— integrated reflections of the effects on the subject of both internal and external stimuli without a clear awareness of their substantive content (cheerfulness, fatigue, apathy, depression, euphoria, boredom, etc.).
Mental states of a person
Very mobile and dynamic. A person’s behavior at any given time depends on what kind of peculiarities mental processes and mental properties of the individual manifest themselves at this specific time.
It is obvious that a waking person differs from a sleeping person, a sober person from a drunk person, a happy person from an unhappy one. Mental condition - This is precisely what characterizes the particular aches and pains of a person’s psyche during a certain period of time.
At the same time, the mental states in which a person may be, of course, also influence such characteristics as mental processes and mental properties, i.e. These mental parameters are closely related to each other. influence the course mental processes, and by repeating themselves often, acquiring stability, they can become personality trait.
At the same time modern psychology considers the mental state as a relatively independent aspect of the characteristics of personality psychology.
Concept of mental state
Mental state is a concept that is used in psychology to conditionally highlight a relatively stable component in the individual’s psyche, in contrast to the concepts of “mental process”, which emphasizes the dynamic aspect of the psyche and “mental property”, indicating the stability of the manifestations of the individual’s psyche, their fixation in the structure of his personality.
Therefore, a psychological state is defined as a characteristic of a person’s mental activity that is stable over a certain period of time.
As a rule, most often a condition is understood as a certain energy characteristics, influencing a person’s activity in the process of his activity - vigor, euphoria, fatigue, apathy, depression. Also especially highlighted. which are mainly determined by the level of wakefulness: sleep, drowsiness, hypnosis, wakefulness.
Particular attention is paid to the psychological states of people under stress during extreme circumstances(if it is necessary to make emergency decisions, during exams, in a combat situation), in critical situations (pre-start psychological states of athletes, etc.).
Every psychological state has physiological, psychological, and behavioral aspects. Therefore, the structure of psychological states includes many components of different quality:
- on physiological level manifests itself, for example, in heart rate, blood pressure and so on.;
- V motor sphere detected in breathing rhythm, changes in facial expressions, voice volume and speech rate;
- V emotional sphere manifests itself in positive or negative experiences;
- V cognitive sphere determines one or another level of logical thinking, the accuracy of forecasting upcoming events, the ability to regulate the state of the body, etc.;
- on behavioral level the accuracy, correctness of the actions performed, their compliance with current needs, etc. depend on it;
- on communicative level this or that mental state affects the nature of communication with other people, the ability to hear and influence another person, set adequate goals and achieve them.
Research has shown that the emergence of certain psychological states is based, as a rule, on actual needs, which act in relation to them as a system-forming factor.
So, if the conditions external environment contribute to the quick and easy satisfaction of needs, this leads to the emergence of a positive state - joy, inspiration, delight, etc. If the probability of satisfying a particular desire is low or absent altogether, then the psychological state will be negative.
Depending on the nature of the condition that has arisen, all the basic characteristics of the human psyche, his attitudes, expectations, feelings, etc., can change dramatically. as psychologists say, “filters for perceiving the world.”
Thus, for a loving person, the object of his affection seems ideal, devoid of shortcomings, although objectively he may not be such. And vice versa, for a person in a state of anger, another person appears exclusively in black, and certain logical arguments have very little effect on such a state.
After performing certain actions with external objects or social facilities, causing this or that psychological state, for example love or hatred, a person comes to some result. This result could be as follows:
- or a person realizes the need that caused this or that mental state, and then it fades away:
- or the result is negative.
IN the latter case a new psychological state arises - irritation, frustration, etc. At the same time, the person again persistently tries to satisfy his need, although it turned out to be difficult to fulfill. Way out of this difficult situation associated with the inclusion of mechanisms psychological protection, which can reduce the level of psychological tension and reduce the likelihood of chronic stress.
Classification of mental states
Human life is a continuous series of various mental states.
IN mental states the degree of balance of the individual’s psyche with the requirements of the environment is manifested. States of joy and sadness, admiration and disappointment, sadness and delight arise in connection with what events we are involved in and how we relate to them.
Mental condition- temporary uniqueness of an individual’s mental activity, determined by the content and conditions of it, personal attitude towards this activity.
Cognitive, emotional and volitional processes are complexly manifested in the corresponding states that determine the functional level of an individual’s life.
Mental states are, as a rule, a system of reactions to a certain behavioral situation. However, all mental states differ in sharply expressed individual feature- are a current modification of the psyche of a given individual. Aristotle also noted that human virtue consists, in particular, in responding to external circumstances in accordance with them, without exceeding or diminishing what is due.
Mental states are divided into situational And personal. Situational states are characterized by a temporary uniqueness of the course of mental activity depending on situational circumstances. They are divided:
- to general functional ones, determining the general behavioral activity of the individual;
- state mental stress in difficult conditions of activity and behavior;
- conflict mental states.
Stable mental states of the individual include:
- optimal and crisis conditions;
- borderline states (psychopathy, neuroses, mental retardation);
- mental states of impaired consciousness.
All mental states are associated with neurodynamic features of higher nervous activity, interaction of the left and right hemispheres of the brain, functional connections of the cortex and subcortex, interaction of the first and second signaling systems and ultimately with features mental self-regulation each individual.
Reactions to environmental influences include direct and secondary adaptive effects. Primary - a specific response to a specific stimulus, secondary - change general level psychophysiological activity. Research has identified three types of psychophysiological self-regulation, which corresponds to three types of general functional states mental activity:
- secondary reactions are adequate to the primary ones;
- secondary reactions exceed the level of primary ones;
- secondary reactions are weaker than the necessary primary reactions.
The second and third types of mental states cause excess or insufficiency of physiological support for mental activity.
Let's move on to brief description individual mental states.
Personal crisis states
For many people, individual everyday and work conflicts turn into intolerable mental trauma, acute persistent mental pain. The individual mental vulnerability of a person depends on his moral structure, the hierarchy of values, the meaning it attaches to various life phenomena. Some people have elements moral consciousness may be unbalanced, separate moral categories can acquire the status of super value, moral accentuations of the personality are formed, its “ weak spots" Some people are highly sensitive to infringement of their honor and dignity, injustice, dishonesty, others - to infringement of their material interests, prestige, and intra-group status. In these cases, situational conflicts can develop into deep crisis states of the individual.
An adaptive personality, as a rule, reacts to traumatic circumstances by defensively restructuring its attitudes. The subjective system of values is aimed at neutralizing the traumatic effects on the psyche. In the process psychological protection a radical restructuring is taking place personal relationships. Mental disorder caused by mental trauma is replaced by reorganized orderliness, and sometimes pseudo-orderliness - social alienation of the individual, withdrawal into the world of dreams, addiction to drugs. Social maladjustment an individual may manifest itself in various forms Oh. Let's name some of them.
State of negativism- prevalence of negative reactions in the individual, loss of positive social contacts.
Situational opposition of personality- a sharp negative assessment of individuals, their behavior and activities, aggressiveness towards them.
Social withdrawal (autism)- stable self-isolation of the individual as a result conflict interactions with the social environment.
Alienation of the individual from society is associated with a violation value orientations individual, rejection of group, and in some cases, general social norms. At the same time, other people and social groups are perceived by the individual as alien and hostile. Alienation manifests itself in a special emotional state of the individual - a persistent feeling of loneliness, rejection, and sometimes in embitterment, even misanthropy.
Social alienation can take the form of a stable personal anomaly: a person loses the ability to socially reflect, take into account the position of other people, his ability to empathize is sharply weakened and even completely inhibited emotional states other people, social identification is disrupted. On this basis, strategic meaning formation is disrupted: the individual ceases to care about the future.
Prolonged and difficult to bear loads, insurmountable conflicts cause a person’s condition depression(Latin depressio - suppression) - a negative emotional and mental state, accompanied by painful passivity. In a state of depression, an individual experiences painful feelings of depression, melancholy, despair, and detachment from life; feels the futility of existence. Personal self-esteem sharply decreases. The entire society is perceived by the individual as something hostile, opposed to him; is happening derealization when the subject loses a sense of the reality of what is happening, or depersonalization, when an individual loses the opportunity and need to be ideally represented in the life of other people, does not strive for self-affirmation and manifestation of the ability to be an individual. Insufficient energy supply of behavior leads to painful despair caused by unsolved problems, failure to fulfill accepted obligations, and one’s duty. The attitude of such people becomes tragic, and their behavior becomes ineffective.
So, in some mental states stable personality-characteristic states appear, but there are also situational ones, episodic conditions personalities that are not only not characteristic of her, but even contradict general style her behavior. The causes of such conditions can be various temporary circumstances: weakened mental self-regulation that has captured the personality tragic events, mental breakdowns caused by metabolic disorders, emotional decline, etc.
The universal characteristic of life is activity - active state living organisms as a condition for their existence in the world.
Activity as an active state of the subject is determined from the inside, on his part relations to the world, and is realized outside– in processes behavior.
The fundamental difference between activity and activity is that activity comes from the need for an object, and activity comes from the need for activity.
4.1.Internal characteristics of activity. When talking about human activity, researchers usually mean that they can answer the following questions:
*If someone is active, then for what? (motivational basis of activity);
*Activity – in what direction? (target basis);
*How, through what psychological mechanisms is activity realized? (instrumental basis).
The internal organization of human activity, according to A.V. Petrovsky, includes motivational, goal-oriented, and instrumental bases of activity.
Motivational basis of activity. Every living being, including the human individual, carries within itself an internal image of its life relationships with the world. For a person, these relationships are very diverse: responding to the needs of other people, feeling like a part of Nature, etc. n. All these are diverse forms subjectivity person.
Firstly, the subject of activity represents the “individual self” of a person. A person’s activities, as he himself believes, are motivated by his own interests and needs: “I do this because I want this,” “I do this for myself.”
Secondly, the subject of activity is the “I of the other in me,” when the “presence” of the other is experienced as a kind of invasion into one’s inner world.
Third, the subject of activity is such that he cannot be identified with any of the people specifically - he is supra-individual. But at the same time, it relates to everyone, expressing what should be characteristic of all people - “the human in man”: conscience, reason, goodness, beauty, freedom.”
Fourthly, the subject of activity is impersonal and is identified with the natural body of the individual, “not I”: he is immersed in the element of the natural. In psychoanalytic concepts this is active principle denoted by the term “It” (S. Freud) and is considered as the focus of the forces of love (instinct of procreation) and death (instinct of destruction, aggression). “Not I,” however, with this view is not limited to purely biological motives: creativity, altruism and even religious aspirations are sometimes considered as manifestations of a purely natural principle.
In addition to the four indicated aspects of the motivational basis of activity, the internal organization of human activity consists of needs. Needs are the source of human activity.
Needs – This is the state of a living being, expressing its dependence on specific conditions of existence and serving as a source of its activity.
Human needs include vital needs and aspirations (from ‘vita’ - life): the need for food, water, sleep, a sense of security, etc.; social interests: the need to belong to a group of other people, to enter into emotional contacts, to have a certain status, etc.; existential urges:"to be a subject own life", feel self-identity, etc.
Target basis of activity. The process of satisfying the subject's needs presupposes the achievement of certain goals (final or intermediate).
Activity presupposes the presence of a conscious goal in a person’s activity.
A goal is what one strives for, what is intended to be achieved.. It is important to distinguish between the goals and motives of human activity.
Motives are an incentive to activity, which is associated with the satisfaction of needs in which the subject’s activity is manifested, and its direction is also determined.
In motives, as well as in goals, a possible future is anticipated. IN motives as if it is written what activity is for the subject, what should happen to himself. Goals activities are oriented outward, they anticipate the result that should exist objectively– be it an artistic canvas, a turned part, a proven theorem.
In contrast to the motives goals human activity always conscious. Target is a result anticipated in consciousness, accessible to the understanding of the subject himself, as well as other people. Motives however, this is the property, first of all, of the subject himself; they can be represented by his unique and deep experiences, which do not always find a response and understanding from anyone else.
It is necessary to distinguish final And intermediate goals.
Achievement ultimate goal is equivalent to satisfying a need. Intermediate goals include those set by a person as a condition for achieving the final goal. Thus, an artist, making sketches of a future painting, pursues an intermediate goal.
The goal delivery process is denoted as goal setting.
Instrumental basis of activity. Its important components are knowledge, skills and abilities.
Knowledge is not only a set of information about something, but also the ability of people to navigate the system of social relations, to act according to circumstances in various life situations.
Skills are methods of using certain means of activity mastered to a degree of automation. A person performs an action “mechanically”. Such automated elements of action are found in any field of activity that has become familiar to a person. Thus, the ways of writing and connecting letters in a word are automated, but the writing process itself remains a purposeful, deliberate action.
A fund is formed based on knowledge and skills skills person.
Skill is the ability to consciously perform a necessary action.“Knowing” something does not mean “being able to”: it is necessary to master the methods of transforming information about any subject into control actions - “commands”. Unlike skills, each of which is formed by a series of automatically following one another “commands”, determined knowledge person, skills manifest themselves in a person’s conscious use of certain “commands.” Skills form the basis of personal mastery.
Skills and abilities are divided into several types: motor, cognitive, theoretical, practical.
Motor skills and abilities include a variety of movements, complex and simple, that make up the external, motor aspects of activity. There are special types of activities, such as sports, that are entirely based on motor skills and abilities.
Cognitive– include abilities associated with searching, perceiving, remembering and processing information. They correspond to the main mental processes and involve the formation of knowledge.
Theoretical– associated with abstract intelligence. They are expressed in a person’s ability to analyze, generalize material, build hypotheses, theories, and translate information from one sign system to another. Such skills and abilities are most manifested in creative work associated with obtaining an ideal product of thought.
Every problem has a solution - simple and convenient. And solving it requires knowledge and skills. G. Mencken
Practical – are formed in the course of a person’s practical activity, when he encounters not theory, but real life. They allow you to adapt to this life.
4.2.External organization of activity.Activity is the largest unit of analysis of external manifestations of activity, a holistic motivated act of behavior.
Under activities refers to the activity of a subject aimed at changing the world, at producing or generating a product of material or spiritual culture.
Human activity appears first as practical, material activity. Then theoretical activity is separated from it.
Every activity consists of a number of acts - actions or deeds, based on incentives or motives and aimed at a specific goal.
Under different conditions, a goal can be achieved in different ways ( operations) or paths ( methods), the action acts as a solution to the problem.
A person is characterized by a conscious separation of himself from nature, knowledge of its laws and a conscious influence on it.
A person as an individual sets goals for himself and is aware of the motives that encourage him to be active.
Any type of activity is associated with movements:
Muscular-muscular movement of the hand when writing, when performing a labor operation as a machine operator;
Or the movement of the speech apparatus when pronouncing words.
Movement is a physiological function of a living organism. Motor, or motor, function appears very early in humans.
The first movements are observed during the intrauterine period of development, in the embryo. The newborn screams and makes chaotic movements with his arms and legs; he also exhibits congenital complexes of complex movements; for example, sucking, grasping reflexes.
The infant's innate movements are not objectively directed and are stereotypical. As studies in childhood psychology show, accidental contact of a stimulus with the surface of a newborn’s palm causes a stereotypical grasping movement.
By physiological basis all human movements can be divided into two groups:
Congenital (unconditioned reflex);
Acquired (conditioned reflex).
The overwhelming number of movements, including movement in space, a person acquires through life experience, that is, most of his movements are conditioned reflex.
Only a small number of movements (screaming, blinking) are innate.
The motor development of a child is associated with the transformation of unconditionally reflex regulation of movements into a system of conditioned reflex connections.
The lifetime possibilities for the development of human movements are enormous. They are included in different kinds labor is served by interpersonal relationships.
Strengthened movement systems begin to express some individual personality characteristics.
Walking movements form the gait that distinguishes one person from another. Changes in gait and speed of movement are influenced by experiences.
A huge number of movements (facial expressions, gestures) convey feelings, thoughts, relationships. Gestures and facial expressions serve as sign language.
Speech sounds created by the movement of the larynx, tension of the vocal cords, and the oral cavity are movements that provide (through the sound of speech) information about a person’s mental states.
People's motor abilities vary. They are closely related to motor skills. In ballerinas, athletes, singers, and actors, their motor abilities are brought to such a degree of perfection that they become the object of aesthetic perception.
A system of movements aimed at an object with the aim of appropriating or changing it is called action.
IN difference from movements that are associated with the motor function of the body, actions are initially social in nature: they depend on objects created by previous generations that a person encounters.
The simplest steps are subject. The child learns to eat with a spoon, wash his hands with soap, and dry them with a towel. The objects themselves, created by human hands, contain a way of operating with them.
The child gradually masters objective world, and accordingly, the development of his actions occurs. From random contacts with objects, purposeful actions gradually develop.
The emergence of actions is associated with the selection of objects from the environment and their use in accordance with the needs of the child. In the first year of life, the selection of objects and operations with them are based only in a sensory image. With the development of speech, the word begins to direct and regulate the action, although the image remains its most important component.
Actions can be directed not only at the object, but also at surrounding people.
Then they become an act of behavior: an act if they correspond to the established norms of behavior in society, or a misdemeanor if they contradict them.
In psychology there is a distinction physical(external, motor) actions with objects and mental(internal, mental) actions with mental realities.
Research by psychologists L. S. Vygotsky, A. N. Leontyev, P. Ya. Galperin, N. F. Talyzina showed that mental actions are initially formed as external, objective ones and are gradually transferred to the internal plane.
The translation of an external action into an internal plan is called interiorization.
Let's look at this with an example. The child learns to count. First, he counts the sticks, placing them next to each other. Then a time comes when the sticks become unnecessary, since counting turns into a mental action, abstracted from the objects themselves and external action with them. The objects of operation are symbols: words and numbers.
The formation of various mental actions ensures mental activity.
Mastery of mental activity leads to the fact that, before embarking on external activities aimed at achieving the desired goal, a person plans the action in his mind, using images and speech symbols.
External activities are directed and controlled by mental activity.
The implementation of mental action externally, in the form of actions with objects, is called exteriorization.
As already mentioned, activity is a dynamic system that is capable of change, and mutual transitions occur between the internal (mental) and external (physical) components.
The process of transition from external real action to internal ideal action is called interiorization.
Thanks to interiorization, the human psyche acquires the ability to operate with images of objects that are not currently in sight.
An important way of such a transition is the word, and the method of transition is a speech action.
The external side of activity - the movements with the help of which a person influences the world around him - is determined and regulated by internal activity, motivational, cognitive and regulatory.
The process of transition from internal (mental) to external (objective) activity is called exteriorization. So, for example, after a thoughtful course of solving a problem, the student begins to write down the sequence of actions in a notebook.
External activities are controlled by an internal plan of action. A person compares the action being performed with the planned one, which exists in the form of images and thoughts.
The mental plan of real action and the regulation of movements and actions on its basis are called acceptor actions.
This mechanism allows you to compare the actual result with the desired one and make adjustments aimed at achieving the final goal.
P.K. Anokhin, who developed the concept action acceptor, defines it as an apparatus for monitoring the results of an action and comparing them with the set goal.
By degree awareness of goals(“why am I doing this”) and consequences (“what can this lead to”) actions are divided into impulsive And strong-willed.
Impulsive actions are characterized by a low degree of awareness of goals and possible consequences.
An image or word or command that appears in the mind immediately causes action.
Impulsive actions are often found among younger schoolchildren and adolescents - these are common cases of non-malicious, accidental violation of discipline.
Strong-willed actions presuppose thoughtfulness of goals and possible consequences.
A set of actions combined common goal and performing a certain social function, constitutes activity.
Action is a relatively completed element of activity aimed at achieving an intermediate conscious goal.
The action can be either external, which is performed with the participation of the motor apparatus and sensory organs, or internal - mental. The term “action” describes behavioral processes that correspond to the goals set by the subject. Actions are conscious because their purpose is conscious. The object towards which the action is directed is also realized. An action is a target act of behavior of a subject.
An action within an activity is a more fractional unit of its analysis than an activity; however, it can also be represented as a combination of smaller fragments of behavior – operations.
When behavior is considered in its relationship with the instrumental basis of activity, it appears as a sequence of operations.
The same action can be performed using operations that are completely different from each other. For example, the difference in the operations performed when playing different musical instruments: guitar, trumpet, flute. The performance of one and the same work is realized through completely dissimilar movements.
Considering any action, you can distinguish it motor, sensory and central components. Accordingly, the functions that these components perform during actions can be determined like execution, control and regulation.
Methods of performing, monitoring and regulating actions are called methods of activity.
Each of the listed functions can be implemented by a person both consciously and unconsciously. For example, the system of movements of the larynx necessary for pronouncing words is not at all conscious to the person. Although the grammatical forms and content of the phrase that a person is about to pronounce are always first realized.
Possibly the opposite phenomenon, when an action first requires detailed conscious regulation, and then begins to be performed with less participation of consciousness - it becomes automated. It is this partial automation of the execution and regulation of human movements that is called a skill.
The formation of a skill is never an independent, isolated process. Each skill functions and consists of a system of skills that a person already possesses. Some of them help a new skill to form and function, others make it difficult, and others modify it.
As you know, an action is determined by its goal, object and conditions (situation). The action is performed as a system of necessary techniques for motor execution, sensory control and central regulation.
The general pattern of skill development is that, having received a new task, a person first strives to use techniques that he already knows. The success of transferring activity techniques depends on how accurately the similarity of tasks is assessed in terms of methods for solving them. Two extreme cases can be distinguished.
The first is when the goal or objects, or conditions of two actions are perceived by a person as similar, although in fact these actions are different in methods of execution, control and central regulation. In such a situation, ineffective methods of action appear. Then they talk about negative transfer, or interference, of skills.
For example, a dramatic demonstration of the interference mechanism was observed on a massive scale in Sweden. There it was announced that all transport would be transferred from left-hand traffic to right-hand traffic. What led to negative consequences: errors while driving and a record number of accidents.
Another possible extreme case is when the goal, objects or conditions are externally different, while the actions necessary for the correct decision are similar to the methods of execution, control and regulation.
Thus, having good skills in using a file among schoolchildren makes it much easier for them to master the techniques of cutting metal with other tools. In this case, in the presence of different objects and goals, the action has similarities in execution techniques and sensory control. In this situation they say about positive transfer, or induction, of skills.
Another element of the activity is It is a habit. It differs from ability and skills in that it represents a so-called unproductive element of activity. If skills and abilities are related to the solution of any problem, involve obtaining some product and are quite flexible, then habits are an inflexible part of the activity that a person performs mechanically and does not have a conscious goal or a clearly expressed productive conclusion.
Activity is the largest unit of analysis of external manifestations of activity - a holistic motivated act of behavior. The result of activity is the dynamics of experiences that express the relationship between the subject of the need and its object.
Human activity is realized in his actions.
Action. This term describes behavioral processes that correspond to the goals set by the subject.
Actions are conscious, because their goal is realized. The object is also conscious, to which the action is directed. Objects of action are “things” as carriers of meaning in which the totality of human experience is crystallized. So, action is the target act of behavior in the field of values of the subject. The result of action is transformation or knowledge of a life situation. In this regard, they talk about subject-transformative and subject-cognitive acts.
In the first case (subject-transformative act), a person changes the situation according to his ideas about what it should be.
In the second case, the objective situation should be, as it were, untouched, the activity of the cognizing subject has the character of assimilation to the object. In both cases, thanks to action, a closer connection between a person and the world is achieved.
Saying that the object of an action is a thing as a carrier of meaning, they emphasize the possibility of a common understanding by people of the effects of the action performed. If such “reading” is difficult, the action gives the impression of absurdity, that is, in the eyes of others it ceases to be an action itself. In psychological texts devoted to the problem of activity, they cite, for example, such a wonderful episode told by Kurt Lorenz. A famous ethologist once took a brood of ducklings “for a walk”, replacing their mother. To do this, he had to squat and quack.
The reaction of bewilderment on the faces of tourists can be understood as evidence of the impossibility of establishing the meaning of the action.
An action within an activity is a more fractional unit of its analysis than an activity; however, it can also be presented as a combination of smaller fragments of behavior - operations.
Operations. When behavior is considered in its relationship with the instrumental basis of activity, it appears as a sequence of operations. The construction of interactions between means that meet the goal of the subject belongs to the field of operations.
Thus, activities, actions, operations, manifesting themselves in external motivational, goal-oriented, instrumental relationships of the individual, create a flexible dynamic system.
4.3. Activities. Modern man has many different types of activities, the number of which approximately corresponds to the number of existing needs. In practice, it is very difficult to characterize all species, since their number is very large. There are three main parameters of needs - strength, quantity, quality.
Under by force of need This refers to the meaning of the corresponding need for a person, its relevance, frequency of occurrence and motivating potential. A stronger need is more significant, occurs more often, dominates other needs and forces a person to behave in such a way that this particular need is satisfied first.
Quantity- this is the number of various needs that a person has and from time to time become relevant for him. There are people who have a relatively small number of needs, and they quite successfully cope with their systematic satisfaction, enjoying life. But there are those who have many different, sometimes contradictory, incompatible needs. The actualization of such needs requires the simultaneous inclusion of a person in various types of activities, and conflicts often arise between equally directed needs and there is a shortage of time necessary to satisfy them. Such people usually complain about lack of time and experience dissatisfaction with life.
Under the uniqueness of the need This refers to items and objects with the help of which this or that need can be sufficiently fully satisfied this person, as well as the preferred way to satisfy this and other needs. For example, the cognitive need of one person can be satisfied as a result of systematically watching only entertainment programs on television. For others, to fully satisfy a similar need, reading books, newspapers, and watching TV shows is not enough. The third person, in addition to the above, needs systematic communication with people who are carriers of useful information.
In addition to the above, there is another way: to generalize and highlight the main types of activities characteristic of all people. This communication, play, learning, work.
Communication is considered as a type of activity aimed at exchanging information between communicating people. It also aims to establish mutual understanding, personal and business relations. Communication can be direct and indirect (there is no direct contact between people), verbal and non-verbal.
A game – This is a type of activity that does not result in the production of any material or ideal product (with the exception of business and design games). There are several types of games: individual and group, subject and plot, role-playing and games with rules.
Teaching - the process of systematic acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform work activities.
Teaching– a type of activity whose purpose is to acquire knowledge, skills and abilities by a person. Learning can be organized (carried out in special educational institutions) and unorganized (an additional result of other types of activities). In adults, learning can have the character of self-education.
Work - activities aimed at creating a socially useful product that satisfies the material or spiritual needs of people.
It was thanks to labor that man built a modern society and created objects of material and spiritual culture.
When they talk about the development of human activity, they have the following aspects of the progressive transformation of activity:
1. Phylogenetic development of the system of human activity (phylogenetic transformation of the system of activity coincides essentially with the history of the socio-economic development of mankind. Integration and differentiation of social structures were accompanied by the emergence of new types of activity among people). The process of integrating a growing individual into the existing system of activities is called socialization.
2. Inclusion of a person in various types of activities in the process of his individual development (ontogenesis).
3. Changes occurring within individual activities as they develop.
4. Differentiation of activities, in the process of which others are born from some activities due to the isolation and transformation of individual actions into independent types of activity.
the ability to make socially significant transformations in the world based on the appropriation of the wealth of material and spiritual culture, manifested in creativity, acts of will, communication.
Excellent definition
Personal activity
from lat. activus - active) - an active attitude of the individual to the world, the ability to make socially significant transformations of the material and spiritual environment based on the development of historical experience humanity; manifests itself in creative activity, acts of will, communication. Formed under the influence of environment and upbringing. A.L. – type of social and mental activity: the intensity of a person’s focus on a specific activity, most clearly manifested in character. Trans-situational (non-adaptive) activity is a person’s ability to rise above the level of situational requirements, set goals that are redundant from the point of view of the main task, overcoming external and internal limitations of activity; presupposes the existence of motivation, the essence of which lies in the very attractiveness of actions with an uncertain outcome. A person knows that the choice he is about to make will be paid for, perhaps with disappointment or failure, but this does not repel, but even more stimulates him to action. Intensively developed by psychologist V.A. Petrovsky. A.N. appears in the phenomena of creativity, cognitive (intellectual) activity, “disinterested” risk, and excess activity. In the process of education, it is necessary to stimulate such activity in children and adolescents and encourage its manifestation. Cognitive activity is an active state of the individual, which is characterized by the desire to learn, mental stress and manifestation volitional efforts in the process of acquiring knowledge. A.P. - a type of mental activity that manifests itself in animals in the form of an orienting reflex, and in humans, in addition, in the forms involuntary attention, curiosity, inquisitiveness, creativity. Physiological basis A. is a discrepancy between the current situation and past experience. There are three levels of AP. – reproducing, interpreting, creative. Social activity is a person’s active attitude to the life of society, in which he acts as an initiative bearer and guide or destroyer of the norms, principles and ideals of this society or a certain class; complex moral and volitional quality of personality. Indicates an interest in social work and organizational skills, responsibility when carrying out assignments, initiative, diligence, self-demandingness and willingness to help others when performing public tasks. Social activity is a generic concept relative to specific ones: socio-political, labor, cognitive, etc. It is implemented in the form of social useful actions, under the influence of motives and incentives based on social significant needs. Subject – carrier A.S. is a person social group and other communities. As a social property of a person, A.S. develops through a system of connections between a person and the surrounding social environment in the process of cognition, activity and communication. Being a dynamic entity, A.S. may have varying degrees of manifestation. This or that level of A.S. depends on the relationship between the social responsibilities of the individual in society meaningful activities and subjective attitudes towards activity.
The article will consider the social activity of the individual and its types, factors social activity, and what consequences it has for society. Attention will also be paid to its main characteristics and development paths.
general information
What is meant by activity? It should be noted that this is general and at the same time complex concept. It is used to characterize living organisms. Generally speaking, activity is understood as the internal deterministic movement of living matter. But we are interested special case- individual behavior in society. And, revealing the topic of the article, it should be said that the social activity of an individual is a need individual in order for the foundations of his life to be maintained or changed, according to his worldview and the conditions and environment of manifestation is a complex of all factors that influence a particular individual in society. Social activity most often manifests itself in attempts to change the circumstances of people's lives (or oneself) so that a person (or group) receives a certain benefit. It should also be noted that there are ample opportunities for such activities. Of course, all types of activity are interconnected. But if a person can no longer walk, this does not mean that he will not take part in the life of society. This is possible due to social nature this type of activity.
Types and interactions
Social activity is most strongly associated with mental and physical manifestations. It determines their further development. At the same time, there are certain provisions on which the social activity of an individual most depends. Its characteristics can be expressed in three words: worldview, duty and will. True, different sciences have slightly different views on all this. To get acquainted with them, you can read philosophical, psychological and sociological literature. Thus, activity can be considered not only as the activity itself, but also as a measure of its direction and overall ability specific subject enter into diverse active relationships with existing objective reality. However, there is no generally accepted interpretation of this phenomenon. There are generalized and narrower interpretations.
Interpretation
So, researchers do not have a single interpretation. The social activity of an individual in psychology, philosophy and other sciences is considered from the point of view of individual opinions. Bringing them all is quite problematic. Therefore, the author combined them into three groups, which will be designated within the framework of this article:
- Social activity is a broader category than activity. IN in this case it is implied that a person can exert a certain influence even by his mere presence.
- Social activity is identified with activity. In this case, it is implied that everything that a person does is important for society.
- Social activity is a narrower category than activity. Proponents of this statement are people who believe that not all human actions can be viewed from a social point of view.
Researchers' opinions
To better understand the topic of the article, I suggest you familiarize yourself with two approaches. The first is proposed by S. A. Potapova, who considers the worldview and activity of the subject as part of one whole - social activity. However, not every action can be viewed in this way. Only that activity is an indicator of social activity that has certain quantitative and quality characteristics, connected with each other. Independence is also a prerequisite. In other words, activity should not be imposed from the outside. It must be a product of human needs. That is, in order to recognize a particular individual as a socially active subject, you need to make sure that he consciously realizes his needs.
The methodological conclusion of V. G. Mordkovich is also interesting. He views activity as essential feature subject. If someone else’s will is imposed on a person, then he becomes a carrier of activity. In other words, the individual turns from a subject into an object that performs other people's tasks for which he has no need. To designate people of this type, the concept “socially passive” was introduced. At the same time, it is noted that not all needs have a driving influence on activity, but only those whose satisfaction has social significance or affects certain public interests. The structure of the behavioral model in this case depends on the goals pursued by the subject and the preferred levers of influence.
Division by spheres
We previously examined division based on theoretical study approaches. If you look at practical result that social activity can manifest itself in the following areas of life:
- Labor;
- Socio-political;
- Spiritual.
Each species has its own subspecies.
Features of theoretical consideration
Social activity can be considered in two main aspects. In the first, it appears as Social activity in this case is considered as one that is determined by natural data and characteristics that were formed and developed during the educational, educational, training and practical processes. In other words, this quality shows how a person relates to social environment and how capable he is of solving problems that arise (both his own and those of other people). The second aspect considers activity as a certain measure of activity. In other words, it gives quantitative and qualitative assessment inclusion of the individual in the existing and functioning system
Assessment of social activity
In order to assess how a person manifests himself, indicators such as diligence and initiative are usually used. The first is understood as the individual’s ability to perform assigned tasks at the required level in accordance with the requirements, norms and rules. Normativity is often used to characterize performance.
As an example, we can recall factories and the wage systems that exist there, where people are paid for the quantity of products created that is not lower than a certain level of quality. If diligence is brought up from an early age, then initiative arises in childhood and is gradually developing. It reaches peak values at mature age when a person creates greatest number different ideas. All of them are assessed by the quality of development, social value, direction of the initiative, responsibility of the performer, duration, sustainability and frequency of manifestations. Also, those in which a person acted as an organizer or performer can be summed up separately. There are, of course, other assessment indicators, but these are the most universal. Let's look at a small example. In it we will combine the information presented earlier.
An example of the growth of social activity
To model the conditions, let’s imagine that the actions will take place in the socio-political sphere. So we have a human individual. He doesn't do anything active actions and is an ordinary ordinary man in the street. At one specific moment, the insight “descends” on him that in public or political life something is going wrong in the state. He begins to collect information, attend various conferences, communicate with representatives of organizations that operate in this area. Thus, the individual person becomes a passive participant public life: he participates in it, but his ability to influence it is close to zero. He is socially active, but is not yet a more or less significant participant; his social “weight” is very low. Over time, the individual begins to participate more actively in various events. Perhaps he'll even start his own public organization. This requires him to devote more time and effort to the matter. Thus, social activity will increase. Moreover, this will not be work in vain, but to achieve certain goals pursued by a person.
Conclusion
Social activity is an important parameter when studying the involvement of the population in the process of government. Also, if there are thoughts about large-scale government or public activities, then activating this characteristic of the population can serve very well.
The activity of living beings is one of the main and necessary manifestations of life, an internal driving force aimed at satisfying the needs of the body. But human activity is fundamentally different from the activity of animals. In animals it is a manifestation of instinctive biological needs organism, and in humans the impetus for activity is its conscious and purposeful aspirations.
Human activity and the forms of its identification have developed historically and are socially oriented. On the question of the sources of personality activity in psychology, there were different points vision.
For the first time, the question of personality activity was violated Austrian psychiatrist 3. Freud - founder of the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. The main provisions of this theory substantiate the opinion that a person is encouraged to be active by his instinctive drives inherent in him from birth, which are inherited. This is a world of instincts, biological and physiological trains, unconscious impulses, the nature of which is “unknown.” The key to his theory is the recognition of the priority of the biological in man. Positive in the teaching of 3. Freud can be considered his appeal to the subconscious area in the human psyche, which significantly affects its life activity.
Neo-Freudians started from the main postulates of 3. Freud about the subconscious - the Id, but downplayed the importance of sexual motives and tried to focus on the search for new drivers of human behavior. Neo-Freudianism was based on the recognition decisive role environment and mechanisms social nature. In the subconscious, the place of unrealized sexual desires is taken by the desire for power as a result of the individual’s awareness of his inferiority (A. Adler), the inability to achieve harmony with social structure society and the resulting feeling of loneliness (B. Fromm), etc.
Developing the problem of personality activity, domestic psychology comes from the recognition that the source of a person’s activity is his organic and spiritual needs - for food, clothing, knowledge, work.
A need is a requirement that reveals a person’s dependence on certain conditions necessary for his life and activities. Needs always reflect stable vital important dependencies organism from the environment.
Human needs developing in activity together with the development of social conditions of life, production, scientific and technological progress. The very method of satisfying a need determines the development and contributes to the formation of new needs that inevitably arise in various fields social life, human activity.
The higher the level of civilization of society, economic and spiritual development, the richer and more varied are his needs. Internal motivations for action are motives that are the result of an individual’s awareness of his needs and are manifested in specific aspirations to satisfy them.
A motive is a real impulse that forces a person to act in a certain situation, under certain life circumstances.
Common motives for human activity are interests. Interest is a stable, selective, emotionally charged desire of an individual for life. important objects. Interests arise on the basis of needs, but are not limited to them.
Need expresses necessity, and interest is always associated with personal interest in an object, with the desire to know it more, to master it. Interest can manifest itself in sympathy and affection for a person, in capturing certain activities, literature, sports, science and the like.
Strict regulators of behavior are beliefs.
Conviction is a system of motives of an individual that encourages him to act in accordance with his views and principles. The basis of beliefs is knowledge that for a person is true, undeniable, in which she is confident.
The peculiarity of beliefs is that in them knowledge appears in unity with feelings, capturing the entire personality. Conviction exists where there is suffering and pangs of conscience, when principles are violated in actions and deeds.
The power of beliefs as motives for behavior is aptly characterized by famous saying, where they are compared to fetters that a person cannot break without tearing his heart. A person’s convictions can manifest themselves in various spheres of his life and activity and, depending on this, can be divided into moral, intellectual, aesthetic, etc.
Convinced become powerful driving force provided that the actions that are determined by these beliefs become habitual. K. D. Ushinsky good habit called the moral capital invested by a person in his nervous system. Habit capital grows from use and gives a person the opportunity to fruitfully use his precious power - the power of conscious will, without wasting the efforts of his consciousness and will on struggling with difficulties that have already been overcome.
An important conscious motive is the ideal.
The ideal is an image real person or a model created by a person, which guides her in life for a certain time, determines the program for future self-improvement.
The role of personal motives is played by psychological attitude.
An attitude is a state of readiness for activity that is not realized by the individual, with the help of which one or another need can be satisfied.
An attitude can manifest itself in standardized judgments, uncritically acquired by a person during communication with other people, in bias, in isolating from the environment what is important for her, vital meaning.
A person can see in objects and life phenomena what he wants to see, and not what actually is. Attitudes can also be positive if they are based on trust, sympathy, approving public opinion, and negative when they have a biased, biased nature.
A specific form of attitude is intragroup suggestibility as the unconscious opinion of the group.
The conscious motives always contain the purpose of the individual’s activity. An object can satisfy the needs of an individual and appears in his mind as a goal. If a person clearly understands his own life path And life goal and provides real ways to achieve it, then the perspective of the individual is revealed.
Perspective makes a person’s actions confident, purposeful, and feeds them with energy. Lack of life perspective or its loss can cause a state of frustration, that is, disruption of plans, despondency, hopelessness, and despair. Once in such psychological discomfort, a person loses the ability to objective assessment facts of life, shows aggressiveness, irritability.
The state of frustration may be due to an individual’s inflated self-esteem, when she discovers a tendency to choose goals in life that are too difficult for her to achieve, as a result of which she experiences failure. At adequate self-esteem a person chooses goals that correspond to her capabilities and successfully implements them.
Self-esteem can also be low. Low self-esteem is caused by a person’s lack of confidence in his capabilities, as a result of which he is guided by the choice of too simple goals. A person with low self-esteem is not able to realize his personal psychological potential, as a result of which his development slows down and certain resulting traits may become entrenched in his psyche.
Integrated indicator social value The orientation of a person is its direction.
The orientation of a person is a system of dominant goals and motives of his activity, which determine his self-worth and social significance.
Orientation, together with worldview, is a higher regulator of human behavior and actions. Self-awareness plays an important role in shaping a person’s orientation.
Self-awareness is a person’s awareness of himself in his relationship to to the outside world and other people. It has many different forms of its manifestation. One of them is associated with the cognitive aspect of mental activity and manifests itself in introspection, self-esteem, and introspection.
A person’s awareness of the changes that occur in him contributes to deeper self-knowledge, objectivity, and criticality in their assessment. WITH emotional sphere self-awareness is associated with such manifestations as pride, self-praise, modesty, self-abasement, feeling self-esteem, vanity, etc. They, in the form of certain experiences, demonstrate a person’s attitude towards himself in comparison with other people.
Manifestations of self-awareness in the form of restraint, self-control, self-control, self-discipline, initiative associated with the volitional side of human mental activity. The main forms of manifestation of a person’s self-awareness are closely related to all aspects of his life and activities.
Personality as a social being is formed during training, education, work and communication with other people. At the same time important role they play for its development innate qualities. External factors influence the personality through its internal, congenital, previously acquired.
To get to know a person, to study her psychology, it is necessary to find out the specific conditions of her life, upbringing, work, features of her environment and interaction with it.
