Abstract
The presented results of the study allow us to determine the ratio of verbal and nonverbal components of thinking activity in solving problems of different types. The novelty of the research is in the use of individual cognitive maps made on the results of collaborative thinking activity in the study of possible combinations of symbolic (verbal) and figurative (nonverbal) components of internal thought processes implemented in different conditions. The study included two methodological blocks. The first of them is diagnostic. It consisted of four tasks (a verbal task with one solution, a verbal task with multiple solutions, a nonverbal task with one solution, a nonverbal task with multiple solutions), as well as a cognitive map based on the results of solving these tasks. The second block is mathematical and statistical, including the Kruskal-Wallis H-test, the Mann-Whitney U-test, and the Fried-man chi-square test. The study sample consisted of 80 students of the Don State Technical University. As a result of the study, it was found that cognitive maps created with time constraints significantly outperform cognitive maps created without such restrictions in terms of figurative, symbolic abstractness and symbolism. Cognitive maps created without time constraints significantly outperform cognitive maps created with time constraints in terms of imagery. In general, the predominance of the verbal or nonverbal components of thinking can vary significantly, but the general trend towards the predominant character of the imagery of thought processes remains.
Highlights
The theory and practice of cognitive mapping is extremely diverse
The concept of this phenomenon changed from an image that captured the external reality to a complex network of verbal and nonverbal representations (Solso, MacLin, and MacLin, 2014; Eden, 2004; Nesbit and Adescope, 2006). Despite all this diversity, cognitive maps, as a rule, tend to be considered more as a convenient tool for thinking than a tool for understanding the psyche. Such understanding exists despite the fact that it is cognitive maps, due to their projective nature, that allow us to present internal thought processes in an external form that is accessible to the researcher (Solso, MacLin, and MacLin, 2014; Nesbit and Adescope, 2006)
Based on the data obtained, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1. Under the conditions of time constraints, the tendency to use abstract images in thinking activity increases significantly, when the conscious, not having time to formulate thoughts clearly enough in a verbal-logical form and subject them to verbal processing, gives way to the unconscious, which processes information on a nonverbal level and is able to give the necessary description on the basis of unclear, generalized images
Summary
The theory and practice of cognitive mapping is extremely diverse The concept of this phenomenon changed from an image that captured the external reality to a complex network of verbal and nonverbal representations (Solso, MacLin, and MacLin, 2014; Eden, 2004; Nesbit and Adescope, 2006). Despite all this diversity, cognitive maps, as a rule, tend to be considered more as a convenient tool for thinking than a tool for understanding the psyche. The study of the ratio of verbal and nonverbal components of cognitive maps allow us to look deeper into the internal mental processes, to understand what conscious and unconscious mechanisms are involved in the implementation of thinking activity (Bottini and Doeller, 2020; Nanay, 2021)
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