Thanks to thinking, each person has the opportunity to study and cognize the world around him, interact with people, understand phenomena and truths. This intellectual process is formed as the personality develops. However, it can be accelerated through mental training. There are various exercises for the development of thinking. This will be discussed in our article.
Types of thinking
The quality of work of other cognitive processes of a person depends on the development of mental abilities. In psychology, thinking is divided into several types. We offer to consider them separately.
Visual thinking
With this kind of thinking, we are able to represent various images in our head. For example, each girl is familiar with a situation (associated with an important meeting) when you need to carefully choose clothes to go out. Of course, in her mind, pictures of how she will look in one or another dress code pop up in her mind. We often use this method without noticing it ourselves. In children, this ability begins to appear from about four years old. They can be helped in this with the help of exercises for the development of visual-figurative thinking, which, by the way, are also suitable for adults.
Exercises
We turn to the practical side of the issue. Such a charge for the mind contributes to the development of your own imagination. Try to consistently perform the following tricks:
1. Reproduce the image of yesterday: what did you do? What were you wearing? Who were you talking to and about? Try to remember as many details as possible, down to the smallest detail.
2. See the following pictures. Invent as many original and interesting associations as possible.
This exercise for the development of thinking helps to master the ability to analyze and synthesize the ratio of figures to each other in size, shape and color.
3. Look at the individual geometric images that are presented in the figure, and think what will happen in the end if they are superimposed on each other? Select an answer from the figures on the right.
4. Next, we offer an exercise on the development of thinking and attention, aimed at the formation of geometric representations and images. The bottom line is: finish the second half of the drawings, but so that it is completely identical.
5. Describe with three adjectives each of the following subjects:
- apricot;
- window;
- star;
- soaring snowflake;
- wheel.
The above exercises for the development of intelligence and thinking can be changed at your discretion. Make them the way you like. The main thing is that this type of thinking is directly involved, the speed and quality of which will depend on how often you practice.
Verbal-logical thinking
This way of thinking has another name - abstract, and the right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for its development. It is carried out using logical manipulations and has three forms:
- A concept is a system of thoughts that distinguishes and generalizes objects of a different class according to their characteristics.
- Judgment is a thought in which denial or affirmation occurs.
- The conclusion is when, based on certain judgments, we get a specific conclusion.
Experts recommend starting such a train of thought in children as early as possible. Thanks to abstract thinking, kids train memory, attention and imagination.
The following exercises are suitable for both children and their parents.
1. Set the timer for three minutes and write down as many words as possible on the letters "w", "c", "w", and "I."
2. Take any word or phrase as a basis and read it the other way around. For example: hadron collider, eleventh grader, excellence and so on.
3. The following is an exercise on the development of thinking in primary school students. The bottom line is to remove the extra word. For example, chicken, cow and pig are pets, and the elephant has nothing to do with them. For older children or adults, you can come up with a more complex group of words.
4. Find the maximum number of differences between a train and a helicopter, a horse and a sheep, an oak and a pine, and so on.
5. From the group of words, select one or two, without which the basic concept cannot exist:
- war - battle, planes, guns, soldiers;
- game - cards, players, penalty, dominoes;
- road - asphalt, car, traffic light, pedestrians.
Any proposed tasks can be modified at your discretion, complicate or simplify - it is up to you. Such exercises to develop memory and thinking will also help strengthen intelligence.
Vivid thinking
The process of this thinking comes down to real human actions. It is the basis of mental activity, starting with primitive time, which is responsible for solving practical problems, for example - the need to build a house or find food.
Visual-effective thinking develops rapidly in children under seven years of age, when they begin to analyze all kinds of objects into a single whole and operate on them.
To train and develop this ability, you can play chess, collect puzzles, solve various puzzles, sculpt all kinds of figures from plasticine. In addition, there are effective exercises for the development of thinking:
1. Draw the following figures on the landscape sheet: trapezoid, triangle and rhombus. Then turn all these elements into a square, cutting once in a straight line.
2. Pick up any item and try to determine its weight. Then in the same way weigh your clothes and using a special device check yourself.
3. Walk around the apartment and visually try to establish the area of the kitchen, bathroom, living room and other rooms of your apartment.
4. Build a house of six matches, and after that shift two sticks in such a way that you get a flag.
5. Lay out a figure of four squares in front of you with matches, then shift three of them so that you get as many identical similar elements.
As an effective complement to training, you can add games to the designer. To develop visual-effective thinking, experts recommend collecting different figures and using as many details as possible.
Exercises for children
The following games and exercises for the development of thinking are suitable for schoolchildren and preschool children:
1. "Edible - inedible." The essence of the game is as follows: the child needs to throw or roll a ball across the floor, naming any word. If it means something edible, then the baby should catch the ball, and if inedible - throw it.
Such an exercise for the development of children's memory and thinking can be complicated in many ways. For example, throwing a ball, you can name the color, and the child must remember and name the subject of this color.
2. "The Confused Tale". To conduct this exercise, pre-print on separate pieces of paper illustrations for your child’s favorite fairy tale. If you take an unknown work, then complicate the task of the baby. Pictures with images must be mixed in a chaotic manner and laid out in front of the child. The task of the child is to arrange the illustrations in the correct order, so that a fairy tale turns out.
The development of visual and effective thinking does not require much effort and time, it is enough to conduct such classes as often as possible.
It is worth paying attention to the mental activity of the baby up to a year.
- For children of this age, it is typical to throw away toys and look at the reaction. Try to tie objects to the side of the crib so that the baby can pull the rope and get it. They should sometimes be changed so that the crumbs retain interest.
- When the child already knows how to sit, play the following game: put an interesting and unusual object in front of him, tie a ribbon to it and give one end to the baby’s hands.
Logical thinking
Logical thinking is necessary for each person in order to be able to analyze and correctly apply the information received in time. It helps to reason and think consistently and rationally. Thanks to this skill, people can reasonably evaluate the world around them, distinguish between the main and the secondary, as well as find relationships and analyze various situations. Literate speech and human judgment are directly related to the individual’s ability to build phased logical chains in the mind. Therefore, it is very important to train such abilities in both children and adults. There are a huge number of different tests, tasks and exercises for the development of logical thinking. With their help, you can assess the level of your intellectual skills. To do this, watch a special video.
Below are described exercises for the development of thinking of schoolchildren and their parents, which will help to think in an orderly manner, increase the level of memory and attention:
1. From a small group of words, for example: “sofa, chair, stool, table”, “circle, circle, ball, oval”, “knife, spoon, fork, towel”, etc. you must select a word that does not fit the meaning. This exercise is quite easy to use, but it is very effective.
2. The following workouts can be carried out with family or friends, they significantly accelerate the work of brain functions, and are also suitable as entertainment. To do this, it is necessary for one person or group of people to offer the rest to solve a semantic riddle where it is necessary to convey the content of a text. For example: “Violators of the law committed illegal actions and took property that they did not belong to their home, but, nevertheless, it was for the good. All these actions were taken in connection with the holiday, in which this thing is the main attribute. The children were thrilled. ” Thinking logically, we can recall a children's song called "A little Christmas tree is cold in winter."
3. Cross out the excess. Performing the following exercise, you need to prepare cards with groups of words and arrange them in rows. When alternately reading, the child must determine what unites most of the semantic meanings, and which name is superfluous. It is important that the baby reason aloud and voice his choice.
An example of words united by meaning:
- Cup, pan, pan, button accordion.
- Eraser, notebook, pencil, ball.
- Sweater, pants, shirt, boots.
- Wardrobe, chair, sofa, chair.
- Happy, brave, cheerful, joyful.
- Yellow, orange, light, red.
- Skates, skis, jump rope, snowboard.
4. The following groups of words are combined according to formal characteristics. That is, they can begin with the same letter or have the same prefix or number of syllables. When compiling such a group of words, it is important that only one attribute coincides. This exercise requires a high level of attention. So, consider the examples:
- Ice cream, music, violin, walrus, monastery. (A common sign - all words begin with the letter "m".
- February, rain, performance, thunder, five. (Four words end in “b.")
- Candle, pasta, performance, legs, thunder. (Four words have an accent that falls on the first syllable.)
- Figure, notebook, life, minute. (In three words, the second letter is “and.”)
5. The meaning of the next task is identical to the previous one: it is necessary to identify a common feature of these numbers. For instance:
- 18, 22, 36, 54, 72 (it is necessary to exclude 22 from the series, because for the rest the sum of the digits is 9).
- 21, 43, 52, 65, 87 (in this row, the figure is 52, since the others have the first value greater than the second by one).
- 8, 11, 16, 22 (11 is superfluous, the rest of the numbers are even).
6. "Invisible words." The next exercise for the development of children's thinking is that the child can return the previous correct form to a specific word. To do this, you will need to print incorrectly written names on the sheets, for example, instead of “door” write - “trust”. Such mental exercises not only train logical thinking, but also help to concentrate and analyze the material. An example of exercises where it is necessary to restore the order of letters in words:
- Shodyla, laqueb, cobasa, atuk, nyukid.
- Gsen, azim, gishurka, Rashumi, fell.
In addition to exercises for the development of logical thinking, experts recommend solving logic tasks as often as possible, passing tests for the coefficient of intelligence, reading detective stories, as well as engaging in self-education and training intuition.
Exercises for children
1. The next task is more difficult, since the child needs to restore the correct order of names and remove one superfluous in meaning.
In this case, the animals are hidden, and the word "window" is superfluous here.
- Sali, kvol, rabsuk, noko, hippo.
Here the names of the flowers are veiled, but the word "pen" is superfluous.
- Niop, pantule, zaro, karuch, lashnyd.
In the next version, the seasons are hidden, but there is an extra word - this is a cat.
- Tolya, Zami, porridge, ones, on.
2. The next exercise is to find another in one word by rearranging the letters. For example:
- bank - wild boar;
- moose - salt;
- strength is a fox
- pine - pump;
- Chamomile is a midge.
3. In this task it is necessary to take one long semantic meaning, and find others in it. For example, in the word "electricity" you can find several names: a whale, a mouth, a cake, a lion, a man, and so on.
Try to find as many invisible words as possible in the following: store, keyboard, parents, gift. For an interesting and useful pastime, you can play such a game with your child and compete who will come up with the names more.
Creative thinking
Creative thinking helps a person solve problems and problems in unusual ways, and also helps increase efficiency in the assimilation of new knowledge. Having such skills, people quickly switch from one task to another, and also tend to come up with innovative ideas, something that has not been before them.
The main task of developing creative thinking is the ability to activate unused resources. According to experts, the potential of each person is quite large, but not all of them realize even fifty percent. Therefore, it is very important to apply exercises for the development of creative thinking.
To learn to think creatively, experts advise:
- to leave the comfort zone and look for other ways to solve various problems;
- broaden their horizons and engage in self-education;
- travel as much as possible, this will help to discover new places and meet new people;
- make it a habit to learn something new every day.
Exercises for Developing Creative Thinking
As already proven by science, our brain is capable of much. The potential of intellectual resources is quite large and can be realized at any age. Of course, for a mature person, this requires more attention to mental training. Exercises for the development of thinking in adults can be as follows:
1. Draw nine dots on the sheet, three vertically and the same number horizontally. Try to connect them all in four segments, but without tearing the pencil from the paper. With all this, the line can go through each of the points only once.
2. As often as possible ask yourself questions. For example, “if I opened my own business, what would it be connected with?” or "if I wrote a book, what would it be about?" Then explain to yourself your choice. Such an exercise will enable the brain to find unusual ways to solve simple problems, to remember what you may have forgotten about. Such an exercise in the form of a game is suitable for both adults and children.
3. Take an example from kids - ask yourself as often as possible seemingly simple questions. Here are some examples: “Why does it seem to us that the clouds are floating?”, “Why is the grass green?”, “If the spider wore pants, how did he do it?” Perhaps these questions may seem commonplace, but they help to activate the brain and start thinking in unusual ways, thereby showing creativity.
4. The next exercise was developed by a teacher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Minor White. It consists in the following: select the picture you like and within ten minutes consider everything to the smallest detail. Try not to be distracted by foreign objects, be concentrated only on it. After the specified time has passed, turn away and try to visually restore the image. Try to recall the image of this picture as often as possible and practice on others.