What is psychology as a science definition. Introduction to Psychology

the science of the patterns of development and functioning of the psyche as a special form of life activity, based on the manifestation in self-observation of special experiences that are not attributable to the outside world. The field of knowledge about the inner - mental - world of a person. The term originated in the 16th century. and means the actual doctrine of the soul or the science of the soul. In a strict sense, it is understood as the science of the psyche, and a psychologist is a person who professionally deals with psychology in theoretical and practical terms, including to help people in certain situations.

The separation of psychology from philosophy occurred in the 2nd half of the 19th century. This became possible due to the development of objective experimental methods, which replaced introspection, and the formation of a special subject of human psychology, the main features of which were activity and the appropriation of socio-historical experience.

Psychology occupies a very special place in the system of sciences. Causes:

1) it is the science of the most complex things known to mankind;

2) in it, the object and subject of knowledge seem to merge; only in it does thought make a turn towards itself, only in it does a person’s scientific consciousness become his scientific self-consciousness;

3) its practical consequences are unique - they are not only incommensurably more significant than the results of other sciences, but also qualitatively different: since to know something means to master it and learn to manage it, and managing one’s mental processes, functions and abilities is the most ambitious task; Moreover, by getting to know oneself, a person thereby changes himself.

In historical terms, we can distinguish two fundamentally different stages in the development of psychology - the stages of pre-scientific psychology and scientific psychology. When we talk simply about psychology, we usually mean scientific psychology.

In general, psychology faces a twofold task: to further develop theoretical research and to adequately solve - sometimes urgently - practical problems. This calling of psychology gives reason to consider it as a scientific study of behavior and mental processes, including mental activity, as well as the practical application of acquired knowledge.

Psychology has already accumulated many facts about how new knowledge about oneself makes a person different, changes his relationships, goals, states and experiences. We can say that psychology is a science that not only cognizes, but also constructs and creates a person.

Psychology is a living, evolving, developing field of knowledge and practice. It coexists many approaches, trends, theories, not mutually consistent in everything, and sometimes difficult to correlate: based on different philosophical systems, with different conceptual apparatuses, different explanatory principles. In psychology there is no single paradigm - a dominant theoretical and practical system that defines science as a whole. Moreover, many of its directions fundamentally do not adhere to traditional scientific principles, avoid deep theoretical constructions without asking for serious self-substantiation, and to a significant extent turn out to be the art of working with the human spiritual world. There is also no agreement on what psychology should study first and what its subject is.

Object of psychology; although psychology literally means the science of the soul, the question of the reality of the soul is still controversial from traditional scientific positions; Until the soul can be “scientifically” discovered and proven or disproved its existence, experiment with it. The soul remains empirically elusive. This is one of the features of psychology. If we talk not about the soul, but about the psyche, the situation will not change: the psyche turns out to be just as elusive. But for everyone it is quite obvious the existence of a certain subjective reality, a world of mental phenomena in the form of thoughts, experiences, ideas, feelings, impulses, desires and other things; it can be considered an object of psychology. Although this mental reality is different for everyone, we can assume that it is formed according to common basic principles, and try to discover and explore them.

Another feature of psychology is that, leaving the psyche as an object of reflection, it cannot make it an object of direct research: it has to look for other objects and through their study - indirectly - draw conclusions about the psyche itself. The choice of such a “secondary object” depends on what is considered the main thing that determines mental life - on the explanatory principle that is proposed by a certain scientific school.

The subject of psychology has changed over time. During the reign of introspection, it was inextricably linked with its method and represented the sphere of human consciousness. In the second decade of the 20th century, in connection with the debunking of the introspection method, the subject of psychology changed: it became human behavior. Thus, completely new facts were introduced into psychology - facts of behavior. But consciousness as a subject of psychology can be opposed not only by behavior (as internally observable - externally observable), but also by unconscious mental processes - as observable only indirectly, through “side effects” (-> mental unconscious process). These processes began to be studied especially intensively from the beginning of the 20th century, and already the first results dealt a blow to the psychology of consciousness that is quite comparable with the blow of behaviorism.

From the standpoint of activity theory, the subject of psychology is the laws of generation and functioning of an individual’s reflection of objective reality in the process of human activity and animal behavior. Here activity is accepted as the initial reality with which psychology deals, and the psyche is considered as its derivative and as its integral side. So the psyche cannot exist outside of activity, and activity cannot exist outside of the psyche. To simplify, we can say that the subject of psychology is mentally controlled activity. A narrower point of view is the identification of an indicative system of mental control of activity as a subject of activity psychology. In research practice, this has been implemented along two strategic lines: in one of them, activity acts as a subject of research, in the other, as an explanatory principle. Thus, ideas about the structure of activity, its dynamics, forms, the process of interiorization, etc. are the result of the implementation of the first line. And the application of the concepts and provisions of the theory of activity to the analysis of mental processes, consciousness, and personality is the result of the implementation of the second line. Both lines are closely intertwined, and the success of each of them forms the basis for the development of the other.

The main problems of scientific psychology are:

1) a psychophysiological problem - about the relationship of the psyche to its bodily substrate;

2) a psychosocial problem - about the dependence of the psyche on social processes and its active role in their implementation by specific individuals and groups;

3) a psychopraxic problem - about the formation of the psyche in the course of real practical activity and about the dependence of this activity on its mental regulators - images, operations, motives, personal properties;

4) a psychognostic problem - about the relationship of sensory and mental mental images to the reality they reflect, etc. The development of these problems is carried out on the basis of:

1) the principle of determinism - revealing the conditionality of phenomena by the action of the factors that produce them;

2) the principle of systematicity - the interpretation of these phenomena as internally connected components of an integral mental organization;

3) the principle of development - recognition of transformation, changes in mental processes, their transition from one level to another, the emergence of new forms of mental processes.

In the course of developing the main problems of psychology, its categorical apparatus was formed, where the categories of image, motive, action, personality, etc. are distinguished. The categorical structure of psychology, reflecting mental reality in its originality, serves as the basis for the whole variety of branches of psychology, which act as separate branches, often gaining independent status. The transformation of psychology into a bundle of branches is due to the demands of various areas of practice, confronting psychology with specific problems. These problems are usually complex and are developed by many disciplines. The inclusion of psychology in interdisciplinary research and participation in it is productive only when it enriches it with concepts, methods and explanatory principles unique to it. And in contacts with other sciences, psychology itself is enriched with new ideas and approaches.

The further development of psychology was seriously influenced by the emergence and widespread use of computers, which took over a number of functions that were previously the unique property of the human brain - the functions of accumulating and processing information, management and control. This made it possible to widely use cybernetic and information-theoretic concepts and models in psychology, which contributed to the formalization and mathematization of psychology, the introduction of the cybernetic style of thinking with its advantages due to the use of logical-mathematical apparatus, computers and other things, but also with its obvious and implicit shortcomings associated not so much with the humanization of the machine, but with the “cybernetization” of man and living beings in general.

Automation and cybernetization have sharply increased interest in operational diagnostics and prognosis, effective use and cultivation of human functions that cannot be transferred to electronic devices, primarily creative abilities. The study of problems of artificial intelligence and human creativity are becoming important areas of psychology.

Along with them, social psychology and management psychology are rapidly developing, solving problems related to the role of the “human factor” in the development of society, in management processes, as well as research related to space exploration, demographic, environmental and other pressing problems of our time. The inclusion of psychology in the multifaceted context of interaction between various social, natural and technical sciences gives particular urgency to the methodological analysis of its conceptual means, explanatory principles, concepts and methodological procedures - in order to identify the most promising directions for its development.

PSYCHOLOGY

psycho + gr. logos - science, teaching). The science of the patterns of development and functioning of the psyche as a special form of life activity.

P. ASSOCIANIST. The direction of P., which considers the ability to form associations from primary mental units as the basis of mental activity.

P. AGE studies the characteristics of mental activity caused by age.

P. DEEP. A direction of foreign psychology and psychiatry, the subject of study of which is the unconscious as a source of motives for human behavior and the causes of mental disorders. Includes psychoanalysis, Adler's individual psychology, Jung's analytical psychology, neo-Freudianism, etc.

P. CHILDREN'S. Section P. age.

P. INDIVIDUAL ADLER. See Adler's individual psychology.

P. CRIMINAL. A section of legal (juridical) law that studies the psychological patterns of the formation of illegal attitudes and their implementation in criminal behavior. In recent years, along with forensic psychiatric examination, forensic psychological examination has become increasingly important.

P. MEDICAL studies using psychological methods the characteristics of the psyche of a sick person, as well as the psychological characteristics of the professional activities of medical workers, the relationship between them and patients. Includes pathopsychology, neuropsychology, somatopsychology, psychophysiology, socio-psychological diagnostics in relation to medical practice, medical professional guidance, psychological aspects of psychoprophylaxis, mental hygiene and psychotherapy.

P. "OBJECTIVE". P.'s direction, which studies mainly the body's reactions to the influence of external, situational factors, while abstracting from the subjective experiences of the patient.

P. SOCIAL. P., which studies the patterns of behavior and activity of people determined by the factor of their inclusion in social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of the groups themselves.

P. AGING. Gerontopsychology. Studies the characteristics of the psyche during aging. Age section P.

P. JUDICIAL. A branch of legal psychology that studies the mechanisms and patterns of human activity in the investigation, trial and prevention of crimes.

P. LABOR explores mental activity, personal characteristics of a person in the process of work. It is important for organizing the rehabilitation of mentally ill patients.

PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology simply cannot be defined; indeed, it is not easy to characterize. Even if someone does it today, tomorrow it will be considered an inadequate effort. Psychology is something that scientists and philosophers of various persuasions have created to try to understand the minds and behavior of various organisms, from the most primitive to the more complex. Consequently, in reality it is not a subject at all, it is about a subject or many subjects. There are few boundaries here, and except for the canons of science and the ethical standards of a free society, there should be no restrictions either on the part of its representatives or on the part of its critics. This is an attempt to understand what has so far largely eluded understanding. Any attempt to limit it or put it into some kind of framework implies that something is known about the limits of our knowledge, and this is not true. As a distinct discipline, it only emerged a century or so ago in the faculties of medicine and philosophy. From medicine she took the orientation that the explanation of what is done, thought and felt must ultimately be found in biology and physiology; from philosophy she took a class of deep problems relating to the consciousness of will and knowledge. Since then, it has been defined in different ways: as “the science of the psyche,” “the science of mental life,” “the science of behavior,” etc. All such definitions, of course, reflect the prejudices of those who give them rather than the actual nature of the field. In the course of writing this dictionary, a rather strange metaphor has emerged that seems to capture, to some extent, an essential quality of our discipline. It is like an amoeba, relatively unstructured, but clearly identifiable as a separate being with a special mode of action in which it projects itself onto some new techniques, some new problem areas, some theoretical models or even some other separate scientific fields, incorporating them and slowly and clumsily transforming into another form. Not very flattering, maybe for sure. For lexicographical problems, see psychologist.

Psychology

the science of consciousness, mental activity and behavior of living beings, starting from primitive ones and ending this series with man, from their birth to the end of life (science currently does not know more highly organized creatures than humans).

PSYCHOLOGY (DIMENSIONS IN PSYCHOLOGY)

procedures for determining the quantitative expression of psychological phenomena. They use a variety of scales containing a certain set of positions, put in some correspondence with psychological elements. According to the classification of scales proposed in 1946 by the American psychologist and psychophysicist S. S. Stevens, the following scales are distinguished: ratio scale, interval scale, ordinal scale and nominal scale.

Psychology

Most often, the term is defined as “the science of the patterns of development and functioning of the psyche.” Other definitions offered by some scholars reflect their interpretation and, depending on professional inclination, emphasize the leading role of reason or behavior. Some psychologists even believe that the study of the human psyche cannot be considered a scientific discipline in the strict sense of the word.

PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology) is a science that studies the psyche and consciousness of a person, as well as his behavior. Psychology deals with such basic concepts as memory, rational and irrational thinking, intelligence, learning, personality, perception and emotions, and also studies their connection with human behavior. Existing psychological schools differ in what philosophical concept they adhere to and what methods they use in their work. These include such schools of self-analysis as the school of Freud, Jung and Adler, as well as Gestalt psychology, behavioral and cognitive schools; modern psychology is especially attracted to schools of the latter direction (see Cognitive Psychology). Many practicing psychologists do not belong to any of these schools; some take eclectic positions. The various current branches of psychology, on the other hand, are functional or professional subdivisions of psychology, which are based on practical considerations. These include: abnormal, analytical, applied, clinical, comparative, evolutionary, educational, experimental, geriatric, industrial, child, physiological and social psychology. - Psychological.

Psychology

Word formation. Comes from the Greek. psyche - soul + logos - teaching.

Specificity. Studies the patterns of functioning and development of the psyche. It is based on the representation in introspection of special experiences that are not attributable to the outside world. From the 2nd half of the 19th century. There was a separation of psychology from philosophy, which became possible due to the development of objective experimental methods that replaced introspection, and the formation of a special subject of human psychology, the main features of which were activity and the appropriation of socio-historical experience. The main philosophical problem of psychology is whether psychology should be considered as an objective, explanatory, hypothetical-constructive natural science or as a dialogical, understanding, interpretive, reconstructive human science.

PSYCHOLOGY

from Greek psushe - soul + logos - teaching, science) - the science of the laws of development and functioning of the psyche as a special form of life. The interaction of living beings with the surrounding world is realized through mental processes, acts, and states that are qualitatively different from physiological ones, but not separable from them. For centuries, the phenomena studied by P. were designated by the general term “soul” and were considered the subject of one of the branches of philosophy, called in the 16th century. P. It has been shown that mental processes, being a product of an individual’s interaction with the external environment, are themselves an active causal factor in behavior. If idealistic concepts incorrectly explained this activity by a special mental causality, cognizable through internal observation, then the natural scientific study of genetically primary forms of the psyche approved the priority of objective methods, which later became decisive for P. Self-observation retains the importance of an important but auxiliary source of information about the human psyche . Being a product and function of social processes, the consciousness of an individual subject has a systemic and semantic organization that gives various manifestations of the psyche properties that qualitatively distinguish them from the psyche of animals. The possibility of comprehending the processes of consciousness, regardless of the subject’s self-report about them, is due to the fact that they develop in the objective system of his relations with other people and the surrounding world. In the same system, peering at others, the subject acquires the ability to judge the internal plan of his behavior. See Self-concept Not all components of this plane are translatable into the language of consciousness, but they, forming the sphere of the unconscious, serve as the subject of P. Inclusion of P. in interdisciplinary research and participation in them is productive only when it enriches them with concepts inherent only to it , methods, explanatory principles. At the same time, as a result of contacts with other sciences, philosophy itself is enriched with new ideas and approaches that develop its content and categorical apparatus, ensuring its integrity as an independent science. P.'s inclusion in the multifaceted context of interaction between various social, natural, and technical sciences gives particular urgency to the methodological analysis of its conceptual means, explanatory principles, concepts, and methodological procedures in order to identify promising directions for its further development. P. conflicts is one of the areas of research in P. and at the same time a branch of conflict management. The analysis of conflicts is a system-forming branch of conflictology. Of the 16 sciences that study conflict, only P. studies all types of conflicts in humans (social, intrapersonal) and animal conflicts. Man is the central link in conflicts at all levels without exception. Therefore, P.’s knowledge of human behavior in conflicts is a condition for their explanation.

Psychology(“psyche” - soul, “logos” - teaching, science) - a word of Greek origin, literally means “science of the soul.” This is the basis for the well-known definition, according to which psychology is the science of the psyche. In general this is correct, although some clarification is required. In modern public consciousness, the words “soul” and “psyche” are actually synonymous: scientific psychology prefers to use the term “psyche,” religious thinkers and some philosophers talk about “soul.”

The word “psychology” has many meanings. In everyday language, the word “psychology” is used to characterize the mental make-up of a person, the characteristics of a person, a group of people: “he (they) have such a psychology.”

Pre-scientific psychology- this is the knowledge of another person and oneself directly in the processes of activity and mutual communication of people. According to the French psychologist P. Janet (1859-1947), this is a psychology that the people create even before psychologists. Here, activity and knowledge are fused together, driven by the need to understand another person and anticipate his actions. The source of knowledge about the psyche in pre-scientific psychology is:
1) personal experience (everyday generalizations that arise as a result of observing other people and oneself); 2) social experience (ideas, traditions, customs that are passed on from generation to generation).

The concepts of pre-scientific psychology coincide in their content with linguistic meanings. Rogovin emphasizes that the very essence of pre-scientific psychology corresponds to a method of explanation called “explanation from the standpoint of common sense.” Pre-scientific psychological knowledge is unsystematized, unreflected, and therefore is often not recognized as knowledge at all. In pre-scientific knowledge, correct ideas can coexist with erroneous generalizations and prejudices.

Philosophical psychology- knowledge about the psyche obtained through speculative reasoning. Knowledge about the psyche is either derived from general philosophical principles or is the result of reasoning by analogy. Philosophical knowledge about the psyche is usually organized in accordance with certain initial principles. As Rogovin points out, at the level of philosophical psychology, the initially vague, holistic concept of the soul is subjected to analysis and mental dismemberment, followed by unification on the basis of principles directly arising from materialistic or idealistic worldviews. Compared with pre-scientific psychology, which precedes it and, especially in the early stages, has a great influence on it, philosophical psychology is characterized not only by the search for some explanatory principle for the mental, but also by the desire to establish general laws to which the soul must also obey, just as all natural elements obey them.

Scientific psychology arose relatively recently - in the second half of the 19th century. Usually its appearance is associated with the use of the experimental method in psychology. There are undoubtedly some reasons for this: the “creator” of scientific psychology, W. Wundt, wrote that if the physiological psychology he developed is defined by its method, then it can be characterized as “experimental.” Another thing is that the experimental method remained auxiliary for Wundt, creating optimal conditions for the actual psychological method - introspection. In addition, Wundt himself repeatedly emphasized that experimental psychology is not the whole of psychology, but only part of it. Although the 19th century gave many examples of the successful use of the experimental method; enough time passed before psychology became a truly experimental science.

Knowledge in scientific psychology has an empirical, factual basis. Facts are obtained in a specially conducted study, which uses special procedures (methods) for this purpose, the main ones being targeted systematic observation and experiment. The theories constructed by scientific psychology have an empirical basis and are (ideally) subject to comprehensive testing.

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In the academic definition, psychology is the science of the patterns of development and functioning of the psyche and mental activity of a person. Psychology studies the inner, or more precisely, life world of a person and the reasons for the behavior of normal, mentally healthy people. Psychology seeks scientific explanations for why a person behaves in one way or another.

According to the successful definition of V.P. Zinchenko, psychology is an objective science about the subjective world of humans and animals. A general idea of ​​psychology as a science can be formed with the help of lectures by Prof. V.V. Petukhova.

It seems that psychology is an invented area of ​​​​life that deals with inappropriate human behavior with interest and understanding. Psychology, as a phenomenon of our cultural life, appeared when we began to react to inappropriate behavior not just as inadequacy, stupidity and bad manners, but as a symptom worthy of respect and attention, behind which something serious is hidden. That is why “psychology” is not understood and does not want to be understood by people of the “old school”, who are accustomed to living according to the principle “We need to do it? - We take it and do it.”

From letters from readers: “At first, the dousing seemed like some kind of feat. However, I was lucky, I have a wonderful grandmother who quickly brought me back to reality. I complained: “I decided to start dousing myself with cold water, but I don’t know how I’ll do it.” The grandmother made a surprised face: “How? It’s simple! You take a bucket of water and pour it on yourself.” - That's it, this is where all the “psychology” ends.

Likewise, a large number of businessmen have a rather negative attitude toward “psychology,” who see psychologists as people who pander to human weaknesses. A businessman doesn’t care whether an employee wants to carry out his work duties today or doesn’t want to, he pays money only for COMPLETED, and for NOT - a fine or dismissal. If your task is to make cold calls, no one cares whether you are afraid to make these calls or not. If you don’t call or call poorly, we find another employee. AND NO PSYCHOLOGY! Beginning employees learn this, serious positions require it. It took enough time for businessmen to feel the danger posed by psychology, and for psychologists to understand that they need to be more careful with business: it has a different philosophy and different laws.

​​​​​​​​Accordingly, the word “ ” has two different meanings: “psychological” as relating to the science of psychology (psychological journal, psychological education) and “psychological” as relating to human psychology (psychological characteristics, psychological defenses).

Many sites on the Internet are devoted to psychology as a science. For the most authoritative and popular, see →

The science of psychology must be practical

Science is done by living people, and sometimes in very difficult conditions. Modern Russian psychology stands on the shoulders of L.S. Vygotsky, S.L. Rubinshteina, A.N. Leontyeva, P.Ya. Halperin and other courageous researchers who paved the way for the future through cruel winds. By creating academic psychology, they laid the foundation for a scientific approach to psychology.

We need science, but today science must be practical. Now, when already established psychological practice is overtaking theory, academic psychology must leave its crystal castle and begin to master and comprehend those fields that are already bearing fruit through the efforts of practicing psychologists. We plan to do this ourselves, we will be grateful for help in this research from academic science. We are open for cooperation. See→

Psychology textbooks should reflect not only what fellow scientists think, but also what fellow practitioners have been successfully doing for many years. New textbooks on psychology must be written in living, human language, as William James, Abraham Maslow and Viktor Frankl wrote, as Yulia Borisovna Gippenreiter and Boris Sergeevich Bratus write.

The soul must appear in psychology; the focus of psychologists can and should be on such topics as the mission and meaning of life, faith and hope, joy, responsibility, conscience. That's life. If psychology, as a science, does not deal with these topics, it is outside of life.

PSYCHOLOGY, the science of the psyche, personality processes and their specifically human forms: perception and thinking, consciousness and character, speech and behavior. Soviet P. builds a coherent understanding of the subject of P. on the basis of the development of the ideological heritage of Marx... ... Great Medical Encyclopedia

- (from Greek soul and word, teaching), the science of patterns, mechanisms and facts of the psyche. life of humans and animals. The relationships of living beings with the world are realized through feelings. and intelligence. images, motivations, communication processes,... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

psychology- (from the Greek psyche soul and logos doctrine, science) the science of the laws of development and functioning of the psyche as a special form of life activity. The interaction of living beings with the surrounding world is realized through qualitatively different... ... Great psychological encyclopedia

- (from psychology... and...logy) the science of the patterns, mechanisms and facts of the mental life of humans and animals. The main theme of psychological thought in antiquity and the Middle Ages is the problem of the soul (Aristotle, On the Soul, etc.). In the 17th and 18th centuries. based… … Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (from psychology... and...logy), the science of the patterns, mechanisms and facts of the mental life of humans and animals. The main theme of psychological thought in antiquity and the Middle Ages is the problem of the soul (On the soul of Aristotle, etc.). In the 17th and 18th centuries. based… … Modern encyclopedia

psychology- And. and. psychologie f. 1. The science of the psyche, human mental activity. General psychology. BAS 1. Experimental psychology. Animal psychology. Ush. 1939. || An educational subject that sets out the content of this science. BAS 1. || A book outlining... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

Psychology- (from psychology... and...logy), the science of the patterns, mechanisms and facts of the mental life of humans and animals. The main theme of psychological thought in antiquity and the Middle Ages is the problem of the soul (“On the Soul” by Aristotle and others). In the 17th and 18th centuries. based… … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Greek, from psyche soul, and logos teaching, science). The science of mental activity. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. PSYCHOLOGY Greek, from psyche, soul, and lego, I say. Science of the soul. Explanation 25000... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

PSYCHOLOGY, psychology, many. no, female (Greek psyche soul and logos teaching) (book). 1. Science that studies mental processes that arise as a result of the constant influence of the objective world and the social environment on humans (and animals).... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

psychology I- PSYCHOLOGY I (ego psychology) is one of the areas of psychoanalytic psychology that arose in the mid-20th century, reflected in the works of A. Freud, H. Hartmann and focused on the study of the defense mechanisms of the I, as well as their connections and ... Encyclopedia of Epistemology and Philosophy of Science

Books

• Psychology, Abraham P. Sperling. Without being confined within the framework of a strict encyclopedic definition, which states that psychology is a multidisciplinary science about the patterns, mechanisms and facts of the mental life of humans and animals,...

The science of psychology appeared in the middle of the 19th century. She has come a long and difficult path in studying the mental state of the individual. With the help of this science, a person’s character, attention, and memory are determined. Many people like psychology. It helps you understand not only the people around you, but also yourself. Psychology is very broad. You can write and talk about her a lot. In this article we will look at some important aspects of the psychology of social groups and personality.

Psychology as a science

Consciousness, attention, memory, will, human soul - this is a whole science about personality. It's called psychology. Only thanks to this science does a person know himself and those around him. Not everyone understands what psychology is. The definition is quite simple. This is a science that studies the behavior, thoughts, processes of both humans and animals. A good knowledge of psychology helps to understand any personality. After all, everyone is interested, for example, in what motivates a child when he performs some action incomprehensible to his parents. Or you want to understand what kind of inner world your boss has.

Psychology will answer all questions concerning the human soul. This science will help you correctly understand your loved one, child, director or subordinate. In order to understand themselves or a loved one, some people visit a psychologist on their own initiative. Only because they want to be happy. However, some are afraid to contact a psychologist, but in vain. If it doesn’t work out for you, a specialist will definitely help you understand the problem and sort it out. So we figured out the question of what psychology is as a science. Now you can understand the intricacies of personality.

Understanding personality in psychology

A person is an individual. It’s unlikely that anyone asks the question: “What is personality in psychology?” This is the youngest psychological science. It is very extensive. Let's focus on the main thing.

No one even thinks that you need to communicate loyally with a person, even with a small child. He is, first of all, a person who deserves to be treated normally. After all, one person may not pay attention to your words, while another, on the contrary, even lets through his facial expressions, not to mention his words.

As you may have guessed, psychology has a direct bearing on personality. A person thinks, pays attention to you, knows how to listen, controls his emotions, character, feelings, etc. All this is controlled by personal psychology. A person heard bad or good news, and accordingly showed certain emotions at that time. Any unpredictability affects the state of mind very much. Therefore, if you cannot cope with yourself, something is gnawing at you, try to understand yourself first. Maybe you were stressed the other day or your joyful emotions were overwhelming, switch to a good, positive, but calm book, or just go for a walk. This will help you get distracted and understand your inner world. Now do you have an idea of ​​what personality is in psychology? It has some subsections: character, state of mind, attention, thinking, etc.

Representation of memory in psychology

Memory is, in some way, a storage device that stores and, over time, voices some events or facts. It can be short-term or long-term.

Psychologists have identified several types of memory:

1. Visual - saw and remembered.
2. Auditory - heard, remembered, voiced it after a while.
3. Motor - remembering movements.
4. Tangible - remembering by touch.
5. Figurative - even after a certain time, the image you saw emerges in your memory.
6. Emotional - a person remembers previously experienced feelings.

In principle, everyone understands what memory is in psychology. This is a very complex and difficult process. It is memory that helps pass on our experience and knowledge to our children and grandchildren. This is the longest process. It’s not in vain that an 80-year-old grandmother will remember her experiences from that time when she was only 25 or 30. Quite often, a person may not remember some events from his life. This mainly happens when the information was very painful, and the memory erases this process on a subconscious level.

Manifestation of attention in psychology

If a person is focused on one object and observing it, what does this mean? Of course, attention. Without this psychological aspect it would be difficult for a person to exist. Let's look at the terminology to understand what attention is in psychology. This is the reaction of a living organism to external stimuli. When psychologists analyzed the types of attention, they concluded: there is selective attention (when it is possible to choose an object of attention), distributed (focusing on several objects simultaneously), switchable attention (attention is not constant). What happens to a person when he chooses an object of attention? Take, for example, a child who was shown a green square and the teacher asked: “What color?” Do you think he will give a substantive answer? Maybe. However, it will also be noted that this is a square that has corners, etc. Attention will not be focused only on color. It’s the same with an adult. For example, you meet an old friend, stop to chat, and in any case you will divert your attention to some little thing. Therefore, during a conversation you may miss an important detail. Attention cannot be distributed evenly to each object. This is how our brain functions.

In principle, the importance of such attention in psychology has become clear. It’s just that many people don’t think about such questions, and this is very important. Especially for parents who raise kids and are angry with them for their inattention. Listen to psychologists.

Personality abilities in psychology

Many parents, with the birth of a child, understand that he needs to be put on his feet. What does this mean? Raise him naturally, and also give him a decent education. From preschool age, children begin to go to sections in order to understand what abilities they have and begin to develop them. This could be art or music school, swimming, dancing, and much more. etc.

A child cannot pick up a brush and paint from birth, but perhaps he has the inclination for this. They need to be developed. If parents follow a path that only they like, the child will not be able to use his abilities. Therefore, it is necessary to give your baby the opportunity to do what he likes. Only then will he have a chance to develop in the right direction and become a great artist or composer. Absolutely every person has talent. One's parents were able to open it in early childhood, the other's were unable to.

Personality temperament in psychology

Character is an individual trait of each person. Temperament refers to human behavior. I.P. Pavlov developed the main traits of temperament a long time ago and divided them into 4 types:

1. A sanguine person is a cheerful person who does not linger on one object. Sociable, but does not stay long in one place of work. Doesn't like monotony. The new environment is a joy for him; he enjoys making contact with strangers.

2. Phlegmatic - slow, calm, rarely shows violent emotions. He approaches any task very thoughtfully. Never takes the wrong step. No one ever knows the true feelings of a phlegmatic person.

3. Choleric - very active, emotions are always overflowing. He does not know how to restrain himself, he can flare up over a trifle. No matter how quickly a choleric person takes on a new job, just as quickly he gets tired of it. Sometimes those around him find it difficult to tolerate a choleric person due to his excessive mobility.

4. Melancholic is a passive person who does not like to be interested in anything new. Feelings and emotions in slow motion. He gets offended and upset very quickly, although he doesn’t show it. He is reserved and prefers solitude rather than noisy companies. Melancholic people feel calm and confident in a familiar environment.

In any job, knowledge of temperaments is necessary. This will make it easier to communicate with people.

Psychology of emotions

Very often people do not know what feelings are. This is the emotional state of a person’s soul, which is expressed by certain body movements, facial expressions or voice.

Since childhood, we have heard about the cessation of emotions, that we need to express our feelings less. However, psychologists say the opposite. Every person should be able to throw out emotions, and not accumulate them over the years. What causes diseases and mental disorders? From the fact that a person has been holding back all his feelings and emotions within himself for years. You need to be able to express your opinion everywhere: at work, at home, in communication with others. Thanks to emotions, a person quickly determines for himself all the needs he needs. Don't be afraid to spill your feelings and emotions out. The circle that needs you will accept you like this. It costs nothing to prove to others. After all, health is more valuable.

The need for psychology

A person does not always realize what he needs. A need is something that a person feels an urgent need for. There are 3 types:

1. Labor need - a person needs to understand the world, to work.

2. Developmental need - the individual learns, self-realizes.

3. Social need - a person needs to communicate with friends, team, etc.

These are sociogenic needs. The need ends when the goal is achieved. Then a person has something else that he needs. Need is the entire mechanism in the human psyche. In other words, needs are the mental state of the individual. Thanks to them, a person strives for his goal in order to achieve what he wants, that is, he becomes more active, and passivity disappears almost completely.

You now understand what psychology is; a more precise definition can now be given. Need, attention, memory, emotions - this is what human psychology is.

Social psychology as a science

Every person lives in a world where he has many relatives, loved ones, acquaintances, friends, colleagues, etc. For this, a person needs social psychology. Thanks to it, people get to know each other and relationships. Relationships develop not only between two individuals, but also between entire groups. You probably guessed what social psychology is. In this subject two sciences are intertwined. Sociology and psychology. Therefore, relationships are studied here not just between people, but the following types are distinguished: social, economic, political and many others. Social psychology in society allows you to occupy a certain place among people. In social psychology, there are 3 types of personality:

1. Picnics - they adapt well to a social environment. They strive to build profitable relationships with the right people. They know how to defend their interests without conflicts.

2. Athletics are sociable, love to attract due attention, dominant personality.

3. Asthenics - it is not easy for them to be in society. They are not sociable, closed, reserved.

To each person his own. Some people like to be the center of attention in society, others like to be in the shadows. There's nothing you can do about it. We must accept the personality as it is. You can write a lot about what social psychology is. Since this is not a book, but just an article, the most important definitions and concepts are given.