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Experimental Psychology (Russia)
2025. Vol. 18, no. 4, 136–150
doi:10.17759/exppsy.2025180408
ISSN: 2072-7593 / 2311-7036 (online)

Semantic attitude as a component of an intellectual event in solving creative problems

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. The concept of the intellectual event, which develops the idea of ​​the perceptual event (V.A. Barabanshchikov), is significant for understanding thinking. Studying the dynamics of semantic sets during creative problem solving is necessary for identifying adaptive and maladaptive trajectories of creative thinking. The theoretical basis of the study was: the theory of attitude by D.N. Uznadze, according to which the attitude as a holistic unconscious state precedes conscious activity; the systems approach in psychology as understood by V.A. Barabanshchikov, which distinguishes various plans of the psyche - natural, objective, semantic, experiential, cognitive; psychosemantic approach of V.F. Petrenko, where the semantic structures of consciousness are operationalized through the analysis of subjective semantic spaces formed by bipolar constructs. Purpose: to study the dynamics of cognitive and affective components of the semantic attitude during the formation of an intellectual event in the process of solving creative problems, and to determine the specifics of its dynamics in individuals with different levels of ideational fluency. Hypothesis. The semantic attitude is adjusted as the arithmetic mean between the expectation («BEFORE») and the real experience («AFTER»); and individuals with high ideational fluency will experience a cumulative decrease in the emotional and motivational attractiveness of tasks, leading to motivational exhaustion. Methods and materials. The study involved 72 respondents (18—44 years old; 53% men). The following were used: the laboratory experiment,the author's semantic differential of task perception (17 bipolar scales), the “Rational-Experienced” questionnaire (adapted by T.V. Kornilov), the creative self-efficacy scale (M. Karwowski) and three adapted creative tasks (based on the methods of Guilford and Mednick). The following statistical methods were used: descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon test, Mann-Whitney test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results. The hypothesis about the correction of the attitude based on the averaging principle was confirmed. A significant cumulative decrease in the emotional and motivational attractiveness of the task was revealed in the highly generative group. A specific cognitive profile of the “hyperrational generator” was discovered: dominance of rationality, reduced creative self-esteem and tolerance to unfavorable conditions. Conclusions. The attitude is an important component of the intellectual event when solving creative problems. It is shown that the dynamics of the semantic attitude confirms its adaptability, but in highly productive individuals, the imbalance of its components creates a risk of motivational burnout. Systemic monitoring of the emotional and motivational component is recommended to prevent exhaustion in conditions of intense creative activity.

General Information

Keywords: semantic attitude, intellectual event, creative potential, emotional and motivational attractiveness, ideational fluency, dynamics

Journal rubric: Psychology of Thinking

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/exppsy.2025180408

Funding. The research is conducted with financial support from the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 25-18-00885 “Real and Virtual Intellectual Events in Solving Complex Problems”.

Received 18.09.2025

Revised 10.11.2025

Accepted

Published

For citation: Kharitonov, I.Y., Selivanov, V.V. (2025). Semantic attitude as a component of an intellectual event in solving creative problems. Experimental Psychology (Russia), 18(4), 136–150. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/exppsy.2025180408

© Kharitonov I.Y., Selivanov V.V., 2025

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Igor Y. Kharitonov, specialist in educational and methodological work, lecturer at the Department of General Psychology at the Institute of Experimental Psychology, Moscow State University of psychology and education, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0213-4300, e-mail: kharitonoviy@mgppu.ru

Vladimir V. Selivanov, Doctor of Psychology, Professor, Head of the Department of General Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Head of the Chair of General Psychology, Smolensk State University, Smolensk, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8386-591X, e-mail: vvsel@list.ru

Contribution of the authors

Igor Yu. Kharitonov — research concept; theoretical background compilation; experimental environment preparation; experimental data collection and analysis; research results visualization; data interpretation; writing text.

Vladimir V. Selivanov — research ideas; scientific supervision; verification of scientific novelty and theoretical background relevance; research process oversight; data interpretation; writing text, final editing.

Both authors participated in the discussion of the results and approved the final text of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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