The article reconstructs the stages of O.K. Tikhomirov’s scientific work. The main attention is paid to programs of studies of human thinking activity. The substance of the personal meanings theory of thinking is exposed. The contribution of O.K. Tikhomirov’s school to the development of A.N. Leontiev’s psychological activity theory is defined.

The contribution of the O.K. Tikhomirov’s school in the field of psychology of thinking is analyzed, and the main elements of the personal meanings theory of thinking are presented: namely, personalityrelated determination of thinking, regulative function of emotions, actual genesis of goalsetting and senseformation processes, creative thinking, and the impact of information technologies on the transformations of intellectual and communicative activities.