Section No. I Introductory

1. The subject of social psychology.

2. The structure of social psychology as a science.

3. Specifics of socio-psychological analysis.

4. Two social psychologies.

Each of us lives in a world populated by many other people. Among them are relatives and friends, friends and acquaintances. A lot of just acquaintances. With someone we constantly communicate, work together, study or spend free time, we see each other occasionally. However, both those and others, and the third ones somehow influence us, causing certain changes in our consciousness and behavior.

Since time immemorial, man has been thinking about how to better understand other people, influence them, and establish certain relationships with them. This was due to the needs of practice - the search for the best forms of organization and interaction of people in various fields - economic, political, military, educational, medical, etc.

Why do people often agree with the opinion of the majority? And why does it happen the other way around, and one person convinces everyone else? How can the actions of several people and even large masses of people be coordinated?

Today, such a branch of scientific knowledge as social psychology is trying to answer all such questions arising from the diverse forms of contacts between people. This is a science that studies the patterns of people's knowledge of each other, their relationships and mutual influences. So, the focus of the research attention of a social psychologist is the consequences of various kinds of contacts between people, manifested in the form of thoughts, feelings and actions of individual individuals. These contacts can be direct, as they say, face to face. They can also be mediated, for example, by using the means of mass communications - the press, radio, television, cinema, the Internet, etc. This is how people are influenced not only by certain individuals, but also by individual social groups and society as a whole. .

Contacts between people can be random and relatively short-lived, for example, a conversation between two fellow travelers in the same compartment of a railway car. Conversely, interpersonal contacts can acquire a systematic and continuous character. For example, in the family, at work, in the company of friends. At the same time, the object of research interest of a social psychologist can be not only small groups of people, but also such communities that include a significant number of people distributed over a large territory. For example, nations, classes, parties, trade unions, large contingents of various enterprises, firms, etc.

It should be noted that certain relationships arise not only between individuals, but also between entire groups, both small and large. Intergroup relations can be of a different nature - from mutual understanding and cooperation up to sharp confrontation. The universally observed phenomena of globalization, characteristic of the beginning of our century, make the problems of intercultural communication extremely relevant. Today, an increasing number of representatives of various ethnic groups and cultures directly collide with each other in the process of implementing various joint actions. To teach these people to successfully interact to achieve common goals is also a socio-psychological problem.

Considering the structure of social psychology as a science, the following sections can be distinguished:

· social psychology of personality;

· social psychology of communication and interpersonal interaction;

· social psychology of groups.

Social psychology of personality covers the problems caused by the social nature of the individual, his involvement in various groups and society as a whole. These are, for example, questions of the socialization of the individual, his socio-psychological qualities, the motivation of the individual's behavior, the influence of social norms on this behavior.

Social psychology of communication and interpersonal interaction considers various types and means of communication between people (including mass communication), the mechanisms of these communications, the types of interaction between people - from cooperation to conflict. Closely related to this issue are issues of social cognition, such as perception, understanding and evaluation of each other by people.

Social psychology of groups covers a variety of group phenomena and processes, the structure and dynamics of small and large groups, various stages of their life, as well as intergroup relations.

As you can see, the scope of the phenomena of social psychology is very wide. Ultimately, however, this science tries to reveal how people influence each other and how they behave in different situations, i.e. various features of social behavior. It is known that a number of other areas of scientific knowledge are also engaged in the study of certain aspects of people's social behavior.

What is the specificity of socio-psychological analysis?

Sociologists, economists, political scientists and representatives of other social sciences use social level of analysis(i.e. one that refers to the characteristics of society as a whole). At the same time, researchers are trying to understand the general types of social behavior. For example, the homicide rate, voter behavior or consumer spending. According to this approach, social behavior is explained by such factors as economic decline, class conflicts, clashes between competing ethnic groups, crop failures in certain regions, government policies or technological changes. The goal of societal analysis is to reveal the links between broad social influences and general types of social behavior. When studying urban violence, sociologists look for relationships between violent crime rates and factors such as poverty, immigration, or the industrialization of society.

Individual level analysis is commonly used in personality psychology and clinical psychology. Here the behavior of people is explained on the basis of the unique history of the life of a given person and his psychological characteristics. In accordance with this approach, personality traits and motives can explain why an individual behaves in a certain way and why two people can react completely differently in the same situation. At the individual level of analysis, there is a tendency to explain violent crimes in terms of the criminal's unique life story and personality traits.

For example, V.L. Vasiliev emphasizes the need to study the so-called marginal personalities, whose main characteristic is internal social instability. The "marginals" are notable for their inability to fully master cultural traditions and develop appropriate social skills of behavior in the environment in which they find themselves. So, this is a resident of a rural "outback", forced to live and work in a big city, an adult who moved to a region where they speak an unfamiliar language and do not know local customs and traditions. Experiencing a high level of emotional stress, a "marginal" person easily comes into conflict with the surrounding social environment (Vasiliev, 2000).

Social psychologists turn to a different level of analysis - interpersonal (interpersonal)). Their attention is focused on the current social situation in which the person finds himself. The social situation includes other people in a given environment, their attitudes and behaviors, as well as their relationship to a given person. To understand the causes of violent crime, social psychologists can ask the following question: what kinds of interpersonal situations form aggressive responses that can lead to an increase in violent behavior? One important socio-psychological explanation is that states of frustration make people angry and thus tend to act aggressively. This is called the frustration-aggression hypothesis. In accordance with it, it is assumed that a person, having met an obstacle on the way to achieving the desired goal, experiences frustration and anger and, as a result, is likely to lose his temper. This frustration effect is one of the interpersonal explanations for violent crimes.

With the help of the frustration-aggression hypothesis, as American psychologists believe, one can also explain how large-scale economic and societal factors create situations that lead to violence and crime. For example, the poor people who inhabit the overcrowded areas of the urban slums are undoubtedly frustrated; they cannot get a good job, afford a decent home, provide a safe environment for their children, and so on. Frustration about all these things can cause anger, which is sometimes the direct cause of a violent crime. The frustration-aggression hypothesis focuses on the immediate social situation, the feelings and thoughts that this situation evokes in people with different social characteristics, and the impact of these subjective reactions on behavior.

Of course, each of these three approaches (societal, individual, interpersonal) has its own value and is essential if we are to understand complex social behavior as fully as possible. Therefore, there is a significant overlap in the nature of the research conducted among these scientific disciplines.

However, at the same time, we must note that it is impossible to draw clear demarcation lines that delimit social psychology from other sciences. The well-known French social psychologist S. Moscovici characterized social psychology as a "bridge" between other branches of knowledge (Moscovici, 1989). He meant that social psychology draws on the findings of sociology, anthropology, political science, economics, and biology in order to better understand how the individual is included in the larger social system.

Since the beginning of the last century, two main branches of social psychology began to take shape, primarily in the United States - psychological and sociological. The differences between the problems of these two directions and their theoretical foundations sometimes look quite significant. Evidence of this state of affairs is provided by the American sociologist A.S. Tomars. In one of the colleges he knew, social psychology was taught in the course of psychology. For a number of years it was taught both semesters, but by two different teachers. One of them gravitated toward sociology, the other toward individual psychology. The courses of these teachers had almost nothing in common with each other, and as a result, students endured "completely different ideas about the subject they read, depending on whether they listened to it in the fall or in the spring semester" (Thomars, 1961).

First of all, it is noted that, although both areas of socio-psychological knowledge consider social behavior, they do so from different theoretical positions.

The focus of psychological social psychology is the individual. At the same time, researchers try to understand and predict social behavior by referring to the analysis of immediate stimuli, psychological states and personality traits. It is assumed that variations in behavior are due to how people interpret social stimuli, or their personality differences. Even in the study of group dynamics, there is a tendency to explain these processes at the individual level. The main research method here is experiment.

Proponents of sociological social psychology, on the contrary, downplay the role of individual differences and the influence of direct social incentives on behavior. The focus of this direction is a group or society. At the same time, researchers, in order to understand social behavior, turn to the analysis of societal variables, such as socioeconomic status, social roles, and cultural norms. The prevailing attention here is paid to the characteristics of larger social groups than in psychological social psychology. Therefore, social psychologists of the sociological direction are mainly engaged in explaining such societal problems as poverty, crime, and deviant behavior.

The main research methods here are surveys and participant observation.

It is generally recognized that both areas of modern social psychology influence each other, enriching each other.

Similar information.

Brief outline of the development of social psychology

Social Psychology- a branch of psychology that studies the patterns, features of the behavior and activities of people, due to their social interaction.

Social psychology arose in the second half of the 19th century. at the junction and . Its emergence was preceded by a long period of accumulation of knowledge about man and society. Initially, socio-psychological ideas were formed within the framework of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, ethnography and linguistics. Such concepts as “psychology of peoples”, “instincts of the masses”, etc. were introduced. Essentially separate socio-psychological ideas were already found in the works of Plato and Aristotle, French materialist philosophers, utopian socialists, and then in the works of L. Feuerbach and G. Hegel.

In the middle of the XIX century. social psychology emerged as an independent, but still descriptive science. Its origin is associated with the creation in Germany in 1859 by G. Steinthal and M. Lazarus of the Journal of Ethnic Psychology and Linguistics.

Major representatives of empirical social psychology in Europe were the French lawyer and sociologist G. Tarde, the French sociologist G. Lsbon, and the English psychologist W. McDougall. These scientists in the late XIX and early XX centuries. tried to substantiate the social development of society by individual mental properties of a person: Tarde - imitation, Lebon - mental infection, McDougall - instincts.

G. Tarde widely used socio-psychological concepts in his criminological research.

According to the concept of G. Tarde (1843-1904), social development is determined by factors of interpersonal influence, especially imitation, customs, and fashion. Thanks to imitation, according to Tarde, group and social norms and values ​​arise. By assimilating them, individuals adapt to the conditions of social life. The lower strata especially diligently imitate the higher strata. But the inability to achieve the ideal gives rise to social opposition, conflict in social interaction. Tarde was the first to deeply develop the psychology of the crowd as a factor in the suppression of individuality. Under the influence of Tarde's ideas, two types of heredity began to be distinguished - natural and social.

Another French sociologist and social psychologist G. Lebon (1841-1931) developed an emotional theory of social processes, introducing the concept of mental infection.

A number of conceptual psychological foundations were put forward by the founder of the French sociological school E. Durkheim (1858-1917). As the main explanatory principle of human behavior, Durkheim put forward the phenomenon of "collective representations"(“Individual and collective representations” (1898)), which determine, in his opinion, the vision of the world by an individual. The behavior of the individual, according to Durkheim, is determined by the collective consciousness.

In contrast to the "social atomization" of G. Tarde (who considered the individual a "cell of society"), E. Durkheim defended the idea unity of society on the basis of universally recognized social values. The social quality of people's behavior, as Durkheim rightly believed, depends on the value-normative integration of society, the development of its social ties. The value-normative crisis of society gives rise to mass legal desocialization, which Durkheim called anomie(French anomie - lack of law). In a state of anomie, for many members of society, the significance of social and, above all, legal norms is lost. An individual deprived of reference patterns of behavior sharply reduces the level of self-regulation, goes out of social control. Anomie, which gives rise to mass deviance, prepares and brings closer, according to Durkheim, socio-economic changes in society.

G. Tarde, G. Lebon and E. Durkheim provided significant impact on the development of social psychology, affirming the primacy of the social factor in the formation of personality.

At the turn of the XIX and XX centuries. English psychologist W. McDougall (1871-1938) made an attempt to systematize socio-psychological knowledge. In 1908, his book Introduction to Social Psychology was published. This year is considered in the West to be the year when social psychology was finally formalized as an independent science.

In the 20s. XX century, thanks to the works of the German researcher W. Mede, a new stage in the development of social psychology begins - experimental social psychology. By conducting experiments with one subject, and then including him in a group of subjects, Mede established differences in the ability of people to endure pain, perform physical and mental actions in a group and alone. At the same time, Mede established different types of people in their relation to the social group (neutral, positive and negative). He also established that the influence of the group is especially great in the sphere of emotions, will and motor skills. It was found that socio-psychological factors affect all the mental qualities of the individual - perception and thinking, memory and imagination, emotions and will. Later, evaluative deformations were also discovered - conformism (the likening of an individual's assessments to generally accepted assessments).

Following V. Mede, the American psychologist G. Allport (1897-1967) improved the methodology of socio-psychological experimental research. Based on his research, practically effective recommendations were made to improve the organization of production, advertising, political propaganda, military affairs, etc. Social psychology began to develop intensively as an applied science. In the United States, extensive research began on the problems of management, psychological compatibility, reducing tension between employers and workers, etc.

Further development of the methodology of socio-psychological research belongs to the American social psychologist and psychiatrist J. (J.) Moreno (1892-1974). Moreno designed sociometry method- a system of methods for identifying and quantifying interpersonal relationships of people in small groups. Revealing personal likes and dislikes, Moreno graphically displayed these relationships in the form of sociograms (Fig. 96, 97).

Moreno made a significant contribution to the development of the social psychology of small groups, expanded the concepts of "group personality status", "intra-group dynamics", etc., proposed specific methods for mitigating intra-group conflicts, optimizing the socio-psychological climate in small groups. For a long time he was the head of the Institute of Sociometry and Psychodrama, which he founded in 1940, also known as the Moreno Institute.

Rice. 96. Sociogram

According to this sociogram, it is possible to identify the core of the group, i.e., individuals with stable positive relationships (A, B, Yu, I); the presence of other (non-central) local groups (B-P, S-E); the person with the most authority in a certain respect (A); a person who does not enjoy sympathy (L); mutually negative relationships (P-S), lack of stable social ties (K)

Rice. 97. Sociogram symbolism

Following Moreno, foreign social psychologists began to consider a small group, a social microenvironment, as the main element, the “cell” of society. In the "society-group-individual" system, the middle link was absolutized. The complete dependence of the personality on the social role performed by it, group norms, and group pressure was postulated.

The most significant direction in modern foreign social psychology is interactionism- brings to the fore the problem of social interaction - interaction. This direction is based on the views of the famous sociologist and social psychologist J. G. Mead (1863-1931). The main categories of this socio-psychological trend are those introduced by Mead in the 1930s. the concepts of "social role", "intra-group interaction" ("interaction"), etc.

Representatives of this direction (T. Kuhn, A. Rose, T. Shibutani, etc.) brought to the fore a complex of socio-psychological problems: communication, communication, social norms, social roles, the status of an individual in a group, a reference group, etc. Conceptual the apparatus developed by J. G. Mead and his followers is widespread in socio-psychological science. The most important achievement in this direction is recognition of the social conditioning of the individual's psyche. Psychology ceased to be interpreted as the psychology of the individual; general psychology became more and more integrated with social psychology.

Recently, empirical interactionist studies of "everyday" psychology have been widely disseminated abroad. There were similar works and domestic authors.

The first surge in the development of domestic social psychology falls on the 20s. XX century. However, against the backdrop of reflexology and reactology, which were dominant at that time, the interpretation of socio-psychological problems received a biologist bias. The critique of this bias has turned into a critique of social psychology. And by the end of the 1920s. social psychology, as something competing with Marxist ideology, ceased to exist.

The intensive development of social psychology in our country began again only in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

A variety of experimental, theoretical and applied socio-psychological research began to be carried out. However, the achievements of domestic social psychology have not yet been consolidated into a coherent system of categories. In a number of cases, researchers remain at the descriptive-empirical level.

Modern social psychology is developing most intensively in the United States. The concept of interactivity, interpersonal interaction, has recently become widespread.

Structure of social psychology how science is defined by the system of its main categories:

• the concept of social community;
• features of human behavior in a socially unorganized and in a socially organized community;
• the concept of a social group, the classification of social groups;
• socio-psychological organization of small groups;
• modification of individual behavior in a social group;
• communication as a means of social interaction;
• interpersonal interaction in the process of communication;
• psychology of large social groups;
• psychology of mass communication and mass social phenomena;
• psychology of social management.

Methods of social psychology: natural and laboratory group experiment, content analysis, factor analysis, sociometry, dummy group method, peer review method, etc.

an area of ​​research activity that studies the mechanisms of consciousness and behavior of social communities, groups, individuals, their interpersonal relationships, social determinism and the role of these mechanisms in various spheres of society and different situations. The origins of many ideas and methodology. The principles that influenced the subsequent development of S. p. were contained in the works of the philosophers Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, Helvetius, Vico, Kant, Hegel, Feuerbach, Tocqueville, and others. the role was also played by the work of the sociologists G. Tarda, G. Le Bon, N. K. Mikhailovsky, who studied the socio-psychological. characteristics and vnutr. driving forces of mass movements, problems of leadership, psychologists W. James, W. McDougall, who tried to highlight the socio-psychological. problems in the field of psychology of human behavior. These sociologists and psychologists were characterized by the desire to build theories of social action based on the characteristics of the psyche of the individual (see Psychologism in sociology). E. Durkheim and L. Levy-Bruhl moved in a different direction, considering the psyche and behavior of the individual as a product of a certain. society systems. connections, type of culture. This direction became especially popular in the 20th century. in the works of their followers, seeking to apply the principles of structural-functional analysis and the theory of social roles to the study of socio-psychological. features of a person and his behavior (J. Mead, T. Parsons, R. Merton, I. Hoffman, etc.). Def. The works of W. Wundt, K. Klakhona, and others on the peculiarities of the consciousness and behavior of nations and cultural and ethnic communities played a role in the development of the socialist movement. communities. From the 20s. an ever wider scope within the framework of sociology is acquiring empiricism. research socio-psychological. characteristics of social groups, societies. opinions and mechanisms of socialization of the individual (W. Thomas, F. Znanetsky, S. Stauffer, P. Lazarsfeld, J. Stezel and others), studies of interpersonal relations, formal and informal structure of behavior in teams and organizations (E. Mayo and others. ). Simultaneously gain distribution, especially among psychologists, experimental methods of research vnutr. personality structures, systems of motivation and orientation, social attitudes and reactions to social situations, as well as interpersonal relationships in small groups. Some of these studies are related to Gestalt psychology (K. Levin, S. Ash, F. Haider, L. Festinger, etc.), the other is related to behaviorism (F. Allport, R. Bales, J. Homans, K. Howland, etc. ). Means. influence on the development of The theory of Z. Freud and the work of the neo-Freudians (K. Horney, E. Fromm, A. Kardiner, T. Adorno, and others) had a great influence on this. The official status of industrial production as a special branch of society. knowledge developed in the USA (by the end of the 30s and especially after the 2nd World War), where there are relevant institutes, departments and periodicals. editions. In the capitalist countries of Europe by 1958 did not yet exist special. scientific or educational institutions, as well as prof. socio-psychological. magazines. Intensive development of S. of the item began only from the end of the 50th years. Works in the field of S. of the item of scientists of these countries test appreciable influence of an amer. S. p., although a number of leading representatives of the Amer. S. p. - emigrants from Europe beginning and middle. 30s (L. Festinger, K. Levin and others). Within the framework of Marxism-Leninism, there is a strong tradition of studying socio-psychological. phenomena. In the works of the founders of Marxism-Leninism, as well as in the works of G. V. Plekhanov, A. Labriola, A. Gramsci and others, examples of scientific. psychological analysis. features of various classes, nations, social groups and movements; the role and significance of traditions, habits, moods, characteristics of various social types of personality in the historical. and above all revolutionary. process; internal mechanisms of people's behavior and their perception of social reality. In the USSR, the process of becoming a socio-psychological. research began in the 1920s. Of great importance were the works of psychologists V. M. Bekhterev, K. N. Kornilov, L. S. Vygotsky, sociologist M. A. Reisner, literary critic L. N. Voitolovsky and others. S.'s development of the item was followed by sharp struggle on philosophies. and ideological. problems connected with the general process of formation in the USSR of the Marxist-Leninist theory and methodology. A great contribution to the study of socio-psychological. phenomena and processes were introduced by owls. teachers (especially A. S. Makarenko and his school) and psychologists (S. L. Rubinshtein, D. N. Uznadze, A. N. Leontiev). In the 50s and 60s. scientific work in the field of S. p. noticeably intensifies, the range of problems is expanding, and theoretical. fundamentals, empirical and experimental methods and procedures, there are lively discussions about directions and future prospects for work. The Department of S. p. was created in Leningrad. un-those, special courses on S. p. are read in Moscow. and Leningrad. high fur boots (on f-takh psychology, philosophy and journalism), there are socio-psychological. laboratories in a number of scientific institutions and universities (Moscow, Tbilisi, Minsk, Tartu, etc.), All-Union Society of Psychologists and Sov. sociological association have special issledovat. committees for S. p. In the socialist countries are actively developing socio-psychological. research in the GDR (M. Vorverg, X. Hibsch), Poland (X. Malevskaya, S. Mika, S. Novak), Czechoslovakia (A. Yurovsky, J. Yanushek). In the process of differentiation of societies. sciences are defined specific. objects of S. p., socio-psychological. research, its methodology and procedures. Such objects, for example, are communities of people with relatives. unity of views, attitudes, moods, needs, character traits. At the same time, classes, nations, and other social communities are considered not only in connection with the objective, impersonal characteristics of society at a given stage of its development, but, above all, in connection with the mental mechanisms that are social in nature. activities of the members of these societies. formations. The state of consciousness (as well as the internal mechanisms of its emergence and functioning) of social communities is the product of a complex interaction between material and ideological. relations: 1) direct experience of members of a given social community, resulting from direct contact with objective reality; 2) sustainable value orientations, ideological. and political traditions fixed in the system of culture and language; 3) systems of org-tions, institutions, parties, etc., influencing the minds and feelings of people. When studying the system of interaction of these elements, differences appear in the understanding of the subject of socio-psychological. research. One group of scientists considers the object of such research only directly. social experience of people and calls social psychology (as opposed to ideology) a special layer of societies. consciousness, connected Ch. arr. with such experience of an individual or group. Other scientists proceed from the fact that any human perception of societies. phenomena depends on the nature of the internal. relatively stable social attitudes formed in the process of educating the individual, and the task of socio-psychological. research is seen in the study of the mechanisms that arise in the psyche of people (groups, classes, etc.) at the junction and intersection of all three of these elements. Along with this, there is a noticeable tendency towards a certain isolation of the socio-psychological. personality research. Reveal the main psychological tendencies inherent in the class and group can only be determined by the main. personality types that are most characteristic of a given class or group. Knowledge of the features and forms of consciousness quantitatively dominant in members of a class or group, based on the laws of averages, given, for example, as a result of surveys, although it plays an important role, it cannot reveal the deep processes taking place in the minds and feelings of people, and detect typological personality differences hidden behind averages and uniform external manifestations of consciousness and behavior. The relationship between the personal and the objective class is complex and indirect, because the fact of the socio-psychological is obvious. differences between members of the same class; people who are objectively in the same conditions can react in different and sometimes opposite ways to the same phenomena; people belonging to different social groups can demonstrate a commonality of consciousness and behavior. If in the sociological the study of social functions, roles assigned to individuals, sources of influence are considered impersonally, as elements of a social system, then the socio-psychological. vision involves an analysis of how these functions, roles, influences are embodied in the internal. personality structure. Dialectical-materialistic. approach to the study of socio-psychological. phenomena involves not only clarifying their dependence on the objective logic of historical. development, but also their influence on this development. S. p. studies the influence of socio-psychological. processes on the organization, functioning and evolution of material and spiritual production, various social institutions, mass social movements and revolutions. activities. The direction of socio-psychological is distinguished. research that draws special attention to the study of the means and mechanisms of targeted social impact on the psyche of people (education, mass ideological influence, ideological struggle), the problems of socialization of a person, his inclusion in the system of culture, political. life and practical activity. The importance of the study of socio-psychological. problems associated with the activities of the mass media (see Sociology of mass communication). We also study socio-psychological. scientific problems. management of society (for example, the influence of socio-psychological characteristics of the leader and members of the group on the effectiveness of group activities). Means. research into the motivation and stimulation of people's labor activity, overcoming in the minds and behavior of people the phenomena of alienation in the labor process are gaining scope. Finally, the phenomena of social pathology, negative. and residual processes in the minds and behavior of people (crime, immorality, alcoholism, etc.), issues of developing effective socio-psychological. means of dealing with these phenomena. Ideological and practical orientation socio-psychological. research depends on the socio-economic. and political systems within which they develop (differences between capitalism and socialism), on the nature of the social order accepted by researchers. Marxists give meaning. critical attention. methodological analysis. installations and goals of research, to-rye imposes on the social psychologist the organization of the state-monopolistic. capitalism. Mn. the work of the Amer. authors demonstrate a tendency to bureaucratic. manipulation of the minds and feelings of people in the interests of the ruling circles. The objective needs of practice have made it particularly relevant to study the specific conditions and factors that directly affect the behavior and consciousness of people in the process of interpersonal group activity. Studies of contact, or small, groups are important for solving practical problems. issues of management and organization of effective collective activity and collective education (see Theory of small groups). This also includes studies of the mechanism of people's perception of themselves and each other, the dependence of interpersonal communication on individual typological. features of communication participants, their intellectual and cultural development, attitudes, stereotypes, reflecting their group and prof. belonging, finally, from the general emotional atmosphere, conditions and organizational framework in which communication takes place. Research of this type analyzes the influence on the thoughts, feelings and behavior of some individuals of the actual, imagined or supposed presence of other individuals or small groups (so-called reference groups). Expressed t. sp. about the fact that it is this sphere that is, in the strict sense of the word, the subject of S. p. as independent. (mostly experimental) science. At the same time, sociologists are increasingly using experimental material relating to small groups in solving complex social problems (for example, scientific organization of labor, propaganda, education, the process of mass information and communication). At the same time, it is specific. psychological the mechanisms that arise in the field of interpersonal communications are increasingly being considered in a broad social context. In order to identify interpersonal relationships in their ext. relates. independence, it is necessary for some time to be distracted from the objective ("impersonal") social mechanisms operating in society, for example. from its social structure. But in the general process of the development of social knowledge, there arises a need to overcome this distraction. Considering interpersonal socio-psychological. communications based on the analysis of the system of societies. relations, the researcher more precisely defines a specific coordinate system for empirical. and experimental research directly. interactions of people. A distraction that is not consciously explored. method, which arises only as a spontaneously developing installation, can easily turn into a kind of "methodological. ritualism", narrowing the scientific. social vision of the researcher. Not being a well-formed science, social psychology uses methods and methods of research that are mostly typical of sociology and general psychology. Among the specific procedures, one can point to a controlled group experiment (for example, in the works of R. Bailes on the study of small groups), questionnaire methods and interviews (focused and in-depth). Research related to the study of socio-psychological. ethnic features. groups, societies. self-consciousness of representatives of different social systems, usually include surveys of societies. opinions, study of documents and direct observations in test situations. S. p. also uses the entire apparatus of logical-theoretical. and empiric. analysis, widely using in the latter case mathematical. methods (statistical and non-statistical). Means. progress has been made in attempts to model group processes in terms of graph theory. There are special procedures adapted to study group tension and the level of group cohesion, as well as to describe the relationship of group members to each other (sociometric procedures). Recently, among zarub. social psychologists show interest in restoring the rights of psychophysiological techniques. control of the behavior of an individual in a group process, i.e. methods traditional for Pavlovian psychology. S. i. is in the process of its formation, clear boundaries and patterns to-rogo is still difficult to identify with certainty. An urgent task, to which the efforts of scientists are directed, is an objective analysis of the ways and prospects for the development of socio-psychological. research. 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Social psychology is a scientific discipline that was born at the junction of two sciences (psychology and sociology), which introduces certain difficulties in formulating the subject of research in social psychology, in determining the range of problems studied.

Sociology (from Lat. socius - public + other Greek Khbuos; - science) is the science of society, the systems that make it up, the laws of its functioning and development, social institutions, relationships and communities.

Social psychology is a science that studies psychological phenomena (processes, states and properties) that characterize an individual and a group as subjects of social interaction.

The subject of social psychology is a system of socio-psychological phenomena based on the mental interaction of people, in connection with which social psychology studies:
psychological processes, states and properties of an individual, which manifest themselves as a result of his inclusion in relations with other people, in various social groups (family, educational and labor groups, etc.) and in general in the system of social relations (economic, political, managerial , legal, etc.), the most frequently studied are sociability, aggressiveness, compatibility with other people, conflict potential, etc .;
the phenomenon of interaction between people, for example, marital, parent-child, pedagogical, psychotherapeutic, etc.; at the same time, interaction can be not only interpersonal, but also between an individual and a group, as well as intergroup;
psychological processes, states and properties of various social groups as integral formations that differ from each other and are not reducible to any individual; Social psychologists are most interested in studying the socio-psychological climate of the group and conflict relations (group states), leadership and group actions (group processes), cohesion, harmony and conflict (group properties), etc.;
mass mental phenomena such as crowd behavior, panic, rumors, fashion, mass enthusiasm, jubilation, apathy, fears, etc.

The object of social psychology is various social communities of people; psychology of personality as a member of these communities:
personality in a group (system of relations),
interaction in the system "personality - personality" (parent - child, manager - performer, doctor - patient, psychologist - client, etc.),
small group (family, school class, work team, military crew, group of friends, etc.),
interaction in the "personality - group" system (leader - followers, leader - work team, commander - platoon, beginner - school class, etc.),
interaction in the "group - group" system (team competition, group negotiations, intergroup conflicts, etc.),
a large social group (ethnos, party, social movement, social strata, territorial, confessional groups, etc.).

In accordance with the main objects of research, modern social psychology has been differentiated into such sections as:
social psychology of personality,
psychology of interpersonal interaction (communication and relationships),
small group psychology,
psychology of intergroup interaction,
psychology of large social groups and mass phenomena.

Within the framework of social psychology, several psychological schools can be distinguished: functionalism, behaviorism, humanistic psychology, cognitivism and interactionism.

Functionalism (or functional psychology) arose under the influence of the evolutionary theory in biology of C. Darwin and the evolutionary theory of social Darwinism of G. Spencer, who believed that the basic law of social development is the law of survival of the fittest societies and social groups. Representatives of functionalism (D. Dewey, D. Angell, G. Carr and others) studied people and social groups from the point of view of their social adaptation - adaptation to difficult living conditions. The main socio-psychological problem of functionalism is the problem of the most optimal conditions for the social adaptation of subjects of public life.

Behaviorism (later neobehaviorism) is a behavioral psychology that studies the problems of patterns of human and animal behavior (I.V. Pavlov, V.M. Bekhterev, D. Watson, B. Skinner, etc.). Behavior was seen as an objective, observable reality that could be explored under experimental conditions. The central problem of behaviorism is the problem of learning, i.e. gaining individual experience through trial and error. Four laws of learning are distinguished: the law of effect, the law of exercise, the law of readiness and the law of associative shift.

The psychoanalytic direction is associated with the name of Z. Freud, who studied the problems of unconscious, irrational processes in the personality and in its behavior. He believed that the central driving force of a person is a set of drives. Some of the aspects of this direction were developed in the works of K. Jung and A. Adler. Socio-psychological problems of the direction: the conflict of man and society, manifested in the clash of human inclinations with social prohibitions; the problem of sources of social activity of the individual.

Humanistic psychology (G. Allport, A. Maslow, K. Rogers, etc.) studied a person as a fully developing personality who seeks to realize his potential and achieve self-actualization, personal growth. Every normal person has a tendency to self-expression and self-realization.

Cognitivism interprets human social behavior as a set of predominantly cognitive processes and focuses on the process of human cognition of the world, his comprehension of the essence of phenomena through the main cognitive mental processes (memory, attention, etc.). In the course of this knowledge, his impressions of the world are transformed into a system of images, on the basis of which various ideas, beliefs, expectations and attitudes are formed, which ultimately determine his actions and deeds. Representatives of these trends, S. Ash, K. Levin, T. Newcomb, F. Haider, L. Festinger, and others, made a serious contribution to social psychology. The problem of cognitivism is human decision making. Representatives of the cognitive school (J. Piaget, J. Bruner, R. Atkinson and others) paid special attention to the knowledge of a person and the ways of its formation.

Interactionism (later symbolic interactionism) explored the problems of the social aspect of interaction between people in the process of activity and communication. The main idea of ​​interactionism is that a person is always social and cannot be formed outside of society. Particular importance was attached to communication as an exchange of symbols and the development of common meanings and meanings.

He reduces socio-psychological phenomena to interpersonal interaction, seeing in it a source of explanation of the essence, origin and dynamics of these phenomena. He explains the formation of personality by situations of communication and interaction of people with each other, which should be understood as systems of mutually oriented actions and reactions deployed in time. The state of society, relationships and personality, according to its ideologists (E. Hoffmann, R. Linton, T. Newcomb, M. Sheriff, etc.), are nothing more than a product of communication between people, the result of their adaptation to each other.

The whole set of methods of socio-psychological research can be divided into two large groups: methods of research and methods of influence. The latter belong to a specific area of ​​social psychology, to the "psychology of influence."

Among the research methods, there are methods for collecting information and methods for processing it. Data processing methods are often not singled out in a special block, since most of them are not specific to social psychological research.

Information collection methods: observation, reading documents (content analysis), surveys (questionnaires, interviews), tests (the most common sociometric test), experiment (laboratory, natural).

Consider the leading methods of socio-psychological research.

Observation in social psychology is a method of collecting information through direct, purposeful and systematic perception and registration of socio-psychological phenomena (facts of behavior and activity) in natural conditions. The observation method can be used as one of the central, independent research methods.

The object of observation are individuals, small groups and large social communities (for example, a crowd) and the social processes taking place in them, for example, panic.

The subject of observation is usually the verbal and non-verbal acts of behavior of an individual or a group as a whole in a particular social situation. To the most typical verbal and non-verbal characteristics of A.L. Zhuravlev relates speech acts (their content, direction and sequence, frequency, duration and intensity, as well as expressiveness); expressive movements (expression of the eyes, face, body, etc.); physical actions, i.e. touches, pushes, blows, joint actions, etc.

The main disadvantages of this method include:
high subjectivity in data collection, introduced by the observer (effects of halo, contrast, condescension, modeling, etc.) and observed (the effect of the presence of the observer);
predominantly qualitative nature of the conclusions of the observation;
relative limitations in generalizing the results of the study.

Ways to increase the reliability of observation results are associated with the use of reliable observation schemes, technical means of data recording, observer training, minimizing the effect of the observer's presence.

Document analysis method - is a kind of methods for analyzing the products of human activity. A document is any information fixed in printed or handwritten text, on magnetic or photo media.

All methods of document analysis are divided into traditional (qualitative) and formalized (qualitative-quantitative). At the heart of any method are the mechanisms of the process of understanding the text, i.e. interpretation by the researcher of the information contained in the document.

Content analysis (content analysis) is a method of converting textual information into quantitative indicators with its subsequent statistical processing. The quantitative characteristics of the text obtained with the help of content analysis make it possible to draw conclusions about the qualitative, including the latent (not explicit) content of the text. In this regard, the method of content analysis is often referred to as a qualitative-quantitative analysis of documents.

The survey method is a very common method in socio-psychological research. The essence of the method is to obtain information about objective or subjective (opinions, moods, motives, attitudes, etc.) facts from the words of the respondents.

Among the numerous types of surveys, two main types are most common:
a) direct survey ("face to face") - an interview, face-to-face survey conducted by the researcher in the form of questions and answers with the interviewee (respondent);
b) correspondence survey - questioning with the help of a questionnaire (questionnaire) intended for self-completion by the respondents themselves.

The source of information during the survey is the verbal or written judgment of the interviewed person. The depth, completeness of the answers, their reliability depend on the ability of the researcher to correctly build the design of the questionnaire. There are special techniques and rules for conducting a survey.

Interviews are a type of survey. There are two types: standardized and non-standardized interview. In the first case, the interview assumes the existence of standard wording of questions and their sequence, determined in advance.

The non-standardized interview methodology is characterized by flexibility and wide variation. In this case, the interviewer is guided only by the general plan of the survey, formulating questions in accordance with the specific situation and the answers of the respondent.

It is customary to single out the key phases: establishing contact, the main part and the end of the interview. Criteria for the effectiveness of the interview: completeness (breadth) - it should allow the interviewee to cover various aspects of the problem under discussion as fully as possible; specificity (concreteness) - it should provide accurate answers for each aspect of the problem that is significant for the questioned aspect; depth (personal meaning) - it must reveal the emotional, cognitive and value aspects of the respondent's attitude to the situation under discussion; personal context - the interview is designed to reveal the characteristics of the personality of the interviewee and his life experience.

The types of surveys are divided according to the number of respondents (individual and group), according to the place of conducting, according to the method of distribution of questionnaires (handout, mail, press). Among the most significant shortcomings of the distribution, and especially mail and press polls, are the low percentage of return of questionnaires, the lack of control over the quality of filling out the questionnaires, the use of only questionnaires that are very simple in structure and volume.

The preference for the type of survey is determined by the objectives of the study, its program, and the level of knowledge of the issue. The main advantage of the survey is associated with the possibility of mass coverage of a large number of respondents and its professional accessibility. The information received in the interview is more meaningful and deep in comparison with the questionnaire. However, the disadvantage is, first of all, the difficultly controlled influence of the personality and professional level of the interviewer on the interviewee, which can lead to a distortion of the objectivity and reliability of information.

The group assessment method (GOL) is a method of obtaining the characteristics of a person in a particular group based on a mutual survey of its members about each other.

This method allows you to assess the presence and degree of severity (development) of the psychological qualities of a person, which are manifested in behavior and activities, in interaction with other people. The widespread use of GOL for applied and research purposes is due to its simplicity and accessibility for users, the ability to diagnose those qualities of a person for which there is no reliable toolkit (tests, questionnaires), etc. The psychological basis of GOL is the socio-psychological phenomenon of group ideas about each of the members groups as a result of mutual knowledge of people by each other in the process of communication.

The test is a short, standardized, usually time-limited test. With the help of tests in social psychology, interindividual, intergroup differences are determined. On the one hand, it is believed that tests are not a specific socio-psychological method, and all methodological standards adopted in general psychology are also valid for social psychology.

On the other hand, a wide range of socio-psychological methods used for diagnosing an individual and a group, intergroup interaction allows us to speak of tests as an independent means of empirical research.

Areas of application of tests in social psychology:
group diagnostics,
study of interpersonal and intergroup relations and social perception,
socio-psychological properties of the individual (social intelligence, social competence, leadership style, etc.).

The testing procedure involves the performance by the subject (group of subjects) of a special task or obtaining answers to a number of questions that are indirect in tests. The point of post-processing is to use a "key" to correlate the received data with certain evaluation parameters, for example, with personality characteristics. The final result of the measurement is expressed in the test index.

The term "experiment" has two meanings in social psychology:
experience and testing, as is customary in the natural sciences;
research in the logic of identifying cause-and-effect relationships. One of the existing definitions of the experimental method indicates that it involves the interaction organized by the researcher between the subject (or group) and the experimental situation in order to establish the patterns of this interaction. Among the specific features of the experiment, modeling of phenomena and research conditions (experimental situation) is singled out; active influence of the researcher on the phenomena (variation of variables); measuring the reactions of the subjects to this impact; reproducibility of results.

The experiment is criticized primarily for its low ecological validity, that is, the impossibility of transferring the conclusions obtained in the experimental situation beyond its limits (to natural conditions).

Nevertheless, there is a point of view that the problem of the validity of the experiment lies not in the fact that the facts obtained in the experiment have no scientific value, but in their adequate theoretical interpretation.

Despite many critical assessments of this method, the experiment remains an important means of obtaining reliable information in socio-psychological research.

The method of sociometry refers to the tools of socio-psychological research of the structure of small groups, as well as the individual as a member of the group. The area of ​​measurement by sociometric technique is the diagnostics of interpersonal and intragroup relations. With the help of the sociometric method, they study the typology of social behavior in a group activity, evaluate the cohesion, compatibility of group members.

A sociometric procedure may aim to:
a) measuring the degree of cohesion-disunity in the group;
b) identifying "sociometric positions", i.e. correlative authority of group members on the basis of sympathy-antipathy, where the "leader" of the group and the "rejected" are at the extreme poles;
c) detection of intra-group subsystems, close-knit formations, which may be headed by their informal leaders.

The use of sociometry makes it possible to measure the authority of formal and informal leaders in order to regroup people in teams in such a way as to reduce tension in the team arising from the mutual hostility of some members of the group. The sociometric method is carried out by a group method, its implementation does not require large time costs (up to 15 minutes). It is very useful in applied research, especially in work on improving relationships in a team. But it is not a radical way to resolve intra-group problems, the causes of which should be sought not in the likes and dislikes of group members, but in deeper sources.

Measurement involves a survey of each member of a small group in order to identify those members of the group with whom he would prefer (choose) or, on the contrary, did not want to participate in a certain type of activity or situation. The measurement procedure includes the following elements:
determination of the variant (number) of elections (deviations);
selection of survey criteria (questions);
organizing and conducting a survey;
processing and interpretation of the results using quantitative (sociometric indices) and graphic (sociogram) methods of analysis.

Social psychology as a science studies the characteristics of human behavior among other people in various life situations and in certain historical contexts.

Social psychology as a science includes the social psychology of personality; social psychology of communication, knowledge and mutual influence of people; social psychology of individual groups.

To understand the specifics of social psychology as a science, it is necessary to consider the complex of levels at which the social behavior of people as a whole develops.

The sciences consider people at the following levels: social, personal and interpersonal. The social level implies the influence of individuals on the person included in them (for example, in the process of migration, in an environment of unemployment, etc.). This level of relations is studied by sociology. The personal level is the influence of individual and psychological characteristics of a person on his own behavior. This is studied by personality psychology and differential psychology. The interpersonal level belongs to the research and study of social psychology. At each level, there is an explanation of the phenomena that occur to a person.

Social psychology as a science can be defined as the science of the basic patterns of people's behavior, which is determined by their presence in society (society). It studies the perception by individuals of the actions and feelings of other people, as well as the influence of groups of people on the consciousness, as well as the behavior of individuals.

Until now, disputes about the place social psychology occupies in the system of other sciences do not stop. Some consider it to be entirely social science, others consider it entirely psychological. On the other hand, researchers disagree on whether social psychology occupies a separate niche in the system of knowledge or has common overlapping areas with sociology and psychology. Most researchers share the general opinion that social psychology is an independent branch of psychological science.

Social psychology as a science uses methods of empirical research (surveys, analysis of documents, observation), specialized methods of socio-psychological research (experiments, tests), simulated methods (laboratory reconstruction of realities) and managerial and educational methods (trainings).

There is no single generally accepted idea about the subject of the discipline. This can be explained by the complexity of socio-psychological phenomena, real facts and patterns that she studies. There are two approaches to this issue. The first under the subject understands the mass phenomena of the psyche, the second - individual. Recently, a third approach has also appeared, combining mass and personal mental processes into a single subject. Thus, the subject can be understood as facts, patterns of behavior and activity, as well as communication of people and their mechanisms, which are due to the inclusion of individuals in society.

Separate branches of social psychology are scientific fields related to the study of certain areas of human activity. For example, the discipline sociology and psychology of labor studies socio-psychological relations and social processes in the sphere of labor. It uses methods of influencing the psychological and social climate of the team, collects and processes primary information on sociology in order to resolve and prevent labor conflicts in the team.

The discipline studies, diagnoses and predicts the professional suitability of a person, explores the role of labor discipline and its significance, labor behavior, motivation and attitude of people to work.