Cognitive features of associative processes in actors

The article is devoted to the analysis of the features of the associative-verbal network in professional actors and students of theater universities based on contemporary psycholinguistic, cognitive, and psychological-pedagogical publications from recent years. The associative-verbal network is considered in the context of its role as a psychological basis for language proficiency. The article describes the profile of interclass transitions, the structure of the core and periphery of the associative-verbal network, as well as the relationship of rare relevant reactions with inhibitory control of interfering responses and set-switching (cognitive flexibility). The study aims to build a comprehensive model of association in actors and describe measurable cognitive parameters for monitoring in education. To achieve this goal, comparative analysis, content analysis, thematic coding, and synthetic interpretation were applied. During the preparation of the article, publications on theater youth, executive functions, actor psychotypes, individual differences in semantic profiles, associations of educational bilinguals, and methods of analytical reading of dictionaries were studied. The relevance is linked to the need of modern theatrical pedagogy for objective indicators of an artist's improvisational readiness and verbal action. The novelty lies in the combination of data from free associative experiments, reverse associative dictionaries, and comparative descriptions of acting creativity with the parameters of executive functions of the brain, taking into account the artistic-educational context, digital environment, and reflective practices. In conclusion, a cognitive toolkit is proposed for diagnosing and targeted correction of verbal acting improvisation. Special attention is given to didactic conclusions: training of inhibitory control, set-shifting, and maintaining role objectives. The article will be useful for practicing educators in theater universities, psycholinguists, specialists in speech training and cognitive development, as well as developers of educational VR platforms and interactive cultural projects.