Then the vivid fantasies of writers, artists, brilliant inventions of designers and discoveries of scientists come to mind. In fact, there are many more areas of use of imagination, some of which we are not even aware of. This mental process of creating images is actively involved in all types, not only conscious, but also unconscious. Imagination is so diverse that in psychology there is even a classification of its types.

Like other cognitive processes, imagination can be voluntary, that is, purposeful and regulated by our consciousness and volitional processes. But there is also involuntary imagination, which is not associated with conscious mental activity, but with the processes of the subconscious.

The degree of unconsciousness and involuntary imagination may vary. I think all of us have experienced a state when thoughts, images, ideas appear as if on their own, regardless of our desires. The thought freely “wanders in the convolutions” of the brain. Pictures and ideas pop up in your head; they are combined, modified, and evoke new associations. Sometimes at some stage we may become interested in a spontaneously arising thought and take control of the imagination process.

In such a situation, we are not only fully capable of controlling this mental process, but we also distinguish its images from the real ones, that is, we realize their fantastic nature. But there are other situations when the imagination is absolutely spontaneous, involuntary and passive, that is, the participation of images in any active activity is not even expected.

Passive involuntary imagination

This type of imagination includes dreams and hallucinations.

• Dreams are a product of a healthy psyche, their visions are the result complex processes excitation and inhibition in the cerebral cortex. Inhibition allows our subconscious, where it is stored, to become active. great amount figurative information. At the subconscious level, images intertwine and mix, giving rise to new combinations, like in a children's kaleidoscope. And such unusual pictures and intricate plots become the content of our dreams.
• Hallucinations, unlike dreams, are the result of painful conditions when brain activity is disrupted. This may be delirium during a serious illness, a consequence of alcohol and drug intoxication, or the result mental disorders. Sometimes hallucinations occur in response to severe emotional shocks, when a person's level of rational control is sharply reduced.

Despite their differences, these two types of imagination are united by man's inability to control them. But there are types of passive, unproductive imagination that are completely conscious and controllable, although they often arise spontaneously and to a certain extent involuntarily.

Passive voluntary imagination

This species includes two very close and similar mental phenomena- dreams and daydreams. One of essential functions imagination – prognostic. Thanks to it, we can foresee developments in the future, not only probable, but also unlikely and even completely incredible. Why not? The power of our imagination is such that we are able to imagine anything: even a prince in a white Mercedes, even winning the lottery, even a dizzying success at work.

What is imagined does not always come true - there are not enough princes for everyone. But why not dream?

• Dreams are not just fantasies, but images of the desired future. They can be realistic to one degree or another, many of them require certain conditions and efforts for their implementation, but are quite achievable. And most importantly, even being a type of passive imagination, a dream encourages a person to be active.
• Dreams, unlike dreams, have no relation to reality; they are solely a product of our imagination, and, as a rule, a person does not even imagine doing anything to make dreams come true. This may be a pleasant, but illusory fulfillment of reality.

The boundary between a dream and a daydream is very fluid, sometimes it is difficult to notice, but the differences can be understood with a simple example. A girl, reading a book in the fantasy genre, imagines herself in the place of a heroine who finds herself in a fairy-tale world, where three princes or dark lords fall in love with her. It's a dream. And if a girl thinks that someday she will also write and even publish a similar book, then this is a dream. And with proper effort, it is quite feasible.

Active voluntary imagination

This is exactly the “workhorse” of our consciousness, which actively participates in all spheres and areas of life. This type of imagination is productive in nature, its images are embodied in reality and are the basis of creative activity. Active voluntary imagination also comes in two types: reproductive and creative.

Reproductive imagination

Imagination is always associated with the construction of new images, but the degree of their novelty may vary. The reproductive imagination recreates, reproduces images according to a description, diagram, drawing, for example:

• presentation of the house according to its detailed plan;
• knitting pattern according to the pattern;
• the image of the hero of the book according to the description;
• culinary masterpiece according to the recipe.

Reproductive imagination requires well-developed imaginative thinking and a wealth of sensory experience. After all, images are created only from existing material, based on developed skills. Therefore, not everyone can “see” a finished house or device from a drawing, but only those who have been trained in this, who have special knowledge, including experience in linking the “picture” to the diagram.

The same can be said about imagining a literary character or a fantastic animal from a description. This is, in essence, “co-creation” with the writer. Moreover, the less clear and unambiguous the description is given, the more creative and original the image that appears in a person’s head will be. If the author describes the hero's appearance in detail, as in focusing on a criminal in the police, then he leaves no room for the reader's imagination, thereby reducing interest in both the hero and the book.

Creative imagination

This highest form both imagination and cognitive processes generally. Creative imagination relates not only to the creation of fantastic images. Realistic paintings or literary works require no less imagination. Moreover, it is creative, associated with the creation of vital, truthful, but completely new images. Creative imagination is necessary in both the scientific and design fields, and in any other field. Indeed, in every type of activity: from cooking and plumbing to poetry and management, there is a place for creativity.

It is creative imagination that allows us to see a situation from an unusual angle, find unexpected, non-standard solutions to a problem, find new paths and see what is hidden from ordinary view.

Creative imagination is often associated with inspiration and speaks of its spontaneity, unpredictability, and uncontrollability. Indeed, there is a connection with inspiration, the subconscious and the intuitive. However, this type of cognitive activity refers to voluntary processes, which means it can be regulated and controlled.

In psychology, special ones have been studied and described. Having mastered them, you can organize your activities in a completely new way, making them more productive, interesting and original.

Question 46. Definition, types, functions of imagination. The role of imagination in solving cognitive and personal problems. Development of imagination. Imagination and creativity.

Imagination- this is the mental process of creating new images, ideas and thoughts based on existing experience, by restructuring a person’s ideas.

Imagination is closely related to all other cognitive processes and occupies special place in human cognitive activity. Thanks to this process, a person can anticipate the course of events, foresee the results of his actions and actions. It allows you to create behavior programs in situations characterized by uncertainty.

From a physiological point of view, imagination is the process of formation of new systems of temporary connections as a result of complex analytical and synthetic activity of the brain.

In the process of imagination, systems of temporary nerve connections seem to disintegrate and unite into new complexes, groups of nerve cells are connected in a new way.

The physiological mechanisms of imagination are located in the cortex and deeper parts of the brain.

Imagination - this is the process of mental transformation of reality, the ability to construct new holistic images of reality by processing the content of existing practical, sensory, intellectual and emotional-semantic experience.

Types of imagination

By subject – emotional, figurative, verbal-logical

By mode of activity - active and passive, intentional and unintentional

By the nature of the images - abstract and concrete

According to the results, it is reconstructive (mental reproduction of images of objects that actually exist) and creative (creation of images of objects that do not currently exist).

Types of imagination:

- active - when a person, through an effort of will, evokes appropriate images in himself. Active imagination is a creative, recreating phenomenon. Creative active imagination arises as a result of work, independently creates images that are expressed in original and valuable products of activity. This is the basis of any creativity;

- passive - when images arise by themselves, do not depend on desires and will and are not brought to life.

Passive imagination is:

- involuntary imagination . Most simple form imagination – those images that arise without special intention or effort on our part (floating clouds, reading an interesting book). Any interesting, exciting teaching usually evokes a vivid involuntary imagination. One type of involuntary imagination is dreams . N.M. Sechenov believed that dreams are an unprecedented combination of experienced impressions.

- arbitrary imagination manifests itself in cases where new images or ideas arise as a result of a person’s special intention to imagine something specific, concrete.

Among the various types and forms of voluntary imagination we can distinguish recreating imagination, creative imagination and dream. Recreating imagination manifests itself when a person needs to recreate a representation of an object that matches its description as fully as possible. For example, when reading books, we imagine heroes, events, etc. Creative imagination is characterized by the fact that a person transforms ideas and creates new ones not according to an existing model, but by independently outlining the contours of the created image and choosing the necessary materials for it. Creative imagination, like recreating, is closely related to memory, since in all cases of its manifestation a person uses his previous experience. A dream is a type of imagination that involves the independent creation of new images. At the same time, a dream has a number of differences from creative imagination. 1) in a dream a person always recreates the image of what he wants, but not always in creativity; 2) a dream is a process of imagination that is not included in creative activity, i.e. not immediately and directly providing an objective product in the form of a work of art, a scientific discovery, etc. 3) a dream is always aimed at future activities, i.e. A dream is an imagination aimed at a desired future.

Functions of the imagination.

In human life, imagination performs a number of specific functions. First one of them is to represent reality in images and be able to use them when solving problems. This function of imagination is connected with thinking and is organically included in it. Second the function of imagination is to regulate emotional states. With the help of his imagination, a person is able to at least partially satisfy many needs and relieve the tension generated by them. This vital function is especially emphasized and developed in psychoanalysis. Third the function of imagination is associated with its participation in the voluntary regulation of cognitive processes and human states, in particular perception, attention, memory, speech, emotions. With the help of skillfully evoked images, a person can pay attention to the necessary events. Through images, he gains the opportunity to control perceptions, memories, and statements. Fourth the function of imagination is to form an internal plan of action - the ability to carry them out in the mind, manipulating images. Finally, fifth function is planning and programming activities, drawing up such programs, assessing their correctness, and the implementation process. With the help of imagination, we can control many psychophysiological states of the body and tune it to upcoming activities. There are also known facts indicating that with the help of imagination, purely by will, a person can influence organic processes: change the rhythm of breathing, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature.

Imagination carries the following functions (as defined by R. S. Nemov):

- representation of reality in images;

- emotional regulation states;

Voluntary regulation of cognitive processes and human states:

- formation of internal action plan;

- planning and programming activities;

- psychophysiological management state of the body.

The role of imagination in solving cognitive and personality problems.

Imagination is closely related to thinking:

Like thinking, it allows you to foresee the future;

Imagination and thinking arise in a problem situation;

Imagination and thinking are motivated by the needs of the individual;

In the process of activity, imagination appears in unity with thinking;

The basis of imagination is the ability to choose an image; the basis of thinking is the possibility of a new combination of concepts.

The main purpose of fantasy is to present an alternative to reality. As such, fantasy serves two main purposes:

It stimulates creativity, allowing you to create something that does not exist (yet), and

It acts as a balancing mechanism for the soul, offering the individual a means of self-help to achieve emotional balance (self-healing). Fantasy is also used for clinical purposes; the results of projective psychological tests and techniques are based on fantasy projections (as is the case in the TAT). In addition, in various psychotherapeutic approaches, fantasy is assigned the role of an exploratory or therapeutic tool.

Development of imagination

It is very difficult to determine any specific age limits that characterize the dynamics of imagination development. There are examples of extremely early development of imagination. For example, Mozart began composing music at the age of four, Repin and Serov could draw well at the age of six. On the other hand, the late development of imagination does not mean that this process will be at a low level in more mature years. History knows of cases where great people, for example Einstein, were not distinguished by a developed imagination in childhood, but over time they began to be talked about as geniuses.

Despite the difficulty of determining the stages of development of imagination in humans, certain patterns in its formation can be identified. Thus, the first manifestations of imagination are closely related to the process of perception. For example, children aged one and a half years are not yet able to listen to even the simplest stories or fairy tales; they are constantly distracted or fall asleep, but listen with pleasure to stories about what they themselves have experienced. This phenomenon clearly shows the connection between imagination and perception. A child listens to a story about his experiences because he clearly imagines what is being said. The connection between perception and imagination continues at the next stage of development, when the child begins to process received impressions in his games, modifying previously perceived objects in his imagination. The chair turns into a cave or an airplane, the box into a car. However, it should be noted that the first images of a child’s imagination are always associated with activity. The child does not dream, but embodies the processed image in his activities, even though this activity is a game.

An important stage in the development of imagination is associated with the age when a child masters speech. Speech allows the child to include in the imagination not only specific images, but also more abstract ideas and concepts. Moreover, speech allows the child to move from expressing images of imagination in activity to their direct expression in speech.

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

The next stage in the development of imagination is associated with the emergence of its active forms. At this stage, the process of imagination becomes voluntary. The emergence of active forms of imagination is initially associated with stimulating initiative on the part of an adult. For example, when an adult asks a child to do something (draw a tree, build a house out of cubes, etc.), he activates the imagination process. In order to fulfill the request of an adult, the child must first create, or recreate, a certain image in his imagination. Moreover, this process of imagination, by its nature, is already voluntary, since the child tries to control it. Later, the child begins to use his own imagination without any adult participation. This leap in the development of imagination is reflected, first of all, in the nature of the child’s games. They become focused and story-driven. The things surrounding the child become not just stimuli for the development of objective activity, but act as material for the embodiment of images of his imagination. A child at the age of four or five begins to draw, build, sculpt, rearrange things and combine them in accordance with his plan.

Another major shift in imagination occurs during school age. The need to understand educational material determines the activation of the process of recreating imagination. In order to assimilate the knowledge that is given at school, the child actively uses his imagination, which causes the progressive development of the ability to process images of perception into images of imagination.

Another reason for the rapid development of imagination during school years is that during the learning process the child actively acquires new and diverse ideas about objects and phenomena of the real world. These ideas serve as a necessary basis for imagination and stimulate the student’s creative activity.

The degree of development of imagination is characterized by the vividness of images and the depth with which the data of past experience is processed, as well as the novelty and meaningfulness of the results of this processing. The strength and vividness of imagination is easily assessed when the product of imagination is implausible and bizarre images, for example, among the authors of fairy tales. Poor development of imagination is expressed in a low level of processing of ideas. Weak imagination entails difficulties in solving mental problems that require the ability to visualize specific situation. With an insufficient level of imagination development, a rich and emotionally diverse life is impossible.

People differ most clearly in the degree of vividness of their imagination. If we assume that there is a corresponding scale, then at one pole there will be people with extremely high levels of vividness of the images of the imagination, which they experience as visions, and at the other pole there will be people with extremely pale ideas. As a rule, we find a high level of development of imagination among people engaged in creative work - writers, artists, musicians, scientists.

Significant differences between people are revealed regarding the nature of the dominant type of imagination. Most often there are people with a predominance of visual, auditory or motor images of the imagination. But there are people who have a high development of all or most types of imagination. These people can be classified as the so-called mixed type. Belonging to one or another type of imagination very significantly affects the individual psychological characteristics of a person. For example, people of the auditory or motor type very often dramatize the situation in their thoughts, imagining a non-existent opponent.

The development of imagination in the human race, considered historically, follows the same path as that of individual person. Vico, whose name is well worth mentioning here because he was the first to see how myths can be used for the study of the imagination, divided the historical path of mankind into three successive periods: divine or theocratic, heroic or fabulous, human or historical in the proper sense; and after one such cycle has passed, a new one begins

- vigorous activity (D. in general) stimulates the development of imagination

Development of various types of creative activities and scientific activities

The use of special techniques for creating new products of imagination as solutions to problems - agglutination, typification, hyperbolization, schematypization

- agglutination (from lat. agglutinatio - gluing) - combining individual parts or different objects into one image;

- emphasis, sharpening - emphasizing some detail in the created image, highlighting a part;

- hyperbolization - displacement of an object, change in the number of its parts, reduction or increase in its size;

- schematization - highlighting the characteristic that is repeated in homogeneous phenomena and reflecting it in a specific image.

- typing - highlighting the similarities of objects, smoothing out their differences;

Active connection of feelings and emotions.

Imagination and creativity.

The leading connection is the dependence of imagination on creativity: imagination is formed in the process of creative activity. The imagination, necessary for the transformation of reality and creative activity, was formed in the process of this creative activity. The development of imagination occurred as more and more perfect products of imagination were created.

Imagination plays a particularly important role in scientific and artistic creativity. Creativity without the active participation of imagination is generally impossible. Imagination allows a scientist to build hypotheses, mentally imagine and perform scientific experiments, search for and find non-trivial solutions to problems. Imagination plays an important role in the early stages of decision scientific problem and often leads to remarkable guesses.

The study of the role of imagination in the processes of scientific and technical creativity is carried out by specialists in the psychology of scientific creativity.

Creativity is closely related to all mental processes, including imagination. The degree of development of imagination and its characteristics are no less important for creativity than, say, the degree of development of thinking. The psychology of creativity manifests itself in all its specific types: inventive, scientific, literary, artistic, etc. What factors determine the possibility of human creativity? 1) human knowledge, which is supported by appropriate abilities, and is stimulated by determination; 2) the presence of certain experiences that create the emotional tone of creative activity.

The English scientist G. Wallace made an attempt to study the creative process. As a result, he was able to identify 4 stages of the creative process: 1. Preparation (the birth of an idea). 2. Maturation (concentration, “contraction” of knowledge, directly and indirectly). 3. Insight (intuitive grasp of the desired result). 4. Check.

Thus, the creative transformation of reality in the imagination is subject to its own laws and is carried out in certain ways. New ideas arise on the basis of what was already in consciousness, thanks to the operations of synthesis and analysis. Ultimately, the processes of imagination consist in the mental decomposition of initial ideas into their component parts (analysis) and their subsequent combination in new combinations (synthesis), i.e. are analytical and synthetic in nature. Consequently, the creative process relies on the same mechanisms that are involved in the formation of ordinary images of the imagination.

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

Types of imagination

• Active imagination - using it, a person, through an effort of will, at will evokes corresponding images.
• Passive imagination - its images arise spontaneously, regardless of the will and desire of a person.
• Productive imagination - in it, reality is consciously constructed by a person, and not simply mechanically copied or recreated. But at the same time, she is still creatively transformed in the image.
• Reproductive imagination - the task is to reproduce reality as it is, and although there is also an element of fantasy here, such imagination is more reminiscent of perception or memory than creativity.

Functions of imagination:

1. Figurative representation of reality;
2. Regulation of emotional states;
3. Voluntary regulation of cognitive processes and human states;
4. Formation of an internal action plan.

5. Functions of imagination: 1. regulation of behavior and activities people based on the presentation of their possible results; 2. Forecasting, which ensures the development of human practice (in general, all technical progress); 3. Ensuring probabilistic thinking, That is, B acts as the main mechanism for creative solving non-standard problems.

Ways to create imagination images:

• Agglutination is the creation of images by combining any qualities, properties, parts.
• Emphasis - highlighting any part, detail of the whole.
• Typing is the most difficult technique. The artist depicts a specific episode that absorbs a lot of similar ones and thus is, as it were, their representative. A literary image is also formed, in which the typical features of many people of a given circle, a certain era are concentrated.

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

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

Types of imagination: 1. Based on the presence of a goal:involuntary– unintentional (because there is no goal) and without volitional efforts creation of new images. This type B occurs with a certain type perception; arbitrary– purposeful, deliberate use by a person of his experience and reconstruction of them into new images ( literary images, paintings) there is always a goal and volitional effort; 2. According to the criterion of originality of the created images:regenerative or reproductive – the formation of new images based on a description or conventional image (a lady in a crinoline, you read and imagine). This B gives a person the opportunity to know what he does not directly perceive in this moment. It can significantly influence the organization of communication between people, the effectiveness of which largely depends on a person’s ability to imagine the internal state of another person, as well as to imagine possible development events. Often a setup is created here; creative or productive– creation of completely new, original, unparalleled images. This type B underlies literary, artistic, musical, scientific, and design activities (the hyperboloid of engineer Garin, Belyaev anticipated the appearance of the laser 53 years later). Creative B called fantasy, when in a new image individual elements are in an unusual, often unrealistic combination (monster). Sometimes they distinguish: passive and active B based on the regulatory function of these V. When passive, V does not lead to activity and acts as a substitute for active activity (as a surrogate for reality). Dream may act as a form of passive B (as in Manilov), but a dream can also be an active form if it comes true. Mechanisms (operations) of process B: 1. Agglutination(gluing) - a mechanical non-real combination of parts, properties of various incompatible objects (mermaids, centaur); 2. Hyperbolization(exaggeration) – objects, their qualities, number of elements, etc. (Pinocchio, cartoons); 3. Analogy– many tools were made by analogy with a man’s hand (rakes); 4. Typification - the most significant, significant signs or properties of certain groups of objects (models are beautiful women).

Types and techniques of imagination

Distinguish two kinds imagination – recreative and creative.

Recreating imagination unfolds on the basis of the perceived sign system: verbal, numerical, graphic, musical notation, etc. By recreating, a person fills the sign system with the knowledge at his disposal.

The quality of reconstruction of what is inherent in the sign system depends on:

1) the initial information on the basis of which the reconstruction is developed;

2) the amount and quality of a person’s knowledge. The breadth of knowledge, combined with its accuracy, the wealth of life experience allows a person to extract the necessary information from memory and see behind the signs what the author put into them;

3) availability of installation. Strong emotional states of a negative and positive orientation interfere with their reconstruction, and then a person is not able to collect his thoughts, concentrate, and clearly and distinctly recreate the content contained in the text and graphic signs.

Creative imagination - the creation of a new, original image, idea. IN in this case the word “new” has a double meaning: a distinction is made between objectively and subjectively new. Objectively new– images, ideas that do not exist at the moment either in a materialized or in an ideal form. This new thing does not repeat what already exists, it is original. Subjectively new- new for this person. It can repeat what exists, but a person does not know about it. He discovers it for himself as original, unique and considers it unknown to others.

Creative imagination proceeds as an analysis and synthesis of knowledge accumulated by a person. In this case, the elements from which the image is built occupy a different position, a different place compared to what they occupied previously. A new image emerges from a new combination of elements. The result of creative imagination can be materialized, that is, on its basis, a thing or object is created through human labor, but the image can remain at the level of ideal content, since it is impossible to realize it in practice.

Development of imagination follows the path from the involuntary to the voluntary, from the recreating to the creative. It relies on the development of the ability to imagine. Ideas, as noted, differ from perceptions in less clarity and distinctness. However, these features of representations can be developed. The main condition for developing the ability to have clear and distinct ideas is the systematic exercise of this ability. In the process of practical activity, thanks to the appropriate focus of attention, not only the brightness, but also the stability of ideas can be developed.

K. S. Stanislavsky drew attention to the fact that the success or failure of an actor’s work on an image depends on his ability to master the ideas associated with the role played in the play. To successfully portray a role, the actor must enter into a system of ideas that are associated with the character of the person being portrayed; he must, during the entire time he is on stage, keep himself in the circle of these, and not any other ideas. All his behavior on stage - facial expressions, gait, and other movements - should not come from those familiar to him (as specific person) ideas, but from ideas about how the character in the play he portrays would do all this. An experienced actor maintains the required performances throughout the entire act with the help of the volitional concentration of attention to which he has accustomed himself.

Play an important role in the development of imagination the following techniques:

a) a comprehensive increase in the stock of ideas, since the activity of the imagination can only proceed successfully on the basis of numerous and varied ideas. In any field of practical activity, a small stock of ideas leads to poverty of imagination. On the contrary, the wealth of ideas opens up wide opportunities for the fruitful activity of the imagination;

b) development of the ability to mentally focus on an imaginary object, see and hear it inner vision and by hearing, to imagine it not somehow, not generally, not approximately, but in all the details and details that characterize it: “imaginary objects and images are drawn to us, although outside of us, but still they first arise within us, in our imagination and memory,” says Stanislavsky;

c) development of the ability of proactive imagination. It is necessary to guide the development of imagination so that in the process of imagination there is always a definite and clear goal, so that the results of the imagination process are always verified by practice and controlled by asking questions - where, how, when, why, for what, etc.;

d) active help from the outside when the imagination runs out and no longer produces results.

e) systematic exercise of the imagination in the process of active creative work. We should not miss a single opportunity in which our creative imagination could be put to good use. As a result of such active work, the imagination will become more and more improved. The example of people engaged in creative professions (artists, writers, designers, etc.) shows how the ability of imagination strengthens and develops in the process of its active use in one or another practical activity.

Related information.

Types of imagination. Forms of imagination

Imagination processes, like memory processes, can vary in degree arbitrariness, or intentionality.

Imagination

passive active dream

unintentional intentional creative recreation

sleep half asleep hallucinations

Kinds imagination: active - passive, creative - recreating, intentional - unintentional.

Each of these types acquires a certain form(dreams, doze, daydreams, hallucinations, reverie).

Passive imagination - characterized by the fact that fantasy creates images that are not realized, outlines behavioral programs that are not implemented and often cannot be implemented.

There are two types of passive imagination:

Intentional (dreams) – there is a goal, effort must be made.

Unintentional (dreams, hallucinations) - in the absence of a goal.

Dreams- fantasy images, deliberately evoked, but not associated with the will aimed at bringing them to life. In dreams, the connection between imagination and the needs of the individual is most clearly revealed. All people tend to dream about something joyful, pleasant, and tempting. But if only this view predominates in the imagination, then this indicates pathology.

Dreams- subjectively experienced ideas, predominantly of the visual modality, that regularly arise during sleep - mainly in the REM (paradoxical) sleep phase; a mental process during sleep, accompanied by visual images.

Hallucinations– imaginary images of objects and situations, perceived as real, but absent in reality, arising spontaneously, without sensory stimulation. Called internal mental factors. Observed, as a rule, in mental disorders.

Active imagination(free imagination)- characterized by the fact that, using it, a person, of his own free will, by an effort of will, evokes in himself the corresponding images. Aimed at solving a creative or personal problem. Applies to all forms of creative activity of the subject.

Kinds active imagination:

Recreating imagination;

Creative imagination;

Recreative imagination (reproductive) manifests itself when a person needs to recreate a representation of an object that matches its description as fully as possible. Occurs in cases when a person, based on one description, must imagine an object that he has never perceived before (image of what he read literary hero, machine drawing).

In its own way psychological structure Recreating imagination is the translation of secondary signal stimuli into primary signal images. For example, this person he has never seen the sea, but after reading its description in a book, he can imagine the sea in more or less vivid and complete images.

The re-creating imagination creates what is, what exists, and the way it exists. It should not depart from reality, otherwise it will not serve the goals of knowledge that it faces - to expand (based on the translation of descriptions into visual images) the circle of human knowledge about the world around us.

Creative imagination (productive), in contrast to recreating, it involves the independent creation of new images that are realized in original and valuable products activities.

Creative (productive) imagination, like recreating, is closely related to memory, since in all cases of its manifestation a person uses his previous experience.

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

For example, creating a new car is always a creative process in which imagination is necessarily involved.

Dream- a necessary condition for the implementation of human creative powers aimed at transforming reality. It acts as a motive for activity.

L. M. Wekker proposes a classification based on the characteristics of the material and object mental activity. This approach allows us to highlight sensory-perceptual imagination (actually figurative), including visual, auditory, motor, spatial and, probably, other types of imagination, verbal-logical (conceptual), acting as an element of thinking, and emotional. How a special species stands out operational imagination, defined as the active functioning of imaginative images as a program of activity.

The process of imagination is not always immediately realized in a person’s practical actions. Often this process takes the form of a special internal activity, which consists in creating an image of what a person would like to accomplish. Such images of the desired future are called dreams. A dream is a necessary condition for the implementation of human creative powers, which are aimed at transforming reality.

The dynamics of a dream is that, initially being a simple reaction to a highly exciting (usually traumatic) situation, it then often becomes an internal need of the individual.

In children's and adolescence the object of desire can be so unreal that the dreamers themselves realize its impracticability. This dream games, which should be distinguished from their more rational form - dreams-plan.

The younger the dreaming child, the more often his dreaming does not so much express his orientation as create it. This is the formative function of dreams.

Fantasy –important condition normal development the child’s personality, it acts as one of the most important conditions for the assimilation of social experience. The development and education of fantasy is an important condition for the formation of a person’s personality.

II. Children's imagination is formed on the basis of their perception. By enriching the child’s experience of perception and special observations, the teacher thereby enriches and develops his imagination. The first manifestations of imagination can be observed in children three years old. By this time, the child has accumulated some life experience, which provides material for the work of the imagination. Play, especially role-playing, is of utmost importance in the development of children’s imagination. The game is a mirror surrounding people life.

It is a mistaken opinion that preschool children have a better developed imagination than schoolchildren and adults - it is so bright and lively. Brightness and liveliness do not mean wealth. On the contrary, children’s imagination is poor, because they don’t know much.

Children's imaginations are intensively developing school age. This is facilitated by the process of training and education, during which the child becomes acquainted with a very wide range of objects and phenomena. However, among junior schoolchildren There are children who cannot voluntarily evoke ideas and operate with them. It is necessary to work a lot with such children, to enrich their real ideas, to train them in the ability to make volitional efforts in order to voluntarily evoke this or that idea.

The inclusion of schoolchildren in the work of creative circles is of great importance. The role of special methodological techniques is important here - stories and essays based on pictures, drawing illustrations for texts, a mental journey through geographical map With

a visual description of nature and landscapes, a journey into the past with visual representations of that era.

But the development of imagination is fraught with dangers. One of them is the emergence of childhood fears. Already from 4-5 years old, children can be afraid of the dark, then more definitely - devils, skeletons, imaginary fairy-tale heroes. The appearance of fears is a companion and a kind of indicator of a developing imagination. This phenomenon is very undesirable, and when fear appears, you need to help the child get rid of it as quickly as possible.

The second danger that lurks in the development of imagination is that the child can completely withdraw into the world of his fantasies. This occurs especially often in adolescence and adolescence. It is impossible to live without a dream, but if a child lives only with dreams and fantasies, without realizing them, then he can turn into a fruitless dreamer. It is important to help the child realize his plans, help subordinate his imagination to certain goals, and make him productive.

When developing imagination, it is important to remember that the material for his fantasies is the entire life around him, all the impressions that he receives, and these impressions must be worthy of the bright world of childhood.

III. The importance of imagination in human life and activity is very great. Imagination arose and developed in the process of labor, and its main significance is that without it any human work would be impossible, because It is impossible to work without imagining the final and intermediate results. Without imagination, progress would not be possible in science, art, or technology. All school subjects cannot be fully absorbed without the activity of the imagination.

The activity of the imagination always correlates with reality. Practice is a criterion for the correctness of imaginative images; it allows one to concretize plans, makes them clearer, more defined, and contributes to their implementation.

The value of imagination is that it allows you to make decisions and find a way out of a problem situation, even in the absence of the necessary completeness of knowledge.

A child's imagination is no stronger than an adult's, but it takes up more space in his life. At school, children's imagination becomes an important prerequisite for both learning and aesthetic education.

The student imagines situations that he has not encountered in his own experience, creates images that have no specific analogue in the surrounding reality, which contributes to the assimilation of knowledge and the development of creative thinking. Creativity reveals the child’s personality, his emotions, feelings, moods and relationships with the outside world; in it he discovers something new for himself, and for those around him about himself.

Every teacher needs to know this and use it for their work in shaping the student’s personality.

IV. Imagination is closely related to emotions. Active work fantasy evokes a rich emotional picture of the state of children. It is well known how children perceive fairy tales. They are filled with emotions that are as powerful as emotional picture adults at the most significant moments in life. What about a children's game? It simply loses its meaning for a child if it does not have a bright emotional background. Imagination and feeling (emotions) are inseparable in a child’s life. The influence of feeling on imagination and vice versa has long been noticed by scientists. Back in the last century, the French psychologist T. Ribot found out that all forms of creative imagination contain strong emotional moments. L. S. Vygotsky deduced “ law of the common emotional sign”, the essence of which was expressed in the words: “every feeling, every emotion strives to be embodied in images corresponding to this feeling”... Emotion, as it were, collects impressions, thoughts and images that are in tune with a person’s mood. Thus , a rich emotional life stimulates the development of imagination. The second law, derived by L. S. Vygotsky, is called the “law of the emotional reality of the imagination.” He says that “every construction of fantasy has a negative impact on our feelings, and even if this construction does not correspond to reality in itself, then the feeling it evokes is a real, truly experienced feeling that captivates a person.” Many “oddities” in the behavior of children are associated with the manifestation of both laws. It is known how children love to compose and tell various “horror stories”. Often this ends with children being frightened by their own stories; the plot and characters have turned into a fantastic reality for the child. The law of emotional reality of imagination is triggered. It is to this law that we owe the numerous conflicts that often end in children’s games. The strong emotions that accompany the game and the fantasies generated by the images give the status of reality to these images. The child identifies the imaginary role and plot with the real personality of his friend.

So, we can conclude: using the richness of the child’s emotional states, we can successfully develop his imagination and, conversely, by purposefully organizing his fantasy, we can form a culture of feelings in the child.

V. Imagination is closely related to interests . Interest can be defined as emotional manifestation cognitive needs. It is expressed in a person’s focus on a certain activity that has special significance for the individual. The beginning of the formation of interest is the emotional attractiveness of an object in the surrounding reality.

I.P. Pavlov considered interest as something that activates the state of the cerebral cortex. It is common knowledge that any educational process goes with that The more successful the student is, the more interested he is in learning.

It should be noted that a child is generally characterized by a cognitive attitude towards the world. He is interested in everything. Interest in everything expands a child’s life experience, introduces him to different activities, and activates his various abilities. However, to really find out, see, “try everything” is beyond the power of a child, and here fantasy comes to the rescue. Fantasy significantly enriches the child’s experience, introduces him in an imaginary form to situations and areas that he has not encountered in his life. real life. This provokes the manifestation of fundamentally new interests in him. With the help of fantasy, the child finds himself in such situations and tries out such activities that are inaccessible to him in reality. This gives him additional experience and knowledge in the everyday and professional sphere, in the scientific and moral sphere, and determines for him the significance of this or that object of life. Ultimately, he develops diverse interests. In its most vivid form, fantasy merges with interest in play. That is why many methods aimed at developing interests are based on the principle of fantasy in play activities.

VI. Imagination is always the creation of something new as a result of processing past experience. No creative activity is possible without fantasy. Creativity is a complex mental process associated with the character, interests, and abilities of the individual. Imagination is its focus, its center. A new product obtained by a person in creativity can be objectively new (i.e., a socially significant discovery) and subjectively new (i.e., a discovery for oneself). In most children we most often see products of creativity of the second kind.

Although this does not exclude the possibility of children creating objective discoveries. Development creative process, in turn, enriches the imagination, expands the child’s knowledge, experience and interests.

Creative activities develop children's senses. Carrying out the creative process, the child experiences a whole range of positive emotions both from the process of activity and from the result obtained. Creative activity promotes more optimal and intensive development of higher mental functions, such as memory, thinking, perception, attention. The latter, in turn, determine the success of the child’s studies. At the same time, imagination itself is significantly included in the educational process, since 90% of it consists of discovering something new. Creative activity develops the child’s personality, helps him to assimilate moral and ethical standards - to distinguish between good and evil, compassion and hatred, courage and cowardice, etc. By creating works of creativity, the child reflects his understanding in them life values, his personal properties, comprehends them in a new way, imbued with their significance and depth. Creative activities develop the child’s aesthetic sense.

Creative activity is of particular importance for gifted and talented children. Giftedness is a set of abilities that allows one to have special achievements in a specific field of art, science, professional and social activities. For a gifted child, imagination is the main characteristic quality. He needs constant fantasy activity.

Giftedness and talent are closely related to advanced development. Such children have higher results compared to their peers. And achieving these results is much easier. They are more sensitive to the outside world. By the way, all children are distinguished by a particularly high sensitivity of certain mental functions in specific periods. Such periods are called “sensitive”. During these periods, a specific function is most susceptible to stimuli from the outside world, is easily trained and develops intensively. During these periods, all children show special achievements in results based on the corresponding functions. For an ordinary child, the sensitive period for one or two functions falls by one age.

Gifted children demand special attention. However, this does not exclude the need to develop imagination and creativity in all children.

VII. The developed ability of imagination, typical of children of primary school age, gradually loses its activity as age increases. At the same time, the liveliness and freshness of impressions, the originality of associations, the wit of comparisons and much more are lost. Thus, it is obvious that imagination enriches interests and personal experience the child, through stimulation of emotions, forms an awareness of moral standards. All these are components of personality. A child’s personality is constantly formed under the influence of all life circumstances. However, there is a special area of ​​a child’s life that provides specific opportunities for personal development - this is play. Basic mental function What provides play is precisely imagination, fantasy.

By imagining game situations and implementing them, the child develops a number of personal qualities, such as justice, courage, honesty, and a sense of humor. Through the work of imagination, compensation occurs for the child’s still insufficient real abilities to overcome life difficulties, conflicts, solve problems of social interaction. By being creative, a child develops such a quality as spirituality. With spirituality, the imagination is fully included cognitive activity, accompanied especially positive emotions. The rich work of the imagination is often associated with the development of such an important personality trait as optimism.

During adolescence, when personal development becomes dominant, such a form of imagination as a dream - an image of the desired future - acquires special significance.

A teenager dreams of what brings him joy, what satisfies his deepest desires and needs. Often dreams are unrealistic, i.e. Only the content and goal are defined, but not the ways to achieve it.