Abstract logical thinking: features and methods of development

People have the ability to think concretely and generally. With the help of accurate thinking, knowledge is used, thanks to which a person understands what is happening around. Abstract-logical thinking expands the possibilities of perceiving the surrounding world.

With a generalized mental action, a person turns on logic, begins to reason, assume and draw conclusions. Thus, abstract-logical thinking is activated. This type of thinking is the final phase in the process of personality development. It is based on rational, mediated assimilation of data, where concepts are deprived of the direct visualization inherent in perception and representations.

In psychology, this type of cognitive activity is considered indirect reflection of the common chains observed between phenomena and objects in the world. In other words, it is a cognitive process in which unknown information is comprehended through already known facts.

Abstract mental activity is associated with numbers, formulas, symbols and abstract concepts that are not captured by the human senses. It is this type of thinking that makes it possible for an individual to perceive a complete picture of reality, without plunging into small details and abstracting from them.

The formation of abstract thinking is closely related to the language system. The meaning of phenomena, objects, abstractions is indicated by specific words.

There is a direct connection between the factors of abstract and logical thinking.Thanks to this relationship, it becomes possible to search for extraordinary solutions to various problems and adapt to frequently changing living conditions. There are analytical, generalizing, idealizing, constructive, primitive-sensual and actual-endless abstractions.

The forms of this type of thinking are concept, judgment and inference.

• The concept reflects an object, phenomenon or process by means of essential and justified signs... Sometimes the concept of a property of an object conveys a single attribute. The main external properties include the relationship of an object with other objects. Internal properties are inherent in the object itself. Examples of the primary and predominant form of mental abstract display are various words and phrases: rat, delicious gingerbread, security officer. In the imagination of a person, the general signs of these concepts instantly pop up.

• The judgment of a particular subject confirms or denies the presence of any situation, object, phenomenon. The content of the concepts is revealed by simple and complex narrative statements, which are called judgments. An example of a simple type of judgment: A child draws a giraffe. Complicated statements contain 2 or more situations: the bus stopped and the passengers left it.

• Inference implies obtaining a new judgment using the existing one or more premises... The conclusion is drawn from existing judgments: seeds have the ability to sprout, therefore, I will have seedlings in the spring. This form of the thought process is the basis of abstract logical thinking. It includes a premise, a conclusion, and a conclusion.

Mental logical operations demonstrate the following capabilities:

• the ability to resort to criteria and concepts that may not exist in reality;
• assessment of events and their comparison;
• systematization of the information obtained;
• generalization of occurring phenomena and objects;
• isolation of individual facts;
• connecting disparate data into a big picture;
• analysis of information;
• identifying patterns of the habitat without explicit contact with it;
• construction of cause-and-effect chains.

Children, using abstract thinking, draw, construct, mold, understand the meaning of riddles, can solve problems, and communicate their thoughts in a coherent way when describing events. During school years, this type of mental activity helps schoolchildren to master mathematics, which requires the ability to operate with a lot of data, divide them into groups, and look for relationships.

Abstract thinking is used in logic, physics, astronomy and other exact sciences, where you need to be able to measure, count, calculate, combine elements into one group. It is necessary for psychologists, philosophers, writers, engineers. Time management is unthinkable without it.

In everyday life, people also constantly use abstract-logical thinking activity. Examples of abstract thinking reflect a person's day-to-day thought process. Planning often overlaps with dreams and fantasies in the imagination. Young people in search of a job can think of so much for themselves that, faced with reality, they do not stand the conditions offered to them. Likewise, girls, waiting for a prince on a white horse, mentally endow the future chosen one with unrealistic features. This inevitably leads to future disappointment.

In children, abstract thinking begins to develop from 4–5 years of age. It forms the basis of the learning process. During this period, the ability to establish connections between phenomena is formed. Schoolchildren are most receptive to the acquisition of logical skills.

The child needs help in mastering the skills of abstraction. You can develop them in preschool children with special exercises. Parents are involved in the process, who organize different games at home.

• They pick up a synonym or antonym while throwing the ball to each other. The parent throws the ball with the word "hit", the child looks for a synonym: "hit". You can use any words that are close in meaning: small - tiny, burgundy - cherry, darkness - gloom. Then comes the selection of antonyms: happiness - grief, baby - giant, light - darkness.
• The next task involves the completion of the sentence... The child is thrown a ball with the beginning of the phrase: "the crow croaks." The object is returned with the ending: "the chicken clucks."
• Drawing up an associative array develops children's abstract thinking well.... Children select any associations for the proposed word. The chain may look like this: tree - green - New Year - crocodile - dill - leaf - parrot - forest.
• They offer 10 strings of words, consisting of 4 word forms, among which you need to find an extra word... For example, 3 types of berries and vegetables are offered: strawberries, cranberries, cucumbers, blueberries.
• A shadow theater is being organized. The child turns on his imagination at the sight of a shadow produced by hand movements or cut out cardboard figures. He must present some kind of image and play it.

Violation of the clarity of the abstract-logical thought process can occur due to the strong conciseness and fragmentation of inner speech. She is trained and disciplined through internal pronunciation. When solving difficult problems it is necessary to achieve precise mental formulations.

Performing tasks for identifying patterns and combining units of speech based on a common feature, playing checkers, chess develop the ability of brain activity, improve it and help preserve abstract-logical thinking and memory to a ripe old age.

There are exercises for adults as well.

• You need to choose a consistent statement and then pick up rebuttals to it. Arguments proving the opposite position should be written in a column. Next to each of these judgments, you must write a refutation to it. Thus, the truth of the first phrase is proved. For example, the original statement: "Autumn is a wonderful time." This is followed by the entry: "It is pouring long cold rains." And next: "Red and yellow leaves adorn the trees." The more rebuttals found, the better.
• An exercise useful for improving the thought process is associated with deciphering abbreviations that you have invented on the go. It is best to make them up from 3 or 4 letters, and then try to decipher them. The funnier and more original the received variants, the better. For example, OCHR is an organization of grimy workers, SKSD is a union of crooked old maids.
• It is necessary to choose synonyms for abstract concepts and try to explain their meaning in an accessible language. You can come up with a specific symbol, expressed in words or graphically. First, they work on simple categories, then move on to more complex concepts: "care", "fun", "financing", "inspiration", "indifference", "incrimination".