Abstract
Introduction The accelerating proliferation of network technologies into all spheres of human life is driving the adoption of principles from network structures to inform new approaches across many domains of individual and, particularly, collaborative activity. This is especially important for mental processes, which are forced to adapt to new emerging conditions. To study the phenomenon of networks in relation to collaborative thinking, a study was conducted to examine reflective feedback loops in networked thinking.
Methods. Semantic content analysis was used as a data collection. Mathematical processing of the results was performed using multivariate analysis of variance.
Results. The study identified the most significant initial conditions that influence the formation of reflective loops in network thinking. The decisive role of purposefulness of thinking in the implementation of reflective loops was noted. The effect of positive and negative feedback loops in the process of solving problems with different initial conditions was discovered. Based on the results of the study, conclusions were drawn about the ability of initial conditions to have a significant impact on reflective loops in network thinking, jointly and separately from each other. It was established that the presence of a known solution reduces the number of questions, while the absence of such a solution leads to a stable predominance of questions over answers at all stages.
Discussion. The data obtained allowed us to form an idea of the significance of reflective loops for network thinking processes, showing their role in achieving a dynamic equilibrium of the thinking system through the interaction of positive and negative feedback. This makes it possible to use the results in network learning to activate students' thinking activity by controlling the initial conditions of tasks.
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