Summary

Modern psychology outside the Soviet Union lacks a theory of memory in which it would be possible to conceive and study the problem of involuntary and voluntary memorization so as to reach fruitful results. Nevertheless, a lot of valuable data and theoretically important statements have been derived from numerous investigations.

Progressive trends in Russian psychology paid much attention to memory as related to and dependent upon activity. This has been further studied in Soviet psychology from the standpoint of dialectical materialism and the Sechenov – Pavlov theory of the reflex nature of mental activity.

In our studies we have considered involuntary memorization as a legitimate product of activity which pursues some (non-mnemic) purpose, while voluntary memorization has been regarded as a special mnemic activity.

In a number of experimental investigations in which tested subjects of different age were made to solve various learning problems (different as to their contents, methods, and motivation) certain regularities characteristic of involuntary memorization were identified.

Interaction between subject and objects is an indispensable and most general condition of such memorization. This interaction may occur at different levels of mental activity and take various forms: from involuntary, unconscious orienting reactions to the objects to consciously pursued and controlled activities involving them.

Identified has been the dependence which binds the efficiensy of involuntary memorization and the objective contents and structure of activity, its purposes and motivation, methods and other conditions in the attainment of its goal. Most

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effectively memorized is the material that is part of the contents of the main purpose of activity. The material referring to the methods and other conditions in the attainment of this purpose is less effectively remembered. The place of the goal occupied by the material secures effective orientation in it, whereas the attainment of the goal provides for effective reinforcement. This law which underlies memorization processes discloses determination of nervous dynamics leading to associations by the objective contents of activity.

Established has been the regular dependence of involuntary memorization upon the methods of activity: the more active the methods in the attainment of the goal, the more efficient the memorization. Under these conditions the method of activity becomes an independent purposeful action. Automatization of the methods of activity tends sharply to reduce the efficiency of involuntary memorization.

An analysis of the role of motivation in involuntary memorization has shown that its efficiency is not solely dependent upon the features of either motivation or problem but rather upon certain relationships between them: the broader are they n contents, the better are they remembered.

Thus, the importance of motivation and methods of activity depends upon their contribution to the establishment of such structure of activity, for which orientation in the stimuli and their reinforcement are at a maximum.

Some studies have been devoted to a comparative investigation of involuntary and voluntary memorization through an analysis of characteristic traits both in learning activites and in mnemic activities proper.

When involuntary memorization is due to activity more vigorous and interesting as compared to the mnemic activities, it appears to be more efficient than voluntary memorization. Under identical conditions of work with experimental material

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(such as a classification of objects both as learning and mnemic activity) a rather complicated dynamics in the: relationship between the efficiencies of these types of memorization has been disclosed. At the lower stages of memory development, involuntary memorization proves to be more effective. Voluntary memorization grows in efficiency as the material and the methods of work with it become more simple. The reasons for this lie in the complexity of connections and relationships between the learning and mnemic activities which are developed in the process of their formation. At the beginning of formation the activities are noted for a broad, non-generalized character, but later they are subject to gradual shortening and generalization. A learning activity can be successfully employed as a method of mnemic activity only at a definite stage of its formation. Therefore the fact that mnemic activity lags behind the learning activity is quite legitimate. This accounts for the specific relationship in the effectiveness of both the types of memorization.

One of the chapters discusses the problem of the features of mnemic and learning orientation in the material. They are determined by the specificity of the mnemic and teaming goals and, consequently, by the specificity of the methods used in their attainment.

The investigation of involuntary versus voluntary memorization has led to a number of important statements in the field of memorization development and training. These statements are dwelled upon in the last part of the book.

The assertion is made and proved to the effect that the basic unit in the analysis of the structure of memorization processes, their functioning and development is the subject's action. Accordingly, the classification of memorization processes into involuntary and voluntary appears, to be most essential in describing their functioning and development. Thus it is made

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possible to dispense with opposing higher forms of memory against the lower ones, and also with reducing the former to the latter.

The final chapter dwells upon such issues as follows: the place held by involuntary and voluntary memorization in the learning of new knowledge, how to control them in the process of training, and how to educate them in the pupils. The features of learning and mnemic actions identified in the process of their functioning and development call for incorporation of learning and mnemic problems into academic activities of schoolchildren and for developing in school-children an ability to solve them each in a different way. This is also necessary for a successful application of involuntary and voluntary memorization in the acquirement of new knowledge by the school-children as well as for properly developing their memory.

Kharkov state University

P.I.Zintchenko

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