Individual Differences in Thought Generation (in Russian)

Abstract

In the present study, the authors explore the process of object thought generation based on the understanding of ‘thought’ as a need-emotional-intentional substance that reflects the relation between the object and its characteristics. Theoretically, the research is grounded in the assumption that the object image is a thought substance and is recognized as an image-substance. It is noted that, as a product of the activity of the subject of perception, the process of thought generation is characterized by individual differences in both quantitative and qualitative terms. The main objective of the study was to investigate the processes of generation of object thoughts, i.e. thoughts that arise when perceiving a specific object. 20 students of a Moscow University aged 18-20 years took part in the study.  Subjects were asked to describe the object as fully and accurately as possible highlighting all of its attributes (properties) that they could find. The experiment was conducted with each subject individually. Two parameters in the description of the object were taken into account: the number of the object attributes generated and the time spent on the task. The experimental data show that the number of object attributes named decreases with time. Hence it is shown that there is a relationship between the productivity of generating attributes and the time of their generation. The number of thoughts / attributes generated in the second and third minutes is key in determining the final result of the object exploration. Differences in production of object attributes typically referred to its size and shape. Quantitative differences in thought generation process between individual subjects are considered to be the main results of the study. In different subjects, thoughts related to the same object differed not only quantitatively but also qualitatively. In the process of perception, each subject produced their own set of object thoughts. There is a reason to assume that the observed individual differences in the production of object attributes are related to individual intelligence levels.