Psychology as a science is a modern understanding of the subject of psychology. Modern psychology, its characteristics as a science

e (“psyche” – soul, “logos” – teaching, knowledge). This is a science, first of all, about the laws of mental life and human activity and various forms of human communities. Psychology as a science studies facts, patterns and mechanisms of the psyche.
Psychology is the science of the patterns of emergence, formation, development, functioning and manifestations of the human psyche in various conditions and at different stages of their lives and activities.
The main tasks of psychology:
1. Knowledge of the origins and characteristics of the human psyche, the patterns of its occurrence, formation, functioning and manifestations, the capabilities of the human psyche, its influence on human behavior and activity.
2. Development of recommendations for people to increase their stress resistance and psychological reliability when solving professional and other problems in various circumstances of life and activity.
The main functions of psychology:
1. As a fundamental science, it is called upon to develop psychological theory, to identify patterns of individual and group psyche of people and its individual phenomena.
2. As an applied area of ​​knowledge - to formulate recommendations for improving professional activities and everyday life of people.
Psychology studies the patterns of mental activity in order to more correctly understand a person and thereby skillfully influence him. Therefore, the importance of psychology is great in all types of practical activities where people enter into complex relationships with each other and influence each other. Knowledge of psychology is necessary for the correct organization of a person’s moral and mental self-education. Psychology helps a person understand his own mental life, understand himself, realize his strengths and weaknesses, his shortcomings. Knowledge of psychology opens up ways for self-improvement of mental activity: knowing how to improve your attention and memory, how to correctly assimilate educational material, you can learn to achieve the highest results with the least amount of time and effort.

What is the meaning of the term “psychology” in the minds of the layman, the average person?
For example, a common expression: “He has such a psychology.” What implies a set of character traits, the inner world of a person or a group of people. In the latter case, the psychology of a group is the views, rules, customs, traditions, and various internal processes occurring in it.
In everyday life, each of us performs certain psychological work, being, as it were, an everyday psychologist, observing patterns and drawing appropriate conclusions (for example, how carefully we observe the expressions of other people’s faces, their actions and reactions in various situations, and then draw certain conclusions, we structure our behavior accordingly).
However, there are professional psychologists and specialists. Why are their services still in demand?
Indeed, a professional psychologist has all the scientific experience accumulated by generations of scientists, has extensive practice, and knows specific proven methods for determining the condition and therapy. A professional psychologist is already an everyday psychologist, but a scientific one.
Psychology as a science uses experiment, information is verified, proven, and scientific conclusions are drawn. The decisions made are widely used in practice. What does it cost to create one test! A lot of preliminary research on a large sample of people, the use of mathematical methods, analysis, comparison, etc. Only if the test passes all tests is it considered scientific. Therefore, one should be critical of various pseudoscientific tests.
What questions do people turn to a psychologist with? These include issues of self-development, ways to resolve conflict situations, and ways to maintain relationships. There are many specializations of psychologists: children's, family, military, etc.
However, the types of activities that a psychologist carries out are almost similar.

Types of activities of a psychologist:

1. Psychological education.
2. Diagnostics.
3. Prevention.
4. Correction.
5. Development.
6. Therapy.
7. Consultation.

When preparing a specialist psychologist, special attention is paid to his knowledge of his rights, responsibilities and professional ethics. A psychologist who violates professional ethics may lose the right to practice forever.

Ethical principles of activity of a psychologist:

1. Unconditional respect for the client's personality.
2. Honesty, sincerity.
3. Confidentiality of information except in cases where its concealment could harm the client.
4. Protection of client rights.
5. Psychoprophylactic presentation of the results.
6. The psychologist is obliged to communicate the purpose of psychodiagnostics and name the persons to whom the diagnostic results will be available.
7. The psychologist is obliged to accept the client’s refusal to work with him psychologically.
8. The psychologist is obliged to prevent the use of psychological techniques by incompetent persons.
9. A psychologist should not make promises to clients that he is unable to fulfill.
10. A psychologist should not give advice or specific instructions. The main thing is to expand the client’s perception of the situation and instill in him confidence in his abilities.
11. The psychologist is responsible for using certain psychological methods and techniques and making recommendations. The client is responsible for the choice of actions and the result (if the client is a child, then the parent).
12. Professional independence of a psychologist. His final decision cannot be overturned by the administration. Only a special commission consisting of highly qualified psychologists and endowed with appropriate authority has the right to cancel a psychologist’s decision.

What do you think is the purpose of introducing such a subject as “Psychology” into the curriculum for painters and sculptors? This is explained by the fact that these specialties at the school have an additional specialization - pedagogical, and in accordance with the new requirements, teachers must have psychological training.
You can say that you are lucky, because... you have a great opportunity to get in touch with this interesting science. In addition, in addition to the theoretical course, you will have practical classes in which you will get to know yourself and each other, open your eyes to certain things, and maybe even make a big discovery for yourself.

The term "psychology" is formed from two Greek words « psyche" - soul and « logos" - word, teaching. Those. - the doctrine of the soul. However, over the centuries, people have discovered where this very soul is located. And if not found, then what kind of scientific research can we talk about? Therefore, gradually it came to studying what could be more material in this regard. This subject turned out to be the psyche.
The psyche is the quality of the brain and is responsible for reflection, processing, accumulation of information and the issuance of behavioral reactions. An elementary example of how the psyche works is sensations. Sensations of the external world and the internal world of our body.
The brain and in particular and especially the nervous system are the basis for the psyche. All mental phenomena, including emotions, are explained by the work of the psyche. Character and abilities are more complex concepts, however, they also grow and are formed on a mental basis.

PSYCHOLOGY is the science of the patterns of emergence, formation and manifestation of the psyche.
The focus of attention in different historical periods was on different subjects of psychology:
- from ancient times to the 17th century. – psychology – the science of soul ;
- from the 17th century at the beginning 20th century – psychology – the science of consciousness ;
- in the beginning. 20th century – psychology – the science of behavior , science of unconscious manifestations of the psyche, etc.;
- modern understanding - psychology - the science of the patterns of emergence, formation and manifestation psyche ;
- in the future – psychology – the science of soul .

In the Psychology course you will become familiar with the main categories of psychology:

Exercise. "Branches of Psychology"
Before you move on to considering the categories of psychology, you can talk about the methods by which these categories are actually studied

Methods of psychological research.

Psychological research is based on general methodological principles that determine the types of psychological techniques used:
1. The principle of determinism– dependence of mental phenomena on the factors that produce them (biological and social).
2. The principle of unity of psyche and activity.
3. Systematic principle– all components depend on the whole and are manifested as a whole.
4. Principle of integrity– all mental processes are interconnected, thus, the psyche should be studied comprehensively, from all sides.
5. Development principle– taking into account dynamic qualitative changes in the psyche.

Scientific Research Methods– these are the techniques and means by which scientists obtain reliable data to build scientific theories and develop practical recommendations.
Thanks to scientific methods, psychology has become able not only to assume, but also to prove cause-and-effect relationships between mental phenomena.
To collect primary data, psychology uses basic and auxiliary methods.
Basic methods:

1. Observation – scientifically targeted and in a certain way fixed perception of an object without interfering with its flow.
2. Everyday– unorganized, random.
3. Scientific– organized, with a clear plan and recording of results in a special diary.
4. Included– with the participation of the researcher
5. Not included– without the participation of the researcher.

Advantages – naturalness.
Flaws – passivity, subjectivism, inaccessibility of certain manifestations of the psyche.

1. Experiment – active intervention of the researcher in the activities of the subject in order to create the best conditions for the study of specific psychological phenomena.
2. Natural– occurs in natural conditions, with minor changes (for example, in order to study factors that help reduce fear of exams, the experimenter gives different settings to groups of students and analyzes the success of passing the exam depending on them).
3. Laboratory– takes place in specially organized conditions of isolation of the phenomenon being studied from external influences.

Natural and laboratory experiments can be ascertaining and formative.

1. Ascertaining– reveals facts and patterns that have developed during human development. Those. the facts are established and stated.
2. Formative– identifies the conditions and mechanisms for the development of certain qualities and abilities through their active formation. In the process, certain qualities of the subjects develop. It is expected that the research results will be put into practice with subsequent study of possible changes and effects.

Advantages – activity of the researcher, possibility of repetition, control of conditions.
Flaws – artificial conditions, high costs.

Auxiliary methods.

1. Analysis of activity products is a method of studying psychological phenomena based on practical results and objects of work, in which the creative powers and abilities of people are embodied.
2. Generalization of independent characteristics– identification and analysis of opinions about certain psychological phenomena and processes received from different people.

3. Classification of psychodiagnostic techniques (according to A.A. Bodalev).

1. Objective tests – techniques in which the correct answer is possible (for example, intelligence tests).
2. Standardized self-reports – focused on the use of the verbal abilities of the subjects, addressed to his thinking, imagination, memory.

- test questionnaire – involves a set of points (questions, statements) regarding which the subject makes judgments. Two or three alternative answer choices. The same psychological variable is represented by a group of questions.
- open questionnaire (questionnaire) – has no suggested answer. All responses fall into specific categories (e.g. agree/disagree).
- scale techniques – assessment of phenomena is carried out on scales (for example, “warm - cold”) according to the degree of expression of the specified quality. For example, the “Personal Differential” technique.
- individually oriented techniques – the parameters are not specified in them, but are allocated according to the responses of the subject. Allows statistical processing. For example, For example, the “Repertory Grids” technique by J. Kelly.
3. Projective techniques – they are based on the principle of projection, according to which the subject projects and reflects his unconscious or hidden needs and experiences onto insufficiently structured material (colors, spots of indefinite shape, etc.). The subject’s task is to organize the stimulus material or give it a personal meaning.
4. Dialogical techniques – in them the effect is achieved through contact with the subject.
- verbal DT : conversation - obtaining information in the process of bilateral or multilateral discussion of an issue; interview - obtaining information through oral answers to oral questions.
- nonverbal DT – diagnostic games (playing with a child, role-playing game).
The involvement of the researcher is maximum in dialogic methods, average in projective methods and rap tests, and minimal in objective tests and questionnaires.

Characteristics of tests.

Workshop. Self-doubt test.
In terms of popularity in educational and professional psychodiagnostics, the test method has held 1st place in world psychodiagnostic practice for about a century.
Testing refers to diagnostic methods that are characterized by an emphasis on the measurement (i.e., numerical representation) of some psychological variable.
A test is a short-term task, the completion of which can serve as an indicator of the perfection of certain mental functions.
Typically, the test consists of a series of tasks with a choice of ready-made answer options. Then, when counting, the answers are summed up, the total score is compared with test norms, and then standard diagnostic conclusions are formulated.
Types of tests:

1. Personal
2. Intelligence tests.
3. Achievement Tests

Advantages of tests:

1. Standardization of conditions and results, i.e. uniformity of the procedure for conducting and assessing the test. Includes:

– precise instructions;
- temporary restrictions;
- preliminary display of the task;
- taking into account the way the questions are interpreted by the subjects
and etc.
2. Efficiency. Economical(a large number of subjects in a short period of time).
3. Optimal difficulty, i.e. accessibility for the average person. If during the aerobatics approximately half of the test subjects complete the task, then the task is successful and is left in the test. Also, the tasks of moderate difficulty included in the test can help increase confidence in many test takers.
4. Reliability. Any well-constructed educational test covers the main sections of the curriculum as a whole, and the chances of “failing” for excellent students or “succeeding” for laggards are reduced.
5. Justice. Protection from experimenter bias. There is no “it’s easier for your own people, it’s harder for strangers.”
6. Possibility of computerization.
7. Differentiated nature of assessment, i.e. The assessment is fractional; usually several (rather than two) categories are distinguished. For example, “hopeless – not hopeless – simply capable – very capable – talented.”
Disadvantages of tests:

1. The danger of “blind” (automatic) errors. It should be remembered that shifts may occur in the procedure, for example, the subject did not understand the instructions.
2. The danger of profanity– the use of tests by unqualified people: the use of 2-3 tests for everyone and everything, “for all occasions.” For example, MMPI was once used for personnel selection in our country. As a result, the “Schizophrenia” scale was interpreted as “originality of thinking”, “Psychopathy” - as “impulsivity”, etc.
3. Loss of individual approach. Individual characteristics can lead to distortion of results, and it is important for the researcher to notice such reactions to the test (for example, anxiety can lead to random errors).
4. Difficulties in expressing individuality, because The test answers are standard.
5. The formalized nature of the situation, testing procedures. In this regard, the researcher is obliged to establish a trusting environment, show participation, and reduce the resistance and defense of the subjects.

In any case, tests must be used in combination with other methods - written work, interviews, conversation, projective techniques.

Projective techniques.
Workshop. Psychogeometry, Determination of the dominant instinct.
Classification of projective techniques:

1. Associative PT. They involve the presentation of some disordered material that needs to be given a subjective meaning (Rorschach blots. Here the content of the interpretation, color, shape of the blots, and the originality of the answers are assessed).
2. Interpretive PTs. The subject’s task is to interpret any events depicted in the pictures (it is assumed that everyone interprets them in connection with their attitude towards them) (for example, TAT (thematic apperception test). The subject identifies himself with the hero. His characteristics are discovered. Environmental pressure is revealed The powers of the hero and the environment are compared (the combination of the hero and the environment forms a “theme” as the structure of their interaction)).
3. PT based on addition. The test subject’s task is to complete a story or sentence (for example, Rosenzweig’s test of reaction to frustration. The type of reaction to an obstacle is determined: extrapunitive reaction - the external cause of frustration is condemned and resolution of the situation is required from another person; intrapunitive reaction - directed at oneself with acceptance guilt and responsibility for resolving the situation).
4. PT design. Separate details are presented, from which the subject composes various kinds of complete pictures (in connection with his own taste, experience, interests), and also comes up with a story based on individual fragments or after listening to sounds and noises.
5. Choice-based PTs from the presented material of such decisions that are indirectly related to hidden drives, sympathies, intentions (for example, the Szondi test, the eight-color Luscher test, “Psychogeometry” (determines the personality type by the contour of the figure)).

Distinctive features of projective techniques:

1. Relative freedom of the subject in choosing an answer and tactics of behavior.
2. Absence of external indicators of the evaluative attitude towards the subject on the part of the experimenter.
3. Comprehensive diagnostics of personal properties and relationships between the individual and the environment.

The most common form of PT is drawing tests: “Non-existent animal”, “Draw a person”, “Self-portrait”, “House-tree-person”, “My family”.

Application
Color and position values ​​in M. Luscher's eight-color test.
Blue- need for peace.
Green- need for self-affirmation.
Red– need for purposeful activity.
Yellow– need for spontaneous activity.
Violet– victory of red over blue.
Brown- the sensory basis of sensations.
Black– denial of the colors of life and existence itself.
Grey– shelter from external influences, release from obligations, fencing off.
Position meaning:
1st- the main method of action, a means of achieving a goal.
2nd- the goal to which the subject strives.
3rd and 4th- indicate a current situation or a course of action arising from a given situation.
5th and 6th– currently unused personality reserves, its characteristics.
7th and 8th– a suppressed need, or a need that should be suppressed, because there may be adverse consequences.

The task is to draw houses “House-Tree-Man”. At the next lesson, discuss and receive a printout of the interpretation.
- draw a person (interpretation according to the Machover drawing test).

The concept of the psyche.

The psyche, namely the patterns of its occurrence, formation and manifestation, is the subject of study of modern psychology.
The psyche is a systemic quality of the brain that provides humans and animals with the ability to reflect the effects of objects and phenomena in the surrounding world.
The main quality, function of the psyche, and also one of the basic categories of psychology is reflection. Reflection is a multi-level active process of processing information about the object of reflection and creating an adequate model of this object. The psyche is a “subjective image of the objective world”, because we reflect reality through the prism of our inner world.
Physiological basis of the psyche– the brain, namely the nervous system and the features of its work. In this case, it is important not only the presence of certain parts of the brain, but most importantly, multiple connections between them. The more connections and relationships there are, the more complex they are, the more perfect the psyche, the richer the person’s experience.
For the full functioning of the psyche, the following conditions are necessary:

1. Full brain activity;
2. Constant influx of external information;
3. Interaction with people and cultural objects in which the experience of humanity as a whole is concentrated.

Functions of the psyche:

1. Active reflection of the influences of the surrounding reality;
2. Regulation of behavior and activity. Behavior is an external form of manifestation of the psyche;
3. A person’s awareness of himself and his place in the world around him, and, consequently, adaptation and correct orientation in it.

The nervous system happens central(brain and spinal cord) (CNS) and peripheral(nerve endings - receptors– which perceive various types of energy (mechanical, chemical, electromagnetic) and convert it into a nerve impulse.
The youngest and most advanced section of the nervous system is bark brain. This is where human thinking and consciousness and the highest levels of thinking in animals are formed.
The unit of the nervous system is the nerve cell. neuron. It consists of a body (soma) and processes - dendrites and axon. They transmit nerve impulses. The axon is the longest process and the most important. It is covered with a myelin sheath, which allows the impulse to travel very quickly (several tens of m/s). All cells are connected by synapses. These are enlarged plaques containing mediators - impulse transmitters on a biochemical basis. Under the influence of external and internal biochemical substances, impulse transmission can accelerate or slow down, thereby regulating and determining the mental state of the body.
The neuron is enveloped by glial cells that serve metabolism, as well as blood capillaries.
Neurons, glia and blood capillaries form nerves.
Neurons and nerves are sensitive (sensory), motor (motor), and also conductors of impulses from one part of the nervous system to another (local network neurons).
The brain also consists of two hemispheres- left and right.
The cerebral cortex consists of shares– frontal lobes (responsible for goal setting and activity), parietal lobes (responsible for sensations), occipital lobes (responsible for vision), temporal lobes (responsible for hearing) and zones– primary zones (analyze information from receptors), secondary zones (synthesis of information from receptors), tertiary zones (carry out a complex synthesis of information from different zones (neurons are located at their boundaries)).
When the occipital, temporal, and parietal lobes are damaged, the reception of information is disrupted and individual signs of the stimulus are lost. Moreover, if the right hemisphere is damaged, the person does not realize his defect. The person cannot name the object and is not oriented in space.
When the frontal lobes are damaged, muscle paralysis occurs, motor skills decay, goal setting of activities, voluntary memorization, etc. are disrupted, there is no program of activities, criticism of one’s actions is disrupted, the same actions are performed, and cycling occurs (perseveration of movements). The frontal lobes begin to develop intensively at 6–7 years of age and finally mature by 15–16 years of age.
Analyzer is a system for processing information at all levels of its passage through the central nervous system. Thus, the analyzer can be visual, auditory, gustatory, skin, etc. Each analyzer has 3 sections:

1. Peripheral department - represented by a receptor (for example, the eye receptor - the retina);
2. Conductive department - represented by a nerve (for example, the optic nerve);
3. Central department - represented by corresponding zones in the cerebral cortex (for example, the occipital zone).

General patterns.

1. All human organs have a strictly defined representation in the cerebral cortex (in this case, the more developed and involved the organ, the larger the area occupied by its projection in the cerebral cortex);
2. The entire nervous system and brain ultimately take part in information processing (the principle of systemic activity of the brain);
3. The cerebral cortex is hierarchically organized (from primary to tertiary zones).

The psyche is diverse in its forms and manifestations:

1. Mental processes– mental phenomena that provide the primary reflection and subsequent awareness by a person of environmental influences. They are divided into cognitive processes (sensation, perception, etc.) and emotional-volitional processes.
2. Mental properties– the most stable and constantly manifesting personality traits, providing a certain qualitative and quantitative level of behavior and activity typical for a given person. These are orientation, abilities, temperament, character.
3. Mental conditions- this is a certain level of performance and quality of functioning of the human psyche, characteristic of him at the moment. These are activity, passivity, fatigue, apathy, vigor, anxiety, etc.
4. Psychic formations- these are mental phenomena that are formed in the process of a person acquiring life and professional experience, the content of which includes a special combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Stages of mental development in phylogenesis.

1. Elementary sensory psyche(protozoa, worms, gastropods). At this level, organisms are able to reflect individual properties of the environment. Based on sensations. Organisms purposefully move towards biologically useful substances and avoid harmful ones. This happens due to such a property as irritability. Irritability is the ability to respond to biologically significant environmental influences by changing the state of the body.
2. Perceptual psyche(fish, cephalopods, insects; at its highest level - birds, mammals). The ability to reflect the environment in the form of holistic images and the ability to learn appears. Behavioral responses are expanding. Behavior is plastic. Organisms can transfer a skill to new conditions.
3. Intellectual psyche(monkeys, dolphins). Behavior is very flexible. Animals can solve complex problems and change behavior when obstacles arise by identifying regular connections between objects. Thus, the presence of figurative and visual-effective thinking is noted (i.e., for learning, manipulation of animal objects and observation is necessary). Monkeys understand the relationships “more - less”, “shorter - longer”, “more often - less often”, various shapes of geometric figures. The animal cannot abstract itself from a specific situation, and there is also no concept of time.

The concept of consciousness.

The psyche is represented at different levels. This consciousness– the highest level of mental development - and the deepest layer of the psyche – unconscious. The unconscious is a form of reflection of reality, during which its sources are not realized, and the reflected reality merges with experiences.
Consciousness.
Consciousness is the highest and most generalized form of reflection of the world. Several factors in the development of consciousness can be identified:

1. Making and using tools. Fine motor skills and thinking develop;
2. Development of sense organs;
3. Collaborative activities and communication through language. Language is a system of signs and symbols. Animals also have vocal reactions, but they are primitive and generalized (for example, they do not convey which predator is approaching). Thanks to language, an image appears in the mind - a person designates an object in his speech or mentally reproduces it. If he transfers it to another, then, thanks to the social nature of consciousness, the same image also arises. There is a meaning of the word - it has a social nature. But there is a meaning of the word - it has a subjective nature.
4. Production of objects of material and spiritual culture.

All these conditions are provided work.
CONSCIOUSNESS is the general quality of all human mental functions, the result of the socio-historical formation of a person in work activity with constant communication with other people through language.

Distinctive features of consciousness:
1. Conditioned by social conditions (historical era, class, team, company). Consciousness that reflects social relations is social consciousness. Individual consciousness is the spiritual world of individual people. Social consciousness
refracted through the individual. Forms of social consciousness - science, art, religion, morality, etc.

1. Reflection of the world in its essential connections and relationships - highlighting the main characteristics of phenomena, what characterizes them and distinguishes them from others similar to them. For example, a table, a chair, a closet, a hanger, a notebook.
2. Predictive character (imagination of reality).
3. Creative transformation of reality.
4. The presence of intellectual schemes (mental structures in which concepts, rules, logical operations of information processing, etc. are located).
5. The presence of self-awareness, reflection (i.e., knowing oneself by knowing others; self-knowledge by analyzing one’s own activities and behavior; self-control, self-education).

Some scientists call the hallmark of consciousness intentionality of actions, focus on an object, purposefulness. But animals have this too. If the behavior of a bird that dismisses a predator from its nest by pretending to be wounded can still be called instinctive, then the behavior of higher primates provides interesting information. The ability of chimpanzees to communicate intentionally was studied by creating situations in which a human and an ape foraged together for food. They informed each other of her whereabouts. When a person helped a chimpanzee and gave it all the food it found, the monkey also sent the right signals about the place. If a person took all the food he found for himself, then the monkey misled him by not giving the necessary signals and not taking into account the “false” signals from him.
In addition, monkeys are capable of deception (Beata the monkey).
Altruism can be called a purely human sign of consciousness, when the interests of another person are the central point of behavior.
We can say that animals have the prerequisites for consciousness, but only humans are able to generalize their experience, create joint knowledge, which is consolidated in speech, samples of material and spiritual culture.
Impaired consciousness.
Loss of consciousness occurs during sleep, during illness, or in a state of hypnosis.

Self-awareness.
SELF-AWARENESS is the process by which a person comes to know and relate to himself. It is based on separation, opposition to the surrounding world.
Components of consciousness (according to V.S. Merlin):

1. Awareness of the difference between oneself and the rest of the world;
2. Consciousness of “I” (as an active subject of activity);
3. Awareness of one’s mental properties, emotional self-esteem;
4. Social and moral self-esteem, self-esteem based on experience.

In the scientific literature you can find the concept of the image of “I”, or “I-concept”. This is the central link of self-awareness. It includes:
1. Intellectual component – ​​self-knowledge (knowledge of oneself, the ability to characterize oneself);
2. Emotional component – ​​self-attitude, self-esteem;
3. Behavioral component - a set and selection of characteristic, typical behavioral strategies and tactics.
Self-esteem is formed with experience, with the assessment of other people's reactions to the subject. Self-esteem can be adequate (with a slight discrepancy between the “real self” and the “ideal self”) and inadequate (overestimated and underestimated).
Disorders of self-awareness.

1. Depersonalization – loss of “I”, viewing oneself as a stranger, an outsider;
2. Split personality, split;
3. Violation of bodily identification - parts of the body are perceived as something separate;
4. Derealization is the loss of a sense of the reality of one’s life and the whole world.

The concept of the unconscious.

The first ideas about the unconscious go back to Plato. He metaphorically represented the unconscious as two rushing horses - black and white - ruled by consciousness. Thus, he first spoke about intrapersonal conflict.
A person’s UNCONSCIOUS is those phenomena and states that are not conscious or controlled by him, but they exist and manifest themselves in a variety of involuntary actions:

1. Wrong actions– slips of the tongue, slips of the tongue, errors in listening. They arise due to the collision of a person’s unconscious desires and a consciously set goal. When the unconscious desire, the motive, wins, a reservation arises;
2. Involuntary forgetting names, intentions, events (indirectly associated for a person with unpleasant experiences);
3. Dreams, dreams, daydreams. Dreams are a symbolic way of eliminating an unpleasant sensation, experience, or dissatisfaction. If consciousness and censorship are strong in a person, then the content of dreams becomes confusing and incomprehensible.

Levels of the unconscious:

1. Preconscious– sensations, perception, memory, thinking, attitudes;
2. Phenomena that were previously conscious– motor skills (walking, writing, etc.);
3. Personal unconscious– desires, thoughts, needs, crowded out of consciousness by censorship. This is the deepest layer of the unconscious.

Methods for studying the unconscious:
1. Hypnosis.
2. Free association method(the man relaxed and said whatever came into his head).
3. Interpretation of dreams.
4. Transfer Analysis(a person transfers his images to the doctor, associates him with close people).
Workshop. Mandala image. The goal is self-knowledge, self-awareness, achieving personal harmony.

Stages of development of psychology

1. Pre-scientific (before the 6th century BC)

Primitive society.

2. Philosophical (6th century BC – 19th century)

Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Modern times.

3. Scientific (from the 19th century).

Modern times.

Pre-scientific stage.

The mysteries of human life and behavior have worried people since primitive times. Ancient man tried to explain why he sees and hears, why one is brave, another is strong, one is more capable, learns knowledge faster, another slower.
Among ancient peoples, the soul is explained within the framework of various mythological and religious beliefs. In most cases, ideas about the soul arise along with funeral rites.
The soul appears to be a human double, a terrible demon or an incorruptible, foggy image. The soul was often depicted as a winged creature. The soul was considered as something supernatural, like an animal in an animal, a man in a man. The activity of an animal or a person is explained by the presence of this soul, and tranquility in sleep or death is explained by its absence. Sleep or trance is a temporary absence of the soul, and death is permanent. You can protect yourself from death either by closing the soul’s exit from the body, or, if it has left it, by achieving its return. To achieve these goals, taboos are used. The soul of the tribe, in particular, is contained in the totem.

Philosophical stage.

Antiquity.
The first more or less coherent teachings about human psychology appear in the era of antiquity. Ancient Greek philosophers imagined the soul as the movement of air (Anaximenes) or a flame (Heraclitus), or a faint imprint of the world soul - the Cosmos.
Heraclitus, for example, called the Cosmos an “eternally burning fire,” and the soul its spark. Determined the difference between the souls of a child and an adult. As you grow older, your soul becomes drier and hotter. The degree of moisture of the soul affects its cognitive abilities. The soul of a child and a drunk is damp.
Aristotle believed that all objects where there is movement and heat have a soul, and distinguished plant, animal and rational souls. His doctrine of the universal spirituality of the world is called animism.
About 2 thousand years ago, in the era of antiquity, the human psyche was explained by 2 concepts:

Materialistic doctrine (Democritus).

Everything that exists on Earth has a soul, or rather, elements of the soul. Everything consists of atoms of different sizes and mobility. And the smallest and most mobile are the atoms of the soul. Those. the soul began to be understood as a material organ that animates the body. The atoms of the soul are independent and mobile, and with their help Democritus explained the processes of cognition, sleep, death (by the dynamics of the movement of these atoms).
After death, the soul dissipates into the air. I tried to explain the nature of sensations. Sensations are contact, because in the sense organs, the atoms of the soul are very close to the surface and can come into contact with microscopic, invisible to the eye, copies of surrounding objects - eidols - which float in the air, falling on the sense organs. Eidols expire from all items (the “expiration” theory).

Idealistic doctrine (Plato).

There is an ideal world where souls are born and reside, as well as ideas - perfect prototypes of all things. All things, objects, incl. and people strive for this perfection, being, as it were, variations of these ideas and concepts.
The soul is not material, and knowledge of the world is not the interaction of the psyche with the outside world, but the soul’s memory of what it saw in the ideal world before it entered the body. Therefore, thinking is reproductive.
Plato classified mental phenomena into reason (in the head), courage, “will” (in the chest) and lust, “motivation” (in the abdominal cavity). The predominance of one or another part determined the individuality of a person and was correlated with his social position (reason - for aristocrats, courage - for warriors, lust - for slaves).
The soul is immortal, constant, it is the guardian of morality. Only the rational part of the soul is good, and all feelings and passions are evil.
Plato imagined the soul as a carriage, where the wild and ugly horse is the lower soul, the supple and beautiful horse is the higher one, and the driver is the rational part of the soul, the mind.

The materialistic understanding of the soul was reinforced by the successes of ancient doctors. Thus, thanks to permission to dissect the corpses of “rootless” people, various parts of the brain were described in detail, a connection was established between the number of convolutions and the perfection of the brain, the connection between the sense organs and the brain, the difference between sensory and motor nerves, the types of temperament were determined (Hippocrates defined temperament as the predominance of one of the body’s juices - bile, black bile, blood, mucus), etc.

Middle Ages.

Knowledge about the soul during this period becomes an integral part of the teaching about God, i.e. lose their independent value. The Church prohibits any experiments. Attempts are being made to combine ancient ideas about the soul with religious ones.
For example, the teachings of the Christian Platonist Aurelius Augustine the Blessed. According to Augustine, the basis of the soul is not reason, but will. All knowledge lies in the soul, which lives and moves in God. They are extracted by directing the will. Any mental processes are also controlled by the will, for example, from the “imprints” of the external world that are stored by the senses, the will creates memories.
The will acts in 2 directions:

1. Receives and accumulates external experience;
2. Provides inner experience of the highest value - i.e. the soul has the ability to turn inward and comprehend itself (in modern terms, this is self-awareness).

Revival.

The Renaissance freed all sciences and art from the dogmas and restrictions of the church, and they began to actively develop.
During the Renaissance, the materialistic explanation of the soul continued to develop. Issued affect theory, or emotions: mental is a certain state of matter, subject to the law of self-preservation. Positive emotions reveal the strength of the soul striving for self-preservation, while negative emotions reveal its weakness.

New time.

One of the main questions that worried philosophers was the problem of the connection between soul and body. For a very long time, the prevailing point of view was that the nature of the soul and body are completely different, and their relationship is similar to the relationship between the puppeteer (soul) and the doll (body), i.e. it was believed that the soul could influence the body, but not vice versa.
French philosopher R. Descartes also believed that the body and soul have different natures and act according to different laws. Mechanics became one of the leading exact sciences that had a strong influence on the development of other sciences. It led to the creation of complex machines capable of performing all kinds of movements reminiscent of human and animal behavior. There was a temptation to apply the laws of mechanics to explain human movements. The first mechanical principle was realized by R. Descartes in the concept of “reflex”. A reflex is a mechanical motor response of a biological machine to an external mechanical, physical influence. In the organic needs of man, naturalists saw an analogue of the energy source of a machine, and in the anatomical structure of the body, the articulations of the joints - something reminiscent of the lever system of a machine. Thus, the body, according to Descartes, is material and acts according to the laws of mechanics. The soul is immaterial, and its main property is the ability to think, remember and feel.
In the 18th century English philosopher J. Locke put forward an empiric-sensualistic concept, according to which the sensual principle prevails over the rational, over reason. There is nothing in the mind that is not in the senses. The consciousness of a child at birth is a tabula rasa - a “blank slate” on which life leaves its writings. Sensations are formed in us according to the principle of association (connections between mental units). This is how experience is formed. This idea formed the basis of many theories based on the idea of ​​the leading role of external influences for the development and education of a person. Thus, Locke attached great importance to education, including the formation of a positive attitude towards good deeds and a negative attitude towards bad ones.
In the 18th century Thanks to the development of medicine and physiology, a connection between the soul, psyche and brain is established. C. Bell opens two types of fibers - sensory and motor, confirming the idea of ​​​​the reflex.
For the first time, a reflexive interpretation of psychological phenomena and processes is given in the book THEM. Sechenov"Reflexes of the brain."
Over time, it is discovered that the reflex principle cannot explain the variability of human movements, their dependence on the mental state, and thinking.

Scientific stage.

In the 19th century In many scientific fields, experimentation is becoming increasingly valuable. An introduction to the psychology of a scientific laboratory experiment belongs to a German scientist V. Wundtu. The first is psychological experimental laboratory under the leadership of Wundt opened in 1979. Sensation and perception were mainly measured.
For example, the psychophysical law of sensations was derived: “The intensity of sensation is directly proportional to the logarithm of the intensity of the stimulus” (in order to obtain an increase in sensation in an arithmetic progression, it is necessary to increase the effect of physical stimuli in a geometric progression, i.e. the stimulus must be several times stronger, than the previous time to cause the same sensation). As for thinking, Wundt suggests using method of introspection(introspection), as well as study of cultural monuments, language, myths, art, etc.
During this period, the subject of psychology changes. Thanks to the experiment, it becomes consciousness, which is understood as the ability to think, feel, and desire. Psychology is becoming an independent science. Developing industries:
- experimental psychophysiology of sensory organs;
- psychology of individual differences. F. Galton introduced the twin method to clarify the relationship between heredity and environment in the determination of individual differences.
A natural experiment is developing (in natural conditions) ( A.F. Lazursky- psychology of Personality, V.M. Bekhterev– psychology of small groups).

The main directions of development of psychology after the crisis of the beginning. 20th century

The shortcomings of the introspection method lead to a crisis in psychological science. As a result, in the beginning 20th century A number of new directions are emerging, each of which has proposed its own subject of psychology and methods of studying it.

Behaviorism

The name comes from English. behavior - “behavior”. American psychologists are considered the founders E.L. Thorndike And J. Watson.
Behaviorists believed that consciousness is too subjective and hidden from us and therefore cannot be measured. They declared the psyche to be “a black box where a person hides his problems, creating the appearance of solving them.” You can measure and record the external manifestation of the psyche - behavior.
The behavior pattern was described by behaviorists in the form of a formula: S –R(“stimulus-response”). A stimulus is any external influence on the body, and a reaction is any response. The meaning of the formula is that knowing which stimulus causes a certain reaction, you can control the behavior of humans and animals. To do this, it is necessary to observe human behavior, establish patterns and later use the appropriate stimulus to evoke the desired reaction. To enhance the action, you need to use reinforcement. Reinforcement can be positive (reward, praise, etc.) and negative (punishment, etc.), also direct (immediate) and indirect (when a person or animal observes the behavior of another individual and what such behavior can lead to). This is what happens learning, the process of acquiring individual, personal experience ( A. Bandura).
Neobehaviorists ( E. Tolman, B. Skinner) supplemented the formula S – R: S – O –R, where O – cognitive processes: thinking, memory, imagination.
The development of behaviorism was greatly influenced by the teachings of I.P. Pavlova and V.M. Bekhterev about the nature of the reflex.
Critics of behaviorism draw attention to the mechanistic approach to the psyche, its strict determination by external circumstances, and the blurring of the boundaries between human and animal psychology.

Psychoanalysis

The founder is the Austrian psychiatrist and psychologist S. Freud. One of his biographers notes: “Copernicus moved humanity from the center of the world to its outskirts, Darwin forced us to recognize our kinship with animals, and Freud proved that reason is not the master of its own house.” Z. Freud revolutionized ideas about the human psyche - human behavior is determined not only and not so much by consciousness, but more by the unconscious (hidden, suppressed experiences, desires).
S. Freud made this conclusion based on his medical practice. He treated hysteria and neuroses. He noted that these diseases are caused by the suppression of various kinds of psychotraumas that took place mostly in early childhood. These psychotraumas do not disappear, but wander within a person, periodically coming out in dreams, slips of the tongue, drawings, jokes, etc. According to Freud, in order to get rid of them, it is necessary not to suppress them, but to remember them in all their colors, relive them and, most importantly, react. For these purposes, Freud used:
1. Hypnosis.
2. Method of free associations (the person relaxed and said whatever came into his head).
3. Interpretation of dreams.
4. Analysis of transference (a person transfers his images to the doctor, associates him with loved ones).
This is how psychoanalysis is carried out.

Gestalt psychology

Founders – German scientists K. Koffka, W. Köhler, M. Wertheimer. The name comes from it. gestalt – “form, image, structure.” From their point of view, the psyche is an integral structure that cannot be reduced to a set of individual elements. The whole is not the sum of its parts; the parts do not determine the whole, but on the contrary, the properties of the whole determine the properties of its individual parts. Thus, a musical melody cannot be reduced to a sequence of different musical sounds. It is important to study the structure of connections between them.
A holistic structure is what it is gestalt.
Concept "figure-ground"- one of the key ones in Gestalt psychology. For example, perception is not the sum of sensations, it is holistic. Figure and ground are difficult to see together. Usually one integral part stands out - either a figure or a background.
In psychotherapy, Gestalt techniques are also aimed at establishing integrity. Thus, a well-known exercise is the “Circle of Subpersonalities”, the task of which is to bring individual manifestations of personality (“I want”, “I need”, etc.) to harmony. The Mandala exercise is also a typical example.

Cognitive psychology

Name from lat. сognitio – knowledge, cognition. Cognitive psychology examines the dependence of a person’s behavior on his existing cognitive maps (schemas), which determine his worldview. Associated with names A. Beck, A. Ellis.
Critics of cognitive psychology note the simplification of a person’s inner world, acting according to schemes and models, and identifying the brain with a machine. It is not without reason that the emergence and development of this direction are associated with the rapid development of computer technology and the development of cybernetics (the science of the laws of the process of managing and transmitting information).
The structure of cognitive schemas includes beliefs and rules through which people sort and use incoming information. At the same time, beliefs can be dysfunctional and cause cognitive errors leading to inappropriate behavior.
Examples of errors:
1. Arbitrary conclusion. Drawing conclusions in the absence of evidence. Example– a working mother who, at the end of a hard day, concludes, “I’m a terrible mother.”
2. Selective abstraction. Selective attention to an unimportant detail while simultaneously ignoring a more significant one. Example- a lover who becomes jealous when he sees that his girlfriend tilts her head towards the interlocutor at a noisy party in order to hear him better.
3. Overgeneralization. Deriving a general rule from one or more isolated cases. Example– a woman who, after a disappointing date, comes to the conclusion “All men are the same. I will always be rejected."
4. Exaggeration and understatement.Example The first is a student who predicts disaster: “If I get even a little nervous, I will certainly fail.” Example the second is a man who says his terminally ill mother has “a slight cold.”
5. Personalization. Having a tendency to attribute external events to oneself in the absence of adequate evidence. Example- a person sees an acquaintance walking along the opposite side of a busy street, who does not notice his greeting wave, and thinks: “I must have offended him in some way.”
6. Dichotomous thinking.“Black and white”, “either-or”, etc., maximalism. Example– the student thinks: “If I don’t pass this exam with excellent marks, I’m a failure.”

A. Beck believes that reasons Such cognitive errors are:
1. Psychological trauma received in childhood.Example– a five-year-old boy went on a journey and, upon returning, found out that his beloved dog had died; As a result, the boy developed the attitude: “When I am physically at a great distance from others, something bad happens to them.”
2. Childhood abuse. This undermines self-esteem and makes the child vulnerable. Often, people significant to the child model offensive behavior that he will later use against other people or criticize himself excessively.
3. Negative life experiences, learning.

Humanistic psychology

It arose in the 60s of the 20th century. in USA. Founders A. Maslow, K. Rogers. The name comes from the Latin humanus – “humane”. Humanistic psychology studies only humans and argues that animals are not worth studying. This direction is based on an optimistic approach to understanding human nature: faith in the creative powers of every person, in the fact that he is able to consciously choose his destiny and build his life. Humanists argue that a person is initially good, and his aggression is the result of environmental influences. The focus is on a healthy, self-actualizing personality.
The highest human need is the need for self-actualization, i.e. in revealing your personal potential. Moreover, this higher need arises and can be satisfied by satisfying the lower ones (physiological, for example).

Domestic psychology

The roots of Russian psychological thought go back to the 19th century. One of the most significant applications for the construction of psychological knowledge at that time was the work THEM. Sechenov"Reflexes of the brain."
I.P. Pavlov- great Russian scientist-physiologist, founder of the doctrine of higher nervous activity (HNA).
Bekhterev V.I.- great Russian physiologist, psychiatrist and psychologist, founder of Russia's first experimental psychological laboratory and the Psychoneurological Institute (1908) - the world's first center for the comprehensive study of man. Developed a natural science theory of behavior.
Rubinshtein S.L.- an outstanding Russian psychologist and philosopher. He developed the activity principle in psychology, the principle of determinism, and the principle of the personal approach.
Luria A.R.- an outstanding domestic psychologist, the founder of neuropsychology in our country. The main attention was paid to the experimental study of the localization of higher mental functions (HMF).
Vygotsky L.S.– the founder of the cultural-historical concept of mental development, according to which the mental development and formation of a child’s personality occurs through interaction with society, culture, in the process of appropriating culturally specified ways of acting with objects, and familiarity with the achievements of culture and science. Thus, the psyche is culturally and historically conditioned.
Leontyev A.N.- an outstanding domestic psychologist. He developed a psychological theory of activity, which is a recognized theoretical direction in domestic and world psychological science. According to it, the psyche is born, formed and manifested in activity. At the same time, at each stage of growing up, the leading activity that has the greatest impact is identified. For example, in preschool age it is play, in primary school age it is learning, in adolescence it is intimate and personal communication.

Psychology is a science that studies human mental activity, the formation of cognitive processes, mental properties and states. Psychology also studies the impact of external factors on the psyche and the interaction between individuals in society. There are many sections of general psychology, and each of them studies a certain area of ​​mental manifestations, for example, educational psychology, developmental psychology.

Psychology as a science

Throughout human history, there has been a need to separate and study the psychological make-up of people. Many ancient scientists touched upon the topic of psychology and highlighted certain aspects in terms of idealism and materialism.

Plato is considered the founder of idealism and dualism, who was the first to classify people according to their personal qualities - intelligence in their heads, courage in their chests and lust in their bellies. It was believed that leaders had intelligence, warriors had courage, and slaves had lust. In addition, Plato paid special attention to the human soul, and considered it something divine, existing separately from the body and cognizing eternal truths. Thus, Plato identified two independent principles, and his teaching was the first of its kind.

His follower was Aristotle, who became the founder of materialism - a direction that asserts the primacy of matter and the secondary nature of human consciousness. Aristotle sought to see psychology as a part of medicine, but he failed to fully explain human behavior from this point of view. That is why Aristotle first put forward the theory of the inseparability of body and soul.

Based on the works of these scientists, many philosophers worked towards studying the human psyche and behavior. In 1879, the famous psychologist Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychological laboratory, which marked the beginning of the development of psychology as an experimental science.

Subject of study psychology

Psychology is a science that considers a person as a subject of activity, the characteristics of his formation and personal qualities, the ability to understand the world and interact with it. An important aspect is the study of the emergence and development of the human psyche, the foundations of mental activity, the peculiarities of the formation of mental images of the world and their embodiment in reality, the unity of social and biological factors in human life, individual characteristics, individual behavior in the social environment and in specific types of activities.

Knowing yourself is just as important as knowing the world around you, so everyone should have the basics of general psychological knowledge. This helps to interact correctly with other people, strive for constant improvement and development, and feel confident in any environment. Psychology is used in a variety of areas of human activity, which has contributed to the development of its branches - medical, legal, pedagogical, military affairs, marketing.

General psychological knowledge is needed wherever there is a need to use the resources of the human psyche. Psychology is widely used in clinics, schools, management structures, astronaut training and social development centers. Today there are many qualified specialists who master one or another method and provide professional assistance to everyone who needs it.

Methods of psychology

Currently, it is impossible to identify any universal technique suitable for each specific person, therefore many directions have been developed to help understand the peculiarities of behavior. Psychology distinguishes the following most interesting methods:

• psychoanalysis - this method is most often used to solve personal problems and internal experiences. An experienced specialist carefully works with unconscious childhood memories, which are often the cause of problems in adulthood;
• body-oriented therapy - some psychologists believe that when emotions are suppressed, so-called muscle tension is observed in the body. To relax them, it is necessary to use special massage and exercises;
• Positive psychology is a consideration of a specific situation as a whole, seeing its positive and negative aspects. Thanks to this approach, it becomes possible to reveal and develop a person’s hidden abilities, which helps him cope with a certain problem.
• Gestalt psychology is the ability to be aware of oneself “here and now,” which helps to better cope with stressful situations through understanding personal experience.

Often, when personal problems arise, a person rushes for help to a specialist who knows some method of psychology. If you select it as much as possible for a specific patient, you can effectively find out the cause of the problem and cope with the problem.

The main tasks of psychology

The main task is to understand mental characteristics by revealing the subject connections that caused the appearance of mental phenomena. Such psychological cognition should be understood as awareness of mental characteristics through the disclosure of connections with the outside world. Thus, it becomes obvious that psychology is the most practical science that examines the essence of man, since through its study one can understand oneself, other people and the world around us.

The constant interest in self-knowledge and enrichment of the inner world is explained by the fact that there is a tendency towards the integration of all aspects of social life - economic, political and spiritual, as the basis of well-being. This is explained by the fact that classical concepts of economics (solving technological problems in economic activity) are relegated to the background by newer tasks - modernized concepts aimed at solving humanitarian and psychological problems.

10 thoughts on “ Psychology is...”

Of course, psychology is a strong science! The essence of man, his thoughts in all centuries have caused a whole storm of controversy among philosophers in search of truth...
One thing is clear: you need to know some basics of Gestalt therapy. This may come in handy in an emergency situation.

I also believe that psychology is needed in absolutely any field of activity. Whatever a person does, he is surrounded by complete psychology. Even if he is not at his best professionally, but at the same time he is a strong psychologist, climbing the career ladder is guaranteed

Everyone often considers themselves good psychologists! Whether it's sales managers or realtors! But many of them often still make mistakes in people or themselves become victims of an even greater psychologist!
I often hear more and more that “Psychology is life”!

Having not yet thoroughly mastered psychology, people made it a weapon of influence on the most unknown organ - the brain - and a method of manipulation. I don’t like that psychology is taught in every second university. This science is not for everyone. It belongs only in medical schools.

I think that every family should have a psychologist or that everyone should simply visit psychologists. These are people who save lives. But you need to be a real professional in order to help and not harm people!

Psychology has become quite popular among young people in recent years. But, as can be seen from the article, it is much more complex and multifaceted than the banal phrase “do you want to talk about this?”, with which psychologists are often associated. Interesting information, thanks.

Psychology is a rather interesting science, one that you want to study not only in a compulsory institute program, but also on your own, for self-development. It helps a lot in life, in the process of communicating with other people, achieving your own life goals.

In the USSR, very little was said about psychology and information for ordinary people was even prohibited. But this is very important knowledge and people still need to know a lot. We do a lot of things unconsciously, but our actions still work and sometimes turn out to be negative. But if you know and do it purposefully, it is easier to achieve success.

Psychology is truly a science, but what kind of “psychologists” does our society produce? Where is it actively used now? In NLP, to increase sales and create a society of “consumers”, not creators, and this is a fact. When a person begins to be personally interested in psychology, read books and analyze, then this is the psychology that society needs, in contrast to when a “brainless biorobot” comes to a so-called psychologist for help, in the hope that sessions with a “more knowledgeable person” will solve his problems. Saving a drowning person is the work of the drowning people themselves. You need to live with your own head, and not with the advice of those who tell you what is right and what is wrong.