Features of development during the period of sensation. Development of cognitive processes in preschool children

Classification of sensations.

In life, we constantly notice changes in illumination, increase or decrease in sound. These are manifestations of the discrimination threshold or differential threshold. Children are like their parents. Sometimes we cannot distinguish a son's voice from a father's, at least in the first seconds of a telephone conversation. It’s difficult for us to tune a guitar: when we tune one string to another, we don’t hear a difference in sound. But our friend with a conservatory education says that we still need to tighten it up by a quarter of a tone. Consequently, there is a value of physical difference between stimuli, more than which we distinguish them, and less than which we do not. This value is called the differential threshold, or differential sensitivity threshold.
Reality. If you ask two or three people to divide a line about a meter long in half, we will see that everyone will have their own dividing point. You need to measure the results with a ruler. The one who divided more accurately has the best sensitivity of discrimination. The ratio of a certain group of sensations to an increase in the magnitude of the initial stimulus is a constant value. This was established by the German physiologist E. Weber (1795-1878). Based on Weber's teachings, the German physicist G. Fechner (1801 - 1887) experimentally showed that the increase in the intensity of sensation is not directly proportional to the increase in the strength of the stimulus, but more slowly. If the strength of the stimulus increases in geometric progression, the intensity of the sensation increases in arithmetic progression. This position is also formulated this way: the intensity of the sensation is proportional to the logarithm of the strength of the stimulus. It is called the Weber-Fechner law.

6.Classical laws of psychophysics.

Weber's law is one of the laws of classical psychophysicists, asserting the constancy of the relative differential threshold(over the entire sensory range of the variable stimulus property). Differential threshold is a type of sensory threshold, meaning smallest difference between 2 stimuli, above which the subject gives a reaction to them (usually in the form of a message about the appearance of a feeling of difference, difference between them) as to 2 different stimuli and below which the stimuli seem to him the same, indistinguishable. Thus, d.p. is usually expressed in the form differences between the values of variable and constant (background, standard) stimuli. Syn. difference threshold, discrimination threshold. The inverse value of the d.p. is called the difference sensitivity.

Stevens law option basic psychophysical law, proposed by Amer. psychologist Stanley Stevens (1906-1973) and establishing power rather than logarithmic (see. Fechner's law) relationship between force sensations and intensity of stimuli.

Fechner's law is a basic psychophysical law , claiming that intensity of sensation is directly proportional to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity. Formulated G . Fechner in his seminal work"Elements of Psychophysics" (1860). Fechner's threshold theory component psychophysicists, created G.Fechner. G. Fechner divided the entire process of reflection into 4 stages: irritation(physical process), excitation(physiological process), feeling (mental process), judgment(logical process). The threshold was considered as the point of transition from the 2nd to the 3rd stage - from arousal to sensation. However, not being able to quantify the process of excitation, Fechner, without denying the existence and importance of the physiological stage, excluded it from consideration and tried to establish a direct relationship between irritation and sensation. The basic psychophysical law is the functional dependence of the magnitude of sensation on the magnitude of the stimulus. Syn. psychophysical law, psychophysical function (not to be confused with psychometric curve, or function). There is no single formula for O. p. z., but there are its variants: logarithmic ( Fechner's law), power ( Stevens law), generalized (Baird, Zabrodin), etc. See also Psychophysics,Fechner G.T. (I. G. Skotnikova.)

Monocular vision (seeing with one eye) determines the correct estimation of distance within very limited limits. With binocular vision, the image of an object falls on disparate ones, i.e. to not quite corresponding points of the retina of the right and left eyes. These points are located at slightly unequal distances from the central fossa of the retina (in one eye - to the right of the central fovea, in the other - to the left of it). When the image falls on identical ones, i.e. completely coinciding points of the retina, it is perceived as flat. If the disparity of the image of an object is too great, then the image begins to double. If the disparity does not exceed a certain value, depth perception occurs.

For depth perception, the muscular-motor sensations that occur during contraction and relaxation of the eye muscles are of considerable importance. Slowly moving a finger towards the nose causes noticeable proprioceptive sensations as a result of tension in the eye muscles. These sensations come from the muscles that bring the axes of the eyes closer and apart, and from the muscle that changes the curvature of the lens.

When seeing with both eyes simultaneously, the corresponding excitations from the right and left eyes are integrated in the brain part of the visual analyzer. There is an impression of the volume of the perceived object.

When objects are distant great value in the perception of space has a relative position of light and shade, which depends on the location of objects. A person notices these features and learns, using chiaroscuro, to correctly determine the position of objects in space.

Attention as selection.

This approach was focused on the study of selection mechanisms (choosing one object from several). An example of selection is a “cocktail party” situation, when from a variety of simultaneously sounding voices a person can randomly select the voices of certain people, recognize their speech, ignoring the voices of other people.

View Functions

Representation, like any other cognitive process, performs a number of functions in the mental regulation of human behavior. Most researchers identify three main functions: signaling, regulating and tuning. The essence of the signaling function of ideas is to reflect in each specific case not only the image of an object that previously influenced our senses, but also diverse information about this object, which, under the influence of specific influences, is transformed into a system of signals that control behavior. The regulatory function of ideas is closely related to their signaling function and consists in the selection of the necessary information about an object or phenomenon that previously influenced our senses. Moreover, this choice is not made abstractly, but taking into account the real conditions of the upcoming activity. The next function of views is customization. It manifests itself in the orientation of human activity depending on the nature of the influences environment. Thus, while studying the physiological mechanisms of voluntary movements, I. P. Pavlov showed that the emerging motor image ensures the adjustment of the motor apparatus to perform the appropriate movements. The tuning function of representations provides a certain training effect of motor representations, which contributes to the formation of an algorithm of our activity. Thus, ideas play a very significant role in the mental regulation of human activity.

37. The concept of thinking. Approaches to the study of thinking.

Thinking is an indirect and generalized reflection of reality, a type of mental activity consisting in knowing the essence of things and phenomena, natural connections and relationships between them. Characteristics of thinking according to Myers: 1. Thinking cognitively. 2. Thinking is a directed process. 3. Thinking is the process of manipulating information, the result of which is the formation of a representation.

The first feature of thinking is its indirect nature.

Thinking is always based on the data of sensory experience - sensations, perceptions, ideas - and on previously acquired theoretical knowledge. Indirect knowledge is mediated knowledge.

The second feature of thinking is its generality. Generalization as knowledge of the general and essential in the objects of reality is possible because all the properties of these objects are connected with each other. The general exists and manifests itself only in the individual, in the concrete. People express generalizations through speech and language.

38.Types of thinking; In psychology, it is customary to distinguish types of thinking according to content: Visual-effective thinking lies in the fact that problem solving is carried out by actually transforming the situation and performing a motor act. Thus, at an early age, children show the ability to analyze and synthesize when they perceive objects at a certain moment and have the ability to operate with them.

Visual-figurative thinking is based on images of ideas, transformation of the situation into a plan of images. Characteristic of poets, artists, architects, perfumers, fashion designers.

Feature abstract (verbal-logical) thinking is that it occurs based on a concept, a judgment, without using empirical data. R. Descartes expressed the following thought: “I think, therefore I exist.” With these words, the scientist emphasizes the leading role of thinking, and specifically verbal-logical thinking, in mental activity.

Visual-effective, visual-figurative and verbal-logical thinking are considered as stages in the development of thinking in phylogenesis and ontogenesis.

By the nature of the tasks: Theoretical thinking consists of knowing the laws and rules. It reflects what is essential in phenomena, objects, and connections between them at the level of patterns and trends. The products of theoretical thinking are, for example, the discovery Periodic table Mendeleev, mathematical (philosophical) laws. Theoretical thinking is sometimes compared with empirical thinking. They differ in the nature of their generalizations. Thus, in theoretical thinking, there is a generalization of abstract concepts, and in empirical thinking, there is a generalization of sensory data, identified through comparison.

Main task practical thinking is a physical transformation of reality. It can sometimes be more difficult than the theoretical one, because it often unfolds under extreme circumstances and in the absence of conditions for testing the hypothesis.

According to the degree of awareness: Analytical thinking (logical)- this type of thinking, unfolded in time, has clearly defined stages, sufficiently conscious of the subject. Based on concepts and forms of thinking.

Intuitive Thinking, on the contrary, is collapsed in time, there is no division into stages, it was presented in consciousness. The process of manipulating an image with fuzzy characteristics.

In psychology there is also a distinction realistic thinking, directed towards the outside world and regulated by logical laws, as well as autistic thinking associated with the realization of one’s own desires and intentions. Preschool children tend to self-centered thinking, its characteristic feature is the inability to put oneself in the position of others.

I. Kalmykova highlights productive (creative) and reproductive thinking according to the degree of novelty of the product that the subject of knowledge receives. The researcher believes that thinking as a process of generalized and indirect cognition of reality is always productive, i.e. aimed at obtaining new knowledge. However, in it, productive and reproductive components are intertwined in dialectical unity.

Reproductive thinking is a type of thinking that provides a solution to a problem, based on the reproduction of already known to man ways. The new task is correlated with an already known solution scheme. Despite this, reproductive thinking always requires the identification of a certain level of independence. Productive thinking fully reveals a person’s intellectual abilities and creative potential. Creative possibilities are expressed in the rapid pace of assimilation of knowledge, in the breadth of their transfer to new conditions, in independent operation of them.

By the nature of information perception and type of representation (Bruner): From the basic: 1) objective thinking or practical mindset. 2) Imaginative thinking or artistic mindset. 3) Iconic or humanitarian mindset. 4) Symbolic. thinking or mathematical mindset. Six combined implementations. by combining. . By the nature of cognition: 1) Algorithmic (sequential action). 2. Heuristic (search). By the method of putting forward and testing hypotheses (author Guilford): 1. Convergent (one correct answer. 2. Divergent (tasks that require different answers and they can all be correct). By the degree of development: 1. Intuitive. 2. Discursive (expanded) .

39. Theories of thinking Associationist theory. The first ideas about the universal laws of mental life were associated with the formation of connections (associations. The development of thinking is imagined as a process of accumulation of associations. Thinking was often compared with logic, conceptual and theoretical thinking was distinguished, which was often wrongly called logical. Intellectual abilities at that time included “worldview” , logical reasoning and reflection (self-knowledge). Pythagoras is an ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician, the founder of the brain theory of thinking. In the Middle Ages, the study of thinking was exclusively empirical in nature and did not produce anything new. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Würzburg school put thinking at the center of its interests. psychology (O. Külpe and others), the works of whose representatives were based on the phenomenology of E. Husserl and the rejection of associationism. In the experiments of this school, thinking was studied by methods of systematic introspection in order to decompose the process into the main stages. Gestalt psychology represented by M. Wertheimer and K. Dunkera has been researching productive thinking. Thinking in Gestalt psychology was understood as the restructuring of a problem situation with the help of insight. Within the framework of behaviorism, thinking is the process of forming connections between stimuli and reactions. His merit is the consideration of practical thinking, namely, skills and abilities in solving problems. Contributed to the study of thinking and psychoanalysis, studying unconscious forms of thinking, the dependence of thinking on motives and needs. In Soviet psychology, the study of thinking is associated with the psychological theory of activity. Its representatives understand thinking as the lifetime ability to solve problems and transform reality. According to A. N. Leontiev, internal (thinking) activity is not only a derivative of external (behavior), but also has the same structure. In internal mental activity, individual actions and operations can be distinguished. Internal and external elements of activity are interchangeable. We can conclude: thinking is formed in the process of activity. The pedagogical theories of P. Ya. Galperin, L. V. Zankov, V. V. Davydov were built on the basis of activity theory. One of the newest is the information-cybernetic theory of thinking. Human thinking is modeled from the point of view of cybernetics and artificial intelligence.

Types of imagination

By degree of activity: passive, active By degree of volitional effort - intentional and unintentional

Active imagination - using it, a person, through an effort of will, at his own request evokes appropriate images in himself.

Active intentional imagination: 1. Recreating imagination - when a person recreates a representation of an object that would correspond to the description. 2. Creative – when recreating, one’s own vision is added. 3.Dream – independent creation of new images. The difference between a dream: 1. In a dream, an image of what is desired is created. 2.Process that is not included in creative activity, as it does not give the final result. 3. The dream is aimed at the future. If a person constantly dreams, he is in the future. Not here and now. 4. Dreams sometimes come true.

Passive imagination - its images arise spontaneously, regardless of the will and desire of a person. Passive intentional imagination or daydreaming: Dreams are not associated with volitional efforts. They are like a dream. If a person is always in dreams, he does not live in the present. Dreams are not realized. Possible mental disorders

Unintentional passive: 1.Dream 2.Hallucinations – when non-existent objects are perceived, more often in mental disorders.

Productive imagination - in it, reality is consciously constructed by a person, and not simply mechanically copied or recreated. But at the same time, she is still creatively transformed in the image.

Reproductive imagination - the task is to reproduce reality as it is, and although there is also an element of fantasy here, such imagination is more reminiscent of perception or memory than creativity.

55. Functions and properties of imagination.

Represent reality in images and be able to use them when solving problems. This function of imagination is connected with thinking and is organically included in it.

regulation of emotional states. With the help of his imagination, a person is able to at least partially satisfy many needs and relieve the tension they generate. This vital function is especially emphasized and developed in psychoanalysis.

voluntary regulation of cognitive processes and human states, in particular perception, attention, memory, speech, emotions. With the help of skillfully evoked images, a person can pay attention to the necessary events. Through images, he gains the opportunity to control perceptions, memories, and statements.

the formation of an internal plan of action - the ability to carry them out in the mind, manipulating images.

planning and programming activities, drawing up such programs, assessing their correctness, and the implementation process. Properties: 1. Creativity is an activity that results in the creation of new material and spiritual values. 2. A dream is an emotional and concrete image of the desired future, characterized by poor knowledge of how to achieve it and a passionate desire to turn it into reality. 3. Agglutination - the creation of new images based on “gluing” parts of existing images. 4. Emphasis - creating new images by emphasizing, highlighting certain features. 5. Hallucination – unreal, fantastic images that arise in a person during illnesses that affect his mental state.

The concept of sensation. Stages of sensations.

Sensation is a reflection of individual properties of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, as well as the internal state of the body with direct influence on the senses. Sensation is the very first connection between a person and the surrounding reality. The process of sensation arises as a result of the influence on the sense organs of various material factors, which are called stimuli, and the process of this influence itself is called irritation. Sensations arise on the basis of irritability. Irritability – general property all living bodies come into a state of activity under the influence of external influences (pre-psychic level), i.e. directly affecting the life of the organism. At the early stage of development of living things, the simplest organisms (for example, the slipper ciliate) do not need to distinguish between specific objects for their life activity - irritability is sufficient. At a more complex stage, when a living person needs to identify any objects that he needs for life, and, consequently, the properties of this object as necessary for life, at this stage the transformation of irritability into sensitivity occurs. Sensitivity– the ability to respond to neutral, indirect influences that do not affect the life of the organism (example with a frog reacting to a rustle). The totality of feelings creates elementary mental processes, processes of mental reflection. Thus, sensation is a sensory reflection of objective reality. Each stimulus has its own characteristics, depending on which it can be perceived by certain senses. Thanks to sensations, a person distinguishes objects and phenomena by color, smell, taste, smoothness, temperature, size, volume and other characteristics. Sensations arise from direct contact with an object. So, for example, we learn about the taste of an apple when we taste it. Or, for example, we can hear the sound of a mosquito flying or feel its bite. In this example, sound and bite are stimuli that affect the senses. In this case, you should pay attention to the fact that the process of sensation reflects in consciousness only the sound or only the bite, without in any way connecting these sensations with each other, and, consequently, with the mosquito. This is the process of reflecting individual properties of an object.

However, the sensations are main source receipt of information for a person. On the basis of this information, the entire human psyche is built - consciousness, thinking, activity. At this level, the subject directly interacts with the material world. Those., sensations underlie all human cognitive activity. The feeling is simplest element human consciousness and cognition, on which very complex cognitive processes are built: perception, representation, memory, thinking, imagination. Both humans and animals have sensations, perceptions and ideas. Human sensations differ from those of animals; they are mediated by his knowledge. By expressing this or that property of things and phenomena, a person thereby carries out elementary generalizations of these properties. A person’s feelings are related to his knowledge and experience. The peculiarity of sensations is their immediacy and spontaneity. Sensations arise immediately upon contact of the senses with objects of the material world. Sensations exist for a very short period of time, after which they are transformed into perceptions.

The need to have sensations is the basis of the mental and aesthetic development of the individual. In their absence, sensory deprivation, information hunger sets in. Which leads to drowsiness, loss of interest in work, in people, irritability, short temper, lethargy, apathy, melancholy, and subsequently – sleep disorders and neurosis.

3. Properties of sensations.

There are positive and negative sequential images. A positive sequential image corresponds to the initial irritation and consists in maintaining a trace of irritation of the same quality as the actual stimulus. A negative sequential image consists in the emergence of a quality of sensation that is opposite to the quality of the stimulus that influenced it. For example, light-darkness, heaviness-lightness, warmth-cold, etc. Sensations are characterized by the spatial localization of the stimulus. The analysis carried out by receptors gives us information about the localization of the stimulus in space, i.e. we can tell where the light is coming from, where the heat is coming from, or what part of the body the stimulus is affecting.

However, no less important are the quantitative parameters of the main characteristics of sensations, in other words, the degree of sensitivity. There are two types of sensitivity: absolute sensitivity and sensitivity to difference. Absolute sensitivity refers to the ability to sense weak stimuli, and difference sensitivity refers to the ability to sense weak differences between stimuli.

Classification of sensations.

Sensation is a sensory reflection of objective reality. For sensation to occur, all components of the analyzer must be used. If any part of the analyzer is destroyed, the occurrence of the corresponding sensations becomes impossible. Sensations are not at all passive processes - they are active or reflexive in nature.

There are different approaches to classifying sensations. It has long been customary to distinguish five (based on the number of sense organs) main types of sensations: smell, taste, touch, vision and hearing. This classification of sensations according to the main modalities is correct, although not exhaustive. B.G. Ananyev spoke about eleven types of sensations. A.R. Luria believes. That the classification of sensations can be carried out according to at least two basic principles - systematic and genetic (in other words, according to the principle of modality, on the one hand, and according to the principle of complexity or level of their construction, on the other. A systematic classification of sensations was proposed by the English physiologist C. Sherrington. He divided them into three main types: 1. Interoceptive - combine signals that reach us from internal environment body (organic sensations; sensations of pain), 2. Proprioceptive transmit information about the position of the body in space and the position of the musculoskeletal system, provide regulation of our movements (senses of balance; sensations of movement); 3. Exteroceptive sensations (distant-visual, auditory; olfactory; contact-taste, temperature, tactile, tactile) provide signals from the outside world and create the basis for our conscious behavior. The sense of smell, according to many authors, occupies an intermediate position between contact and distant sensations.

The genetic classification proposed by the English neurologist H. Head allows us to distinguish two types of sensitivity: 1) protopathic (more primitive, affective, less differentiated and localized), which includes organic feelings (hunger, thirst, etc.); 2) epicritic (more subtly differentiating, objectified and rational), which includes the main types of human sensations. Epicritic sensitivity is younger in genetic terms, and it controls protopathic sensitivity.

5. Psychophysics of sensations. Thresholds of sensations.
The central question of psychophysics is the basic patterns of the dependence of sensations on external stimuli. Its foundations were laid by E.G. Weber and G. Fechner.
The main question of psychophysics is the question of thresholds. There are absolute and differential thresholds of sensation or thresholds of sensation and thresholds of discrimination (differential). A stimulus acting on the analyzer does not always cause a feeling. The touch of the fluff on the body cannot be felt. If a very strong stimulus is applied, there may come a time when the sensation ceases to occur. We do not hear sounds with a frequency of more than 20 thousand Hertz. Too much stimulus can cause pain. Consequently, sensations arise when a stimulus of a certain intensity is applied.

The psychological characteristic of the relationship between the intensity of sensations and the strength of the stimulus is expressed by the concept of sensitivity threshold. There are such sensitivity thresholds: lower absolute, upper absolute and discrimination sensitivity threshold.

Ta least strength stimulus, which, acting on the analyzer, causes a barely noticeable sensation, is called lower absolute threshold of sensitivity. The lower threshold characterizes the sensitivity of the analyzer. There is a clear relationship between absolute sensitivity and threshold value: the lower the threshold, the higher the sensitivity, and vice versa. Our analyzers are very sensitive organs. They are excited by a very small amount of energy from the corresponding stimuli. This applies primarily to hearing, vision and smell. The threshold of one human olfactory cell for the corresponding aromatic substances does not exceed 8 molecules. And to create the sensation of taste, it takes at least 25,000 times more molecules than to create the sensation of smell. The very strength of the stimulus at which a sensation of this type still exists is called upper absolute threshold of sensitivity. Sensitivity thresholds are individual for each person. This psychological pattern must be foreseen by the teacher, especially in the primary grades. Some children have reduced auditory and visual sensitivity. In order for them to see and hear well, it is necessary to create conditions for the best display of the teacher’s language and notes on the board. With the help of our senses, we can not only ascertain the presence or absence of a particular stimulus, but also distinguish between stimuli by their strength, intensity and quality.

Minimally increasing the strength of the current stimulus, which causes subtle differences between sensations, is called discrimination sensitivity threshold.

Sensitivity, i.e. the ability to have sensations, is innate and unconditionally reflexive. A child who has just been born already reacts to visual, sound and some other stimuli. Therefore, insufficient attention is often paid to the development of sensations, especially in comparison with more complex cognitive processes - memory, thinking, imagination. But it is sensations that underlie all cognitive abilities and constitute the powerful development potential of a child, which most often is not fully realized.

The development of sensations occurs in connection with practical, first of all, human activity and depends on the demands that life and work place on the work of the senses. A high degree of perfection is achieved, for example, by the olfactory and gustatory sensations of tasters who determine the quality of tea, wine, perfume, etc.

Painting places special demands on the sense of proportions and color shades when depicting objects, which is more developed among artists than among people who do not paint. For musicians, the accuracy of determining sounds in pitch is influenced, for example, by what instrument the person plays. Performing musical works on the violin places special demands on the violinist’s high-pitched hearing compared to the piano. Therefore, violinists' pitch discrimination is usually more developed than that of pianists.

It is known that some people distinguish melodies well and easily repeat them, while others think that all songs have the same motive. There is an opinion that an ear for music is given to a person by nature and if someone does not have it, then they will never have it. This idea is wrong. During music lessons, any person develops an ear for music.

Blind people have especially acute hearing. They recognize people well not only by their voice, but also by the sound of their steps. Some blind people can distinguish types of trees by the noise of leaves, for example, distinguish a birch from a maple. And if they saw, then they would not have much need to pay attention to such small differences in sounds.

Development of visual sensations too interesting question. The capabilities of the visual analyzer are much wider than one might imagine. It is known that artists can distinguish many more shades of the same color than most people.

There are people with a well-developed sense of touch and smell. These types of sensations are especially important for the blind and deaf. By touch and smell they recognize people and objects when walking along a familiar street, and by smell they recognize which house they are passing by.

We do not use all the opportunities given to us by nature. You can exercise and train your sensations, and then the world around us will be revealed to man in all its diversity and beauty.

The peculiarity of a person’s sensory organization is that it develops throughout his life. Research by psychologists shows: the development of sensations is the result of a long life path personality. Sensitivity is a potential human property. Its implementation depends on the circumstances of life and the efforts that a person puts into their development.

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Introduction

All the information that a person operates in the process of cognition, he receives through sensory cognitive processes that arise during the direct interaction of the senses with environmental objects. Understanding the world around us begins with sensations. Sensation is the simplest cognitive process that ensures the functioning of all more complex processes. Sensations arise from the direct action of the properties and qualities of the external and internal environment on the senses. Information about the properties and qualities of objects and phenomena coming from the senses is reflected in our consciousness in the form of sensations and impressions. Sensation is an elementary sensory cognitive process that reflects in the form of impressions the properties and qualities of objects that directly act on the senses. Sensation is a cognitive process, and impression is a form of reflection of a stimulus acting on the sense organs that has arisen in our consciousness. Sensation is the process of converting information received by the senses into facts of consciousness. This information exists in our consciousness in the form of various impressions: light, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and tactile.

Sensation as such is a rather complex mental phenomenon, as it seems at first glance. Despite the fact that this is a fairly studied phenomenon, the global nature of its role in the psychology of activity and cognitive processes is underestimated by humans. Sensations are widespread in ordinary human life, and in the continuous process of cognitive activity for people it is an ordinary primary form. psychological connection organism with the environment.

Partial or complete absence of types of sensation (vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch) in a person prevents or inhibits his development.

Sensations are of great importance on the formation of such cognitive processes as speech, thinking, imagination, memory, attention and perception, as well as on the development of activity as a specific type of human activity aimed at creating objects of material and spiritual culture, transforming one’s abilities, preserving and improving nature, and building society.

The purpose of the work is to analyze theoretical literature, define the concept of “sensation,” consider various types and classifications of sensations, study the features of the development of sensations in preschool age, and become familiar with methods and techniques for the sensory development of children.

1. Give a general concept of sensations in psychology.

2. Consider the types and properties of sensations. Consider the classifications of types of sensations that exist in psychological science.

3. Consider the development of sensations in preschool children, methods and techniques of sensory development

4. In the practical part, conduct an experiment to determine the level of development of sensations in children using the example of color sensitivity.

1. Definition of the concept of “sensation”, its meaning for human life

sensation color sensitivity touch

The simplest, but very important mental cognitive processes are sensations. They signal to us what is happening in at the moment around us and in our own bodies. They give us the opportunity to navigate the surrounding conditions and adapt our actions and actions to them.

The process of sensation arises as a result of the influence on the sense organs of various material factors, which are called stimuli, and the process of this influence itself is called irritation. In turn, irritation causes another process - excitation, which passes through the centripetal, or afferent, nerves to the cerebral cortex, where sensations arise. Thus, sensation is a sensory reflection of objective reality. The essence of sensation is the reflection of individual properties of an object. What does "individual properties" mean? Each stimulus has its own characteristics, depending on which it can be perceived by certain senses. For example, we can hear the sound of a mosquito flying or feel its bite. In this example, sound and bite are stimuli that affect our senses. At the same time, you should pay attention to the fact that the process of sensation reflects in consciousness only the sound and only the bite, without in any way connecting these sensations with each other, and, consequently, with the mosquito. This is the process of reflecting individual properties of an object. The physiological basis of sensations is the activity of complex complexes of anatomical structures, called analyzers by I. P. Pavlov. Each analyzer consists of three parts: 1) a peripheral section called a receptor (the receptor is the perceiving part of the analyzer, its main function is the transformation of external energy into a nervous process); 2) nerve pathways; 3) the cortical sections of the analyzer (they are also called the central sections of the analyzers), in which the processing of nerve impulses coming from the peripheral sections occurs. The cortical part of each analyzer includes an area that represents a projection of the periphery (i.e., a projection of the sensory organ) in the cerebral cortex, since certain receptors correspond to certain areas of the cortex. For sensation to occur, all components of the analyzer must be used. If any part of the analyzer is destroyed, the occurrence of the corresponding sensations becomes impossible. Thus, visual sensations cease when the eyes are damaged, when the integrity of the optic nerves is damaged, and when the occipital lobes of both hemispheres are destroyed. The analyzer is an active organ that reflexively rearranges itself under the influence of stimuli, so sensation is not a passive process, it always includes motor components. Thus, the American psychologist D. Neff, observing an area of skin with a microscope, became convinced that when it is irritated by a needle, the moment the sensation occurs is accompanied by reflexive motor reactions of this area of the skin. Subsequently, numerous studies have established that sensation is closely related to movement, which sometimes manifests itself in the form of a vegetative reaction (vasoconstriction, galvanic skin reflex), sometimes in the form of muscle reactions (turning the eyes, tension in the neck muscles, motor reactions of the arm and etc.). Thus, sensations are not at all passive processes - they are active, or reflexive, in nature.

It should be noted that sensations are not only the source of our knowledge about the world, but also our feelings and emotions. The simplest form of emotional experience is the so-called sensory, or emotional, tone of sensation, that is, a feeling directly related to sensation. For example, it is well known that some colors, sounds, smells can themselves, regardless of their meaning, memories and thoughts associated with them, cause us a pleasant or unpleasant feeling.

Sound beautiful voice, the taste of an orange, the smell of a rose are pleasant and have a positive emotional tone. The creaking of a knife on glass, the smell of hydrogen sulfide, the taste of quinine are unpleasant and have a negative emotional tone. This kind of simplest emotional experiences play a relatively insignificant role in the life of an adult, but from the point of view of the origin and development of emotions, their significance is very great. Sensations connect a person with the outside world and are both the main source of information about it and the main condition mental development. However, despite the obviousness of these provisions, they have been repeatedly questioned. Representatives of the idealistic trend in philosophy and psychology often expressed the idea that the true source of our conscious activity is not sensations, but the internal state of consciousness, the ability of rational thinking, inherent in nature and independent of the influx of information coming from the outside world. These views formed the basis of the philosophy of rationalism. Its essence was the assertion that consciousness and reason are a primary, inexplicable property of the human spirit.

It should be noted that human sensations are a product of historical development, and therefore they are qualitatively different from the sensations of animals. In animals, the development of sensations is entirely limited by their biological, instinctive needs. In many animals, certain types of sensations are striking in their subtlety, but the manifestation of this subtlety developed ability sensations cannot go beyond the circle of objects and their properties that have direct vital significance for animals of a given species. For example, bees are able to distinguish the concentration of sugar in a solution much more subtly than the average person, but this limits the subtlety of their taste sensations. Another example: a lizard that can hear the slight rustle of a crawling insect will not react in any way to the very loud knock of stone on stone. In humans, the ability to feel is not limited by biological needs. Labor created in him an incomparably wider range of needs than in animals, and in activities aimed at satisfying these needs, human abilities were constantly developing, including the ability to feel. Therefore, a person can sense a much larger number of properties of the objects around him than an animal.

1.1 Types of sensations

Visual sensations are sensations of light and color. Everything we see has some color. Only a completely transparent object that we cannot see can be colorless. Colors are achromatic (white and black and shades of gray in between) and chromatic (various shades of red, yellow, green, blue). Visual sensations arise as a result of exposure to light rays ( electromagnetic waves) on the sensitive part of our eye. The light-sensitive organ of the eye is the retina, which contains two types of cells - rods and cones, so named for their external form. There are a lot of such cells in the retina - about 130 rods and 7 million cones. In daylight, only cones are active (such light is too bright for rods). As a result, we see colors, i.e. there is a feeling of chromatic colors - all the colors of the spectrum. In low light (at dusk), the cones stop working (there is not enough light for them), and vision is carried out only by the rod apparatus - a person sees mainly gray colors(all transitions from white to black, i.e. achromatic colors). There is a disease in which the functioning of the rods is disrupted and a person sees very poorly or sees nothing at dusk and at night, but during the day his vision remains relatively normal. This disease is called “night blindness”, since chickens and pigeons do not have rods and see almost nothing at dusk. Owls and bats, on the contrary, have only rods in their retinas - during the day these animals are almost blind. Color has different effects on a person’s well-being and performance, and on the success of educational activities. Psychologists note that the most acceptable color for painting the walls of classrooms is orange-yellow, which creates a cheerful, upbeat mood, and green, which creates an even, calm mood. Red excites, dark blue depresses, and both tire the eyes. In some cases, people experience disturbances in normal color perception. The reasons for this may be heredity, diseases and eye injury. The most common is red-green blindness, called color blindness (named after the English scientist D. Dalton, who first described this phenomenon). Colorblind people do not distinguish between red and green, and do not understand why people denote color in two words. Such a feature of vision as color blindness should be taken into account when choosing a profession. Colorblind people cannot be drivers, pilots, painters, fashion designers, etc. Complete absence Sensitivity to chromatic colors is very rare. The less light, the worse a person sees. Therefore, you should not read in poor lighting, at twilight, so as not to cause unnecessary strain on the eyes, which can be harmful to vision and contribute to the development of myopia, especially in children and schoolchildren.

Auditory sensations arise through the organ of hearing. There are three types of auditory sensations: speech, music and noise. In these types of sensations, the sound analyzer identifies four qualities: sound strength (loud-weak), height (high-low), timbre (the originality of the voice or musical instrument), sound duration (playing time), as well as tempo-rhythmic features of sequentially perceived sounds. . Hearing for speech sounds is called phonemic hearing. It is formed depending on the speech environment in which the child is raised. Mastering a foreign language involves the development of a new system of phonemic hearing. A child’s developed phonemic hearing significantly influences the accuracy of written speech, especially in elementary school. A child’s musical ear is nurtured and formed, just like speech hearing. Here, the early introduction of the child to the musical culture of mankind is of great importance. Noises can evoke a certain emotional mood in a person (the sound of rain, the rustling of leaves, the howling of the wind), sometimes they serve as a signal of approaching danger (the hiss of a snake, the menacing barking of a dog, the roar of a moving train) or joy (the patter of a child’s feet, the steps of an approaching loved one, the thunder of fireworks ). In school practice, we often encounter the negative impact of noise: it tires nervous system person.

Vibration sensations reflect vibrations of an elastic medium. A person gets such sensations, for example, when he touches the lid of a sounding piano with his hand. Vibration sensations usually do not play an important role for humans and are very poorly developed. However, they achieve very high level development in many deaf people, for whom they partially replace missing hearing.

Olfactory sensations. The ability to smell is called the sense of smell. The olfactory organs are special sensitive cells that are located deep in the nasal cavity. Individual particles of various substances enter the nose along with the air that we inhale. This is how we get olfactory sensations. In modern man, the olfactory sensations play a relatively minor role. But blind-deaf people use their sense of smell, just as sighted people use vision and hearing: they identify familiar places by smells, recognize familiar people, receive signals of danger, etc. A person’s olfactory sensitivity is closely related to taste and helps to recognize the quality of food. Olfactory sensations warn a person about a dangerous air environment for the body (smell of gas, burning). The incense of objects has a great influence on a person’s emotional state. The existence of the perfume industry is entirely due to the aesthetic need of people for pleasant smells. Olfactory sensations are very significant for a person in cases where they are associated with knowledge. Only by knowing the characteristics of the odors of certain substances can a person navigate them

Taste sensations arise with the help of the taste organs - taste buds located on the surface of the tongue, pharynx and palate. There are four types of basic taste sensations: sweet, bitter, sour, salty. The variety of taste depends on the nature of the combinations of these sensations: bitter-salty, sweet-sour, etc. A small number of qualities of taste sensations does not mean, however, that taste sensations are limited. Within the limits of salty, sour, sweet, bitter, a whole series of shades arise, each of which gives the taste sensations a new uniqueness. A person’s sense of taste is highly dependent on the feeling of hunger; tasteless food seems tastier in a state of hunger. The sense of taste is very dependent on the sense of smell. With a severe runny nose, any dish, even the most favorite, seems tasteless. The tip of the tongue tastes sweets best. The edges of the tongue are sensitive to sour, and its base is sensitive to bitter.

Skin sensations - tactile (sensations of touch) and temperature (sensations of heat or cold). There are different types of nerve endings on the surface of the skin, each of which gives the sensation of touch, movement, or warmth. The sensitivity of different areas of the skin to each type of irritation is different. Touch is felt most on the tip of the tongue and on the tips of the fingers; the back is less sensitive to touch. The skin of those parts of the body that are usually covered by clothing, the lower back, abdomen, and chest, is most sensitive to the effects of heat and cold. Temperature sensations have a very pronounced emotional tone. Thus, average temperatures are accompanied by a positive feeling, the nature of the emotional coloring for warmth and cold is different: cold is experienced as an invigorating feeling, warmth - as a relaxing one. High temperatures, both in the cold and warm directions, cause negative emotional experiences.

Visual, auditory, vibrational, gustatory, olfactory and skin sensations reflect the influence of the external world, therefore the organs of all these sensations are located on or near the surface of the body. Without these sensations, we could not know anything about the world around us.

Another group of sensations tells us about changes, condition and movement in our own body. These sensations include motor, organic, balance, tactile, and pain. Without these sensations we would know nothing about ourselves. Motor (or kinesthetic) sensations are sensations of movement and position of body parts. Thanks to the activity of the motor analyzer, a person gains the opportunity to coordinate and control his movements. Receptors of motor sensations are located in the muscles and tendons, as well as in the fingers, tongue and lips, since it is these organs that carry out precise and subtle working and speech movements.

The development of kinesthetic sensations is one of the important tasks of learning. Lessons in labor, physical education, drawing, drawing, and reading should be planned taking into account the capabilities and prospects for the development of the motor analyzer. For mastering movements, their aesthetic expressive side is of great importance. Children master movements, and therefore their bodies, in dancing, rhythmic gymnastics and other sports that develop beauty and ease of movement. Without the development of movements and mastery of them, educational and work activities are impossible. The formation of speech movement and the correct motor image of a word increases the culture of students and improves the literacy of written speech. Education foreign language requires the development of speech motor movements that are not typical for the Russian language. Without motor sensations, we could not normally perform movements, since the adaptation of actions to the outside world and to each other requires signaling about every smallest detail of the act of movement.

Organic sensations tell us about the work of our body, our internal organs- esophagus, stomach, intestines and many others, in the walls of which the corresponding receptors are located. While we are full and healthy, we do not notice any organic sensations at all. They appear only when something in the body’s functioning is disrupted. For example, if a person ate something not very fresh, the functioning of his stomach will be disrupted, and he will immediately feel it: pain will appear in the stomach. Hunger, thirst, nausea, pain, sexual sensations, sensations associated with the activity of the heart, breathing, etc. - these are all organic sensations. If they were not there, we would not be able to recognize any disease in time and help our body cope with it.

“There is no doubt,” said I.P. Pavlov, - that not only analysis of the external world is important for the body, it also requires signaling upward and analysis of what is happening in itself.” Organic sensations are closely related to the organic needs of a person.

Tactile sensations are combinations of skin and motor sensations when feeling objects, that is, when touching them with a moving hand. A small child begins to explore the world by touching and feeling objects. This is one of important sources obtaining information about the objects around him. For people deprived of vision, touch is one of the most important means of orientation and cognition. As a result of exercise, it reaches great perfection. Such people can thread a needle, do modeling, simple construction, even sewing and cooking. The combination of skin and motor sensations that arise when feeling objects, i.e. when touched by a moving hand, it is called touch. The organ of touch is the hand. The sense of touch is of great importance in human work, especially when performing various operations that require precision.

Feelings of balance reflect the position occupied by our body in space. When we first get on a two-wheeled bicycle, skate, roller skate, or water ski, the most difficult thing is to maintain balance and not fall. The sense of balance is given to us by an organ located in the inner ear. It looks like a snail shell and is called a labyrinth. When the position of the body changes, a special fluid (lymph) vibrates in the labyrinth of the inner ear, called the vestibular apparatus. The organs of balance are closely connected with other internal organs. With severe overstimulation of the balance organs, nausea and vomiting are observed (the so-called seasickness or air sickness). With regular training, the stability of the balance organs increases significantly. The vestibular system gives signals about the movement and position of the head. If the labyrinth is damaged, a person can neither stand, nor sit, nor walk; he will fall all the time.

Painful sensations have a protective meaning: they signal a person about trouble that has arisen in his body. If there were no sensation of pain, a person would not even feel serious injuries. Complete insensitivity to pain is a rare anomaly, and it brings serious trouble to a person. Painful sensations have a different nature. Firstly, there are “pain points” (special receptors) located on the surface of the skin and in the internal organs and muscles. Mechanical damage to the skin, muscles, diseases of internal organs give the sensation of pain. Secondly, sensations of pain arise from the action of a super-strong stimulus on any analyzer. Blinding light, deafening sound, extreme cold or heat radiation, and a very strong smell also cause pain.

Let's consider a systematic classification of sensations (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Systematic classification of the main types of sensations.

This classification was proposed by the English physiologist C. Sherrington. Considering the largest and most significant groups of sensations, he divided them into three main types: interoceptive, proprioceptive and exteroceptive sensations. The first combine signals reaching us from the internal environment of the body; the latter transmit information about the position of the body in space and the position of the musculoskeletal system, and ensure the regulation of our movements; finally, still others provide signals from the external world and create the basis for our conscious behavior. Let's consider the main types of sensations separately. Interoceptive sensations, signaling the state of the internal processes of the body, arise due to receptors located on the walls of the stomach and intestines, the heart and circulatory system and other internal organs. This is the most ancient and most elementary group of sensations. Receptors that perceive information about the state of internal organs, muscles, etc. are called internal receptors. Interoceptive sensations are among the least conscious and most diffuse forms of sensations and always retain their proximity to emotional states. It should also be noted that interoceptive sensations are often called organic. Proprioceptive sensations transmit signals about the position of the body in space and form the afferent basis of human movements, playing a decisive role in their regulation. The described group of sensations includes a sense of balance, or static sensation, as well as a motor, or kinesthetic, sensation. Peripheral receptors of proprioceptive sensitivity are located in muscles and joints (tendons, ligaments) and are called Paccini corpuscles.

Peripheral receptors for the sensation of balance are located in the semicircular canals of the inner ear. The third and largest group of sensations are exteroceptive sensations. They bring information from the outside world to a person and are the main group of sensations that connect a person with the external environment. The entire group of exteroceptive sensations is conventionally divided into two subgroups: contact and distant sensations.

Contact sensations are caused by the direct impact of an object on the senses. Examples of contact sensation are taste and touch. Distant sensations reflect the qualities of objects located at some distance from the sense organs. Such sensations include hearing and vision. It should be noted that the sense of smell, according to many authors, occupies an intermediate position between contact and distant sensations, since formally olfactory sensations arise at a distance from the object, but at the same time, the molecules characterizing the smell of the object, with which the olfactory receptor contacts, undoubtedly belong to this subject. This is the duality of the position occupied by the sense of smell in the classification of sensations. Since sensation arises as a result of the action of a certain physical stimulus on the corresponding receptor, the primary classification of sensations considered by us proceeds, naturally, from the type of receptor that gives the sensation of a given quality, or “modality”. However, there are sensations that cannot be associated with any specific modality. Such sensations are called intermodal. These include, for example, vibration sensitivity, which connects the tactile-motor sphere with the auditory sphere. The sensation of vibration is sensitivity to vibrations caused by a moving body. According to most researchers, the vibration sense is an intermediate, transitional form between tactile and auditory sensitivity. In particular, the school of L. E. Komendantov believes that tactile-vibration sensitivity is one of the forms of sound perception. With normal hearing, it does not appear particularly prominent, but with damage to the auditory organ, this function is clearly manifested. The main position of the “auditory” theory is that tactile perception of sound vibration is understood as diffuse sound sensitivity.

Special practical significance Vibration sensitivity occurs when vision and hearing are damaged. It plays a big role in the lives of deaf and deaf-blind people. Deaf-blind people, thanks to the high development of vibration sensitivity, learned about the approach of a truck and other types of transport at a great distance.

In the same way, through the vibrational sense, deaf-blind people know when someone enters their room. Consequently, sensations, being the simplest type of mental processes, are actually very complex and have not been fully studied. It should be noted that there are other approaches to the classification of sensations. For example, the genetic approach proposed by the English neurologist H. Head. Genetic classification allows us to distinguish two types of sensitivity: 1) protopathic (more primitive, affective, less differentiated and localized), which includes organic feelings (hunger, thirst, etc.); 2) epicritic (more subtly differentiating, objectified and rational), which includes the main types of human sensations. Epicritic sensitivity is younger in genetic terms, and it controls protopathic sensitivity. The famous Russian psychologist B. M. Teplov, considering the types of sensations, divided all receptors into two large groups: exteroceptors (external receptors), located on the surface of the body or close to it and accessible to external stimuli, and interoceptors (internal receptors), located deep in tissues, such as muscles, or on the surface of internal organs. The group of sensations that we called “proprioceptive sensations” was considered by B. M. Teplov as internal sensations.

1.2 Basic properties of sensations

The main properties of sensations include: quality, intensity, duration and spatial localization, absolute and relative thresholds of sensations. Quality is a property that characterizes the basic information displayed by a given sensation, distinguishes it from other types of sensations and varies within a given type of sensation. For example, taste sensations provide information about certain chemical characteristics of an object: sweet or sour, bitter or salty. The sense of smell also provides us with information about the chemical characteristics of an object, but of a different kind: the smell of flowers, the smell of almonds, the smell of hydrogen sulfide, etc. It should be borne in mind that very often, when they talk about the quality of sensations, they mean the modality of sensations, since it is the modality that reflects the basic quality of the corresponding sensation. The intensity of the sensation is its quantitative characteristic and depends on the strength of the current stimulus and the functional state of the receptor, which determines the degree of readiness of the receptor to perform its functions. For example, if you have a runny nose, the intensity of perceived odors may be distorted. The duration of a sensation is a temporary characteristic of the sensation that has arisen. It is also determined by the functional state of the sensory organ, but mainly by the time of action of the stimulus and its intensity. It should be noted that sensations have a so-called patent (hidden) period. When a stimulus acts on a sense organ, the sensation does not occur immediately, but after some time. Latent period various types sensations are not the same. For example, for tactile sensations it is 130 ms, for pain it is 370 ms, and for taste it is only 50 ms. The sensation does not appear simultaneously with the onset of the stimulus and does not disappear simultaneously with the cessation of its effect. This inertia of sensations manifests itself in the so-called aftereffect.

A visual sensation, for example, has some inertia and does not disappear immediately after the cessation of the stimulus that caused it. The trace of the stimulus remains in the form of a consistent image. There are positive and negative sequential images. A positive sequential image corresponds to the initial irritation and consists in maintaining a trace of irritation of the same quality as the actual stimulus. A negative sequential image consists in the emergence of a quality of sensation that is opposite to the quality of the stimulus that influenced it. For example, light-darkness, heaviness-lightness, warmth-cold, etc. The emergence of negative sequential images is explained by a decrease in the sensitivity of a given receptor to a certain influence. And finally, sensations are characterized by the spatial localization of the stimulus. The analysis carried out by the receptors gives us information about the localization of the stimulus in space, that is, we can tell where the light comes from, the heat comes from, or what part of the body the stimulus affects.

All the properties described above, to one degree or another, reflect the qualitative characteristics of sensations. However, no less important are the quantitative parameters of the main characteristics of sensations, in other words, the degree of sensitivity. Human senses are amazingly fine-working devices. Thus, Academician S.I. Vavilov experimentally established that the human eye can distinguish a light signal of 0.001 candles at a distance of a kilometer. There are two types of sensitivity: absolute sensitivity and sensitivity to difference. Absolute sensitivity refers to the ability to sense weak stimuli, and difference sensitivity refers to the ability to sense weak differences between stimuli. However, not every irritation causes a sensation. We don't hear the ticking of a clock in another room. We don't see sixth magnitude stars.

In order for a sensation to arise, the force of irritation must have a certain magnitude. The minimum magnitude of the stimulus at which sensation first occurs is called the absolute threshold of sensation. Stimuli whose strength lies below the absolute threshold of sensation do not produce sensations, but this does not mean that they do not have any effect on the body. Thus, studies by Russian physiologist G.V. Gershuni and his colleagues showed that sound stimulation below the threshold of sensation can cause a change in the electrical activity of the brain and dilation of the pupil. The zone of influence of stimuli that do not cause sensations was called by G.V. Gershuni the “subsensory area.”

Absolute thresholds - upper and lower - determine the boundaries of the surrounding world accessible to our perception. By analogy with a measuring device, absolute thresholds determine the range over which the sensory system can measure stimuli, but beyond this range, the performance of the device is characterized by its accuracy, or sensitivity. The absolute threshold value characterizes absolute sensitivity. For example, the sensitivity of two people will be higher in the one who experiences sensations when exposed to a weak stimulus, when the other person has not yet experienced sensations (i.e., who has a lower absolute threshold value). Consequently, the weaker the stimulus that causes the sensation, the higher the sensitivity. Different analyzers have different sensitivities. Our sense of smell is also very sensitive. The threshold of one human olfactory cell for the corresponding odorous substances does not exceed eight molecules. It takes at least 25,000 times more molecules to produce the sensation of taste than to produce the sensation of smell. The absolute sensitivity of the analyzer depends equally on both the lower and the upper threshold of sensation. The magnitude of absolute thresholds, both lower and upper, varies depending on different conditions: the nature of the person’s activity and age, the functional state of the receptor, the strength and duration of the stimulus, etc.

Another characteristic of sensitivity is sensitivity to difference. It is also called relative, or difference, since it is sensitivity to changes in the stimulus. If we put a load weighing 100 grams on our hand, and then add another gram to this weight, then not a single person will be able to feel this increase. In order to feel an increase in weight, you need to add three to five grams. Thus, in order to feel the minimal difference in the characteristics of the influencing stimulus, it is necessary to change the strength of its influence by a certain amount, and that minimal difference between the stimuli, which gives a barely noticeable difference in sensations, is called the discrimination threshold.

1.3 Development of sensations in infants

Sensitivity, i.e. The ability to have sensations, in its elementary manifestations, is innate and is certainly a reflex. A child who has just been born already reacts to visual, sound and some other stimuli.

Shortly after birth, the baby begins to respond to stimuli of all kinds. However, there are differences in the degree of maturity of individual feelings and in the stages of their development. Immediately after birth, the baby's skin sensitivity is more developed. When born, the baby trembles due to the difference in the mother’s body temperature and the air temperature. A newborn baby also reacts to touch, with the lips and the entire mouth area being the most sensitive. It is likely that a newborn can feel not only warmth and touch, but also pain. Already by the time of birth, the child’s taste sensitivity is quite highly developed. Newborn babies react differently to the introduction of a solution of quinine or sugar into their mouth. A few days after birth, the child distinguishes mother's milk from sweetened water, and the latter from plain water.

From the moment of birth, the child's olfactory sensitivity is already quite developed. A newborn baby determines by the smell of mother's milk whether the mother is in the room or not. Vision and hearing go through a more complex path of development, which is explained by the complexity of the structure and organization of the functioning of these sense organs and their lower maturity at the time of birth. In the first days after birth, the baby does not respond to sounds, even very loud ones. This is explained by the fact that the newborn’s ear canal is filled with amniotic fluid, which resolves only after a few days. Usually the child begins to respond to sounds during the first week, sometimes this period lasts up to two to three weeks. The child's first reactions to sound are of the nature of general motor excitement: the child throws up his arms, moves his legs, and emits a loud cry. Sensitivity to sound is initially low, but increases in the first weeks of life. After two to three months, the child begins to perceive the direction of sound and turns his head towards the sound source.

In the third or fourth month, some children begin to respond to singing and music. As for the development of speech hearing, the child first of all begins to respond to the intonation of speech. This is observed in the second month of life, when a gentle tone has a calming effect on the child. Then the child begins to perceive the rhythmic side of speech and the general sound pattern of words. However, the distinction of speech sounds occurs by the end of the first year of life. From this moment the development of speech hearing itself begins. First, the child develops the ability to distinguish vowels, and at a subsequent stage he begins to distinguish consonants. The child's vision develops most slowly. Absolute sensitivity to light in newborns is low, but increases markedly in the first days of life. From the moment visual sensations appear, the child reacts to light with various motor reactions. Color discrimination increases slowly.

It has been established that a child begins to distinguish color in the fifth month, after which he begins to show interest in all kinds of bright objects. A child, starting to sense light, at first cannot “see” objects. This is explained by the fact that the child’s eye movements are not coordinated: one eye may look in one direction, the other in another, or may even be closed. The child begins to control eye movements only at the end of the second month of life. He begins to distinguish objects and faces only in the third month. From this moment, the long-term development of the perception of space, the shape of an object, its size and distance begins. In relation to all types of sensitivity, it should be noted that absolute sensitivity reaches a high level of development already in the first year of life. The ability to distinguish sensations develops somewhat more slowly. It should also be noted that the level of development of sensations varies from person to person. This is largely due to human genetic characteristics. Nevertheless, sensations can be developed within certain limits. The development of sensation is carried out through constant training. It is thanks to the possibility of developing sensations that, for example, children learn music or drawing.

As new types of movement are mastered and improved, the child’s orientation in the properties and relationships of objects and in the surrounding space is formed.

Visual perception in infancy is much less developed than in an adult, but develops intensively. While awake, a 3-month-old child constantly examines objects, tracks them with his gaze in any direction, at different speeds and at any distance; The duration of gaze fixation increases (up to 25 seconds or longer). So-called initiative eye movements occur - a shift of gaze from one object to another without any external reason.

The baby distinguishes colors, three-dimensional and planar shapes well geometric shapes. At this time, he is already able to predict events: when he sees a bottle, he reacts with joyful excitement (he used to scream from hunger until the nipple was in his mouth). The bottle he is looking at is not just a visual image, but an object that should end up in his mouth and satisfy his hunger. One can note a gradual differentiation of auditory and visual mental processes. So, if the newborn kept his attention on the mother when she was talking to him, now the baby greets the mother’s appearance with a smile, even if she does not say a word. Until the end of infancy, the child’s visual images lack constancy. A familiar object, in a new orientation of space, located in a new place, is perceived as unusual. Children usually do not recognize their mother if they see her in a new dress.

Auditory concentration also becomes prolonged. It is caused by any quiet sounds that somehow attract the baby. Vision and hearing begin to coordinate: the child turns his head in the direction from which the sound comes, looking for its source with his eyes.

The child not only sees and hears. He strives for visual and auditory impressions and receives pleasure from them. His gaze is attracted to shiny, colorful, moving objects, and his ears are attracted to the sounds of music and human speech. All this is noticeable even with simple observation. But observation cannot answer the question of what exactly the child sees, how he understands the impressions he receives. This is where experimentation comes to the rescue. Experiments have shown that three-month-old children can clearly distinguish colors, shapes of three-dimensional and planar geometric figures. It was possible to establish that different colors attract the baby to varying degrees, and, as a rule, bright and light ones are preferred (although this rule cannot be considered universal: the individual tastes of babies affect).

It was also found that children of this age are very sensitive to novelty: if new objects that differ from them in color or shape are placed next to objects that the child is looking at in parts, the child, having noticed it, switches entirely to new item, focuses his gaze on him for a long time.

With various properties of objects - their shape, size, weight, density, stability, etc. - the baby becomes familiar through the process of grasping and manipulation. By 10 - 11 months, the child, before taking any object, folds his fingers in advance in accordance with its shape and size. This means that the child’s visual perception of these signs in objects now directs his practical actions.

The child examines objects to discover their properties. Before starting to act with an unfamiliar object, he feels the surface, turns the object over, moves it slowly, and only then applies the usual forms of manipulation. The child’s actions, according to J. Piaget’s definition, become instrumental, i.e. some objects begin to be used to achieve others. For example, a child pulls a tablecloth from a table to reach an object placed on it.

The impressions received “from research activities” are transformed into images of perception, reflecting the stable properties of objects with which the child becomes acquainted in his actions. This creates the basis for the use of such properties when solving new problems that arise for the child - for elementary forms of thinking.

Based on visual perception, the child’s understanding of speech arises. An adult shows an object and asks: “Where is something?” (they call it a word). As a result of such learning, a connection is formed between the object, the action with it and the word of the adult. The initial form of speech understanding, which appears at 10 months, is based on visual orientation. And at the same time, the visual search for objects is controlled by the word. At the end of the first year of life, the child’s first words appear that relate to the subject.

All this indicates that by the end of infancy the child develops mental activity, which is mainly visual and effective in nature. And on the basis of the child’s movements and actions organized by adults, he develops initial ideas about the world around him and elementary forms of perception and thinking arise, which allow him to navigate in this world and constitute a necessary prerequisite for the transition to assimilation different types social experiences that occur in early childhood.

1.4 Development of sensations in children early age

After infancy, a new stage of human development begins - early childhood (from 1 year to 3 years). At an early age, the child is no longer a helpless creature; he is extremely active in his actions and in his desire to communicate with adults. In the first year of life, the infant developed the initial forms of mental actions characteristic of humans. The prehistory of mental development has now given way to its true history. The next two years are a period early childhood- bring the child new fundamental achievements. The main achievements of early childhood, which determine the development of the child’s psyche, are: mastery of the body, mastery of speech, development of objective activity. These achievements are manifested: in bodily activity, coordination of movements and actions, walking upright, in the development of correlative and instrumental actions; in the rapid development of speech, in the development of the ability to substitute, symbolic actions and the use of signs; in the development of visual-effective, visual-figurative and symbolic thinking, in the development of imagination and memory; in feeling oneself as a source of imagination and will, in highlighting one’s “I” and in the emergence of the so-called sense of personality.

General sensitivity to development is achieved due to the uncontrollability of the ontogenetic potential for development, as well as the psychological entry of the child into the social space human relations, where the development and formation of the need for positive emotions and the need to be recognized occurs.

Perception at an early age remains syncretic and vague. The child cannot consistently examine an object and identify its different sides. He picks out some of the most striking signs and, reacting to it, recognizes the object. That is why, in the second year of life, the baby enjoys looking at pictures and photographs, not paying attention to the spatial arrangement of the objects depicted, for example, when the book lies upside down. It recognizes colored and contoured objects as well as objects painted in unusual colors equally well. That is, color has not yet become an important feature for a child that characterizes an object.

Perception develops as the child masters object-based activities, during which he learns to focus on the color, shape, size of objects (for example, when selecting the rings of a pyramid, parts of a nesting doll, fastening buttons, etc.). Gradually, the child moves from an externally instrumental orientation in the properties of objects to a visual one.

For example, if at the beginning of the second year children select inserts to the holes in the game using the method of applying, then in the third year they already act on the basis of visual correlation. In the child’s memory, representations of previously perceived objects are stored, which later act as standards when perceiving new objects (green “like a cucumber”; round “like a ball”, etc.)

However, it is known that children first learn to select objects by shape, then by size, and only then by color. By the end of early childhood, the child acquires an understanding of basic geometric shapes (triangle, square, rectangle, circle, oval), basic colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, black), and phonemic hearing develops. A child, perceiving a word, no longer focuses on its rhythmic and intonation aspects, but identifies individual sounds of his native language (first vowels, and then consonants).

Visual actions, with the help of which the child perceives objects, have developed in the process of grasping and manipulation. These actions are primarily aimed at such properties of objects as shape and size. Color during this period has no significance for recognizing objects at all. The child recognizes colored and uncolored images, as well as images painted in unusual, unnatural colors, in exactly the same way, focusing only on the shapes of the objects depicted. This, of course, does not mean that the child does not distinguish colors. We know that discrimination and preference for certain colors is already clearly expressed in the infant. But color has not yet become a sign characterizing an object and is not taken into account in its perception.

In order for the perception of objects to become more complete and comprehensive, the child must develop new perception actions. Such actions are formed in connection with the mastery of objective activities, especially correlative and instrumental actions.

When a child learns to perform a correlating action, he selects and connects objects or their parts in accordance with shape, size, color, and gives them a certain relative position in space.

Applying the bottom half of the nesting doll to the top, the child discovers that it does not fit, takes another, applies it again, until he finally finds the one he needs.. Going through the rings of the pyramid and applying one to the other, the child chooses the largest ring - the one whose edge peeks out from under any other, strings it onto a rod, then in the same way selects the largest of the remaining ones, etc. In the same way, when picking up two cubes, the child places them close to each other and discovers whether their colors merge or not.

All these are external indicative actions that allow the child to achieve the correct practical result. External orienting actions aimed at clarifying the properties of objects develop in the child when mastering not only correlative, but also instrumental actions. So, trying to get a distant object, a stick, and making sure that it is no good, the child strives to replace it with a longer one, thus correlating the distance of the object with the length of the tool. From correlating, comparing the properties of objects with the help of external indicative actions, the child moves on to their visual correlation. A new type of perception action is being formed. The property of one object turns for the child into a model, a standard with which he measures the properties of other objects. The size of one ring of the pyramid becomes a measure for the other rings, the length of the stick becomes a measure for distance, the shape of the holes in the box becomes a measure for the shape of the figures lowered into it.

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Development of the 5 senses: 5 simple and effective exercises

1. Development of visual perception: treat your eyes

Remember the expression “the eye pleases”? This is usually said when something is pleasant to look at.

It is important to please yourself and expand your visual perception. These may not be new things, but when you begin to consciously pay attention to things - their volume, color, texture, unusualness and uniqueness - this triggers a reaction in the brain

“yeah, how many different things I see” - “seeing is wonderful!”

Ask yourself: what pleases my eyes? What do I enjoy looking at?

It can also be a beautiful sunset, when the sun glows crimson.

And how the river flows, bypassing the rapids.

And the movement of ears of wheat on the field.

In addition, to develop visual perception, notice the details of the world around you:

what is the name of the seller in the store,
how many columns does the building you pass by on your way to work have?
what pattern is laid out on the tiles in the store?

The question is: how to bring back the joy and spring of life?

Let's think, if the center of sensory perception is our heart, then the antennas that saturate it are our fingers, skin, ears, eyes, nose, tongue.

This means that the more we please ourselves, allow ourselves to see and hear beauty, discover the whole spectrum of tastes and smells - the more we feel this world, we feel happy.

Why pay attention to your feelings?

Feelings are what constitute the experience of the soul and the richness of our lives.

Feelings are directly related to memory. Feelings are the instrument of the soul. What remains with us from life to life.

They influence us so much that sometimes it is difficult for those who have a lot of pain and experiences to remember their childhood; memory blocks such memories and acts as a fuse.

Good news: the sensory perception of life can be restored.

Remember what you loved to do as a child, and what brought you a lot of joy, fun and enthusiasm?

Plunge into childhood memories and, with childlike spontaneity and the excitement of a researcher, look at the world in a new way.

I would like to finally quote one thinker:

He who can fill every moment with deep content prolongs his life endlessly.

P.S. I am sure you will find practical application for this information.

I would be grateful if you share this article with your friends.

Write what feeling you will develop today.