A SYMBOLIC IMAGE-A COGNITIVE MEANS FOR MASTERING CONTENTS OF PHENOMENA OF REALITY IN PRESCHOOL

The article reveals the principles of psychological research in art. The authors separate the cognitive function of art from that in science, which is expressed in the means of perception. Many philosophers, psychologists, and art historians devoted their works to division of these means into signs in science and symbolic images in art, and the authors, following in their footsteps, suggest finding our own differences between a symbol and a sign. One of them is in figurative form, where the image conveys an idea, and the sign only denominates it. Another difference is that there is a certain value (or a set of values) behind the sign, and for the symbolic image there is no correspondence in the values (since there is no understanding in the values of the situation that the subject is faced with). And, finally, the third difference is revealed in the transition from the symbolic representation to the sign. This is only possible if orientation in the figurative content of the symbol leads to finding a certain correspondence between it and the hidden meaning, the structure of the situation of uncertainty. In solving the cognitive tasks of art, the authors find it necessary to use sign mediation, which involves the construction of a single-valued model of the situation. In situations of uncertainty, they use symbolic mediation, due to which its substitute visual image is created. In this case, as the authors suggest, we can speak of a connection existing between the features of the strategy for constructing a representative image of the situation and the success of solving the problem.