Qualitative study of psychic reality

Analysis of the formation and development of mental phenomena

The study of the physiological mechanisms of mental phenomena

Assistance in the systematic introduction of psychological knowledge into the practice of people's lives and activities

Rice. 3. Subject and tasks of psychology

a discipline that tries to find answers to the fundamental questions that confront psychology as a whole, to develop theoretical principles, to substantiate the methods of psychological cognition, to formulate the basic laws of the existence and development of psychic reality. The totality of theoretical and experimental studies, revealing the most common psychological patterns, theoretical principles and methods of psychology, its basic concepts and categorical structure.

The basic concepts of general psychology characterize the processes, states and mental properties. Mental processes cover:

1) cognitive processes - sensations and perceptions, memory, imagination and thinking;

2) volitional processes - motives, aspirations, desires, decision-making;

3) emotional processes - feelings, emotions.

Mental states include manifestations of mental processes - cognitive (for example, doubt), volitional (confidence), emotional (moods, affects). Mental properties include qualities of the mind (abilities), stable features of the volitional sphere (character), fixed qualities of feelings (temperament).

The division of the basic concepts into these groups is conditional. The concept of a mental process emphasizes the procedural nature of the phenomenon under study. The concept of a mental state characterizes a static moment, the relative constancy of a mental phenomenon. The concept of a mental property reflects the stability of the phenomenon under study, its recurrence and fixation in the personality structure. Thus, the affect can also be considered as a process, because it expresses the dynamics of feelings, its stage character; and as a state, because it characterizes the psyche in a given period of time; and as a manifestation of the mental properties of the individual - temper, anger.

In addition to problems related to the psyche as a whole, more specific ones related to specific mental processes, states and properties are considered. First of all, issues related to personality, activity, communication, cognitive processes are discussed; they are studied theoretically and experimentally.

The main questions of general psychology are at the center of more particular branches of psychology - relatively independent areas of knowledge. These include, for example, comparative psychology, animal psychology, age-related psychology, psychophysiology, neuropsychology, special psychology, social psychology, labor psychology. Each of these branches develops its own, relatively autonomous theoretical concepts and, in turn, contains a number of more particular disciplines that are correlated with certain aspects problems.

Psychology(Greek - soul; Greek - knowledge) is a science that studies the behavior and mental processes of people and animals. Psyche- this is the highest form of the relationship of living beings with the objective world, expressed in their ability to realize their impulses and act on the basis of information about it . Through the psyche, a person reflects the laws of the world around him.

Thinking, memory, perception, imagination, sensation, emotions, feelings, inclinations, temperament- all these points are studied by psychology. But the main question remains - what drives a person, his behavior in a given situation, what are the processes of his inner peace? The range of issues addressed by psychology is quite wide. Yes, in modern psychology there are a lot of sections:

• general psychology,
• age-related psychology,
• social Psychology,
• psychology of religion,
• pathopsychology,
• neuropsychology,
• family psychology,
• sports psychology
• etc.

Other sciences and branches of scientific knowledge also penetrate into psychology ( genetics, speech therapy, jurisprudence, anthropology, psychiatry and etc.). going on integration classical psychology with Eastern practices. To live in harmony with oneself and with the outside world, a modern person needs to master the basics of psychology.

"Psychology is the expression in words of what they cannot express" wrote John Galsworthy.

Psychology operates with the following methods:

• Introspection- observation of one's own mental processes, knowledge of one's own mental life without using any tools.
• Observation- the study of certain characteristics of a process without active involvement in the process itself.
• Experiment— study by empirical way of a certain process. The experiment can be built on the simulation of activity in specially given conditions or can be carried out in conditions close to normal activity.
• Development research- the study of certain features of the same children, who are observed for several years.

At the origins of modern psychology were Aristotle, Ibn Sina, Rudolf Goklenius who first used the concept of "psychology", Sigmund Freud, which, for sure, even a person who has nothing to do with psychology has heard of. As a science, psychology originated in the second half of the 19th century, separating from philosophy and physiology. Psychology explores mechanisms of the psyche, unconscious and conscious man.

A person turns to psychology in order to know himself and better understand his loved ones.. This knowledge helps to see and realize true motives their actions. Psychology is also called the science of the soul., which at certain moments of life begins to ask questions, - " Who am I?", "Where am I?", "Why am I here?" Why does a person need this knowledge and awareness? To keep on the road of life and not fall into one ditch, then another. And when you fall, find the strength to get up and move on.

Interest in this field of knowledge is growing. By training the body, athletes necessarily come to psychological knowledge and expand it. Moving towards your goals, building relationships with people, overcoming difficult situations, we also turn to psychology. Psychology is actively merging into training and education, into business, into art.

A person is not only a storehouse of certain knowledge, skills and abilities, but also a person with his own emotions, feelings, ideas about this world.

Today, one cannot do without knowledge of psychology either at work or at home. To sell yourself or a manufactured product, you need certain knowledge. To have well-being in the family and be able to resolve conflicts, knowledge of psychology is also necessary. Understand the motives of people's behavior, learn to manage their emotions, be able to build relationships, be able to convey their thoughts to the interlocutor - and here psychological knowledge will come to the rescue. Psychology begins where a person appears and, knowing the basics of psychology, you can avoid many mistakes in life. "Psychology is the ability to live."

1. Definition of psychology as a science.

2. The main branches of psychology.

3. Research methods in psychology.

1. Psychology is a science that occupies a dual position among other scientific disciplines. How to system scientific knowledge she only knows narrow circle specialists, but at the same time, almost every person who has sensations, speech, emotions, images of memory, thinking and imagination, etc., knows about it.

origins psychological theories can be found in proverbs, sayings, fairy tales of the world and even ditties. For example, they say about a person “There are devils in a still pool” (a warning to those who are inclined to judge a character by appearance). In all peoples one can find similar worldly psychological descriptions and observations. The same proverb among the French sounds like this: “Do not immerse your hand or even a finger in a quiet stream.”

Psychology- a kind of science. Man's acquisition of knowledge has been going on since ancient times. However long time psychology developed within the framework of philosophy, reaching high level in the writings of Aristotle (treatise "On the Soul"), so many consider him the founder of psychology. Despite such ancient history, psychology as an independent experimental science formed relatively recently, only from the middle of the XIX century.

The term "psychology" first appeared in scientific world in the 16th century The word "psychology" comes from Greek words: "syhe" - "soul" and "logos" - "science". Thus, literally psychology is the science of the soul.

Already later, in the 17th-19th centuries, psychology significantly expanded the scope of its research and began to study human activity, unconscious processes, while maintaining former name. Let us consider in more detail what is the subject of study of modern psychology.

R.S . Nemov offers the following scheme.

As can be seen from the diagram, the psyche includes many phenomena. With the help of some, knowledge of the surrounding reality occurs - this is cognitive processes which consist of sensation and perception, attention and memory, thinking, imagination and speech. Other mental phenomena are necessary in order to control the actions and actions of a person, to regulate the process of communication - these are mental states(a special characteristic of mental activity for a certain period of time) and mental properties(the most stable and significant mental qualities person, his characteristics).

The above division is rather conditional, since a transition from one category to another is possible. For example, if a process is running long time, then it already passes into the state of the organism. Such processes-states can be attention, perception, imagination, activity, passivity, etc.

For a better understanding of the subject of psychology, we present a table of examples of mental phenomena and concepts presented in the works of R. S. Nemov (1995).

So, psychology is the science that studies mental phenomena.

2. Modern psychology is a rather branched complex of sciences, which continues to develop very rapidly(every 4-5 years a new direction appears).

Nevertheless, it is possible to single out the fundamental branches of psychological science and special ones.

Fundamental(basic) branches of psychological science are equally important for the analysis of the psychology and behavior of all people.

Such universality allows them sometimes to be combined under the name "general psychology".

Special(applied) branches of psychological knowledge study any narrow groups phenomena, i.e., the psychology and behavior of people employed in any narrow branch of activity.

Let us turn to the classification presented by R. S. Nemov (1995).

1. Psychology of cognitive processes and states.

2. Psychology of personality.

3. Psychology of individual differences.

4. Age psychology.

5. Social psychology.

6. Zoopsychology.

7. Psychophysiology.

1. Pedagogical psychology.

2. Medical psychology.

3. Military psychology.

4. Legal psychology.

5. Space psychology.

6. Engineering psychology.

7. Economic psychology.

8. Psychology of management.

Thus, psychology is an extensive network of sciences that continues to develop actively.

3. Scientific research methods- these are techniques and means for scientists to obtain reliable information, which are then used to build scientific theories and developing recommendations for practical activities.

In order for the information received to be reliable, it is necessary to comply with the requirements of validity and reliability.

Validity- this is such a quality of the method, which indicates its compliance with what it was originally created to study.

Reliability- evidence that with repeated application of the method, comparable results will be obtained.

There are various classifications of methods of psychology. Consider one of them, according to which the methods are divided into main and auxiliary.

Basic methods: observation and experiment; auxiliary - surveys, analysis of the process and products of activity, tests, twin method.

Observation- this is a method by which the individual characteristics of the psyche are known through the study of human behavior. It can be external and internal (self-observation).

1. Planned and systematic conduct.

2. Focused.

3. Duration of observation.

4. Fixing data with the help of technical means, coding, etc.

1. Structured (there is a detailed step by step program observations) - unstructured (there is only a simple enumeration of the data to be observed).

2. Continuous (all reactions of the observed are recorded) - selective (only individual reactions are recorded).

3. Included (the researcher acts as a member of the group in which the observation is carried out) - not included (the researcher acts as an outside observer).

Experiment- a method of scientific research, during which an artificial situation is created, where the studied property is manifested and evaluated in the best way.

1. Laboratory- is carried out in specially equipped rooms, often using special equipment.

It is distinguished by the rigor and accuracy of data recording, which makes it possible to obtain interesting scientific material.

Difficulties of laboratory experiment:

1) the unusual nature of the situation, due to which the reactions of the subjects may be distorted;

2) the figure of the experimenter is capable of causing either a desire to please, or, conversely, to do something out of spite: both of them distort the results;

3) not all phenomena of the psyche can yet be modeled under experimental conditions.

2. natural experiment - an artificial situation is created in natural conditions. First proposed A. F. Lazursky . For example, you can study the features of the memory of preschoolers by playing with children in the store, where they have to "make purchases" and thereby reproduce given row words.

Polls- auxiliary research methods containing questions. Questions must meet the following requirements.

Before the survey, it is necessary to conduct a brief briefing with the subjects, create friendly atmosphere; if you can get information from other sources, then you should not ask about it.

The following survey methods are distinguished: conversation, questioning, interviews, sociometry.

Conversation- a survey method in which both the researcher and the subject are in equal positions.

It can be used at various stages of the study.

Questionnaire- a method through which you can quickly get a large amount of data recorded in writing.

Types of questionnaires:

1) individual - collective;

2) face-to-face (there is a personal contact between the researcher and the respondent) - in absentia;

3) open (the respondents themselves formulate answers) - closed (a list of ready-made answers is presented, from which it is necessary to choose the most appropriate for the respondent).

Interview- a method implemented in the process direct communication answers are given orally.

Types of interview:

1) standardized - all questions are formulated in advance;

2) non-standardized - questions are formulated during the interview;

3) semi-standardized - some of the questions are formulated in advance, and some arise during the interview.

When compiling questions, remember that the first questions should be supplemented by subsequent ones.

Along with direct questions it is necessary to use indirect ones.

Sociometry- a method by which social relations in groups are studied. Allows you to determine the position of a person in a group, involves the choice of a partner in joint activities.

Analysis of the process and products of activity- research products human activity, on the basis of which conclusions are drawn about mental characteristics person.

Drawings, crafts, essays, poems, etc. can be studied.

twin method used in developmental genetic psychology.

The essence of the method is to compare mental development identical twins, brought up by force of circumstances in different living conditions.

Tests– standardized psychological technique whose purpose is to give quantification studied psychological quality.

1. Test questionnaire - test task.

2. Analytical (they study one mental phenomenon, for example, the voluntariness of attention) - synthetic (they study the totality of mental phenomena, for example, the Cattell test allows you to draw a conclusion about 16 personality traits).

3. Depending on the content, tests are divided into:

1) intellectual (they study the features of intelligence, the so-called IQ);

2) aptitude tests (examine the level of professional suitability);

3) personality tests(verbal; projective, when a person's qualities are judged by how he perceives and evaluates the situation offered to him).

So, the methods of psychology are diverse and their choice is determined by the objectives of the study, the characteristics of the subject and the situation.

1. The development of psychology from ancient times to the middle of the 19th century.

2. Formation of psychology as an independent science.

3. Modern psychological concepts.

1. Interest in problems that belong to the category of psychological arose in man in ancient times.

Philosophers ancient greece in their treatises they tried to penetrate the secrets of being and the inner world of man.

Philosophers of antiquity explained the psyche in terms of the four elements on which, in their opinion, the world was based: earth, water, fire and air.

The soul, like everything in this world, consisted of these principles.

The ancients believed that the soul is where there is heat and movement, that is, all nature is endowed with a soul.

Subsequently, the doctrine that spiritualizes the whole world was called "animism" (from the Latin "anima" - "spirit", "soul").

Animism was replaced by a new philosophical doctrine - atomistic.

A prominent representative of this direction was Aristotle . He believed that world - this is a collection of the smallest indivisible particles - atoms, which differ from each other in different mobility and size, and material carriers souls are the smallest and most mobile.

Based on this mobility of atoms, Aristotle explained the mechanisms, laws of functioning of many mental phenomena: thinking, memory, perception, dreams, etc.

Aristotle's treatise "On the Soul" is considered by many scholars as the first major Scientific research in psychology.

According to Aristotle, a person has three souls: plant, animal and rational.

The mind depends on the size of the brain, emotions - on the heart.

The representative of materialistic views was Democritus . He believed that everything in the world consists of their atoms.

Atoms exist in time and space, in which everything moves along a given trajectory. In boundless space, according to certain laws, indivisible and impenetrable particles move; the soul is formed by light, spherical particles of fire.

The soul is fiery beginning in the body, while death occurs as a result of the disintegration of the atoms of the soul and body. Both body and soul are mortal.

The merit of Democritus is that he laid the foundation for the development of a theory of knowledge, especially visual sensations. He developed recommendations for memorization, dividing the methods of storing material into material and mental.

Not to mention the views Plato .

According to his views, a person is a prisoner in a cave, and reality is his shadow.

Man has two souls: mortal and immortal.

The mortal solves specific problems, and the immortal, whose life continues after death, is the very core of the psychic, the highest form endowed with intelligence.

Only immortal soul gives genuine knowledge obtained as a result of insight.

There are eternal ideas, and the world is a faint reflection of ideas. In the process of life, the soul remembers those immortal ideas that it encountered before entering the body.

Plato's views concerning the functioning of human memory are interesting.

Memory This is a wax board. In people different memory and it depends on the quality of the wax.

We keep memories as long as they are preserved on a wax plate.

The doctrine of the soul early middle ages became part of the theological worldview and completely relegated to religion, which continued until the 17th century. in an era.

The revival of all sciences and art began to develop again actively.

Natural sciences, medical, biological sciences, different kinds art, one way or another, affected the doctrine of the soul.

French, English and other European philosophers of that time, based on a mechanistic picture of the world, began to interpret many manifestations of the psyche from the standpoint of biomechanics, a reflex, while the appeal to the internal manifestations of the psyche, to the soul, remained outside their consideration.

However, internal phenomena really existed and required an explanation of their role in human life. As a result, a new philosophical direction began to form - dualism, which claimed that there are two independent principles in a person: matter and spirit.

The science of that time could not explain the interconnection and interdependence of these two principles, therefore it abandoned the study of behavior and focused on the subjective experience of a person (XVII-XVIII centuries).

These positions were taken R. Descartes and J. Locke .

The psyche was considered only as a manifestation of consciousness, the world of matter was excluded from the subject of psychology.

The main research method was the method of self-observation (introspection), and natural science methods considered unacceptable for the study of the phenomena of the soul.

Simultaneously with such views, an atomistic understanding of the structure of the world also developed. Simple manifestations of the psyche began to be regarded as atoms.

This atomistic psychology developed over two centuries, until late XIX in.

Thus, from ancient times to the middle of the XIX century. psychology developed within the framework of other sciences, more often philosophy, medicine, and biology.

2. In mid-nineteenth profound changes took place in the scientific worldview.

This also applied to the relationship between the soul and the body, material and mental manifestations.

The successes of medicine, in particular psychiatry, undoubtedly proved that there is a difference between brain disorders and mental disorders. close connection, which refutes the postulate of dualism about their separate existence.

There was a need to take a fresh look at the role of mental phenomena in human life and behavior.

The mechanistic understanding was good at explaining monotonous movements, but became untenable in understanding rational behavior.

The provisions of atomistic psychology also did not fit into the new scientific facts and demanded revision.

Thus, in the second half of the XIX century. psychological science was on the verge of a crisis, for the following reasons:

1) the understanding of mental phenomena has become impossible from the standpoint of exact natural knowledge;

2) the relationship between mental and bodily defies reasonable explanation;

3) psychologists were unable to explain complex shapes human behavior beyond reflexes.

The resulting crisis led to the collapse of dualism and introspection as the only reliable source of psychological knowledge. In search of overcoming the crisis, three directions arose psychological doctrine: behaviorism, gestalt psychology and psychoanalysis (Freudianism).

Let's consider them in more detail.

Behaviorism. Its founder is an American scientist D. Watson , who proposed to consider behavior (from the English behavior) as the subject of psychology, and to consider mental phenomena as unknowable using natural science methods.

For the knowledge of behavior, it is quite enough to describe the behavior itself, to find out and describe the external and internal forces that affect the body, to study the laws according to which the interaction of stimuli and behavior occurs.

Behaviorists believed that the difference between animal behavior and human behavior lies only in the complexity and variety of reactions.

Nevertheless, Watson could not but recognize the existence of purely human mental phenomena.

He interpreted mental states as functions that perform active role in the adaptation of the organism to the world, while admitting that he was not able to understand the significance of this role.

Scientists of this direction denied the possibility of studying consciousness.

As Watson wrote, the behaviorist "observes nothing that he could call consciousness, feeling, sensation, imagination, will, insofar as he no longer considers that these terms indicate genuine phenomena of psychology."

However, already in the 30s. In the twentieth century, such extreme views of D. Watson were softened by neobehaviorists, primarily E. Tolman and K. Hull . So, E. Tolman led the concept of reasonableness and expediency of behavior.

Target- This final result, achieved as a result of the performance of behavioral acts.

The most important psychological phenomena, according to Tolman, are the goal, the expectation, the hypothesis, the cognitive picture of the world, the sign and its meaning.

K. Hull developed a behavior model based on reactions to various stimuli.

The body responds to stimuli in innate and learned ways that are linked to a system of "intermediate variables" that mediate this interaction.

Thus, behaviorism does not study human consciousness, believing that psychology should explain behavior by examining stimuli entering the body and outgoing behavioral responses.

From this thesis comes the theory of learning, which is based on the use of all kinds of punishments and reinforcements, if necessary, the formation of appropriate reactions, due to which the theory is still popular, primarily among American psychologists. (B. F. Skinner).

Gestalt psychology originated in Germany and spread throughout almost all of Europe, including Russia, especially in the prewar years.

This direction was influenced by such sciences as physics and mathematics.

Prominent representatives are K. Levin , M. Wertheimer , W. Koehler and etc.

The essence of this direction was formulated by M. Wertheimer, who wrote: “... there are connections in which what happens as a whole is not derived from elements that supposedly exist in the form of separate pieces that are then linked together, but, on the contrary, what appears in a separate part of this whole is determined by the internal structural law of this whole.

That is, Gestalt psychology studies not phenomena, but the structure of connections, therefore it is sometimes called structural psychology (translated into Russian, the word "gestalt" means "structure").

K. Levin is known for his work in the field of personality and interpersonal relationships.

He believed that the behavior of a person can be understood only on the basis of the holistic situation in which this person finds himself.

The environment is determined by the subjective perception of the people acting in it.

The merit of Gestalt psychology is that it found modern approaches to the study of the problems of psychology, but the problems that caused the crisis were never fully resolved.

Psychoanalysis was developed by an Austrian psychologist and psychiatrist Z. Freud, therefore sometimes called "Freudianism".

Founding scientific theoretical direction in psychology, Freud proceeded from the analysis of his rich psychotherapeutic practice, thereby, as it were, returning psychology to its original subject: penetration into the essence of the human soul.

The fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis are consciousness and unconscious.

It is to the unconscious (the main of which is sexual attraction- libido) plays a significant role in the regulation of human activity and behavior.

Censorship on the part of consciousness suppresses unconscious inclinations, but they "erupt" in the form of slips of the tongue, slips of the tongue, forgetting the unpleasant, dreams, neurotic manifestations.

Psychoanalysis has become widespread not only in Europe, but also in the United States, where it is popular to this day.

In the early years Soviet power this direction was also in demand in our country, but in the 30s. on the general background restrictions on psychological research (the resolution "On Pedological Perversions in the System of the People's Commissariat of Education") Freud's teachings were also repressed.

Up until the 60s. psychoanalysis has been studied only from critical positions.

Only since the second half of the 20th century has interest in psychoanalysis increased again, not only in Russia, but throughout the world.

So, none of the newly emerging psychological directions did not completely resolve the contradictions that led to the crisis of psychology as a science.

Let us consider some modern psychological concepts that have been actively developed since the second half of the 20th century.

Cognitive psychology arose on the basis of the development of computer science and cybernetics.

Representatives of the cognitive school - J. Piaget , W. Neiser, J. Bruner, R. Atkinson and etc.

For a cognitivist, human cognitive processes are analogous to a computer.

The main thing is to understand how a person knows the world, and for this, it is necessary to study the ways of forming knowledge, how cognitive processes arise and develop, what is the role of knowledge in human behavior, how this knowledge is organized in memory, how the intellect functions, how the word and image correlate in the memory and thinking of a person.

As the basic concept of cognitive psychology, the concept of "scheme" is used, which is a plan for collecting and processing information, perceived by the senses and stored in the human head.

The main conclusion reached by representatives of this direction is that in many life situations a person makes decisions mediated by the peculiarities of thinking.

Neo-Freudianism emerged from Freud's psychoanalysis.

Its representatives are A. Adler, K. Jung, K. Horney, E. Fromm and etc.

The common thing in all these views is the recognition of the significance of the unconscious in people's lives and the desire to explain many human complexes by this.

So, A. Adler believed that a person is controlled by an inferiority complex, which he receives from the moment of birth, being a helpless creature.

In an effort to overcome this complex, a person acts reasonably, actively and expediently.

Goals are determined by the person himself, and on the basis of this, cognitive processes, personality traits, and worldview are formed.

The concept of C. Jung is also called analytical psychology.

He considered the human psyche through the prism of the macro-processes of culture, through the spiritual history of mankind.

There are two types of the unconscious: personal and collective.

Personal the unconscious is acquired through accumulation life experience, collective- is inherited and contains the experience accumulated by mankind.

Collective unconscious Jung characterized as archetypes, which are most often manifested in myths and fairy tales, primitive forms thinking, images passed down from generation to generation.

Personal unconscious person close, it is part of himself; the collective is often perceived as something hostile, and therefore causing negative experiences, and sometimes neuroses.

Jung is credited with identifying such personality types as introverts and extroverts.

Introverts tend to find all the sources in themselves. vital energy and the reasons for what is happening, and extroverts - in external environment. AT further research the isolation of these two types was confirmed experimentally and became widely used for diagnostic purposes.

According to the personality typology developed by Jung, the following types are distinguished:

1) thinking (intellectual) - creates formulas, schemes, prone to dominance, authoritarianism; mostly inherent in men;

2) sensitive (sentimental, emotional) - responsiveness, the ability to empathize, a more feminine type prevails;

3) sensory - content with sensations, there are no deep experiences, it adapts well to the outside world;

4) intuitive - is in a creative search, new ideas come as a result of insight, but they are not always productive and require improvement.

Each of these types can be both intro- and extroverted. K. Jung also introduced the concept of individualization, which means the development of a person as an individual, different from the community. This is final goal educational process, however, on early stages a person must learn the minimum of collective norms that are necessary for his existence.

Another prominent representative of neo-Freudianism - E. Fromm , who was the founder of humanistic psychoanalysis. E. Fromm believed that the psyche and human behavior are socially conditioned.

Pathology appears where the freedom of the individual is suppressed. These pathologies include: masochism, sadism, hermitism, conformism, a tendency to destruction.

Fromm divides all social structures into those that promote human freedom, and those where human freedom is lost.

Genetic psychology. Its founder is a Swiss psychologist J. Piaget, who studied the mental development of the child, mainly his intellect, so he can partly be considered as a representative of cognitive psychology.

There are three periods in the process of cognitive development:

1) sensorimotor (from birth to about 1.5 years);

2) the stage of specific operations (from 1.5–2 to 11–13 years);

3) the stage of formal operations (after 11–13 years).

The onset of these stages can be accelerated or slowed down depending on the nature of learning, on the influence of the environment.

Training will only be effective when it is started on time and takes into account the existing level.

J. Piaget wrote: “Whenever we prematurely teach a child something that he could discover for himself over time, we thereby deprive him of this, and therefore deprive him of a complete understanding of this subject.

This, of course, does not mean that teachers should not develop experimental situations that stimulate students' creativity.

The main determinants of cognitive development are maturation, experience, and social learning.

The modern structure of psychological knowledge is characterized by the following trends:

1) erasing the boundaries between previously existing independent areas in psychological science, for example, many modern scientists use in their theories the knowledge accumulated within various areas;

2) modern psychology is increasingly becoming a popular practice, and this leads to differentiation not according to theoretical schools, and by areas of application of knowledge in practical fields of activity;

3) psychological knowledge is enriched at the expense of those sciences with which psychology actively cooperates, solving common problems.

So, the area of ​​theoretical and practical application modern psychology is very wide, and psychology is an actively and dynamically developing science.

No matter how a person tries to forget about it, psychic energy will remind of itself. And the task of enlightenment is to teach humanity how to handle this treasure. N. K. Roerich

Like any other science, general psychology has its own object, subject and tasks. Her object are carriers of those phenomena and processes that it investigates, and subject- the specifics of the formation, development and manifestation of these phenomena.

Tasks general psychology are determined by the main directions of its research and development, as well as the goals that this branch of knowledge sets for itself. General psychology is the foundation of all psychological science. She provides correct understanding and understanding the features and patterns of formation, development and functioning of the psyche, behavior and activities of people, regardless of who they are and what they do. General psychology is designed to give universal knowledge, allowing to adequately explain the results of reflection by human consciousness of the influences of the surrounding material and public environment. It reveals the inner spiritual and mental world of people, as well as their experiences and attitude to everything that happens around them.

In addition, general psychology lays the foundation for the study of man as an active, creative being, transforming the surrounding reality in order to satisfy his material, spiritual and other needs, making specific actions and deeds.

Three qualities - wide knowledges, the habit of thinking and the nobility of feelings - are necessary for a person to be educated in the full sense of the word.

N. G. Chernyshevsky

Chapter one

1.1. SUBJECT AND OBJECTIVES OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

COMMENTS

General psychology- a branch of psychological science that reveals the patterns of emergence, formation, development and manifestation of the human psyche.

General psychology studies a person in the totality of all manifestations of his spiritual and mental world as a result of historical and cultural development.

Psyche- this is a property of the brain that provides humans and animals with the ability to reflect the effects of objects and phenomena of the real world.

The psyche is diverse in its forms and manifestations. The human psyche is his feelings, thoughts, experiences, intentions, ie. everything that makes up his subjective inner world, which is manifested in actions and deeds, in relationships with other people.

Consciousness human - the highest stage development of the psyche and the product of socio-historical development, the result of labor.

In addition, psychology studies such phenomena as the unconscious, personality, activity and behavior.

Unconscious- this is a form of reflection of reality, during which a person is not aware of its sources, and the reflected reality merges with experiences.

Personality- a person with his own individual and socio-psychological characteristics.

Activity- it is a set of human actions aimed at satisfying his needs and interests.

Behavior- external manifestations of mental activity, actions and actions of a person.

Basic task psychology as a science is the study of the objective patterns of functioning and manifestation of mental phenomena and processes as a result of reflecting the effects of objective reality.

At the same time, psychology also sets itself a number of other tasks.

1. To study the qualitative (structural) features of mental phenomena and processes, which is not only theoretical, but also of great practical importance.

2. Analyze the formation and development of mental phenomena and processes in connection with the determinism of the psyche objective conditions life and activities of people.

3. Explore physiological mechanisms which underlie mental phenomena, since without their knowledge it is impossible to correctly master the practical means of their formation and development.

4. To promote the systematic introduction of scientific psychological knowledge into practice (development of scientific and practices training and education, rationalization of the labor process in various fields activities).

Chapter one

1.2. RELATIONSHIP OF PSYCHOLOGY WITH OTHER BRANCHES OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

Subject, tasks and features of general psychology as a science

COMMENTS

Relationships of psychology with other branches of scientific knowledge are strong and regular.

One side,philosophy, sociology and other social sciences provide psychology with the opportunity to methodologically accurately and theoretically correctly approach the understanding of the human psyche and consciousness, their origin and role in the life and activities of people.

historical sciences show psychology how the development of the psyche and consciousness of people was carried out at various stages of the formation of society and human relations.

Physiology and Anthropology allow psychology to more accurately understand the structure and functions nervous system, their role and significance in the formation of the mechanisms of the functioning of the psyche.

Science of labor activity orient psychology in the directions of correct understanding of the functioning of the psyche and consciousness in conditions of work and rest, their requirements for the individual and socio-psychological qualities of people.

medical sciences help psychology to understand the pathology of people's mental development and find ways for psychocorrection and psychotherapy.

Pedagogical Sciences provide psychology with information about the main directions of training and education of people, allowing it to develop recommendations for the psychological support of these processes.

On the other side,psychology, studying the conditions and specifics of the course of mental phenomena and processes, allows natural and social sciences to more correctly interpret the laws of reflection of objective reality, to concretize the cause-and-effect conditionality of social and other phenomena and processes.

By investigating the patterns of personality formation in peculiar social and historical circumstances, psychology also provides some assistance to the historical sciences.

The medical sciences at the present time also cannot do without the results of psychological research, since many diseases, as the results of the latest research show, have a psychological origin.

Psychology gives recommendations to managers and organizers of economic production, by what psychological means and methods it is possible to increase the efficiency of people's labor activity, reduce conflict in the course of it, etc.

Psychology is of particular importance for pedagogy, since knowledge of the patterns of personality development, age and individual characteristics serves people theoretical justification to develop the most effective methods of training and education.

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1.3. FEATURES OF PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE

Subject, tasks and features of general psychology as a science

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Psychology- one of the most complex sciences, since the bearer of the psyche is the brain, the most complex organ and mechanism in terms of structure and patterns of activity. Yes, and the psychological phenomena themselves are very multifaceted, and most of the laws of the psyche have not yet been studied.

In addition, learn to manage mental processes and phenomena, mental functions harder than anything else.

Merging the subject and object of psychology is explained by the fact that a person with the help of the psyche learns the world around him, and then on the basis of this And his own psyche, the influence of this world on it.

At the same time, this fusion is ambiguous, it has a lot of forms of manifestation, which are quite difficult to study.

Unique Practical Consequences psychology lies in the fact that the results of the study of this science, in comparison with other branches of knowledge, are very often much more significant for people both objectively and subjectively, since they explain the causes of all actions, deeds and behavior of a person.

The extraordinary promise of psychology and its research follows from the ever-increasing role and importance of people, their psyche and consciousness. May with to a large extent responsibility to state that the greatest difficulty in the future will be not the development of some super-complex technical projects, but the prediction of the behavior and actions of people in the course of their implementation and operation.

The hardest task today is not to know and use surrounding nature but in understanding the mechanisms of one's own behavior and learning to manage it.

F. Beach

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1.4. THE WORLD OF MENTAL PHENOMENA

Subject, tasks and features of general psychology as a science

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World of Psychic Phenomena- this is a set of all phenomena and processes that reflect the main content of the human psyche and which psychology studies as a specific branch of knowledge.

mental processes - these are mental phenomena that provide the primary reflection and awareness of the impact of the surrounding reality by a person. As a rule, they have a clear beginning, a definite course and a pronounced end.

Mental processes are divided into: cognitive(sensation, perception, attention, representation, memory, imagination, thinking, speech), emotional and strong-willed.

Mental properties - these are the most stable and constantly manifesting personality traits that provide a certain qualitative and quantitative level of behavior and activity that is typical for a given person.

Mental properties include orientation, temperament, character and abilities.

Mental states - this is a certain level of efficiency and quality of the functioning of the human psyche, characteristic of him in every this moment time.

Mental states include activity, passivity, cheerfulness, fatigue, apathy, etc.

Mental education - These are mental phenomena that are formed in the process of a person acquiring vital and professional experience, the content of which includes a special combination of knowledge, skills and abilities.

Socio-psychological phenomena and processes - these are psychological phenomena caused by the interaction, communication and mutual influence of people on each other and their belonging to certain social communities.

They call the wealth of the good those that are outside, The real good Exists in me. R. Tagore

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1.5. FORMS OF EXISTENCE OF PSYCHE

Subject, tasks and features of general psychology as a science

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Psychological phenomena exist in the form of:

1. Processes:

^ sensations, perceptions, ideas, imagination, memory, attention, thinking, speech, motivation, assimilation, memorization, forgetting, generalization, repetition, habituation, reflection, self-actualization, self-hypnosis, self-observation, self-determination, creativity, etc.;

^ individual external (behavioral): actions, activities, gestures, games, imprinting, facial expressions, imitation, deeds, reactions, exercises, etc.;

^ communication, interpersonal perception, interpersonal relations, mutual understanding, interaction, identification, communication, conformity, formation of group norms;

^> group external (behavioral): relationships and interactions.

2. States:

^ individual, internal (mental): adaptation, affects, drives, arousal, hallucinations, interests, love, melancholy, intentions, tension, moods, alienation, absent-mindedness, self-actualization, self-control, inclination, passion, aspirations, stress, shame, anxiety, conviction, claims, attachment, fatigue, fatigue, frustration, euphoria, etc.;

> individual, external (behavioral): readiness, interest, behavioral activity, etc.;

^ group, internal (psychological): conflicts, cohesion, intra-group polarization, psychological climate etc.;

> group external (behavioral): panic; fear, the openness of the group, the closeness of the group, etc.

3. Qualities:

> individual, internal (mental): authoritarianism, aggressiveness, activity, accentuation, timidity, inertia, introversion, intuitiveness, sociability, efficiency, determination, pride, diligence, etc.;

> individual, external (behavioral): authority, humanity, suggestibility, perseverance, learning ability, organization, diligence, fanaticism, ambition, selfishness, extroversion, etc.;

> group, internal (psychological): compatibility, style of interaction and leadership, rivalry, cooperation, decision-making, effectiveness of joint activities, etc.;

> group external (behavioral): organization, rivalry, etc.

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1.6. STRUCTURE OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE

Subject, tasks and features of general psychology as a science

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Feeling- this is a reflection in the mind of a person of individual properties and qualities of objects and phenomena that directly affect his senses.

Perception- this is a reflection in the mind of a person of objects and phenomena that directly affect his senses as a whole, and not their individual properties, as happens during sensation.

Representation - the process of recreation (reproduction) specific images objects and phenomena of the external world that previously affected our senses.

Attention- this is the selective focus of human consciousness on certain objects and phenomena.

Memory is the process of capturing, preserving and reproducing what a person reflected, did or experienced.

Imagination- this is a mental cognitive process of creating new ideas based on existing experience, that is, the process of transforming reflection of reality.

Thinking- this is a mental cognitive process of reflecting the essential connections and relations of objects and phenomena of the objective world.

Speech- process practical application human language in order to communicate with other people.

Emotions and feelings- this is the experience by a person of his attitude to everything that he knows and does, to what surrounds him.

Will- this is the ability of a person to consciously control his behavior, to mobilize all his forces to achieve his goals.

Orientation personality - this is her mental property, which expresses the needs, motives, worldview, attitudes and goals of life and activity.

Temperament- this is a mental property of a person, characterized by the dynamics of the course of mental processes.

Character- this is a mental property of a person that determines the line of behavior of a person and is expressed in his relationship: to the world around him, work, other people, to himself.

Capabilities- this is a mental property of a person, reflecting the manifestations of such features that allow him to successfully engage in and master one or more types of activity.

In addition, the subject of general psychology are mental education, i.e. everything that is connected with the results of a person’s mastering the surrounding reality and improving his inner world (knowledge, skills and abilities, professional excellence etc.), as well as mental states, i.e. passivity, activity, work attitude, depression, satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

General psychology, at the same time, lays the foundations for the methodology for comprehending the phenomena of other branches of psychological science.

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1.7. RELATIONSHIP OF EVERYDAY AND SCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY

Subject, tasks and features of general psychology as a science

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Everyday psychology- this is the psychological knowledge gleaned by people from everyday life.

They have the following main distinguishing characteristics:

> concreteness, i.e. attachment to specific situations, specific people specific tasks human activity;

< intuition, indicating a lack of awareness of their origin and patterns of functioning;

^ limitation, i.e., insufficient ideas of a person about the specifics and areas of functioning of specific psychological phenomena;

> based on observations and reflections, which means that ordinary psychological knowledge is not subjected to scientific comprehension;

< limited in materials i.e. a person who has certain worldly psychological observations cannot compare them with those of other people.

Scientific psychology- this is stable psychological knowledge obtained in the process of theoretical and experimental study of the psyche of people and animals.

This knowledge has its own characteristics:

> generality, that is, the meaningfulness of a particular psychological phenomenon on the basis of the specifics of its manifestation in many people, in many conditions, in relation to many tasks of human activity;

> rationalism, indicating that scientific psychological knowledge is maximally researched and realized;

> unlimitedness, i.e. they can be used by many people;

^ based on experiment i.e. scientific psychological knowledge is investigated in various conditions;

^ weak limitation in materials, meaning that scientific psychological knowledge reflects both all human experience and the conditions in which it accumulated.

Of course, being determines consciousness. This is usually. However, fortunately, it often happens that consciousness is ahead of being. Otherwise, we would still be sitting in caves.

A. and B. Strugatsky

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1.8. STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

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1st stage. The first ideas about the psyche were animistic character that endowed each object with a soul. In animation they saw the cause of the development of phenomena and movement. Aristotle extended the concept of the mental to everything organic processes, highlighting the plant, animal and rational souls.

Later there were two opposite points view of the psyche - materialistic (Democritus) and idealistic (Plato). Democritus believed that the psyche, like all nature, is material. The soul is made up of atoms, only finer than the atoms that make up physical bodies. Knowledge of the world occurs through the senses. According to Plato, the soul has nothing to do with matter and, unlike the latter, is ideal. Cognition of the world is not the interaction of the psyche with outside world, but the soul's memory of what it saw in the ideal world before it entered the human body.

2nd stage. In XVII in. the methodological prerequisites for a scientific understanding of the psyche and consciousness were laid. R. Descartes believed that animals do not have a soul and their behavior is a reflex to external influences. In his opinion, a person has consciousness and in the process of thinking establishes the presence of an inner life. D. Locke argued that there is nothing in the mind that would not pass through the senses, put forward the principle of an atomistic analysis of consciousness, according to which mental phenomena can be brought to primary, further indecomposable elements (sensations) and, on their basis, formed through more complex associations education.

In the 17th century English scientists T. Hobbes, D. Hartley developed a deterministic idea of ​​the associations that underlie the functioning of the psyche, and French researchers P. Holbach and C. Helvetius developed an extremely important idea about the social mediation of the human psyche.

3rd stage. An important role in the selection of psychology as an independent branch of knowledge was played by the development of the method conditioned reflexes in physiology and treatment practice mental illness, as well as conducting experimental studies of the psyche. At the beginning of the XX century. founder of behaviorism American psychologist D. Watson pointed out the inconsistency of the Descarto-Lockean concept of consciousness and stated that psychology should abandon the study of consciousness and focus only on what is observable, i.e., on human behavior.

4th stage(modern). It is characterized by a variety of approaches to the essence of the psyche, the transformation of psychology into a diversified applied field of knowledge that serves the interests of human practical activity.

Russian psychological science adheres to a dialectical-materialistic view of the origin of the psyche.

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1.9. METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Subject, tasks and features of general psychology as a science

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Observation- the most common method by which psychological phenomena are studied in various conditions without interfering with their course. Observation can be worldly and scientific, included and not included.

Zhiteiskoe observation is limited to the registration of facts, has a random, unorganized character. Scientific observation is organized, involves a clear plan, fixing the results in a special diary. Included observation involves the participation of the researcher in the activity he is studying; in non-inclusion it is not required.

Experiment- a method that involves the active intervention of the researcher in the activities of the subject in order to create best conditions to study specific psychological phenomena.

The experiment can be laboratory, when it takes place in specially organized conditions, and the actions of the subject are determined by the instructions; natural, when the study is carried out in natural conditions; ascertaining - when only necessary psychological phenomena are studied; formative- in the course of which certain qualities of the subjects are developed.

Method of generalization of independent characteristics involves the identification and analysis of opinions about certain psychological phenomena and processes received from various people.

Performance analysis- a method of indirect study of psychological phenomena by practical results and objects of labor, which embody creative forces and abilities of people.

Poll- a method that involves the answers of the subjects to specific questions of the researcher.

Poll happens written (questionnaire), when questions are asked on paper; oral, when questions are asked orally; and in the form interview, during which personal contact is established with the subject.

Testing- a method during the application of which the subjects perform certain actions on the instructions of the researcher.

Distinguish testing projective investigating various manifestations of the individual's psyche (usually it includes the use of constitutive, interpretive, cathartic, impressive, expressive and additive techniques) and testing psychocorrectional(usually involving the use of methods of behavioral and cognitivist correction, psychoanalysis, gestalt and body-oriented therapy, psychodrama, psychosynthesis and transpersonal approach).

Subject, tasks and features of general psychology as a science