New Ways to Create Imaginative Images

4.2.2.1. Concept of imagination

In reality, not all problems and tasks posed by reality can be solved by thinking. There are many cases where, when faced with a problematic situation, people cannot use thinking to solve the problem but must use another rational cognitive process, called imagination.

Imagination is a cognitive process that reflects what is not present in an individual's experience by constructing new images on the basis of existing symbols.

Imagination has the following basic characteristics:

– In terms of reflective content, imagination reflects something new, something that has never existed in the experience of an individual or of society.

– In terms of reflection, imagination creates something new from existing symbols and is carried out mainly in the form of concrete images.

– Regarding physiological mechanisms, imagination has a physiological basis in the resolution of existing temporary neural connection systems and their combination into new systems in the cerebral cortex.

– Imagination is a psychological process, of social origin, formed and developed in labor and therefore only exists in humans.

4.2.2.2. Types of imagination

Imagination has two characteristic features: positivity and effectiveness. Based on these two features, people divide imagination into types: positive and negative imagination, dreams and ideals.

* Negative imagination is the type of imagination that creates images that are not expressed in life, outlines programs of behavior that are not carried out and are always unrealizable.

Negative imagination can occur intentionally, but is not associated with the will to manifest the imagined images in life – that is daydreaming.

Negative fantasies can also occur involuntarily. This mainly occurs when a person is in a state of inactivity, in sleep (dreaming), in a semi-awake, semi-asleep state, in an emotional state, in a pathological state of consciousness (hallucinations, delusions).

* Positive imagination . When imagination creates images that satisfy needs and stimulate people's actual positive qualities, it is positive imagination. Positive imagination is of two types: reproductive and creative.

Reconstructive imagination is the type of imagination that creates images that are new to the individual imaginer and are based on descriptions by others. For example, students' imagination of things described in geography, history or literature textbooks, etc.

Creative imagination is the kind of imagination that independently constructs new images, these images are new to both the individual and to society, they are realized in unique and valuable material products. Arising in labor, creative imagination is an indispensable aspect of all creativity: technical creativity, artistic creativity, etc.

* Dreams and ideals are a type of imagination that is oriented towards the future, it expresses people's wishes and desires. Dreams are a type of creative imagination, but not directly oriented towards current activities. Dreams are beneficial when they motivate individuals to strive, turning dreams into reality. Harmful dreams are dreams that are not based on real possibilities, are just fantasies, never become reality, and therefore can make individuals disappointed and discouraged.

An ideal is more positive and realistic than a dream. An ideal is a bright, radiant, concrete image of the desired future. It is a powerful motivation that pushes people to strive to seize the future.

Thus, imagination is a component of personality. Educating and cultivating students' imagination is not only the task of intellectual education, but also of moral education.

4.2.2.3. Ways to create new images in imagination

New mental images are created in many different ways. Here are the most basic ways (tricks).

* Change the size, quantity of objects or parts of objects : for example, the image of a giant or

Tiny; Buddha with a hundred eyes, a hundred hands etc. are new images of imagination created in this way.

* Emphasizing details, components, and attributes of objects: for example, images in caricatures have been created in this way (for example, to mock a glutton, a mouth is drawn so large that it covers almost the entire face). A variation of this method is the exaggeration method.

* Collage (adhesion) : is the method of combining parts of many different objects and phenomena into a new image, for example the image of a Vietnamese dragon, the image of a human head with a fish body, the image of a sphinx. In the new image, the constituent parts remain intact, not changed or processed, they are simply pieced together.

* Combination : this method seems similar to the patchwork method. But in fact, it is not a simple, mechanical combination of initial elements. When participating in a new image, the initial elements are reformed, transformed and placed in new relationships. Combination is a creative synthesis, not a simple synthesis of known elements. This method is used in literature and art to build literary and artistic images; in science and technology to design technical tools and equipment (for example, a steam car is the result of combining a car with a train; a seaplane: an airplane with a ship...).

* Typification : is the most complex method of creating a new image, in which typical attributes and typical characteristics of a personality as a representative of a certain class or social stratum are expressed in this new image. This method is widely used in literary and artistic creation, and in sculpture. The key element of the typification method is the creative synthesis of a general nature of the individual, typical attributes and characteristics of the personality.

* Analogy (similarity, imitation) : since the dawn of mankind, our ancestors have known how to invent the simplest labor tools from the similarity of the operations of the hands with the labor tools that will be created. Before creating real labor tools, people have seen that similarity in their minds. By such analogy, labor tools that imitate the labor operations of the hands were born.

Nowadays, the birth of biomimicry is a high development step of the analogy method in the process of invention and development of scientists and engineers (For example, by imitating the sinking-floating mechanism of fish, submarines were born).

Thus, imagination and thinking are closely related. They have similarities and differences. Imagination and thinking both reflect something new, unprecedented in the individual's experience, and are both problematic, that is, they are both stimulated by problematic situations. Therefore, they are both high levels of cognitive activity - the rational level.

When a person is faced with a problematic situation – the source of activity, there are two systems of consciousness that are ahead of him in reflecting on the results of this activity: a tightly organized system of images and a tightly organized system of concepts. The ability to select and combine images is the basis of imagination, the ability to combine concepts in a new way is the basis of thinking. Often this activity occurs simultaneously on both “levels”, because the two systems of images and concepts are closely related. For example, the choice of a method of activity is carried out by means of logical judgments associated with clear representations of how the activity will be performed.

So when faced with a problematic situation, when do we think and when do we imagine? This depends on the degree of uncertainty (indetermination, ambiguity) of the problematic situation. If the initial documents of the task are clear and bright, the task solving process mainly follows the laws of thinking. But when the problematic situation is highly uncertain and the initial documents are difficult to analyze accurately, the task solving process takes place according to the mechanism of imagination.

Imagination is completely unnecessary for phenomena whose basic laws have been clarified. On the contrary, when we have only approximate information about the situation, it is difficult to use thinking to solve it, then imagination is necessary. The value of imagination lies in the fact that it allows us to come to a decision and find a way out of a problematic situation even when we do not have enough knowledge to think. Imagination allows us to "skip" through some stages of thinking and still visualize the final result. But the weakness of the path of solving problems by imagination is also there. The path of solving problems by imagination is a path that is not completely precise and rigorous.

4.2.3. Language

4.2.3.1. Concept of language

Social life and the coordinated labor of people have led to the necessity of frequent communication between people. While communicating with each other, people use words according to certain grammatical rules of a certain language, for example: Russian, Japanese... Language is a system of word symbols that functions as a means of communication, a tool of thinking. It is an objective phenomenon in the spiritual life of society, a phenomenon of the spiritual culture of mankind.

Speech is the subject of linguistics. Speech consists of two parts: vocabulary, the meanings of words, and grammar.

– is a system of rules that regulate the combination of words into sentences. Any language contains two categories: grammatical category – is a system of rules that regulate the formation of words and sentences, this category is specific to each language (Vietnamese grammar is different from English grammar, etc.) and logical category – is the correct rule of humans, it is common to all humans, so even though using different languages, different ethnic groups can still understand each other.

Language is the process by which individuals use a certain language to communicate. In other words, language is communication by speech.

Language is a psychological process, it is the subject of psychology. Language is specific to each person. Individual differences in language are expressed in pronunciation, sentence structure, word choice.

Although language and speech are so different, they are closely related and interact with each other: no language can exist and develop outside the language process (if that were the case, speech would become a "dead language"), and conversely, the language process cannot exist without relying on a certain language.

4.2.3.2. Functions of language

In human life, language has the following basic functions:

* Meaning function : This function makes human language different from animal communication. Humans use the language process to refer to the objects and phenomena themselves (because the words we use in the language process are closely linked to the phenomena and objects that the words refer to). The sounds emitted by animals do not refer to objects and phenomena, but only express states of fear, hunger, satisfaction, etc. Due to the similarity of these expressions in all individuals of the same species, the "language" of animals has no objective content.

* Generalization function . A word does not refer to a single thing or phenomenon, but to a series of things or phenomena that share the same essential properties. This function shows the close relationship between language and thinking. Language is the form of existence of thoughts and ideas, and it is most suitable for abstract and logical thinking.

* Informative function : If the two functions above speak of the inner side of language, the informing function speaks of the outer side of language. The informing function includes three aspects: information, expression and action promotion. In short, language has two main functions: a tool of communication and a tool of thinking. In this section, we will only focus on the second function.

4.2.3.3. Types of languages

In general, language can be divided into two types: external language and internal language.

a) External language is the language directed at others, it is used to convey and receive ideas. External language includes two things: spoken language and written language.

* Spoken language : is language directed at others, expressed in sounds and received by auditory analysis. Spoken language is the most primitive form of human history. In the development of individuals, spoken language also comes first. Spoken language also has two types: dialogue and monologue.

Spoken language dialogue : is a type of language between two or more people, in which at one time one person speaks and the other listens, at another time the other person speaks and this person listens. This type of language has its own psychological characteristics: during the dialogue, there is a change in the position and role of each side, this change has a supporting effect, making it easier for the two sides to understand each other; the speaker and the listener are always heard and often see each other (if it is a direct dialogue), so in addition to speech, there are other auxiliary means to complement the language, such as gestures, movements, facial expressions (if the dialogue is indirect, for example over the phone, there is no such characteristic) and therefore the speaker can directly see the listener's reaction, thereby being able to adjust his speech.

Monologue spoken language is a type of language in which one person speaks and others listen. For example, reading

writing, reading reports or lecturing... It is a continuous, one-way language, without any feedback (in the case of indirect monologue).

Monologues require more stringent requirements than dialogues: the speaker must prepare in advance the content, form and structure of what he or she is going to say, and often must learn about the audience (the listeners) in advance. The language must be clear, easy to understand and precise. Monologues put a certain amount of stress on both the speaker and the listener: the speaker must prepare in advance as mentioned above, and must monitor his or her own language and the listener's reactions; and the listener must concentrate for a long time.

* Written language is a language directed at others, expressed by written symbols and received by the visual analysis organ. Written language allows people to communicate with each other indirectly, over large distances in space and time. Written language has certain requirements for both writers and readers. Writers cannot use supporting means such as voice, gestures, movements, facial expressions, etc.; they cannot always know in advance the readers' reactions to what they write, because they cannot hear or see the readers and often do not know anything about them, and the readers are very numerous, from many fields and many circles, so it is even more difficult. On the reader's side, there are also certain difficulties, they cannot express their opinions directly. To overcome the above difficulties, written language has the strictest requirements: it must be written meticulously, accurately, and must fully comply with the rules of grammar, spelling and logic.

Written language also has two types: dialogue and monologue, but dialogue is indirect, for example letters; and monologue is like books and newspapers, for example.

b) Inner language is a language for oneself, directed towards oneself, it helps people to think, self-regulate, self-educate. Therefore, inner language is not a means of communication. It is the verbal shell of thinking. Different from external language, inner language has the following unique characteristics:

– Does not produce sound. But this characteristic does not fully describe the characteristics of inner language. Therefore, if based on this characteristic to call inner language a whispering language is not accurate, because a language that does not produce sound (whispering) is not necessarily a true inner language.

– Always shortened and condensed: often a complete sentence is shortened to just one word (subject and predicate).

– Exists in the form of motor sensations, determined by its special mechanism.

Despite such differences, inner language is closely related to outer language: outer language is the origin of inner language, it comes before inner language, inner language is the result of internalization of outer language. According to modern concept, inner language has two levels: inner spoken language and true inner language. At the first level, inner language still retains the structure of outer language, just not uttered out loud. At the second level, inner language has all the above characteristics.

4.2.3.4. Personal characteristics of language

a) Personal characteristics in terms of communication

* Openness : Some people are open, some are not. Openness is the optimal expression of the need for communication in humans. But not everyone who has the need will be open. Openness has two characteristic signs: selectivity and inner richness.

* Being secretive (lacking openness) is the quality of not sharing thoughts with others because of not having the need or the habit of communicating, not because of not trusting people. Secretiveness is different from being secretive. Being secretive is not trusting others and looking down on others.

* Talkativeness is the inability to control language activity; language lacks choice and at the same time lacks inner richness.

* Eloquence : this characteristic is often shown in social activists, speakers, teachers, etc. The outstanding characteristic of eloquence is the unity between thoughts and words. Thoughts express a clear purpose, coherently, with images and persuasiveness in words. Purpose and persuasiveness are two characteristic signs of eloquence. Avoid confusing eloquence with "flowery language", which is a flashy, polished language in form, not necessarily with content.

b) Human personality and language style

There is a close relationship between people's personality traits and their way of using language.

Through someone's language, we can understand and evaluate their personality, and know their tendencies and interests. It is the personality traits that determine each person's own language style: lifestyle style, artistic style, working style, and scientific style.

4.2.3.5. The role of language in human life

Language plays an important role in all human activities. Thanks to the participation of language in organizing and regulating psychological activities, human psychology is qualitatively different from animal psychology. It is a tool that contributes to making human psychology purposeful, social and general.

In addition to its function as a tool of communication, language is also a tool of thinking and has an important influence on all human cognitive activities.

Through the impact of language, we can directly evoke feelings in people. For example, in winter, when we hear someone exclaim, “It’s so cold!”, we also feel cold. Just hearing the word “so sour,” we can also “drool”! Under the impact of language, we can change the threshold of sensation and the sensitivity of sensation. The participation of the second signal system in the process of perception helps the component sensations to be combined into a whole, a complete image and attached to a specific name. Thanks to language, people can conduct intentional perception (with purpose, with plan, with method), long-term observation of objects and phenomena.

Language also actively participates in memory activities, making human memorization, preservation and recall intentional and meaningful (not mechanical). For rational cognition, language plays a particularly important role. Language is closely linked to human thinking, making their thinking qualitatively different from that of animals - it is indirect, abstract and general. Language is also a means for humans to absorb and comprehend social culture, enhance their distinction and experience. Language helps humans to precisely define the images of imagination that are emerging, separate the most basic aspects of them, link them together, fix them with words, and keep them in memory. In short? language makes imagination a conscious and controlled process.

FURTHER READING

1. Pham Minh Hac, Le Khanh, Tran Trong Thuy. Psychology, volume I, Education Publishing House, 1988 (Chapter IV: “Cognitive activities”, from pages 117 to 186).

2. Tran Trong Thuy, Psychological diagnostic science, Education Publishing House, 1992 (Part II: "Methods of intellectual diagnosis", from page 70 to page 129).

3. Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (translator), Social Sciences Publishing House, 2002.

4. Howard Gardner, Structure of Intelligence, Theory of Multiple Intelligences (translator). Education Publishing House, 1997:

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. How are sensation and perception similar and different? What role do sensation and perception play in life and in teaching?

2. Why is thinking classified as a level of rational cognition? What are its characteristics? What are the stages and operations of a thinking process?

3. Prove M. Gorky's opinion that, in essence, imagination is also thinking, but thinking mainly through images.

4. What is language? What is its relationship and role to human cognitive activities? What types of language are there? What are the characteristics of each type?

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PRACTICE

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter IV. COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

1. Let's find out students' observation skills by comparing two pictures.

Tools needed:

– Two or three sets of pictures with a simple theme and a small number of details. For example, a scene of a cooperative yard. In each set there are two pictures that are identical in all details, except for the details that were planned in advance: 10 details that are not in the other picture, or are distributed differently.

– Wristwatch (stopwatch is even better).

– A table listing the differences in two pictures will be given, for example the following two pictures (Figures 4 and 5).

How to proceed

Show the first picture to the students and ask them to look at it carefully. After 1 minute, take the first picture away and show the second picture. Ask the students to identify all the differences: what new objects are not in the first picture and what objects are not in the places they were in the first picture. There is no time limit on how long they can look at the second picture.

Compare the differences to the list of differences to evaluate the students' comments. If the students state differences that are not on the list, record them.

Analyze the results

Count the number of details (differences) found correctly. Pay attention to cases where students name differences that are not in the picture.

2. Research students' creative imagination by experiment.

Tools needed

Some words, each word has 2 letters. For example: Spring, Happiness, people.

How to proceed

Ask students to make as many sentences as possible within 10 minutes, so that each sentence contains the 3 words given.

give.

How to evaluate

- Sentence has all 3 words clear, precise, concise: 6 points

– The sentence has all 3 words clearly, but is long: 5 points

- The sentence has all 3 words but the main meaning is only in 2 words, the other words are not relevant: 4 points

– The sentence has all 3 words, but the meaning is unclear: 3 points

- Sentence with 3 separate words that have unrelated meanings: 1 point

– Sentence with 3 completely unrelated words: 0 points

If the next sentence is similar to the previous sentence, or has the same structure, the next sentence will only be worth half the score of the previous sentence. Calculate the total score achieved. Compare the results achieved by different students.

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Chapter V. EMOTIONS AND WILL

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

5.1. EMOTION

5.2. WILL TO PRACTICE

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5.1. EMOTION

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter V. EMOTIONS AND WILL

While reflecting the objective world, people not only perceive that world, but also express their attitude towards it. Looking at a beautiful painting, listening to a good piece of music, we not only perceive (see, hear) but also "vibrate", "excite", "thrill"... Psychological phenomena that express people's attitudes towards what they perceive, or create are called human emotions and feelings. Human emotional life is extremely rich, diverse, expressed in many forms, at many different levels, having a profound influence on all other psychological processes of human activities... That is a very characteristic feature of human psychology.

5.1.1. Concept of feelings and emotions

5.1.1.1. What is love?

Emotions are stable emotional attitudes of people towards objective objects and phenomena, reflecting their meaning in relation to their needs and motives. Emotions are the advanced product of the development of emotional processes in social conditions.

Thus, here we encounter a new form of psychological reflection – emotional reflection. Emotional reflection, in addition to the similarities with cognitive reflection – both are reflections of objective reality, are subjective and have a social-historical nature – has fundamentally different characteristics from cognitive reflection.

Firstly, in terms of the object of reflection, the cognitive process reflects the objects and phenomena themselves in objective reality, while emotions reflect the relationship between objects and phenomena and human needs and motives, not reflecting the objects and phenomena themselves.

Second, in terms of the scope of reflection, in general, any object or phenomenon that affects our senses will be reflected (perceived) to a certain extent; meanwhile, not everything that affects our senses causes emotions or feelings, but only objects or phenomena that are related to the satisfaction of a certain human need or motive will cause emotions.

Third, in terms of the method of reflection, cognition reflects objective reality in the form of images (feelings, perceptions), symbols (memory, imagination), concepts (thinking), while emotions reflect objective reality in the form of human vibrations and experiences.

Fourth, the level of subjective expression in emotions is higher and more pronounced than in cognition.

Finally, the process of emotional formation is much longer, much more complex, and follows different rules than the process of cognition.

We need to clearly see the above differences between emotional reflection and cognitive reflection of people in order to propose the right paths and measures to build and educate students' emotions, avoiding using knowledge-forming measures to form emotions. "To teach natural sciences, we can use theorems and formulas. But to build people and build emotions, we cannot follow formulas."

5.1.1.2. What is emotion?

Many authors equate the concept of “emotion” with the concept of “feeling”. Although they are similar (both are expressions of the subject’s attitude towards things and phenomena related to the subject’s needs), emotions and feelings have fundamental differences in three aspects: stability, sociality, and physiological-neurological mechanisms. Distinguishing the difference between emotions and feelings is important both in theory and practice. The differences can be stated as follows:

Emotion

Emotional
– Both in humans and animals	– Only in humans
– Is a psychological process	– Is a psychological attribute
– Temporary, situational and diverse	– Deterministic and stable
– Always stay in reality	– Usually in a latent state
– Appear first	– Appears later