Our whole life is an endless series of events, situations, affairs, meetings, conversations, changes, victories and defeats, hopes and disappointments. In other words, a person’s life is a constant interaction between his inner world and the surrounding reality. Every day we wake up, start our day, do different things, communicate with many people, go to work, develop a business or do something else. Human life in the modern world is life in a world of high technology, an endless flow of information, rapid development and change. And in order to meet all the requirements of the surrounding reality, a person must be internally stable, developed, able to overcome difficulties and have an unbending inner core that will always support and help remain strong. The modern world is ready to absorb a person in a matter of seconds, make him part of the gray mass, depersonalize him, empty him and throw him to the sidelines. And if a person is not ready for this, then defeat cannot be avoided. But there is a way to emerge victorious in this fight.

One of the most important knowledge for a person in our time is knowledge in the field of psychology, and one of the most important skills is the ability to apply it in practice. To understand people, to be able to find a common language and communicate with them, to be able to instantly adapt to any situation, to always help yourself and others, you need to understand psychology. So that the problems and stress that put enormous pressure on a person today do not break you or your loved ones, and you or they can continue on their path, you need to understand human psychology. To understand others at a deep level, to be able to nurture yourself, raise your children, and influence others, you need to know the nuances of people’s psychology. To achieve success, achieve new results, conquer new heights, live in abundance, harmony and well-being, you need to have important knowledge - knowledge about human psychology.

Considering the importance of psychological knowledge, as well as the reasons that motivate people to grow and develop, their desire to become better and improve their lives, we have created this course, which is called “Human Psychology”. In the lessons of this course, we explore very important things in detail: we reveal the main and key problems of human psychology, the stages and patterns of his development and the formation of his personality, the formation of the characteristics of his behavior and communication with people. This course provides an opportunity to answer questions about how to understand human psychology, how to influence your life, those around you, and, most importantly, yourself. Studying psychology and applying the knowledge gained in life contributes to personal growth, improving personal life, establishing excellent relationships, achieving success in the professional sphere and other areas of activity. This course “Human Psychology” is an online training consisting of lessons that contain interesting theoretical information about human psychology, provides examples (experiences, tests, experiments) and, most importantly, gives a large number of practical tips that you can apply in practice already on the first day of acquaintance with the training. At the end of the course there are links to useful materials: books (including audiobooks), videos, recordings of seminars, experiments and quotes about psychology.

Psychology(from the ancient Greek “knowledge of the soul”) is a science that studies structures and processes that are inaccessible to external observation (sometimes called the “soul”) in order to explain human behavior, as well as the characteristics of the behavior of individuals, groups and collectives.

It is a complex, but important and interesting discipline to study. As has probably already become clear, human psychology is a very fascinating area of ​​scientific knowledge and covers many sections that you can get acquainted with on your own if you have the desire. You can even say that it is from this moment that your self-development will begin, because... you will independently decide what exactly you would like to study and begin to master new knowledge. Human psychology, in itself, has many properties, one of which is the fear of everything new and incomprehensible. For many people, this is an obstacle to self-development and achieving the desired results. We recommend that you cast aside any fears and doubts and start studying the materials on our website and this course. After a while, you will be proud of yourself, thanks to the new skills and results achieved.

Object of psychology- this is a person. From this we can conclude that any psychologist (or anyone interested in psychology) is a researcher of himself, due to which a close relationship between the objective and the subjective arises in psychological theories.

Subject of psychology in different historical eras has always been understood differently and from the perspective of different areas of psychological science:

• Soul. Until the beginning of the 18th century, all researchers adhered to this position.
• Phenomena of consciousness. Direction: English empirical associationist psychology. Main representatives: David Hartley, John Stuart Mill, Alexander Bain, Herbert Spencer.
• The subject's direct experience. Direction: structuralism. Main representatives: Wilhelm Wundt.
• Adaptability. Direction: functionalism. Main representatives: William James.
• Origin of mental activities. Direction: psychophysiology. Main representatives: Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov.
• Behavior. Direction: behaviorism. Main representatives: John Watson.
• Unconscious. Direction: psychoanalysis. Main representatives: Sigmund Freud.
• Information processing processes and their results. Direction: Gestalt psychology. Main representatives: Max Wertheimer.
• Personal experience of a person. Direction: humanistic psychology. Main representatives: Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Viktor Frankl, Rollo May.

Main branches of psychology:

• Acmeology
• Differential psychology
• Gender psychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Virtual psychology
• Military psychology
• Applied psychology
• Engineering psychology
• Clinical (medical psychology)
• Neuropsychology
• Pathopsychology
• Psychosomatics and psychology of physicality
• Oncopsychology
• Psychotherapy
• Pedagogical psychology
• Psychology of art
• Psychology of Parenting
• Labor psychology
• Psychology of sports
• Psychology of management
• Economic psychology
• Ethnopsychology
• Legal psychology
• Criminal psychology
• Forensic psychology

As is easy to see, there are many branches of psychology, and different directions study different aspects of a person’s personality and his activities. You can determine which section you personally like by reading each of them yourself. In our course, we consider human psychology in general, without highlighting any areas, types or sections, but making it possible to use new skills in any area of ​​life.

Application of psychological knowledge

The use of psychological knowledge is necessary and useful in absolutely any area of ​​human activity: family, study, science, work, business, friendship, love, creativity, etc. But it is important to learn how to apply the relevant knowledge in different situations. After all, what may work effectively in communication with work colleagues may not be suitable at all in a relationship with a loved one. What is suitable for the family may not be useful in creativity. Although, of course, there are general techniques that are universal and work almost always and everywhere.

Knowledge about psychology gives a person many advantages: it develops and makes him more erudite, educated, interesting, and versatile. A person with psychological knowledge is able to understand the true reasons for the events that happen to him (and others), realize the motives of his behavior and understand the motives of the behavior of others. Knowledge of human psychology is the ability to solve many problems with significantly greater speed and efficiency, increasing the ability to withstand adversity and failure, and the ability to achieve outstanding results where others cannot. The skill of applying psychological knowledge, provided it is systematically and regularly reinforced, will make you a stronger person with significant advantages over others. It would take a very, very long time to list all the advantages. But, as they say, it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times. And drawing an analogy with this saying, we can say that it is better to apply it once than to read it a hundred times.

It is also worth noting that knowledge of psychology has long been used by you in everyday life. But this is only done spontaneously, unconsciously and without understanding what strength, power and potential this knowledge actually carries. And if you truly want to become closer to your “best you” and improve your life, it can and should be intentionally learned.

How to learn this?

Naturally, knowledge about psychology is not present in us from birth, but is formed throughout life. Some people, of course, have a predisposition to psychology. Such people often become psychologists, intuitively understand people, and look at life a little differently. Others have to specifically study psychological knowledge and put more effort and patience into mastering it. But, in any case, you can learn anything. And master the skill of applying psychological knowledge - even more so. Moreover, you can do this yourself.

There are two aspects to learning this skill - theoretical and practical.

• Theoretical aspect of psychology- this is the knowledge that is taught in educational institutions, and is also given in the presented course;
• Practical aspect of psychology- is the application of new knowledge in life, i.e. transition from theory to practice.

But it often happens that a theory remains a theory, because people simply do not know what to do with the information that they now possess. Any lessons, courses, trainings, lectures, seminars, etc. should be aimed at the practical application of knowledge in real life.

Taking this feature into account, the course, the introduction to which you are now reading, was compiled. The purpose of this course is not only to give you a good theoretical basis of psychological knowledge, but also to teach you how to use this knowledge. All course lessons have a two-way focus - theory and practice. The theoretical part contains the most important knowledge on the topic of human psychology and represents its quintessence. The practical part, in turn, consists of recommendations, advice, psychological methods and techniques designed for you to use them.

This course “Human Psychology” is:

• Systematized and understandable material for anyone, presented in a simple, interesting and accessible form.
• A collection of useful tips and tricks that are easy to put into practice from day one.
• The opportunity to see yourself and your life, as well as other people from a new, previously unknown side.
• The opportunity to increase the level of your intelligence, education and erudition by several levels, which undoubtedly plays a significant role in the life of a modern person.
• The opportunity to find the main motivating force that will encourage you to go forward and achieve success.
• An opportunity to grow as a person and improve the level and quality of your life.
• The opportunity to learn how to establish contact with any people (from your own children and parents to bosses and hooligans on the street).
• A way to achieve harmony and happiness.

Want to test your knowledge?

If you want to test your theoretical knowledge on the topic of the course and understand how suitable it is for you, you can take our test. For each question, only 1 option can be correct. After you select one of the options, the system automatically moves on to the next question.

Psychology lessons

Having studied a lot of theoretical materials, choosing the most important and adapting them for practical use, we have created a series of lessons on human psychology. They discuss the most popular sections and areas of psychology, provide scientific research data and expert opinions. But the most important thing is that the emphasis of each lesson is on practical tips and recommendations.

How to take classes?

The information from the lessons in this course is fully adapted for practical use and is suitable for absolutely everyone. The most important thing here, as has been said more than once, is the transition from theory to practice. You can read smart books for years and know a lot of things, but all this will be equal to zero if it remains just a baggage of knowledge.

You can divide the study of all lessons into several stages. For example, set yourself the task of studying 2 lessons a week: 1 day - studying the material, 2 days - testing in practice, 1 day - a day off, etc. But you need to not just read, but study: carefully, consciously, purposefully. It is important to not just check or apply the tips and practical recommendations presented in the lessons once, but to systematically implement them in your everyday activities. Develop the habit of always remembering that you are studying human psychology - this will automatically make you want to apply something new in life again and again. The skill of applying psychological knowledge in practice will become honed and automatic over time, because it largely depends on experience. And our lessons are precisely aimed at teaching you how to gain this experience and give it the right direction.

Additions and auxiliary materials:

Psychological games and exercises

Games and exercises created specifically to understand the characteristics of the human psyche. There are different types of such games and exercises: for children and for adults, mass and single, for men and women, arbitrary and targeted, etc. The use of psychological games and exercises helps people understand others and themselves, form some qualities and get rid of others, etc. This includes exercises for developing various qualities, overcoming stress, increasing self-esteem, role-playing, developmental, health games and many other games and exercises.

This list of psychological techniques has been confirmed by practice. Perhaps some of them resemble manipulation. The same techniques can be used when communicating with you, and he who is forewarned is forearmed.

1. At the beginning of your acquaintance, pay attention to the eye color of one of those present. Let this information not be useful to you (unless, of course, you are going to dedicate poetry to him). But this technique helps to achieve optimal eye contact, demonstrating to your interlocutors your friendliness and self-confidence.

2. People remember best what happened at the beginning and end of the day, and everything that happens in between is perceived as a blur. Therefore, when scheduling an interview, try to be first or last on the list of candidates.

3. The position of the feet of people participating in a conversation can reveal their hidden emotions. For example, if you approach two acquaintances and they turn only their bodies towards you, maintaining the position of their feet, they are clearly not inclined towards you. Likewise, the toes of your interlocutor’s shoes or shoes turned away from you indicate that he wants to leave as quickly as possible.

When a group of people laughs, everyone instinctively glances at the one they like the most

4. When a group of people laughs, everyone instinctively glances at the one they like the most. This, by the way, is a great way to figure out office romances.

5. If you want to get an honest answer to a question, but the interlocutor is evasive, pause, as qualified psychotherapists do. Be silent for a while, continuing to look into the eyes of your interlocutor. As a rule, a person becomes embarrassed and tries to fill the pause.

6. If you feel like your boss is getting ready to give you a dressing down at the meeting, sit right next to him. Your close proximity will reduce his aggression level and you will be able to get away with it.

7. If you ask people for small favors, they will start to like you. This is the psychological mechanism: we value more those whom we have taken care of at least once.

If you know that your boss will scold you during a meeting, sit right next to him. Your close proximity will reduce his level of aggression

8. Try to remember the person's name when you first meet and use it in subsequent communications. This will endear him to you.

9. Unobtrusive mirroring of other people's gestures helps to establish trust. The main thing is not to overdo it.

10. When making your way through a crowd, try to look at the gaps between people, and not at them themselves. This forces people to make way for you.

11. An adrenaline-fueled date—like riding a roller coaster, watching a horror movie, or going on an airplane ride together—stimulates the arousal centers in the brain and brings you closer to the object of your desire.

Don't be afraid to ask for favors: we value more those we take care of at least once

12. Try not to start sentences with “I think” and “It seems to me.” This is implied in your speech, but sometimes shows unnecessary uncertainty.

14. For people, their own self-image is important. Try to understand how others see themselves in their own eyes.

15. If your job is customer service, place a mirror behind you. This will make people waiting in line less bored and angry about it.

16. Are you dating someone you want to please? Then demonstrate the joy of meeting him as brightly and emotionally as possible. This will make him enjoy you almost as intensely next time.

Self-tests

Here are selected tests for non-professional use. Anyone can test themselves using these tests. The results obtained from these tests should not be taken too seriously. However, they are good for expanding the “inner horizon”, developing self-criticism, and a source of ideas for self-improvement. Polish doctors from the Institute of National Health, together with graphologists and psychologists, developed a test to determine a person’s susceptibility to certain diseases based on handwriting. Do you tend to plan your time and not be at the mercy of external circumstances? The purpose of this questionnaire is to identify the level of honesty and openness of the subject. Designed for professional psychological diagnostics. The “Honesty” questionnaire goes well with those questionnaires that do not include a lie scale: with low scores: Square, triangle, rectangle, circle, zigzag - hard work, leadership, transition, harmony, creativity. Equal or unequal union. Many of us, self-aware people, are able to assess the degree of our activity and manifest it in accordance with our own potential. At the same time, there are many people who are endowed by nature with great vital activity, but do not realize it and do not even know about its existence. Anankast has a powerful force of unjustified resistance to circumstances. Instead of adapting to them, he tries at all costs to keep them unchanged. But in life everything changes, much of it is relative or does not matter at all for human existence. Diagnosis of aptitude for artistic professions. Diagnosis of the general psychological climate in the family. Prudent people love comfort; before doing anything, they will “measure seven times.” Others rush through life headlong: they don’t care! They are able to risk everything, even if the success of the enterprise is not guaranteed. If you are a girl or young woman who sometimes finds it very difficult to understand your feelings for another person (young man), then let’s hope that this test, developed by Professor Kovalev, will to some extent help you understand your feelings. This test will help for self-analysis in determining the nature of the relationship with your spouse. Irritability. How important is sex and things related to it to you and your life? Rate each five years of your life according to the degree of saturation with events that are important to you. Aggressive or peaceful. If the number of points matches your age, then everything is in order. For those who prefer creative activities, it is advisable that the psychological age does not exceed the passport age. Do you have significant creative potential, which presents you with a wide range of possibilities? If you can actually apply your abilities, then a wide variety of forms of creativity are available to you. Choleric. Sanguine. Phlegmatic person. Melancholic. The level of general communicative tolerance is evidenced by the fact that you cannot or do not want to understand or accept the individuality of other people. The individuality of another is, first of all, what is special about him: given by nature, brought up, learned in his environment. Veiled cruelty in relationships with people, in judgments about them. Open cruelty in relationships with people. Justified negativism in judgments about people. Grumping, that is, the tendency to make unfounded generalizations of negative facts in the field of relationships with partners and in observing social reality. ... Exhibitionism, homosexuality, masochism, sadism, polygamy, perversion, animalism, narcissism, voyeurism. Test for women. Bodily health. Well-being. Relationships with friends are very important. What are they like for you? Some experts argue that you can learn a lot about each of us by our initials. Imbalance. Excitability. Some people find it very difficult to look at themselves from the outside. It seems to many that they are “darlings”, they are pleasant in communication, and it is pleasant for their interlocutors to communicate. In fact, it often happens that we underestimate the feelings of our neighbor, we are rude and insulting without noticing it ourselves. This test (the so-called Leary questionnaire) is very popular among professional psychologists because it is easy to administer and informative. Try it for yourself. There are people who are always on the alert - nothing can surprise them, stun them, or baffle them. They are the opposite - people are absent-minded and inattentive, getting lost in the simplest situations. The purpose of this test is to help you understand your inner feelings. The main idea of ​​the test is to find the keyword that will help unravel the tangle of a person’s pressing problems. The keyword is just the end of the thread that you need to grab in order to unravel the tangle of problems. This test was developed by English psychologists. He will help you find out how stingy you are in gifts. Are you kind and attentive to others? Are you able to give your last shirt to someone who needs it most? What is the dominant aspect of the organization in which you work, male or female? To find out, just answer a series of questions. Your dominant psychological defense strategy when communicating with partners. Level of neuroticism. Are you the kind of woman who can make men lose their heads? Shyness. Introspection of the manner of laughter. What is your management style: directive, collegial or laissez-faire. If you are a pedestrian, then this test is not for you. Otherwise, it won’t hurt you to find out for yourself whether you are a good driver or not. The proposed test, compiled by a French psychologist, is also an exercise that will allow parents to better understand the issues of raising boys and girls. Captain or passenger, leader or follower, leader or subordinate? Test for women. Contact people feel free in any company. They easily meet unfamiliar men. Level of conflict. Sixteen types of functional brain asymmetry. Fun lover or not, hedonist or ascetic? There are eight types of love for a partner: affection, passionate love, formal, romantic, friendly, fatal, perfect love, no love (or very weak). Using this short test, you can determine what type of love you have with you. This test is widely used in America to diagnose entrepreneurial spirit. You can judge a person's personality by wrinkles: joy, shyness, attention to detail, honesty, intelligence, good nature, disappointment, anxiety, aggressiveness, nervousness, surprise, indifference. Self-analysis of character. This table for assessing husbands, candidates for husbands, was proposed by American and Canadian sexologists. A worthy man must score at least 100 positive and no more than 45 negative points. A questionnaire aimed at self-assessment of observation skills. Are you a reliable person? Or is it not always possible to rely on you, are you somewhat, as they say, selfish? The technique is intended exclusively for personal use. It will help you identify people in your environment who are prone to fraud. What is independence? This is the ability to take responsibility at the right time, this is decisiveness combined with a sober approach. Can you consider yourself one of the people who are ready to boast of their independence and self-sufficiency? “Whoever looks for a treasure rarely finds it. And whoever doesn’t look for it never finds it.” It is persistent people who clearly see goals and persistently strive for them that achieve some success in life. Is this persistence enough for you? A non-professional test to study the level of motivation for personal wealth. This test is designed to help you understand the delicate question of whether you are an overly self-confident person. Using this test, you can test your ideas about the character and behavior inherent in people of different sexes, and your knowledge of social stereotypes. Analysis of drawings that are made during boring meetings or simply because there is nothing to do: different patterns in a notebook, on a piece of paper. This test will help you figure out whether you are really touchy, as you sometimes hear. Or you are tolerance itself. Alarm level. Are you just a pessimist or a sick pessimist? Are you a healthy optimist or are you unbridledly frivolous? What is he like, the father of the family?.. To find out better, the wife must answer 24 questions. A rational prude or a violent libertine. Most people spend about 8 hours a day at work and communicate with their colleagues as much as with their families. Therefore, relationships with colleagues are an important element of a person’s life. Bad relationships with colleagues can not only damage a career or business, but can also unbalance any person for a very long time. This stress tolerance test was developed by a psychologist at Boston University Medical Center. Attitude towards current job. Possibility of masturbation. Possibility of exhibitionism. Predisposition to deformed relationships with peers. A fighter for truth or an opportunist? Designed for self-testing. Assessing your own entrepreneurial abilities. Sometimes it is difficult for a person to look at himself from the outside. This test is designed to find out how pleasant you are in communication. In countries that have focused on workaholism research, such as Japan, the United States and Canada, semi-structured interviews are used to identify workaholism. One such interview is the questionnaire proposed by B. Killinger. It has long been noted that men and women are often very different in their behavior. Experiments by psychologists have shown that in the presence of other people these differences are doubly manifest. This is explained by the fact that we are accustomed to playing roles, the roles of men and the roles of women. As Shakespeare used to say, “All the world is a stage, and the people in it are actors.” Do you know your role? Are you vigilant and meticulous or dreamy and distracted? Self-analysis of the degree of jealousy. Are you decisive? Take the test, and probably after that you will be able to answer this question more boldly. Level of ambition and career readiness. Is there some tendency towards manipulation or have engrams become familiar to you on the spectrum of emotional expression. Impulsiveness. Emotional excitability. Affectivity. Reproducibility of unreacted experiences. Excessive hyperthymia usually leads to non-critical manifestation of activity. A person pretends more than he knows, knows how and does, he strives to take on everything, criticize and teach everyone, tries to attract attention to himself at any cost. Excessive energy interferes with clear and logical thinking, which is why hyperthymia often gets carried away. Level of unmotivated anxiety. The test is intended for self-testing. Diagnoses the presence or absence of self-destruction syndrome, that is, a tendency to self-destruction, self-aggression, and self-injury. Tendency to low mood. Tendency to frustration. Tendency to cyclothymia. Tendency to euphoria. Tendency to exaltation. This test was compiled by American doctors. I advise you to answer most sincerely, without prevarication. It is especially important to note that the results of this test are not a definitive “diagnosis”. Maybe you need to change your lifestyle in some way. Sometimes it helps to be a tough leader. Here, however, a sober assessment of the characteristics of your leadership style and your character is necessary. To help you with this self-assessment, American management experts have developed a simple but useful test. It is based on the thesis that every leader has two types of mental resources: D-resources and B-resources. ... The degree of tension in the relationship. Level of respect for your partner's feelings. The ability to give in. The test is intended for self-testing. Do you have a real passion for travel or are you a homebody? The questionnaire is designed to identify a person’s level of anxiety in relation to their own mistakes. Indirectly, it also helps to judge the attitude towards the opinions of others, the desire for objectivity, the tendency to self-deception and the use of psychological ones. Are you adamant and, excuse me, stubborn? Does the firmness of your convictions go well with the great subtlety and flexibility of your mind? According to Carl Gustav Jung, there are two options to adapt to the world around you. One of them is expansion: constantly communicate, expand contacts, business connections, take everything that life gives. That's what an extrovert is. Introverts, on the contrary, limit their contacts and withdraw into themselves, as if hiding in a shell. Very insecure, self-confident, or overly self-confident? Questions for my husband. Questions for my wife. Are you a good diplomat? Do you conduct the discussion in an authoritarian, domineering and unceremonious manner? Your behavior does not receive an unambiguous assessment in the team?

Answer quickly, honestly and without hesitation - the first thing that comes to mind. This is a very important condition.

Take a piece of paper and a pen. After reading the question, immediately write down the answer. Don’t forget: write down / sketch the first association that comes to mind, since thinking already includes a certain game with your subconscious.

These are the questions:

1. Imagine that you are walking with someone through the forest. Who could it be?
2. You are walking through the forest and see an animal not far from you. What kind of animal is this?
3. What happens after you meet his eyes?
4. You continue walking through the forest. Go out into the clearing where your dream house stands. How would you describe its size?
5. Is your dream home surrounded by a fence?
6. You enter the house. Go to the dining room to look at the dining table. Describe what you see on and around it.
7. You leave the house through the back door. And you see a cup lying right on the grass. What material is it made of?
8. What would you do if you saw her?
9. You come to the end of the yard, in the middle of which there is a house. There's a pond there. What kind of pond is this?
10. How are you going to cross the water to move on?

All your answers are nothing more than an illustration of your values ​​and ideals. Here's how to analyze them:

1. The person you walk next to is the most important person in your life.
2. The size of the imaginary animal is actually the size of your problems inside your subconscious. The larger the animal, the harder your life.
3. The way you react to an unexpected encounter in the forest is your most typical way of solving problems (aggressive, passive or running away).
4. The size of the house you saw is the size of your ambitions. If it's too high, you may have high expectations from life.
5. If there is no fence, you are an open and internally free person. If it is there, it means you value personal space and expect the same from others. That is, you will never enter the personal space of others without permission.
6. If you don't see food, flowers or people in this room, then you are most likely deeply unhappy.
7. The strength and durability of the material from which the cup is made is how strong and strong you perceive your family relationships to be. Disposable plastic or paper cup? Glass? Most likely, you are worried about the future of your family. If the cup was metal or porcelain in your mind, then you have nothing to worry about.
8. Your action characterizes your attitude towards the person from question number 1.
9. The size of the pond is the size of your sexual appetite.
10. The wetter the mode of transportation you choose, the more important sex is in your life.

Note: You may take this test over and over again, weeks, months, or years apart. The fact is that it does not reflect some basic characteristics of your personality, but your psycho-emotional state at the moment.