ІMITATION IN THE SYSTEM OF LOGICAL AND SEMANTIC CONNECTIONS

Abstract

In this article, the uneven nature of the thought process is being analyzed. In particular, the specifics of semantic imitation are studied, its absolute indicators and dynamic properties are determined, and its impact on the formation of overall meaning is recorded. The diagnostic tool used here is the «Methodology of text gaps». The research involved 104 young people. The low absolute rate of semantic imitation was discovered (4% of logical and semantic connections of imitative content). Semantic imitation was used by the 40% of the participants. Systematic use of imitation is found in the 6% of the participants. The downward trend in imitation use was noticed in the psychodynamic aspects, however, this trend doesn’t have any statistical significance. At the same time, there is a very clear tendency towards using imitative connections with the previous sentence rather than the next one (p≤0.01). Therewith, imitation has an inverse moderate correlation with logicality (-0.3) and effusivity, or semantic crystallization (-0.4). Based on the fact that imitation has a direct moderate correlation with semantic gaps (0.35), we assume that it serves as an alternative way out of semantic dead-ends. However, the determination coefficient (R2) between them varies at the level of 12% of variables, which is a minor indicator. It becomes more noticeable that imitation forms 43% of the overall semantic coefficient. It should be noted that the level of correlation between imitation and the semantic coefficient is strong and inverse (-0.65). This clearly contradicts the low absolute rate of semantic imitability. It has been suggested that imitation phenomenon is naturally integrated into the thinking process, it is complied with the dynamics of the individual trajectory in developing logical and semantic connections.