Psychological phenomena and their classification. Mental phenomena and psychological facts

Mental processes are integral acts of mental activity, distinguished by reflective-regulatory specifics

Cognitive - sensation, perception, thinking, imagination, memory

Emotional

Mental states Mental properties the current uniqueness of the mental, typical for the individual, the originality of activity (mental processes), his mental activity due to the content. (object) Temperament of actions. and its personal significance. -individual characteristics of the psyche...

A specific range of phenomena that psychology studies stands out clearly and clearly - these are our perceptions, thoughts, feelings, our aspirations, intentions, desires, etc. - everything that constitutes the internal content of our life and which, as an experience, seems to be directly given to us.

Indeed, belonging to the individual experiencing them, the subject, is the first characteristic feature of everything mental. Mental phenomena therefore appear as processes and as properties of specific individuals...

The main way of existence of the psyche is its existence as a process, as an activity. This position is directly related to the reflexive understanding of mental activity, to affirmation.

That mental phenomena arise and exist only in the process of continuous interaction of the individual with the world around him, the incessant flow of influence of the external world on the individual and his response actions, and each action is due to internal reasons...

Some people understand mental influence as a type of hypnosis, others understand it as a form of convincing an opponent of their point of view, based on the psychological characteristics of people. However, both hypnosis and persuasion with the help of psychological techniques are just partial manifestations of a wide variety of phenomena called the mental influence of a person on the world around him.

Effective persistence of PE

Psychic Energy is in constant action. A person may not be aware of the constant work of his chakras, creating and registering the surrounding flows of PE or expressing their activity in the form of unhelpful material deposits, but PE cannot freeze in inaction. PE is always active.

Inexhaustibility of PE

Psychic Energy is inexhaustible, both in qualitative and quantitative terms. Human PE cannot be depleted either by age or illness. Only...

Transmutation of PE

The elevation, expansion and refinement of consciousness inevitably lead to changes in the work of the chakras, which attract spatial fire of the appropriate quality from space. So the chakras are pumped up by the fire of space, which leads to their partial and gradual combustion. Such a systematic process of expansion and refinement of consciousness leads to a new quality of work of the chakras. The centers after each stage of combustion operate at higher rotational speeds, generating higher...

The need to study PE

The human spirit is born in the Fiery World. According to evolution, the born spirit descends into the material worlds onto the subtle and physical planes to gather experience and for the purpose of its own individualization. After successfully passing through all the worlds, a wise and self-aware spirit must return to its homeland - the Fiery World.

In order to rise from dense material layers to the higher worlds, the daytime mind of a person must realize the primary energy with the help of which he must...

To designate a person’s mental states in difficult conditions, researchers use different concepts, among which the most popular is the concept of “stress.” It is used to designate a wide range of not only mental, but also physiological conditions, such as physical stress, fatigue, etc., as well as various phenomena related to other areas of knowledge.

The traditional understanding of stress is borrowed by psychologists from physiology. As you know, Hans Selye and his school...

PE and Brotherhood

The meaning of the Brotherhood is to unite the PE. Since time immemorial, people have been united in a common desire to advance human evolution according to the laws of the spiritual cosmos. Since then, the Brotherhood has existed, whose members work tirelessly for the benefit of the entire planet.

The main and most powerful means of action of the Brotherhood is PE, which has been studied thoroughly by the Brotherhood, and the study of which continues to this day, and the study of which will continue further, because PE is limitless in...

As a result of studying Chapter 3, the student should:

know

• the nature of mental processes and their classification;
• basic mental states and their manifestation;
• the most important mental properties and their structural elements;
• the relationship of mental phenomena (processes, states, properties) with legal disciplines;

be able to

• distinguish mental processes, states and properties from mental patterns of personality and activity;
• use mental phenomena in jurisprudence;
• manage your mental manifestations in professional activities;

own

• basic concepts of mental phenomena, which are sensations, perception, memory, thinking, consciousness, etc.;
• ways and techniques of activating mental processes, states and properties in the activities of a lawyer.

Mental processes

Mental phenomena are a general psychological category that includes forms of mental reflection: mental processes, mental states and mental properties of the individual.

Mental processes are one of the components of the structure of consciousness. These include short-term processes (sensation, perception) and fairly persistent mental phenomena (the emergence of motives, feelings).

Without assimilating their nature, it is simply impossible to understand the human psyche.

Cognitive mental processes include: sensations, perceptions, memory, thinking, language and speech, attention, consciousness.

Sensation is one of the simplest mental processes, which is a reflection of individual properties, objects and phenomena of the material world that directly affect the human senses. Sensations reveal cognitive, emotional and regulatory functions of the psyche. Sensations allow a person to understand the world around him and contribute to active psychological development.

Depending on the impact of the stimulus on the analyzer, sensations are divided into exteroceptive (organic, recording the state of the internal environment of the body) and proprioceptive (kinesthetic, reflecting irritations coming from the motor apparatus - muscles, ligaments, joints).

Exteroceptive sensations, in turn, can be contact (direct impact of the stimulus on the analyzer) and distant (impact is carried out at a distance). Contact exteroceptive sensations include, for example, taste, tactile, etc. A variety of distant exteroceptive sensations are considered visual, auditory, etc.

There are lower, upper and absolute thresholds of sensations. The lower threshold of sensations is the minimum value of the stimulus that is capable of not causing nervous overexcitation (sensation) in the analyzer. The upper threshold of sensation is the maximum value of the stimulus after which the irritation ceases to be felt. The absolute threshold of sensations varies among people.

Olfactory sensations those. the ability to distinguish odors exists due to the effect that irritating substance molecules have on the nerve endings of the olfactory analyzer. With the help of smell, animals find food for themselves, as a result of which it is much more developed in them than in people, who distinguish only rather sharp or threatening odors. For example, when expecting an ambush, a criminal from afar can smell the cigarette of a smoking police officer, although in another situation he does not notice his friends sitting next to him smoking.

The nature of odor is very complex and still does not have a generally accepted scientific basis, despite many theoretical developments (Dermaker, Muncrief, Beck, Meisl, etc.). The most common is the adsorption theory (Mancrief, 1955), which explains the occurrence of odor by the process of adsorption of molecules of an odorous substance by the cells of the olfactory epithelium, as a result of which they heat up. Once heated to a certain degree, the receptors begin to perceive the molecules as odor. Odors are usually named by the objects that emit them: the smell of the sea, earth, burnt rubber, etc. According to experts, smell is the chemical “signature” of a person, by studying which one can obtain significant information about the individual. A.I. Vinberg wrote: “The smell comes from any person. It is individual: this individuality is determined by the specific characteristics of the skin, sweat, sebaceous glands and endocrine glands.” The sense of smell can replace other, less developed senses for a person. For example, deaf-blind people recognize friends by smell.

For a long time, odor information was used only in the activities of the canine service units of the internal affairs bodies. Today, forensic odology studies the problems of the nature and mechanism of the formation of scent traces, methods and technical means of using them for the purpose of solving and investigating crimes.

Taste sensations are caused by the action of chemicals dissolved in saliva or water on the taste buds located on the surface of the tongue, the back of the palate and the epiglottis. We perceive them as sensations of sweet, sour, salty, bitter.

Visual sensations arise as a result of exposure to electromagnetic waves on the eye. The perceptive apparatus of the eye is represented by light-sensitive cells located in the retina opposite the pupil. They are divided into “cones”, capable of distinguishing bright colors, and “rods”, sensitive to diffuse light (they are also called the “twilight vision apparatus”) and not capable of color discrimination. The ability to distinguish color varies from person to person. With the help of a visual analyzer, a person can distinguish 180 color tones and more than 10,000 shades between them. Visual sensations are of great importance when assessing the objectivity of the testimony of witnesses, victims and other participants in legal proceedings.

Auditory sensations are formed under the influence of the irritant of the auditory analyzer - air vibrations. Depending on the frequency and amplitude of a sound, its height, volume and timbre are distinguished. The vibration frequency determines the pitch, the amplitude determines the volume, and the shape determines the timbre. Less frequent vibrations are perceived as vibrations and shocks. Vibration sensations usually do not have significant significance for a person and are very poorly developed. However, in deaf people they partially compensate for the lack of hearing. It is very easy to distinguish the timbre of a sound, but unlike volume, it is extremely difficult to describe it (try to convey in words the features of the voice of a person you know, but not to your friend, so that he can then recognize him “by ear”).

Skin sensations are caused by the action of mechanical and thermal properties of objects on the surface of the skin, including the mucous membrane of the mouth, nose and eyes. They are divided into tactile, pain and temperature.

Tactile sensations (pressure, touch, vibration, itching) occur when receptors scattered in the skin are irritated. Their different concentrations make certain parts of the body unevenly sensitive to external influences.

Feeling pain cause thermal, mechanical, chemical stimuli when they reach high intensity. Pain signals danger and requires elimination. Pain sensations are formed by the central nervous system, starting with receptors, and are carried along special nerve pathways to the subcortical nodes and cerebral cortex. At present, science has not established whether there is a special perceptive apparatus in the cerebral cortex focused on pain; It is believed that each receptor, with sufficient stimulation, can cause a sensation of pain.

All people feel pain in approximately the same way, but the emotional state has a significant influence. An anxious person may not notice the pain. For example, having been wounded with a knife in a fight, the victim, as a rule, first feels the blow, then sees blood or feels it flowing from the wound, and only after realizing that he is wounded does he begin to experience pain.

Temperature sensations occur when the skin is exposed to objects whose temperature is different from the skin temperature; they are associated with the conditioned reflex activity of the cortical part of the skin analyzer. Irritation of thermoreceptors can occur contact and remotely (at a distance - during radiant heat exchange).

Motor (kinesthetic )sensations are caused by irritations that occur in the organs of movement when their position in space changes and when muscles contract. Without kinesthetic sensations, a person could not develop a single motor skill. Thanks to the impulses continuously coming from the motor analyzer, a person knows in what position his body is.

Static sensations are caused by a change in the position of the body in space relative to the direction of gravity and arise as a result of irritation of a special analyzer of the vestibular apparatus, the receptors of which are located in the inner ear.

The ability to sense (reflect) the properties of objects and phenomena with greater or less accuracy is determined by sensitivity of analyzers. Each analyzer has a threshold value of excitation, which determines the strength of sensation. The least irritation that causes a barely noticeable sensation is called the absolute lower threshold of sensation. The absolute sensitivity of many analyzers is very high; for example, the eyes are able to distinguish radiant energy equal to several quanta. The maximum frequency of the stimulus turns the sensation into pain - this is the upper absolute threshold of sensitivity. In addition, there is a threshold of sensitivity to discrimination (difference threshold), determined by the minimum increase in the magnitude of the stimulus. As the strength of the stimulus increases, the discrimination threshold increases.

The upper and lower thresholds of sensitivity vary from person to person. Sensitivity acuity reaches its maximum at 20–30 years of age. The classification of types of sensitivity coincides with the classification of sensations. The sensitivity of the body can be assessed not only on the basis of sensations, but also by the course of various psychophysiological processes.

When subjected to prolonged irritation, the analyzer loses the ability to adequately perceive it, the absolute threshold of sensitivity increases, and addiction to the state of excitation (adaptation) occurs. There are light, temperature and other types of adaptation. It is known that a person who finds himself in a darkened room, after 3-5 minutes, begins to see light penetrating there and various objects. After 20–30 minutes, he can already navigate quite well in the dark. Staying in absolute darkness increases the sensitivity of the visual analyzer to light by 200 thousand times in 40 minutes.

The degree of adaptation of analyzers varies. Olfactory and tactile analyzers are highly adaptable, while gustatory and visual analyzers adapt somewhat more slowly. Sensory adaptation is characterized by the range of changes in sensitivity, the speed of this process, and the selectivity of changes in relation to the adaptive influence.

Sensitivity thresholds largely depend on professional experience and level of training, degree of fatigue and health status. For example, textile workers specializing in the production of black fabrics distinguish up to 40 shades of black. Experienced flour millers can determine by touch not only the quality of flour, but also the characteristics of the grain from which it is made.

Changes in the sensitivity of analyzers can occur under the influence of both the environment and the internal state of a person. An increase in the sensitivity of nerve centers under the influence of an irritant is called sensitization. There are two forms sensitization: physiological (washing the face with cold water increases the sensitivity of the visual analyzer) and psychological (giving the stimulus the meaning of a signal and including it in the corresponding task sharply increases sensitivity to it).

In everyday life, a person experiences various sensations, as a result of which the sensitivity of the analyzers either increases or decreases (synesthesia and contrast). With synesthesia, under the influence of one stimulus, sensations characteristic of another may appear (for example, the appearance of vivid visual images from sound stimuli). With a contrast of sensations, the same stimulus is perceived by the analyzer depending on the qualitative characteristics of another stimulus. The impact can be carried out simultaneously or sequentially.

Each person has his own level of sensitivity development, certain qualitative characteristics of the analyzing systems that make up the sensory organization of his personality. The leading types of sensitivity are visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile.

The body's ability to perceive sensations is not unlimited. Thus, the human eye reacts to light stimuli with a wavelength from 380 to 770 millimicrons, but does not detect infrared and ultraviolet rays at all. These indicators may vary depending on different perception conditions (strength of excitation, duration and intensity of the stimulus). For example, with significant amplification of light, visual sensitivity can range from 390–760 to 313–950 millimicrons. Visual acuity increases in cold weather and decreases in warm weather. It is strongly influenced by illumination.

Depending on the nature of the incident, the lawyer has to strain his vision, hearing and other senses. For example, during an inspection of a fire, an investigator not only looks for traces of a fire, the source of a fire, but also detects the smell of flammable substances. It must be remembered that the olfactory organs adapt very quickly to odors: complete adaptation to burning and tobacco smoke occurs in 3–5 minutes, to the smell of iodine – after 50–60 seconds, camphor – after 90 seconds. There are many tactical, psychological and other recommendations for restoring the sensitivity of the organs of vision, hearing, and smell. Let’s say that in order to restore the sensitivity of the olfactory analyzers to the smell at the scene of an incident, you need to move some distance away from it or go out into the fresh air for 10–15 minutes, then return and continue working.

The eyes (like other sense organs) can provide inadequate information due to physical disabilities (myopia, farsightedness), inattention, optical illusions, etc., so the lawyer must also use tools (magnifying glass, electro-optical converter, etc.) when conducting an inspection of the scene of an incident, a search, an investigative experiment and other procedural actions, as well as when carrying out operational investigative activities.

A lawyer needs to know that sensations are in constant interaction: when the sensitivity of some analyzers changes, others become more acute, a stimulus is felt differently under the influence of other stimuli. For example, a light stimulus may be perceived differently against the background of noise interference from a different sound signal, etc.

We must not forget that sensitivity depends on the length of stay in a given environment, its characteristics, the person’s life and professional experience, his psychophysiological state at the time of exposure to various stimuli on the senses, etc. This must be taken into account when analyzing the testimony of witnesses, victims and other participants in legal proceedings.

Perception – the mental process of reflecting objects and phenomena of reality in their integrity. The variety of individual properties of objects is reflected in our consciousness in the form of images. We see a book (but not black and white spots), eat an apple, admire a painting, pet a cat. When we encounter an unfamiliar object or phenomenon, its image is created by a large number of sensations.

Perception is a set of sensations; it is selective and depends both on subjective conditions, which are predetermined by the qualities of the perceiving person, and on the objective properties of the perceived objects. Just like sensations, perceptions are classified depending on the leading role of a particular analyzer: visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, kinesthetic.

Depending on the purposefulness of reality, perceptions are divided into intentional (involuntary) and unintentional (voluntary).

Unintentional perception can be caused by the interests of the individual, the peculiarities of the situation, or the unusualness of objects. There is no pre-set goal. For example, a person suddenly heard the squeaking of brakes, the noise of falling objects, etc., while there is no volitional activity.

Intentional perception is regulated by the task, the goal - to perceive an object or event. For example, when conducting a search, the investigator has a deliberate perception.

During perception, it is not the summation of individual sensations that is carried out, but their interpretation from the point of view of existing knowledge: the individual is reflected in perception as a manifestation of the general, i.e. objectification of the perceived occurs.

The most important form of perception for a lawyer is observation – deliberate, purposeful, systematic, planned and organized perception. The success of perception depends on knowledge, certainty and strength of the tasks, goals and preparation. A lawyer must have a broad outlook in legal activities, developed thinking, professional memory, and attention.

A lawyer's observation is not an innate quality; it is developed through practice and exercise. “It is useful for the future investigator to specifically practice the following:

• in comparing and contrasting similar objects;
• in the quick perception of the greatest number of features of an object;
• in detecting insignificant, insignificant changes in objects;
• in highlighting what is significant from the point of view of the purpose of observation."

The main properties and patterns of perception are objectivity, integrity, structure, meaningfulness, organization of the field of perception, apperception, constancy, selectivity, illusoryness.

The objectivity and integrity of perception lies in the fact that even in cases where we perceive only some signs of a familiar object, we mentally complete its missing fragments. Activity perception is expressed in the participation in it of the motor components of the analyzers (movement of the eyes, hands, etc.). Meaningfulness it is associated with thinking: a person tries to find an explanation for what he perceives, i.e. understand its essence. This is the difference between human sensations and animal sensations. “An eagle sees much further than a person, but the human eye notices much more in things than the eye of an eagle. A dog has a much more subtle sense of smell than a person, but it does not distinguish even a hundredth of those odors that for a person are definite signs of various things ".

The relative independence of the perceived characteristics of objects from the parameters of stimulation of the receptor surfaces of the sensory organs is constancy perception, i.e. the ability to perceive objects with a certain constancy of their properties, regardless of the conditions of perception. Selectivity perception - preferential selection of an object from the background, for example, along its contour.

A person always strives to organize the field of perception in such a way as to see this or that image in connection with some previous ideas, familiar objects. Thanks to the field of perception, the individual elements of an object or phenomenon are combined into the whole.

The dependence of perception on the general content of mental activity, experience, interests and orientation of the individual is called apperception. The attitude plays an important role here, i.e. readiness to perceive specific objects. For example, we see more easily what we expect than what is unknown or unexpected. The new must have fairly striking features in order to stand out from the background of the ordinary and familiar. A distinction is made between stable apperception - the dependence of perception on stable personality characteristics (worldview, beliefs, education, etc.) and temporary apperception - the dependence of perception on mental states (emotions, mood, etc.).

Apperception, in which feelings have a formative influence on the expected perception, is called emotional. Everything that corresponds to the main experience is perceived much faster and more clearly than other circumstances.

The system of expectations created by professional skills and habits is called professional apperception. This phenomenon is clearly manifested when people of various professions witness the incident. Professional apperception is essential for the reconstruction of a crime event.

Inadequate reflection of an object and its properties is called illusion of perception. Illusions can arise for various reasons (physical, physiological and mental) and can be both objective and subjective.

Physical illusions depend on the state of the object itself, which is adequately reflected by the analyzer. For example, the laws of light refraction in a liquid medium “break” an oar lowered into water, poor lighting “smoothes out corners,” fog “conceals” sound, etc.

Physiological illusions (mainly visual) are caused by imperfections of the perceptive apparatus. There are several options for visual illusions:

• a) contrast, when an object placed among those superior in scale appears smaller;
• b) overestimation of the upper part of the figure (when mentally dividing a vertical line in half, the middle always seems higher);
• c) distortion of lines under the influence of the direction of other lines intersecting the first;
• d) dependence of color perception on the background (light against a dark background seems brighter).

The possibility of physiological illusions should be borne in mind when the witness did not have the opportunity to calmly examine an object or person due to lack of time.

TO psychic illusions include false recognitions in an atmosphere of tense anticipation. For example, under the influence of a feeling of fear, a coat on a hanger may be mistaken for a person and cause corresponding defensive actions; insufficiently audible conversation – for collusion; the clink of metal - for preparation for an attack.

Hallucinations, which are perceptions that arise without the presence of a real object, should be distinguished from illusion.

Perception of space consists of the perception of size, shape, volume, distance, location of objects. It is influenced by the combination of visual, tactile, and kinesthetic sensations in a person’s experience.

The perception of volume and distance of objects is carried out through vision. In this case, linear (frontal) and angular perspectives, as well as the degree of illumination, play a role. For the perception of relief and the volume of an object, binocular vision (vision with two eyes) is of primary importance. The movement of objects in space is perceived depending on their distance and speed of movement. The objectivity of perception depends on the eye (static and dynamic).

For time perception there is no specific analyzer. Time is perceived as something moving from the past to the present, from the present to the future. The natural regulators of time for humans are the change of day and night, the sequence of ordinary activities and the rhythm of biological changes occurring in the body. With the accumulation of life experience, the indicator of time becomes the sequence of thoughts and feelings in our consciousness, creating a subjective perception of time and making it dependent on the content of mental life. Despite the fact that a person constantly compares the subjective sense of time with the objective one, the discrepancy between them can be significant.

Basic forms of time perception:

• a) chronometric (by instruments, watches, light display, etc.);
• b) chronogiosic (the sequence of events, dates, etc. is recorded);
• c) psychological (perception associated with experience, psychological stress, etc.).

Movement perception is a reflection in the human mind of changes in the position of an object in space: speed, acceleration, direction. Visual, auditory, kinesthetic and other analyzers are involved in the perception of movements.

The perceptual activity of a lawyer consists of direct sensory reflection of individual properties of objects (sensation) and objects as a whole (perception). When inspecting the scene of an incident, searching, presenting for identification and other procedural actions, the investigator carries out deliberate, systematic, purposeful perception. During a court hearing, the judge, lawyer, and prosecutor constantly monitor the events taking place in the courtroom. At the same time, connections are established between objects and phenomena, and the information received is comprehended. In the process of communicating with people, justice workers evaluate the external manifestations of people’s inner world, determine the worldview, character, temperament, needs, motives and other qualities of participants in legal proceedings in order to identify the psychological essence of their actions and deeds and use the information received to organize a targeted impact on the psyche of these persons .

The results of a lawyer’s perception depend on the ability to identify in objects and phenomena those properties and qualities that are important for the investigation, conducting operational investigative activities, and considering cases in court. For example, an experienced investigator uses a familiar surveillance system and has developed professional observation skills - the ability to notice subtle details and unusual situations, and quickly identify the relationship of the object of observation to the event under investigation. The judge and lawyer pay attention to the manifestations of psychophysiological traits of the defendant, victim, witness and other participants in the trial. Actions and external manifestations of a person can suggest the direction of performing a specific procedural action, adjust the formulation of questions, and choose a tactical technique to establish psychological contact. Perception is always associated with memory, imagination, thinking, etc.

Observing the object of study, the lawyer must be able to determine pretense from sincerity, see behind the emotional expressive movements the real state and stable characterological properties of the witness, victim, suspect, accused.

In the process of professional selection of applicants, graduates of law universities, and specialists for law enforcement agencies, special attention is paid to an individual’s ability to notice certain phenomena of reality, understand their nature, identify patterns of legal activity, etc.

As a result of overwork, there may be an increased perception of common external stimuli. For example, the light is blinding, the sounds are deafening, the knock on the door sounds like a shot, etc. These changes in perception are called hypertension. A decrease in sensitivity to external objects and situations is also possible. For example, objects look faded, sounds come muffled, there is no intonation among those around, etc. This condition, the opposite of hypertension, is called hypoesthesia.

Memory – the mental process of capturing, storing and reproducing information about events in the external world and the body’s reactions; mental reflection of a person’s past interaction with reality and its use in subsequent activities.

Thanks to memory, a person can master the knowledge accumulated by previous generations, successfully apply his personal experience in practical activities, and expand his skills and abilities. “Without memory, we would be creatures of the moment,” wrote S. L. Rubinstein, “our past would be dead to the future. The present, as it passes, would irrevocably disappear into the past. There would be no knowledge or skills based on the past. There would be no mental life, closing in the unity of personal consciousness, and the fact of essentially continuous teaching, passing through our entire life and making us what we are, would be impossible."

Memory is based on associations or connections. Associations can be simple or complex.

Simple associations include associations by contiguity, similarity and contrast:

• association but contiguity is a connection in time or space;
• associations by similarity - a connection between two phenomena that have similar features: when one of them is mentioned, the other is also remembered;
• associations by contrast connect two opposite phenomena (for example, organization and laxity; health and illness, etc.).

The main factor determining the formation of associative mental processes, including memory processes, is the activity of the individual.

Memory is divided into several types, of which the leading one is verbal-logical memory, for the understanding of the connections between events and their relationship in time depends on it. This is a "memory for dates". The main content of verbal-logical memory is our thoughts expressed in verbal form. This type of memory is closely related to speech, since any thought is necessarily expressed in words. Particular importance is attached to figurative speech and intonation. In the work of an investigator, verbal-logical memory plays an important role: for example, when investigating a complex, multi-episode case.

Emotional memory preserves the feelings that a person experienced as a participant or witness to an event. It is called the memory of feelings, it is closely related to figurative memory and serves as a prerequisite for the development of the ability to sympathize and empathize. The lawyer’s emotional memory helps him penetrate deeper into the emotional sphere of the personality of the victim, witness, and accused.

A feature of emotional memory is the breadth of communication and the depth of penetration into the essence of feelings experienced in the past. The properties of emotional memory depend on the sense organs and their characteristics.

Motor memory allows you to save skills and automatically perform familiar actions. It's called "habit memory." With the participation of motor memory, practical and labor skills, physical dexterity, and dexterity are formed. For example, when describing, the investigator can reproduce the actions that he performed when communicating with the criminal.

Figurative memory retains ideas, pictures of nature and life, as well as sounds, smells, tastes and is divided into visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory. This type of memory is well developed among representatives of creative professions. Figurative memory is of great importance in human educational activity.

A person has all types of memory, but depending on individual characteristics, one of them may predominate (for example, visual memory).

According to the goals of activity, memory is divided into involuntary and voluntary. Involuntary memory manifests itself in activities that do not have the goal of remembering the circumstances accompanying it for a long time. Lawyers encounter this type of memory when analyzing the testimony of a witness who happened to be an eyewitness to an incident. Arbitrary memory mediated by the goal and objectives of capturing, preserving and reproducing any facts, knowledge, i.e. it is purposeful memorization and reproduction.

The effectiveness of voluntary memory depends on memorization and memorization techniques (mechanical repeated repetition of material, logical retelling, etc.).

Depending on how the memorized is used, memory is divided into long-term (permanent), short-term and operational. Long-term memory valid throughout a person’s life. The material stored in it is systematically processed and organized. Names, addresses, grammatical forms of the language we speak, our feelings for loved ones, skills and habits - all this, once fixed, remains in memory forever. True, our reproduction mechanism is far from perfect and individual facts every now and then “fall out” of memory, but some time passes and they “emerge” again without visible effort. Long-term memory stores a very large amount of information. The difficulty is to access it at the right time. Any lawyer should fully possess this skill.

Short-term memory – of a different kind, it is fleeting. Many impressions, as soon as a person is distracted from them, are erased and disappear from consciousness. This memory is characterized by a very short period of retention of traces after a single exposure to a stimulus. Reproduction of a trace using short-term memory is possible only in the first seconds after perception. Translating some facts from short-term memory to long-term memory requires a volitional effort or a vivid impression left by an emotional experience. Short-term memory covers a significant number of details, in contrast to long-term memory, which is always somewhat schematic.

The intermediate link between these types is RAM. It is a combination of momentary, short-term memory with that information from long-term memory that is currently necessary to perform any complex action. When an action is completed, the RAM “switched on” to it ceases to function. Working memory is used to achieve personal activity goals.

The role of RAM is great in the activities of an investigator involved in a criminal case. With the end of the investigation, many circumstances, details, facts in the case are completely lost in memory as having lost their relevance and meaning.

The following phases are distinguished in memory:

• 1) memorization (consolidation);
• 2) preservation;
• 3) reproduction (updating, renewal);
• 4) forgetting.

Memorization - a process that ensures the storage of material in memory. In psychology, a distinction is made between voluntary and involuntary memorization.

Voluntary memorization always selective. It is divided into mechanical (multiplicity, stereotypical repetitions, for example, “cramming”) and semantic. The closer this process comes to thinking and practical activity, the better the material is remembered (for example, repeating the text in your own words helps).

At involuntary memorization a person does not set himself the task of remembering this or that material. An elementary form of involuntary memorization is sequential images. These are the results of reflection, preserved by consciousness after the stimulus has ceased to act on the analyzer (most often the auditory or visual one).

Individuals have the ability to eidetism – preserving in memory and reproducing an extremely vivid and detailed image of previously perceived objects and phenomena. For lawyers, they are sometimes of particular interest because they can involuntarily capture an object so well that they subsequently reproduce it in every detail.

Memorization often occurs in the form of image-representations. “In an image-representation, our memory does not passively retain the imprint of what was once perceived, but does deep work with it, combining a whole series of impressions, analyzing the content of the object, communicating these impressions, combining our own visual experience with knowledge about the subject,” believed A.R. Luria. The idea of ​​an object is the actual processing of a mental image.

Memorization is always associated with human actions, which means that what is included in purposeful activity is remembered better. The process of memorization is actively influenced by emotions. Against the background of heightened emotional states, memorization is more productive. Memorization is always selective: not everything that affects our senses is retained in memory. Something that is important to a person, causes interest, emotion, an increased sense of responsibility, joy, etc., is actively and firmly remembered.

Memorization is facilitated by the characterological characteristics of the suspect, accused, witness, and victim. For example, people who are cheerful, cheerful, and optimistic tend to remember pleasant things; Pessimists remember unpleasant things more.

There are some techniques to improve memorization:

• drawing up a detailed plan, which includes background information, a system of actions, issues to be clarified, grouping material on effective grounds, etc.;
• drawing up auxiliary diagrams and tables reflecting the connections between the elements of the event under study;
• comparison of similar situations;
• classification, systematization, grouping of material.

Playback is a memory process, as a result of which the previously fixed is updated by extraction from long-term memory and translation into operational memory. During the process of reproduction, people, events, and certain situations are remembered.

Recall – mental actions associated with searching, restoring and retrieving necessary information from long-term memory. Therefore, it is advisable, for example, to begin an interrogation with a free story, since this promotes active recall of the facts imprinted in the memory of the interrogated.

The reproduction process is carried out either voluntarily (at our request) or involuntarily. Playback can be fast (instantaneous) or painfully long. It includes recognition, reproduction itself, and memory.

Recognition - This is the reproduction of an object upon repeated perception. It can also be voluntary or involuntary. With involuntary recognition, recall is carried out effortlessly, imperceptibly for the individual, it is often very incomplete and uncertain. Thus, when we see a person, we can experience the feeling that we are familiar with him, but we will have to make an effort to remember him, to “clarify” the recognition.

To recognize an object means, on the one hand, to attribute it to a certain class of objects in the surrounding world, and on the other, to establish its individuality. Recognition is divided into simultaneous (synthetic) and successive (analytical). Simultaneous recognition occurs quickly, intuitively, without analyzing details and, most often, without error. Successive involves careful examination of an identifiable object in order to compare memories with the proposed original; in this case, the characteristics of an object are divided into three categories: those reliably belonging to a person or object; remembered clearly, but not making it possible to accurately establish their individual identity; allowing to classify this phenomenon into a certain class. It is well known that the accuracy and correctness of the testimony will depend on the degree of recognition of the information being reported. Therefore, when assessing the testimony of witnesses, victims, accused, and suspects, it is necessary to carefully determine the extent to which their testimony corresponds to reality. In legal practice, there are known cases of incorrect, distorted perception (illusion), which can lead to honest misconception and investigative errors.

The actual playback occurs without re-perception of the object. It is usually caused by the content of the activity being carried out at the moment, although it is not specifically aimed at reproduction. This is involuntary reproduction. However, it requires a push - the perception of various objects and phenomena. The content of reproduced images and thoughts is determined by those associations that were formed in past experience. Involuntary reproduction can be directed and organized when it is caused not by a randomly perceived object, but by the content of the activity being performed at the moment.

Types of reproduction are memories, associated with retrieving from memory events, images of the past from the life of a person and society. The involuntary nature of memories is relative: memory retrieves information through the mechanism of association. As mentioned above, associations arise from contiguity, similarity and opposition.

Voluntary memory is associated with the achievement of a specific goal and, as a rule, requires memory stimulation. The simplest way of stimulation is to concentrate attention on a certain range of ideas, allowing the mechanism of associations to turn on. Emotional memory plays an important role in restoring lost details. Excitement, anger and other emotional states, experienced repeatedly, contribute to the activation of ideas about the remembered event, give them a figurative character and help to remember details. In cases where reproduction is difficult and effort is required in solving a productive task, we talk about recall.

The quality of reproduction depends on subjective and objective reasons. Reproduction is strictly individual. Its volume and sequence depend on the life experience, knowledge, age, intelligence, physical and mental state of the subject. Objective factors (situation, operating conditions, etc.) also have a great influence on the efficiency of reproduction.

Forgetting – a process reverse to memorization and preservation. It depends on several factors. The less often a person uses material in activities, the faster it is forgotten. Weakening interest in the learned material or overstrain of the central nervous system also causes the process of forgetting.

Forgetting is a physiologically natural phenomenon. It normalizes the ability to recall and reproduce, regulates the intensity of recollection of information accumulated in a person’s memory. There are cases of memory lapses (amnesia), which arise from various local brain lesions and manifest themselves in the form of a disorder in recognizing objects. Memory lapses can occur, for example, in a victim after an injury or fainting. Lawyers who skillfully use associative techniques seek to eliminate memory lapses in victims, defendants, and others.

Forgetting is often associated with the age of the subject.

Memory develops under constant load on the mechanisms of memorization, storage and reproduction.

Methods for activating memory include:

• a) creation of objective conditions under which the subject is excluded from exposure to extraneous stimuli that distract or cause negative emotions;
• b) appeal to figurative memory, use of visualization, skillful combination of recognition and reproduction;
• c) using the memory that is better developed for a given individual or is dominant in a particular situation (for example, visual);
• d) establishing supporting (key) places in the captured event and semantic connections between them, identifying associations between disparate facts based on contiguity, similarity, and contrast;
• e) assisting individuals in reproducing events in chronological order.

A lawyer's memory can become a source of important information on specific cases, and sometimes the only condition for proving the truth. The ability to correctly retrieve necessary information from memory is one of the most important professional skills of a justice worker. A lawyer’s professional memory must be distinguished by sufficient volume, accuracy of memorization and reproduction of circumstances important in his work, and high mobilization readiness to recall the required information at the right time. Lawyers need to know the general rules of memory formation and the basic techniques for activating it.

• memory training (systematic reproduction of events, facts that occurred during the day, week, etc.);
• repetition of what has been learned (consists of periodically refreshing your memory of events, actions, etc.);
• active self-monitoring of memory ;
• performing special exercises and tasks (for example, memorizing poetry, prose);
• strict adherence to memory hygiene (proper nutrition, during intense mental work, take breaks (10–15 minutes), do not abuse tonic drinks (alcohol, tea, coffee).

Imagination (fantasy) – This is the creation of new images based on existing ones. Imagination allows you to foresee the future and anticipate the results of activities, but these processes are not identical. The imagination operates with images, and the results of the proposed activity appear in the form of more or less vivid ideas. It helps analyze problem situations when there is not enough data to solve the problem.

The process of imagination always accompanies creative, search, and mental activity and is accompanied by emotions and experiences. The most important significance of imagination is that it allows you to imagine the result of labor before the work itself begins, orienting the individual in his activity. Imagination is included in any labor process and is a necessary side of creative work. The role of imagination is especially active in the activities of the investigator aimed at investigating a crime, since in the process of investigation there is constantly a need to mentally restore the mechanism of the criminal event, the image of the wanted criminal, based on individual traces, physical evidence, and consequences that have occurred. Without imagination, it is impossible for an investigator to create a mental model of a criminal event and put forward substantiated versions of the crime, as well as recreate a picture of a criminal event.

The imagination creates new images through agglutination (combining incompatible qualities, properties), hyperbolization (increasing or decreasing individual characteristics and qualities of people, objects, phenomena), sharpening (sharp selection, emphasizing any characteristic inherent or attributed to a specific object), typification ( identifying the essential, repeating in homogeneous phenomena). Thus, imagination is a departure from reality, but the source of imagination is objective reality.

Imagination allows you to determine the content of an object before the concept itself is formed. In terms of imagination, a holistic image of the situation is created before a detailed picture of what is contemplated.

Imagination can be passive or active. Passive is divided into voluntary (daydreaming, daydreaming) and involuntary (hypnotic state, dream fantasy). Passive imagination is subject to internal, subjective factors. Images and ideas of passive imagination ensure the preservation of positive emotions and the repression of negative ones. Active imagination is aimed at solving a creative or personal problem; daydreaming and “groundless” fantasy are practically absent. Active imagination is determined by volitional efforts and is subject to volitional control; it is more directed outward, a person is less busy with internal problems.

Depending on the degree of originality of the images, imagination is divided into recreative and creative. The first allows us to understand what we do not directly perceive at the moment. The second creates completely new, original images. The results of creative imagination can be material and ideal images.

The process of imagination sometimes takes the form of a special internal activity, which consists in creating an image of the desired future, i.e. in a dream. A dream is a necessary condition for the transformation of reality, a motivating reason, a motive for activity, the final completion of which was delayed.

Imagination is an element of human creative activity, an image of the products of labor that ensures the creation of a cognitive program. Active creative imagination is a professionally important quality of a lawyer. It is especially necessary for an investigator whose cognitive activity is associated with predicting results in situations of greatest uncertainty. For example, during an inspection of the crime scene, the investigator imagines what could have happened here, how the participants in the criminal event should have behaved. At the same time, he has to highlight essential features, generalize phenomena, i.e. perform certain mental operations.

Thinking is a process of cognitive activity, characterized by a generalized and indirect reflection of reality, the highest degree of human consciousness. Thinking makes it possible to understand what we do not observe and to foresee the results of future actions. Thanks to thinking, a person navigates the world around him.

Forms, types and operations of thinking are distinguished.

The main forms of thinking are concept, judgment, inference.

Concept called a mental idea of ​​a thing expressed in a word. The concept never coincides with the image. The image is specific and consists of many sensually reflected details. The formation of concepts is based on abstraction, so they reflect some generalized and indirect characteristics.

The concept is revealed in judgments that are expressed in verbal form - oral or written, out loud or silently.

Judgment there is a connection between the two concepts. The psychological (subjective) side of a judgment is the content of its elements, combined in the form of an affirmation or negation. Judgments can be general (when something is stated), particular (applies only to individual objects) and individual (applies to only one object).

Conclusion – a logical form of thinking, with the help of which a new one is derived from several judgments. The ability to make inferences develops in a person in the process of learning and practical activity. Inference can be divided into logical and intuitive, abstract (abstract) and concrete, productive and unproductive, theoretical and empirical, voluntary and involuntary.

The development of human thinking occurs in the course of objective activity and communication. There are different types of thinking: visual-effective, visual-figurative and verbal.

Visual-effective thinking characterized by the fact that the solution to the problem is carried out using a real transformation of the situation, testing the properties of objects. Visually effective thinking is replaced by more perfect thinking - visually figurative , which allows you to operate with images without concrete sensory manipulation of objects. However, as a way of understanding, this thinking remains and forms the basis of the so-called practical mind. Visual and effective thinking is manifested, for example, in the actions of an investigator who uses various technical means of forensics to find traces at the scene of an incident. Visual-figurative thinking is associated with the representation of situations and changes in them. Its role is especially great in the learning process. Verbal and logical thinking characterized by the use of concepts and logical constructions; it functions on the basis of linguistic means.

Mental operations include analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, abstraction, systematization, concretization, classification, induction, deduction, etc.

Analysis (from Greek analysis – “decomposition”, “dismemberment”) – mental or real division of an object (object, phenomenon, process) into parts; the first stage of scientific research.

Synthesis (from Greek synthesis - “connection”) is a process opposite to analysis, which consists in the mental or real connection of objects into a single whole. This is a type of thinking that, together with analysis, allows one to move from particular concepts to general ones, from general ones to systems of concepts.

Comparison there is a mental comparison of objects, establishing similarities and differences between them. In the process of comparison, judgments are made about the commonality or difference of the properties of two or more cognizable concepts.

Abstraction - this is a distraction from certain properties, signs of an object in order to highlight its leading qualities and turn them into an independent object of consideration. Abstraction allows a person to move in the process of thinking from abstract objects to concrete ones, i.e. the abstract is filled with concrete content. In this way, the shape, color, size, movement and other properties of objects are highlighted.

Generalization comes down to the unification of many objects and phenomena according to some common characteristic.

Systematization – it is the mental arrangement of many objects in a certain order.

Specification is the movement of thoughts from the general to the specific.

Classification – assignment of a separate object or phenomenon to a group of objects or phenomena.

The movement of knowledge from individual statements to general provisions is called by induction. Psychology studies the development and patterns of impairment of inductive reasoning. Induction is closely related to the opposite mental operation - deduction, which denotes the movement of knowledge from the general to the specific, individual, the separation of consequences from premises. In the process of thinking, some other mental operations are also used.

Particular importance is attached to the quality of thinking, i.e. individual and professional thinking characteristics.

In relation to the thinking of a lawyer, the following qualities have been identified:

• independence – the ability to put forward tasks, versions, proposals and find effective ways to solve them;
• flexibility of thought - the ability to quickly change your actions when the situation changes;
• criticality of mind - the ability to objectively evaluate one’s own and others’ thoughts, taking into account available evidence;
• receptivity – the ability to timely predict the development of events in a specific situation;
• insight - the ability to determine the motives that guide a person and foresee possible consequences;
• efficiency - the ability to understand a new situation in a limited time, think about it, complete the task and make the right decision;
• multidirectionality – the ability to solve issues using legal and special knowledge (forensic, accounting, etc.), life and professional experience;
• selectivity - the ability to separate the important from the unimportant and direct effort in the right direction.

These qualities of thinking are acquired by a person in the process of life and professional activity.

The thought process often unfolds as a process of solving a problem and consists of a number of stages: preparation (correlating the task with the need-motivational sphere of the individual), orientation in the conditions of the problem, determination of means and methods of solution; the decision itself (obtaining the result). The process of solving a problem eliminates uncertainty in the subject’s activities. The situation of uncertainty encourages the activation of thinking.

The activity of a lawyer requires the development of all mental operations (analysis, synthesis, etc.). A significant role in the work of the investigator is played by developed predictive thinking, associated with the need to foresee all stages of the case up to the trial. The intuition of a lawyer, in particular an investigator, is of particular importance.

Intuition (lat. intueri – “closely, carefully look”) is a way of thinking in which inference goes from individual facts to a general conclusion. Knowledge that arises without awareness of the ways and conditions for its acquisition.

Psychological intuition is a direct reflection of the connections between objects and phenomena of the real world. Intuition has two forms: a) unconscious primitive thinking, carried out on the basis of a certain reflex; b) thinking that has already become unconscious and is carried out according to the signs of automaticity of mental skills.

A correct understanding of the psychology of intuition is important for shaping decision-making. However, conclusions that are based on intuition are probabilistic in nature and require mandatory verification.

Law enforcement officials think retrospectively and reconstructively as they examine the circumstances of events that occurred in the past. A feature of a lawyer’s thinking is reflexivity, which manifests itself in the constant comparison of one’s own actions and deeds with the behavior of persons who find themselves in the orbit of his activities. Therefore, his thinking is characterized by cognitive activity, depth and breadth, flexibility, mobility, and independence. There are various techniques and methods that activate creative thinking: stimulation of the motivational sphere, inclusion in activities, verbalization of the thought process in combination with the organization of information, role playing, group stimulation of thought processes, etc.

Thinking is closely related to language and speech. Without language and speech, thinking cannot exist. A clear thought is always associated with a clear verbal formulation.

Language is a system of signs necessary for human communication, thinking and expression of individual self-awareness. This is a special system in which socio-historical experience and public consciousness are captured. Once mastered by a specific person, language becomes his real consciousness. Language is the most important, but not the only means of communication. It interacts with non-linguistic (auxiliary) means of communication, including human reactions reflected in his behavior: gestural, intonation, facial-somatic.

The development of language is determined by collective work, the need for communication and interaction. Since language is closely related to thinking, it is involved in almost all mental functions. Basic language units – say And offer. The word as a stimulus appears in three forms: auditory, visual and motor. The word has meaning and meaning. Meaning is the content of information embedded in a word. The meaning of words is expressed in individual, subjective perception and understanding of phenomena and objects of objective reality.

From early childhood, a person gradually masters the words and grammatical structure of the language spoken by those around him, i.e. takes over speech. Speech is an activity during which people communicate with each other through language. Human thinking is also carried out with the help of speech (external and internal).

Inner speech as a means of thinking, it uses specific symbolic units (code of images, objective meaning). External speech , both written and oral, has a specific structure and uses the word as its basic unit. Speech is always individual and reflects the socio-psychological characteristics of the individual, its orientation, and level of development.

People can exchange ideas orally or in writing, in the form of dialogue or monologue. The main type of speech is oral speech, and written speech reproduces on paper the features of oral and auditory speech.

General requirements for dialogic and monologue forms oral speech are the same, but professionals have to take some features into account. Thus, during a monologue (the speech of a prosecutor or lawyer), it is necessary to pay attention to the sequence of presentation, argumentation, evidence, while interrogation (of an accused, a witness, a victim) - dialogical speech - presupposes the ability not only to ask questions, but also to respond to the statements of the interlocutor accordingly.

Written speech has much in common with oral communication: first of all, it is a means of communication; moreover, for its functioning, both use the word. However, written speech uses graphics and is subject to slightly different syntactic and stylistic rules. Professional writing is characterized by special functional styles. Lawyers use it primarily in legal proceedings and in the preparation of various documents.

Speech activity involves the perception of audible and visible speech signals. The analysis of verbal signals obeys the general laws of analytical-synthetic activity. Simultaneously with analysis, synthesis occurs - the formation of new connections between the sounds that make up words and the words that make up sentences. Establishing temporary connections between the elements of speech itself (sounds, words and sentences) makes it possible to form various associations between them and designated objects and phenomena.

Acting as a regulator of interpersonal relationships, speech performs three main functions: designation, expression and influence. Speech as a means of expression has two forms: a verbal description of the experienced non-speech mood and an attitude towards what is being described. The first requires a special gift of oral speech, the second depends on the expressiveness of the presentation. The expression given to speech makes it a means of influence. A simple form of speech influence is the verbal designation of a certain requirement in the form of an order, request, advice. Speech can, unnoticed by the interlocutors, turn into a means of suggestion, even in cases where the speaker does not set himself such a goal.

The requirements for professional speech are clarity, literacy, argumentation, consistency, and in relation to a lawyer, also skillful use of terminology. After all, when terms are used, for example, by doctors, it is assumed that they should be understandable primarily to their colleagues, while during a court hearing, the statements of lawyers should be accessible to all participants in the process. At the same time, only the use of terminology allows us to avoid ambiguity and ambiguity, since the term cannot be used in a figurative meaning and does not have additional interpretation. Fluency in terminology is an indicator of a lawyer’s professional literacy.

Attention – this is the concentration of the subject’s activity at a given moment in time on any real or ideal object (object, image, event, etc.). Attention ensures the productivity and effectiveness of cognitive processes and all psychological activities. Attentiveness is a personality quality that is the most important prerequisite for the success of an activity.

There are three types of attention: involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary.

At involuntary attention thinking processes are not connected, it is passive and lasts as long as the external stimulus acts. The most common manifestation of involuntary attention is the so-called indicative reactions.

Voluntary attention arises and develops as a result of volitional effort to concentrate on an object. Voluntary attention is characterized by a number of qualities: volume, stability, switchability, distribution, fluctuation, concentration, absent-mindedness, etc.

Postvoluntary attention is a continuation of the process of voluntary attention, volitional effort is replaced by natural interest and an object: first, a person forces himself to concentrate on something by willpower, and then attention is concentrated on the subject of the activity, as if by itself.

The success of legal activities (investigative, judicial, etc.) largely depends on the quality of attention of the investigator, operative worker, and judge. The main qualities of attention are: stability, distribution, concentration, fluctuation, direction, etc.

Sustainability of attention - This is the ability to hold consciousness for a long time while performing one type of activity. The inability to engage in concentrated, purposeful activity is called absent-mindedness; it can be caused by a variety of factors: from fatigue and lack of appropriate motivation to certain clinical disorders, often associated with thinking disorders. Stability of attention is formed in the process of learning and perception and requires constant training. People who are not accustomed to long-term concentration find it difficult to force themselves to do the same thing for a long time. They quickly become distracted, i.e. Passive attention stops the consistent train of thoughts and introduces new, unnecessary, but pleasant and attractive ideas into the field of consciousness.

The simplest way to maintain stability of attention is volitional effort. But its effect is limited in time by fatigue and depletion of the body’s internal reserves. It is recommended to prevent fatigue by short breaks in work, especially when inspecting the scene of an incident, searching, etc.

The stability of attention depends on the performance of the body. Fatigue, illness, hunger, insomnia and other factors reduce it. Therefore, when conducting, for example, a search, in order to maintain optimal performance, the investigator and other participants in the procedural action are recommended to change objects of attention, to “switch.” Switchability - this is the ability to rebuild a previously planned action on the fly, the ability to quickly move from one type of activity to another. Those who easily succeed in this are called people with flexible attention and good reactions, and those who tend to “get stuck” on experiences when circumstances require switching are called slow, slow-witted. When working with slow people, you should give them time to finish their thoughts, since the completion of the previous action is necessary to switch attention.

Distribution of attention is the ability of a person to simultaneously perform two or more actions in the absence of the possibility of sequential switching. This ability depends on the individual characteristics of the individual and the development of appropriate skills in performing each action.

During the interrogation, the investigator must distribute his attention in such a way as to not only perceive speech information, but also monitor the intonation, facial expressions, and peculiarities of the interrogated person’s speech. When conducting a search, the investigator studies the situation, examines possible hiding places (hiding places), carefully monitors the behavior of the person being searched, the actions of the members of the investigative team, etc.

The opposite property of sustained attention is distractibility. The psychophysiological explanation for distractibility is considered to be external inhibition caused by stimuli. Distractibility is expressed in fluctuations that contribute to weakening of attention.

Concentration – this is a high intensity of attention with a volume of one object. A lawyer focuses on the main thing while simultaneously distracting himself from the unimportant. For example, when examining a crime scene, an investigator concentrates all his attention on the external examination of the corpse.

Focus of attention a lawyer is the ability to perceive what is happening and at the same time think, remember, analyze, etc. For example, during an interrogation, the investigator receives information, analyzes it, compares it with the available data on the case, etc.

Factors that determine attention are divided into external and internal. External factors include the strength of the stimulus (sharp sound, bright light, strong odor, etc.), its contrast and novelty. They influence analyzers, especially with a structurally ordered organization of stimuli. Therefore, in any type of activity, it is important for a lawyer to ensure the most rational forms of organizing the flow of information: neutralize negative factors or attract positive ones that stimulate attention.

To summarize, it should be noted that thanks to attention, a person sorts the necessary information, ensuring selectivity of various activity programs, while maintaining constant control over his actions.

The psyche, as a form of active reflection of reality by a specific subject, has different levels, the highest of which is consciousness.

Human consciousness includes the body of knowledge about the world around us. The structure of consciousness includes:

• a) cognitive processes (sensation, perception, memory, imagination, thinking);
• b) the difference between subject and object (i.e., what belongs to a person’s “I” and his “not I”);
• c) ensuring goal-setting human activity;
• d) a person’s attitude to the objective world.

Cognitive processes allow us to gain knowledge about the world around us. Only a person is able to distinguish between subject and object, to know himself, to independently evaluate his actions (deeds) and himself as a whole. Conscious reflection, in contrast to the mental reflection characteristic of animals, is a reflection of objective reality, inherent only to a person (person). The functions of consciousness include the formation of goals of activity, motives for performing actions, and making volitional decisions.

Many mental properties (knowledge, skills, abilities, etc.), emotions, experiences, feelings, i.e. everything that makes up a person’s inner world is not realized by him. Unconscious - an indispensable component of mental activity and the person himself. This is an outdated psychological term, gradually being replaced by the concept of “unconscious”. The area of ​​the unconscious includes mental processes, states, properties that arise in a dream, responses caused by various stimuli, movements brought to automatism, unconscious goals, etc. Sigmund Freud paid a lot of attention to the unconscious (the theory of psychoanalysis).

Psychoanalysis ("Freudianism" ) is a term that focuses on the psychological method of studying the subconscious of an individual. The subconscious is a process of psychological reflection that ensures the acquisition and assimilation of knowledge. Psychoanalysis complements consciousness and the unconscious in human mental activity. The modern approach in psychology assumes the integrity of the human psyche, when the activities of consciousness and the unconscious (unconscious) are considered in harmonious unity.

Goal-setting human activity consists in the formation of goals, objectives, motives, volitional decisions, and adjustments to activities. Any violation of the ability to carry out goal-setting activities, its coordination and direction is considered as a violation of consciousness (for example, as a result of a disease).

A person’s consciousness includes a world of feelings and emotions that allow him to maintain public or personal relationships.

Thus, a person maintains clarity of consciousness when he objectively evaluates the information received, taking into account the knowledge, skills, and experience he already has, distinguishes himself from the environment, and also maintains the existing system of relations between people and controls his behavior.

The act of consciousness contains three components: cognition, experience, attitude.

Cognition - this is the process of obtaining true knowledge about the objective world in the course of activity. The words “cognition” and “consciousness” have a common root, which shows their interconnection, as well as their close connection with knowledge. Knowledge is a set of concepts in any field. The elementary form of cognition is feeling, highest – creative thinking and memory. Knowledge is closely related with assimilation.

Assimilation - the main way an individual acquires socio-historical experience. Assimilation has three voluntary or involuntary stages: understanding, memorization, and the possibility of practical use. With suggestion, assimilation is involuntary.

Experience – one of the elements of consciousness, reflecting the real world in the form of satisfaction or dissatisfaction (compassion), excitement or calmness (i.e. simple emotions).

Attitude of a person to the surrounding reality is the most important component of consciousness, closely connected with emotions and feelings. Relationships can be objective and mental (the latter are a reflection of objective ones).

The most important characteristic of consciousness is its level clarity, which can be lower (confused consciousness) and higher (self-consciousness). Self-awareness is a person’s awareness of his own “I”, his role in society and their active regulation.

Consciousness has individual, group, social and collective forms.

Individual consciousness – this is a characteristic of a person’s consciousness in terms of socially significant differences from the consciousness of other people, i.e. uniqueness of consciousness.

Social consciousness represents the generalized consciousness of a large number of individuals.

Group consciousness occupies an intermediate position between individual and social. The subject of group consciousness is a small group. Group consciousness expresses group views, opinions, moods, etc.

Collective Consciousness - this is a manifestation of social consciousness that regulates the activities of individuals in a particular team and the team as a whole. Collective consciousness is similar to group consciousness, but not identical to it.

Consciousness determines the mental model of a person’s actions.

Luria Λ. R. Attention and memory. M., 1975. P. 68.

Romanov V.V. Military-legal psychology: a course of lectures. M., 1987. P. 52.

All mental phenomena are divided into three groups:

1) mental processes;

2) mental states;

3) mental properties of the individual.

Mental state is the general functional level of mental activity depending on the conditions of a person’s activity and his personal characteristics.
Mental states can be short-term, situational and stable, personal.

All mental states are divided into four types:

1. Motivational (desires, aspirations, interests, drives, passions).

2. Emotional (emotional tone of sensations, emotional response to phenomena of reality, mood, conflicting emotional states - stress, affect, frustration).

3. Volitional states - initiative, determination, determination, perseverance (their classification is related to the structure of complex volitional action).

4. States of different levels of organization of consciousness (they manifest themselves in different levels of attentiveness).

System of mental phenomena.

Mental processes are integral acts of mental activity, characterized by reflective-regulatory specificity.

Cognitive - sensation, perception, thinking, imagination, memory.

Mental properties are the current uniqueness of the mental, typical for the individual, the originality of activity (mental processes), his mental activity due to the content. (object) Temperament of actions. and its personal significance. - individual characteristics of the psyche. activities, conditions innate Motivational type of higher nervous activity, actualized needs dynamics real. mental processes and their modifications: attitudes, (sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, interests, desires, aspirations. melancholic) attractions, passions.

Emotional - a hierarchy of needs and stable emotional tone of sensations, behavioral motives, value orientations, emotional response, mood, and attitudes of stress, affect, frustration.

Strong-willed - generalized modes of behavior, initiative, determination, type of adaptation to the environment is purposeful, persistent. etc.

Levels of organization are psychophysiological regulatory capabilities of mental activity that manifest themselves (attention) in specific types of activity.

Mental properties do not exist together, they are synthesized and form complex structural formations of the personality, which must include: the life position of the individual (a system of needs, interests, beliefs, ideals that determines the selectivity and level of activity of a person); temperament (a system of natural personality properties - mobility, balance of behavior and activity tone - characterizing the dynamic aspects.

Mental processes, states and properties of a person are a single manifestation of his psyche. The initial mental formation, manifested both in personality traits and in various mental states, are mental processes.

Mental process- this is an act of mental activity that is never initially completely specified, and therefore is formed and developing and has its own object of reflection and its own regulatory function. The mental as a process is not reduced to a sequence of stages in time, being formed in the course of the individual’s continuously changing interaction with the outside world.

Mental processes are orienting-regulating components of activity.

Mental processes include the following phenomena: 1) sensation; 2) perception; 3) thinking; 4) memory; 5) imagination; 6) speech.

The concept of “mental state” is used to conditionally highlight a relatively static moment in the individual’s psyche, in contrast to the concept of “mental process”. Mental states are a relatively stable integration of all mental manifestations of a person with a certain interaction with reality. Thus, a mental state is a temporary uniqueness of mental activity, determined by its content and a person’s attitude to this content.

A mental state can also be represented as a general functional level of mental activity, depending on the conditions of a person’s activity and his personal characteristics. Mental states can be: 1) short-term;

2) situational; 3) stable (characterize a specific personality).

All mental states are divided into four types: 1) motivational - desires, aspirations, interests, drives, passions; 2) emotional - emotional tone of sensations, emotional response to phenomena of reality, mood, conflicting emotional states: a) stress, b) affect, c) frustration; 3) volitional states - states of initiative, purposefulness, determination, perseverance (their classification is related to the structure of complex volitional action); 4) states of different levels of organization of consciousness (they manifest themselves in different levels of attention or attentiveness of the individual).

The concept of “mental property” indicates the stability of the manifestations of the individual’s psyche, their consolidation and repetition in the structure of his personality. Thus, the mental properties of a person are the characteristics of his psyche that are typical for a given person.

Mental properties of a person include: 1) temperament; 2) direction; 3) abilities; 4) character.

It was indicated above that mental processes, states and properties of a person are single manifestations of his psyche. Therefore, one and the same manifestation of the psyche can be considered in different respects. For example, affect as a mental property is a general characteristic of the emotional, cognitive and behavioral aspects of the subject’s psyche in a certain, relatively limited period of time; as a mental process it is characterized by the stages of development of emotions; it can also be considered as a manifestation of an individual’s mental properties - hot temper, incontinence, anger.

22. Mental states and their classifications.

· Mental states are one of the possible modes of human life, distinguished at the physiological level by certain energy characteristics, and at the psychological level by a system of psychological filters that provide a specific perception of the surrounding world

· Along with mental processes and personality traits, states are the main classes of mental phenomena that are studied by the science of psychology. Mental states influence the course of mental processes, and, repeating often, acquiring stability, they can be included in the structure of the personality as its specific property. Since each psychological state contains psychological, physiological and behavioral components, in the descriptions of the nature of states one can find concepts from different sciences (general psychology, physiology, medicine, occupational psychology, etc.), which creates additional difficulties for researchers involved in this problem. Currently, there is no single point of view on the problem of states, since personality states can be considered in two aspects. They are both cross-sections of personality dynamics and integral reactions of the personality, conditioned by its relationships, needs, goals of activity and adaptability in the environment and situation.

· The structure of mental states includes many components at very different system levels: from physiological to cognitive

· Classification of mental states

· The difficulty in classifying mental states is that they often overlap or even coincide with each other so closely that it is quite difficult to “separate” them - for example, a state of some tension often appears against the background of states of fatigue, monotony, aggression and a number of other states. However, there are many options for their classifications. Most often they are divided into emotional, cognitive, motivational, and volitional. Summarizing the current characteristics of the functioning of the main integrators of the psyche (personality, intellect, consciousness), the terms state of personality, state of intelligence, state of consciousness are used. Other classes of conditions have been described and continue to be studied: functional, psychophysiological, asthenic, borderline, crisis, hypnotic and other conditions. Based on the approaches to the diversity of mental states proposed by N.D. Levitov, we propose our own classification of mental states, consisting of seven constant and one situational component (Fig. 14.1).

23. The concept of creativity. Research methods.

Creativity is the ability for mental transformation and creativity; very close in meaning to the concept of “creative thinking”. Creativity includes the past, concomitant and subsequent characteristics of the process by which a person or group of people creates something that did not exist before. The understanding of Creativity is characterized by an unusually wide range of points of view: this is the creation of something new in a situation where the problem causes a dominant, reflecting past experience; this is also going beyond the limits of existing knowledge; it is also an interaction leading to development.

In psychology, two main directions for studying creativity have been identified: First, according to results (products), their quantity, quality and significance. Secondly, creativity is seen as a person’s ability to abandon stereotypical ways of thinking. One of the creators of the theory of creativity, J. Guilford, identifies six parameters of creativity Dushkov B. A. Psychology of labor, professional, information and organizational activities: Dictionary / Ed. B. A. Dushkova. - 3rd ed. - M.: Academic Project: Mir Foundation, 2005. - P. 260. :

1) the ability to detect and pose problems;

2) the ability to generate a large number of problems;

3) semantic spontaneous flexibility - the ability to produce a variety of ideas;

4) originality - the ability to produce distant associations, unusual answers, non-standard solutions;

5) the ability to improve an object by adding details;

6) the ability to solve non-standard problems, showing semantic flexibility, i.e. the ability to see new features in an object and find their new use.

Initially, creativity was viewed as a function of intelligence, and the level of development of intelligence was identified with the level of development of creativity. Subsequently, it turned out that the level of intelligence correlates with creativity only up to a certain limit, and too high an intelligence hinders creativity. Currently, creativity is considered as a function of a holistic personality that cannot be reduced to intelligence, depending on a whole complex of its psychological characteristics. Accordingly, the central direction in the study of creativity is the identification of personal qualities with which it is associated.

Scientists F. Barron and D. Harrington, summing up the results of research in the field of creativity from 1970 to 1980, made the following generalizations of what is known about creativity Torshina K. A. Modern studies of the problem of creativity in foreign psychology // Questions of psychology. - 1998. - No. 4. - P. 124.:

1. Creativity is the ability to adapt adaptively to the need for new approaches and new products. This ability also allows one to become aware of new things in existence, although the process itself can be both conscious and unconscious in nature.

2. The creation of a new creative product largely depends on the personality of the creator and the strength of his internal motivation.

3. The specific properties of the creative process, product and personality are their originality, consistency, adequacy to the task and another property that can be called suitability - aesthetic, ecological, optimal form, correct and original at the moment.

4. Creative products can be very different in nature: a new solution to a problem in mathematics, the discovery of a chemical process, the creation of music, a painting or a poem, a new philosophical or religious system, an innovation in law, economics, a fresh solution to social problems, etc.

2. Characteristics of the creativity process

Researchers T. Tardif and R. Sternberg identified the two most general approaches to the process of creativity: as a process occurring in an individual at a separate point in time (this point of view is shared by most researchers), or as a process dependent on the system of social connections, problematic spheres, criteria for evaluating a creative product, etc., i.e. in a broad social and historical context; At the same time, the process of creativity does not lose its connection with the individuality of the creator, but requires a different approach to the analysis of the process and its maturation.

Various researchers focus on different components of the creativity process, either focusing on one component, which is recognized as central, or building a complex system of interacting processes.

For example, P. Torrance, following J. Guilford, describes creativity in terms of thinking, understanding creative thinking “as a process of feeling difficulties, problems, gaps in information, missing elements, a imbalance in something; making guesses and formulating hypotheses regarding these shortcomings, evaluating and testing these guesses and hypotheses; the possibility of their revision and verification and, finally, generalization of the results” Torshina K. A. Decree. op. P. 125..

F. Barron considers the central process of imagination and symbolization, which serves as a criterion for creativity, and introduces the definition of creativity as “an internal process that spontaneously continues in action,” arguing that from this point of view, the absence of a product does not indicate the absence of creativity.

S. Mednik postulates that creativity is based on the ability to go beyond stereotypical associations and work with a wide semantic field Druzhinin V. N. Psychology of general abilities. - St. Petersburg: Peter Kom, 1999. - From 192..

D. Feldman proposes a three-part model of the creative process, which has three interconnected components: 1) reflectivity as the main process that distinguishes humans from animals, allowing the formation of self-awareness, self-esteem, planning, reflecting and analyzing the world through language; 2) purposefulness, or intentionality, which allows organizing the experience “inside and outside the body”; together with faith in the possibility of change for the better, allows you to actually change the environment; 3) mastery of the methods of transformation and reorganization that are offered by culture and determine individual differences.

Many researchers believe that the process of creativity is specific to different areas of activity and knowledge. However, some general requirements for the creative thinking process can be identified. The creative process, regardless of the problem it is aimed at, necessarily includes the following:

1. Changing the structure of external information and internal representations by forming analogies and connecting conceptual gaps.

2. Constant reformulation of the problem.

3. Using existing knowledge, memories and images to create new things and apply old knowledge and skills in new ways.

4. Using a non-verbal thinking model.

5. The process of creativity requires internal tension, which can arise in three ways: in the conflict between the traditional and the new at every step of the creative process; in the ideas themselves, in various solutions or proposed products; it can be created between the chaos of uncertainty and the desire to move to a higher level of organization and efficiency within the individual or society as a whole. Perhaps all three types of tension arise at different stages of the creative process.

As for specific areas in which creativity from “general” becomes special, here we can use the classification proposed by H. Gardner. Although this classification describes seven types of intelligence, it “rather correlates with types of giftedness,” and therefore creativity, since by the expressed type of intelligence it implies creative achievements in these areas. H. Gardner identified seven relatively independent intellectual competencies, defined as skills that meet two basic standards: formulating and creatively solving problems or approaching solved problems in new ways; widely used and highly appreciated by society.

1. Linguistic intelligence, based on sensitivity to the meaning of words and effective verbal memory.

2. Logical-mathematical intelligence - the ability to explore categories, relationships and structures by manipulating objects, symbols, concepts.

3. Spatial intelligence - the ability to perceive and create visual-spatial compositions, manipulate objects in the mind.

4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence - the ability to use motor skills in sports, performing arts, and manual labor.

5. Musical intelligence - the ability to perform, compose and perceive music emotionally.

6. Intrapersonal intelligence - the ability to understand and recognize one's own feelings.

7. Interpersonal intelligence - the ability to notice and distinguish the temperament, motivation and intentions of other people.

They often work together, for example, kinesthetic and spatial intelligence provide mechanical competence.

Competence in only one area - linguistic or interpersonal - can also lead to outstanding success in a number of professions. There is compelling experimental evidence for the existence of many types of creative process, depending on the field of application.

3. Development of creative thinking

Old ways of doing business are constantly becoming outdated, so management should look for a way out not by trying out known solutions, but by constantly searching for new foundations for success. It is not easy for large corporations to resist the onslaught of small, aggressive companies offering new products and ideas. Personnel creativity becomes not only the key to success, but also an elementary condition for survival.

Programs that teach creativity are needed by personnel of various enterprises. Trainings seriously change the culture of discussing ideas in a company.

Creativity development programs amaze with exotic names: lateral thinking training, ikaering, creative practice, “Mata Hari vs. Stirlitz”, etc. But in reality there is not much variety, each method goes back to a specific model of understanding creativity, and such There are only four models

Algebra of creativity. Many researchers view creativity not as an intuitive process, but approach it purely rationally. This approach is most clearly embodied in the TRIZ method (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving). It is based on the engineering theory of Heinrich Altshuller, who believed that trial and error and waiting for creative insight are ineffective. In his opinion, the invention of something new is a completely technological process. Having analyzed more than 400 thousand different inventions, Altshuller found that most problems are solved with only 40 techniques. You just need to divide all problems into types and apply the necessary solution algorithms.

Any complex task in TRIZ terminology contains a systemic contradiction that must be overcome or circumvented. Here, for example, is technique No. 26: if the solution found is too complex, expensive and inconvenient, it must be replaced with a weakened copy.

Templates for the mind. The second model is also based on the idea that creativity can be subordinated to technology. However, it is not the solution to the problem that needs to be systematized, but the thinking process itself. And then the generation of something new looks like this: collecting material, setting a creative task, correlating the material with the task, and, finally, generating an idea using associations. The creative process is divided into several successive stages, or several roles, which the participant also successively tries on. The most popular training of this type is “Six Hats” by Edward de Bono.

Left and right. Not all trainers require participants to think rationally. An equally powerful method is immersing a person in non-standard situations. The source of creativity lies in the ability to switch from primary cognitive processes (dreams, dreams, images), which give rise to new and unexpected thoughts, to secondary ones (logical thinking, texts). To learn to think creatively, you need to awaken your imagination as much as possible. For example, start drawing, sculpting from plasticine, fantasizing more, and then try to talk about your impressions in writing. Many coaches call this “right-brain retraining.” It is believed that it is the right hemisphere that is responsible for imaginative thinking: following this theory, the more harmoniously the hemispheres interact, the richer the understanding of reality - and the more new ideas a person can come up with.

Creative orchestra. One of the most promising methods is developing creativity in entire teams. Trainings of this type most often take the form of group improvisation. For example, one agency creative director likes to do a simple exercise with his employees. People stand in a circle, the leader begins to tell some fictitious story, and then throws the ball at random to another player. And so, one by one, everyone comes up with a continuation of the story.

And another general director of the company once brought a group of sales managers from a furniture company to a resort town and, two hours before the start of the training, posted notices around the city that a concert of visiting “stars” would be held at a local club. Only after this the training participants were explained what awaited them. After a storm of indignation, they began to prepare and eventually staged a good performance. “We repeated this experiment four times with different groups,” says the general director. “And each time the participants succeeded.”

Improvisational techniques are based on the ideas of John Kao, a Harvard professor, musician, founder of several companies and producer of the film Sex, Lies and Videotape. Kao believes that the main factor for success in business today is constant creativity. Companies must become “idea factories”, consisting of creative employees and managers intensively exchanging information with each other. The company's activities, according to Kao, are turning into jamming - musical improvisation.

Of course, no training can teach a person to come up with brilliant ideas. But the main advantage of such programs is that they remove obstacles that hinder the development of creative thinking, the main one of which is the fear of creativity. Having liberated their consciousness, people are no longer afraid of failure or ridicule and offer their ideas more actively.

24. Methodological principles of psychological science.

Before considering the general features of the methodology, let's consider the concept of fact. What is a psychological fact? As the outstanding French scientist Claude Bernard noted, “a fact in itself is nothing; it has meaning only because of the idea with which it is associated or the proof it gives” (Fresse, Piaget, 1966). For example, a certain act of behavior of a child, in which the characteristics of his personality are manifested, can act as a psychological fact. If we observe a group of children, then acts of joint activity of the group, communication between children, manifestations of a common mood, and much more can act as a psychological fact. It is obvious that facts are of interest to the psychologist not in themselves, but as an expression of certain internal psychological patterns.

However, observing a certain psychological fact is not enough. Many parents have a huge store of specific facts from the lives of their children, but this does not make them scientists in the field of, say, child psychology. Even more or less systematized diary entries cannot be considered as scientific works on psychology, but serve only as material for further scientific analysis and interpretation from the point of view of scientific research methodology. In this regard, the question of developing a psychology methodology has always been and remains one of the most pressing.

Method- this is the path, the method of cognition through which the subject of science is learned (S. L. Rubinstein).

Methodology(from the Greek methodos - path of research, logos - science) - a system of principles and methods of organizing and constructing theoretical and practical activities, as well as the doctrine of this system. Methodology is the study of the scientific method in general and the methods of individual sciences. This is a culture of scientific research.

Methods(from the Greek methodos - the path of research or knowledge) - these are the techniques and means by which scientists obtain reliable information; these are the ways of knowledge through which the subject of any science is known.

The method of psychology is specified in research methods, Methodology- this is a specific embodiment of the method as a developed way of organizing the interaction of the subject and object of research on the basis of specific material and a specific procedure. The methodology meets the specific goals and objectives of the study, contains descriptions of the object and the study procedure, a method of recording and processing the data obtained. Based on a specific method, many techniques can be created.

One of the most important tasks of modern psychology is to consider all the variety of methods and techniques used as a single system (i.e., within the framework of a systems approach). Any object must be considered from different angles, using different methods and at different levels of methodological analysis.

From the point of view of methodological analysis, there are three levels of analysis of any phenomenon.

All mental phenomena are inextricably linked, but traditionally they are divided into three groups:

1. mental processes;
2. mental states;
3. mental properties of personality.

Mental processes should be considered as basic phenomena, and mental states and personality traits as a temporary and typological modification of mental processes. Taken together, all mental phenomena form a single stream of reflective-regulatory activity.

Let us give a brief general description of these three groups of mental phenomena.
I. Mental processes– individual integral acts of reflective-regulatory activity. Each mental process has its own object of reflection, its own regulatory specificity and its own patterns.

Mental processes represent the initial group of mental phenomena: on their basis, mental images are formed.

Mental processes are the active interaction of the subject with the object of reflection, a system of specific actions aimed at its cognition and interaction with it.

Mental processes are divided into:

1. cognitive (sensation, perception, thinking, imagination and memory),
2. strong-willed,
3. emotional.

Human mental activity is a combination of cognitive, volitional and emotional processes.

II. Mental state– the temporary uniqueness of mental activity, determined by its content and a person’s attitude to this content. Mental state is a current modification of the human psyche. It represents a relatively stable integration of all mental manifestations of a person with a certain interaction with reality.

The mental state manifests itself in the general functional level of mental activity, depending on the direction of a person’s activity at the moment and his personal characteristics.

All mental states are divided into:

1. motivational – needs-based attitudes, desires, interests, drives, passions;
2. states of organized consciousness (manifested in various levels of attentiveness and efficiency);
3. emotional (emotional tone of sensations, emotional response to reality, mood, conflicting emotional states - stress, affect, frustration);
4. volitional (states of initiative, purposefulness, determination, perseverance, etc.; their classification is related to the structure of complex volitional action).

There are also different borderline mental states of the individual - psychopathy, accentuation of character, neuroses and states of delayed mental development.

III. Mental properties Personality – features of his psyche that are typical for a given person, features of the implementation of his mental processes.

Mental personality traits include:

1. temperament;
2. personality orientation (needs, interests, worldview, ideals);
3. character;
4. abilities (Fig. 3).

This is the traditional classification of mental phenomena, coming from I. Kant. It underlies the construction of traditional psychology. However, this classification suffers from an artificial separation of mental processes from mental states and typological properties of the individual: cognitive, volitional and emotional processes are nothing more than certain mental capabilities (abilities) of the individual, and mental states are the current uniqueness of these capabilities.