Conceptual Structures, Conceptual Abilities and Productivity of Cognitive Functioning: The Ontological Approach

Abstract

The main disadvantage of functional approach is that it does not allow us to move from the level of descriptive analysis to the understanding of the holistic ontological nature of intelligence. We offer to pass from the functional approach to the ontological one. The main issue of our research was to discover the nature of conceptual structures which from inside determine the essence of intelligence. Participants of the experiment were students aged 14-22 years. The diagnostic complex included the assessment of conceptual structures, conceptual abilities, creativity, intelligence, field dependence/field independence, impulsivity/reflectivity. Research design consisted of two independent parallel series of studies with different psychodiagnostic tools, participants and research objectives (everyday concepts “Soil” and “Illness” and scientific concept “Substance”). Nevertheless, the similar results was obtained: the higher is the level of conceptual structures, the higher is the level of conceptual thinking, field independence, reflectivity, creativity, intelligence, competence and successfulness in real professional activity. Based on results obtained, we believe that the ontological approach to psychological research can make a worthy alternative to the functional approach.