Psychological metamorphoses of one metaphor

Context and relevance. The author explores the nonlinearity of the learning process in a child's cognitive development, criticizing Ebbinghouse's classic "learning curves." In the context of the synergistic paradigm, the psyche is considered as a complex open system, where it takes time for internal self-organization to assimilate the method of solving the problem, which makes it relevant to revise approaches to the pace of learning and the role of repetitions. Purpose. Identification of patterns of changes in the time of performing the same type of tasks by children of different ages and justification of the need for a period of self-organization (incubation period) in the process of thinking for the true assignment of the method of solution. Hypothesis. The learning process is non-linear and is accompanied by pendulum-like fluctuations in the time for completing tasks before reaching the plateau. To achieve a mode of self-organization of the human cognitive system and assimilation of the method of solving the problem, a certain number of repetitions are necessary. Methods and materials. Participants: Three samples of preschool and primary school-age children (5-6, 8, and 9 years), with 50 people in each sample. Task: solving 10 tasks of the same type for generalization (in each problem there are 20 geometric shapes: 5 target with common features and 15 background). Measurement method: fixing the time spent by the child to search for figures and perform generalization. Theoretical approach: synergetics (consideration of the psyche as a self-organizing complex system), the use of a mathematical model of logistic function (Xn+1+1=λXn (1-Xn)). Results. The nonlinearity of the learning process is recorded: the time for completing tasks changes nonlinearly, pendulum-like vibrations occur with a gradual extinction of amplitude. It was established that the execution time does not just decrease, but fluctuates until the "plateau" (asymptote), which indicates the process of self-organization of the system. Data from the third sample (9-year-old children) were successfully approximated using a mathematical logistic function model. It is confirmed that when solving the same type of problems, there is an incubation period for assigning a solution method. Conclusion. Exercises and repetitions in learning have not only didactic meaning (memorizing or developing a skill), but also deep synergistic meaning: they are necessary for the child's cognitive system to reach a self-organization mode. This indicates the need to abandon excessive intensification of learning in favor of a pace that provides a full internal restructuring of thinking.