Subtle human psychology. Psychology

e (“psyche” – soul, “logos” – teaching, knowledge). This is a science, first of all, about the laws of mental life and human activity and various forms of human communities. Psychology as a science studies facts, patterns and mechanisms of the psyche.
Psychology is the science of the patterns of emergence, formation, development, functioning and manifestations of the human psyche in various conditions and at different stages of their lives and activities.
The main tasks of psychology:
1. Knowledge of the origins and characteristics of the human psyche, the patterns of its occurrence, formation, functioning and manifestations, the capabilities of the human psyche, its influence on human behavior and activity.
2. Development of recommendations for people to increase their stress resistance and psychological reliability when solving professional and other problems in various circumstances of life and activity.
The main functions of psychology:
1. As a fundamental science, it is called upon to develop psychological theory, to identify patterns of individual and group psyche of people and its individual phenomena.
2. As an applied area of ​​knowledge - formulate recommendations for improvement professional activity and everyday life of people.
Psychology studies the patterns of mental activity in order to more correctly understand a person and thereby skillfully influence him. Therefore, the importance of psychology is great in all types of practical activities where people enter into complex relationships with each other and influence each other. Knowledge of psychology is necessary for the correct organization of a person’s moral and mental self-education. Psychology helps a person understand his own mental life, understand himself, realize his strengths and weak sides, their shortcomings. Knowledge of psychology opens up ways for self-improvement of mental activity: knowing how to improve your attention and memory, how to correctly assimilate educational material, you can learn to achieve the highest results with the least amount of time and effort.

What is the meaning of the term “psychology” in the minds of the layman, the average person?
For example, a common expression: “He has such a psychology.” What implies a set of character traits, the inner world of a person or a group of people. In the latter case, the psychology of a group is the views, rules, customs, traditions, and various internal processes occurring in it.
In everyday life, each of us performs certain psychological work, being, as it were, an everyday psychologist, observing patterns and drawing appropriate conclusions (for example, how carefully we observe the expressions of other people’s faces, their actions and reactions in various situations, and then draw certain conclusions, we structure our behavior accordingly).
However, there are professional psychologists and specialists. Why are their services still in demand?
Indeed, a professional psychologist has all the scientific experience accumulated by generations of scientists, has extensive practice, and knows specific proven methods for determining the condition and therapy. A professional psychologist is already an everyday psychologist, but a scientific one.
Psychology as a science uses experiment, information is verified, proven, and scientific conclusions are drawn. Decisions made widely used in practice. What does it cost to create one test! Weight preliminary studies on a large sample of people, application of mathematical methods, analysis, comparison, etc. Only if the test passes all tests is it considered scientific. Therefore, one should be critical of various pseudoscientific tests.
What questions do people turn to a psychologist with? These are issues of self-development, ways to resolve conflict situations, ways to maintain relationships. There are many specializations of psychologists: children's, family, military, etc.
However, the types of activities that a psychologist carries out are almost similar.

Types of activities of a psychologist:

1. Psychological education.
2. Diagnostics.
3. Prevention.
4. Correction.
5. Development.
6. Therapy.
7. Consultation.

When preparing a specialist psychologist, special attention is paid to his knowledge of his rights, responsibilities and professional ethics. A psychologist who violates professional ethics may lose the right to practice forever.

Ethical principles of activity of a psychologist:

1. Unconditional respect for the client's personality.
2. Honesty, sincerity.
3. Confidentiality of information except in cases where its concealment could harm the client.
4. Protection of client rights.
5. Psychoprophylactic presentation of the results.
6. The psychologist is obliged to communicate the purpose of psychodiagnostics and name the persons to whom the diagnostic results will be available.
7. The psychologist is obliged to accept the client’s refusal to work with him psychologically.
8. The psychologist is obliged to prevent the use psychological techniques incompetent persons.
9. A psychologist should not make promises to clients that he is unable to fulfill.
10. A psychologist should not give advice or specific instructions. The main thing is to expand the client’s perception of the situation and instill in him confidence in his abilities.
11. The psychologist is responsible for using certain psychological methods and methods and giving recommendations. The client is responsible for the choice of actions and the result (if the client is a child, then the parent).
12. Professional independence of a psychologist. His final decision cannot be overturned by the administration. Only a special commission consisting of highly qualified psychologists and endowed with appropriate authority has the right to cancel a psychologist’s decision.

What do you think is the purpose of introducing such a subject as “Psychology” into the curriculum for painters and sculptors? This is explained by the fact that these specialties at the school have an additional specialization - pedagogical, and in accordance with the new requirements, teachers must have psychological training.
You can say that you are lucky, because... you have a great opportunity to get in touch with this interesting science. In addition, in addition to the theoretical course, you will have practical classes in which you will get to know yourself and each other, open your eyes to certain things, and maybe even make a big discovery for yourself.

The term "psychology" is formed from two Greek words « psyche" - soul and « logos" - word, teaching. Those. - the doctrine of the soul. However, over the centuries, people have discovered where this very soul is located. And if not found, then what kind of scientific research can we talk about? Therefore, gradually it came to studying what could be more material in this regard. This subject turned out to be the psyche.
The psyche is the quality of the brain and is responsible for reflection, processing, accumulation of information and the issuance of behavioral reactions. An elementary example of how the psyche works is sensations. Feel outside world and the inner world of our body.
The brain and in particular and especially the nervous system are the basis for the psyche. All psychic phenomena, including emotions are explained by the work of the psyche. Character and abilities are more complex concepts, however, they also grow and are formed on a mental basis.

PSYCHOLOGY is the science of the patterns of emergence, formation and manifestation of the psyche.
The focus of attention in different historical periods was on different subjects of psychology:
- from ancient times to the 17th century. – psychology – the science of soul ;
- from the 17th century at the beginning 20th century – psychology – the science of consciousness ;
- in the beginning. 20th century – psychology – the science of behavior , science of unconscious manifestations of the psyche, etc.;
- modern understanding - psychology - the science of the patterns of emergence, formation and manifestation psyche ;
- in the future – psychology – the science of soul .

In the Psychology course you will become familiar with the main categories of psychology:

Exercise. "Branches of Psychology"
Before you move on to considering the categories of psychology, you can talk about the methods by which these categories are actually studied

Methods of psychological research.

Psychological research is based on general methodological principles that determine the types of psychological techniques used:
1. The principle of determinism– dependence of mental phenomena on the factors that produce them (biological and social).
2. The principle of unity of psyche and activity.
3. Systematic principle– all components depend on the whole and are manifested as a whole.
4. Principle of integrity– all mental processes are interconnected, thus, the psyche should be studied comprehensively, from all sides.
5. Development principle– taking into account dynamic qualitative changes in the psyche.

Scientific Research Methods– these are the techniques and means by which scientists obtain reliable data to build scientific theories and develop practical recommendations.
Thanks to scientific methods, psychology has become able not only to assume, but also to prove cause-and-effect relationships between mental phenomena.
To collect primary data, psychology uses basic and auxiliary methods.
Basic methods:

1. Observation – scientifically targeted and in a certain way fixed perception of an object without interfering with its flow.
2. Everyday– unorganized, random.
3. Scientific– organized, with a clear plan and recording of results in a special diary.
4. Included– with the participation of the researcher
5. Not included– without the participation of the researcher.

Advantages – naturalness.
Flaws – passivity, subjectivism, inaccessibility of certain manifestations of the psyche.

1. Experiment – active intervention of the researcher in the activities of the subject in order to create the best conditions to study specific psychological phenomena.
2. Natural- flows into natural conditions, with minor changes (for example, in order to study factors that contribute to reducing fear of exams, the experimenter gives different settings to groups of students and analyzes the success of passing the exam depending on them).
3. Laboratory– takes place in specially organized conditions of isolation of the phenomenon being studied from external influences.

Natural and laboratory experiments can be ascertaining and formative.

1. Ascertaining– reveals facts and patterns that have developed during human development. Those. the facts are established and stated.
2. Formative– identifies the conditions and mechanisms for the development of certain qualities and abilities through their active formation. In the process, certain qualities of the subjects develop. It is expected that the research results will be put into practice with subsequent study of possible changes and effects.

Advantages – activity of the researcher, possibility of repetition, control of conditions.
Flaws – artificial conditions, high costs.

Auxiliary methods.

1. Analysis of activity products is a method of studying psychological phenomena based on practical results and objects of work, in which the creative powers and abilities of people are embodied.
2. Generalization of independent characteristics– identification and analysis of opinions about certain psychological phenomena and processes received from different people.

3. Classification of psychodiagnostic techniques (according to A.A. Bodalev).

1. Objective tests – techniques in which the correct answer is possible (for example, intelligence tests).
2. Standardized self-reports – focused on the use of the verbal abilities of the subjects, addressed to his thinking, imagination, memory.

- test questionnaire – involves a set of points (questions, statements) regarding which the subject makes judgments. Two or three alternative answer choices. The same psychological variable is represented by a group of questions.
- open questionnaire (questionnaire) – has no suggested answer. All responses fall into specific categories (e.g. agree/disagree).
- scale techniques – assessment of phenomena is carried out on scales (for example, “warm - cold”) according to the degree of expression of the specified quality. For example, the “Personal Differential” technique.
- individually oriented techniques – the parameters are not specified in them, but are allocated according to the responses of the subject. Allows statistical processing. For example, For example, the “Repertory Grids” technique by J. Kelly.
3. Projective techniques – they are based on the principle of projection, according to which the subject projects and reflects his unconscious or hidden needs and experiences onto insufficiently structured material (colors, spots of indefinite shape, etc.). The subject’s task is to organize the stimulus material or give it a personal meaning.
4. Dialogical techniques – in them the effect is achieved through contact with the subject.
- verbal DT : conversation - obtaining information in the process of bilateral or multilateral discussion of an issue; interview - obtaining information through oral answers to oral questions.
- nonverbal DT – diagnostic games (playing with a child, role-playing game).
The involvement of the researcher is maximum in dialogic methods, average in projective methods and rap tests, and minimal in objective tests and questionnaires.

Characteristics of tests.

Workshop. Self-doubt test.
In terms of popularity in educational and professional psychodiagnostics, the test method has held 1st place in world psychodiagnostic practice for about a century.
Testing refers to diagnostic methods that are characterized by an emphasis on the measurement (i.e., numerical representation) of some psychological variable.
A test is a short-term task, the completion of which can serve as an indicator of the perfection of certain mental functions.
Typically, the test consists of a series of tasks with a choice of ready-made answer options. Then, when counting, the answers are summed up, the total score is compared with test norms, and then standard diagnostic conclusions are formulated.
Types of tests:

1. Personal
2. Intelligence tests.
3. Achievement Tests

Advantages of tests:

1. Standardization of conditions and results, i.e. uniformity of the procedure for conducting and assessing the test. Includes:

– precise instructions;
- temporary restrictions;
- preliminary display of the task;
- taking into account the way the questions are interpreted by the subjects
and etc.
2. Efficiency. Economical(a large number of subjects in a short period of time).
3. Optimal difficulty, i.e. accessibility for the average person. If during the aerobatics approximately half of the test subjects complete the task, then the task is successful and is left in the test. Also, the tasks of moderate difficulty included in the test can help increase confidence in many test takers.
4. Reliability. Any well-constructed educational test covers the main sections curriculum in general, the chances of “failing” among excellent students or “breaking out” among laggards decrease.
5. Justice. Protection from experimenter bias. There is no “it’s easier for your own people, it’s harder for strangers.”
6. Possibility of computerization.
7. Differentiated nature of assessment, i.e. The assessment is fractional; usually several (rather than two) categories are distinguished. For example, “hopeless – not hopeless – simply capable – very capable – talented.”
Disadvantages of tests:

1. The danger of “blind” (automatic) errors. It should be remembered that shifts may occur in the procedure, for example, the subject did not understand the instructions.
2. The danger of profanity– the use of tests by unqualified people: the use of 2-3 tests for everyone and everything, “for all occasions.” For example, MMPI was once used for personnel selection in our country. As a result, the “Schizophrenia” scale was interpreted as “originality of thinking”, “Psychopathy” - as “impulsivity”, etc.
3. Loss of individual approach. Individual characteristics can lead to distortion of results, and it is important for the researcher to notice such reactions to the test (for example, anxiety can lead to random errors).
4. Difficulties in expressing individuality, because The test answers are standard.
5. The formalized nature of the situation, testing procedures. In this regard, the researcher is obliged to establish a trusting environment, show participation, and reduce the resistance and defense of the subjects.

In any case, tests must be used in combination with other methods - written works, interviews, conversation, projective techniques.

Projective techniques.
Workshop. Psychogeometry, Determination of the dominant instinct.
Classification of projective techniques:

1. Associative PT. They involve the presentation of some disordered material that needs to be given a subjective meaning (Rorschach blots. Here the content of the interpretation, color, shape of the blots, and the originality of the answers are assessed).
2. Interpretive PTs. The subject’s task is to interpret any events depicted in the pictures (it is assumed that everyone interprets them in connection with their attitude towards them) (for example, TAT (thematic apperception test). The subject identifies himself with the hero. His characteristics are discovered. Environmental pressure is revealed The powers of the hero and the environment are compared (the combination of the hero and the environment forms a “theme” as the structure of their interaction)).
3. PT based on addition. The test subject’s task is to complete a story or sentence (for example, Rosenzweig’s test of reaction to frustration. The type of reaction to an obstacle is determined: extrapunitive reaction - the external cause of frustration is condemned and resolution of the situation is required from another person; intrapunitive reaction - directed at oneself with acceptance guilt and responsibility for resolving the situation).
4. PT design. Separate details are presented, from which the subject composes various kinds of complete pictures (in connection with his own taste, experience, interests), and also comes up with a story based on individual fragments or after listening to sounds and noises.
5. Choice-based PTs from the presented material of such decisions that are indirectly related to hidden drives, sympathies, intentions (for example, the Szondi test, the eight-color Luscher test, “Psychogeometry” (determines the personality type by the contour of the figure)).

Distinctive features of projective techniques:

1. Relative freedom of the subject in choosing an answer and tactics of behavior.
2. Absence of external indicators of the evaluative attitude towards the subject on the part of the experimenter.
3. Comprehensive diagnostics personal properties and the relationship between the individual and the environment.

The most common form of PT is drawing tests: “Non-existent animal”, “Draw a person”, “Self-portrait”, “House-tree-man”, “My family”.

Application
Color and position values ​​in M. Luscher's eight-color test.
Blue- need for peace.
Green- need for self-affirmation.
Red– need for purposeful activity.
Yellow– need for spontaneous activity.
Violet– victory of red over blue.
Brown- the sensory basis of sensations.
Black– denial of the colors of life and existence itself.
Grey– shelter from external influences, release from obligations, fencing off.
Position meaning:
1st- the main method of action, a means of achieving a goal.
2nd- the goal to which the subject strives.
3rd and 4th- indicate a current situation or a course of action arising from a given situation.
5th and 6th– unused in this moment personality reserves, its characteristics.
7th and 8th– a suppressed need, or a need that should be suppressed, because there may be adverse consequences.

The task is to draw houses “House-Tree-Man”. At the next lesson, discuss and receive a printout of the interpretation.
- draw a person (interpretation according to the Machover drawing test).

The concept of the psyche.

The psyche, namely the patterns of its occurrence, formation and manifestation, is the subject of study of modern psychology.
The psyche is a systemic quality of the brain that provides humans and animals with the ability to reflect the effects of objects and phenomena in the surrounding world.
The main quality, function of the psyche, and also one of the basic categories of psychology is reflection. Reflection is a multi-level active process of processing information about the object of reflection and creating an adequate model of this object. The psyche is a “subjective image of the objective world”, because we reflect reality through the prism of our inner world.
Physiological basis of the psyche– the brain, namely the nervous system and the features of its work. In this case, it is important not only the presence of certain parts of the brain, but most importantly, multiple connections between them. The more connections and relationships there are, the more complex they are, the more perfect the psyche, the richer the person’s experience.
For the full functioning of the psyche, the following conditions are necessary:

1. Full brain activity;
2. Constant influx of external information;
3. Interaction with people and cultural objects in which the experience of humanity as a whole is concentrated.

Functions of the psyche:

1. Active reflection of the influences of the surrounding reality;
2. Regulation of behavior and activity. Behavior is an external form of manifestation of the psyche;
3. A person’s awareness of himself and his place in the world around him, and, consequently, adaptation and correct orientation in it.

The nervous system happens central(brain and spinal cord) (CNS) and peripheral(nerve endings - receptors- who perceive different kinds energy (mechanical, chemical, electromagnetic) and convert it into nerve impulse.
The youngest and most advanced section of the nervous system is bark brain. This is where human thinking and consciousness and the highest levels of thinking in animals are formed.
The unit of the nervous system is the nerve cell. neuron. It consists of a body (soma) and processes - dendrites and axon. They transmit nerve impulses. The axon is the longest process and the most important. It is covered with a myelin sheath, which allows the impulse to travel very quickly (several tens of m/s). All cells are connected by synapses. These are enlarged plaques containing mediators - impulse transmitters on a biochemical basis. Under the influence of external and internal biochemical substances, impulse transmission can accelerate or slow down, thereby regulating and determining the mental state of the body.
The neuron is enveloped by glial cells that serve metabolism, as well as blood capillaries.
Neurons, glia and blood capillaries form nerves.
Neurons and nerves are sensitive (sensory), motor (motor), and also conductors of impulses from one part of the nervous system to another (local network neurons).
The brain also consists of two hemispheres- left and right.
The cerebral cortex consists of shares– frontal lobes (responsible for goal setting and activity), parietal lobes (responsible for sensations), occipital lobes (responsible for vision), temporal lobes (responsible for hearing) and zones– primary zones (analyze information from receptors), secondary zones (synthesis of information from receptors), tertiary zones (carry out a complex synthesis of information from different zones (neurons are located at their boundaries)).
When the occipital, temporal, and parietal lobes are damaged, the reception of information is disrupted and individual signs of the stimulus are lost. Moreover, if the right hemisphere is damaged, the person does not realize his defect. The person cannot name the object and is not oriented in space.
When the frontal lobes are damaged, muscle paralysis occurs, motor skills decay, goal setting of activities, voluntary memorization, etc. are disrupted, there is no program of activities, criticism of one’s actions is disrupted, the same actions are performed, and cycling occurs (perseveration of movements). The frontal lobes begin to develop intensively at 6–7 years of age and finally mature by 15–16 years of age.
Analyzer is a system for processing information at all levels of its passage through the central nervous system. Thus, the analyzer can be visual, auditory, gustatory, skin, etc. Each analyzer has 3 sections:

1. Peripheral department - represented by a receptor (for example, the eye receptor - the retina);
2. Conductive department - represented by a nerve (for example, the optic nerve);
3. Central department - represented by corresponding zones in the cerebral cortex (for example, the occipital zone).

General patterns.

1. All human organs have a strictly defined representation in the cerebral cortex (in this case, the more developed and involved the organ, the larger the area occupied by its projection in the cerebral cortex);
2. The entire nervous system and brain ultimately take part in information processing (the principle of systemic activity of the brain);
3. The cerebral cortex is hierarchically organized (from primary to tertiary zones).

The psyche is diverse in its forms and manifestations:

1. Mental processes– mental phenomena that provide primary reflection and subsequent awareness by a person of influences environment. They are divided into cognitive processes(sensation, perception, etc.) and emotional-volitional processes.
2. Mental properties– the most stable and constantly manifesting personality traits, providing a certain qualitative and quantitative level of behavior and activity typical for a given person. These are orientation, abilities, temperament, character.
3. Mental conditions- this is a certain level of performance and quality of functioning of the human psyche, characteristic of him at the moment. These are activity, passivity, fatigue, apathy, vigor, anxiety, etc.
4. Psychic formations- these are mental phenomena that are formed in the process of a person acquiring life and professional experience, the content of which includes a special combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Stages of mental development in phylogenesis.

1. Elementary sensory psyche(protozoa, worms, gastropods). At this level, organisms are able to reflect individual properties of the environment. Based on sensations. Organisms purposefully move towards biologically useful substances and avoid harmful ones. This happens due to such a property as irritability. Irritability is the ability to respond to biologically significant environmental influences by changing the state of the body.
2. Perceptual psyche(fish, cephalopods, insects; at its highest level - birds, mammals). The ability to reflect the environment in the form of holistic images and the ability to learn appears. Behavioral responses are expanding. Behavior is plastic. Organisms can transfer a skill to new conditions.
3. Intellectual psyche(monkeys, dolphins). Behavior is very flexible. Animals can solve complex problems and change behavior when obstacles arise by identifying regular connections between objects. Thus, the presence of figurative and visual-effective thinking is noted (i.e., for learning, manipulation of animal objects and observation is necessary). Monkeys understand the relationships “more - less”, “shorter - longer”, “more often - less”, different shape geometric shapes. The animal cannot abstract itself from a specific situation, and there is also no concept of time.

The concept of consciousness.

The psyche is represented at different levels. This consciousness – highest level development of the psyche - and the deep layer of the psyche - unconscious. The unconscious is a form of reflection of reality, during which its sources are not realized, and the reflected reality merges with experiences.
Consciousness.
Consciousness is the highest and most generalized form of reflection of the world. Several factors in the development of consciousness can be identified:

1. Making and using tools. Fine motor skills and thinking develop;
2. Development of sense organs;
3. Collaborative activities and communication through language. Language is a system of signs and symbols. Animals also have vocal reactions, but they are primitive and generalized (for example, they do not convey which predator is approaching). Thanks to language, an image appears in the mind - a person designates an object in his speech or mentally reproduces it. If he transfers it to another, then, thanks to the social nature of consciousness, the same image also arises. There is a meaning to the word - it has social nature. But there is a meaning of the word - it has a subjective nature.
4. Production of objects of material and spiritual culture.

All these conditions are provided work.
CONSCIOUSNESS is the general quality of all human mental functions, the result of the socio-historical formation of a person in work activity with constant communication with other people through language.

Distinctive features of consciousness:
1. Conditioned by social conditions (historical era, class, team, company). Consciousness that reflects social relations is social consciousness. Individual consciousness is the spiritual world of individual people. Social consciousness
refracted through the individual. Forms of social consciousness - science, art, religion, morality, etc.

1. Reflection of the world in its essential connections and relationships - highlighting the main characteristics of phenomena, what characterizes them and distinguishes them from others similar to them. For example, a table, a chair, a closet, a hanger, a notebook.
2. Predictive character (imagination of reality).
3. Creative transformation of reality.
4. The presence of intellectual schemes (mental structures in which concepts, rules, logical operations of information processing, etc. are located).
5. The presence of self-awareness, reflection (i.e., knowing oneself by knowing others; self-knowledge by analyzing one’s own activities and behavior; self-control, self-education).

Some scientists call the hallmark of consciousness intentionality of actions, focus on an object, purposefulness. But animals have this too. If the behavior of a bird that dismisses a predator from its nest by pretending to be wounded can still be called instinctive, then the behavior of higher primates provides interesting information. The ability of chimpanzees to communicate intentionally was studied by creating situations in which a human and an ape foraged together for food. They informed each other of her whereabouts. When a person helped a chimpanzee and gave it all the food it found, the monkey also sent the right signals about the place. If a person took all the food he found for himself, then the monkey misled him by not giving the necessary signals and not taking into account the “false” signals from him.
In addition, monkeys are capable of deception (Beata the monkey).
Altruism can be called a purely human sign of consciousness, when the interests of another person are the central point of behavior.
We can say that animals have the prerequisites for consciousness, but only humans are able to generalize their experience, create joint knowledge, which is consolidated in speech, samples of material and spiritual culture.
Impaired consciousness.
Loss of consciousness occurs during sleep, during illness, or in a state of hypnosis.

Self-awareness.
SELF-AWARENESS is the process by which a person comes to know and relate to himself. It is based on separation, opposition to the surrounding world.
Components of consciousness (according to V.S. Merlin):

1. Awareness of the difference between oneself and the rest of the world;
2. Consciousness of “I” (as an active subject of activity);
3. Awareness of one’s mental properties, emotional self-esteem;
4. Social and moral self-esteem, self-esteem based on experience.

In the scientific literature you can find the concept of the image of “I”, or “I-concept”. This is the central link of self-awareness. It includes:
1. Intellectual component – ​​self-knowledge (knowledge of oneself, the ability to characterize oneself);
2. Emotional component – ​​self-attitude, self-esteem;
3. Behavioral component - a set and selection of characteristic, typical behavioral strategies and tactics.
Self-esteem is formed with experience, with the assessment of other people's reactions to the subject. Self-esteem can be adequate (with a slight discrepancy between the “real self” and the “ideal self”) and inadequate (overestimated and underestimated).
Disorders of self-awareness.

1. Depersonalization – loss of “I”, viewing oneself as a stranger, an outsider;
2. Split personality, split;
3. Violation of bodily identification - parts of the body are perceived as something separate;
4. Derealization is the loss of a sense of the reality of one’s life and the whole world.

The concept of the unconscious.

The first ideas about the unconscious go back to Plato. He metaphorically represented the unconscious as two rushing horses - black and white - ruled by consciousness. Thus, he first spoke about intrapersonal conflict.
A person’s UNCONSCIOUS is those phenomena and states that are not conscious or controlled by him, but they exist and manifest themselves in a variety of involuntary actions:

1. Wrong actions– slips of the tongue, slips of the tongue, errors in listening. They arise due to the collision of a person’s unconscious desires and a consciously set goal. When the unconscious desire, the motive, wins, a reservation arises;
2. Involuntary forgetting names, intentions, events (indirectly associated for a person with unpleasant experiences);
3. Dreams, dreams, daydreams. Dreams are a symbolic way of eliminating an unpleasant sensation, experience, or dissatisfaction. If consciousness and censorship are strong in a person, then the content of dreams becomes confusing and incomprehensible.

Levels of the unconscious:

1. Preconscious– sensations, perception, memory, thinking, attitudes;
2. Phenomena that were previously conscious– motor skills (walking, writing, etc.);
3. Personal unconscious– desires, thoughts, needs, crowded out of consciousness by censorship. This is the deepest layer of the unconscious.

Methods for studying the unconscious:
1. Hypnosis.
2. Free association method(the man relaxed and said whatever came into his head).
3. Interpretation of dreams.
4. Transfer Analysis(a person transfers his images to the doctor, associates him with close people).
Workshop. Mandala image. The goal is self-knowledge, self-awareness, achieving personal harmony.

Stages of development of psychology

1. Pre-scientific (before the 6th century BC)

Primitive society.

2. Philosophical (6th century BC – 19th century)

Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Modern times.

3. Scientific (from the 19th century).

Modern times.

Pre-scientific stage.

The mysteries of human life and behavior have worried people since primitive times. Ancient man tried to explain why he sees and hears, why one is brave, the other is strong, one is more capable, learns knowledge faster, the other slower.
Among ancient peoples, the soul is explained within the framework of various mythological and religious beliefs. In most cases, ideas about the soul arise along with funeral rites.
The soul appears to be a human double, a terrible demon or an incorruptible, foggy image. The soul was often depicted as a winged creature. The soul was considered as something supernatural, like an animal in an animal, a man in a man. The activity of an animal or a person is explained by the presence of this soul, and tranquility in sleep or death is explained by its absence. Sleep or trance is a temporary absence of the soul, and death is permanent. You can protect yourself from death either by closing the soul’s exit from the body, or, if it has left it, by achieving its return. To achieve these goals, taboos are used. The soul of the tribe, in particular, is contained in the totem.

Philosophical stage.

Antiquity.
The first more or less coherent teachings about human psychology appear in the era of antiquity. Ancient Greek philosophers imagined the soul as the movement of air (Anaximenes) or a flame (Heraclitus), or a faint imprint of the world soul - the Cosmos.
Heraclitus, for example, called the Cosmos an “eternally burning fire,” and the soul its spark. Determined the difference between the souls of a child and an adult. As you grow older, your soul becomes drier and hotter. The degree of humidity of the soul affects its cognitive abilities. The soul of a child and a drunk is damp.
Aristotle believed that all objects where there is movement and heat have a soul, and distinguished plant, animal and rational souls. His doctrine of the universal spirituality of the world is called animism.
About 2 thousand years ago, in the era of antiquity, the human psyche was explained by 2 concepts:

Materialistic doctrine (Democritus).

Everything that exists on Earth has a soul, or rather, elements of the soul. Everything consists of atoms of different sizes and mobility. And the smallest and most mobile are the atoms of the soul. Those. the soul began to be understood as a material organ that animates the body. The atoms of the soul are independent and mobile, and with their help Democritus explained the processes of cognition, sleep, death (by the dynamics of the movement of these atoms).
After death, the soul dissipates into the air. I tried to explain the nature of sensations. Sensations are contact, because in the sense organs, the atoms of the soul are very close to the surface and can come into contact with microscopic, invisible to the eye, copies of surrounding objects - eidols - which float in the air, falling on the sense organs. Eidols expire from all items (the “expiration” theory).

Idealistic doctrine (Plato).

There is an ideal world where souls are born and reside, as well as ideas - perfect prototypes of all things. All things, objects, incl. and people strive for this perfection, being, as it were, variations of these ideas and concepts.
The soul is not material, and knowledge of the world is not the interaction of the psyche with the outside world, but the soul’s memory of what it saw in the ideal world before it entered the body. Therefore, thinking is reproductive.
Plato classified mental phenomena into reason (in the head), courage, “will” (in the chest) and lust, “motivation” (in the abdominal cavity). The predominance of one or another part determined the individuality of a person and correlated with his social status(reason - for aristocrats, courage - for warriors, lust - for slaves).
The soul is immortal, constant, it is the guardian of morality. Only the rational part of the soul is good, and all feelings and passions are evil.
Plato imagined the soul as a carriage, where the wild and ugly horse is the lower soul, the supple and beautiful horse is the higher one, and the driver is the rational part of the soul, the mind.

The materialistic understanding of the soul was reinforced by the successes of ancient doctors. Thus, thanks to permission to dissect the corpses of “rootless” people, various parts of the brain were described in detail, a connection was established between the number of convolutions and the perfection of the brain, the connection between the sense organs and the brain, the difference between sensory and motor nerves, the types of temperament were determined (Hippocrates defined temperament as the predominance of one of the body’s juices - bile, black bile, blood, mucus), etc.

Middle Ages.

Knowledge about the soul during this period becomes integral part doctrines about God, i.e. lose their independent value. The Church prohibits any experiments. Attempts are being made to combine ancient ideas about the soul with religious ones.
For example, the teachings of the Christian Platonist Aurelius Augustine the Blessed. According to Augustine, the basis of the soul is not reason, but will. All knowledge lies in the soul, which lives and moves in God. They are extracted by directing the will. Any mental processes are also controlled by the will, for example, from the “imprints” of the external world that are stored by the senses, the will creates memories.
The will acts in 2 directions:

1. Receives and accumulates external experience;
2. Provides inner experience of the highest value - i.e. the soul has the ability to turn inward and comprehend itself (in modern terms, this is self-awareness).

Revival.

The Renaissance freed all sciences and art from the dogmas and restrictions of the church, and they began to actively develop.
During the Renaissance, the materialistic explanation of the soul continued to develop. Issued affect theory, or emotions: mental is a certain state of matter, subject to the law of self-preservation. Positive emotions reveal the strength of the soul striving for self-preservation, while negative emotions reveal its weakness.

New time.

One of the main questions that worried philosophers was the problem of the connection between soul and body. For a very long time, the prevailing point of view was that the nature of the soul and body are completely different, and their relationship is similar to the relationship between the puppeteer (soul) and the doll (body), i.e. it was believed that the soul could influence the body, but not vice versa.
French philosopher R. Descartes also believed that the body and soul have different natures and act according to different laws. Mechanics became one of the leading exact sciences that had a strong influence on the development of other sciences. It led to the creation of complex machines capable of performing all kinds of movements reminiscent of human and animal behavior. There was a temptation to apply the laws of mechanics to explain human movements. The first mechanical principle was realized by R. Descartes in the concept of “reflex”. A reflex is a mechanical motor response of a biological machine to an external mechanical, physical influence. In the organic needs of man, naturalists saw an analogue of the energy source of a machine, and in the anatomical structure of the body, the articulations of the joints - something reminiscent of the lever system of a machine. Thus, the body, according to Descartes, is material and acts according to the laws of mechanics. The soul is immaterial, and its main property is the ability to think, remember and feel.
In the 18th century English philosopher J. Locke put forward an empiric-sensualistic concept, according to which the sensual principle prevails over the rational, over reason. There is nothing in the mind that is not in the senses. The consciousness of a child at birth is a tabula rasa - a “blank slate” on which life leaves its writings. Sensations are formed in us according to the principle of association (connections between mental units). This is how experience is formed. This idea formed the basis of many theories based on the idea of ​​the leading role of external influences for the development and education of a person. So, Locke gave great importance education, including the formation of a positive attitude towards good deeds and a negative attitude towards bad ones.
In the 18th century Thanks to the development of medicine and physiology, a connection between the soul, psyche and brain is established. C. Bell opens two types of fibers - sensory and motor, confirming the idea of ​​​​the reflex.
For the first time, a reflexive interpretation of psychological phenomena and processes is given in the book THEM. Sechenov"Reflexes of the brain."
Over time, it is discovered that the reflex principle cannot explain the variability of human movements, their dependence on the mental state, and thinking.

Scientific stage.

In the 19th century In many scientific fields Experimentation is gaining more and more value. An introduction to the psychology of a scientific laboratory experiment belongs to a German scientist V. Wundtu. The first is psychological experimental laboratory under the leadership of Wundt opened in 1979. Sensation and perception were mainly measured.
For example, the psychophysical law of sensations was derived: “The intensity of sensation is directly proportional to the logarithm of the intensity of the stimulus” (in order to obtain an increment in sensation in an arithmetic progression, it is necessary to increment the action of physical stimuli in geometric progression, i.e. the stimulus must be several times stronger than the previous time to cause the same sensation). As for thinking, Wundt suggests using method of introspection(introspection), as well as study of cultural monuments, language, myths, art, etc.
During this period, the subject of psychology changes. Thanks to the experiment, it becomes consciousness, which is understood as the ability to think, feel, and desire. Psychology is becoming an independent science. Developing industries:
- experimental psychophysiology of sensory organs;
- psychology of individual differences. F. Galton introduced the twin method to clarify the relationship between heredity and environment in the determination of individual differences.
A natural experiment is developing (in natural conditions) ( A.F. Lazursky- psychology of Personality, V.M. Bekhterev– psychology of small groups).

The main directions of development of psychology after the crisis of the beginning. 20th century

The shortcomings of the introspection method lead to a crisis in psychological science. As a result, in the beginning 20th century A number of new directions are emerging, each of which has proposed its own subject of psychology and methods of studying it.

Behaviorism

The name comes from English. behavior - “behavior”. American psychologists are considered the founders E.L. Thorndike And J. Watson.
Behaviorists believed that consciousness is too subjective and hidden from us and therefore cannot be measured. They declared the psyche to be “a black box where a person hides his problems, creating the appearance of solving them.” You can measure and record the external manifestation of the psyche - behavior.
The behavior pattern was described by behaviorists in the form of a formula: S –R(“stimulus-response”). A stimulus is any external influence on the body, and a reaction is any response. The meaning of the formula is that knowing which stimulus causes a certain reaction, you can control the behavior of humans and animals. To do this, it is necessary to observe human behavior, establish patterns and later use the appropriate stimulus to evoke the desired reaction. To enhance the action, you need to use reinforcement. Reinforcement can be positive (reward, praise, etc.) and negative (punishment, etc.), also direct (immediate) and indirect (when a person or animal observes the behavior of another individual and what such behavior can lead to). This is what happens learning, the process of acquiring individual, personal experience ( A. Bandura).
Neobehaviorists ( E. Tolman, B. Skinner) supplemented the formula S – R: S – O –R, where O – cognitive processes: thinking, memory, imagination.
The development of behaviorism was greatly influenced by the teachings of I.P. Pavlova and V.M. Bekhterev about the nature of the reflex.
Critics of behaviorism draw attention to the mechanistic approach to the psyche, its strict determination by external circumstances, and the blurring of the boundaries between human and animal psychology.

Psychoanalysis

The founder is the Austrian psychiatrist and psychologist S. Freud. One of his biographers notes: “Copernicus moved humanity from the center of the world to its outskirts, Darwin forced us to recognize our kinship with animals, and Freud proved that reason is not the master of its own house.” Z. Freud revolutionized ideas about the human psyche - human behavior is determined not only and not so much by consciousness, but more by the unconscious (hidden, suppressed experiences, desires).
S. Freud made this conclusion based on his medical practice. He treated hysteria and neuroses. He noted that these diseases are caused by the suppression of various kinds of psychotraumas that took place mostly in early childhood. These psychotraumas do not disappear, but wander within a person, periodically coming out in dreams, slips of the tongue, drawings, jokes, etc. According to Freud, in order to get rid of them, it is necessary not to suppress them, but to remember them in all their colors, relive them and, most importantly, react. For these purposes, Freud used:
1. Hypnosis.
2. Method of free associations (the person relaxed and said whatever came into his head).
3. Interpretation of dreams.
4. Analysis of transference (a person transfers his images to the doctor, associates him with loved ones).
This is how psychoanalysis is carried out.

Gestalt psychology

Founders – German scientists K. Koffka, W. Köhler, M. Wertheimer. The name comes from it. gestalt – “form, image, structure.” From their point of view, the psyche is an integral structure that cannot be reduced to a set of individual elements. The whole is not the sum of its parts; the parts do not determine the whole, but on the contrary, the properties of the whole determine the properties of its individual parts. Thus, a musical melody cannot be reduced to a sequence of different musical sounds. It is important to study the structure of connections between them.
A holistic structure is what it is gestalt.
Concept "figure-ground"- one of the key ones in Gestalt psychology. For example, perception is not the sum of sensations, it is holistic. Figure and ground are difficult to see together. Usually one integral part stands out - either a figure or a background.
In psychotherapy, Gestalt techniques are also aimed at establishing integrity. Thus, a well-known exercise is the “Circle of Subpersonalities”, the task of which is to bring individual manifestations of personality (“I want”, “I need”, etc.) to harmony. The Mandala exercise is also a typical example.

Cognitive psychology

Name from lat. сognitio – knowledge, cognition. Cognitive psychology examines the dependence of a person’s behavior on his existing cognitive maps (schemas), which determine his worldview. Associated with names A. Beck, A. Ellis.
Critics of cognitive psychology note the simplification of a person’s inner world, acting according to schemes and models, and identifying the brain with a machine. It is not without reason that the emergence and development of this direction are associated with the rapid development of computer technology and the development of cybernetics (the science of the laws of the process of managing and transmitting information).
The structure of cognitive schemas includes beliefs and rules through which people sort and use incoming information. At the same time, beliefs can be dysfunctional and cause cognitive errors leading to inappropriate behavior.
Examples of errors:
1. Arbitrary conclusion. Drawing conclusions in the absence of evidence. Example– a working mother who, at the end of a hard day, concludes, “I’m a terrible mother.”
2. Selective abstraction. Selective attention to an unimportant detail while simultaneously ignoring a more significant one. Example- a lover who becomes jealous when he sees that his girlfriend tilts her head towards the interlocutor at a noisy party in order to hear him better.
3. Overgeneralization. Removal general rule from one or more isolated cases. Example– a woman who, after a disappointing date, comes to the conclusion “All men are the same. I will always be rejected."
4. Exaggeration and understatement.Example The first is a student who predicts disaster: “If I get even a little nervous, I will certainly fail.” Example the second is a man who says his terminally ill mother has “a slight cold.”
5. Personalization. Having a tendency to attribute external events to oneself in the absence of adequate evidence. Example- a person sees someone walking along opposite side on the busy street of an acquaintance who doesn't notice his greeting wave and thinks, "I must have offended him in some way."
6. Dichotomous thinking.“Black and white”, “either-or”, etc., maximalism. Example– the student thinks: “If I don’t pass this exam with excellent marks, I’m a failure.”

A. Beck believes that reasons Such cognitive errors are:
1. Psychological trauma received in childhood.Example– a five-year-old boy went on a journey and, upon returning, found out that his beloved dog had died; As a result, the boy developed the attitude: “When I am physically at a great distance from others, something bad happens to them.”
2. Childhood abuse. It hurts the feeling self-esteem and makes the child vulnerable. Often, people significant to the child model offensive behavior that he will later use against other people or criticize himself excessively.
3. Negative life experiences, learning.

Humanistic psychology

It arose in the 60s of the 20th century. in USA. Founders A. Maslow, K. Rogers. The name comes from the Latin humanus – “humane”. Humanistic psychology studies only humans and argues that animals are not worth studying. This direction is based on an optimistic approach to understanding human nature: faith in the creative powers of every person, in the fact that he is able to consciously choose his destiny and build his life. Humanists argue that a person is initially good, and his aggression is the result of environmental influences. The focus is on a healthy, self-actualizing personality.
The highest human need is the need for self-actualization, i.e. in revealing one's personal potential. Moreover, this higher need arises and can be satisfied by satisfying the lower ones (physiological, for example).

Domestic psychology

The roots of Russian psychological thought go back to the 19th century. One of the most significant applications for the construction of psychological knowledge at that time was the work THEM. Sechenov"Reflexes of the brain."
I.P. Pavlov- great Russian scientist-physiologist, founder of the doctrine of higher nervous activity(VND).
Bekhterev V.I.- great Russian physiologist, psychiatrist and psychologist, founder of Russia's first experimental psychological laboratory and the Psychoneurological Institute (1908) - the world's first center for the comprehensive study of man. Developed a natural science theory of behavior.
Rubinshtein S.L.- an outstanding Russian psychologist and philosopher. Developed the activity principle in psychology, the principle of determinism, the principle personal approach.
Luria A.R.- an outstanding domestic psychologist, the founder of neuropsychology in our country. The main attention was paid to the experimental study of the localization of higher mental functions (HMF).
Vygotsky L.S.– the founder of the cultural-historical concept of mental development, according to which the mental development and formation of a child’s personality occurs through interaction with society, culture, in the process of appropriating culturally specified ways of acting with objects, and familiarity with the achievements of culture and science. Thus, the psyche is culturally and historically conditioned.
Leontyev A.N.- an outstanding domestic psychologist. Developed a psychological theory of activity, which is recognized theoretical direction in domestic and world psychological science. According to it, the psyche is born, formed and manifested in activity. At the same time, at each stage of growing up, the leading activity that has the greatest impact is identified. For example, in preschool age it is play, in primary school age it is learning, in adolescence it is intimate and personal communication.

Where to start studying psychology? In order to answer the question: “ For what Do I need psychological knowledge? After all, knowledge is power. And psychological knowledge, like any other, has power that you still need to be able to apply without harm and only for the benefit of yourself and others.

The two most common answer to the question “Why do you need psychology?”:

• To understand yourself and your life.
• To learn how to manage (manipulate) people.

The second answer seems less ethical than the first, but, by and large, it is about relationships with people around you, while the first is about relationships with yourself. Exactly these two interconnected areas of life most worrying about any person.

It seems dangerous to allow a “bad” person to gain knowledge in the field of psychology (Even better, he will learn to control everyone and become an all-powerful tyrant!), but secret is that psychological knowledge is also “magical”: it changes the one who receives it for the better!

A person who succeeds in penetrating the depths of psychology and being imbued with it will definitely understand that psychology– this is not only a humanitarian science, but also a humanistic one, that is, addressed to the human personality, to the rights, interests, freedoms of man, humane. Anyone who studies psychology becomes more humane!

It is not without reason that one of the main ethical principles of psychologists "Do no harm!". Also, a real psychologist adheres to principles:

1. Non-judgmental, accepting a person as he is, without labeling.
2. Privacy. Personal information is kept confidential.
3. Selflessness, non-use of received information for selfish purposes or with malicious intent.
4. Voluntariness. The client himself decides whether or not to interact with a psychologist. No coercion!
5. Competencies. A real psychologist will never take on work that is not part of his duties, competence and is contrary to ethics, just for the opportunity to earn money.

There are also other principles and rules practical psychology, but they all make it clear - psychological knowledge and its application in practice must not harm anyone.

Psychology is a science, helping person to become happy.

General psychology as a knowledge base

By studying psychology and its various sections, directions and branches, you can become interested in all other sciences about man and nature: medicine, genetics, pedagogy, anatomy, physics and so on. This is because psychology unites them all.

Psychology among other sciences, if not the main one, but central, after all, the psyche is also a “window” through which a person looks at the world and the instrument with which he cognizes this world.

Anyone who is not familiar with real psychology and associates it with pseudo- and pseudoscience may be surprised at how much psychology actually complicated.

Yes, modern psychological authors write their books in a simple, easy and in clear language, so that the reader understands, but if you pick up a textbook on psychology or open the work of a classic, it will take a lot of effort to understand what is written.

To understand secondary and derivative, you need know the basics. Of course, studying psychology needs to start with the basics. The main and basic course of the science of psychology is general psychology.

General psychology is a branch of the science of psychology that theoretically and experimentally studies the patterns of the emergence, development and functioning of the psyche. General psychology studies the most general psychological laws and patterns, principles and methods, concepts and categories.

Why it is important to start with general psychology will become clear with an example. So, if a person wanted to become creative and started reading a book like “How to learn to think creatively?”, which describes techniques and exercises, reading the book may not satisfy him. The reader, if he learns something, will learn it more mechanically than meaningfully. To understand how to think creatively, you need to understand what thinking is in general and what creativity itself is. Such basic, basic knowledge teaches a person think for yourself and approach solving the problem intelligently.

There are many textbooks on general psychology. As an example, we can take the wonderful textbook of the Soviet and Russian psychologist, professor R.S. Nemov “Psychology. Book 1. General Basics psychology", which students are taught in universities.

In this book everything is described, what a person who decides to study psychology needs to know, for example, it has the following sections:

These are the basics, without knowing which it is impossible to say: “I know psychology.”

Where to start and how to continue

In addition to the textbook by R.S. Nemova there are other wonderful teaching aids in general psychology, with which you can begin the study of this science. All textbooks provide only basic knowledge, but in them you can already find a lot of interesting, new, unusual, amazing and practically useful.

Reading a psychology textbook is not only exciting, but also useful; it is the first step towards self-understanding, their problems and areas of development.

After studying general psychology, you can take on other sections of it. Useful to study history of psychology and get to know different psychological directions(psychoanalysis, behaviorism, Gestalt psychologists, and so on), including reading the primary sources and fundamental works of outstanding psychologists.

It is worth continuing your studies by getting acquainted with individual industries: social psychology, family, age, organizational, personality psychology, conflictology - depending on what interests you most.

Studying psychology on your own is quite a feasible task. But you just need to understand that to fully study science in a month or three unreal! Firstly, because the knowledge accumulated over a century and a half of the existence of this science is more than enough, and secondly, psychology is developing and expanding very quickly, so “Learn, study and study again!”

Having received basic psychological knowledge, you can delve further into science and take on narrow topics, most interesting from a practical point of view and relevant, namely, read psychological literature, rich in detailed descriptions of a specific problem, practical recommendations, exercises, and begin to apply the acquired knowledge “on yourself.”

Information on how to choose good book in psychology, as well as a list of the best popular psychological literature of recent times, you will find in the article.

Important! To become a practical psychologist and begin to apply psychological knowledge in practice in order to help others For people, home schooling is not enough; they need to at least study at a university with a degree in Psychology.

Here's some help to myself, taking up the study of psychology is not only possible, but also necessary!

Some textbooks with which you can start studying psychology:

1. Julia Gippenreiter “Introduction to general psychology”
2. Anatoly Maklakov “General Psychology”
3. Sergei Rubinstein “Fundamentals of general psychology”
4. Paul Kleinman “Psychology. People, concepts, experiments”
5. Alexander Morozov “History of Psychology”
6. Gennady Starshenbaum “Encyclopedia of a beginning psychologist”
7. Alla Bolotova “Promising directions of psychological science”

Why did you decide to study psychology?

Incredible facts

The human psyche remains one of the biggest mysteries in the world.

Although researchers have learned a lot interesting facts about the psychological characteristics of a person, and can even predict our behavior based on certain rules, much remains unknown.

Did you know how fallible your memories are, how long your habits take to form, or how many friends you can make?

Here are these and other psychological facts that will help you get to know yourself better.

Human psychological processes

1. You suffer from "inattention blindness"

If you haven't heard anything about "invisible gorilla" experiment, watch the following video. You need to count the number of passes made by people wearing white T-shirts (watch the video before reading further).

This is an example of what is called " inattention blindness"The idea is that we are often blind to what is literally happening under our noses if we are focused on some other task.

In this case, a man in a gorilla suit walks through a group of players, stops and walks away. Participants busy counting passes often simply do not notice the gorilla. Moreover, those who are aware of the gorilla's appearance become even more inattentive and miss other changes (such as a change in the color of the curtains, or the departure of one girl).

2. You can only remember 3-4 items at a time

Exists the rule of the "magic number 7 plus minus 2", according to which a person cannot store more than 5-9 blocks of information at the same time. Most information is stored in short-term memory for 20-30 seconds, after which we quickly forget it, unless we repeat it over and over again.

Although most people can retain about 7 digits in memory for a short period, almost all of us have difficulty retaining 10 digits in our minds.

Recent research shows that we are able to store even less: about 3-4 blocks of information at a time. And although we try to group the data we receive, our short-term memory is still quite limited.

For example, a telephone number is divided into several sets of numbers so that we can remember it more easily.

3. We do not perceive the combination of red and blue colors well.

Although these colors are used in many national flags, red and blue are difficult for our eyes to perceive when they are next to each other.

This is due to an effect called "chromostereopsis", which causes some colors to "pop out" while others are removed. This causes irritation and eye fatigue.

This effect is most pronounced when combining red and blue, as well as red and green.

4. You see things differently than you perceive them.

According to a study by the University of Cambridge, "nezhavno in kaokm podyakr rpasoloyezhny bkuvy v slvoe. Smaoe vaonzhe, this chotby perarvya i nesdyalya bkuva blyi na sviokh metsah."

Even if the other letters are jumbled, you will be able to read the sentence. This happens because the human brain does not read each letter, but the word as a whole. It constantly processes the information it receives from the senses, and the way you perceive the information (words) is usually different from what you see (confused letters).

5. You are able to maintain rapt attention for about 10 minutes.

Even if you are at a meeting, you are interested in the topic, and the person presents the subject in an interesting way, then the maximum attention you can maintain is 7-10 minutes. After this, your attention will begin to wane and you need to take a break to continue to maintain your interest.

Psychological characteristics of a person

6. The ability to delay gratification begins in childhood.

Your ability to delay immediate gratification of your desires begins in early childhood. People who are with early years were able to delay gratification, perform better in school, and cope better with stress and disappointment.

7. We daydream 30 percent of the time.

Do you like to be in the clouds? According to psychologists, we all like to daydream at least 30 percent of the time. Some of us are even bigger, but that's not always a bad thing. Researchers say people who daydream tend to be more creative and better problem solvers.

8. It takes 66 days to form a habit.

Scientists studying how long it takes for certain actions to become habits have found that on average it takes us about 66 days to do this.

The more complex the behavior we want to acquire, the longer we need. Thus, those who wanted to develop the habit of exercise most often took 1.5 times longer for it to become automatic than those who developed the habit of eating fruit for lunch. Even if you miss a day or two, it won't affect the time it takes to get into the habit, but missing too many days in a row can slow down the process.

9. You overestimate your reaction to future events.

We are not very good at predicting the future. More specifically, we overestimate our reaction to future events, whether pleasant or negative.

Research has shown that people believe that positive events, such as getting married or winning big, will make them much happier than they actually are. Likewise, we believe that negative events, such as losing a job or having an accident, will make us feel much more depressed than they actually are.

10. You blame the other person, not the situation (and the situation, not yourself)

Remember when you were waiting for another person who was late for a meeting. Most likely, you attributed his delay to irresponsibility and lack of composure. In the same situation, you attributed your lateness to external circumstances (traffic jams).

In psychology this is called " fundamental attribution error" - that is, the tendency to blame the behavior of other people on internal personality traits, and our own behavior on external factors (“I had no choice,” “I was unlucky”). Unfortunately, even when we are aware of our tendency to make unfair judgments, we still continue make this fundamental mistake.

11. The number of friends you can have is limited.

Even if you can boast of several thousand friends in in social networks, in fact, you have much less of them. Psychologists and anthropologists have identified the “Dunbar number” - that is, the maximum number of close connections that a person can have, and it ranges from 50 to 150.

12. You can't help but pay attention to food, sex and danger.

Have you noticed that people always stop to look at scenes of accidents. In fact, we cannot ignore the situation of danger. Every person has the oldest structure of the brain that is responsible for survival and asks: "Can I eat this? Can I have sex with this? Could it kill me?"

Food, sex and danger are all he cares about. After all, without food a person will die, without sex the race will not continue, and if a person dies, the first two points will not make sense.

13. You know how to do things that have never been done before.

Imagine that you have never seen an iPad, but they gave it to you and told you to read books on it. Before you even turn on your iPad and start using it, you'll already have a model in your head of how to read books with it. You will have ideas about what the book will look like on screen, what features you will be able to use, and how you will do it.

In other words you have a "mental model" reading a book from your tablet, even if you've never done it before. Your mental model will be different from the model that the person who read before has e-books and someone who doesn't even know what an iPad is.

Our mental models are based on incomplete facts, past experiences, and even intuitions.

14. You want more choices than you can handle.

If you go to any supermarket, you will see a huge range of products, and that's because people need more choice.

In one study conducted in a supermarket, researchers presented participants with 6 types of jam, followed by 24 types of jam. And while people were more likely to stop at a stand with 24 types of jam, they were 6 times more likely to buy jam from a stand with 6 types of jam.

The explanation is simple: despite the fact that we think we want more, our brains can only handle so many things at once.

15. You're happier when you're busy.

Imagine that you are at the airport and you need to pick up your luggage. However, it will take you about 12 minutes to get to the baggage claim area. When you arrive at baggage claim, you immediately collect your suitcase. How impatient do you feel?

Now try to imagine a similar situation, but you get to the delivery lane in 2 minutes and wait 10 minutes for your luggage. Although in both situations it took you 12 minutes to get your luggage, in the second case you were probably more impatient and unhappy.

If a person has no reason to be active, he decides to do nothing. And while it helps us maintain energy, idleness makes us feel impatient and unhappy.

Brain and psyche

16. You make most decisions subconsciously.

Although we like to think that all our decisions are carefully controlled and thought out, research suggests that Everyday decisions are actually subconscious, and there is a reason for this.

Every second our brain is bombarded with more than 11 million individual pieces of data, and since we cannot carefully check all this, our subconscious helps us make decisions.

17. You rework your memories.

We think of our memories as little "movies" that we play in our heads and believe that they are stored just like videos on our computer. However, it is not.

Every time, when you mentally return to an event, you change it, since the nerve pathways are activated differently each time. This may be influenced by later events and the desire to fill gaps in memory. So, for example, you don't remember who else was at the family reunion, but since your aunt was usually present, you can eventually include her in your memory.

18. You can't multitask

If you think you're good at multitasking, you're wrong.

Scientists have proven that we can't do 2-3 things at once. Sure, we can walk and talk to our friend at the same time, but our brain only focuses on one priority function at a time. This suggests that we cannot think about two different things at the same time.

19. Your most vivid memories are wrong.

Memories of exciting and dramatic events are called in psychology " flashback memories", and they turned out to be full of errors.

Well-known examples of this phenomenon are the events surrounding 9/11. Psychologists asked participants to describe in detail what they did, where they were and other details related to the event, immediately after the terrorist attack and 3 years later. It turned out that 90 percent of later descriptions differed from the original ones. Many people can describe in detail where and what they were doing when they heard the news. The only problem is that these details are incorrect because powerful emotions memory-related, distort memories.

20. Your brain is just as active while you sleep as it is when you're awake.

When you sleep and dream, your brain processes and integrates the experiences of the entire day, creates associations from the information received, decides what to remember and what to forget.

You've probably often heard the advice to "get a good night's sleep" before an exam or important event. If you want to remember what you've learned, it's best to go to bed after you've learned the material and before you need to remember it.

Our whole life is an endless series of events, situations, affairs, meetings, conversations, changes, victories and defeats, hopes and disappointments. In other words, a person’s life is a constant interaction between his inner world and the surrounding reality. Every day we wake up, start our day, do different things, communicate with many people, go to work, develop a business or do something else. Human life in the modern world is life in the world high technology, endless flow of information, rapid development and change. And in order to meet all the requirements of the surrounding reality, a person must be internally stable, developed, able to overcome difficulties and have an unbending inner core that will always support and help remain strong. Modern world ready to absorb a person in a matter of seconds, make him part of the gray mass, depersonalize, devastate and throw him to the sidelines. And if a person is not ready for this, then defeat cannot be avoided. But there is a way to emerge victorious in this fight.

One of the most important knowledge for a person in our time is knowledge in the field of psychology, and one of the most important skills is the ability to apply it in practice. To understand people, to be able to relate to them mutual language and communicate, be able to instantly adapt to any situation, always help yourself and others, you need to understand psychology. So that the problems and stress that put enormous pressure on a person today do not break you or your loved ones, and you or they can continue on their path, you need to understand human psychology. To understand others at a deep level, to be able to nurture yourself, raise your children, and influence others, you need to know the nuances of people’s psychology. To achieve success, achieve new results, conquer new heights, live in abundance, harmony and well-being, you need to have important knowledge - knowledge about human psychology.

Considering the importance of psychological knowledge, as well as the reasons that motivate people to grow and develop, their desire to become better and improve their lives, we have created this course, which is called “Human Psychology”. In the lessons of this course, we explore very important things in detail: we reveal the main and key problems of human psychology, the stages and patterns of his development and the formation of his personality, the formation of the characteristics of his behavior and communication with people. This course provides an opportunity to answer questions about how to understand human psychology, how to influence your life, those around you, and, most importantly, yourself. Studying psychology and applying the knowledge gained in life contributes to personal growth, improving personal life, establishing excellent relationships, achieving success in the professional sphere and other areas of activity. This course “Human Psychology” is an online training consisting of lessons that contain interesting theoretical information about human psychology, provides examples (experiences, tests, experiments) and, most importantly, gives a large number of practical tips that you can apply in practice already on the first day of acquaintance with the training. At the end of the course there are links to useful materials: books (including audiobooks), videos, recordings of seminars, experiments and quotes about psychology.

Psychology(from the ancient Greek “knowledge of the soul”) is a science that studies structures and processes that are inaccessible to external observation (sometimes called the “soul”) in order to explain human behavior, as well as the characteristics of the behavior of individuals, groups and collectives.

It is a complex, but important and interesting discipline to study. As has probably already become clear, human psychology is a very fascinating field. scientific knowledge and covers many sections, which you can get acquainted with on your own if you have the desire. You can even say that it is from this moment that your self-development will begin, because... you will independently decide what exactly you would like to study and begin to master new knowledge. Human psychology, in itself, has many properties, one of which is the fear of everything new and incomprehensible. For many people, this is an obstacle to self-development and achieving the desired results. We recommend that you cast aside any fears and doubts and start studying the materials on our website and this course. After a while, you will be proud of yourself, thanks to the new skills and results achieved.

Object of psychology- this is a person. From this we can conclude that any psychologist (or anyone interested in psychology) is a researcher of himself, due to which a close relationship between the objective and the subjective arises in psychological theories.

Subject of psychology in different historical eras has always been understood differently and from the perspective of different areas of psychological science:

• Soul. Until the beginning of the 18th century, all researchers adhered to this position.
• Phenomena of consciousness. Direction: English empirical associationist psychology. Main representatives: David Hartley, John Stuart Mill, Alexander Bain, Herbert Spencer.
• The subject's direct experience. Direction: structuralism. Main representatives: Wilhelm Wundt.
• Adaptability. Direction: functionalism. Main representatives: William James.
• Origin mental activities. Direction: psychophysiology. Main representatives: Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov.
• Behavior. Direction: behaviorism. Main representatives: John Watson.
• Unconscious. Direction: psychoanalysis. Main representatives: Sigmund Freud.
• Information processing processes and their results. Direction: Gestalt psychology. Main representatives: Max Wertheimer.
• Personal experience of a person. Direction: humanistic psychology. Main representatives: Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Viktor Frankl, Rollo May.

Main branches of psychology:

• Acmeology
• Differential psychology
• Gender psychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Virtual psychology
• Military psychology
• Applied psychology
• Engineering psychology
• Clinical (medical psychology)
• Neuropsychology
• Pathopsychology
• Psychosomatics and psychology of physicality
• Oncopsychology
• Psychotherapy
• Pedagogical psychology
• Psychology of art
• Psychology of Parenting
• Labor psychology
• Psychology of sports
• Psychology of management
• Economic psychology
• Ethnopsychology
• Legal psychology
• Criminal psychology
• Forensic psychology

As is easy to see, there are many branches of psychology, and different directions study different aspects of a person’s personality and his activities. You can determine which section you personally like by reading each of them yourself. In our course, we consider human psychology in general, without highlighting any areas, types or sections, but making it possible to use new skills in any area of ​​life.

Application of psychological knowledge

The use of psychological knowledge is necessary and useful in absolutely any area of ​​human activity: family, study, science, work, business, friendship, love, creativity, etc. But it is important to learn how to apply the relevant knowledge in different situations. After all, what may work effectively in communication with work colleagues may not be suitable at all in a relationship with a loved one. What is suitable for the family may not be useful in creativity. Although, of course, there are general techniques that are universal and work almost always and everywhere.

Knowledge about psychology gives a person many advantages: it develops and makes him more erudite, educated, interesting, and versatile. A person with psychological knowledge is able to understand the true reasons for the events that happen to him (and others), realize the motives of his behavior and understand the motives of the behavior of others. Knowledge of human psychology is the ability to solve many problems with significantly greater speed and efficiency, increasing the ability to withstand adversity and failure, and the ability to achieve outstanding results where others cannot. The skill of applying psychological knowledge, provided it is systematically and regularly reinforced, will make you a stronger person with significant advantages over others. It would take a very, very long time to list all the advantages. But, as they say, it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times. And drawing an analogy with this saying, we can say that it is better to apply it once than to read it a hundred times.

It is also worth noting that knowledge of psychology has long been used by you in Everyday life. But this is only done spontaneously, unconsciously and without understanding what strength, power and potential this knowledge actually carries. And if you truly want to become closer to your “best you” and improve your life, it can and should be intentionally learned.

How to learn this?

Naturally, knowledge about psychology is not present in us from birth, but is formed throughout life. Some people, of course, have a predisposition to psychology. Such people often become psychologists, intuitively understand people, and look at life a little differently. Others have to specifically study psychological knowledge and put more effort and patience into mastering it. But, in any case, you can learn anything. And master the skill of applying psychological knowledge - even more so. Moreover, you can do this yourself.

There are two aspects to learning this skill - theoretical and practical.

• Theoretical aspect of psychology- this is the knowledge that is taught in educational institutions, and are also given in the presented course;
• Practical aspect of psychology- is the application of new knowledge in life, i.e. transition from theory to practice.

But it often happens that a theory remains a theory, because people simply do not know what to do with the information that they now possess. Any lessons, courses, trainings, lectures, seminars, etc. should be aimed at the practical application of knowledge in real life.

Taking this feature into account, the course, the introduction to which you are now reading, was compiled. The purpose of this course is not only to give you a good theoretical basis of psychological knowledge, but also to teach you how to use this knowledge. All course lessons have a two-way focus - theory and practice. The theoretical part contains the most important knowledge on the topic of human psychology and represents its quintessence. The practical part, in turn, consists of recommendations, advice, psychological methods and techniques designed for you to use them.

This course “Human Psychology” is:

• Systematized and understandable material for anyone, presented in a simple, interesting and accessible form.
• A collection of useful tips and tricks that are easy to put into practice from day one.
• The opportunity to see yourself and your life, as well as other people from a new, previously unknown side.
• The opportunity to increase the level of your intelligence, education and erudition by several levels, which undoubtedly plays a role significant role in the life of a modern person.
• The opportunity to find the main motivating force that will encourage you to go forward and achieve success.
• An opportunity to grow as a person and improve the level and quality of your life.
• The opportunity to learn how to establish contact with any people (from your own children and parents to bosses and hooligans on the street).
• A way to achieve harmony and happiness.

Want to test your knowledge?

If you want to test your theoretical knowledge on the topic of the course and understand how suitable it is for you, you can take our test. For each question, only 1 option can be correct. After you select one of the options, the system automatically moves on to the next question.

Psychology lessons

Having studied a lot of theoretical materials, choosing the most important and adapting them for practical use, we have created a series of lessons on human psychology. They discuss the most popular sections and areas of psychology, provide scientific research data and expert opinions. But the most important thing is that the emphasis of each lesson is on practical advice and recommendations.

How to take classes?

The information from the lessons in this course is fully adapted for practical use and is suitable for absolutely everyone. The most important thing here, as has been said more than once, is the transition from theory to practice. You can read smart books for years and know a lot of things, but all this will be equal to zero if it remains just a baggage of knowledge.

You can divide the study of all lessons into several stages. For example, set yourself the task of studying 2 lessons a week: 1 day - studying the material, 2 days - testing in practice, 1 day - a day off, etc. But you need to not just read, but study: carefully, consciously, purposefully. It is important to not just check or apply the tips and practical recommendations presented in the lessons once, but to systematically implement them in your everyday activities. Develop the habit of always remembering that you are studying human psychology - this will automatically make you want to apply something new in life again and again. The skill of applying psychological knowledge in practice will become honed and automatic over time, because it largely depends on experience. And our lessons are precisely aimed at teaching you how to gain this experience and give it the right direction.

Additions and auxiliary materials:

Psychological games and exercises

Games and exercises created specifically to understand the characteristics of the human psyche. Exist different types such games and exercises: for children and adults, mass and single, for men and women, arbitrary and targeted, etc. Usage psychological games and exercises helps people understand others and themselves, form some qualities and get rid of others, etc. This includes exercises for developing various qualities, overcoming stress, increasing self-esteem, role-playing, developmental, health games and many other games and exercises.

Psychology is the science of the human psyche and behavior. The word psychology comes from the Greek words psyche, meaning breath, spirit, soul, and logia, meaning the study of something.

According to medical dictionary Medilexicon, psychology, is "the profession (clinical psychology), scientific discipline(academic psychology) and science (research psychology) that deal with human and animal behavior and the mental and psychological processes associated with that behavior."

Although psychology can include the study of the brain and behavior of animals, this article focuses exclusively on human psychology.

At the end of some paragraphs there is an introduction to the new developments described in MNT news stories. You can also use our links to information about relevant mental health conditions.

Psychology is the expression in words of what cannot be expressed in words.
John Galsworthy

Facts about psychology

Below are key facts and points related to psychology.

More detailed information is provided in the main part of the article:

• Psychology is the study of behavior and psyche
• We are unable to physically see mental processes such as thoughts, memories, dreams and sensations.
• Clinical psychology combines science, theory and practice.
• Cognitive psychology studies internal mental processes, the way people think, perceive, and communicate.
• Developmental psychology studies how people develop psychologically throughout life.
• Evolutionary psychology studies how psychological changes during evolution have affected human behavior.
• Forensic psychology is the application of psychology to the crime investigation process and to the law.
• Health psychology studies the effects of health on behavior, biology, and socialization.
• Neuropsychology studies the functioning of the brain in relation to various behaviors and psychological processes.
• Employment psychology examines how people perform work in order to develop and understand the functioning of organizations.
• Social psychology studies how people's behavior and thoughts are influenced by the actual or perceived presence of other people.

Psychology is the science that studies brain activity

The brain is by nature very complex and mysterious. Many people are surprised how psychologists can even study such a complex, abstract-looking, and very sophisticated object. Even when scientists look inside the brain, such as during an autopsy or during surgery, all they see is the gray matter (the brain itself). Unlike, for example, peeling skin or a heart defect, thoughts, cognitions, emotions, memories, dreams, sensations, etc. simply cannot be physically seen.

Experts say the approach taken in psychology is not very different from other sciences. Like other sciences, psychology designs experiments to confirm or refute theories and expectations. For a physicist, the data to be processed during an experiment may come from atoms, electrons, or the application or cessation of heat, while for a psychologist such data sources are human behavior.

For a psychologist, a person's behavior is used as evidence, or at least an indication, of the functioning of the brain. We are not able to observe the functioning of the brain directly; however, in fact, it influences all our actions, feelings and thoughts. This is why human behavior is used as a source of information for verification. psychological theories about how the brain works.

What is psychology like compared to other sciences?

Many say that psychology lies at the intersection of other disciplines such as medicine, linguistics, sociology, biology, artificial intelligence, anthropology, and even history. For example, neuropsychology - the branch of psychology that studies how different areas of the brain are used in memory, language, emotions, etc. - is the intersection of biology and medicine.

Various areas of psychology

There are many areas of psychology. How you classify them depends on what part of the world you are in, and even what university or institute you attended.

But we can highlight the largest areas of psychology, such as:

Clinical psychology

Clinical psychology combines science, theory and practice to understand, predict and alleviate patient's inability to adapt, disability and discomfort. Clinical psychology also promotes adaptation, attitude and personal development. Clinical psychologists concentrate on the intellectual, emotional, biological, social and behavioral aspects of a person's behavior throughout his life, as cultural, social and economic levels change.

In other words, clinical psychology is Scientific research and the application of psychology to the understanding, prevention and management of stress or impairment (disability) caused by psychological causes, with the aim of improving the health and personal development of the patient.

The core practice of clinical psychology is psychological assessment and psychotherapy (“what is psychotherapy”). However, clinical psychologists are also often involved in research, teaching, forensics, and other areas.

Cognitive psychology

Cognitive psychology studies internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, learning, and language (how people think, perceive, communicate, remember, and learn). This branch of psychology is closely related to other disciplines such as neuroscience, philosophy and linguistics.

Cognitive psychology focuses on how people receive, process, and store information. It is often said that cognitive psychology is the study of intelligence. Practical applications Cognitive studies may include improving memory, improving decision-making accuracy, or changing training programs to speed up the learning process.

Developmental psychology

Developmental psychology is scientific study systematic psychological changes experienced by a person throughout his/her life. This branch of psychology is often referred to as the psychology of human development. Previously, it focused only on infants and young children, but today also includes the study of adolescents and adults—the entire human lifespan.

Developmental psychology refers to any psychological factors that operate throughout a person's life, including motor skills, problem solving, moral understanding, language acquisition, the formation of emotions, personality, self-esteem, and identity.

Developmental psychology also studies and compares innate mental structures with those acquired through experience. For example, babies are thought to be born with LAD (innate language acquisition ability).

A developmental psychologist will be interested in how LAD works in relation to infant development and experience, and how these two mechanisms are related. He will also be interested in the interaction of human characteristics with environmental factors and how this interaction influences development.

Developmental psychology overlaps with a number of other areas of psychology, as well as with other disciplines such as linguistics.

Evolutionary psychology

Evolutionary psychology studies the influence on human behavior of psychological changes during the process of evolution. While biologists talk about natural or sexual selection in the process of evolution, this branch of psychology applies psychological approach to such a selection. For example, an evolutionary psychologist believes that language perception or memory is a functional product of natural selection.

Some evolutionary psychologists have suggested that language acquisition is an innate ability that makes language learning an automatic process, but is unrelated to reading and writing. In other words, they believe that our ability to learn language is innate, while our ability to read and write is acquired (language learning is automatic, but reading and writing must be taught). A person born in a city where they speak French, will speak French by age 20. However, if he is not specifically taught to read, he will remain illiterate - language comes automatically if it exists around you, but reading and writing do not.

The evolutionary psychologist is confident that human psychological characteristics are the result of adaptation by our ancestors to survive in our everyday environment.

Forensic psychology

Forensic psychology applies the principles of psychology to crime investigations and legal proceedings. This direction practices psychology as a science within the framework of the system of convicting criminals.

Forensic psychology involves understanding the criminal law in the relevant jurisdiction in order to interact with judges, lawyers and other legal system professionals.

Forensic psychology also studies the ability to testify in court, present psychological findings in legal language in court, and present data to legal professionals in a way that they can understand.

A forensic psychologist must understand the rules, standards, and philosophy of the legal system being used.

Health Psychology

Health psychology is also called behavioral medicine or medical psychology. This branch of psychology studies how behavior, biology, and social environment influence disease and health. While a doctor treats a disease, a health psychologist focuses more on the sick person, identifying his/her social and economic status, background and behavior that may influence the disease (for example, strict adherence to medical orders), as well as the biological basis of the disease. The goal of such a psychologist is to improve the overall health of the patient while analyzing the disease in the context of biopsychological factors. "Biopsychological" here means biological, psychological and social aspects as opposed to the strictly biomedical aspects of the disease.

Health psychologists typically work alongside other health professionals in a clinical environment.

Neuropsychology

This branch of psychology studies the structure and function of the brain as it relates to behavioral and psychological processes. Neuropsychology is also used in the study of brain damage and in recording the electrical activity of cells and cell groups in great apes.

A neuropsychologist uses a neuropsychological assessment—a systematic assessment procedure—to determine the extent of any possible behavioral problems following suspected or diagnosed brain injuries in a patient. After the diagnosis is established, some patients are treated with an individual cognitive correction protocol - treatment that helps the patient overcome their cognitive defects.

Psychology of employment

Employment psychology—referred to in various publications as industrial organization psychology, I-O psychology, work psychology, organizational psychology, work and organization psychology, personnel psychology, or talent assessment—studies the performance of people while working and learning. It develops an understanding of the functioning of organizations and the behavior of individuals and groups of people at work. An occupational psychologist aims to increase efficiency, effectiveness and job satisfaction.

According to the British Psychological Society, employment psychology "has to do with the performance of people at work and in training, with the way organizations function, and with how individuals and small groups behave while at work. The purpose of this branch of psychology is to increase organizational effectiveness, and improving individual job satisfaction."

Social Psychology

Social psychology uses scientific methods to understand and explain how people's feelings, behavior, and thoughts are affected by the actual, imagined, or perceived presence of other people. Social psychologist studies group behavior, social perception, nonverbal behavior, obedience, aggression, prejudice, and leadership. Key Points to Understand social behavior social perception and social interactions are considered.

In other words, a specialist social psychology studies the influence of surrounding people on human behavior.

Psychology, as generally understood, is an extremely simple science.
People who are unable to drive a nail or rhyme a couple of lines on their own do not doubt their ability to understand and judge others.
In extreme manifestations, this becomes the meaning of life and a source of self-affirmation.
Sergei Lukyanenko. Labyrinth of Reflections

History of psychology

In a philosophical context, psychology already existed thousands of years ago in Greece, Egypt, India, Persia and China. Medieval Muslim psychologists and physicians practiced a clinical and experimental approach to psychology - they were the first to have mental hospitals.

Biological psychology was created by Pierre Cabanis (France) in 1802. The psychologist Cabanis wrote a famous essay entitled "Rapports du physique et du moral de l"homme." He interpreted the psyche in accordance with his previous studies in biology, believing that sensitivity and the soul constitute part nervous system.

The year 1879 can be considered the birth of modern psychology. This year, the German physician Wilhelm Wundt founded psychology as a completely independent experimental field of research. He opened the first laboratory at the University of Leipzig, in which he conducted exclusively psychological research. Today Wundt is considered the father of psychology.

In 1980, American psychologist William James published Principles of Psychology, which was discussed by psychologists around the world for many decades.

The first psychologist to study memory exclusively was Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) from the University of Berlin. Psychologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) is known today even among ordinary people thanks to the term “Pavlov’s dog.” He studied learning processes called "classical conditioning."

Psychoanalysis

Currently, such directions as behaviorism, psychoanalytic theory, and the theory of cognitive perception have appeared in psychology. Psychology has become much more multifaceted.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), (Austria) developed psychoanalysis - a method of psychotherapy ("What is psychotherapy?"). His understanding of the psyche was mainly based on interpretation, introspection and clinical observation. Freud concentrated on resolving unconscious conflicts, mental illness and psychopathology.

Freud's theories about sexuality and the subconscious psyche became famous probably because sexuality was a taboo topic at the time. The basic principle of Freud's theory is that the subconscious is responsible for most of the thoughts and behavior of every person, as well as mental disorders or diseases. Freud had a significant influence on the psychiatrist Carl Young (Switzerland).

Structuralism vs. Functionalism

E.B. Titchner (USA), a student of Wundt, was an ardent supporter of structuralism. William James and John Devey were strong functionalists. Structuralism is concerned with the question "what is consciousness", while functionalism is interested in the questions "what is consciousness for? What purposes or functions of creation are the basis of the mental process?"

Structuralists and functionalists disagree passionately with each other. Most of them agree that there will never be a clear winner in their debate - but their debate has led to the rapid spread of psychology in the United States, as well as in other parts of the world. The first psychological laboratory in the United States was opened by Stanley Hall at Johns Hopkins University.

Behaviorism

In 1913, American psychologist John Watson founded a new movement that changed the focus of psychology. Watson was convinced that both the structuralists and the functionalists had moved too far away from objective science. Simply put, Watson said that psychology should concentrate on the study of behavior, since he was convinced that behavior is not the result of internal mental processes, but rather is the result of our response to environmental stimuli.

Behaviorism focuses on how people learn new behaviors from their environment. This trend has become very popular in the USA, where among Watson’s followers one can name psychologist B.F. Skimmer.

Humanism

Some psychologists perceive behaviorism and the theory of psychoanalysis as overly mechanistic. Instead of being a victim of the environment or the subconscious, humanists say, man is internally correct and only our own mental processes play an active role in our behavior.

The humanist movement values ​​our emotions, free will, and subjective perceptions of sensations.

Cognitive theory

This branch of psychology originated in the 1970s and is considered the most modern philosophical trend in psychology. The cognitive perspective is much more objective and calculative than the humanistic perspective. However, it differs from this in that it mainly focuses on mental processes.

Cognitive theorists believe that we take in information from our environment through our senses and then mentally process this data, organizing it, manipulating it, and connecting it with information we have previously accumulated. Cognitive theory applies to language, memory, learning, perceptual systems, mental disorders and dreams.

Present day

Today there are no dominant directions, as there were in psychology before. Behaviorism, psychoanalytic theory, humanism, and cognitive perception - all these areas are now actively being developed by psychologists. Psychology has become much more diverse (selecting what seems to be the best from each doctrine, movement, or philosophical movement).