Znakov Viktor V.

The article describes the methodological analysis of three tendencies of the psychological cognition development for last three decades. Firstly, the author analyzes the psychological studies of the information processing during the human thought, sometimes based on intuitive experience or logical knowledge. It is shown that a person has two different but interacting systems for the information processing according to the dual-process theories of human thinking.

One system is focused on the heuristics, producing intuitive responses and the other one is based on analytical processing. Their descriptions correspond to the psychologists’ ideas of the Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory (CEST) by S. Epstein and two cognition styles — rational and intuitive ones. Such scientific ideas are indissolubly linked with the existence of the integrated continuum of the methods for the world understanding: from paradigmatic to narrative and then to thesaurus. Secondly, it is proved that a modern person lives in the multidimensional world, consisting of the empirical, socio-cultural and existential realities. The events and situations in these realities are understood by people after the types “understanding-knowledge”, “understandinginterpretation” and “understanding-comprehension”. Thirdly, it is reasoned that a subject does not cognize the existential reality but comprehend. Therefore, the existential experience of a subject naturally includes not only unconscious knowledge and experiences, but also incomprehensible and mysterious things. It is proved that the incomprehensibility of the reality is one of the attributes of the being. The incomprehensibility does not mean the essential impossibility of understanding. Comprehension represents such type of understanding which is focused on the phenomena and the objects of the world, requiring extraordinary efforts to be understood. Comprehension is such apprehending of the whole thing, the parts of which a subject cannot cognize and describe in details for any reasons. Mystery was analyzed as a scientific and psychological but not mystical and fantastic phenomenon. Mystery is defined on the basis of psychology of thought in which a problem situation and a problem differ.

In article on the example of growing number of the conflicts between adherents of Christian and Muslim values, and also the ethno-religious nature of terrorism the psychological reasons of understanding of foreign person not as friend, and as enemy are analyzed. Proved that in understanding of the stranger an important role plays not only conscious rational knowledge of the subject, but also unconscious and everyday concepts. The emphasis is placed on research of the cognitive and affective unconscious — extra conceptual irrational components of understanding of the stranger. It is proved that there are such spheres of human life which at all don’t accept rational knowledge. In similar spheres there is a radical contradiction between rational knowledge, an explanation and deep emotions, experiences. Deep attitudes and prejudices can’t be overcome logical arguments: they don’t rely on reasonable judgments and therefore they can’t be destroyed usual logic. The main issue on which attempt to answer is made, consists in the following: why at recognition of the fact of burning of the Koran or an act of girls from “Pussy Riot” group not only conscious rational explanations, but also unconscious components of behavioral reactions of the people speaking different languages and living in the different countries, are very similar? The explanation of this phenomenon in article develops in three directions. First, data that the subject makes many moral and religious decisions automatically, intuitively, unconsciously are provided. Secondly, from J. Piaget’s research follows that some operational schemes of actions can contradict ideas which the subject consciously already formulated. These ideas take higher place, than action schemes, and block their integration into conscious thinking. Thirdly, with reference to results of psychophysiological researches existence of filters locates in consciousness, making the appearance at correlation of the ancient and recently created cultural phenomena with less and more differentiated brain systems.

In article three realities in which their lives the person — empirical, sociocultural and existential are analyzed. Each matched the reality of social knowledge domains with which they are described — the moral, conventional, and personal. It is proved that realities are understood by people on types of understanding-knowledge, understanding-interpretation and understanding-comprehension. It is shown that the person at the same time exists in different realities, understands them on the unequal psychological bases and uses various types of social knowledge for the description. 

In article influence of personal meanings theory of thinking of O.K. Tikhomirov on studies of consciousness and selfunderstanding is discussed. Proves, that processes of become aware of himself are indissolubly connected with formation of operational senses. The sense is considered as cognitive a phenomenon caused by knowledge the person receives during thinking. At the same time the sense is also such generation of existential experience of the subject which is based on comprehension of limitation by it cognitive rational schemes of knowledge of the world. Affirms, that the most perspective direction of psychological research of a problem of selfunderstanding is the combination cognitive and existential ways of the analysis of generation of sense.

The article analyzes the psychological and socio-demographic factors that affect the understanding and experience of the terrorist threat. In empirical studies, held at the 698 residents of Saransk and Smolensk, shows: 1) women and young subjects, the indexes of experience a terrorist threat is higher than men and adults, and 2) predictors of the overall index are experiencing personal anxiety, machiavellianism and the ability to control the situation and 3) understanding the terrorist threat, disturbing the subjects focused on the emotional and irrational aspects of the attacks, and 4) Machiavellian people understand the attacks as universal manipulative ways to solve problems, achieve goals, 5) subjects with high ability to control behavior stress of planning the attacks and targeted actions of people involved in them.