Our consciousness exists as a huge system of ordered information, which is activated by external influences. However, the connections of the models of the surrounding world, formed according to bizarre laws, by no means obey the standard logical laws. Connections in human consciousness exist according to the principle of individually significant "links" - associations. What is an association and is it really that illogical?
Old theory
The very concept of "association" appeared in the 17th century, in the works of John Locke, an Englishman, philosopher and researcher. He argued that connections in the human mind are formed according to three principles: similarity, contiguity, and the causal relationship of facts. In principle, modern science has not introduced anything new into this theory. Some branches of the science of the mind, such as Gest alt psychology, do not want to recognize the associativity of the mind at all, probably due tounpredictability.
Is memory lazy or frugal?
What is an association in terms of cognitive science? If we closely analyze associations to words, we can note that most often associations are formed by contiguity (in time and space). That is, things seen at the same time are often remembered together. Or events happening at the same time. Human memory is economical, therefore it seeks either to link the existing two phenomena by a cause-and-effect relationship, or to reduce everything to patterns already seen, or to link the simultaneous existence of two things or phenomena.
What do you see in the spots?
Usually the direction of building associations in the human mind is connected with the dominant personality at the moment. That is, with what excites a person, affects his consciousness. The test using Rorschach spots is based on this principle, it allows you to understand what a person mainly thinks about. The spots are very vague, a religious person can see an angel in one spot, and another person in the same spot can see a picture of a murder. Psychologists interpreting this test know how to work with associations. What is an association for them? Nothing more than a working tool.
Environment decides a lot
Associations are closely related to the individual experience of a person, and therefore are very surprising, unpredictable. They are also related to social experience. For example, in a modern prayer book there is a phrase asking God to save a person from "devilish haste."Do you think it's a sin to rush? We have such an association with the word "haste". And for the ancient Russian man, this phrase meant serving the enemy of the human race. Thus, associations also reflect a person's social experience.
Mother is lazy? The child is stupid
Many associations come from childhood. What is an association for a child? This is a unique piece of experience. The more information a child “digests” of various kinds, the richer his adult experience will be. And the deeper connections he will be able to see between objects and phenomena. Therefore, you can not keep the baby in the cage of the crib or playpen all the time, his knowledge of the world should not be limited to the TV. Make the baby's world bright and diverse so that his future is not spoiled by the fact that the mother was too lazy to deal with the child, leaving him half a day in the arena.
