Ways of Development of the Russian Methodology: Answers and Questions of the Psychology of Thinking

Abstract

The article refers the formation and development of the Russian methodology in the frame of which the theory of thinking has been built. The exposition of the theory developed in the Twenties-Nineties of the 20th century becomes topical because of two factors. The first factor of the demand from the intensively developing neuroscience. Various directions in this field aiming to studying thinking disorders, particularly in schizophrenia, are lacking theoretical concordance. That is why the specialists come to the conclusion on necessity of a common scientifically justified platform: the development of the theory of thinking. We would like to mention that the attention for an impaired function is typical for a physician, whereas for a psychologist the problem of revealing unusual strength of thinking is schizophrenia is significant. Solving this problem is important for the theory of thinking itself. The second factor of the demand for designing the theory of thinking is the change of paradigm in the science and education during the Nineties of the 20th century, which has stimulated the variety of theoretically unjustified approaches to interpretation of nature of thinking. That is why when reviewing the theory of thinking we consider the significant events which defined the vector of its development beginning with Rubinstein’s article of 1922 “The Principle of Creative Self-Activity (To the Philosophical Foundations of Modern Pedagogy),” where methodological justification of the conception of subject is given. In 1930 he formulates the principle of thinking as the “unity of consciousness and activity.” At the same period Luria explains the positions which are in tune with the future cultural-historical methodology of Vygotsky. The research of thinking as a process is given in the Soviet psychology by the school of Rubinstein in the Fifties-Sixties and after his death in 1969. The works with description of meaning, sense and nature of the word became Luria’s contribution in the analysis of the structure of thinking process when solving problems. We consider the common idea of solving problematic situations as the result of creative thinking to be its lowest stage, immature form, as in the frame of solving the given tasks, i.e. stimulus-projective model in which the whole psyche had been studied, it is impossible to come to analysis of the phenomenon of creativity. That succeeds only in designing a new method. In the course of the experiment, the Creative Field method allows revealing the ability of a person to develop the accepted ability by his initiative. The levels of cognition to be reached by the testee are described. They correspond to the level of displays of creativity or to its absence. This approach finds its theoretical basis in the cultural-historical psychology (Vygotsky). We have revealed the highest mature form of creativity as development of the activity by one’s initiative which is the unit of analysis where, according to Vygotsky, “the meeting of affect and intellect occurs” (Vygotsky, 2016, p. 8). The examples of children who have shown the highest level of creativity are described. Among them there is a nine-year boy with the diagnosis of schizophrenia, who spontaneously formulated very precise and capacious definition of creativity.