Imagination in psychology: properties and techniques, how to develop

What is imagination

By definition, imagination in psychology is a process in which images appear in the subconscious that are closely related to life experience, fantasy and way of thinking. It helps to imagine the consequences of certain actions, as well as outline a plan of action in an unclear situation.

According to scientists, imagination is one of the types of brain activity in which new additional neural connections are formed. We can also say that this is a process of transforming reality, creating images associated with it, processing the resulting practical, intellectual and sensory experience. These images are bright, original and at the same time truthful.

Imagination can be called a way of understanding the world around us. It leaves an imprint on our consciousness. Thanks to this, you can not only replay what happened recently, but also imagine what will happen in the future. You have the opportunity to imagine non-existent or absent objects and mentally use them in your consciousness.

It is interesting that even the most pragmatic, skeptical people have imagination. They may live by logic, ironclad principles and rules, but will still dream or think creatively.

Approaches to understanding the essence of imagination as a psychological phenomenon

Like thinking, imagination arises in a problem situation, is motivated by personal needs, and is determined by the level of development of social consciousness. Imagination is a cognitive process, the result of which is an indirect representation of reality. Imagination is focused on creating new knowledge by processing past personal experience. Representations and images of perception act as mediating materials for reflecting reality.

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Imagination is closely related to mental activity: both processes are a means of indirect cognition of the world, however, if thinking operates with concepts and judgments, imagination is carried out in figurative form, in the form of relief representations. Specific images created by the imagination of the individual reveal abstract theoretical thoughts, ideas, and concepts.

A significant difference between imagination and mental activity is the high degree of uncertainty of the results, the inability to subject the initial data to accurate analysis and study.

Definition 1

Thus, imagination is a mental process of creating new knowledge in the form of images, ideas, ideas, including the anticipation of the final results of objective activity and ensuring the creation of a behavioral strategy in cases where the problem situation is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty.

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Functions of the imagination

The importance of imagination is difficult to overestimate. Like any other mental process, it has a number of functions:

1. Cognitive. This is a function of both thinking and imagination. Helps broaden your horizons, obtain new information and knowledge, and draw up a plan of action in an unfamiliar situation. Teaches a person to be guided by guesses, reasoning and considerations.
2. Prediction function. A person can imagine what will follow his actions. This type of imagination is involved in the formation of dreams and daydreams.
3. Understanding. It manifests itself in the ability to assume what another person feels and experiences in a given situation, what emotions and sensations he or she has now. This type of imagination is somewhat similar to empathy. It allows you to look into the inner world of your interlocutor and understand what worries him at the moment.
4. Protection. When a person plays out a situation in his mind, a possible outcome of events or the consequences of his actions, he can prevent troubles and protect himself from problems.
5. Self-development. This function of imagination helps to fantasize, come up with something new, and create.
6. Memories. Images from the past emerge in the subconscious.

Not every person has all the functions of the imagination. Their set depends on character, behavior, personal qualities.

Basic concept of the process of imagination

Definition 1
In psychology, imagination is understood as the process of forming images, objects and phenomena by changing the ideas that a person already has.

The images that arise in the process of imagination may not always correspond to the reality surrounding a person; they may contain elements of fantasy and fiction.

Fantasy is understood as a picture created by a person’s imagination, in which nothing or only a small part corresponds to the reality surrounding him.

In the case when the imagination draws pictures of the future to the consciousness, this is called a dream.

Constant companions of the imagination process are the mental processes of memory and thinking, which ensure its emergence and preservation of created new images.

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Types of imagination

The most basic types of human imagination are passive and active. Each of them is divided into subgroups. Among them are voluntary, involuntary, creative, reproductive imagination, etc. Let's take a closer look.

Passive

Such imagination may have a purpose. It can be regulated and directed using consciousness and willpower. It can also be involuntary, that is, working at the subconscious level.

Operations of imagination have varying degrees of awareness and unconsciousness. You've probably also encountered a state where thoughts fly through your head one after another. Along with them, some images and pictures appear. They replace each other until something interests you. At this moment, awareness turns on. You begin to control the process. In addition, you become aware of the line between reality and the fictional world.

In the case of the involuntary variety of imagination, everything happens spontaneously, uncontrollably. You don't have images and associations.

In psychology, dreams and hallucinations are classified as passive involuntary types of imagination:

1. Dreams are the result of a healthy psyche. This is a combination of inhibition and excitation processes occurring in the cerebral cortex. During braking, the subconscious comes into play, which stores a huge amount of various information. For example, remember the children's toy kaleidoscope. So, images and associations from the subconscious are mixed and intertwined, as a result of which colorful and sometimes unusual dreams appear.
2. Hallucinations occur when the functioning of the cerebral cortex is disrupted. They often occur in cases of serious illness, excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages or drugs, or mental disorders. It also happens that they are a consequence of emotional overexcitation, a state when a person is unable to control himself.

The main property of both types is the inability to control them.

Passive voluntary types of imagination can be controlled. Most of them are related to forecasts for the future. A person predicts the probable, unlikely and completely incredible outcome of events. In this case, you don’t have to limit your imagination.

Passive voluntary imagination has 2 forms:

1. Daydreaming is not just a way to fantasize. This is an opportunity to recreate images of the future. And, what’s most interesting, they are quite feasible. The main property of such imagination in psychology is to encourage a person to take active action, to coordinate his actions in the direction of his dreams.
2. Dreams have nothing to do with reality. This is an illusion, a figment of the imagination, something that cannot be realized.

Sometimes it is difficult to see the line between dreams and daydreams. For clarity, let's give an example. Imagine a girl reading an exciting novel. According to the plot, three young men fall in love with the main character. If a girl also wants to be in such a situation, this is a dream. And if she wants to write and publish an equally exciting story, this is a dream come true.

Active

Active voluntary imagination is the most significant thing in a person’s life. It is used in almost all areas of life. Helps to recreate images from the subconscious in reality.

According to the classification of types of imagination, active is divided into 2 subtypes: reproductive and creative.

Imagination and creativity are closely related. Creative imagination is considered the highest form of all cognitive processes. It helps in creating both fantastic and very real images. Take, for example, painting realistic landscapes or literary works. This type of imagination plays a special role in science, the work of designers, etc. One might even say that it is involved in almost all areas of life.

The creative imagination has another interesting feature. It helps you see a situation from different angles, generate unusual ideas and make innovative decisions.

In psychology, this type of imagination is associated with inspiration, the subconscious, and intuition. A lot of creative imagination techniques have also been developed, the use of which helps to increase productivity and make your activities more interesting and exciting.

Reproductive imagination is also called re-creative. It is used when you need to recreate images based on a ready-made description, diagram or drawing. What can you imagine? There are a number of examples:

• house according to the drawn up project;
• drawing connected according to a pattern;
• the hero whose description is given in the book;
• cake or other dish that will be prepared according to the recipe.

Recreative imagination has an interesting characteristic. All images are based on what a person already knows. Take, for example, the house project described above. Only a person who has special knowledge and skills can understand it.

Features of human imagination

Human perception represents material for fantasy, through which the original images are processed, in which elements for transformation can be identified. Thanks to the imagination, they are able to become larger or smaller than real ones, combine in impossible combinations, change places, appear in an unreal number.

Examples of fantasy images of objects that cannot be perceived in reality: Gulliver in the land of giants, a hut on chicken legs, Pegasus, the many-armed deity Shiva, a dragon with three heads, etc. Imagination also often sharpens some features, which is how caricatures or grotesques are created.

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Images can appear in the form of diagrams when minor differences are erased, and the main properties are revealed very clearly. The emoticon is a striking example of a schematic reworking of an image.

A person’s imagination can typify a place, a human character trait, or a certain event. The types can be fairy-tale elves, gnomes, orcs, Turgenev’s young ladies and “die-hards” participating in blockbusters. Further, the images that have arisen in the imagination are transformed, which leads to the generation of very complex fantasies.

The emotional component of images in the imagination can lead to unexpected and logically incomprehensible associations. With the help of original combinations of parts of the human body, space, and technical devices, surrealist authors amaze viewers in their works. (for example, Salvador Dali, Magritte, etc.). Viewers most often rely on their own imagination.

The result of the work of the imagination is the crystallization of the image in a visible, tangible product. The product can be represented by paintings, inventions, artistic text, models, programs. The process of imagination does not always have to go through the full cycle. Thus, a dreamer can move from fantasy to fantasy without ever realizing a single idea.

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Creating images

A person creates images in the imagination in several ways:

1. Agglutination. The qualities and parts of individual objects are combined into a single whole. Examples: centaur, fairy-tale hut on chicken legs, seaplane, snowmobile.
2. Emphasis. Part of the object is divided into separate parts. A good example is caricatures in which the artist highlights a certain feature.
3. Hyperbolization. Involves reducing, enlarging, or shifting individual parts of the selected object. Here you can also remember fairy tales, for example, about dragons with several heads.

Another way to create images in the imagination is typification. It is considered the most difficult. Imagine any picture. Contemplating it, you draw in your subconscious the image that the artist conveyed. Or take, for example, a book. The author describes in it the features of the main character. Thanks to this, you can imagine how he looks, thinks, behaves. It is as if you are transported into the world around him.

Mechanisms of imagination

1. Agglutination (gluing) is the unification into a single whole of a number of ideas in a sequence different from our direct perceptions and experiences.
2. Emphasis – emphasizing the most significant, typical features of an object.
3. Hyperbolization and miniaturization - exaggeration and understatement, changing the proportions of elements involved in the process of imagination, or their parts. S.L. Rubinstein considered this imaginative technique to be one of the types of emphasis.
4. Schematization is the selection of those properties of an element that are significant for the content of a specific act of imagination, the mental exclusion of some properties or qualities inherent in a particular object, getting rid of unnecessary and minor details.

What does imagination give to a person?

So, we found out what imagination is and what functions it plays. But why do you need it personally? There are several points:

• helps in communicating with other people;
• makes it possible to visualize the goal;
• promotes the development of creative talents;
• participates in decision making and creation of new ideas;
• helps you mentally recreate an image of an object or phenomenon that you have never seen.

Plus, imagination is used in making predictions and action plans for the future. It is needed in all areas of activity, especially in those that cannot be fully automated. We are talking about design, research work.

Does a child need imagination? The answer is clear: yes. Without it, full development is impossible. The first few years of a child's life explore the world around him. And if for some reason his imagination does not work at full strength, the formation of important abilities is inhibited.

The imagination developed in childhood will help an adult to become creative in the future, develop creative skills, and learn to find an unusual way out of a difficult situation. And this will be useful in life.

Basic functions of imagination

As mentioned earlier, humans are characterized by several types of manifestation of imagination. Of all the living creatures on our planet, only humans have an active and productive imagination. These types of imagination are direct products of the higher activity of the human nervous system and his consciousness.

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Almost all human life is connected in one way or another with the process of imagination. It accompanies a person while reading, listening to music, and talking with other people. It is imagination, according to psychologists and scientists from other fields of scientific knowledge, that is the source of progress in various spheres of human life and society. This happens due to the numerous functions that imagination performs in human life. Let's look at them in more detail.

One of the main functions of the human imagination is the cognitive function, the main content of which is to expand and deepen human knowledge. There are two varieties of this imagination function:

• generalization, manifested in the generation of situations and opportunities;
• synthetic, which contributes to the creation of a holistic neoplasm.

Note 1

As a result, new images that have emerged lead to unique discoveries and inventions of mankind. That is why imagination is a mental process that ensures the search for creative actions.

The next function that needs to be paid attention to is the function of anticipation, which ensures the normal flow of processes of predicting the results of any human activity in connection with the emergence of new images, ideas and phenomena.

The regulatory function, which assumes that the role of images of the imagination lies in their motivating meaning and influence on the process of organizing human activity. Associated with needs, interests and other components of personality, they become a psychological factor of creative inspiration;

Control and correction function, the essence of which is that thanks to its implementation, a person has the opportunity to correct errors and shortcomings that arise and adjust the methods and techniques used in the process of achieving a certain goal;

Functions of emotional influence that provide a stimulating effect on the emotional background and mood of a person in the process of carrying out activities. Thanks to the action of this function of imagination, a person’s mood can change in accordance with conditions and promote passion for work or, on the contrary, restrain it.

How to develop your imagination

Psychologists have identified a number of techniques for developing imagination.

In adults

The main thing is to be ready to experiment, not to be shy and not afraid of mistakes. There are many ways:

1. Visualization. You need to mentally reproduce the appearance of an object, location or action. Start with simple tasks. For example, look at what lies in front of you. Then close your eyes and imagine this object in detail.
2. Reading. This method is related to the previous one. Visualization is also needed here. It's just much more difficult to make it. You will have to remember several characters, images, landscapes at once. And after that, look at their participation in the plot. All this will help you see the full picture. And by the way, reading is much more interesting than watching movies. In the case of reading, no one limits your imagination and imagination.
3. Associations. Every adult has associative thinking. Most likely, when you hear the word “green,” you think of grass and trees. And with the word “orange” - about an orange.
4. Creation of unusual animals. This is a great way to develop your creative imagination. Let it be, for example, a cat dog. Of course, they don’t talk about it in a biology textbook. But you'll have fun. This exercise is suitable for both adults and children.
5. Art. Exhibitions or master classes will make up for the lack of imagination. By observing other people, you yourself can easily create an unusual idea or at least get inspired.
6. "Box". Here you will have to take an example from the cartoon character SpongeBob. Remember your favorite activity? He sat in the box and turned on his imagination. No, don't think that you need to do the same. Although children can try. Walk into an empty room and mentally design the interior. Next time, rearrange it, etc. This way you will improve your imagination and perception.

Another way is role-playing games. You control the hero, while observing certain requirements and conditions. Games can be tabletop or real. The latter include quests.

In children

It's a little easier with children. They already love to fantasize, often coming up with unusual stories and even imagining imaginary friends next to them.

How to develop children's imagination?

1. Read fairy tales, fantasy stories. Try to read, for example, to the middle. And then invite the child to continue the story.
2. Observe the people around you. Let the child think about how someone lives along the way. If you can’t go outside, use photographs or ordinary pictures. This way you can help develop the imagination of both preschoolers and older children.
3. Go to exhibitions together, visit museums, cinemas.
4. Get creative together. Model from clay and plasticine, make appliqués, draw, assemble car models, etc.

As with adults, role-playing games with parents or peers help children develop their imagination.

Basic processes of imagination

Imagination as a mental process contributes to the emergence of new images and objects in a person based on his existing life experience and situations that he has experienced previously.
Thus, we can say that the main mechanism of imagination is based on those images that a person already has, but they arise in new connections and combinations. The process of synthesis of images in the work of imagination can be carried out in various forms and processes. The most commonly used of them are:

1. The process of agglutination, the main function of which is to create new images by combining existing elements that are taken from various human representations. An example is the image of a mermaid, reproduced by authors in fairy tales - the head and body of a mermaid are female, and instead of legs, the tail is a fish. This process of imagination is not widespread due to the fact that the images that arise as a result are quite difficult to translate into objective images and things.
2. Another process of imagination is hyperbolization, which is the deliberate enlargement of an object that in real life is absolutely normal in size. A striking example is also the literary hero Gulliver, who was much larger than a real person. Here it is necessary to note the process opposite to it - litotes, which, unlike hyperbolization, is a deliberate reduction of an object or subject.
3. Unlike the processes described above, the underlining process does not use the whole image, but only its part or a certain property. Using a similar technique, caricatures and caricatures are created.
4. Schematization is the creation of an image of the imagination in which differences are reduced and similarities become more pronounced and come to the fore. An example would be an ornament, the elements of which the artist takes from the plant world.
5. One of the most complex processes of imagination is s, the essence of which is to identify essential features in homogeneous facts and transform them into specific images. This process of imagination is widely used in literature.
6. Combination, the process of imagination, which consists of combining given elements into new and unusual combinations. This technique is the easiest to imagine and does not require a high level of human imagination.
7. Another important process of imagination is symbolization, which consists of using symbols in the process of creating new images and objects.
8. Awareness and understanding of symbolic language helps a person to consciously receive messages from his own unconscious and interpret them. Symbols differ from signs in that they are not conventionally chosen to denote this or that information, but in depth, essentially the only thing that it denotes.
9. With the help of various methods and techniques of imagination, a person has the opportunity to create a complex dynamic unity of conscious perception of the surrounding world and unconscious awareness of them in the depths of consciousness and subconscious.

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Note 1

Thus, we can conclude that the process of imagination is a free, creative, original reflection of the surrounding reality.

Example from life

I enjoy reading. Imagination helps you immerse yourself in the story. Even seemingly tedious descriptions of the area become much more interesting. I try to see the landscape through the eyes of the author, hear sounds, feel the wind or the scent of flowers.

The same goes for heroes. I try to imagine not only their appearance, but to monitor how their behavior and thinking changes in different situations. Thanks to this, after reading the book, it seems that I have visited this book world.