The science that studies the patterns of behavior and activities of people, due to the fact of their inclusion in social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of these groups themselves. Over a long period, socio-psychological ideas ... ... Great Psychological Encyclopedia
The science that studies the patterns of behavior and activities of people, due to their inclusion in social groups, as well as psychological. characteristics of these groups. S. p. arose in the middle. 19th century at the intersection of psychology and sociology. To the 2nd ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY- SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. A section of psychology that lies at the intersection of psychology and sociology. It studies the phenomena of the psyche that exist only in a group of people or in a person in a group (for example, communication skills, collectivism, psychological ... ... A new dictionary of methodological terms and concepts (theory and practice of teaching languages)
Modern Encyclopedia
The branch of psychology that studies the patterns of behavior and activities of people, due to the fact of their belonging to social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of these groups. As an independent discipline arose in the beginning. 20th century… … Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
A branch of psychology that studies the patterns of people's activities in terms of interaction in social groups. The main problems of social psychology are as follows: the patterns of communication and interaction of people, the activities of large (nations, ... ... Psychological Dictionary
Social Psychology- SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, studies the patterns of behavior and activities of people, due to the fact of their belonging to social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of these groups. As an independent discipline arose at the beginning of the 20th century ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY- a branch of psychology that studies the patterns of behavior and activities of people, due to their inclusion in social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of these groups themselves. Initially, social psychological views were developed within the framework of various ... ... Russian Pedagogical Encyclopedia
A science that studies the mechanisms of consciousness and behavior of social communities, groups and individuals, as well as the role of these mechanisms in societies. life. Unlike the study of ideology, S. p. studies less clearly formulated, systematized and ... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY- (social psychology) a subsection of psychology and sociology, which, according to Allport, deals with the ways in which the thinking, feelings and behavior of the individual are influenced by social interactions, groups, etc. Social Psychology… … Big explanatory sociological dictionary
Books
- Social Psychology
- Social psychology, V. G. Krysko. The textbook reveals the main content and features of socio-psychological phenomena and processes, shows the specifics of their manifestation in the life and activities of people, characterizes the main ...
Subject, tasks and structure legal psychology
Study Guide >> PsychologyAnd place legal psychology. Subject, tasks and structure legal psychology. Interdisciplinary connections. Methodology and methods of legal psychology. History of legal psychology. Legal psychology ...
Subject, tasks and structure judicial psychology
Abstract >> Psychology... psychology" « Subject, tasks and structure judicial psychology" Contents Introduction Subject, tasks and methods of judicial psychology History of the development of the judiciary psychology ... notion... criminology, social psychology and psychology personality. ... who had place in...
Subject and tasks social psychology (1)
Coursework >> PsychologyGeneral tasks materialistic reorientation psychology. However, concept « social psychology" in... subject, tasks and methods, as well as place social psychology in the system of sciences. All this became obvious and possible. AT social psychology ...
Subject and tasks social psychology (2)
Coursework >> Psychology... subject and tasks social psychology. Selection social psychology into an independent field of knowledge The very combination of words " social psychology" points to specific place ...
concept social community (1)
Abstract >> Sociology... . concept types and structure social organizations Social classes and class relations. Social stratification and social mobility. 5.1. concept social stratification 5.2. Systems social stratification 5.3. concept social ...
A modern person belongs to several social groups at once: he is a member of the family, a member of a work team, a representative of a social class, a nation ...
How does belonging to a certain group affect the personal qualities and characteristics of a person? How are psychological bonds formed between group members? What is an intragroup hierarchy? Why do some group members manipulate others? What underlies mass psychic phenomena?
Social psychology is trying to answer these and many other questions - a science that studies the relationship between people, as well as phenomena that arise in the process of their interaction as members of social groups.
Three stages of development
The history of the development of social psychology begins in ancient times, although it is almost impossible to imagine a clear periodization: the discipline was formed on the basis of various sources. We can talk about three conditional periods that social psychology has gone through in its development. From the time of Plato and Aristotle until the middle of the 19th century, its ideas were formed within the framework of philosophy, general psychology and general sociology.
The Renaissance gives two opposing views regarding the influence of society on a person. The realist trend said that a person is initially subject to vices and bad habits; romantics, on the contrary, argued that in human nature there is much more good than evil, and it is society that brings up negative traits in people.
The second half of the century before last and the first years of the past are considered the next period. At that time, social psychology, as an exclusively descriptive science, was only a fixation of the phenomena observed by researchers. Then theories began to emerge that explained all socio-psychological phenomena by a single cause.
Now the history of social psychology is going through its third stage - experimental. The requests of businessmen and sales agents, the rapid development of advertising and mass media, the widespread use of political propaganda - all this in the 20-30s of the XX century substantiated the relevance of studying the mechanisms of formation of public opinion, mass consciousness, the influence of the group on the psyche of its individual member. These applied problems of social psychology are of great importance in our time.
What is this science
What are the foundations of social psychology? What are the object, subject and methodology of science? What disciplines is it most closely associated with?
Perhaps, pedagogy is closely connected with social psychology. Pedagogical practice is impossible without knowledge about the principles of interaction within the team, about the influence of the team on the individual, about group teaching methods and many other socio-psychological aspects.
The object of social psychology is communities, social groups, and its subject is the psychological processes, properties and states characteristic of an individual member of the group and the group as a whole. Depending on one or another view of the subject of study, different sections of social psychology are formed.
Social psychology of the individual, groups and, finally, communication and intergroup interaction - such is the structure of social psychology, according to Galina Mikhailovna Andreeva, one of the founders of domestic research in this area.
A broad understanding of the subject of science explains the extensive list of problematic issues facing it. The most significant problems of social psychology can be represented as the following list:
- Relations within the group.
- Group hierarchy and leadership.
- Human socialization.
- Adaptation of the individual within the group.
- Factors that determine the behavior of the individual in group interaction.
As the list shows, the problem of personality in social psychology occupies one of the leading places. The second most urgent problem can be called the problem of the group, thus designating the two most relevant areas of research in this area.
The functions of social psychology are aimed at preserving social values and norms, as well as bringing human behavior in line with them without causing psychological stress. Author: Evgeniya Bessonova
3. Connection of social psychology with other areas of scientific knowledge
Social psychology is at the intersection of sociology and psychology. Sociology and social psychology are connected by a common interest in the behavior of people in groups. However, unlike sociology, which studies groups of different sizes in the activity, operational and statistical aspect, social psychology studies personalities, individuals, their behavior and how they influence, interact, relate to each other. In this case, the influence of both the group on the individual and the individual on the group is studied.
Unlike personality psychology, social psychology has a social character. Personality psychology studies the inner world of the individual, his similarities with other people and individual differences. Social psychology deals with the study of those characteristics that are common to all people, how they perceive each other and influence each other. Social psychology studies socio-psychological phenomena, such as: socio-psychological facts, patterns and mechanisms of their development.
In addition to sociology and psychology, social psychology closely interacts with biology, which studies the nature of humans, animals, and plants. Since man is closely connected with the animal world and, as they say
The social component makes social psychology related to philosophy, theology, economics, politics, education, the psychological component - to biology, chemistry, physics, engaged in the study of man, each in its own way.
4. The history of the formation of social psychology as a science.
The main stages in the development of social psychology as a science.
First stage- the formation of social psychology as a science (from the middle of the 19th century to 1908). The subject of study and the main problems are determined.
The first fundamental works on the main issues of social psychology are being published.
At this stage, the solution and theoretical analysis of socio-psychological problems attract the attention of specialists in various fields: psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, literary critics, ethnographers, etc.
Most of the works on social psychology were published in the first period of the development of this science.
Second phase(until the mid-40s of the 20th century) is characterized by the emergence of scientific socio-psychological schools focused both on the development of fundamental theory and applied aspects of research.
One of the most influential social psychologists of this period is K. Levin, the creator of the theory of group dynamics.
He explored the problems of social factors of will as purposeful behavior; social psychology of small groups, leadership, personality in a group, etc.
Third stage(from the mid-1940s to the present day). It is connected with the solution of practical problems, work on a social order. Experimental psychology continues its development, fundamental theoretical developments recede into the background.
Social psychology is gaining wide popularity, being introduced into general educational programs of higher education and is one of the compulsory subjects of study for specialists in various fields.
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. 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 to be carried out on the problems of management, psychological compatibility, reducing tensions 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 status of the individual", "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.
