Special abilities and conditions for their development. General abilities, special abilities - the nature of human abilities Types of human abilities, general and special

Every ability is the ability to perform some kind of activity.

Abilities can be innate, i.e. have hereditary prerequisites in the form of inclinations for further development.

Every person has many abilities. All of them are manifestations of personal qualities in any activity.

There are:
- elementary and complex abilities,
- general abilities and special ones,
- educational and creative abilities,
- theoretical and practical abilities,
- communicative and subject-activity abilities.

Elemental Abilities are present in a person from birth and are associated with the senses (discrimination of colors and sounds, speed of motor abilities, etc.). In the process of life they improve.

Complex abilities are associated with the activities of people and with the culture of mankind and are realized in certain achievements of human culture (ability to music, mathematics, sports, technical sciences, etc.). In the process of life they develop and improve.

General Abilities All people have them, but some have them better developed, others worse. For example, every person has the ability to run, but some run faster than others. Those. general abilities are those abilities that determine a person’s success in various types of activities (mental abilities, accuracy of movements, memory abilities, etc.)

Special Abilities Not all people have it. They manifest themselves as a person’s success in specific types of activity (ability for music, ability to draw, mathematical abilities, linguistic abilities, etc.). Special abilities imply the presence of certain inclinations.

Study Abilities– these are academic abilities, they determine the success of learning and a person’s acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities.

Creative skills determine the possibility of discoveries, inventions, and the creation of new objects of material and spiritual culture.

Theoretical abilities are manifested in a person’s ability to think abstractly and logically and solve theoretical problems.

Practical abilities are manifested in the ability to take specific practical actions in life situations, i.e. a person can find a way out of any difficult life situation.

Theoretical and practical abilities do not combine with each other. Most people have one or the other abilities.

Communication skills associated with the sphere of human communication. With their help, a person establishes contacts with other people.

Subject-related abilities include human activities associated primarily with technology. Such people do not need instructions to understand the operation of a complex mechanism and set it up.

All abilities interact with each other, influence each other, and complement each other. Thanks to this, a person develops fully and harmoniously.

The difference in the success of people who find themselves in the same conditions is explained by the degree of development of a person’s abilities. Where one person reaches the highest level of skill, another, with all his efforts, only reaches a certain average level. There are some activities, such as art, science, sports, in which only a person with certain abilities can achieve success.

The term " capabilities", despite its long-standing and widespread use, has different interpretations. Abilities mean:

• a set of all kinds of mental processes and states;
• a high level of development of general and specialized knowledge, skills and abilities that ensure a person’s successful performance of various types of activities;
• inclinations, anatomical and physiological basis for the rapid and effective acquisition of skills and abilities that contribute to the successful implementation of various types of activities.

A significant contribution to the development of the general theory of abilities was made by the domestic psychologist B. M. Teplov. Basic provisions his theories:

1. Abilities are understood as individual psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another. For example: for a musician it is not long fingers, but first of all an ear for music, a sense of rhythm.
2. Abilities are not called all individual characteristics, but only those that ensure the successful performance of an activity.
3. Abilities are not limited to the knowledge, skills or abilities that a given person has already developed.

Abilities are understood as those mental properties and personality qualities that serve as a necessary condition for the successful performance of an activity.

Often abilities are not noticed and not appreciated. For example, to V.I. Surikov, who was capable but did not have graphic skills due to lack of training, during the exam the inspector of the Academy of Arts said:

“You should be banned from even walking past the Academy for such drawings.”

N.V. Gogol, according to elementary school teachers, was incapable of learning the Russian language. The great physicist I. Newton was considered an underachieving student until he became interested in mathematics and physics.

Ability can only exist in the process of human activity and development. If he stops using it, it fades away. Abilities are lifetime education that has an innate basis. In the absence of the inclinations of certain abilities, their deficit can be compensated for through the intensive development of others.

Many of the natural abilities are common to humans and animals. These can be cognitive processes: perception, memory, thinking. These abilities are directly related to innate abilities. They are formed in the presence of elementary life experience through learning mechanisms. For example, training animals for circus performers.

So, when we talk about abilities, we mean abilities for something specific - mathematics, literature, music, etc. Any ability is an ability for any activity. At the same time, there are abilities that manifest themselves only in connection with a certain type of activity. Therefore, human abilities can be divided into special and general (Diagram 30).

• Special abilities are abilities that manifest themselves only in certain types of activities (art, music, mathematics, etc.).
• General abilities are those that manifest themselves in all types of human activity (mental abilities, developed manual motor skills, memory, etc.).

GENERAL ABILITIES

An attempt to systematize and analyze abilities was made by V. N. Druzhinin (2). He defines general abilities as the ability to obtain, transform and apply knowledge. And in this the following components play the most important role:

1. Intelligence (the ability to solve problems based on the application of existing knowledge),

2. creativity (the ability to transform knowledge with the participation of imagination and fantasy),

3. learning ability (ability to acquire knowledge).

Intelligence Many researchers consider it as equivalent to the concept of general talent, as the ability to learn and work in general, regardless of their content. The most complete, from a substantive point of view, is Wechsler's definition of intelligence; he understands intelligence as the ability for purposeful behavior, rational thinking and effective interaction with the outside world.

The second factor of general ability is creativity, creative capabilities, understood as a person’s ability to solve problems in a non-standard, unconventional way. Let's consider the relationship between creativity and intelligence. A lot of work has been devoted to establishing connections between creativity and intelligence, but they provide very contradictory data; apparently, these relationships are characterized by great individual originality and at least 4 different combinations can occur. The uniqueness of the combination of intelligence and creativity is manifested in the success of activities, behavior, personal characteristics, and methods (forms) of social adaptation.

Creativity is not always amenable to development; moreover, it has been noted that in the process of school education, which is associated with routine and solving standard algorithmic problems, the number of highly creative schoolchildren decreases. The development of creativity is facilitated by attention to the child, a wide range of demands, including uncoordinated ones, little external control of behavior, encouragement of non-stereotypical behavior and the presence of creative family members. Sensitive periods for the development of general creativity are noted at the age of 3-5 years, specialized creativity at 13-20 years.

Learning ability - this is the general ability to assimilate knowledge and methods of activity (in a broad sense); indicators of the pace and quality of assimilation of knowledge, skills and abilities (in the narrow sense). The main criterion for learning ability in a broad sense is the “economy” of thinking, that is, the shortness of the path in independently identifying and formulating patterns in new material. The criteria for learning ability in the narrow sense are: the amount of dosed assistance that the learner needs; the ability to transfer acquired knowledge or methods of action to perform a similar task. Implicit learning ability is distinguished as an “unconscious” primary general ability and explicit “conscious” learning ability.

Considering the relationship between intelligence, creativity and learning ability, Druzhinin V.N. distinguishes 2 levels in them.

Level 1 is determined by hereditary factors, the level and characteristics of the development of functions - this is a functional level determined by the natural organization of the individual.

Level 2 - operational - socially conditioned, determined by the degree of formation of operations that are acquired by the individual in the process of upbringing, education and relate to the characteristics of a person as a subject of activity (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Two-level structure of abilities.

Thus, in the structure of abilities, naturally determined functional and socially determined operational mechanisms are closely intertwined. Some authors include style characteristics in the structure of abilities, which primarily include cognitive styles. Cognitive styles are stable individual characteristics that manifest themselves in the way a person perceives and processes information.

In recent years, along with general intelligence, emotional intelligence has been distinguished, which includes 5 types of abilities: knowledge of emotions, managing emotions, recognizing emotions in others, the ability to motivate oneself, coping with social relationships. If general intelligence is a factor in academic and professional success, then the level of emotional intelligence allows us to talk about the likelihood of success in life (2).

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Special abilities determine a person’s success in specific types of activities, the implementation of which requires inclinations of a special kind and their development (mathematical, technical, literary and linguistic, artistic and creative abilities, sports, etc.). These abilities, as a rule, can complement and enrich each other, but each of them has its own structure.

Special abilities should also include abilities for practical activities, namely: constructive-technical, organizational, pedagogical and other abilities.

Special abilities are organically related to general or mental abilities. The higher the general abilities are developed, the more internal conditions are created for the development of special abilities. In turn, the development of special abilities, under certain conditions, has a positive effect on the development of intelligence.

There are many known individuals with a very high level of various abilities: scientific, literary, mathematical and artistic. Practical abilities cannot be developed and actualized in creative activity without a high level of intellectual development. Thus, a person’s constructive and technical abilities are often associated with great scientific talent: a gifted inventor often introduces innovation not only into production, but also into science. A gifted scientist may also exhibit remarkable design abilities (Zhukovsky, Tsiolkovsky, Edison, Faraday and many others).

Thus, each activity makes certain demands on general and special abilities. That is why it is impossible to develop a personality and its abilities in a narrow professional manner. Only comprehensive personality development will help identify and form general and special abilities in their unity. This does not mean that a person should not specialize in the field for which he shows inclination and greatest ability. Consequently, although this classification has a real basis, when analyzing a specific type of ability, it is necessary to take into account the general and special components in each individual case (7).

Abilities are individual psychological characteristics of a person necessary for mastering a certain activity and its successful implementation.

The domestic theory of abilities was created by the works of many outstanding psychologists - Vygotsky, Leontiev, Rubinstein, Teplov, Ananyev.

The principle of the unity of consciousness and activity put forward by S. A. Rubinstein and the formulation of the question of the development of abilities in activity are based on the idea of ​​abilities as individual psychological qualities that distinguish one person from another and are manifested in the success of mastering or performing a specific professional activity.

Teplov, defining the content of the concept of ability, formulated 3 of its characteristics, which form the basis of many works:

1. abilities mean individual psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another;

2. they relate to the success of any Activity or many Activities;

3. abilities are not limited to existing skills, abilities and knowledge, but can explain the ease and speed of acquiring this knowledge. Successful performance of an activity, as B.M. Teplov argues, can be ensured not by a separate ability, but by a unique combination of interrelated abilities, each of which can acquire a qualitatively different character. The problem of abilities is interpreted by B.M. Teplov as a qualitative characteristic, not a quantitative one. This statement defined a new approach to the methodology for studying abilities - identifying the qualitative uniqueness of abilities when performing various types of activities and determining the qualitative individual psychological differences of people who show abilities for the same type of activity.
According to B.M. Teplov, the main task of psychological research is to discover qualitative differences in the abilities of different people: “Finding qualitative differences in abilities is an extremely important task.” This approach was further developed in the works of N.S. Leites, N.D. Levitov, B.G. Ananyev, A.G. Kovalev, V.N. Myasishchev, K.K. Platonov, V.S. Merlin, E.A. Golubeva, N.A. Aminova and others.

The generally accepted definition of abilities in Russian psychology by B.M. Teplov (1961) was interpreted by different authors depending on the ambiguity of the understanding of the term “Individual psychological characteristics.” S.L. Rubinstein (1960) defined abilities as a complex of mental properties that make a person suitable for a certain type of socially useful activity.

“People’s abilities are formed not only in the process of assimilation of products created by man in the process of historical development, also in the process of their creation, the process of man’s creation of the objective world is at the same time the development of his own nature,” - S.L. Rubinstein. At the same time, it is absolutely clear that “biologically inherited properties (inclinations) constitute in a person only one of the conditions for the formation of his mental functions and abilities - a condition that, of course, plays an important role,” - A.N. Leontyev.

There is a peculiar dialectical connection between abilities, knowledge and skills: to master the latter, appropriate abilities are necessary, and the formation of abilities itself presupposes the development of knowledge and skills associated with the relevant activity. As for natural, congenital factors, they are considered as anatomical and physiological inclinations that underlie the formation of abilities, while the abilities themselves are always the result of development in a specific activity.

Ability is a psychological feature of a person and is not an innate quality, but is a product of development and formation in the process of any activity. But they are based on innate anatomical and physiological characteristics - inclinations. Although abilities develop on the basis of inclinations, they are still not their function; inclinations are prerequisites for the development of abilities. Inclinations are considered as nonspecific features of the nervous system and the organism as a whole, therefore the existence of its own pre-prepared inclination is denied for each ability. On the basis of different inclinations, different abilities are developed, which are equally manifested in the results of activity.

Based on the same inclinations, different people can develop different abilities. Domestic psychologists talk about the inextricable connection between abilities and activity. Abilities always develop through activity and represent an active process on the part of a person.

The types of activities in which abilities are formed are always specific and historical.

One of the basic principles of Russian psychology is a personal approach to understanding abilities. The main thesis: it is impossible to narrow the content of the concept of “ability” to the characteristics of individual mental processes.

The problem of abilities arises when considering the Personality as a subject of Activity. A great contribution to the understanding of the unity of abilities and qualities of a Personality was made by Ananyev, who considered ability as the integration of properties of the subjective level (properties of a person as a subject of Activity). In his theory, the structure of human properties has 3 levels:

1. Individual (natural). These are sexual, constitutional and neurodynamic characteristics, their highest manifestations are inclinations.

2. Subjective properties characterize a person as a subject of work, communication and knowledge and include features of attention, memory, perception, etc. The integration of these properties is abilities.

3. Personal properties characterize a person as a social being and are associated primarily with social roles, social status and value structure. The highest level in the hierarchy of personal properties is represented by the character and inclinations of a person.

An important question is about the natural genesis of abilities, about their connection with inclinations, with individual typological abilities and prerequisites. Teplov categorically opposed the recognition of innate abilities and believed that certain natural prerequisites, to which he included inclinations, could be innate. “Only anatomical and physiological characteristics can be innate, i.e., inclinations that underlie the development of abilities, while the abilities themselves are always the result of development.” In his works on the problem of abilities, A. N. Leontiev consistently pursues the idea of ​​​​the decisive role of social conditions, education in the development of human abilities and, to a lesser extent, attaches importance to the natural side of abilities. “All mental functions and abilities inherent in man as a social being develop and are formed as a result of mastering the experience of previous generations." The process of mastering the world is at the same time the process of forming specific human abilities in people. Mastering the achievements of social development, “translating” them into one’s abilities is accomplished through other people, i.e. in the process of communication. According to A. N. Leontyev, biologically established human properties do not determine mental abilities. A. N. Leontyev rightly emphasizes the role of communication and education in appropriating cultural achievements for the development of abilities. However, in his concept the question remains unclear: why, with proper training and education, abilities turn out to be different for different people? It seems that the dissimilarity of physical and anatomical features also serves as a condition for differences in mental activity. The structure of abilities depends on the development of the individual. There are two levels of development of abilities: reproductive and creative. A person who is at the first level of ability development exhibits a high ability to assimilate knowledge, master activities and carry them out according to the proposed model. At the second level of development of abilities, a person creates something new and original. But we must keep in mind that any reproductive activity includes elements of creativity, and any creative activity includes reproductive activity, without which it is generally inconceivable. In addition, the indicated levels of development of abilities are not something given and unchangeable, frozen. In the process of mastering knowledge and skills, in the process of activity, a person “moves” from one level to another, and the structure of his abilities changes accordingly. As you know, even very gifted people began by imitation, and then, only as they gained experience, they showed creativity. When considering the issue of classifying abilities, first of all it is necessary to distinguish between natural or natural abilities and specific human abilities. Many of the natural abilities are common to humans and animals, especially higher ones, for example, monkeys. A person, in addition to biologically determined ones, has abilities that ensure his life and development in a social environment. These are general and special higher intellectual abilities. General abilities include those that determine a person’s success in a wide variety of activities. These, for example, include mental abilities, subtlety and accuracy of manual movements, developed memory, perfect speech and a number of others. Special abilities determine a person’s success in specific types of activities, the implementation of which requires inclinations of a special kind and their development. Such abilities include musical, mathematical, linguistic, technical, literary, sports, artistic and creative, etc. The presence of general abilities in a person does not exclude the development of special ones and vice versa. Often general and special abilities coexist, mutually complementing and enriching each other. Theoretical and practical abilities differ in that the former predetermine a person’s propensity for abstract theoretical thinking, and the latter for concrete practical actions. Such abilities, in contrast to general and special ones, on the contrary, are more often not combined with each other, occurring together only in gifted, multi-talented people. Educational and creative abilities differ from each other in that the former determine the success of training and education, a person’s assimilation of knowledge, skills, abilities, and the formation of personal qualities, while the latter determine the creation of objects of spiritual and material culture, the production of new ideas, discoveries and inventions, in a word, individual creativity in various areas of human activity. The abilities to communicate, interact with people, as well as subject-activity or subject-cognitive abilities are to the greatest extent socially conditioned. V.D. Shadrikov considers abilities from the perspective of a functional system and defines them as “properties of functional systems that implement cognitive and psychomotor processes, which have an individual measure of expression, manifested in the success and qualitative originality of the performance of activities.” The measure of the integrability of abilities in a system of specific activities may have individual differences and “is determined by two indicators: the measure of the expression of individual abilities included in the system of activities, and the measure of the integration of individual abilities in the activity.”

Abilities are a concept that serves to describe and organize the capabilities that determine a person’s achievements. Abilities are preceded by skills, which are their condition for acquisition through learning, frequent exercise and training. Achievements in activities depend not only on abilities, but also on motivation and mental state.

It should be taken into account that a relative predominance of either general or special abilities is possible. There is general giftedness without pronounced special abilities, as well as relatively high special abilities that are not matched by corresponding general abilities.

The age-related development of general abilities does not exclude, but presupposes the identification of data for engaging in certain areas of activity. The school faces a twofold task: to provide a general education, to ensure the growth of general abilities and at the same time to fully support the sprouts of special talents, to prepare for the choice of a profession. High development of general abilities is the true guarantee of identifying all special talents.

Most often, the ratio of general and special abilities is analyzed as the ratio of the general and the specific in the conditions and results of activity.

Teplov connected general abilities with general aspects in different types of activities, and special abilities with special specific aspects.

Only the unity of general and special properties, taken in their interpenetration, outlines the true appearance of a person’s talent. Despite the diversity of its manifestations, it maintains internal unity. Proof of this is the numerous cases in which our reality is especially rich, when a person who has proven himself in one area, when moving to another job, shows no less abilities in it. At the same time, general talent is not only a prerequisite, but also a result of the comprehensive development of the individual.

The most common form of assessing the degree of expression of special abilities is tests.

1. The method of V. V. Sinyavsky and B. A. Fedorishin allows us to identify the communication and organizational abilities of the test taker, which are important when choosing a profession.

2. Tests by M. I. Gurevich and N. I. Ozeretsky for diagnosing motor abilities of children

Static coordination (ability to stand for 15 seconds with closed
eyes alternately on the right, left leg, socks, etc.).

Dynamic coordination and proportionality of movements (jumping, walking
jumping, cutting out figures from paper, etc.).

Speed ​​of movement (putting coins into a box, piercing paper with
circles printed on it, tying shoelaces, etc.).

Strength of movement (bending, straightening various objects, etc.).

Accompaniment of movements (wrinkling of the forehead, movement of the hands, etc.)

3. The Stanford-Binet test is a widely used intelligence test for children. Originally developed by Binet and Simon (published 1905) to select French children who did not benefit from normal public education and needed special education. Revision of the test in 1908 and 1911 resulted in the development of a series of tests designed for each age group and designed for the average child. Binet determined what skills, in terms of speech and action, the average child of each age group could have, that is, he established standards, or norms, for each age (he introduced the concept of “mental age”). This development was later improved by Theremin from Stanford University (USA) and called the Stanford-Binet test (1916), and it was Theremin who introduced the concept of intelligence quotient. It converted exam scores into a coefficient, making it possible to compare children of different age groups or children of the same group as they grew older. Stanford-Binet tests are individual, that is, they must be carried out one-on-one, and therefore are diagnostic and require special qualifications. Two more revisions (1937, 1960) were necessary because the tests were becoming outdated (thus, the idea of ​​fastening shoes with buttons was to be replaced by the idea of ​​​​fastening sandals or, as today, lacing sports shoes). A test loses its validity if its items no longer correspond to normal experience. The extensive and long-term use of the Stanford-Binet Test has given it particular value, as each use provides new data, thereby aiding diagnosis. However, in recent years new tests have appeared, in particular for British schools - the British Intelligence Scale (1977).

Abilities and personality.

Development of abilities in younger schoolchildren.

What are abilities

One of the most complex and interesting problems in psychology is the problem of individual differences. It is difficult to name at least one property, quality, or trait of a person that would not be included in the scope of this problem. The mental properties and qualities of people are formed in life, in the process of learning, education, and activity. With the same educational programs and teaching methods, we see individual characteristics in everyone. And that's great. That’s why people are so interesting, because they are different.

The central point in the individual characteristics of a person is his abilities; it is the abilities that determine the formation of a person and determine the degree of brightness of his individuality.

Capabilities- these are the internal conditions of human development that are formed in the process of his interaction with the outside world.

“Human abilities, which distinguish man from other living beings, constitute his nature, but human nature itself is a product of history,” wrote S.L. Rubinstein. Human nature is formed and changes in the process of historical development as a result of human labor activity. Intellectual abilities were formed as, by changing nature, a person learned about it, artistic, musical, etc. were formed along with the development of various types of art" 1 .

The concept of “ability” includes three main features:

Firstly, Abilities are understood as individual psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another. These are features of sensations and perception, memory, thinking, imagination, emotions and will, relationships and motor reactions, etc.

Secondly, Abilities do not refer to individual characteristics in general, but only to those that are related to the success of performing any activity or many activities. There is a huge variety of activities and relationships, each of which requires certain abilities for its implementation at a sufficiently high level. Properties such as hot temper, lethargy, indifference, which are undoubtedly individual characteristics of people, are usually not called abilities, because they are not considered as conditions for the success of performing any activity.

Third, Abilities mean such individual characteristics that cannot be reduced to a person’s existing skills, abilities or knowledge, but which can explain the ease and speed of acquiring this knowledge and skills 2.

Based on the above, the following definition can be derived.

Abilities are those individual psychological characteristics of a person that meet the requirements of a given activity and are a condition for its successful implementation.

In other words, abilities are understood as properties, or qualities, of a person that make him suitable for successfully performing a certain activity. You cannot simply be “capable” or “capable of everything”, without regard to any particular occupation. Every ability is necessarily an ability for something, for some activity. Abilities are manifested and developed only in action.

1 Rubinshtein S.L. Fundamentals of general psychology: In 2 vols. - M., 1989. - T. 2. -S. 127.

2 See: Warm B.M. Selected works: In 2 vols. - M., 1985. - T.1. - S.16.tality, and determine greater or lesser success in performing this activity.

Indicators of abilities in the process of their development can be the pace, ease of assimilation and speed of advancement in a particular area of ​​human activity.

A person is not born with the ability to perform one activity or another. Only inclinations that form the natural basis for the development of abilities can be innate.

Makings are features of the structure of the brain and nervous system, sensory organs and movements, functional characteristics of the body, given to everyone from birth.

The makings include some innate features of the visual and auditory analyzers, typological properties of the nervous system, on which the speed of formation of temporary nerve connections, their strength, the power of concentrated attention, the endurance of the nervous system, and mental performance depend. The level of development and correlation of the first and second signaling systems should also be considered as inclinations. I.P. Pavlov distinguished three specifically human types of higher nervous activity: artistic type with a relative predominance of the first signaling system, thinking type with a relative predominance of the second signaling system, third type - with relative balance of signaling systems. People of the artistic type are characterized by the brightness of immediate impressions, imagery of perception and memory, richness and vividness of imagination, and emotionality. People of the thinking type are prone to analysis and systematization, to generalized, abstract thinking.

Individual characteristics of the structure of individual areas of the cerebral cortex may also be the inclinations. But inclinations are only prerequisites for the development of abilities; they are one, albeit very important, of the conditions for the development and formation of abilities. If a person, even with the best inclinations, does not engage in appropriate activities, his abilities will not develop. A favorable environment, upbringing and training contribute to the early awakening of inclinations. For example, from the age of two, Rimsky-Korsakov could clearly distinguish all the melodies that his mother sang; at the age of four, he was already humming everything that his father played; soon he himself began to select the pieces he heard from his father on the piano. Igor Grabar tells about himself: “When a passion for drawing began, I don’t remember, but suffice it to say that I don’t remember myself not drawing.”

Ability cannot arise without corresponding specific activity. The matter cannot be understood in such a way that the ability exists before the corresponding activity begins, and is only used in the latter. Absolute pitch as an ability does not exist in a child before he is first faced with the task of recognizing the pitch of a sound. Before this, there was only a deposit as an anatomical and physiological fact. And a keen ear for music may not be realized if a person does not specifically study music. Therefore, music lessons with young children, even if the kids do not show bright musical talents, are of great importance for the development of their musical abilities.

Abilities are not only manifested in activity, but also created in this activity. They are always the result of development. By its very essence, ability is a dynamic concept - it exists only in movement, only in development.

The development of abilities occurs in a spiral: the realization of the opportunities that an ability at one level represents opens up new opportunities for further development, for the development of abilities at a higher level (S.L. Rubinstein).

Thus, the child’s abilities are formed gradually through his mastery of the content of material and spiritual culture, technology, science, and art in the process of learning. The initial prerequisite for this development of abilities is innate inclinations (note that the concepts “innate” and “hereditary” are not identical).

One should not think that each ability corresponds to a special inclination. The inclinations are multi-valued and can be realized in different types of abilities; on their basis, different abilities can be developed depending on how a person’s life goes, what he learns, what he is inclined to do. Inclinations can, to a greater or lesser extent, determine the uniqueness of a person’s development, the style of his intellectual or other activities.

It is impossible to indicate in advance the exact boundaries in the development of certain abilities, to determine the “ceiling”, the limit of their development. This is due to the fact that any activity requires not one, but several abilities for its implementation, and they can, to a certain extent, compensate and replace each other. By learning and mastering what has been created by humanity throughout the history of its existence, we develop our natural qualities, our inclinations, and transform them into abilities for activity. Every person is capable of something. A person’s abilities develop as he masters some activity, area of ​​knowledge, or academic subject.

A person's abilities are developed and practiced by what he does. One can cite as an example P.I. Tchaikovsky. He did not have perfect pitch; the composer himself complained of a poor musical memory; he played the piano fluently, but not very well, although he had been playing music since childhood. The compositional activity of P.I. Tchaikovsky first took up the field after graduating from law school. And despite this, he became a brilliant composer.

There are two levels of development of abilities: reproductive And creative. A person who is at the first level of development of abilities reveals a high ability to master a skill, assimilate knowledge, master an activity and carry it out according to the proposed model, in accordance with the proposed idea. At the second level of development of abilities, a person creates something new and original.

In the process of mastering knowledge and skills, in the process of activity, a person “moves” from one level to another. The structure of his abilities changes accordingly. As you know, even very gifted people began by imitation, and then, only as they gained experience, they showed creativity.

“Scientists have established that it is not individual abilities as such that directly determine the possibility of successfully performing any activity, but only that peculiar combination of these abilities that characterizes a given person.

One of the most important features of the human psyche is the possibility of extremely broad compensation of some properties by others, as a result of which the relative weakness of any one ability does not at all exclude the possibility of successfully performing even the activity that is most closely related to this ability. The missing ability can, within very wide limits, be compensated by others that are highly developed in a given person. B.M. Teplov emphasized the importance of the promotion and development by a number of foreign psychologists, and primarily V. Stern, of the concept of compensation of abilities and properties.

Individual abilities do not simply coexist with each other. Each ability changes and acquires a qualitatively different character depending on the presence and degree of development of other abilities. L.S. Vygotsky wrote: “Each of our “abilities” actually works in such a complex whole that, taken by itself, it does not give even an approximate idea of ​​​​the real possibilities of its action. A person with a weak memory when we study it in an isolated form , may turn out to remember better than a person with a good memory, simply due to the fact that memory never acts on its own, but always in close cooperation with attention, general attitude, thinking - and the combined effect of these various abilities may turn out to be completely independent of absolute value of each of the terms" 1.

A peculiar combination of abilities that provides a person with the opportunity to successfully perform any activity is called giftedness.

The problem of giftedness is, first of all, a qualitative problem (S.L. Rubinstein). The first, main question is what are a person’s abilities, what are his abilities for, and what is their qualitative uniqueness. But this qualitative problem also has its quantitative aspect.

A high level of development of abilities is called talent.

Talented people are able to solve complex theoretical and practical problems in some area of ​​knowledge or practice, and are able to create material or spiritual values ​​that are novel and have progressive significance. In this sense, we are talking about talented scientists, writers, teachers, artists, designers, managers, etc.

Talent can manifest itself in any human activity, not just in the field of science or art. An attending physician, a teacher, a skilled worker, a manager, an agrarian, etc. can be talented. pilot, etc.

1 Vygotsky L. S. Pedagogical psychology. - M., 1991. - P. 231. People who are able to quickly absorb knowledge and correctly apply it in life and in their activities are also called talented. These are talented pupils and talented students, talented violinists and pianists, talented engineers and builders.

Genius- this is the highest degree of manifestation of human creative powers. This is the creation of qualitatively new creations, opening a new era in the development of culture, science, and practice. So, A.S. Pushkin created works, with the appearance of which a new era begins in the development of Russian literature and the Russian literary language.

We can say this: genius discovers and creates new things, and talent understands this new thing, quickly assimilates it, applies it to life and moves forward.

Brilliant and talented people are people with a very developed mind, observation, and imagination. M. Gorky noted: “Great people are those who have better, deeper, more acutely developed abilities of observation, comparison and conjecture - guesses and “savvy.”

Creative activity requires a so-called broad outlook, familiarity with many areas of knowledge and culture. Anyone who is “head over heels” in a narrow scientific field deprives himself of a source of analogies.

Many outstanding people showed high abilities in various fields of knowledge. Many of them were versatile in their abilities. For example, Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, M.V. Lomonosov. Here is what Sofia Kovalevskaya wrote about herself: “I understand that you are so surprised that I can study both literature and mathematics at the same time. Many who have never had the opportunity to learn more about mathematics confuse it with arithmetic and consider it a dry and sterile science. In essence, this is a science that requires the most imagination, and one of the first mathematicians of our century says absolutely correctly that you cannot be a mathematician without at the same time being a poet at heart. Only, of course, in order to understand the correctness of this definition, one must abandon the old prejudice that a poet must compose something that does not exist, that fantasy and fiction are one and the same thing. It seems to me that a poet must see what others do not see, see more deeply than others. And a mathematician should do the same.” 3.2. General and special capabilities

Distinguish between abilities are common, which appear everywhere or in many areas of knowledge and activity, and special, which manifest themselves in one particular area.

Quite a high level of development general abilities - features of thinking, attention, memory, perception, speech, mental activity, curiosity, creative imagination, etc. - allows you to achieve significant results in a variety of areas of human activity with intensive, interested work. There are almost no people who have evenly expressed all of the above abilities. For example, Charles Darwin noted: “I am superior to average people in the ability to notice things that easily escape attention and to subject them to careful observation.”

Special abilities are abilities for a certain activity that help a person achieve high results in it. The main difference between people is not so much in the degree of giftedness and the quantitative characteristics of abilities, but in their quality - what exactly he is capable of, what kind of abilities they are. The quality of abilities determines the originality and uniqueness of each person’s talent.

Both general and special abilities are inextricably linked with each other. Only the unity of general and special abilities reflects the true nature of human abilities. V.G. Belinsky subtly remarked: “No matter how you divide life, it is always united and whole. They say: science requires intelligence and reason, creativity requires imagination, and they think that this has solved the matter completely... But art does not require intelligence and reason? Can a scientist do without imagination?”

Special abilities have developed during the development of human society and human culture. “All special abilities of a person are, in the end, various manifestations, aspects of his general ability to master the achievements of human culture and its further advancement,” noted S.L. Rubinstein. “A person’s abilities are manifestations, aspects of his ability to learn and work” 1.

1 Rubinshtein S.L. Fundamentals of general psychology. - M., 1946. - P. 643. The development of the special abilities of each person is nothing more than an expression of the individual path of his development.

Special abilities are classified in accordance with various areas of human activity: literary abilities, mathematical, structural and technical, musical, artistic, linguistic, stage, pedagogical, sports, abilities for theoretical and practical activities, spiritual abilities, etc. All of them are the product of the prevailing the history of mankind's division of labor, the emergence of new areas of culture and the identification of new types of activities as independent pursuits. All types of special abilities are the result of the development of the material and spiritual culture of mankind and the development of man himself as a thinking and active being.

The abilities of each person are quite wide and varied. As already noted, they both manifest themselves and develop in activity. Any human activity is a complex phenomenon. Its success cannot be ensured by just one ability; each special ability includes a number of components that, in their combination and unity, form the structure of this ability. Success in any activity is ensured by a special combination of various components included in the structure of abilities. Influencing each other, these components give the ability individuality and uniqueness. That is why each person is capable and talented in his own way in the activities in which other people work. For example, one musician may be talented in playing the violin, another - in the piano, a third - in conducting, showing his individual creative style in these special areas of music.

The development of special abilities is a complex and lengthy process. Different special abilities are characterized by different times for their identification. Talents in the arts, and above all in music, manifest themselves earlier than others. It has been established that at the age of up to 5 years, the development of musical abilities occurs most favorably, since it is at this time that the child’s ear for music and musical memory are formed. Examples of early musical talent include V.A. Mozart, who showed extraordinary abilities at the age of 3, F.J. Haydn - at 4 years old, Ya.L.F. Mendelssohn - at 5 years old, S.S. Prokofiev - at the age of 8. Somewhat later, the ability to paint and sculpture manifests itself: S. Raphael - at the age of 8, B. Michelangelo - at the age of 13, A. Dürer - at the age of 15.

Technical abilities are usually revealed later than abilities in the arts. This is explained by the fact that technical activity and technical invention require a very high development of higher mental functions, primarily thinking, which is formed at a later age - adolescence. However, the famous Pascal made a technical invention at the age of 9, but this is one of the rare exceptions. At the same time, elementary technical abilities can manifest themselves in children as early as 9-11 years old.

In the field of scientific creativity, abilities are revealed much later than in other areas of activity, usually after 20 years. At the same time, mathematical abilities are revealed earlier than others.

It must be remembered that any creative abilities by themselves do not turn into creative achievements. In order to get results, you need knowledge and experience, work and patience, will and desire, you need a powerful motivational basis for creativity.

3.3. Abilities and personality

Abilities cannot be understood and cannot be considered outside of the individual. The development of abilities and personality development are interdependent processes. This is precisely what psychologists pay attention to, emphasizing that “the development of ability gives not only a practical effect, increasing the quality of activity, but also the personal effect of satisfaction from its process, which, acting as reinforcement, turns out to be, in turn, a condition for ability” (K.A Abulkhanova-Slavskaya).

Success or failure in an activity that is meaningful to a person affects the development of his personality and forms his personal dignity. Without the development of abilities, personality development cannot occur. Abilities are the basis of individuality and uniqueness of a person. Genius and talent are expressed not only in the strong development of intelligence. A sign of high abilities and talent is sustained attention, emotional ! passion, strong will. All brilliant people were distinguished by their ardent love and passion for their work. So, A.V. Suvorov was completely devoted to military affairs, A.S. Pushkin - poetry, I.P. Pavlov - science, K.E. Tsiolkovsky - the study of interplanetary space flights.

A passionate attitude towards work contributes to the concentrated concentration of all cognitive, creative, emotional and volitional forces.

It is wrong to think that everything comes easy to capable people, without much difficulty. As a rule, in people whom we call talented, abilities for one or another activity are always combined with hard work. Many talented scientists, writers, artists, teachers and other figures emphasized that talent is work multiplied by patience. The great scientist A. Einstein once said in a joking manner that he achieved success only because he was distinguished by “the stubbornness of a mule and terrible curiosity.” M. Gorky said about himself: “I know that I owe my success not so much to natural talent as to the ability to work, the love of work.”

In the development of human abilities, his own work on yourself. The lives of famous people show that the most important thing in their creative activity is the ability to work continuously, the ability to achieve a goal for months, years, decades, and tirelessly search for ways to achieve it.

Let us remember the life and work of the great Russian commander A.V. Suvorov. His genius abilities developed not only in the process of active military activity, but also as a result of his own hard work on himself. From childhood, Suvorov was interested in military affairs, reading descriptions of the campaigns of the great commanders of antiquity: Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Julius Caesar. By nature he was a weak and sickly child. But from his youth, he himself managed to create what nature did not give him - health, endurance, iron will. He achieved all this through constant training and hardening of his body. Suvorov himself came up with various gymnastic exercises for himself and constantly practiced them: he doused himself with cold water all year round, bathed and swam until frost, overcame the steepest ravines, climbed tall trees and, having climbed to the very top, swung on the branches. At night, on a bareback horse, he rode without roads through fields and forests. Constant physical exercise strengthened Suvorov so much that even as a 70-year-old man he did not know fatigue.

The development of a person's abilities is closely related to the development of interests.

Interest is an individual characteristic of a person, his focus on what a person considers most significant and most valuable in the world and in his life.

Distinguish direct And mediated interest. The first is associated with the entertaining, fascinating, pleasantness of what aroused our interest. For example, we are talking about an interesting performance, a meeting with an interesting person, an interesting lecture, etc. This interest manifests itself mainly in involuntary attention and is very short-lived.

The second is mediated by our conscious desire to learn more and more about an object, person, phenomenon. This interest is arbitrary, i.e. we express our will, our desire to penetrate deeper into the essence of what interests us. The mediation of interest is expressed in a more or less long-term, stable focus of the individual on a certain object, on a certain area of ​​reality and life, on a certain activity. It is the presence of such interest that constitutes an individual characteristic of a person.

People's interests differ primarily in content, which is determined by those objects or areas of reality to which these interests are directed.

People's interests vary by latitude. Narrow interests are considered to be directed only to one limited area of ​​reality, wide and versatile - aimed at several areas of reality. At the same time, for a person with diverse interests, usually some interest is central, main.

The same interests manifest themselves in different ways in different people. by force. Strong interest is often associated with strong feelings and manifests itself as passion. It connects with such personal qualities as perseverance, endurance, perseverance, and patience.

The interests of one or another force differ from person to person in terms of sustainability or by degree of constancy.

Interest as an individual personality trait covers the entire human psyche. It is his interests that largely determine many of his character traits and determine the development of his abilities.

Interest is manifested in a person’s tendency to engage in activities primarily related to the subject of interest, in the constant experience of pleasant feelings caused by this subject, as well as in the tendency to constantly talk about this subject and matters related to it.

Addiction is expressed in the fact that a person, of his own free will, intensively and constantly engages in a certain type of activity, prefers it to others, and connects his life plans with this activity. Most researchers who have dealt with this problem define inclination as an orientation towards a corresponding activity or a need for activity (N.S. Leites, A.G. Kovalev, V.N. Myasishchev, A.V. Petrovsky, K.K. Platonov, S. L. L. Rubinshtein, B. M. Teplov, K. D. Ushinsky, G. N. Shchukina, etc.).

The development of abilities is primarily associated with an active positive attitude towards the relevant activity, interest in it, a tendency to engage in it, which often turns into passion. Interests and inclinations for a certain activity usually develop in unity with the development of abilities for it.

Nurturing creative abilities in children, schoolchildren, and students is largely associated with the development of their personality: independence, passion, independence in judgments and assessments. High academic performance is not always combined with a high level of creative ability. Scientists were able to identify the relationship between academic achievements, the level of students’ abilities and the level of creativity of the teacher.

If a teacher has high creative potential, then gifted students achieve brilliant success, while students with less developed creative abilities find themselves “in the pen”, their academic results are usually poor. If the teacher himself is somewhere at the bottom of the “creativity” scale, the success of students deprived of creative brilliance turns out to be higher than in the first case. And brightly gifted schoolchildren do not open up and do not realize their potential. The mentor seems to give preference to the psychological type to which he himself belongs 1 .

Teachers are trying to capture their experience in developing the creative potential of students in various types of rules. As an example, here are the “10 Commandments” compiled by one high school teacher:

1. Do not agree with the student's answer if the answer is simply confirmed and taken on faith. Demand proof.

2. Never resolve a student dispute in the easiest way, i.e. simply by telling them the correct answer or the correct way to solve it.

3. Listen carefully to your students, catch every thought they express, so as not to miss the opportunity to reveal something new to them.

4. Always remember that learning should be based on the interests, motives and aspirations of students.

5. Lesson schedules and school bells should not be a determining factor in the educational process.

6. Respect your own “crazy ideas” and encourage others to think outside the box.

7. Never tell your student: “We don’t have time to discuss your stupid idea.”

8. Do not skimp on an encouraging word, a friendly smile, friendly encouragement.

9. In the learning process there cannot be a constant methodology and a once-for-all established program.

10. Repeat these commandments every evening until they become a part of you.