Reflection concept and its essence. Reflection: what it is, the meaning for the human person and the ways of developing this quality

But with experience comes the understanding that reflection greatly helps the teacher to control the class, already in the course of the lesson to see what was understood and what was left for revision, that is, "keep an eye on the pulse." Do not forget that reflection is something new that modern pedagogy strives for: to teach not science, but teach to learn. Reflection helps the child not only to understand the path traveled, but also to build a logical chain, systematize the experience gained, and compare his successes with the successes of other students.

In the structure of a lesson that meets the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard, reflection is compulsory step of the lesson. Particular emphasis is placed on the reflection of activities, it is proposed to carry out this stage at the end of the lesson. In this case, the teacher plays the role of an organizer, and the main actors pupils are speaking.

What is reflection?

The dictionaries give a clear definition: reflection is introspection, self-assessment, "looking inside oneself". With regard to lessons, reflection is a stage of the lesson, during which students independently assess their state, their emotions, and the results of their activities.

What is reflection for?

If the child understands:

• why he is studying this topic, how it will be useful to him in the future;
• what goals should be achieved in this particular lesson;
• what contribution he can make to the common cause;
• can he adequately assess his work and the work of his classmates,

... then the learning process becomes much more interesting and easier for both the student and the teacher.

When to conduct?

Reflection can be carried out at any stage of the lesson, as well as based on the results of studying the topic, a whole section of the material.

Kinds

There are several classifications of reflection as a lesson stage. Knowing the classification, it is more convenient for the teacher to vary and combine techniques, including reflection in the lesson plan.

I . By content : symbolic, oral and written.

Symbolic - when a student simply gives a grade using symbols (cards, tokens, gestures, etc.). Oral implies the child's ability to coherently express their thoughts and describe their emotions. Writing is the most difficult and takes the most time. The latter is appropriate at the final stage of studying an entire section of educational material or a large topic.

II ... By the form of activity : collective, group, frontal, individual.

It is in this order that it is more convenient to teach children to this kind work. First - with the whole class, then - in separate groups, then - selectively interview students. This will prepare students for independent work above oneself.

III ... By target :

• Emotional

She evaluates mood, emotional perception teaching material... This is a reflection from the categories "liked / disliked", "interesting / boring", "it was fun / sad".

This type of reflection helps the teacher assess the general mood of the class. The more positive, the better the topic is understood. And vice versa, if there are more conventional "clouds", it means that the lesson seemed boring, difficult, difficulties arose with the perception of the topic. Agree, we are bored and sad when we do not understand something.

How and when to carry it out?

Reflection of mood and emotionality is easy to carry out even with first graders. There are a lot of options: handout cards with emoticons or iconic pictures, showing the thumb (up / down), raising hands, signal cards, etc. It is more convenient to carry out at the end of the next stage of the lesson: after the explanation new topic, after the stage of fixing the topic, etc.

At the beginning of the lesson, emotional reflection is carried out in order to establish contact with the class. You can put on music (choosing a motive that is consistent with the theme), quote a classic, read an emotional poem. After that, you should definitely ask 3-4 students: "What do you feel now? What mood are you in? Etc. First, students (even the smallest) get used to assess their state, their emotions, and secondly, they learn to argue their In addition, such reflection will help students tune in to the perception of the topic.

• Reflection of activity

This type of reflection is more convenient to use when checking homework, at the stage of consolidating the material, when defending projects. It helps students to comprehend the types and methods of work, analyze their activity and, of course, identify gaps.

How to carry out (examples of work organization):

• Ladder of success... Each step is one of the types of work. The more tasks are completed, the higher the drawn man rises.
• Success tree... Each leaf has its own specific color: green - I did everything right, yellow - there were difficulties, red - many mistakes. Each student decorates his tree with appropriate leaves. In the same way, you can decorate the Christmas tree with toys, decorate the meadow with flowers, etc.
• Trailers... Each trailer corresponds to a specific task. For example, let's say you plan to do a pinning phase of three mini-games and one creative task. You have 4 trailers. Invite your students to put the little people (animals, leave a token) in the wagon, the task of which was completed easily, quickly and correctly.
• "Signs"(handy when teaching calligraphy). Ask students to circle / underline the most beautifully written letter, word.

Thanks to such techniques, the teacher will always have a clear picture: what they understood and realized, and what still needs to be worked on.

• Reflection of the content of the material

It is more convenient to carry out this type of reflection at the end of the lesson or at the stage of summing up. It enables children to realize the content of what they have learned, to evaluate the effectiveness of their own work in the lesson.

How to carry out:

• Suggest to children Tag Cloud", which need to be completed. For example, on an interactive whiteboard, you can display a slide where options are indicated:
  • today I found out ...
  • it was difficult…
  • I realized that ...
  • I learned…
  • I was able to ...
  • it was interesting to know that ...
  • I was surprised ...
  • I wanted ... etc.

Each student selects 1-2 sentences and completes them. Such reflection can be carried out orally, or in writing (on pieces of paper or directly in a notebook).

• Graphic: table with signs on the board

In the table, the goals of the lesson can be written down by the teacher himself (for elementary school students). With elders, you can set goals together. At the end of the lesson, students give plus opposite each goal and in the column that they consider more appropriate.

• Application form

• "Three M"

Students are encouraged to name three points they did well in the lesson and suggest one action that will improve their performance in the next lesson.

The following examples of reflection will fit perfectly into the concept of humanitarian subjects:

• Akroslovo

For example, give a description of Woland, the hero of M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita":

B - omnipotent

Oh - personifies justice

L - moon, black poodle and "hell"

A is the antipode of Yeshua

N is not an absolute evil

D - devil

• Phraseologism or proverb

Choose an expression that matches your perception of the lesson: he heard with the edge of his ear, flapped his ears, wiggled his brains, counting crows, etc.

A few comments on the topic, or wishes from students

• Techniques such as insert, cinquain, cluster, diamond, POPS do not need explanation and have proven to be very effective. With one "but"! If the teacher uses them constantly, so that the children can get used to such work. Otherwise, the creation of the same syncwine will turn into hard labor, and not a positive and effective completion of the topic.
• It is advisable to adapt the form of the conduct to the age of the children. Naturally, you won't go to grade 10 with gnomes and bunnies. But even in the lower grades, you should not get too carried away with colorful pictures. Choose one option so the students get used to it so they don't have to explain the meaning of pictures or gestures every time.
• I heard a comment from a child on one of the forums: “One teacher has a red leaflet means“ I understood everything ”, another one means“ I didn’t understand anything, ”the third teacher has some stars-clouds instead of leaflets. And how should I remember all this? " This is a tricky question. It seems that within the framework of at least the unification method, it makes sense to agree on a single meaning of symbols / colors / signs used for reflection.

Tolerance, reflection, psychosomatics - abundance foreign words sometimes so frightening that there is no desire or opportunity to deal with them. However, these terms designate very, very important and necessary processes for life, which can be fully explained in simple Russian words.

Reflection is the ability to keep track of one's own thoughts, feelings, to understand the true reason for certain actions. Reflection is understanding yourself. Indeed, without self-knowledge, adequate recognition of one's own strengths and weaknesses, it is impossible to move forward. Are there many people who, by their very nature, tend to be self-absorbed? The question is rhetorical - to one degree or another, reflection is inherent in everyone and everyone, but only a few can consciously develop and use it for self-development purposes.

The process of self-knowledge is being formed in adolescence... Or rather, during adolescence - on the verge of graduation from school. It is in high school that a student thinks: who am I? What am I really? What is it needed for? As a rule, it is the last question that serves as an impetus for in-depth studies of one's own personality. After all, finding your place in society is the most urgent task for future graduates. And almost everyone believes that great things lie ahead, happy life, which he will devote to useful deeds for the benefit of humanity. Yes, such dreams are not uncommon among high school students. Later, they are corrected by the material side of the issue, but the desire to find exactly the place where a young man or girl will feel fully realized and in demand remains the strongest.

Reflection is also due to the fact that older students notice in themselves the manifestation of reactions, attachments, inclinations that were not characteristic of them before. Where did they come from, what is the reason for their fixation in the personal profile - answers to these questions can be obtained only on condition of self-examination.

In general, the process of studying oneself gives older students great pleasure. It is as if they are getting to know the "I" that was previously hidden from them. That is why boys and girls take part in surveys with such pleasure, fill out questionnaires and tests - this kind of activity helps them understand themselves.

Why is reflection so important for personality formation? Let's say something remains unknown - what's the big deal?

The point is that everyone strives to become successful. And in adolescence, no one doubts that he will be able to fulfill all his dreams. Therefore, some inner qualities that were left without "revision" can suddenly let down their master - and older students instinctively understand this. The better personal reflection is developed, the more chances a person gets to adequately determine the goal of his further existence and outline the way to achieve this goal. Indeed, who is better able to predict where it will be in demand and implement - a person who knows himself well or a person who has only an idea of ​​his primary needs? The answer is unequivocal.

Based on the foregoing, we conclude: reflection as a process that develops in full measure in the older school age, is present in every person. This process is necessary for a successful life, therefore it must and must be developed. Ways of development - conversations and disputes on current topics, discussion of the behavior and thoughts of the characters of classic literary works finally, work with a psychologist. The most important thing is not the way of developing reflection, but the result: the formation of the need to constantly and objectively evaluate one's own thoughts, actions and states.

Reflection is a thought process that is aimed at a person's study of himself, rethinking his own values ​​and foundations. Many philosophers viewed reflection as a phenomenon that distinguishes humans from animals.

In psychology

In psychology, the concept of "reflection" is used quite often. First of all, it is seen as the appeal of consciousness to the analysis of their thoughts and past actions. In a narrow sense, reflection can be considered one of the forms of introspection.

A. Busemann proposed to single out reflection as a separate branch of psychology. He believed that the connection between reflexive processes and consciousness should be closely studied. A. Busemann argued that reflection is the transfer of problems from the external world to the internal world.

Domestic psychologists have chosen a different approach for themselves. They explained with the help of reflection the process of personality formation and the development of self-awareness. S.L. Rubinstein believed that a mature personality is formed only when the subject realizes the boundaries of his own “I”. And it is not possible to realize oneself without the ability to self-analyze.

Self-analysis in the process of personality formation performs certain functions:

• With its help, a person is able to consciously control his own thinking;
• The individual can criticize and analyze the consistency of thoughts;
• Reflection can help solve many complex problems.

Considering creative thinking, then in this aspect, reflection acts as a "drive" to self-development. Only a critical rethinking of the results of creativity can become an incentive for the introduction of something new. In this case, we can say the development of reflective and creative abilities.

Reflection is always associated with action. She makes him focused and justified. In the event that a person is prone to excessive introspection without any action, then this can lead to fixation on himself and past actions.

Understanding principles

Several approaches are used to deeply study and understand reflection.

Reflection helps the individual to become aware of their goals and directions for achieving them. With the help of introspection, you can get material, a base of ideas and thoughts, which in the future will guide and indicate the intended goals.

Forms of introspection

Psychologists distinguish several forms of reflection. Each of them has its own function and takes a certain amount of time. There are three main forms:

1. Situational. A person analyzes one specific situation. It is happening at the moment. This form of analysis is useful so that a person can adjust to changing events or the addition of new factors;
2. Retrospective, in which there is an assessment of an already accomplished event;
3. Promising. A person reflects on the upcoming situation, plans his actions in this or that development of events. Such analysis helps to effectively and efficiently plan your next steps.

Each of these types of reflection can be carried out both by the person himself individually and by a group of people.

In pedagogy

Reflection in pedagogy is primarily seen as a student's self-esteem. Concept in the context of education
significantly different from the principles of introspection in psychology. With the help of certain techniques, the teacher can look at pedagogical process from a student's point of view, given individual characteristics every personality.

At the request of the Federal State Educational Standard (federal state educational standards), the teacher must apply special techniques in each lesson. The goal of the current education system is to teach how to use improvised materials and to induce in students a desire for self-education.

Reflection in pedagogy is a self-assessment by students of their successes, emotions, internal state and performance results. The teacher aims to convey to the student the importance of his activities, contribution to the common cause, real prospects. It is also important to teach you how to adequately assess your capabilities. All this requires competent introspection.

Kinds

According to the standards of the Federal State Educational Standard, there are several types of reflection. It differs in content, form of activity and purpose. These techniques can be used at different stages of the teaching process at the discretion of the teacher, at the beginning, middle or end of the lesson.

The content is divided into symbolic, oral and written analysis. In the first case, the child gives an assessment using symbols and gestures (thumb up, drawn emoticon or the sun). Also, the child can describe his feelings and impressions of the lesson orally, sharing his opinion with classmates. Expressing your opinion in writing takes more time, but teaches the child to express their thoughts in a structured way.

According to the form of activity, it is customary to distinguish collective,
group, individual and frontal analysis.

Purpose distinguishes between emotional and reflection of activity. It is important to assess the emotional attitude of the class, its readiness to learn new material or repeat the old one. With the help of such a student assessment, the teacher can correct his methodology and take into account mistakes. The good thing about Emotional Analysis is that it is easy to do in all grades, from first to eleventh, and does not take long.

Today we will talk about such an important phenomenon, which in psychology is called reflection. According to many experts, it is reflection that makes a person human, distinguishing him from animals. After all, it is she who gives a person the opportunity not only to know something or feel, but also to know about his experiences.

So everyone should know about this important phenomenon. That is why in this article we will consider this issue in more detail.

The meaning and appearance of the term

The term reflection itself arose in philosophy and was originally a type philosophical thinking, which was aimed at comprehending and substantiating their own prerequisites, which require turning their own consciousness on themselves. However, today, the concept of reflection is much expanded and, passing into psychology, has become an expanded concept.

Today, you can find many definitions for the term, however, the most understandable and accessible to all is the following definition of the term.

Reflection can be called the ability of an individual to consciously direct his attention within himself, in order to view his own mental space and focus his attention on what is happening inside himself.

That is, to put it in other words, reflection enables a person to follow what is happening inside himself at one or another level of consciousness. However, this is not a simple "surveillance", as reflection makes it possible to further rethink your experiences and understand them.

Especially popular is the definition of reflection from the psychoanalyst A.V. Rassokhin, who described personal reflection as an active subjective process of generating meanings based on the unique ability of a person to become aware of the unconscious.

Self-reflection is a person's reaction to oneself, while the term reflection means a reflection not only of oneself, but also of the situation in which one is, of other people.

Manifestation in childhood

In fact, children lack reflection. Childhood is distinguished by the fact that it is an affective stage, this is a period of life where a person (child) has a quick and immediate reaction to everything. And in those cases when, for some reason, this is inaccessible to children, then an unconscious adaptation is turned on, in which mental protective mechanisms have a special meaning.

About introspection in childhood out of the question. Reflection "ripens" in a person due to contact with others, and then the development of reflection continues in a person throughout his conscious life.

Human and reflection

Over time, a mentally healthy and mature person develops reflection to such a stage that he can already organize self-knowledge on the basis of contact with others.

It is developed reflection that makes it possible for a person not to react to external factors affectively, but to observe and track the manifestations of certain feelings, states and deal with them, asking oneself a question about how certain feelings appeared, why such a situation appeared, etc.

That is, developed reflection gives an individual the opportunity to discover cause-and-effect, temporary and other connections and to understand himself.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that for a person who has developed reflection, everything in life can become a conducive source for a deeper knowledge of himself.

Reflection enables a person to understand himself more clearly, makes a picture of himself deeper. In addition, knowing himself better and better, he has new chances and facets, which he had never thought about before.

But in fact, this is not so easy for a person, especially if he has experiences that are associated with pain and negative emotions. In this case, it is very painful and anxious for a person, and in some cases it is embarrassing, to reveal himself with the help of reflection is simply unbearable. Therefore, it often happens that people choose to avoid it.

Lack of reflection

Unfortunately, there are times when a person lacks reflection. This is due to a violation of perception, thinking in humans. In this case, a person can go to two extremes.

In the first case, this leads to the fact that the individual is dominated by rational vision and dominated by impulses and affect. All this leads a person to such an oppressive state, when only danger appears around him and he begins to defend himself from everyone and everything.

In this case, all attempts on the part of relatives, friends, relatives and even a psychologist to help this person further aggravate the condition. Moreover, all this confirms his sense of insecurity and the fact that everyone around him is hostile to him.

In the second case, a person may experience a feeling of emptiness. And this is due to the fact that the individual has no connection between some events and internal motives. In this case, a person has one ready answer for everything - “I don’t know”.

That is why it is very important to undergo therapy in order to develop reflection. Since it is on its basis that a person builds up a base of properties and capabilities that are simply necessary for an individual in life.

Life example

To make it clearer, let's look at an example of how the presence or absence of reflection affects the behavior of people.

Everyone is familiar with such an unpleasant, but alas, often met thing as a queue. It doesn't matter what kind of queue it is, the main thing is that different people always behave differently in them.

Here you can find different variants: for example, some person, seeing the queue, does not even try to get in the queue and simply leaves, deciding that it is easier to abandon his goal. And among those who nevertheless decided to stand in line, you can meet annoyed people who do not even try to hide it, they are very emotional, they throw out all their irritability and annoyance on others, both with the help of body language and verbally. As everyone can guess, it is they who become the culprits of noisy scandals in the queues.

Or they find like-minded people who are also unpleasant to stand in line, but because of the less aggressiveness they endure everything quietly.

There are those who endlessly complain about everything and are eager to find themselves a listener who will listen to him and agree in everything. And in such mini-groups, whole heated debates can be created, which can go far beyond the limits of this situation.

There are people in the queues who themselves assume the role of a peacemaker and begin to establish order and make sure that there are no violations in the queue.

For the most part, people will be looking at their gadgets, listening to music, reading or chatting on the phone ... breaking away from there from time to time to keep track of the queue and nothing more.

There may also be those who will walk from side to side in order to relieve stress in this way. And some will study the interior and other people, closely following what is happening around.

There are also those in the queues who quietly stand to the side, looking at them one might think that they have reflection, since it seems that a person is thinking about something, but this is not reflection. In most cases, the thinking of such people is a permanent grind of obsessions.

There may be those who begin to feel bodily discomfort, and the longer the queue lasts, the more this all causes them bodily suffering. In this case, somatic reactions can be observed: coughing, nausea may appear, spots may appear on the skin, pain in the stomach, if a person has problems with blood pressure, then there may be increased pressure, fainting, and the like.

All this has nothing to do with reflection. Rather, these are ways of responding that have become a habit and, thanks to which, a person is unconscious level organizes coping with their own aggressiveness.

In other words, in different life situations a person acts differently: someone behaves aggressively and seethes like a boiling pan. The second, avoiding trouble, "hides", being distracted by everything he can: seizes, listens to others, thinks or just chatters. In others, everything is transferred to bodily movements or states.

And no matter how people react differently to certain situations, the basis of this is still the desire to avoid those experiences that are dangerous for them. That is, a person does everything to avoid contact with his inner, sensual content.

In the event that a person is capable of reflection, then he will have a different reaction to his own aggression or experiences. First of all, a reflexive person notices what is happening to him. After all, he knows his feelings and is able to withstand them. And now, peering deep into himself, he will notice that he has got irritation, or internal anger. And when he sees the manifestation of these feelings in himself, he does not seek, like most people, to run away from own feelings and emotions. A person who has developed reflection, after seeing the manifestation of new feelings in himself, begins to think about how and as a result of which this or that reaction appeared.

After that, he goes through the stage of assessing specific circumstances (whether this situation can threaten life or not), and only after that the person makes a decision (to stay or leave).

Such people are characterized by deep self-examination, they ask themselves the question: what exactly in a particular case causes me discomfort? What can I not stand in this situation?

These questions to yourself make it possible to look inside yourself, reflect and understand your inner content, your reactions.

A person who has developed reflection will never make judgments based on external circumstances. He will not say: "All around there are freaks", "What a state", "Life is unfair", "I am a worthless weakling" and the like.

In fact, only people whose level of reflection is high can achieve this. Therefore, if you do not succeed right away, then you do not need to worry, since below we will talk about how you can develop reflection.

How to develop this quality in yourself?

In fact, having understood how important reflection is, a person realizes that it is necessary to develop and raise the level of reflection in himself. Fortunately, today there are many techniques and possibilities for this.

For example, a person can learn in certain situations instead of immediately getting irritated, showing aggression, a person can ask himself questions that will be some kind of "guides" into the inner world. A person may ask himself the following questions:

• Why can't I control myself?
• What exactly is driving me crazy right now?
• Why is it so hard for me?
• What are the external manifestations of my aggression, anger, resentment ...?
• What circumstances have brought me to the same state before?
• Why should I control myself in this situation?

When a person asks himself these and other similar questions, a picture unfolds before him. A person can easily see that their reaction to this situation it is nothing more than a past experience of the past. And when a person realizes this, then he may experience a decrease in anger, anger, resentment.

If we return to our example with the queue, then a person may have associations with early childhood, when he was still waiting for his mother, but she did not come. As strange as it may seem, symbolic thinking does something different with a person. And when a person realizes this, then it is much easier for him to cope with the expectation.

A person can also develop reflection with the help of a psychotherapist. At sessions of psychotherapy, with the help of a specialist, everyone can reveal in themselves the gift of knowing oneself from the inside. Naturally, at the beginning, it is very difficult and for different people this manifests itself at a different time interval: for someone it may take years, someone can achieve success in a month or two. It all depends on what kind of person the psychotherapist is working with. After all, the higher the degree of pain experienced by a person, the more difficult it is to open up.

However, after a person manages to achieve reflection, then new opportunities open up before him, the quality of life and life itself change.

Reflection is a quality inherent only in man, as a higher being, which makes him different from other living organisms. Philosophers, psychologists, teachers are interested in this concept, they are actively studying this phenomenon, its significance for the human person, and also looking for ways to develop this quality in the person on their own.

The concept of reflection comes from the Latin reflecto, which means turning back, thinking. Such a phenomenon as reflection has many definitions, each of which is unique.

Reflection is the ability of a person to direct his own thoughts to his consciousness, the products of his behavioral activity, accumulated knowledge and skills, as well as to actions that have already been committed or are planned to be perfect in the future. Simply put, reflection is the ability to look inside one's own subconscious and evaluate one's own patterns of behavior, emotional response to others, and decision-making. Reflecting means focusing on one's own “I” and comprehending its content.

Reflexivity is the ability of a person to go beyond his own “I”, reflect, engage in introspection and draw appropriate conclusions from these reflections. Comparing your personality with others is the ability to critically and adequately look at yourself with someone else's eyes, as if from the outside.

Now it becomes clear what reflection is, what it is for and what can be achieved by developing this quality in oneself. Frantic pace modern life leaves a person with little time to think about his actions and cognize his own inner world. Meanwhile, the ability to conduct introspection and reflect on your own mistakes is extremely important for the development of a full-fledged, self-sufficient personality. In the course of developing reflection skills, a person can learn to realize his uniqueness, the difference from the people around him, to form his thoughts, goals and purpose in this world.

Concept in philosophy

Reflection in philosophy is superior view a phenomenon that includes reflections on the foundations of human culture and on the original design of human existence.

Socrates argued that reflection is the main of the possible means of self-knowledge and self-improvement of a person, it is the ability to assess their thoughts and actions critically that distinguishes a person, as a higher being, from all other creatures inhabiting the planet. It is thanks to the ability for reflection that a person has the opportunity to progress, get rid of prejudices, obsessive thoughts, mistakes and misconceptions.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote in his writings that reflection is a quality inherent in a rational person, distinguishing him from an animal and giving him the opportunity not only to know, but also to be aware of this knowledge.

Ernst Cassirer argued that reflection is given to a person to isolate the most important points among other things "rubbish" in the depths of the subconscious and sensory phenomena, and focusing on the main points.

Psychological concept

Reflection in psychology is one of the forms of introspection, therefore it plays a major role in the science of a person's ability to refer to his subconscious by analyzing thoughts, actions and goals.

The first who proposed to bring reflection into an independent concept was A. Busemann. Reflection, according to Busemann, is the transfer of a person's emotional experiences from the external world to the internal world, that is, inside his “I”. In 1920, he began the study of personal reflection, through experiments, through an empirical study of self-awareness, a group of adolescents.

In the writings of L. Rubinstein it is said that the ability to reflect is the ability of a person to recognize the boundaries of his "I". He argued that without this quality, the development of a full-fledged, mature personality is impossible.

A reflexive act is a person's ability to stop the flow of his own thought processes and switch from automatic thinking to awareness of his mental and spiritual inner world. As a result of such actions, the individual acquires the ability not only to think, analyze, reflect, but also just live.

What can be given to a person by reflexive activity or reflection:

• assessment of one's own thoughts, as if from the outside, for their consistency, consistency, validity;
• clearing your own consciousness from useless and unnecessary reflections;
• transformation of hidden opportunities into explicit and fruitful ones, for deep self-knowledge;
• assessment of their own patterns of behavior in various situations;
• the choice of a clear position in life, instead of indecision and hesitation.

Thus, through the presence of such a quality as reflection, a person can grow in understanding of his own "I", master self-control and move on the path to dramatic changes.

A person with a low ability to reflect daily performs a number of the same erroneous actions mechanically. R. Einstein believed that making the same erroneous actions every day and at the same time expecting different results is the path to insanity. Indeed, without the ability to analyze one's own personality (reflection), failures in thought processes will accumulate over time and grow like a snowball.

Role in psychological practice

A psychologist who uses the method of reflection while working with a patient helps him look into the depths of his consciousness and study his inner “I”. If the work is carried out methodically and successfully, a person learns to have the ability to analyze his own thoughts, actions and goals, begins to better understand himself. With the help of the reflexive method (reflection), the psychologist directs the patient to accept the only correct decision, in thinking and looking for a way out of a problem situation, with the help of focusing inside your own personality.

Disassembling some specific situation, from which a person is looking for a way out, the psychologist helps him to realize the following points:

• what kind of sensations and emotional experiences the patient is experiencing at this stage;
• what place in the subconscious he considers weak and vulnerable, that is, affected by the external situation;
• how to use the difficulties brought problem situation and turn them the other way, getting the benefit of this for yourself.

The essence of the psychologist's work with the reflexive method (reflection) is determined by the patient's direction to an independent search for answers to difficult questions and ways out of problem situations.

There are several parts of his own "I", which the patient begins to realize with the help of a psychologist:

In their work, psychologists use three methods (varieties) of reflexivity:

1. Situational. Allows the individual to penetrate deeply into the root of the situation and critically assess all possible nuances of what is happening.
2. Sanogenic reflection. It allows you to regulate your own manifestations of emotions, blocking heavy, unnecessary experiences and reflections in your mind.
3. Retrospective. Allows a person to look back, analyze mistakes made in the past, and gain new useful experiences.

Psychologists working with the reflective method (reflection) claim that it is The best way creating harmony in the consciousness of the individual and self-improvement. With the help of reflection, a person learns to “collect” vague and incomprehensible thoughts in the depths of the subconscious, transforming them into successful ideas that help to achieve success and well-being.

Reflection gives a person the opportunity not only to know his inner world, but also to see from the outside, how others perceive him, and also to know himself as ideal (such as the person dreams of becoming).

Varieties of reflection

Traditionally in psychology, reflection is divided into several types:

1. Communicative - acts as a mechanism of cognition of the surrounding people, and the object of this type of reflection is the actions, behavioral patterns and reactions of another person. The reasons for the committed actions give an idea of the inner world strangers.
2. Personal. The object of cognition is the personality of the person himself, his own behavior, actions, attitude towards the people around him and himself are assessed.
3. Intellectual - develops in the course of solving problems of various directions. With the help of this kind of reflection, a person learns again and again to return to the conditions of the problem, looking for best options its permissions are more appropriate and rational.

Other researchers identify several more types of reflection - these are philosophical, psychological, social and scientific. Reflections in philosophy and psychology have been discussed above. It is necessary to talk in more detail about the following two types of reflection:

Reflection should not be confused with self-awareness, although the concepts are very similar. Self-awareness is an individual's understanding of his actions, thoughts and feelings, coming through culture, the feeling of his own body, through the rules and norms of behavior formed by society, as well as through communication and interaction in social environment(with people around). That is, life itself teaches a person to exercise self-control, evaluate their actions, their consistency and consistency, and also take responsibility for the actions performed.

How to develop quality in yourself

To master the skills of reflection (and almost anyone can do this), you can use the following methods:

• analyze the actions taken, especially after taking important decisions;
• try to give yourself an adequate assessment;
• think and evaluate their own actions through the eyes of other people, drawing adequate conclusions from this and gaining valuable life experience;
• the work day needs to be finished by mentally analyzing all the episodes, including those that brought satisfaction. Unsuccessful episodes are best judged through the eyes of a stranger;
• regularly check whether the opinion of a person, formed in the mind, coincides with what actually is;
• communicate more with those people who have an opposite point of view on things, this will make it possible to activate the ability to develop reflection through understanding another person.

Developing reflexive skills (reflection), each person, after six months, will be able to notice changes in himself - to see the ability to understand not only himself, but also those around him, to predict the actions and thoughts of strangers. This will bring a large mass of positive energy, because nothing contributes to the development of a harmonious and self-sufficient personality as the ability to understand oneself and others, as well as to control what is happening through communication and self-improvement.