Conclusion

Abstract

In this work we have summarized in a generalized form the key results of a number of our studies (some of them—e.g., studies on the development of grammatical generalizations and numerical concepts in children—have set aside for now; we will return to them elsewhere). The concrete focus in our experimental research was on the key fundamental principles of the general psychological theory of thinking. Above all, the flow of a thought process, just like personality development, cannot be either explained on the basis of internal conditions alone or directly derived from external stimuli. The possibility of this analogy and its validity are based on the fact that there is a general pattern that defines any specific patterns—the principle of determinism. This principle correlates external conditions (causes) and internal conditions (foundations): external causes act through internal conditions. External and internal conditions thus merge together. These postulates are necessary for every theory intended to explain any phenomena. They remain valid for the psychological theory of thinking as well. In the future, we believe, psychological research faces the challenge of carrying out a similar restructuring of other parts of psychological theory as well—a restructuring aimed at shedding light on the internal patterns of all mental processes. Each of them is determined by external stimuli that are interpreted through the internal conditions of the personality’s mental activity. The interconnection among all the components of the theory of thinking outlined in this book is clearly manifested in the fact that each of them implements, in particular, the postulate on thinking as interaction between a cognitive subject and an object. It is not hard to become convinced that this postulate, which we initially formulated in a general form, is intertwined with all of the main aspects of our concrete analysis of thinking. Above all, the understanding of thinking as a process—which runs through this entire work—derives from the concept of thinking as interaction; thinking is a process precisely because every step of thinking,