occurs, we are dealing with a whole range of reasons, and depending on internal conditions, involuntary attention is divided into: 1. forced attention(determined by the characteristics of the stimulus, the nature of the external stimulus, here it is necessary to include, first of all, the strength, or intensity, of the stimulus, these are: pungent odors, loud sounds, bright light, strong push, explosions, rhythmic repetition of a weak stimulus, etc., also attracts attention new, unexpected, strange. This is innate, intense attention); 2. involuntary attention(depends on the individual experience of the subject, determined by the characteristics of the organism, these are: hunger, fatigue, etc. So, a well-fed and hungry person will react completely differently to a conversation about food. A person experiencing a feeling of hunger will involuntarily pay attention to the conversation, which is about food.) 3. habitual attention(the general orientation of the personality is determined by the interests of the subject, this is the so-called professional attention)
• 
  Arbitrary(active, purposeful) - depends on the characteristics of the subject. Its main feature is that it is controlled by a conscious purpose. This kind of attention is closely connected with the human will and was developed as a result of labor efforts. The main function of voluntary attention is the active regulation of the course of mental processes. Both types of attention are closely related to each other, since voluntary attention arose from involuntary. Voluntary attention is a behavior of the mind. Depending on the conditions, voluntary attention is divided into: 1. actually arbitrary(light conditions); 2. strong-willed(includes efforts when there are obstacles, difficulties); 3. expectant(if the person is warned and waiting); 4. spontaneous(post-arbitrary).

• 
  Involuntary (min activity)
• 
  Arbitrary
• 
  Post-voluntary / spontaneous (max activity) - This type of attention, like voluntary, is purposeful and initially requires volitional efforts, but then the person “enters” the work: the content and process of the activity become interesting and significant, and not just its result. Attention from voluntary becomes, as it were, involuntary (unlike genuine involuntary external, post-voluntary attention remains associated with conscious goals and is supported by conscious interests; at the same time, unlike voluntary external, there is no or almost no volitional effort here).

Perception is a holistic reflection of objects, situations, phenomena arising from the direct impact of physical stimuli on the receptor surfaces of the sense organs. Perception makes possible a holistic reflection of the world, the creation of an integral picture of reality, in contrast to sensations that reflect individual qualities of reality.

The result of perception is an integral, holistic image of the surrounding world, arising from the direct impact of the stimulus on the subject's sense organs. It is a mistake to believe that perception is a mere summation of individual sensations. In addition to sensations, the previous experience is involved in the process of perception, the processes of understanding what is perceived, i.e. the process of perception includes mental processes of an even higher level, such as memory and thinking. Therefore, perception is very often called the human perceptual system.

The main properties of perception include the following: objectivity, integrity, structure, constancy, meaningfulness, apperception, activity.

Objectivity of perception is the ability to reflect objects and phenomena of the real world not in the form of a set of sensations that are not related to each other, but in the form of individual objects. Objectivity is not an innate property of perception, the emergence and improvement of this property occurs in the process of ontogenesis, starting from the first year of a child's life. The possibility of objective perception is due to the presence of a motor component in the process of perception. So, having heard a sound or smelled, we make certain approximate movements in relation to the source of irritation.

Another property of perception is integrity. Unlike sensation, which reflects the individual properties of an object, perception gives a holistic image of the object. It is formed on the basis of generalization of information received in the form of various sensations about the individual properties and qualities of the object. The components of sensation are so strongly interconnected that a single complex image of an object arises even when only individual properties or individual parts of the object directly affect a person.

With the integrity of perception is connected and its structure. This property lies in the fact that perception in most cases is not a projection of our instantaneous sensations and is not a simple sum of them. We perceive a generalized structure actually abstracted from these sensations, which is formed over some time. For example, if a person listens to some melody, then the previously heard notes still continue to sound in his mind when information about the sound of a new note arrives.

The next property of perception is constancy. Constancy is the relative constancy of certain properties of objects when the conditions for their perception change. For example, moving away freight car will still be perceived by us as a large object, despite the fact that its image on the retina will be much smaller than its image when we stand near it.

Perception depends not only on the nature of the stimulus, but also on the subject himself. They perceive not the eye and ear, but a concrete living person. Therefore, perception always affects the characteristics of a person's personality. The dependence of perception on the general content of our mental life is called apperception. Perception activates past experience. Therefore, the same object can be perceived differently by different people. A significant place in apperception is occupied by attitudes and emotions that can change the content of perception. So, the mother of a sleeping child may not hear the noise of the street, but instantly reacts to any sound coming from the side of the child.

The next property of perception is its meaningfulness. Although perception arises from the direct action of a stimulus on the sense organs, perceptual images always have a certain semantic meaning. As we have already said, the perception of a person is closely connected with thinking. The connection between thinking and perception is primarily expressed in the fact that to consciously perceive an object means to mentally name it, i.e. refer to a certain group, class, associate it with a certain word. Even when we see an unfamiliar object, we try to establish in it a resemblance to other objects. Therefore, perception is not determined simply by a set of stimuli affecting the senses, but is a constant search for the best interpretation of the available data.

Activity (or selectivity) lies in the fact that at any given time we perceive only one object or a specific group of objects, while the rest of the objects of the real world are the background of our perception, i.e. not reflected in our minds.

For example, you are listening to a lecture or reading a book and do not pay any attention to what is happening behind you.

Differences in life experience, in knowledge, views, interests, in the emotional attitude of people to objects and phenomena of reality give rise to significant individual differences in perception. They affect both the completeness, accuracy and speed of perception, as well as the nature of its generalization and emotional coloring. Depending on the skills and habits acquired in the experience, and, consequently, on the previously formed systems of temporary connections, different types of perception are formed. In some people, perception is characterized by greater integrity and emotionality with less pronounced analysis (synthetic type of perception). For others, perceptions are more analytic with less pronounced concreteness and integrity of perception (analytical type of perception). Finally, in people of the third type, perceptions are specific, holistic, and at the same time analytical (analytical-synthetic type of perception). Representatives of the first type pay more attention to facts; representatives of the second type - on the meaning and explanation of facts; the third type combines the observation and description of facts with their explanation. Extreme types of perception are less common than the average - analytic-synthetic type of perception.

Significant individual differences in perception are created by the degree of differentiation and generalization of previously formed systems of temporary connections. Insufficient differentiation of temporal connections leads to incompleteness and inaccuracy of perceptions, which are usually supplemented by various subjective additions, which is especially often observed with increased emotional excitability of a person. Subjective distortions of perception can also arise as a result of the formation of inert stereotypes, i.e., strong, but inactive and difficult to change systems of temporary connections. Such hard-to-change, inert stereotypes are expressed in biased views, often distorting perception, making it one-sided.

Each of us comprehends the world based on the information provided to us by the five classical senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste. True, there are many contenders for the role of the sixth (seventh, eighth and beyond) sense; the main one is kinesthetic sensations (sensations of movement and position of one's own body, as well as muscle efforts). The image of the world that arises in a person on the basis of our sensations seems natural, understandable and the only possible one. And almost the same - the only possible, well-established and monumental - may seem to be the psychology of perception - a classic object of interest for scientific psychology for more than a hundred years, since its very birth. And it turned out that new discoveries were made in this “classical” area, somewhat shaking our ideas about the “only possible” image of the world. These discoveries are associated with the now fashionable Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

The founders of NLP, John Grinder and Richard Bandler, a computer scientist and linguist, are not scientists but pragmatists. Asked why some therapists are successful in helping people and others are not, they did not delve into the jungle of theories or talk about the wonderful gift and intuition. They took a different path: observing and analyzing the work of the best psychotherapists of the 1970s, they tried to isolate the constituent elements of their success, that is, to understand "how they do what they do." Distinguished. Systematized. Created a technology for successful behavior and communication. Checked - it works. They did not become interested in how what they had achieved correlated with established psychological knowledge and theories: what difference does it make if it works. Explained to others. They began to distribute - an unheard-of success came.

The notion of representational systems that determine individual differences in perception and other cognitive processes is one of the achievements of NLP. In order to understand what is behind the beautiful phrase "representative system", read excerpts from a conversation with a nine-year-old girl, Xenia. Try to imagine her world as vividly as possible. What is he?

• - Ksenia, please tell us what you want.
• - I don't know... Okay... I'll tell you how my grandfather and I went to the forest. We entered the forest and followed the path. THORNY, sun-dried branches SHATTED us in the face. Then black clouds appeared and it began to rain. I FELT drops falling on me. Thunderstorm began. It was scary.
• - Were you afraid of bright lightning or thunder?
• - No, why be afraid of thunder?
• - Why is it scary?
• It's just scary, that's all. And something else could FALL on me: a branch or even a tree. Everything around was torn apart. Such an UNPLEASANT MUD around. We walked through fallen trees overgrown with moss and tree mushrooms. Green frogs jumped around us. It's good for frogs - they LIKE MOKRYATIN, and they are not at all afraid ...
• - Ksenia, tell us how you went to visit.
• - I will describe their apartment: dark, stuffy, UNVENTILATED, and a big cat lives with them - they SMELL ...
• - Do you like to dress up?
• - Hate. They tortured the poor child. Bought a jacket yesterday. They put one on me: “Look, what a fashionable style! Look how it goes! And this jacket has SLEEVES LIKE CUFFS.
• - What cuffs?
• - from the apparatus with which the pressure is measured.
• - Did you buy a jacket?
• - This one is not, they bought another, very SOFT.

Xenia's world is a world of prickly branches and wet drops, stuffy rooms, tight or soft jackets. Ksenia is a KINESTHETIC, that is, body sensations, movements, touches, as well as smells and tastes are of the greatest importance for her consciousness.

And now - the world of eleven-year-old Sasha.

• - Please tell us how you like to spend your free time.
• - I sometimes with friends, and sometimes with a dog I like to go for a walk in the forest. I can wander for hours, LISTENING TO THE SOUNDS OF NATURE: either the RUSHING of LEAVES on the trees, or the CHIRTING OF BIRDS. There is a small BURBLING RIVER in the forest. There are almost no people where I walk, so YOU ​​FEEL SUCH PLEASURE EVEN FROM THE SILENCE OF THE FOREST.

In general, I experience great joy from COMMUNICATION with friends. We exchange cassettes, it happens that we go to CONCERTS. I really like the GROUPS "Time Machine", "Black Sabbat", "Aria". When I LISTEN to such music, I am overwhelmed by a feeling of extraordinary joy, inner uplift.

• - What is your favourite subject?
• - I love history and foreign language. From history you learn how people lived before. Foreign - for the ability to COMMUNICATE with people in another language.

The boy has a well-developed kinesthetic system: the constant refrain in his story is the words “I feel”, “covers the feeling”. And yet, it is primarily an AUDIAL, that is, it relies on auditory information in comprehending the world. His world is the world of nature sounds and favorite rock bands, the joy of communication (conversation) with friends. His favorite subjects enable him to communicate (in another language) or learn interesting stories(how people used to live).

In addition to kinesthetics and auditory, it is customary to single out also VISUALS - for their consciousness, visual information is of primary importance. Thus, there are three types of people, distinguished by the type of LEAD REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM.

The predominance of one or another type of representative system can be expressed very clearly, and maybe quite weakly. The first is more characteristic of young children, who first develop only one of the representative systems (more often - kinesthetic) and only then - the second and third. For example, nine-year-old Xenia, along with kinesthetic, has vivid visual and auditory images. Here is a conversation with six-year-old Kolya. Please note that even individual calls to the visual system are quickly translated into a kinesthetic code familiar to the boy.

• - Kolya, what do you like to do most of all?
• - Sports, skiing. You can ride them down the hill, work out. Play, accelerate, ride at speed and you can steer from the hill, like in a car.
• - What else do you like to do?
• - Charging. There are a lot of exercises there. Especially rope crawling. I like that you can sit at a height, it's so interesting.
• - Why is it interesting to sit at a height?
• - Everything is seen.
• - What do you see?
• - Well, you'll be older than everyone.
• - Do you want to be older than everyone?
• - Yes. To be tall. To GET to the sky and REMOVE the sun from there ...
• - Imagine this situation: you are alone in the forest and get lost. How will you get out, find your way home?
• - You can tell by the tree. SEE where there is more moss, where there is less. Where there is less moss - there is the north, where there is more - there is the south.
• - And where shall we go?
• - Let's go along the road WHERE YOU ALREADY WALKED.

What determines in a person's life his leading representative system? Firstly, it determines what information from the surrounding world is assimilated most easily and quickly, what aspects of it will be first of all paid attention to. Let's say a child sees a new interesting toy in the store. The visual will try to see it properly. The auditory will begin to ask what it is, what the toy is for and how to play with it. The kinesthetic person will try to hold and touch the toy. Most likely, these three will prefer different things: visual - a bright and beautiful toy, kinesthetic - soft or pleasant to the touch. As for the auditory, if there is no sounding or talking toy in the store, he may prefer to choose a character from a fairy tale or cartoon - someone with whom some interesting story is connected.

The second difference associated with the leading representational system is the preferred form of storing information in memory and the ease of retrieval from memory. different types information. Let's say, thinking about a loved one, one will remember, first of all, his face, the other - the voice, and the third - the softness of the hands or the smell.

The third important aspect of representational systems is the ease of handling different types information in the process of mental activity. Consider, for example, the process of choosing the right road in an unfamiliar area. The visual will try to stock up on a plan and navigate by it. If there is no plan, he will try to imagine the area as best as possible and choose a road based on its visual image. Audial will question passers-by. The kinesthetic person will most likely look for the right path, moving in different directions until he gets to the goal. However, it is not always possible to choose the optimal way of presenting information. For example, in the process of schooling, visual is easier to learn new material from the blackboard or from a book, and the auditory from the teacher's explanation. But the teacher will choose only one thing (what exactly will most likely depend on his own leading system). Kinesthetics are almost no opportunities modern system does not provide education. However, among children of primary school age, it is kinesthetics who are the most. Therefore, many of the difficulties of the initial stages of education are determined by the fact that the form of education does not agree well with the leading representative system of the child. Such difficulties should be overcome by developing all three representative systems and forming the skills of recoding information from one system to another. This is exactly what happens spontaneously in the first years of schooling.

Finally, representational systems largely determine what images emotions and feelings, experiences and internal states are translated into, as well as the “language” in which we try to tell others about them. So, about the same state, three people with different leading systems will say completely differently. Visual: "When I look into my future, it seems unclear to me." Auditory: "I can't say anything about my future." Kinesthetic: "I can't feel what's about to happen."

How difficult it is to understand each other, even for the closest people, if they have different representational systems, is evidenced by the following example given by Grinder and Bandler.

A kinesthetic husband comes home from work tired and wants comfort. He sits down in an armchair, takes off his shoes, covers himself with newspapers and magazines. The visual wife enters. She cleaned the house all day to make everything look good. She sees things scattered all over the room and explodes. The husband complains: “She does not give me a place in the house where I can comfortably settle down. It's my house. I want comfort!” In order for the spouses to understand each other, it is necessary to find a kinesthetic correspondence to visual complaints. For example, like this: “You really don’t understand what your wife is going through. Imagine that you come to the bedroom in the evening to go to bed, and your wife is sitting in bed eating cookies. You lie down and feel the crumbs dig into your skin. Do you now know what she feels when she enters the living room and sees the scattered things?

To speak with an interlocutor in the "language" of his leading representative system means to maintain close contact with him and achieve mutual understanding. The skills of conducting such a conversation are important for practical psychologists and everyone who works with people.

Thus, taking into account the individual characteristics of perception makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of training and the organization of cognitive activity, as well as to improve mutual understanding between people.

NLP specialists determine the leading representational system from eye movements, which, however, requires special training. Less accurately, but still possible to determine the leading representational system according to the characteristics of speech and behavior.

Perception largely depends on the characteristics of the perceiving subject. The perceived image is individual, it belongs to the inner world of a given person, since the selectivity of perception in the formation of a particular image is determined by his personal interests, needs, motives and attitudes, which determines the uniqueness and emotional coloring of the image. The dependence of perception on the content of a person's mental life, the characteristics of his personality is called apperception.

The Swiss psychologist G. Rorschach found that even meaningless ink spots (Fig. 7) are always perceived as something meaningful. At the same time, a person, depending on individual characteristics, puts his own meaning into the content of what he sees.

Rice. 7.

Individual differences in perception can be conditionally classified into the following types: synthetic and analytical, explanatory and descriptive, objective and subjective. The allocation of these types is based on establishing the correlation of sensory organization with mental and emotional processes.

For people with a synthetic type, a generalized reflection and definition of the main meaning of what is happening is characteristic. They do not attach importance to details and do not see them. People with an analytical type, when perceiving, first of all, details, particulars. They often find it difficult to understand the general meaning of phenomena. The general idea of ​​the object, events is often replaced by a thorough analysis of individual actions, details, while being unable to highlight the main thing.

People belonging to the descriptive type of perception are limited to the factual side of what they see and hear. On the contrary, people belonging to the explanatory type try to explain the essence of the perceived phenomenon.

People with an objective type of perception are characterized by a strict correspondence of what they perceive to what is happening in reality. Those who have a subjective type of perception bring their own attitude to the perceived object, phenomenon. They talk more about what they thought or felt at the time of the events they are talking about.

Personal characteristics of observation are of great importance for individual differences in perception. Observation is a property of a person, which is based on the desire and ability to notice the features of objects and phenomena with the greatest completeness. A characteristic sign of observation is the speed of perception of the subtle. One of the factors contributing to the development of observation is curiosity. The process of observation is an active form of cognition of reality.

Under certain circumstances (sharp physical, emotional, mental overload, the action of certain chemicals, diseases, etc.), perception disorders are observed. Insurance companies they have statistics that prove that there is a whole abyss from the visual image to reality. How many times has a tree been mistaken for the continuation of the road, and the shadow of a rock for a turn? If we look at Figure 8, we can see the dots flickering even though they are not drawn. This phenomenon is an illusion of perception, that is, a distorted perception of a real-life object. An example of psychological illusions can be an overestimation of vertical lines compared to horizontal ones (provided that the length of the segments is objectively equal), the illusion of railway tracks (a line located in a narrower part of the space enclosed between two converging straight lines seems longer), etc. Most often illusions are manifested in determining the size, parallelism and distance, contrast of objects. The object seems larger in the vicinity of small objects and smaller - next to larger ones.

Rice. 8.

The most well-known perceptual disorder are hallucinations - imaginary perception. A person in the power of hallucinations perceives objects that are absent in reality as real ones.