Despite the fact that a person is in constant development, and the world around him is constantly changing, the very nature of a person and his behavior remain unchanged - they obey the same laws as many centuries ago. That is why general human psychology is still the object of interest of a huge number of scientists and specialists today. General psychology, as a science, remains important and relevant. Numerous seminars, theoretical and practical workshops and various types of trainings are devoted to teaching the basics of general psychology.

In this lesson, you will get acquainted with the subject and method of general psychology, learn what problems, tasks, laws and features of this scientific discipline exist.

Introduction to general psychology

This is a science that studies how cognitive processes, states, patterns and properties of the human psyche arise and are formed, and also generalizes various psychological studies, forms psychological knowledge, principles, methods and basic concepts.

The most complete description of these components is given precisely in the sections of general psychology. But, at the same time, individual manifestations of the psyche are not studied by general psychology, as, for example, in the sections of special psychology (pedagogical, developmental, etc.).

The main subject of study of general psychology is such forms of mental activity as memory, character, thinking, temperament, perception, motivation, emotions, sensations and other processes, which we will discuss in more detail below. They are considered by this science in close connection with human life and activities, as well as with the special characteristics of individual ethnic groups and historical background. Cognitive processes, human personality and its development inside and outside society, interpersonal relationships in different groups of people are subject to detailed study. General psychology is of great importance for such sciences as pedagogy, sociology, philosophy, art history, linguistics, etc. And the results of research in the field of general psychology can be considered the starting point for all branches of psychological science.

A theoretical course in general psychology usually includes the study of any specific thematic sections, directions, research, history and problems of this science. A practical course is, as a rule, mastering the methods of research, pedagogical and practical psychological work.

General psychology methods

Like any other science, general psychology uses a system of diverse methods. The basic methods for obtaining various facts in psychology are considered to be observation, conversation and experiments. Each of these methods can be modified to improve the result.

Observation

Observation - this is the most ancient way of knowing. Its simplest form is everyday observation. Every person uses it in their daily life. In general psychology, such types of observation are distinguished as short-term, long-term (it can even take several years), selective, continuous and special (included observation, during which the observer is immersed in the group he is studying).

The standard follow-up procedure consists of several steps:

• Setting goals and objectives;
• Definition of the situation, subject and object;
• Determination of ways that will have the least impact on the object under study, and ensure the receipt of the necessary data;
• Determination of the way of data maintenance;
• Processing of the received data.

External observation (by an outsider) is considered objective. It can be direct or indirect. There is also self-observation. It can be both immediate - in the current moment, and delayed, based on memories, entries from diaries, memoirs, etc. In this case, the person himself analyzes his thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Observation is an integral part of the other two methods, conversation and experiment.

Conversation

Conversation as a psychological method, it involves direct / indirect, oral / written collection of information about the person being studied and his activities, as a result of which psychological phenomena characteristic of him are determined. There are such types of conversations as collecting information about a person and his life (from the person himself or from people familiar with him), interviews (a person answers pre-prepared questions), questionnaires and different types of questionnaires (written answers to questions).

The best thing is a personal conversation between the researcher and the person being examined. At the same time, it is important to preliminarily think over the conversation, draw up a plan for it and identify problems that should be identified. During the conversation, questions from the person being examined are also assumed. Two-way conversation produces the best results and provides more information than just answering questions.

But the main way of research is experiment.

Experiment

Experiment - this is the active intervention of a specialist in the process of the subject's activity in order to create certain conditions under which a psychological fact will be revealed.

There is a laboratory experiment under special conditions using special equipment. All actions of the subject are directed by instructions. A person knows about an experiment, although he may not even guess about its true meaning. Some experiments are carried out repeatedly and on a whole group of people - this allows us to establish important patterns in the development of mental phenomena.

Another method is tests. These are tests that serve to establish any mental qualities in a person. Tests are short-term and similar for all tasks, according to the results of which it is determined whether the subjects have certain mental qualities and the level of their development. Various tests are created in order to make some predictions or to make a diagnosis. They must always be scientifically based, and must be reliable and show accurate characteristics.

Since the genetic principle plays a special role in the methods of psychological research, the genetic method is also distinguished. Its essence is the study of the development of the psyche in order to reveal general psychological laws. This method is based on observations and experiments and builds on their results.

In the process of using various methods, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the problem being studied. Therefore, along with the main methods of psychological research, a number of special auxiliary and intermediate methods are often used.

Subject and object of general psychology

Any science is characterized, among other things, by the presence of its own subject and object of study. Moreover, the subject and the object of science are different things. An object is only an aspect of the subject of science, which is investigated by the subject, i.e. researcher. Awareness of this fact is very important for understanding the specifics of general psychology, as a multifaceted and multifaceted science. Considering this fact, the following can be said.

Object of general psychology - this is the psyche itself, as a form of interaction of living beings with the world, which is expressed in their ability to translate into reality their motives and function in the world on the basis of available information. And the human psyche, from the point of view of modern science, performs the function of an intermediary between the subjective and the objective, and also realizes the idea of \u200b\u200ba person about the external and internal, bodily and mental.

Subject of general psychology - these are the laws of the psyche, as a form of human interaction with the outside world. This form, due to its versatility, is subject to study in completely different aspects, which are investigated by different branches of psychological science. The object is the development of the psyche, norms and pathology in it, the types of human activities in life, as well as his relationship to the world around him.

Due to the scale of the subject of general psychology and the ability to single out in its composition many objects for research, at present in psychological science there are general theories of psychology that are guided by different scientific ideals and psychological practice itself, which develops certain psychotechnics for influencing consciousness and its control. But no matter how complex the paths by which psychological thought advances, constantly transforming the object of its research and plunging deeper into the subject thanks to this, no matter what changes and additions it is subject to and no matter what terms it is designated, it is still possible to single out the main blocks of terms, which characterizes the object of psychology. These include:

• mental processes - psychology studies mental phenomena in the process of formation and development, the product of which is the results that have taken shape in images, thoughts, emotions, etc .;
• mental states - activity, depression, cheerfulness, etc .;
• mental properties of a person - dedication, hard work, temperament, character;
• mental neoplasms - those knowledge, skills and abilities that a person acquires during his life.

Naturally, all mental phenomena cannot exist in isolation, but are closely related to each other and influence each other. But we can consider each of them separately.

Sensations

Sensations - these are mental processes, which are mental reflections of individual states and properties of the external world, arising from a direct impact on the sense organs, the subjective perception of external and internal stimuli by a person with the participation of the nervous system. In psychology, sensations are usually understood as the process of reflecting various properties of objects in the surrounding world.

Sensations have the following properties:

• Modality is a qualitative indicator of sensations (for vision - color, saturation, for hearing - volume, timbre, etc.);
• Intensity is a quantitative indicator of sensations;
• Duration is a temporal indicator of sensations;
• Localization is a spatial indicator.

There are several classifications of sensations. The first of them belongs to Aristotle. They were allocated five basic senses: touch, hearing, sight, taste and smell. But in the 19th century, due to the increase in the types of sensations, it became necessary to classify them more seriously. Today there are the following classifications:

• Wundt's classification - depending on the mechanical, chemical and physical properties of irritants;
• Sherrington's classification - based on the location of the receptors: exteroceptive, interoceptive and proprioceptive sensations;
• Head's classification - based on origin: protopathic and epicritical sensitivity.

Perception

Perception is a cognitive process that forms the subject's picture of the world. A mental operation that reflects an object or phenomenon that affects the receptors of the sense organs. Perception is the most complex function that determines the reception and transformation of information and forms the subjective image of the object for the subject. Through attention, a whole object is discovered, its special features and content are highlighted, and a sensory image is formed, i.e. comprehension occurs.

Perception is divided into four levels:

• Detection (perceptual action) - image formation;
• Discrimination (perceptual action) is the very perception of the image;
• Identification (identifying action) - the identification of an object with existing images;
• Identification (identifying action) - categorization of an object.

Perception also has its own properties: structure, objectivity, apperception, selectivity, constancy, meaningfulness. Read more about perception.

Attention

Attention is a selective perception of an object. It is expressed in how a person relates to an object. Attention can often be followed by such psychological characteristics of a person as need, interest, direction, attitudes, and others. Attention also determines how a person is oriented in the world around him and how this world is reflected in his psyche. The object of attention is always in the center of consciousness, and the rest is perceived more weakly. But the focus of attention tends to change.

The objects of attention are, as a rule, what is most important for a person at the moment. Keeping attention on an object for a long time is called concentration.

Attention functions:

• Detection
• Selective attention
• Distributed attention

Attention can be voluntary or involuntary. In form, it differs in:

• External - directed to the outside world;
• Inner - directed to the inner world of a person;
• Motor

Properties of attention: focus, distribution, volume, intensity, concentration, switchability, stability.

All of them are closely related to human activities. And depending on its purpose, it can become more or less intense.

Representation

During representation there is a mental reconstruction of images of phenomena or objects that do not currently affect the senses. There are two meanings of this concept. The first designates the image of a phenomenon or object that was perceived earlier, but is not perceived now. The second describes the very reproduction of images. As mental phenomena, representations can be somewhat similar to perception, hallucinations and pseudo-hallucinations, or different from them.

Views are classified in several ways:

• According to the leading analyzers: visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile and temperature representations;
• By the degree of generalization - single, general and schematized;
• By origin - based on perception, thinking or imagination;
• In terms of the degree of volitional efforts - involuntary and voluntary.

Representations have the following properties: generalization, fragmentation, clarity, instability.

Read more about representations in psychology in this Wikipedia article.

Memory

Memory is a mental function and a type of mental activity designed to preserve, accumulate and reproduce information. The ability to store data on the events of the surrounding world and the reactions of the body for a long period of time, and use it.

The following memory processes are distinguished:

• Memorization;
• Storage;
• Playback;
• Forgetting.

Also, memory is divided into typologies:

• By sensory modality - visual, kinesthetic, sound, gustatory, painful;
• Content - emotional, imaginative, motor;
• Memorization organization - procedural, semantic, episodic;
• By time characteristics - ultra-short-term, short-term, long-term;
• Physiological characteristics - long-term and short-term;
• By the availability of funds - non-mediated and mediated;
• By the presence of a goal - involuntary and voluntary;
• According to the level of development - verbal-logical, figurative, emotional and motor.

You will find methods and techniques for developing memory in a separate section.

Imagination

Imagination is the ability of a person's consciousness to create ideas, representations and images and to manage them. She plays a major role in mental processes such as planning, modeling, play, memory, and creativity. This is the basis of a person's visual-figurative thinking, which allows you to solve certain problems and understand the situation without practical intervention. Fantasy is a kind of imagination.

There is also a classification of imagination:

• By the degree of direction - active and passive imagination;
• Results - reproductive and creative imagination;
• By the type of images - abstract and concrete;
• By the degree of volitional efforts - unintentional and intentional;
• By techniques - typification, schematization, hyperbolization, agglutination.

Imagination mechanisms:

• Typing;
• Accentuation;
• Schematization;
• Agglutination;
• Hyperbolization.

Imagination is directly related to creativity. And in finding creative solutions, sensitivity to emerging problems, the ease of combining any things and observation contribute. The characteristics of imagination can be considered accuracy, originality, flexibility and fluency of thinking.

Read more about imagination in psychology in this article.

In addition, the problems of the development of imagination are devoted to our website.

Thinking

In general psychology, there are many definitions of the process of thinking. According to one of the most popular definitions:

Thinking - this is the highest stage of information processing by a person and the process of establishing connections between phenomena and objects of the external world.

It is the highest level of human cognition, as a process of reflection in his brain of the surrounding reality.

Thinking is divided into:

• Abstract logical;
• Visual-figurative;
• Specific subject;
• Clearly effective.

And the main forms of thinking are:

• Concept - thoughts highlighting and generalizing phenomena and objects;
• Judgment - denial or affirmation of something;
• Inference - conclusion.

These and other components of the thought process are discussed in ours.

Speech

By speech called a form of communication between people through language constructions. In this process, thoughts are formed and formulated using language, and the received speech information is perceived and understood. Speech is a form of human language existence, since speech is language in action.

Language (speech) performs the functions:

• Intellectual activity tool;
• Way of communication;
• Way of existence, as well as assimilation and transfer of experience.

Speech is the most important part of human activity, which contributes to the knowledge of the world around, the transfer of knowledge and experience to others. As a means of expressing thoughts, it is one of the basic mechanisms of human thinking. It depends on the form of communication and, thus, is divided into oral (speak / listen) and written (write / read).

Speech has the following properties:

• Content - the number and significance of expressed aspirations, feelings and thoughts;
• Understandability is correctness;
• Expressiveness - emotional color and richness of the language;
• Effectiveness is the influence exerted on other people, their feelings, thoughts, emotions, etc.

You can read more about speaking and writing in our trainings on and.

Emotions

Emotions - these are mental processes that reflect the subject's attitude to possible or real situations. Emotions should not be confused with such emotional processes as feelings, affects and moods. To date, emotions have been studied rather poorly and are understood in different ways by many specialists. For this reason, the definition given above cannot be considered the only correct one.

The characteristics of emotions are:

• Tone (valence) - positive or negative emotions;
• Intensity - strong or weak emotions;
• Stenicity - influence on human activity: stenic (stimulating action) and asthenic (reducing activity);
• Content - reflects different facets of the meaning of the situations that caused emotions.

Emotions in most cases are manifested in physiological reactions, because the latter depend on them. But today there is a debate about the fact that deliberate physiological conditions can cause certain emotions.

These and other issues of understanding and managing emotions are discussed in ours.

Will

Will - this is the property of a person to make conscious control of his psyche and actions. Achievement of the set goals and results can be considered a manifestation of will. It has many positive qualities that affect the success of human activities. The main volitional qualities are persistence, courage, patience, independence, purposefulness, determination, initiative, endurance, courage, self-control and others. The will encourages action, allows a person to manage desires and realize them, develops self-control and strength of character.

Signs of an act of will:

• Efforts of the will in many cases are aimed at overcoming their weaknesses;
• Performing any action without receiving pleasure from this process;
• Having an action plan;
• Making an effort to do something.

Read more about volition in psychology on Wikipedia.

Mental properties and conditions

Mental properties - these are stable mental phenomena that influence what a person does and give him a socio-psychological characteristics. The structure of mental properties includes abilities, character, temperament and orientation.

Orientation is a conglomerate of needs, goals and motives of a person that determine the nature of his activities. It expresses the whole meaning of a person's actions and his worldview.

Temperament gives the characteristics of a person's activities and behavior. It can manifest itself in increased sensitivity, emotionality, resistance to stress, the ability to adapt to external conditions or lack thereof, etc.

Character is a set of traits and qualities that regularly appear in a personality. There are always individual characteristics, but there are also those characteristic of all people - purposefulness, initiative, discipline, activity, determination, resilience, endurance, courage, will, etc.

Abilities are the mental properties of a person, reflecting its characteristics, which allow a person to successfully engage in certain activities. Abilities are distinguished between special (for a specific type of activity) and general (for most types of activity).

Mental states is a system of psychological characteristics that provide a person's subjective perception of the world around him. Mental states affect how mental processes proceed, and, repeating regularly, can become a part of a person's personality - its property.

Mental states are in communication with each other. But they can still be classified. The most common are:

• Personal states;
• States of consciousness;
• States of intelligence.

The types of mental states are divided according to the following criteria:

• By the source of formation - conditioned by the situation or personally;
• In terms of severity - superficial and deep;
• Emotionally - positive, neutral and negative;
• By duration - short-term, medium-duration, long-term;
• By the degree of awareness - conscious and unconscious;
• By the level of manifestation - physiological, psychophysiological, psychological.

The following mental states are inherent in most people:

• Optimal performance;
• Tension;
• Interest;
• Inspiration;
• Fatigue;
• Monotony;
• Stress;
• Relaxation;
• Wakefulness.

Other common mental states include love, anger, fear, surprise, admiration, depression, detachment, and others.

Read more about mental properties and states on Wikipedia.

Motivation

Motivation is a motivation to perform an action. This process governs human behavior and determines its direction, stability, activity and organization. Through motivation, a person can meet his needs.

There are several types of motivation:

• External - due to external conditions;
• Internal - due to internal circumstances (content of activities);
• Positive - based on positive incentives;
• Negative - based on negative incentives;
• Sustainable - determined by the needs of the person;
• Unsustainable - requires additional incentive.

Motivation is of the following types:

• From something (main type);
• To something (main type);
• Individual;
• Group;
• Cognitive.

There are certain motives that in most cases people are guided by:

• Self-affirmation;
• Identification with other people;
• Power;
• Self-development;
• Achievement of something;
• Public importance;
• The desire to be in the company of certain people;
• Negative factors.

Motivation is discussed in more detail in this training.

Temperament and character

Temperament - This is a complex of mental characteristics of a personality associated with its dynamic characteristics (that is, with the pace, rhythm, intensity of individual mental processes and states). The basis of character formation.

The following main types of temperament are distinguished:

• Phlegmatic - signs: emotional stability, perseverance, calmness, regularity;
• Choleric - signs: frequent mood swings, emotionality, imbalance;
• Sanguine - signs: liveliness, mobility, productivity;
• Melancholic - signs: impressionability, vulnerability.

Different types of temperament have different properties that can have a positive or negative effect on a person's personality. The type of temperament does not affect abilities, but it does affect how people manifest themselves in life. Depending on the temperament, there are:

• Perception, thinking, attention and other mental processes;
• Stability and plasticity of mental phenomena;
• The pace and rhythm of actions;
• Emotions, will and other mental properties;
• The focus of mental activity.

Character is a complex of permanent mental properties of a person that determine her behavior. Character traits form the properties of a person that determine his lifestyle and form of behavior.

Personality traits differ by group. There are four of them:

• Attitude towards people - respect, sociability, callousness, etc .;
• Attitude towards activity - conscientiousness, diligence, responsibility, etc .;
• Attitude towards oneself - modesty, arrogance, self-criticism, selfishness, etc .;
• Attitude to things - carefulness, accuracy, etc.

Each person has a character inherent only to him, the properties and characteristics of which are determined, for the most part, by social factors. Also, there is always an accentuation of character - strengthening of its individual features. It should also be noted that there is a close relationship between character and temperament, because temperament influences the development of any character traits and the manifestation of its characteristics, and at the same time, using some traits of his character, a person, if necessary, can control the manifestations of his temperament.

Read more about character and temperament in our training.

All of the above, of course, is not comprehensive information about what general human psychology is. This lesson is intended only to give a general idea and indicate directions for further studies.

In order to immerse yourself in the study of general psychology more deeply, you need to arm yourself with the most popular and influential tools in scientific circles, which are the works of famous authors of textbooks and textbooks on psychology. Below - briefly about some of them.

Maklakov A.G. General psychology. When compiling this textbook, the most modern achievements in the field of psychology and pedagogy were used. On their basis, questions of psychology, mental processes, properties and their states are considered, as well as many other features. The textbook contains illustrations and explanations, as well as a bibliographic reference. Designed for teachers, graduate students and university students.

Rubinshtein S. L. Fundamentals of General Psychology. For over 50 years this textbook has been considered one of the best psychology textbooks in Russia. It presents and summarizes the achievements of Soviet and world psychological science. The work is intended for teachers, graduate students and university students.

Gippenreiter Yu. B. Introduction to general psychology. This manual presents the basic concepts of psychological science, its methods and problems. The book contains a lot of data on research results, examples from fiction and life situations, and also perfectly combines a serious scientific level and an accessible presentation of material. The work will be of interest to a wide range of readers and people who are just beginning to master psychology.

Petrovsky A.V. General psychology. Revised edition of General Psychology. The textbook presents the basics of psychological science, as well as summarizes information from many textbooks ("Developmental and educational psychology", "Practical lessons in psychology", "Collection of tasks in general psychology"). The book is intended for students seriously approaching the study of human psychology.

The role played by general psychology in modern society cannot be overestimated. It is necessary to have at least a minimum of psychological knowledge today, because general psychology opens the door to the world of a person's mind and his soul. Any educated person should master the basics of this science of life, tk. it is very important to get to know not only the world around, but also other people. Thanks to psychological knowledge, you can much more effectively build your relationships with others and organize your personal activities, as well as improve yourself. It is for these reasons that all thinkers of antiquity have always said that a person must first of all know himself.

Test your knowledge

If you want to test your knowledge on the topic of this lesson, you can take a short test consisting of several questions. In each question, only 1 option can be correct. After you have selected one of the options, the system automatically proceeds to the next question. The points you receive are influenced by the correctness of your answers and the time spent on passing. Please note that the questions are different each time, and the options are mixed.

Basic concepts and terms on the topic: psychology, psyche, reflection, mental processes, mental states, mental properties, sensitivity, instinct, skill, intellectual behavior, reflection, reflex, imprinting, skill, conscious, unconscious, intuition, insight, self-awareness, self-esteem, Self-image, reflective consciousness ...

Topic study plan (list of questions required for study):

1.The subject of psychology. The relationship of psychology with other sciences. Branches of psychology.

2. Stages of formation of psychology as a science.

3. Tasks of modern psychology.

4. The concept of the psyche, the structure of the psyche.

5. Consciousness as a form of mental reflection. The psychological structure of consciousness.

Summary of theoretical questions:

Subject, object and methods of psychology.
Psychology in translation from Greek means teaching, knowledge about the soul ("psyche" - soul, "logos" - teaching, knowledge). This is the science of the laws of mental life and human activity and various forms of communities of people. Psychology as a science studies the facts, laws and mechanisms of the psyche (A.V. Petrovsky). Object Psychology is not only a specific and individual person, but also various social groups, masses and other forms of communities of people and other highly organized animals, the peculiarities of the mental life of which are studied by such a branch of psychology as zoopsychology. However, traditionally, the main object of psychology is a person. In this case psychologyis the science of the laws governing the emergence, formation, development, functioning and manifestations of the psyche of people in different conditions and at different stages of their life and activity.
Subject studying psychology is the psyche. In its most general form psyche -this is the inner spiritual world of a person: his needs and interests, desires and drives, attitudes, value judgments, attitudes, experiences, goals, knowledge, skills, behavioral and activity skills, etc. The human psyche is manifested in his statements, emotional states, facial expressions , pantomime, behavior and activity, their results and other externally expressed reactions: for example, reddening (blanching) of the face, sweating, changes in the rhythm of the heart, blood pressure, etc. It is important to remember that a person can hide his real thoughts, relationships, experiences and other mental states.
All diversity forms of mental existenceare usually grouped into the following four groups.
1 . ^ Mental processeshuman: a) cognitive (attention, sensation, perception, imagination, memory, thinking, speech);
b) emotional (feelings);
c) strong-willed.
2. ^ Mental educationperson (knowledge, abilities, skills, habits, attitudes, views, beliefs, etc.).
3. Mental propertiesa person (focus, character, temperament, personality abilities).
4. Mental states:functional (intellectual, cognitive, emotional and volitional) and general (mobilization, relaxation)
Main task psychology consists in the 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. An equally important task of psychology is to develop recommendations for people to increase their stress resistance and psychological reliability when solving professional and other tasks in various circumstances of life and work.
In general, psychology as a science performs two main functions: as fundamental science it is called upon to develop a psychological theory, to reveal the laws of the individual and group psyche of people and its individual phenomena; as an applied knowledge area - to formulate recommendations for improving professional activities and everyday life of people.

Psychology methods: observation - purposeful perception of any pedagogical phenomenon, in the process of which the researcher receives specific factual material. Distinguish observation included,when the researcher becomes a member of the group being observed, and not included -"From the outside"; open and hidden (incognito); solid and selective.
Methods poll - conversation, interview, questioning. Conversation -an independent or additional research method used in order to obtain the necessary information or clarify what was not clear enough during observation. The conversation is conducted according to a pre-planned plan with the highlighting of questions requiring clarification. It is conducted in a free form without recording the answers of the interlocutor. A kind of conversation is interviewing,brought into pedagogy from sociology. When interviewing, the researcher adheres to pre-planned questions, asked in a certain sequence. Answers are recorded openly during interviews.
Questionnaire -method of mass collection of material using a questionnaire. Those to whom the questionnaires are addressed give written answers to questions. Conversation and interviews are called face-to-face polls, questionnaires are called correspondence polls.
Valuable material can give study of products of activity: written, graphic, creative and test works, drawings, drawings, details, notebooks for individual disciplines, etc. These works can provide the necessary information about the student's personality, about the achieved level of skills and abilities in a particular area.
A special role in pedagogical research is played by experiment - specially organized testing of one method or another, work acceptance to identify its pedagogical effectiveness. Distinguish experiment natural(in the context of a normal educational process) and laboratory -creation of artificial conditions for testing, for example, one or another teaching method, when individual students are isolated from the rest. The most commonly used natural experiment. It can be long-term or short-term.
The place of psychology in the system of sciences.
Psychology is an area of \u200b\u200bhumanitarian, anthropological knowledge. It is closely related to many sciences. At the same time, two aspects of such interrelations are quite clearly manifested.

• There are sciences that act as a kind of theoretical basis, the basis for psychology: for example, philosophy, physiology of human higher nervous activity. The philosophical sciences are primarily of theoretical and methodological significance for psychology. They equip a person with an understanding of the most general laws of development of objective reality, the origins of life, the meaning of human existence, form in him a certain vision of the picture of the world, an understanding of the causes of processes and phenomena occurring in living and inanimate matter and in the minds of people, explain the essence of real events and facts. Philosophy makes a decisive contribution to the formation of a person's worldview.
• There are sciences in relation to which psychology is one of the basic, theoretical foundations. These sciences primarily include pedagogical, legal, medical, political science and a number of others. The development of their problems by these sciences at present cannot be sufficiently complete and justified without taking into account the human factor, including the human psyche, psychology of age, ethnic, professional and other groups of people.
• 3. The history of the development of psychological knowledge.
  The doctrine of the soul (5th century BC - early 17th century AD)
  The doctrine of the soul evolved within the framework of ancient Greek philosophy and medicine. The new ideas about the soul were not religious, but secular, open to everyone, accessible to rational criticism. The purpose of constructing the doctrine of the soul was to identify the properties and laws of its existence.
  The most important directions in the development of ideas about the soul are associated with the teachings of Plato (427-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC). Plato drew the line between the material, material, mortal body and the immaterial, immaterial, immortal soul. Individual souls - imperfect images of a single universal world soul - have a part of universal spiritual experience, the recall of which is the essence of the process of individual cognition. This doctrine laid the foundations of the philosophical theory of knowledge and determined the orientation of psychological knowledge to solve the actual philosophical, ethical, pedagogical and religious problems.

  The main directions of psychology.
  A person in his physiological and mental formation and development goes through various stages, participates in many spheres of social life, is engaged in various types of activities. The forms of communities of people are also diverse: small and large social groups, age, professional, educational, ethnic, religious, family, organized and spontaneously forming groups and other communities of people. In this regard, modern psychological science is a diversified field of knowledge and includes more than 40 relatively independent branches. General psychology and social psychology are basic in relation to other branches of psychological knowledge: labor psychology, sports, higher education, religion, mass media (media), art, age, pedagogical, engineering, military, medical, legal, political, ethnic, etc.

  The concept of the psyche. Functions of the psyche.
  Psyche - This is a property of highly organized living matter, which consists in the active reflection by the subject of the objective world, in the construction by the subject of an inalienable picture of this world and regulation on this basis of behavior and activity.

  Fundamental judgments about the nature and mechanisms of manifestation of the psyche.

psyche is a property of only living matter, only highly organized living matter (specific organs that determine the possibility of the existence of the psyche);

the psyche has the ability to reflect the objective world (obtaining information about the world around it);

information about the surrounding world received by a living creature serves as the basis for the regulation of the internal environment of a living organism and the formation of its behavior, which in general determines the possibility of a relatively long existence of this organism in the conditions of its habitat.
Psychic functions:

• reflection of the influences of the surrounding world;
• a person's awareness of his place in the world around him;
• regulation of behavior and activity.

^ The development of the psyche in phylogeny and ontogeny.
The development of the psyche in phylogeny is associated with the development of the nervous system. The level of development of the sense organs and the nervous system invariably determines the level and forms of mental reflection. At the lowest stage of development (for example, in coelenterates), the nervous system is a nervous network consisting of nerve cells scattered throughout the body with intertwining processes. It is the reticular nervous system. Animals with a reticular nervous system generally respond with tropisms. They form temporary connections with difficulty and are poorly preserved.

At the next stage of development, the nervous system undergoes a number of qualitative changes. Nerve cells are organized not only in the network, but also in nodes (ganglia). The nodal, or ganglionic, nervous system allows receiving and processing the greatest amount of stimuli, since sensory nerve cells are in close proximity to stimuli, which changes the quality of the analysis of the received stimuli.
The complication of the nodal nervous system is observed in higher invertebrates - insects. In each part of the body, ganglia fuse to form nerve centers that are interconnected by nerve pathways. The head center is especially complicated.
The highest type of nervous system is the tubular nervous system. It is a combination of nerve cells organized into a tube (in chordates). In the process of evolution, vertebrates develop and develop the spinal cord and brain - the central nervous system. Simultaneously with the development of the nervous system and receptors, the sense organs of animals develop and improve, and the forms of mental reflection also become more complex.
The development of the brain is of particular importance in the evolution of vertebrates. Localized centers are formed in the brain, representing different functions.
Thus, the evolution of the psyche is expressed in the improvement of the sense organs that perform receptor functions and the development of the nervous system, as well as in the complication of the forms of mental reflection, that is, signaling activity.

There are four main levels of development of the psyche of living organisms:

• Irritability;
• Sensitivity (sensation);
• Behavior of higher animals (externally conditioned behavior);
• Human consciousness (externally conditioned behavior).

The development of the psyche in ontogenesis. Without assimilating the experience of mankind, without communicating with others like us, there will be no developed, properly human feelings, the ability to voluntary attention and memory, the ability to abstract thinking will not develop, a human personality will not be formed. This is evidenced by the cases of raising human children among animals.
So, all children - "Mowgli" showed primitive animal reactions, and it was impossible to find those features that distinguish man from animal. While a little monkey, left alone by chance, without a herd, will still manifest itself as a monkey, a person only then becomes a person if his development takes place among people.

The structure of the psyche. The ratio of consciousness and unconsciousness.
The structure of consciousness and the unconscious in the human psyche. The highest level of the psyche inherent in a person forms consciousness... Consciousness is the highest, integrating form of the psyche, the result of socio-historical conditions for the formation of a person in labor activity, with constant. communicating (using language) with other people. In this sense, consciousness is a "social product", consciousness is nothing more than a conscious being.

Characteristics of human consciousness:
1) consciousness, that is, the body of knowledge about the world around us.
2) fixed in it a distinct distinction between subject and object, that is, what belongs to a person's “I” and his “not-I”.
3) ensuring purposeful human activity.
4) the presence of emotional assessments in interpersonal relationships.
A prerequisite for the formation and manifestation of all the above specific qualities of consciousness are speech and language as a sign system.
The lower level of the psyche forms the unconscious. Unconscious - it is a set of mental processes, acts and states caused by influences, in the influence of which a person does not realize. Being mental (since the concept of the psyche is broader than the concept of "consciousness", "conscious"), the unconscious is a form of reflection of reality, in which the completeness of orientation in time and place of action is lost, and speech regulation of behavior is violated. In the unconscious, in contrast to consciousness, purposeful control over the actions performed is impossible, and the assessment of their result is also impossible.
The area of \u200b\u200bthe unconscious includes mental phenomena that arise in sleep (dreams); response reactions that are caused by imperceptible, but really influencing stimuli ("subsensory" or "subceptive" reactions); movements that were conscious in the past, but thanks to repetition were automated and therefore became unconscious; some motives for activities in which there is no consciousness of the goal, etc. Unconscious phenomena also include some pathological phenomena that arise in the psyche of a sick person: delirium, hallucinations, etc.

Functions of consciousness: reflective, generative (creative-creative), regulatory-evaluative, reflexive function - the main function, characterizes the essence of consciousness.
The object of reflection can be: reflection of the world, thinking about it, ways of regulating a person's behavior, the processes of reflection themselves, their personal consciousness.

Most of the processes taking place in the inner world of a person are not realized by him, but in principle, each of them can become conscious. subconscious - those ideas, desires, actions, aspirations that have now gone out of consciousness, but can then come to consciousness;

1. the unconscious itself - such a mental that under no circumstances becomes conscious. - sleep, unconscious urges, automated movements, reaction to unconscious stimuli

The epicenter of consciousness is the consciousness of one's own "I". Self-awareness -It is formed when interacting with other people, mainly with those with whom there are especially significant contacts. The image of "I", or self-awareness (idea of \u200b\u200boneself), does not arise in a person immediately, but develops gradually, throughout his life under the influence of social influences

Self-awareness criteria:

1. separating oneself from the environment, consciousness of oneself as a subject, autonomous from the environment (physical environment, social environment);

2. awareness of my activity - "I control myself";

3. awareness of myself "through the other" ("What I see in others, it may be my quality");

4. moral assessment of oneself, the presence of reflection - awareness of one's inner experience.

The structure of self-awareness can be distinguished:

1. awareness of near and distant goals, motives of their "I" ("I am an acting subject");

2. awareness of their real and desired qualities ("Real I" and "Ideal I");

3. cognitive, cognitive ideas about oneself ("I am as an observed object");

4. emotional, sensual self-image.

5. Self-esteem - adequate, underestimated, overestimated.

I concept - self-perception and self-control

1. I am spiritual
2. I am material
3. I am social
4. I am bodily

1. Definition of psychology as a science.

2. The main branches of psychology.

3. Research methods in psychology.

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

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

Psychology - a kind of science. Man's mastery of knowledge has been going on since ancient times. However, for a long time psychology developed within the framework of philosophy, reaching a high level in the writings of Aristotle (treatise "On the Soul"), so many consider him the founder of psychology. Despite such an ancient history, psychology as an independent experimental science was formed relatively recently, only from the middle of the 19th century.

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

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

R. S . Nemov suggests the following scheme.

Scheme 1The main phenomena studied by modern psychology

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

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

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

Table 1Examples of mental phenomena and conceptsContinuation of table. one

So, psychology Is a science that studies mental phenomena.

2. Modern psychology - this is a fairly extensive complex of sciences, which continues to develop at a very rapid pace (every 4–5 years a new direction appears).

Nevertheless, one can single out the fundamental branches of psychological science and special ones.

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

This versatility allows them to sometimes be combined under the name "general psychology".

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

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

General psychology

1. Psychology of cognitive processes and states.

2. Psychology of personality.

3. Psychology of individual differences.

4. Developmental psychology.

5. Social psychology.

6. Zoopsychology.

7. Psychophysiology.

Some special branches of psychological research

1. Educational psychology.

2. Medical psychology.

3. Military psychology.

4. Legal psychology.

5. Space psychology.

6. Engineering psychology.

7. Economic psychology.

8. Psychology of management.

Thus, psychology is a ramified network of sciences that continues to actively develop.

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

In order for the information received to be reliable, the requirements of validity and reliability must be observed.

Validity - this is a quality of the method that testifies to its compliance with what it was originally created to study.

Reliability - evidence that repeated use of the method will yield comparable results.

There are various classifications of methods of psychology. Let's consider one of them, according to which methods are divided into main and auxiliary ones.

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

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

External observation traits

1. Planned and systematic conduct.

2. Purposefulness.

3. Duration of observation.

4. Fixation of data using technical means, coding, etc.

External surveillance

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

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

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

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

Experiment types

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

Differs in the rigor and accuracy of data recording, which allows you to get interesting scientific material.

Difficulties of a laboratory experiment:

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

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

3) so far not all mental phenomena can be modeled under experimental conditions.

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

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

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

There are the following survey methods: conversation, questionnaire, interview, sociometry.

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

Can be used at various stages of research.

Questionnaire - a method thanks to which you can quickly obtain a large amount of data recorded in writing.

Types of profiles:

1) individual - collective;

2) full-time (there is a personal contact between the researcher and the respondent) - correspondence;

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

Interview - a method carried out in the process of direct communication, answers are given orally.

Types of interviews:

1) standardized - all questions are formulated in advance;

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

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

When drafting questions, it should be remembered that the first questions should be supplemented by subsequent ones.

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

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

Process and product analysis - the products of human activity are studied, on the basis of which conclusions are drawn about the mental characteristics of a person.

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

Twin methodused in developmental genetic psychology.

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

Tests - a standardized psychological technique, the purpose of which is to provide a quantitative assessment of the studied psychological quality.

Test classification

1. Test questionnaire - test task.

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

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

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

2) tests of professional suitability (examines the level of professional compliance);

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

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

2. Formation of psychology as a science

1. Development of psychology from ancient times to the middle of the XIX century.

2. Formation of psychology as an independent science.

3. Modern psychological concepts.

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

The philosophers of ancient Greece in their treatises tried to penetrate into the secrets of being and the inner world of man.

The philosophers of antiquity explained the psyche, proceeding from the four elements on which, in their opinion, the world was based: earth, water, fire and air.

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

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

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

Animism was replaced by a new philosophical doctrine - atomistic.

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

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

Many scholars regard Aristotle's treatise "On the Soul" as the first major scientific research in psychology.

According to Aristotle, man has three souls: vegetable, animal and rational.

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

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

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

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

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

It is impossible not to mention the views Plato .

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

A person has two souls: mortal and immortal.

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

Only an immortal soul gives true knowledge obtained as a result of enlightenment.

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

Interesting views of Plato concerning the functioning of human memory.

Memory Is a wax tablet. People have different memories and it depends on the quality of the wax.

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

The doctrine of the soul in the early Middle Ages became part of the theological worldview and completely departed to religion, which lasted until the 17th century. in the era.

Renaissance, all sciences and arts began to actively develop again.

Natural science, medical, biological sciences, various types of art, one way or another, affected the doctrine of the soul.

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

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

The science of that time was never able to explain the relationship and interdependence of these two principles, so it abandoned the study of behavior and focused on the subjective experience of a person (XVII – XVIII centuries).

Such positions were held by R. Descartes and J. Locke .

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

The method of self-observation (introspection) was recognized as the main research method, and natural-scientific methods were considered unacceptable for studying the phenomena of the soul.

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

This atomistic psychology developed over two centuries, up to the end of the 19th century.

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

2. In the middle of the 19th century, profound changes took place in the scientific worldview.

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

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

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

A mechanistic understanding well explained monotonous movements, but it became inconsistent in understanding intelligent behavior.

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

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

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

2) the relationship between the mental and the bodily did not lend itself to rational explanation;

3) Psychological scientists were unable to explain complex forms of human behavior that go beyond reflexes.

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

Let's consider them in more detail.

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

For cognition of behavior, it is enough to describe the behavior itself, to find out and describe the external and internal forces acting on the organism, to study the laws according to which the interaction of stimuli and behavior occurs.

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

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

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

Scientists in this direction denied the possibility of studying consciousness.

As Watson wrote, the behaviorist "does not observe anything that he could call consciousness, feeling, sensation, imagination, will, insofar as he no longer believes that these terms indicate the true phenomena of psychology."

However, already in the 30s. XX century, such extreme views of D. Watson were softened by non-behaviourists, primarily E. Tolman and K. Hull ... So, E. Tolman led the concept of rationality and expediency of behavior.

goal Is the final result achieved as a result of performing behavioral acts.

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

K. Hull developed a model of behavior based on responses to a variety of stimuli.

The body responds to stimuli through innate and acquired ways that are associated with a system of "intermediate variables" that mediate this interaction.

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

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

Gestalt psychology originated in Germany and spread practically throughout Europe, including Russia, especially in the pre-war years.

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

Outstanding representatives are K. Levin , M. Wertheimer , V. Kohler and etc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Psychoanalysiswas developed by an Austrian psychologist and psychiatrist S. Freud, therefore it is sometimes called "Freudianism".

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

The fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis are consciousnessand unconscious.

It is the unconscious (the main of which is sexual desire - libido) that is assigned a significant role in the regulation of human activity and behavior.

Censorship from the side of consciousness suppresses unconscious drives, but they "break through" in the form of reservations, mistakes, forgetting unpleasant things, dreams, and neurotic manifestations.

Psychoanalysis became widespread not only in Europe, but also in the United States, where it is still popular.

In the first years of Soviet power, this direction was also in demand in our country, but in the 30s. Against the general background of restrictions on psychological research (the decree "On pedological perversions in the system of the People's Commissariat for Education"), Freud's doctrine was also subjected to repression.

Up to the 60s. psychoanalysis has been studied only from a critical standpoint.

Only in the second half of the twentieth century, interest in psychoanalysis increased again, not only in Russia, but throughout the world.

So, none of the newly emerging psychological trends completely resolved the contradictions that led to the crisis of psychology as a science.

Let's consider some modern psychological concepts that began to actively develop since the second half of the twentieth century.

Cognitive psychology arose out of the development of computer science and cybernetics.

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

For the cognitive scientist, human cognitive processes are analogous to a computer.

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

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

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

Neo-Freudianism emerged from Freud's psychoanalysis.

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

What all these views have in common is the recognition of the significance of the unconscious in the life of people and the desire to explain many human complexes by this.

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

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

The goals are determined by the person himself, and already on this basis, cognitive processes, personality traits, and worldview are formed.

K. Jung's concept is also called analytical psychology.

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

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

Personal the unconscious is acquired in the course of the accumulation of life experience, collective - is inherited and contains the experience accumulated by humanity.

Jung described the collective unconscious as archetypes that most often appear in myths and fairy tales, primitive forms of thinking, images passed down from generation to generation.

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

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

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

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

1) mental (intellectual) - creates formulas, schemes, is prone to power, authoritarianism; mostly inherent in men;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the process of cognitive development, there are three periods:

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

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

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

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

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

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

This, of course, does not mean that teachers should not design experimental situations that stimulate student creativity. "

The main factors that determine cognitive development are maturation, experience and social learning.

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

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

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

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

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

When identificationthe researcher imagines himself in the place of another person, as if mentally embodied in him. In contrast to empathy, identification uses intellectual, logical operations: comparison, analysis, reasoning, etc.

3. Methods of psychological practice

Psychological practice in terms of its tasks, methods, forms is a variety of types of practices. It includes working with people with mental disabilities or problems, focused on working with representatives of communicative professions, people of different ages. It is impossible to describe all the methods and techniques used in modern psychological practice, especially since their arsenal is constantly being replenished. The main ones are:

Psychotherapy;

Psychological consultation;

Psychocorrection;

Psycho-training, etc.

The choice of methods in psychology is not easy. The study of complex socio-psychological phenomena, as a rule, should be based not on individual methods, but on their totality.

2. The place of psychology in the system of sciences

A person as a subject of research can be viewed from various points of view: as a biological object, as a social being, as a carrier of consciousness. Moreover, each person is unique and has his own personality. The variety of manifestations of man as a natural and social phenomenon has led to the emergence of a significant number of sciences studying man. Psychology as a field of humanitarian, anthropological knowledge is closely related to many sciences. It occupies an intermediate position between the philosophical, natural, social and technical sciences.

First of all, it is necessary to dwell on the consideration of the relationship between psychology and philosophy.Having become an independent science, psychology has retained a close connection with philosophy. Today there are scientific problems and concepts that are considered both from the standpoint of psychology and philosophy, for example, the meaning and purpose of life, worldview, political views, moral values, the essence and origin of human consciousness, the nature of human thinking, the influence of the individual on society and society on the individual and etc.

For a long time, there was a fundamental division of philosophy into materialistic and idealistic. Most often, this opposition was of an antagonistic nature, that is, there was a constant opposition of views and positions. For psychology, both of these main trends in philosophy are of equal importance: materialistic philosophy was the basis for the development of problems of activity and the origin of higher mental functions, the idealistic direction made it possible to study such concepts as, for example, responsibility, the meaning of life, conscience, spirituality. Consequently, the use of both directions of philosophy in psychology most fully reflects the dual nature of man, his biosocial nature.

Another science, which, like psychology, studies problems related to the individual and society, is sociology,which borrows from social psychology methods for studying personality and human relationships. At the same time, psychology widely uses in its research traditional sociological methods of collecting information, such as polling and questioning. There are problems that psychologists and sociologists jointly study, such as relationships between people, the psychology of economics and politics of the state, socialization of the individual, the formation and transformation of social attitudes, etc. Sociology and psychology are closely related both at the level of theoretical research and at the level using certain methods. Developing in parallel, they complement each other's research in the study of the relationship between man and human society.

Another science closely related to psychology is pedagogy,since the upbringing and education of children cannot but take into account the psychological characteristics of the individual.

Psychology is closely related to history.One example of a deep synthesis of history and psychology is the theory of cultural and historical development of the higher mental functions of a person, developed by L. S. Vygodsky, the essence of which is that the main historical achievements of mankind, primarily language, tools, sign systems a powerful factor that significantly advanced the phylo- and ontogenetic development of people. Another, no less famous example of the relationship between history and psychology is the use in psychology historical method,the essence of which is that in order to understand the nature of any mental phenomenon, it is necessary to trace its phylo- and ontogenetic development from elementary forms to more complex ones. In order to understand what the higher forms of the human psyche are, it is necessary to trace their development in children. Thus, the opinions of psychologists and historians agree that modern man with his psychological qualities and personal properties is a product of the history of human development.

A distinctive feature of psychology is its connection not only with social, but also with technical sciences.This is due to the fact that a person is a direct participant in all technological and production processes. Psychological science considers humans as an integral part of technical progress. In the research of psychologists involved in the development of socio-technical systems, a person acts as the most complex element of the "man-machine" system. Thanks to the research of psychologists, samples of technology are created that take into account the mental and physiological capabilities of a person.

Psychology is no less closely related to medicaland biologicalsciences. This connection is due to the dual nature of man - both social and biological. Most mental phenomena and, above all, mental processes, have a physiological condition, therefore knowledge in the field of physiology and biology helps to better understand certain mental phenomena. Today, the facts of psychosomatic and somatic interactions are well known. The essence of this phenomenon is that the mental state of a person is reflected in his physiological state, and vice versa, various diseases, as a rule, affect the mental state of the patient. Taking this into account, methods of psychotherapeutic influence have been actively developed in modern medicine.

Thus, modern psychology is closely related to various fields of science and practice. It can be argued that wherever a person is involved, there is a place for psychological science. Therefore, the rapid development of psychology, its introduction into various spheres of scientific and practical activity led to the emergence of various branches of psychology.

3. The main branches of psychology

Modern psychological science is a diversified field of knowledge and includes more than 40 relatively independent branches. Their emergence is due, firstly, to the widespread introduction of psychology into all spheres of scientific and practical activity, and secondly, to the emergence of new psychological knowledge. Some branches of psychology differ from others, first of all, in the complex of problems and tasks that a particular scientific direction solves. At the same time, all branches of psychology can be conditionally divided into fundamental (general, or basic! And applied (special !.

Fundamentalbranches of psychological science are of general importance for understanding and explaining various mental phenomena. This is the basis that not only unites all branches of psychological science, but also serves as the basis for their development. Fundamental branches, as a rule, are united by the term "general psychology".

General psychology- a branch of psychological science, which includes theoretical and experimental research that identifies the most general psychological laws, theoretical principles and methods of psychology, its basic concepts and categories. The basic concepts of general psychology are:

Mental processes;

Mental properties;

Mental states.

The emergence of general psychology as an independent and fundamental branch of psychological science is associated with the name SL. Rubinstein, who prepared and published in 1942 a major generalizing work "Foundations of General Psychology", which included the advanced achievements of both domestic and world science.

Appliedname the branches of psychology, the achievements of which are used in practice. In most cases, with the help of applied branches of psychological science, they solve specific problems within a certain direction, for example:

¦ educational psychologystudies psychological problems, patterns of personality development in the process of training and education;

¦ developmental psychologystudies the patterns of the stages of mental development and personality formation from birth to old age, in connection with which it is divided into child psychology, youth psychologyand mature age, psychology of old age (gerontopsychology);

¦ differential psychologystudies the differences between individuals, between groups of individuals, as well as the causes and consequences of these differences;

¦ social psychologystudies the patterns of behavior and activities of people included in social groups, the psychological characteristics of the groups themselves, the socio-psychological compatibility of people;

¦ political psychologystudies the psychological components of the political life and activities of people, their moods, opinions, feelings, value orientations, etc .;

¦ psychology of artstudies the properties and states of a person or a group of persons that determine the creation and perception of artistic values, as well as the influence of these values \u200b\u200bon the life of an individual and society as a whole;

¦ medical psychologystudies the psychological characteristics of the doctor's activity and the patient's behavior, the manifestations and causes of various disorders in the psyche and behavior of a person, mental changes occurring during illness, develops psychological methods of treatment and psychotherapy;

¦ legal psychologystudies the psychological characteristics of the participants in the criminal process, as well as psychological problems of behavior and the formation of the personality of the criminal

In addition to the above, there are other branches of psychology that are no less interesting for scientific research and no less significant for the practical activity of a person, including: labor psychology, engineering psychology, military psychology, advertising psychology, environmental psychology, animal psychology, sports psychology, space psychology, and dr.

Note that the applied industries are not isolated from each other. Most often, one branch of psychology uses the knowledge or methods of its other branches. For example, space psychology, which deals with the problems of psychological support for human activity in space, is closely related to engineering psychology, medical, etc.

4. The main stages of development of psychological science

Historically, the first to appear was the doctrine of the soul. Psychology owes its name to Greek mythology - the myth of Cupid and Psyche told by Apuleius, which speaks of the king and his three daughters. The youngest was the most beautiful of all, her name was Psyche. The fame of her beauty flew all over the earth, but Psyche suffered from the fact that they only admire her: she wanted love. Psyche's father turned to the oracle for advice, and the oracle replied that Psyche, dressed in funeral clothes, should be taken to a secluded place to marry the monster. The unhappy father fulfilled the will of the oracle. A gust of wind transported Psyche to a wonderful palace, where she became the wife of an invisible husband. Psyche's mysterious husband took from her a promise that she would not seek to see his face. But the evil sisters, out of envy, persuaded the gullible Psyche to see her husband when he fell asleep. At night, Psyche lit a lamp and, seeing her husband, recognized in him the god of love Cupid. Struck by the beauty of his face, Psyche admired Cupid, but a drop of hot lamp oil fell on his shoulder, and Cupid woke up. Offended, he flew away, and Psyche went across the earth to look for her beloved. After long wanderings, she found herself under the same roof with Cupid, but could not see him. Cupid's mother - Venus - made her do unthinkable work; only thanks to the miraculous help of the gods did Psyche cope with the trials. When Cupid recovered from the burn, he began to beg Zeus to allow him to marry Psyche. Seeing their love and the exploits of Psyche in the name of love, Zeus agreed to their marriage, and Psyche received immortality. Thus, thanks to their love, the lovers were united forever. For the Greeks, this myth is an example of true love, the highest realization of the human soul, which, only being filled with love, became immortal. Therefore, it was Psyche that became a symbol of immortality, a symbol of a soul seeking its ideal.

Written sources of knowledge that have come down to us from time immemorial indicate that interest in psychological phenomena arose in people a very long time ago. The first ideas about the psyche were associated with animism - the most ancient view, according to which everything that exists in the world has a spirit, or a soul - an entity independent of the body that controls all living and inanimate objects. This is evidenced by the scientific treatises of Democritus, Plato, Aristotle.

Democritus (460–370 BC) developed an atomistic model of the world. The soul is a material substance that consists of spherical, light, mobile atoms of fire. All mental phenomena are explained by physical and mechanical reasons. For example, a person's sensations arise because the atoms of the soul are set in motion by the atoms of the air or atoms directly emanating from objects.

According to the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427–347 BC), the soul exists along with the body and independently of it. The soul is an invisible, sublime, divine, eternal principle. The body is a visible, base, transitory, perishable principle. Soul and body are in a complex relationship. By its divine origin, the soul is called to control the body. However, sometimes the body, embraced by various desires and passions, takes over the soul. Mental phenomena are divided into reason, courage (in the modern interpretation - will) and lust (motivation). According to Plato, a person's mind is located in the head, courage - in the chest, lust - in the abdominal cavity. Their harmonious unity gives integrity to a person's mental life.

The pinnacle of ancient psychology was the teaching of Aristotle (384–322 BC) about the soul. His treatise "On the Soul" is the first special psychological work. He denied looking at the soul as a substance. At the same time, Aristotle considered it impossible to consider the soul in isolation from matter (living body.1. Soul, according to Aristotle, although incorporeal, but it is the form of a living body, the cause and goal of all its vital functions. The driving force of human behavior is striving, or internal activity of the organism. Sensory perception is the beginning of cognition. Memory retains and reproduces sensations.

The scientific study of the soul begun in the era of Antiquity in the Middle Ages was partially lost and replaced by a religious and mystical worldview, scholasticism and philosophy of the spirit. Under the influence of the atmosphere characteristic of the Middle Ages (the strengthening of the church influence on all aspects of society, including science1, the animistic interpretation of the soul began to be linked with the Christian understanding of the essence of man. The soul, according to medieval authors, is a divine, supernatural beginning, and therefore the study of mental life must be subordinated to the tasks of theology.Only the outer side of the soul, which is turned to the material world, can succumb to the human mind, and the greatest mysteries of the soul are manifested only in religion.

During the Renaissance, there was a renewed interest in the natural science of the soul. Concrete material about the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the human body was gradually accumulated. A new era in the development of psychological knowledge begins in the 17th century. It is characterized by attempts to comprehend the human mental world mainly from general philosophical, speculative positions, without the necessary experimental base. This period in the development of psychological science is associated, first of all, with the names of R. Descartes, G. Leibniz, T. Hobbes, B. Spinoza, J. Locke.

R. Descartes (1596-1650) is considered the founder of rationalistic philosophy. According to his ideas, knowledge should be based on obvious data and deduced from them by logical reasoning. Proceeding from this point of view, in order to find the truth, a person must first question everything. In his writings, R. Descartes asserts that not only the work of the internal organs, but also the behavior of the organism in its interaction with the external world does not need a soul. In his opinion, this interaction is carried out by means of a kind of nervous machine, consisting of the brain center and neural "tubes" or "threads". Thus, R. Descartes came to the conclusion that there is a difference between the human body and his soul, and argued that there are two substances independent of each other - matter and spirit. In the history of psychology, this doctrine is called "dualism". Descartes laid the foundations for the deterministic (causal) concept of behavior, which is centered on the idea of \u200b\u200ba reflex as a natural motor response of the body to external physiological stimulation.

B. Spinoza (1632-1677) attempted to reconnect the human body and soul, separated by the teachings of R. Descartes. The soul is one of the manifestations of extended substance (matter), the soul and body are determined by the same material reasons.

G. Leibniz (1646-1716) introduced the concept of the unconscious psyche. According to his theory, in the human soul there is a continuous hidden work of many psychic forces - "small perceptions" (perceptions), from which conscious desires and passions arise. G. Leibniz explained the connection between the mental and the physical (physiological) in a person not as a result of their interaction, but as a result of the “pre-established harmony” created thanks to divine wisdom.

In the XVIII century. the emergence of empirical psychology takes place. In the books of the German philosopher H. Wolff "Rational Psychology" and "Empirical Psychology" this term first appears in scientific use to designate a direction in psychological science, the main principle of which is to observe specific mental phenomena, their classification and the establishment of an empirically verified logical connection between them. This principle also underlies the teachings of J. Locke (1632-1704), according to which the human soul is a passive environment, but capable of perception. Under the influence of sensory impressions, the soul awakens, is filled with ideas, begins to think.

The separation of psychology into an independent science took place in the 60s. XIX century. It was associated with the creation of special research institutions - psychological laboratories and institutes, departments in higher educational institutions, as well as with the introduction of an experiment to study mental phenomena. One of the first such laboratories was the Experimental Psychological Laboratory in Leipzig (later - the Institute of Experimental Psychology1, founded by W. Wundt (1832 - 1920).

IM Sechenov (1829-1905) is considered the founder of Russian scientific psychology. In his book "Reflexes of the Brain" (18631 the main psychological processes receive a physiological interpretation. An important place in the history of Russian psychology belongs to GI Chelpanov (1862-1936), who created the first institute of psychology in Russia in 1912, and I. P Pavlov (1849–1936), who studied conditioned-reflex connections in the activity of the organism, thanks to which it became possible to understand the physiological foundations of mental activity.

A significant contribution to the development of psychology of the XX century. contributed by: BG Ananiev (1907-1972), who studied the problems of perception and the psychology of pedagogical assessment; A. N. Leont'ev (1903–1979), who created a new psychological theory - the "theory of activity"; S. L. Rubinstein (1889-1960), who published in 1942 the fundamental generalizing work "Foundations of General Psychology"; P. Ya. Halperin (1902–1988), who created the theory of the gradual formation of mental actions.

5. The main directions of psychology

After the separation of psychology in the middle of the XIX century. into an independent scientific discipline, it was differentiated into several directions (or trends). The main directions of development of psychology in the XX century:

Behaviorism;

Psychoanalysis, or Freudianism;

Gestalt psychology;

Humanistic Psychology;

Genetic psychology;

Individual psychology.

Behaviorism - one of the leading areas, which has become widespread in different countries, primarily in the United States. The founders of behaviorism are E. Thorndike (1874-1949) and J. Watsen (1878-1958). In this direction of psychology, the study of the subject is reduced, first of all, to the analysis of behavior, which is widely interpreted as all types of reactions of the organism to stimuli from the external environment. At the same time, the psyche itself, consciousness, is excluded from the subject of research. The basic tenet of behaviorism: psychology should study behavior, not consciousness and psyche, which cannot be observed directly. The main tasks were the following: to learn from the situation (stimulus) to predict the behavior (reaction) of a person and, conversely, to determine or describe the stimulus that caused it by the nature of the reaction. According to behaviorism, a relatively small number of innate behavioral phenomena (breathing, swallowing, etc.) are inherent in humans, over which more complex reactions are built up, up to the most complex "scenarios" of behavior. The development of new adaptive reactions occurs with the help of tests carried out until one of them gives a positive result (the principle of "trial and error"). A successful option is fixed and subsequently reproduced.

Psychoanalysis,or freudianism,- a general designation of various schools that arose on the basis of the psychological teachings of Z. Freud (1856-1939). Freudianism is characterized by an explanation of mental phenomena through the unconscious. Its core is the idea of \u200b\u200bthe eternal conflict between the conscious and the unconscious in the human psyche. According to Z. Freud, human actions are governed by deep impulses that elude consciousness. He created a method of psychoanalysis, the basis of which is the analysis of associations, dreams, slips of the tongue, and slips of the tongue, etc. From the point of view of Z. Freud, the roots of human behavior are in his childhood. The fundamental role in the process of man's formation is assigned to his sexual instincts and drives.

Gestaltpsychology - one of the largest areas of foreign psychology, which arose in Germany in the first half of the XX century. and put forward a program for studying the psyche from the point of view of its organization and dynamics in the form of special indivisible images - "gestalts". The subject of study was the patterns of formation, structuring and transformation of the mental image. The first experimental studies of Gestalt psychology were devoted to the analysis of perception and made it possible to further identify a number of phenomena in this area (for example, the ratio of figure and background.1 The main representatives of this direction are M. Wertheimer, W. Keller, K. Koffka.

Humanistic psychology- the direction of foreign psychology, which has recently been rapidly developing in Russia. The main subject of humanistic psychology is personality as a unique integral system, which is not something predetermined, but an “open possibility” of self-actualization inherent only in a person. Within the framework of humanistic psychology, the theory of personality, developed by the American psychologist A. Maslow (1908–1970), occupies a prominent place. According to his theory, all needs are built into a kind of "pyramid", at the base of which are the lowest, and at the top - the highest human needs (Fig. 11. Leading representatives of this trend: G. Allport, K. Rogers, F. Barron, R. May ...

Genetic psychology- a doctrine developed by the Geneva School of Psychology J. Piaget (1896-1980) and his followers. The subject of study is the origin and development of intelligence in a child, the main task is to study the mechanisms of the child's cognitive activity. Intelligence is investigated as an indicator of individual development and as an object of action, on the basis of which mental activity arises.

Fig. one.Pyramid of needs by A. Maslow

Individual psychology- one of the directions of psychology, developed by A. Adler (1870-1937) and proceeding from the concept of the presence of an individual's inferiority complex and the desire to overcome it as the main source of motivation for personality behavior.

Psychology has come a long way. Throughout the development of psychological science, different directions have developed in parallel. Teachings based on materialistic views, first of all, contributed to the development of a natural-scientific understanding of the nature of mental phenomena and the formation of experimental psychology. In turn, thanks to idealistic philosophical views in modern psychology, such problems as morality, ideals, personal values, etc. are considered.

The need for people to correctly understand each other in the process of living together and working together led to the fact that the field of phenomena studied by psychology attracted human attention long before mental phenomena became the subject of scientific knowledge. Even in ancient times, the idea was formed that in addition to a physically tangible body, a person has some intangible entity that makes the body "animate", capable of thinking, feeling, desiring, and acting. The term "psychology" translated from Greek means "doctrine of the soul" (psyche- soul, logos- doctrine, science).

Nowadays, there is no doubt about the existence of a special reality, different from external reality. In fact, we can remember and mentally relive once again what has long disappeared from our life, imagine not only what we have never seen, but also what has never existed. Feelings, desires, thoughts live in us, in which the world around us is reflected in a special way, forming a subjective psychic reality.

Psychology studies this inner world of human mental phenomena, whether or not they are aware of it.

Animals also have psychic phenomena (of course, at a different level of organization). Therefore, psychology, studying man, is also interested in the psyche of animals: how it arises and changes in the process of evolution of the animal world, what are the reasons for the difference between the human psyche and the psyche of other living beings.

In order to engage in any activity, communicate with other people, in order to navigate the world around, a person first of all needs to know it. Psychology studies what properties of reality a person learns through mental processes - sensations, perception, thinking, imagination, etc. Psychology also considers the psychological characteristics of various types of activity and communication and their impact on the psyche.

Although mental phenomena obey general laws, they are individual for each person. Therefore, psychology studies the individual psychological characteristics of people, their personality, motives of behavior, temperament and character.

Thus, psychology- the science of the laws of the emergence, functioning and development of the psyche.

What is the subject of study of psychology in our time?

In order to answer this question, it is necessary to construct a classification of mental phenomena. It should be noted that there are different points of view on the structure of mental phenomena. For example, certain mental phenomena, depending on the author of the position, can be attributed to different structural groups. Moreover, very often in the scientific literature one can come across confusion of concepts. So, some authors do not distinguish between the characteristics of mental processes and the mental properties of a person. We will divide mental phenomena into three main classes; mental processes, mental states and mental properties of a person (Fig. 2).

Mental processes act as primary regulators of human behavior. Mental processes have a certain beginning, course and end, that is, they have certain dynamic characteristics, which, first of all, include the parameters that determine the duration and stability of the mental process. On the basis of mental processes, certain states are formed, the formation of knowledge, abilities and skills occurs. In turn, mental processes can be divided into three groups: cognitive, emotional and volitional.

Cognitive mental processes include mental processes associated with the perception and processing of information. These include sensation, perception, representation, memory, imagination, thinking, speech and attention. Thanks to these processes, a person receives information about the world around him and about himself. However, information or knowledge in itself does not play any role for a person if they are not significant to him. You've probably noticed that some events remain in your memory for a long time, while others you forget the next day. Other information may generally remain unnoticed for you. This is due to the fact that any information may or may not have an emotional connotation, that is, it may or may not be significant. Therefore, along with cognitive mental processes, emotional mental processes are distinguished as independent ones. Within this group of mental processes, mental phenomena such as affects, emotions, feelings, moods and emotional stress are considered.

Sometimes, another group of mental processes is distinguished as an independent group - unconscious processes. It includes those processes that proceed or are carried out outside the control of consciousness.

Fig. 2. The structure of mental phenomena.

Mental processes are closely interconnected and act as primary factors in the formation of mental

human states. Mental states characterize the state of the psyche as a whole. They, like mental processes, have their own dynamics, which is characterized by duration, directionality, stability and intensity. At the same time, mental states affect the course and result of mental processes and can facilitate or inhibit activity. Mental states include such phenomena as recovery, depression, fear, cheerfulness, despondency. It should be noted that mental states can be extremely complex phenomena that have objective and subjective conditioning, but their characteristic common feature is dynamism. The exception is mental states due to dominant personality characteristics, including pathocharacterological features. Such states can be very stable mental phenomena that characterize a person's personality.

The next class of mental phenomena - the mental properties of a person - is characterized by greater stability and greater constancy. Under the mental properties of a person, it is customary to understand the most significant personality traits that provide a certain quantitative and qualitative level of human activity and behavior. Mental properties include focus, temperament, abilities and character. The level of development of these properties, as well as the features of the development of mental processes and the prevailing (most characteristic for a person) mental states determine the uniqueness of a person, his individuality.

The main tasks of psychology, on the one hand, is the study of the laws of mental activity, the essence of mental phenomena and their role in a person's knowledge of himself and the world around him, in his activities and communication, the individual psychological characteristics of a person and his personality.

On the other hand, on the basis of this knowledge, practical means of psychological assistance to people in the most diverse spheres of their life are being developed - in organizing optimal working conditions, training and education, and solving personal problems.