Summary: The concept of social psychology. Subject, tasks and structure of social psychology

Social psychology is a scientific discipline that was born at the junction of two sciences (psychology and sociology), which introduces certain difficulties in formulating the subject of social psychology research, in defining the range of problems studied.

Sociology (from Latin socius - social + ancient Greek. Hbuos; - science) is the science of society, the systems that make it up, the laws of its functioning and development, social institutions, relationships and communities.

Social psychology is a science that studies psychological phenomena (processes, states and properties) that characterize an individual and a group as subjects of social interaction.

The subject of social psychology is a system of social and psychological phenomena based on the mental interaction of people, in connection with which social psychology studies:
psychological processes, states and properties of the individual, which are manifested as a result of his inclusion in relations with other people, in various social groups (family, educational and labor groups, etc.) and in the whole in the system of social relations (economic, political, managerial , legal, etc.), the most often studied are sociability, aggressiveness, compatibility with other people, conflict potential, etc.;
the phenomenon of interaction between people, for example, marital, child-parent, pedagogical, psychotherapeutic, etc.; at the same time, interaction can be not only interpersonal, but also between an individual and a group, as well as intergroup;
psychological processes, states and properties of various social groups as holistic formations, differing from each other and not reducible to any individual; social psychologists are most interested in studies of the socio-psychological climate of a group and conflict relations (group states), leadership and group actions (group processes), cohesion, harmony and conflict (group properties), etc .;
mass mental phenomena such as crowd behavior, panic, rumors, fashion, mass enthusiasm, glee, apathy, fears, etc.

The object of social psychology is the various social communities of people; psychology of Personality as a member of these communities:
personality in a group (relationship system),
interaction in the "personality - personality" system (parent - child, leader - executor, doctor - patient, psychologist - client, etc.),
small group (family, school class, labor brigade, military crew, group of friends, etc.),
interaction in the "personality - group" system (the leader is the followers, the leader is the work collective, the commander is the platoon, the newcomer is the school class, etc.),
interaction in the "group - group" system (team competition, group negotiations, intergroup conflicts, etc.),
a large social group (ethnos, party, social movement, social strata, territorial, confessional groups, etc.).

In accordance with the main objects of research, modern social psychology has been differentiated into such sections as:
social psychology of personality,
psychology of interpersonal interaction (communication and relationships),
small group psychology,
psychology of intergroup interaction,
psychology of large social groups and mass phenomena.

Within the framework of social psychology, several psychological schools can be distinguished: functionalism, behaviorism, humanistic psychology, co-gnitivism and interactionism.

Functionalism (or functional psychology) arose under the influence of the evolutionary theory in biology of Charles Darwin and the evolutionary theory of social Darwinism of G. Spencer, who believed that the basic law of social development is the law of survival of the fittest societies and social groups. Representatives of functionalism (D. Dewey, D. Njell, G. Carr and others) studied people and social groups from the point of view of their social adaptation - adaptation to difficult living conditions. The main socio-psychological problem of functionalism is the problem of the most optimal conditions for social adaptation of the subjects of social life.

Behaviorism (later non-behaviorism) is a behavioral psychology that studies the problems of patterns of human and animal behavior (IV Pavlov, VM Bekhterev, D. Watson, B. Skinner, etc.). Behavior was viewed as an objective, observable reality that can be investigated under experimental conditions. The central problem of behaviorism is the problem of learning, i.e. gaining individual experience through trial and error. Four laws of learning are identified: the law of effect, the law of exercise, the law of readiness and the law of associative shift.

The psychoanalytic direction is associated with the name of Z. Freud, who investigated the problems of unconscious, irrational processes in the personality and in her behavior. He believed that the aggregate of drives acts as the central driving force of a person. Some of the aspects of this direction were developed in the works of K. Jung and A. Adler. Socio-psychological problems of the direction: the conflict between man and society, manifested in the clash of a person's drives with social prohibitions; the problem of sources of social activity of the individual.

Humanistic psychology (G. Allport, A. Maslow, K. Rogers, etc.) investigated a person as a fully developing person who seeks to realize his potentialities and achieve self-actualization, personal growth. In each a normal person there is a tendency towards self-expression and self-realization.

Cognitivism interprets social behavior of a person as a set of predominantly cognitive processes and focuses on the process of human cognition of the world, his comprehension of the essence of phenomena by means of basic cognitive mental processes (memory, attention, etc.). In the course of this cognition, his impressions of the world are transformed into a system of images, on the basis of which various ideas, beliefs, expectations and attitudes are formed, which ultimately determine his actions and deeds. Representatives of these trends S. Ash, K. Levin, T. Newcomb, F. Haider, L. Festinger and others made a significant contribution to social psychology. The problem of cognition is human decision-making. Representatives of the cognitive school (J. Piaget, J. Bruner, R. Atkinson and others) paid special attention to the knowledge of a person and the ways of its formation.

Interactionism (later symbolic interactionism) investigated the problems of the social aspect of interaction between people in the process of activity and communication. The main idea of ​​interactionism: personality is always social and cannot be formed outside of society. Special importance was attached to communication as the exchange of symbols and the development of common meanings and meanings.

Reduces social and psychological phenomena to interpersonal interaction, seeing in it a source of explanation of the essence, origin and dynamics of these phenomena. He explains the formation of personality by situations of communication and interaction of people with each other, which should be understood as systems of mutually oriented actions and reactions deployed in time. The state of society, relationships and personality, according to its ideologists (E. Hoffman, R. Linton, T. Newcomb, M. Sheriff, etc.), are nothing more than a product of communication between people, the result of their adaptation to each other.

The entire set of methods of socio-psychological research can be divided into two large groups: research methods and methods of influence. The latter belong to a specific area of ​​social psychology, to the "psychology of influence."

Among the research methods, there are methods of collecting information and methods of processing it. Data processing methods are often not highlighted in special unit since most of them are not specific for social psychological research.

Methods of collecting information: observation, reading documents (content analysis), polls (questionnaires, interviews), tests (the most common sociometric test), experiment (laboratory, natural).

Consider the leading methods of socio-psychological research.

Observation in social psychology is a method of collecting information through direct, purposeful and systematic perception and registration of socio-psychological phenomena (facts of behavior and activity) in natural conditions. The observation method can be used as one of the central, independent research methods.

Objects of observation are individuals, small groups and large social communities (for example, a crowd) and social processes taking place in them, for example, panic.

The subject of observation is usually the verbal and non-verbal acts of behavior of an individual or a group as a whole in a particular social situation. The most typical verbal and non-verbal characteristics of A.L. Zhuravlev classifies speech acts (their content, direction and sequence, frequency, duration and intensity, as well as expressiveness); expressive movements (expression of eyes, face, body, etc.); physical actions, i.e. touching, pushing, hitting, joint actions, etc.

The main disadvantages of this method include:
high subjectivity in data collection, introduced by the observer (the effects of halo, contrast, condescension, modeling, etc.) and the observed (the effect of the presence of the observer);
predominantly qualitative nature of the findings of the observation;
relative limitation in generalization of research results.

Ways to increase the reliability of observation results are associated with the use of reliable observation schemes, technical means of data recording, training the observer, and minimizing the effect of the observer's presence.

The document analysis method is a variety of methods for analyzing the products of human activity. Any information recorded in printed or handwritten text, on magnetic or photographic media is called a document.

All methods of document analysis are divided into traditional (qualitative) and formalized (qualitative and quantitative). Any method is based on the mechanisms of the process of understanding the text, i.e. the interpretation by the researcher of the information contained in the document.

Content analysis (content analysis) is a way of translating textual information into quantitative indicators with its subsequent statistical processing. The quantitative characteristics of the text obtained with the help of content analysis make it possible to draw conclusions about the qualitative, including latent (implicit) content of the text. In this regard, the method of content analysis is often referred to as the qualitative and quantitative analysis of documents.

The survey method is a very common method in socio-psychological research. The essence of the method is to obtain information about objective or subjective (opinions, moods, motives, attitudes, etc.) facts from the words of the respondents.

Among the many types of survey, two main types are most common:
a) direct survey ("face to face") - an interview, face-to-face survey conducted by the researcher in the form of questions and answers with the respondent (respondent);
b) correspondence survey - a survey using a self-filling questionnaire (questionnaire) by the respondents themselves.

The source of information during the survey is the verbal or written judgment of the interviewed person. The depth, completeness of the answers, their reliability depend on the ability of the researcher to correctly construct the design of the questionnaire. There are special techniques and rules for conducting a survey.

An interview is a type of survey. There are two types: standardized and non-standardized interviews. In the first case, the interview assumes the presence of standard formulations of questions and their sequence, determined in advance.

The non-standardized interview technique is flexible and varies widely. The interviewer is guided only by general plan survey, formulating questions in accordance with the specific situation and answers of the respondent.

It is customary to highlight the key phases: establishing contact, the main part and completion of the interview. Criteria for the effectiveness of the interview: completeness (breadth) - it should allow the interviewee to cover, as much as possible, various aspects of the problem under discussion; specificity (specificity) - it should contain accurate answers for each aspect of the problem that is significant for the respondent; depth (personal meaning) - it must reveal the emotional, cognitive and value aspects of the respondent's attitude to the situation under discussion; personal context - the interview is designed to reveal the characteristics of the interviewee's personality and his life experience.

The types of questionnaires are divided by the number of respondents (individual and group), by location, by the method of distribution of the questionnaires (handout, postal, press). Among the most significant drawbacks of the handout, and especially the postal and press poll are the low percentage of return of the questionnaires, the lack of control over the quality of filling out the questionnaires, the use of only questionnaires that are very simple in structure and volume.

The preference for the type of survey is determined by the objectives of the study, its program, and the level of study of the problematic. The main advantage of the questionnaire is associated with the possibility of mass coverage of a large number of respondents and its professional accessibility. The information obtained in the interview is more meaningful and in-depth in comparison with the questionnaire. However, the disadvantage is, first of all, the difficultly controllable influence of the personality and professional level of the interviewer on the respondent, which can lead to a distortion of the objectivity and reliability of information.

The Group Assessment Method (GOL) is a method of obtaining the characteristics of a person in a particular group based on the mutual questioning of its members about each other.

This method allows you to assess the presence and degree of severity (development) of a person's psychological qualities, which are manifested in behavior and activity, in interaction with other people. The widespread use of GOL for applied and research purposes is associated with its simplicity and accessibility for users, the ability to diagnose those human qualities for which there is no reliable toolkit (tests, questionnaires), etc. The psychological basis of GOL is the socio-psychological phenomenon of group ideas about each of the members groups as a result of mutual knowledge of people with each other in the process of communication.

A test is a short, standardized, usually time-limited test. With the help of tests in social psychology, interindividual, intergroup differences are determined. On the one hand, it is believed that tests are not a specific socio-psychological method, and all methodological standards adopted in general psychology are also valid for social psychology.

On the other hand, a wide range of socio-psychological methods used for diagnosing a person and a group, intergroup interaction allows us to speak of tests as an independent means of empirical research.

Areas of application of tests in social psychology:
diagnostics of groups,
the study of interpersonal and intergroup relationships and social perception,
social and psychological properties of a person (social intelligence, social competence, leadership style, etc.).

The testing procedure assumes that the subjects (a group of subjects) perform a special task or receive answers to a number of questions that are indirect in the tests. The point of post-processing is to use the "key" to correlate the obtained data with certain parameters of assessment, for example, with the characteristics of a person. The final measurement result is expressed as a test value.

The term "experiment" has two meanings in social psychology:
experience and testing, as is customary in natural sciences;
research in the logic of identifying cause-and-effect relationships. One of existing definitions method of experiment indicates that it presupposes an interaction organized by the researcher between the subject (or group) and the experimental situation in order to establish the patterns of this interaction. Among the specific features of an experiment, one can distinguish modeling of phenomena and conditions of research (experimental situation); active influence of the researcher on the phenomena (variation of variables); measuring the reactions of the subjects to this effect; reproducibility of results.

The experiment is criticized primarily for its low ecological validity, that is, the impossibility of transferring the conclusions obtained in the experimental situation beyond its limits (into natural conditions).

Nevertheless, there is a point of view that the problem of the validity of an experiment lies not in the fact that the facts obtained in the experiment have no scientific value, but in their adequate theoretical interpretation.

Despite many critical assessments of this method, experiment remains an important means of obtaining reliable information in socio-psychological research.

The sociometry method refers to the toolkit for the socio-psychological study of the structure of small groups, as well as the personality as a member of the group. The area of ​​measurement by sociometric technique is the diagnosis of interpersonal and intragroup relationships. Using the sociometric method, they study the typology of social behavior in the conditions of group activity, assess the cohesion and compatibility of group members.

The sociometric procedure can be aimed at:
a) measuring the degree of cohesion-disunity in the group;
b) identification of "sociometric positions", i.e. the relative authority of the members of the group on the basis of sympathy-antipathy, where the “leader” of the group and the “rejected” find themselves at the extreme poles;
c) detection of intragroup subsystems, cohesive formations, which may be headed by their own informal leaders.

The use of sociometry makes it possible to measure the authority of formal and informal leaders for regrouping people in teams so as to reduce tensions in the team arising from mutual hostility of some group members. The sociometric technique is carried out by a group method, its implementation does not require much time (up to 15 minutes). It is very useful in applied research, especially in work to improve team relationships. But she is not in a radical way resolution of intragroup problems, the reasons for which should be sought not in the likes and dislikes of the group members, but in deeper sources.

Measurement involves interviewing each member of a small group in order to identify those members of the group with whom he would prefer (chose) or, on the contrary, did not want to participate in a certain type of activity or situation. The measurement procedure includes the following items:
determination of the option (number) of elections (deviations);
selection of criteria (questions) of the survey;
organizing and conducting a survey;
processing and interpretation of results using quantitative (sociometric indices) and graphical (sociogram) methods of analysis.

Lecture 1

Social psychology concept. Subject, tasks and structure of social psychology. The place of social psychology in the system of scientific knowledge.

The subject of social psychology.

Social Psychology- the branch of psychological knowledge that studies the patterns of behavior and activities of people, due to the fact of their inclusion in social groups, as well as psychological characteristics the groups themselves. Social psychology as a branch of psychological science arises at the junction of general psychology and sociology.

Contemporary views O subject of social psychology are extremely differentiated, that is, differing from each other, which is typical for most border, related branches of science, to which social psychology belongs. She studies the following phenomena:

1. Psychological processes, states and properties of the individual, which are manifested as a result of his inclusion in relations with other people, in various social groups (family, educational and labor groups, etc.) and in general in the system of social relations (economic, political , managerial, legal, etc.). Most often, such manifestations of personality in groups are studied as: sociability, aggressiveness, compatibility with other people, conflict potential, etc.

2. The phenomenon of interaction between people, in particular, the phenomenon of communication, for example: conjugal, child-parent, pedagogical, managerial, psychotherapeutic and many other types of it. Interaction can be not only interpersonal, but also between an individual and a group, as well as between groups.

3. Psychological processes, states and properties of various social groups as integral formations, differing from each other and not reducible to any individual. The greatest interest of social psychologists is aroused by studies of the socio-psychological climate of a group and conflict relations (group states), leadership and group actions (group processes), cohesion, harmony and conflict (group properties), etc.

4. Mass mental phenomena such as: crowd behavior, panic, rumors, fashion, mass enthusiasm, glee, apathy, fears, etc.

According to Myasishchev, social psychology studies: 1. changes in the mental activity of people in a group under the influence of interaction; 2.features of groups; 3. the mental side of the processes of society.

According to B.D. Parygina, social psychology studies: 1. social psychology of personality; 2. Social psychology of community and communication; 3. social relationships; 4.forms of spiritual activity.

G.M. Andreeva writes that the subject of social psychology was defined mainly by three approaches. The supporters of the first approach - sociologists - understood social psychology as the science of "mass phenomena of the psyche" (about social psychology), the supporters of the second approach considered the subject of research the personality, the adherents of the third approach considered social psychology as a science that studies both mass psychological processes and the position of the individual in group.

Combining different approaches to understanding subject social psychology , it can be defined as follows: with social psychology studies psychological phenomena (processes, states and properties) that characterize an individual and a group as subjects social interactions.

Depending on one or another understanding of the subject of social psychology, the main objects of its study are distinguished, that is, carriers of social and psychological phenomena. These include: a person in a group (system of relationships), interaction in the "personality - personality" system (parent - child, leader - performer, doctor - patient, psychologist - client, etc.), small group (family, school class , labor brigade, military crew, a group of friends, etc.), interaction in the "personality - group" system (follower leader, work collective leader, platoon commander, newcomer - school class, etc.), interaction in the system "group - group" (competition of teams, group negotiations, intergroup conflicts, etc.), a large social group (ethnos, party, social movement, social strata, territorial, confessional groups, etc.).

The tasks of social psychology .

Currently requests for socially psychological research comes from all spheres of social life. Practical inquiries even outstrip the development of theoretical knowledge. From this position follow two main tasks social psychologists and: 1. development of practical recommendations obtained in the course of applied research, which are so necessary for practice; 2. Completion of your own knowledge as an integral system of scientific knowledge with the refinement of your own subject, the development of special theories and special research methodology.

home task that stands in front of social psychology, - to reveal the specific mechanism of interweaving the individual into the fabric of social reality.

There are several areas of socio-psychological analysis, each of which performs its own tasks:

1. interaction in the I – other system (the study of interpersonal relations arising in the process of communication, the study of the mechanisms of knowledge and understanding by people of each other, the ways of organizing their common activities, research aimed at identifying the means and possibilities of influence of one person on another);

2. study of the influence of various social conditions on the behavior and personality traits of a person. This includes the problem of socialization, social attitudes, social preferences, it is investigated in what ways the group and society as a whole affect the formation and change of the human personality;

3. the influence of the I on social conditions (the study of the socio-psychological history of a person not only from the point of view of those social conditions that determined a person's capabilities, but also from the side of the active influence of the individual on the social world around him);

4. interaction in the Group – Group system. Social psychology considers a group as an integral social system, a living self-organizing and self-developing organism that has certain goals in its activity, which has certain unique features. Social psychology studies the mechanisms of intergroup interaction, is looking for means and methods to increase the effectiveness of communication between various social groups.

The structure of modern social psychology, its place in the system of scientific knowledge.

The structure (or structure, composition) of social psychology in each historical period of its development is the result of the interaction of two opposite, but closely related processes: a) differentiation, that is, division, fragmentation of social psychology into its component parts, sections; b) its integration with other and not only psychological branches of science, and the integration of social psychology both as a whole and its individual constituent parts.

Differentiation of social psychology

The processes of division of social psychology are taking place for many reasons, but several main directions have already taken shape:

1. Orientation to various (theoretical, empirical, in particular, experimental and practical) methods of analysis of socio-psychological phenomena generates, respectively, theoretical, empirical (including experimental) and practical social psychology. These interrelated parts in different ways implement the main functions of social psychology as a science: descriptive, explanatory, predictive, and the function of influence.

2. As a result of the study different types In the life of a person and his communities, the corresponding branches of social psychology have developed: the psychology of work, communication, social cognition and creativity, play. In turn, in the social psychology of labor, branches were formed that study certain types labor activity: management, leadership, entrepreneurship, engineering work, etc.

3. In accordance with the application of socio-psychological knowledge in various spheres of social life, social psychology is traditionally differentiated into its following practical branches: industrial, agriculture, trade, education, science, politics, mass communications, sports, art. At present, the social psychology of economics, advertising, culture, leisure, etc. is being intensively formed.

4. In accordance with the main objects of research, modern social psychology has been differentiated into such sections as:

social psychology of personality,

psychology of interpersonal interaction (communication and relationships),

small group psychology,

psychology of intergroup interaction,

psychology of large social groups and mass phenomena.

In social psychology, a section that could be called "the psychology of society" is being formed extremely slowly. At present, in the study of society, social psychology, in comparison with sociology, has no specificity in the methods of its study - this is the main circumstance that complicates the formation of such a section in social psychology.

Integration processes in social psychology

The structure of modern social psychology cannot be understood without considering the processes of its integration in the system of other sciences. At a minimum, there are two main contours of integration: external and internal.

External psychological contour of integration refers to its association with numerous psychological branches, at the junction with which arose relatively independent sub-branches - parts of social psychology. For example: social psychology of personality was formed as a result of integration of social psychology with psychology of personality, and social psychology of work - social psychology with psychology of work, etc. It can be stated that as a result of such integration by the end of the 90s of the XX century, about 10 sub-branches of social psychology.

The process of integration of social psychology with other psychological branches continues intensively: at present, socio-economic, socio-ecological, socio-historical and other sub-branches of social psychology are being formed.

Internal socio-psychological contour of integration refers to the development of social psychology itself and is manifested in the processes of combining the separating constituent parts of social psychology, which appeared as a result of the processes of its differentiation, which were discussed above.

First, internal integration concerns the simultaneous application of theoretical, empirical and practical methods of analysis of socio-psychological phenomena, which inevitably gives rise to complex types of research in social psychology, for example: theoretical-experimental, experimental-applied, etc.

Secondly, it is clearly manifested in the simultaneous study of various interrelated objects of social psychology, for example: personality and small work groups (teams) in an organization, small groups in large social groups, personality (for example, a leader) in a large social group (for example, a party or social movement), etc.

Thirdly, the most obvious direction of internal integration is the unification of those parts of social psychology that were differentiated according to the types of human activity and spheres of social life. As a result, a lot of interesting, and most importantly, useful scientific and practical directions such as: leadership psychology teaching staff(at the junction of social psychology of management and education), social psychology of creativity of engineers, psychology of leadership of a scientific team, psychology of social cognition in labor processes and communication.

The place of social psychology: the issue of the "boundaries" of social psychology is being discussed relatively independently. Here are the positions:

1) social psychology is a part of sociology;

2) social psychology is a part of psychology;

3) social psychology is a science "at the junction" of psychology and sociology,

Lecture 2

The history of the development of social psychology.

History of Russian social psychology

Long time it was believed that the origins of social psychology go back to Western science. Historical and psychological studies have shown that social psychology in our country has a distinctive history. The emergence and development of Western and Russian psychology took place, as it were, in parallel.

Domestic social psychology emerged at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The path of its formation has a number of stages: the emergence of social psychology in the social and natural sciences, the branching off from parental disciplines (sociology and psychology) and transformation into an independent science, the emergence and development of experimental social psychology.

The history of social psychology in our country has four periods:

I - 60s of the XIX century. - the beginning of the XX century.,

II - 20s - the first half of the 30s of the XX century;

III - the second half of the 30s - the first half of the 50s;

IV - the second half of the 50s - the second half of the 70s of the XX century.

The first period (60s of the XIX century - the beginning of the XX centuries)

During this period, the development of Russian social psychology was determined by the peculiarities of the socio-historical development of society, the state and specificity of the development of social and natural sciences, the peculiarities of the development of general psychology, the specificity of scientific traditions, culture, and the mentality of society.

Great influence on development social psychology provided the process of self-determination of psychology in the system of sciences about nature, society, man. There was a sharp struggle for the status of psychology, the problem of its subject and research methods was discussed. There was a cardinal question about who and how to develop psychology.

The main empirical source of social psychology was outside psychology. Knowledge about the behavior of an individual in a group, group processes was accumulated in military and legal practice, in medicine, in the study of national characteristics of behavior, in the study of beliefs and customs.

Social and psychological ideas during this period were successfully developed by representatives of the social sciences, primarily sociologists. The most developed socio-psychological concept is contained in the works of N.K. Mikhailovsky. In his opinion, the socio-psychological factor plays a decisive role in the course of the historical process. The laws operating in social life must be sought in social psychology. Mikhailovsky is responsible for the development of the psychology of mass social movements, one of the varieties of which are revolutionary movements. Heroes and the crowd are the agents of social development. Complex psychological processes arise when they interact. The crowd in the concept of N.K. Mikhailovsky acts as an independent socio-psychological phenomenon. The leader controls the crowd. It is put forward by a specific crowd at certain points in the historical process. It accumulates disparate feelings, instincts, and thoughts functioning in the crowd. The relationship between the hero and the crowd is determined by the nature of a given historical moment, a given system, personal properties the hero, the mental mood of the crowd. Socio-psychological problems were especially clearly manifested in the scientific ideas of N.K. Mikhailovsky about the psychological characteristics of a leader, a hero, about the psychology of the crowd, about the mechanisms of interaction between people in a crowd. Exploring the problem of communication between the hero and the crowd, the interpersonal communication of people in the crowd, he singles out suggestion, imitation, infection, opposition as communication mechanisms. Chief among them is the imitation of people in the crowd. The basis of imitation is hypnotism. The final conclusion of N.K. Mikhailovsky is that the psychological factors of the development of society are imitation, social mood and social behavior.

VM Bekhterev occupies a special place in the pre-revolutionary history of the development of Russian social psychology. He began his studies in social psychology at the end of the 19th century. In 1908, the text of his speech at the solemn assembly meeting of the St. Petersburg Military Medical Academy was published. This speech focused on the role of suggestion in public life. Socio-psychological is his work "Personality and the conditions for its development" (1905). In the special socio-psychological work "The subject and tasks of public psychology as an objective science "(1911) contains a detailed presentation of his views on the essence of social and psychological phenomena, on subject of social psychology , methods this branch of knowledge. Ten years later, VM Bekhterev published his fundamental work "Collective Reflexology" (1921), which can be regarded as the first Russian textbook on social psychology. The principles of reflexological explanation of the essence of individual psychology were extended to the understanding of collective psychology.

The main merit of Bekhterev is that he is responsible for the development of a system of social and psychological knowledge. The subject of social psychology is the study of the psychological activity of assemblies and gatherings, made up of a mass of persons who manifest their neuropsychic activity as a whole. VM Bekhterev singles out the system-forming characteristics of the collective: the community of interests and tasks that induce the collective to the unity of actions. The organic inclusion of the personality in the community, in the activity led V.M.Bekhterev to understand the collective as a collective personality. V.M.Bekhterev singles out interaction, relationships, communication, collective hereditary reflexes, collective mood, collective concentration and observation, collective creativity, coordinated collective actions as social and psychological phenomena. The factors that unite people in a team are: mechanisms of mutual suggestion, mutual imitation, mutual induction. Language has a special place as a unifying factor. The position of V.M.Bekhterev that the collective as an integral unity is a developing formation seems to be important.

VM Bekhterev considered the question of the methods of this new branch of science. The works of V.M.Bekhterev contain a description of a large empirical material obtained through the use of objective observation, questionnaires, surveys. The experiment, staged by V.M.Bekhterev together with M.V. Lange, showed how social and psychological phenomena - communication, joint activity - affect the formation of processes of perception, ideas, memory. The work of M.V. Lange and V.M.Bekhterev (1925) laid the foundation for experimental social psychology in Russia. These studies served as the source of a special direction in Russian psychology - the study of the role of communication in the formation of mental processes.

Second period (20s - first half of 30s of XX century)

After the October Revolution of 1917, especially after the end of the civil war, during the recovery period, in our country, interest in social psychology... The period of the 1920s and 1930s was fruitful for social psychology in Russia. Its characteristic feature was the search for its own path in the development of world socio-psychological thought.

The content of the search for one's own path was the creation of a direction in Marxist psychology. The implementation of this goal has been controversial. The construction of Marxist social psychology was based on a solid materialist tradition in Russian philosophy. The works of N.I.Bukharin and G.V. Plekhanov occupied a special place in the 1920s and 1930s. The latter has a special place. Plekhanov's works, published before the revolution, entered the arsenal of psychological science (G.V. Plekhanov, 1957). These works were in demand by social psychologists, they were used by them for the Marxist understanding of social and psychological phenomena.

GI Chelpanov (GI Chelpanov, 1924) occupied a special place in discussions on the question of the restructuring of psychology on the basis of Marxism. He argued the need for an independent existence of social psychology along with individual, experimental psychology. Social psychology studies socially determined mental phenomena. It is closely related to ideology. Its connection with Marxism is organic, natural. A specially Marxist social psychology is a social psychology that studies the genesis of ideological forms according to a special Marxist method, which consists in studying the origin of these forms depending on changes in the social economy (G.I. Chelpanov, 1924).

One of the main directions in social psychology in the 1920s and 1930s was the study of the problem of collectives. The question of the nature of collectives was discussed. Three points of view were expressed. From the standpoint of the first, the collective is nothing more than a mechanical unit, a simple sum of its constituent individuals. Representatives of the second argued that the behavior of the individual is fatally predetermined common tasks and team structure. The middle position between these extreme positions was occupied by representatives of the third point of view, according to which individual behavior in a team changes, and at the same time, an independent creative character of behavior is inherent in the team as a whole. Many social psychologists (B.V.Belyaev (1921), L. Byzov (1924), L.N. Voitolovsky (1924), A.S. Zatuzhny (1930), M. A. Reisner (1925), G. A. Fortunatov (1925), etc. During this period, the foundation was essentially laid for subsequent studies of the psychology of groups and collectives in Russian science,

In the scientific and organizational formation of social psychology in Russia, the First All-Union Congress on the Study of Human Behavior, held in 1930, was of great importance.Problems of personality and problems of social psychology and collective behavior were singled out in one of three priority areas of discussion. Collectivism, which manifests itself in different ways in different conditions, in different associations, has become the main socio-psychological phenomenon. Theoretical, methodological, specific tasks for the study of the collective were reflected in a special resolution of the congress. The beginning of the 30s was the peak of the development of social and psychological research in applied fields, especially in pedology and psychotechnics.

The third period (the second half of the 30s - the second half of the 50s of the XX century.)

In the second half of the 1930s, the situation changed dramatically. The isolation of Russian science from Western psychology began. Translations of Western authors' works have ceased to be published. Inside the country, ideological control over science has increased. This constrained the creative initiative, gave rise to a fear of exploring socially sensitive issues. The number of studies in social psychology has sharply decreased, and books on this discipline have almost ceased to be published. A break has come in the development of Russian social psychology. In addition to the general political situation, the reasons for this break were as follows:

Theoretical substantiation of the uselessness of social psychology. In psychology, the point of view is widespread that, since all mental phenomena are socially determined, there is no need to single out specifically social and psychological phenomena and the science that studies them. One of the reasons for the break in the history of social psychology was the practical lack of demand for research results. The study of the opinions, moods of people, the psychological atmosphere in society was of no use to anyone, moreover, it was extremely dangerous.

The hiatus period, which began in the second half of the 30s, continued until the second half of the 50s. But even at this time there was no complete absence of socio-psychological research. The development of the theory and methodology of general psychology created the theoretical foundation of social psychology (B.G. Ananiev, L.S.Vygotsky, A.N. Leontyev, S.L. determination of mental phenomena, development of the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity and the principle of development.

The main source and scope of social psychology during this period were pedagogical research and teaching practice.

The central theme of this period was the psychology of the collective. The views of A.S. Makarenko were determining the shape of social psychology. He entered the history of social psychology primarily as a researcher of the collective and the education of the individual in the collective (A.S. Makarenko, 1956). A. S. Makarenko belongs to one of the definitions of the collective, which was the starting point for the development of socio-psychological problems in the following decades. The collective, according to A. S. Makarenko, is a purposeful complex of individuals, organized, possessing governing bodies. It is a contact set based on the socialist principle of unification. The collective is a social organism. The main features of the team are: the presence of common goals serving the good of society; joint activities aimed at achieving these goals; a certain structure; the presence in it of bodies that coordinate the activities of the team and represent its interests. The collective is a part of the society organically connected with other collectives. Makarenko gave a new classification of collectives. He identified two types: 1) primary collective: its members are in a constant friendly, everyday and ideological association (detachment, school class, family); 2) the secondary collective is a broader association.

AS Makarenko raised the question of the need for a holistic study of personality. The main theoretical and practical task is the study of personality, in a team.

The main problems in the study of personality were the relationship of the individual in the team, the determination of promising lines in its development, the formation of character. In this regard, the goal of human upbringing is the formation of projected personality traits, the lines of its development. For a full-fledged study of personality, it is necessary to study; the well-being of a person in a team; the nature of collective connections and reactions: discipline, readiness for action and inhibition; ability of tact and orientation; adherence to principles; emotional and promising aspiration. The study of the motivational sphere of the individual is essential.

The fourth period (second half of the 50s - the first half of the 70s of the XX century)

During this period, a special social and the intellectual situation in our country. "Warming" of the general atmosphere, weakening of administration in science, a decrease in ideological control, a certain democratization in all spheres of life led to the revival of the creative activity of scientists.

For social psychology it was important that interest in the person increased, they stood up tasks the formation of a comprehensively developed personality, its active life position. The situation in the social sciences has changed. Concrete sociological research began intensively. An important circumstance was the changes in psychological science. In the 1950s, psychology defended its right to an independent existence in heated discussions with physiologists. In general psychology, social psychology has received reliable support. A period of revival of social psychology began in our country.

For a certain reason, this period can be called a recovery period. Social psychology has developed as an independent science. The criteria for this independence were: awareness by the representatives of this science of the level of its development, the state of its research, characterization of the place of this science in the system of other sciences; definition of the subject and objects of its research; highlighting and defining the main categories and concepts; formulation of laws and patterns; institutionalization of science; training of specialists. Formal criteria include the publication of special works, articles, the organization of discussions at congresses, conferences, symposia. The state of social psychology in our country met all these criteria.

The final stage in the history of Russian social psychology was marked by the development of its main problems.In the field of methodology of social psychology, the concepts of G.M. Andreeva (1980), B.D.Parygin (1971), E.V. Shorokhova (1975) were fruitful. K. K. Platonov (1975), A. V. Petrovsky (1982), L. I. Umansky (1980) made a great contribution to the study of the problems of the collective. Studies of social psychology of personality are associated with the names of L. I. Bozhovich (1968), K. K. Platonov (! 965), V. A. Yadov (1975). The work of L.P.Bueva (1978), E.S.Kuzmin (1967) is devoted to the study of problems of activity. The study of social psychology of communication was carried out by A.A. Bodalev (1965), L. P. Bueva (1978), A. A. Leontiev (1975), B. F. Lomov (1975), B. D. Parygin (1971).

In the 70s, the organizational formation of social psychology was completed. It was institutionalized as an independent science. In 1962, the country's first laboratory of social psychology was organized at Leningrad State University; in 1968 - the first department of social psychology at the same university; in 1972 - a similar department at Moscow State University. In 1966, with the introduction of degrees in psychology, social psychology acquired the status of a qualifying scientific discipline. The systematic training of specialists in social psychology began. Groups are organized in scientific institutions; in 1972, the country's first sector of social psychology was created at the Institute of Psychology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Articles, monographs, collections are published. The problems of social psychologists are discussed at congresses, conferences, symposia, meetings.

Any person, unless he has accepted asceticism and does not live the life of a hermit, is part of society. He interacts with other people and fulfills his social role. And, as a rule, the communication of different people with each other is always different. All people are different and they can belong to different social groups, occupy different social positions, have different status, etc. Many factors influence the communication and relationships of people, and our task, as people striving for self-development and a better understanding of human nature, is to figure out what these factors are and what are the general features of human interaction and their behavior. And social psychology will help us to understand this topic, to which we devote the next lesson of our course.

In this lesson, we will understand what applied social psychology is, knowledge from the field of which we can successfully apply in practice. We will find out what the relationship of people is based on, we will understand what the tasks and problems of social psychology are, we will talk about its subject, object and methods. And we'll start by explaining the very concept of social psychology.

Social psychology concept

This is a section of psychology that is devoted to the study of human behavior in society and various groups, his perception of other people, communication with them and the influence on them. Knowledge of the basics of social psychology seems to be very important for psychologically correct upbringing person and the organization of interaction between the individual and the team.

Social psychology is a science that is at the intersection of psychology and sociology, therefore, it studies aspects of social psychology that are characteristic of both of these sciences. More specifically, we can say that social psychology studies:

• Social psychology of personality
• Social psychology of groups of people and communication
• Social relationships
• Forms of Spiritual Activity

Social psychology has its own sections:

In the opinion Galina Andreeva- a person whose name is associated with the development of social psychology in the USSR, this science is divided into three main sections:

• Social psychology of groups
• Social psychology of communication
• Social psychology of personality

Proceeding from this, it is possible to describe the range of problems of social psychology.

Problems, subject and object of social psychology

Social psychology, considering mainly the personality in society, sets itself the task of determining in what conditions a person assimilates social influences and in what conditions it realizes its social essence. It reveals how socio-typical traits are formed, why in some cases they appear, while in others some new ones have appeared. The study takes into account the system of interpersonal relationships, behavioral and emotional regulation. In addition, the behavior and activities of an individual are considered in specific social groups, the contribution of an individual to the activities of the entire group and the reasons that affect the size and value of this contribution are studied. The main reference point in the study of personality for social psychology is the relationship between the individual and the group.

Social Psychology Subject- these are the patterns of the emergence, functioning and manifestation of socio-psychological phenomena at the micro, middle and macro levels, as well as in different areas and conditions. But this is more related to the theoretical side of science. If we talk about the practical side of social psychology, then its subject will be a set of patterns of psychodiagnostics, counseling and the use of psychotechnologies in the field of social and psychological phenomena.

TO objects of social psychology are the carriers of socio-psychological phenomena themselves:

• Personality in the group and the system of relationships
• Human-human interaction (relatives, colleagues, partners, etc.)
• Small group (family, class, group of friends, work shift, etc.)
• The interaction of a person with a group (leaders and followers, bosses and subordinates, teachers and students, etc.)
• Interaction of groups of people (competitions, debates, conflicts, etc.)
• A large social group (ethnos, social stratum, Political Party, religious denomination, etc.)

To make it clearer what social psychology does and what it studies, you can ask questions about why, for example, some students in the class behave in one way and others in another? How does it affect the formation of a person's personality, for example, is it brought up by alcoholic parents or athletic parents? Or why do some people tend to give directions while others tend to follow them? If you are interested in finding out the psychological details of the communication of people or the interaction of groups of people with each other, then your needs in this matter will be perfectly satisfied by social psychology.

And, of course, for the study of the subject and object of social psychology to be the most effective, and for research to yield maximum results, social psychology, like any other science, must have a certain set of methods in its arsenal. We will talk about them below.

Social psychology methods

In general, it cannot be said about the specific methods of social psychology that they are independent of the general methods of psychology. Therefore, the use of any method should be conditioned by the specifics of the presented science, i.e. any method should be applied in a certain "methodological key".

The methods of social psychology themselves have their own classification and are divided into four groups:

• Empirical research methods (observation, experiment, instrumental methods, sociometry, document analysis, tests, survey, group personality assessment);
• Modeling method;
• Methods of administrative and educational influence;
• Methods of social and psychological impact.

Let's take a quick look at each group of methods.

Empirical research methods

Observation method. Observation in social psychology means the collection of information, which is carried out through direct, purposeful and systematic perception and registration of socio-psychological phenomena in laboratory or natural conditions. The basic material on observation is contained in our second lesson, from which you can learn about what types of observation exist and how they are characterized.

You can learn how the observation method works by checking it out on your own experience. For example, you would like to know what is of most interest to your growing child in the process ordinary life... To find out, you just need to observe him, his behavior, mood, emotions, reactions. Most of all, attention should be paid to speech acts, their orientation and content, physical actions and their expressiveness. Observation will help you to identify some individual interesting features in your child, or, conversely, to see that some tendencies are consolidating. The main task during the organization of observation is to accurately determine what you want to see and record, as well as the ability to identify the factors that influence this. If necessary, observation can be carried out systematically, use certain schemes for it, evaluate the results for any systems.

Document analysis method- this is one of the varieties of methods for analyzing the products of human activity. Any information recorded on any medium (paper, film, hard disk, etc.) is considered a document. Analysis of documents allows you to draw up a fairly accurate psychological description of a person's personality. This method is very popular among psychologists and ordinary people. For example, many parents, noticing some deviations in the development of their children and trying to find out their cause, turn to psychologists for help. And those, in turn, ask the parents to bring the drawings that their children have drawn. Based on the analysis of these drawings, psychologists come to some opinion and give parents appropriate recommendations. There is another example: as you know, many people keep diaries. Based on the study of these diaries, experienced specialists can draw up a psychological portrait of their owners and even determine what factors influenced the fact that a person's personality was formed in a specific way.

Polling method, in particular, interviews and questionnaires, are widespread in modern society. Moreover, not only in psychological circles. Interviews are taken from people from completely different social strata in order to obtain various kinds of information. The questionnaires are carried out in a similar way. If, for example, you are the head of a department in an organization and are trying to find an opportunity to improve the performance of your department or to make the environment in the team more friendly, you can conduct a survey among your subordinates, having previously compiled a list of questions. A subspecies of interviews can be safely called job interviews. As an employer, you can make a list of questions, the answers to which will give you an objective "picture" of the applicant, which will help you make the right decision. If you are an applicant applying for a serious (and not only) position, then this is a reason to prepare for an interview, for which there is a lot of useful information on the Internet today.

Sociometry method refers to the methods of socio-psychological research of the structure of small groups and a person as a member of the group. Using this method, the relationship of people with each other and within the group is studied. Sociometric research can be individual and group, and their results are usually presented in the form of sociometric matrices or sociograms.

Group Personality Assessment Method (GOL) is to obtain the characteristics of a person in a certain group, based on a survey of members of this group relative to each other. Using this method, experts assess the level of severity of a person's psychological qualities, which are manifested in his appearance, activity and interaction with others.

Test method. Like some other methods of psychology, tests have already been considered by us in one of the first lessons and you can get acquainted with the concept of "tests" in detail there. Therefore, we will only touch on general issues. Tests are short, standardized and, in most cases, time-limited tests. With the help of tests in social psychology, differences between people and groups of people are determined. During the performance of the tests, the subject (or a group of those) performs certain tasks or selects answers to questions from a list. Data processing and analysis are performed in relation to a certain "key". The results are expressed in test values.

Scales that measure social attitudes are among the tests that still receive special attention. Social attitudes scales are used for a variety of purposes, but most often they are used to characterize the following areas: public opinion, the consumer market, the choice of effective advertising, people's attitude to work, problems, other people, etc.

Experiment. Another method of psychology, which we touched upon in the lesson "Methods of Psychology". An experiment implies the creation by a researcher of certain conditions of interaction between the subject (or a group of those) and certain situations in order to restore the patterns of this interaction. A good experiment is that it allows you to simulate phenomena and conditions for research and influence them, measure the reactions of the subjects and reproduce the results.

Modeling

In the previous lesson, we already touched upon the modeling method in psychology and you can familiarize yourself with it by clicking on the link. It is only worth noting that in social psychology, modeling develops in two directions.

First is a technical imitation of processes, mechanisms and results of mental activity, i.e. modeling of the psyche.

Second- is the organization and reproduction of any activity by artificially creating an environment for this activity, i.e. psychological modeling.

The modeling method allows you to get a variety of reliable socio-psychological information about a person or a group of people. For example, in order to find out how people in your organization will act in extreme situation, will be under the influence of a panic state or will act together, simulate a fire situation: turn on the alarm, notify employees about the fire and observe what is happening. The data obtained will allow you to determine whether it is worth paying attention to working with employees on behavior in the workplace in emergencies, to understand who is the leader and who is the follower, and also to learn about those qualities and character traits of your subordinates, about which you may , did not know.

Methods of administrative and educational influence

By management and educational methods is meant a set of actions (mental or practical) and techniques, by performing which you can achieve the desired results. This is a kind of system of principles that sets the goal for the organization of productive activities.

The influence of upbringing methods is manifested through the direct impact of one person on another (persuasion, demand, threat, encouragement, punishment, example, authority, etc.), the creation of special conditions and situations that force a person to express himself (express an opinion, do something action). Also, the influence is exerted through public opinion and joint activities, the transfer of information, training, education, upbringing.

Among the methods of managerial and educational influence there are:

• Beliefs that form certain mental manifestations (views, concepts, ideas);
• Exercises that organize activities and stimulate positive motives;
• Assessment and self-esteem, defining behavior, stimulating activity and helping to regulate behavior

An excellent example of managerial and educational influence is the upbringing of a child by his parents. It is through education in a person that the main features and properties of his personality are born and formed. It is easy to guess that if you want your child to grow up independent, self-confident and a successful person possessing a set of positive qualities (responsibility, dedication, resistance to stress, positivity of thinking, etc.), then it should be brought up properly. In the process of upbringing, it is important to conduct confidential conversations, be able to direct the child's activities and behavior, reward for success and make it clear when any wrongdoing has been committed. It is necessary to give compelling reasons, arguments, examples. To set as an example authoritative people, outstanding personalities. It is also important to try to always give a correct assessment of the behavior, actions, actions and results of your child, to form an adequate self-esteem in him. These are, of course, just a few examples. But it is important to understand that only in the case of the correct managerial and educational influence on a person's personality, it becomes possible to exert a positive and constructive influence on him.

And the last group of methods of social psychology are methods of socio-psychological impact.

Methods of socio-psychological impact

Methods of socio-psychological influence are a set of techniques that affect the needs, interests, inclinations of a person, his attitudes, self-esteem, emotional state, as well as socio-psychological attitudes of groups of people.

With the help of methods of socio-psychological influence, it is possible to influence the needs of people and their motivation, to change their desires, aspirations, emotions, mood, behavior. Skillfully using these methods, you can change people's views, opinions and attitudes, as well as create new ones. By providing the correct socio-psychological impact on a person, it is possible to ensure the most favorable position of a person in society, to make his personality more resistant to impact various factors, to form in him a healthy worldview and attitude towards people, the world, life. Sometimes methods of socio-psychological influence are used to destroy the already existing personality traits, to stop any activity, to motivate to search for new goals, etc.

As we can see, the methods of social psychology are one of the most difficult topics in psychological science. To understand these methods in detail, you need to spend more than one month studying them. But, despite this, one exact conclusion can be drawn: taking into account all the methodological difficulties, in any socio-psychological research there should be the ability to clearly identify and delineate the tasks to be solved, to choose an object, to formulate the problem under study, to clarify the concepts used and to systematize the entire spectrum of those used for research. methods. This is the only way to make social and psychological research as accurate and effective as possible.

But in order for you to start implementing the knowledge gained in your life now, without engaging in in-depth study of specialized materials, you should know several important laws and patterns of social psychology that affect a person's life in society and his interaction with this society and others. people.

People always in one way or another perceive the people nearby.

We usually attribute to the people we come into contact with certain properties that relate to social stereotypes. Stereotypes can be attributed to people on an anthropological basis, that is, on the basis of the characteristics of the race to which a person belongs. There are also social stereotypes - these are images attributed to people holding certain positions, having different status, etc. Stereotypes can also be emotional, i.e. associated with the physiological properties of people.

Therefore, communicating with by different people, you must understand that your perception of them may be subconsciously based on stereotypes. So, for example, a handsome person may turn out to be the one with whom it is better not to get involved, and an unattractive outwardly may amaze you with the beauty and depth of his soul. If you are prejudiced against people of a certain race, it does not mean at all that they are the way you think of them. After all, people of any skin color, gender, religion, worldview can be both good and bad. It is important to learn to perceive people not based on stereotypes, but only on personal experience. As they say, do not judge by clothes, but judge by intelligence.

People easily assign the social roles imposed on them.

A person who is in constant interaction with society builds his behavior according to what social role this society has assigned to him. This can be easily traced in the example of a person who was suddenly promoted in position: he becomes very important, serious, communicates with people from high places, those who yesterday were on an equal footing with him, today he is no longer a match, etc. Social roles imposed by society can make a person weak-willed, powerless to change something. People who have been affected can "sink" to the most nasty deeds (even murder), or they can raise themselves to heights.

It should always be remembered that social roles imposed by society have a strong impact on a person. To be able not to "bend" under the pressure of a social role and remain yourself, you need to be a strong personality, have an inner core, have beliefs, values ​​and principles.

The best conversationalist is the one who knows how to listen.

Conversation is an integral part of human communication. When meeting other people, we start a conversation: about how someone is doing, about news, about changes, interesting events... The conversation can be friendly, businesslike, intimate, formal, or non-binding. But many people, if you pay attention to this, are much more fond of talking than listening. In almost every company there is a person who constantly interrupts, wants to speak out, insert his word, does not listen to anyone. Agree, this is not very pleasant. But this is a pronounced need for conversation. In other people, it may be less pronounced, but, in any case, it always exists.

If a person is given the opportunity to speak incessantly, then saying goodbye to you, he will experience only the most pleasant emotions from communication. If you constantly talk, then he will most likely become bored, he will nod his head, yawn, and communication with you will become an unbearable burden for him. A strong personality is a person who is able to manage their emotions and desires. And the best interlocutor is the one who knows how to listen and not say a word, even if you really want to. Take this into service and practice - you will see how pleasant it will be for people to communicate with you. Plus, it will train your self-control, self-discipline, and mindfulness.

The attitudes of people affect their perception of reality and those around them.

If a person has a pre-formed predisposition to react to something in a certain way, then he will do it in accordance with it. For example, you have to meet with some person and you were told something very bad about him in advance. When you meet, you will feel an acute dislike for this person, unwillingness to communicate, negative and rejection, even if this person is actually very good. Anyone, even the same person, can appear before you in a completely different light, if before that you will be given a certain setting for his perception.

You shouldn't take on faith everything that you hear, see, learn from someone else. The main thing is always to trust only personal experience and check everything yourself, taking, of course, into account everything that you have learned, but not based on it. Only personal experience will allow you to find out reliable information and make objective judgments about other people, events, situations, things, etc. In this case, the saying is ideal: “Trust, but verify!”.

People's behavior often depends on how others perceive them.

In psychology, this is called reflection. This is inherent, of course, not all, but very many. There are people who are completely dependent on how others perceive them. A hypertrophied feeling of the importance of someone else's opinion leads to the fact that a person begins to feel constant discomfort, emotional stress, dependence on another person, inability to defend his position, express his opinion and many other rather unpleasant sensations. Moreover, these sensations can manifest themselves in different ways: from small mood swings during the day to prolonged and deep depression.

To avoid such situations, you need to understand that someone else's opinion is just someone else's opinion. It is not for nothing that successful people say that someone else's opinion will never feed you and your loved ones, will not buy you clothes, and will not bring you success and happiness. Quite the opposite, almost always someone else's opinion makes people give up, stop striving for something, develop and grow. How others perceive you is their own business. You don't have to adapt to anyone and should always be yourself.

People tend to judge others and justify themselves.

Situations in life are different, as are the people who get into them. But the reactions elicited in people in these situations can be perceived by us in completely different ways. For example, if you are standing in line to make a purchase and there is a person in front of you who has been buying something for a very long time, this causes negative emotions in you, you may start expressing dissatisfaction, rushing the person in front, etc. At the same time, if for some reason you stay late at the checkout, and the person behind you starts to reprimand you, you will begin to give quite reasonable reasons as to why you have been standing for so long. And you will be right. People find themselves in similar situations almost every day.

A significant plus for you in terms of your development will be mastering the skill of critical assessment of the situation and the people who find themselves in it (others and yourself). Whenever you feel that you begin to experience negative emotions, irritation, a desire to express dissatisfaction in the direction of another person due to some circumstances, abstract yourself for a while. Look at the situation from the outside, critically assess yourself and others, think about whether the other is to blame for the situation and how you would lead and feel in his place. Most likely, you will notice that your reaction is not entirely correct and you should behave more calmly, tactfully, more consciously. If you make this practice systematic, life will become much more pleasant, you will be less annoyed, you will begin to experience more positive emotions, become more positive, etc.

People often identify with other people.

In social psychology, this is called identification. Very often, our identification with others occurs during our communication with someone: a person tells us a story or describes a situation in which he was a participant, but we subconsciously put ourselves in his place in order to feel what he felt. Also, identification can occur while watching a movie, reading a book, etc. We identify with ourselves with the main character or other participants. Thus, we dive deeper into the information that we study (watch, read), understand the motives of people's actions, evaluate ourselves with them.

Identification can be done deliberately. It helps a lot both in non-standard, difficult life situations, and in the process of ordinary life. For example, if in some situation you find it difficult to make the right decision, do not know what to do best for you, remember the hero of your favorite book, film, person who is an authority for you, and think about how he would act in your place, what he says or does. An appropriate image will immediately appear in your imagination, which will push you to the right decision.

People form the first impression of a person within the first five minutes.

This fact has long been proven by psychologists. We make the first impression of another person during the first 3-5 minutes of communication with him. While first impressions can be deceiving, this point should be given special attention. When we meet a person for the first time, we look at him appearance, posture, behavior, speech, emotional state. Also, the first impression is influenced by whether we feel that a person is superior to us in some parameters, how attractive his appearance is, what attitude the person shows towards us. Other people compose impressions of us according to the same criteria.

You need to be able to make a first impression. And for this it is necessary to take into account all the above factors of its formation. Therefore, whenever you know that you are planning your first meeting with a person (interview, meeting in a friendly company, a date, etc.), you must prepare for this: look neat, hold on with confidence, be able to find something to say, observe manners decency and rules of etiquette, speak clearly, etc. Remember that first impressions are the foundation for all future relationships.

A person attracts into his life that which corresponds to his thoughts.

This is called by various names: the law of attraction, "like attracts like" or "we are what we think." The meaning is this: during life on the way of a person there are such people and such events occur that are in resonance with him: correspond to his thoughts, expectations, beliefs. If a person emits negativity, then more troubles occur in his life, he is accompanied by failures, there are bad people... If positive vibrations emanate from a person, then his life will be filled, for the most part, with good news, good events, pleasant people.

Many successful people and spiritual personalities say that everything in life depends on how we think. Therefore, if you want your life to change for the better, more positive events to happen, good people to meet, etc., then, first of all, you should pay attention to your way of thinking. Rebuild it in the right way: from negative to positive, from the position of the victim to the position of the winner, from the feeling of failure to the feeling of success. Do not expect instant changes, but try to be positive - after a while you will notice changes.

What often happens in a person's life is what he expects.

You've probably noticed this pattern more than once: what you fear the most happens with enviable regularity. But the point here is not at all that it is something bad, but in how strong the emotional coloring you give it. If you are constantly thinking about something, worrying about it, expecting something, then there is a high probability that it will happen. Any of your expectations can influence the people around you. But negative emotions (fear, fear, apprehension), as you know, to a much greater extent take possession of the consciousness of people than positive ones. Therefore, something happens that we do not want, more often than what we want.

Rebuild - stop thinking about what you fear and expect it, start expecting only the best from life and those around you! But the main thing here is not to overdo it, so as not to feel a sense of disappointment. Make it a habit for yourself to expect only good things, but don't idealize your expectations. Step away from the negativity and tune in a positive way, but always remain realistic and take a sober view of the world.

There are a lot of laws that operate in communication between people, because psychology is a science with a huge number of features. To make your life better, and communication with other people and interaction with society more pleasant and effective, you need to develop attentiveness to everything that happens around: people's behavior, their reactions, the reasons for certain situations and events. No theory will change you and your life on its own. Only the practical application of new knowledge, hone your communication skills and training of personal qualities can influence you and change what you want to change.

As for the person himself in social psychology, it can be said with confidence that a person, as a formed personality, plays here the main role... It is social and psychological characteristics that allow such a science as social psychology to exist in general. And the knowledge about it that we now have, we want to deepen and strive to apply in practice, give us the opportunity to determine, realize and understand the factors that affect the development of personality, the specifics of the interaction of people with each other and in groups (as well as these groups). And already this allows us to make our life, as individuals and parts of society, more comfortable and conscious, and the results of our actions and actions are better and more effective. It is for these reasons that we must master the basics of social (and not only) psychology and make their use a part of our daily life.

Literature

For those who have a desire to dive deeper into the study of the topic of social psychology, below we present a small but very good list of literature that makes sense to refer to.

• Ageev B.C. Intergroup interaction: socio-psychological problems. M., 1990
• Andreeva G.M. Social psychology M., 2003
• Bityanova M.R. Social Psychology M., 2002
• Bodalev A.A. Perception and understanding of man by man M. Moscow State University, 1982
• Bodalev A.A. Personality and Communication M., 1995
• Dontsov A.I. Team Psychology M., 1984
• A. A. Leontiev Psychology of communication M., 1998
• Kolomensky Ya.L. "Differentiation of social psychology and some problems of developmental psychology" - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2000
• Myasishchev V.N. Psychology of relations Moscow-Voronezh, 1995
• Fundamentals of socio-psychological theory / Ed. A. A. Bodaleva, A. N. Sukhova M., 1995
• Parygin B.D. Social psychology M., 1999
• Psychology of personality and way of life / Otv. ed. E.V. Shorokhova M. Science, 1987
• A.A. Rean, Ya.L. Kolomensky Social educational psychology SPb., 1998
• Robert M., Tilman F. Psychology of the individual and the group M., 1988
• V. I. Sekun The psychology of activity. Minsk, 1996
• Semenov V.E. The method of studying documents in social and psychological research L., 1983
• Contemporary foreign social psychology Texts / Ed. G.M. Andreeva et al. M., 1984
• Social psychology / Ed. A.N.Sukhova, A.A. Derkacha M., 2001
• Social psychology and social practice / Ed. E.V. Shorokhova, V.P. Levkovich. M., 1985
• Social psychology of classes / Ed. G.G. Diligensky M., 1985
• D.L. Spivak Altered states of mass consciousness SPb., 1996
• Stankin M.I. Psychology of communication Course of lectures M., 1996
• Stefanenko T.G., Shlyagina E.I., Enikolopov S.N. Methods of ethnopsychological research. M., 1993
• Stefanenko T.G. Ethnopsychology. Issue 1.M., 1998
• Sukharev V., Sukharev M. Psychology of peoples and nations. M., 1997
• Freud 3. Group psychology and analysis "EGO" M., 1991
• Shevandrin N.I. Social Psychology in Education M., 1996
• Shikhirev P.N. Modern social psychology in Western Europe M, 1985

Test your knowledge

If you want to test your knowledge of 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 select one of the options, the system automatically switches to 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.

1. A LITTLE HISTORY

Social psychology as an independent branch of scientific knowledge began to form at the end of the 19th century, although the concept itself began to be widely used only at the beginning of the 20th century.

Some questions of social psychology were raised long ago within the framework of philosophy and were in the nature of comprehending the characteristics of the relationship between man and society.

However, the study of social and psychological scientific problems proper began in the 19th century, when sociologists, psychologists, philosophers, literary scholars, ethnographers, and physicians began to analyze the psychological phenomena of large social groups and the characteristics of mental processes and human behavior depending on the influence of the people around them.

The problems posed were difficult to study only within the framework of the then existing sciences. It was necessary to integrate sociology and psychology, since psychology examines the human psyche, and sociology - society.

The main stages in the development of social psychology as a science.

First step- the formation of social psychology as a science (from the middle of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th). The subject of study and the main problems are determined.

The first fundamental works on the main issues of social psychology are published.

At this stage, the solution and theoretical analysis of socio-psychological problems attract the attention of specialists in various fields: psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, literary critics, ethnographers, etc.

Most of the works on social psychology were published in the first period of the development of this science.

Second phase(until the mid-40s of the xx century) is characterized by the emergence of scientific socio-psychological schools focused both on the development of fundamental theory and on the applied aspects of research.

One of the most influential social psychologists of this period was K. Levin, the creator of the theory of group dynamics. He investigated the problems of social factors of will as purposeful behavior; social psychology of small groups, leadership, personality in a group, etc.

A large number of experimental work was carried out and at the same time fundamental theories were developed, which have not lost their relevance in our time.

Third stage(from the mid-1940s to the present day). It is associated with solving practical problems, working for a social order. Experimental psychology continues to develop, fundamental theoretical developments recede into the background.

Social psychology is gaining wide popularity, is being introduced into general educational programs of higher education and is one of the compulsory subjects of study for specialists of various profiles.

Such close attention to socio-psychological issues is caused by the needs of improving and stabilizing social relations at all levels of social stratification.

The so-called small theories are being developed that have specific applied significance: the socio-psychological characteristics of managing a child group, business psychology, advertising psychology, the psychology of forming public opinion, etc.

2. OBJECT AND SUBJECT

Having arisen at the junction of the sciences of psychology and sociology, social psychology still retains a special status. This leads to the fact that each of the "parent" disciplines includes it as an integral part. this creates difficulties both in defining the subject of social psychology and in identifying the range of its problems.

On the issue about the subject social psychology have developed three approaches.

1) received predominant distribution among sociologists: he understood social psychology as a science of "Mass phenomena of the psyche." Within this approach, different researchers have identified different phenomena that fit this definition; sometimes more emphasis was placed on the study of the psychology of classes, other large social communities and, in this regard, on such individual elements, aspects of the social psychology of groups as traditions, customs, customs, etc. In other cases, more attention was paid to the formation of public opinion, such specific mass phenomena like fashion, etc.

2) The second approach, on the contrary, sees the main subject of research in social psychology personality... The shades were manifested here only in the context in which the study of personality was supposed. On the one hand, more emphasis was placed on psychological traits, personality traits, and personality typology. On the other hand, the position of the individual in the group, interpersonal relations, and the entire communication system were highlighted.

3) Third approach. In a sense, they tried to synthesize the two previous ones with its help. Social psychology was considered here as a science that studies and massive mental processes, and the position of the individual in the group... In this case, of course, the problems of social psychology seemed to be quite wide, practically the entire range of issues considered in various schools of social psychology was thus included in its subject. Attempts have been made to give a complete outline of the problems under study within the framework of this approach.

Total: Social psychology studies psychological phenomena (processes, states and properties) that characterize an individual and a group as subjects of social interaction.

As main object research in social psychology advocates personality in the system social connections, relationships.

Item social psychology: patterns of behavior, activities and communication of people, due to their inclusion in social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of these groups themselves. (G.Andreeva)

As a well-known compromise, such a situation has developed that practically now there are two social psychologies: one, associated mainly with a more "sociological", the other - mainly with a "psychological" problem. For example, in the United States, social psychology officially exists "twice": its section is within the American Sociological Association and within the American Psychological Association; textbook prefaces usually indicate whether the author is a sociologist or a psychologist by training. In 1954 in the USA, at the suggestion of the famous social psychologist T. Newcomb, an interesting experiment was carried out at one of the universities: a course in social psychology was taught to half of the students of one course in the first semester as a lecturer-sociologist, in the second half in the second semester - by a lecturer-psychologist. After completing the courses, the students were asked to hold a discussion on the problems of social psychology, but it did not work out, since the students were fully confident that they had attended completely different courses in completely different disciplines (see: G. Becker, A. Boskov, 1961). Published in the USA in 1985, the textbook by K. Stefan and V. Stefan is called “Two Social Psychologies”. Of course, this duality causes a number of inconveniences. It can be permissible only at some stage in the development of science, the benefit of discussions about its subject should be, among other things, in contributing to an unambiguous solution of the issue.

Within the framework of social psychology, several psychological schools can be distinguished. These are: functionalism, behaviorism, humanistic psychology, cognitivism and interactionism.

Functionalism(or functional psychology) arose under the influence of the evolutionary theory in the biology of Charles Darwin and the evolutionary theory of social Darwinism of H. Spencer.

G. Spencer believed that the basic law of social development is the law of survival of the most adapted societies and social groups.

Representatives of functionalism (D. Dewey, D. Angell, G. Carr and others) studied people and social groups from the point of view of their social adaptation - adaptation to difficult living conditions. The main socio-psychological problem of functionalism is the problem of the most optimal conditions for social adaptation of the subjects of social life.

Behaviorism(later neobehaviorism) - behavioral psychology that studies the problems of patterns of behavior in humans and animals (IV Pavlov, VM Bekhterev, D. Watson, B. Skinner, etc.).

Behavior was viewed as an objective, observable reality that can be investigated under experimental conditions. The central problem of behaviorism is the problem of learning, that is, the acquisition of individual experience through trial and error.

Four laws of learning are identified: the law of effect, the law of exercise, the law of readiness and the law of associative shift.

Psychoanalytic the direction is associated with the name of Z. Freud. Investigated the problems of unconscious, irrational processes in the personality and in her behavior.

He believed that the aggregate of drives acts as the central driving force of a person.

Some of the aspects of this direction were developed in the works of K. Jung and A. Adler. Socio-psychological problems of the direction: the conflict between man and society, manifested in the clash of a person's drives with social prohibitions; the problem of sources of social activity of the individual.

Humanistic psychology(G. Allport, A. Maslow, K. Rogers, etc.) researched a person as a fully developing personality who seeks to realize his potentialities and achieve self-actualization, personal growth.

Every normal person has a tendency towards self-expression and self-realization.

Cognitivism interprets social behavior of a person as a set of predominantly cognitive processes and focuses on the process of a person's cognition of the world, his comprehension of the essence of phenomena by means of basic cognitive mental processes (memory, attention, etc.).

The problem of cognitivism is human decision making. Representatives of the cognitive school (J. Piaget, J. Bruner, R. Atkinson and others) paid special attention to the knowledge of a person and the ways of its formation.

Interactionism(later symbolic interactionism) investigated the problems of the social aspect of interaction between people in the process of activity and communication.

The main idea of ​​interactionism: personality is always social and cannot be formed outside of society. Special importance was attached to communication as the exchange of symbols and the development of common meanings and meanings.

Most psychological schools can be distinguished only with a certain degree of convention, since they all study a person in a group, society, and the world.

Requests for socio-psychological research in the current stage of development of society come from all spheres of social life, especially in connection with the fact that radical changes are taking place in each of them today.

Such requests follow from the field of industrial production, various areas of education, the mass media system, the field of demographic policy, sports, the service sector etc.

All this stimulates the intensive development of social psychology in the present stage... Social psychology is essentially a science that stands very close to social and political problems, and therefore it is possible use of its results by various social forces.

For social psychology, simultaneous solving two problems: production practical recommendations obtained in the course of applied research necessary for practice; "Completing" your own building as holistic system scientific knowledge with the clarification of their subject, the development of special theories and special research methodology.

The French social psychologist S. Muscovy rightly noted that it is society that sets the tasks for social psychology, it dictates problems to it (Muscovy, 1984).

Theoretical tasks of social psychology:

Tribute to Andreeva:

- correct attitude to foreign social psychology, primarily to the content of its theoretical concepts, as well as methods and research results. (apparently, this refers to the criticism of Soviet nihilism, which denies any achievements of Western science)

- the task of thoroughly working out the problem of applied research in social psychology. (high professionalism, professional ethics, civil and social position of the scientist)

1. Continuation of in-depth studies of problems related to the subject of social psychology in interaction with other sciences;

2. Substantive revision of socio-psychological problems in connection with the changed social conditions in our country;

3. Research of new social and psychological phenomena (ethnic, economic, class, political, ideological, etc.);

4. Socio-psychological research of changes in mass consciousness, public sentiment and public opinion;

5. Analysis of the growing role of social psychology in the context of reforming society;

6 .Interaction of social psychology with applied and practical psychology;

7. Ensuring the relationship of domestic social psychology with various areas of foreign social psychology.

Applied tasks:

1) comprehension of the place and role of man in a changing world; identification of types of social and psychological characters;

2) study of the whole variety of relationships and communication, their changes in modern society;

3) development of a socio-psychological relationship to the nature of the state, politics, economy and society;

4) development of theories of social conflicts (political, interstate, ethnic);

5) the development of theoretical foundations of social and psychological diagnostics, counseling and the provision of various types of assistance to the strata of the population in need of this assistance.

Social psychology should help to understand mechanisms of criminal behavior, phenomena of mass strikes and protests of the population, negotiate the release of hostages, take part in solving problems of a particular society.

5. FUNCTIONS

Functions of social psychology:

1) integration and translation of social experience, on the basis of which a single direction of thoughts, will and feelings is formed in a given social group;

2) social adaptation - bringing individual consciousness in line with the principles and norms prevailing in a given social group;

3) social correlation - bringing the behavior of an individual in line with the norms adopted in a given society;

4) social control - regulation of personality behavior by the system of informal sanctions of society;

5) psychological relief - release from social and psychological stress, without violating generally accepted norms;

6) social activation - strengthening of human activity due to the activation of mass emotions.

Similar information.

Social Psychology

psychology and sociology

Item

An object

1

2.

3

4

main sections:

- communication psychology

- group psychology

-

- practical applications.

Ticket 5. Question 1. Methodology, method and technique in socio-psychological research. Methods of social psychology.

Socio-psychological research- view scientific research in order to establish psychological patterns in the behavior and activities of people, due to the fact of inclusion in social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of these groups themselves.

METHODOLOGY - a system of principles and methods of organizing and constructing theoretical and practical activities, as well as teaching about this system. The methodology defines the initial principles of research, norms and requirements for the use of methods, rules for influencing.

Crowd classification

-based on manageability:

Elemental crowd... It is formed and manifested without any organizing principle on the part of a specific natural person.

Driven crowd... It is formed and manifested under the influence, influence from the very beginning or subsequently of a specific individual who is its leader in a given crowd.

Organized crowd... This variety is introduced by G. Le Bon, considering as a crowd and a gathering of individuals who have embarked on the path of organization, and an organized crowd.

- by the nature of people's behavior:

Occasional crowd... It is formed on the basis of curiosity about an unexpected incident (traffic accident, fire, fight, etc.).

Conventional crowd... It is formed on the basis of interest in any previously announced mass entertainment, spectacle or other socially significant specific reason.

Expressive crowd... Forming - like a conventional crowd. It jointly expresses a general attitude towards any event (joy, enthusiasm, indignation, protest, etc.)

Ecstatic crowd... It is an extreme form of the expressive crowd. It is characterized by a state of general ecstasy based on mutual rhythmically increasing infection (mass religious rituals, carnivals, rock concerts, etc.).

Acting crowd... Formed - as well as conventional; performs actions in relation to a specific object. The acting crowd includes the following subspecies.

1. Aggressive crowd united by blind hatred for a specific object (any religious or political movement, structure). Usually accompanied by beatings, pogroms, arson, etc.

2. Panic crowd fleeing from a real or imagined source of danger.

3. Money-grubbing crowd... Enters into an unordered direct conflict over the possession of any values. Provoked by the authorities that ignore the vital interests of citizens.

4. Rebel crowd... It is formed on the basis of general fair indignation at the actions of the authorities.

G. Le Bon distinguishes between types of crowds on the basis of homogeneity. Heterogeneous: anonymous (street, for example), not anonymous (parliamentary assembly). Uniform: sects; caste; classes.

Socialization factors.

Socialization takes place in the interaction of children, adolescents, young men with a huge number of different conditions, more or less actively influencing their development. These conditions acting on a person are usually called factors. More or less studied conditions or socialization factors can be conditionally combined into four groups.

The first – megafactors- space, planet, world, which in one way or another through other groups of factors affect the socialization of all inhabitants of the Earth.

The second – macro factors- country, ethnos, society, state, which influence the socialization of everyone living in certain countries.

The third – mesafactors, the conditions for the socialization of large groups of people, distinguished: by the locality and the type of settlement in which they live (region, village, gord, settlement); by belonging to the audience of certain mass communication networks (radio, television, etc.); by belonging to one or another subculture. Mesofactors affect human socialization both directly and indirectly through fourth group – microfactors... These include factors that directly affect specific people who interact with them - family and home, neighborhood, peer groups, educational organizations, various public state, religious, private organizations, microsociety.

Team development stages

- (lowest)- disunited, this is a collective that either began to form, or is already "decomposing." It includes people who know each other little or, on the contrary, have seen well only the negative qualities of each other. The main means of influencing the team and the leader on the individual are associated more with negative assessments of various deviations from official norms, prescriptions, orders, etc.

- II- (middle)- a dismembered collective. The goals of its values ​​and norms are already recognized by many members, but so far they are perceived and interpreted in different ways, depending on the groupings to which the individuals belong. In such a team, there are usually several leaders who can be at enmity with each other, and after them members of the groupings are unfriendly to each other. The formal and informal structure are similar in some elements. In influencing the personality, both positive and negative assessments are used.

- III - (highest)- a close-knit team - it has established goals that are understandable and recognized by all, clear and firm norms and principles of interaction that correspond to universal human morality. Moreover, the official norms are supplemented and reinforced by unofficial institutions and traditions. In connection with these features, each person highly values ​​the team, values ​​it.

Psychologist L. Umansky proposed a figurative classification of the developmental stages of a team. In his opinion, these stages can be interpreted as follows:

1. sand placer (people are not yet connected by ties of communication);

2. soft clay (team members establish contacts, combine into something whole);

3. a flickering beacon (the distribution of social roles between members begins, the goals and values ​​of the team are accepted);

4. scarlet sail (leaders and the core of the team stand out, which is able to lead individual members);

5. a flaming torch (all members of the team live by common goals and values, actively and energetically participate in joint activities);

6. spiders in a bank (this is the stage of the collapse of the team, when its members, apart from "boring" work, have nothing to unite).

Ticket 1. Question 1. Social psychology as a science. Subject, object and tasks and structure of social psychology.

Social Psychology- a branch of psychology that studies the patterns, characteristics of the behavior and activities of people, due to their social interaction.

Social psychology emerged in the second half of the 19th century. at the junction psychology and sociology... Its emergence was preceded by a long period of accumulation of knowledge about man and society. Initially, social and psychological ideas were formed within the framework of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, ethnography and linguistics.

In the middle of the XIX century. social psychology has emerged as an independent, but still descriptive science.

Item social psychology - mental phenomena that arise in the course of interaction between people in social groups.

An object- personality in a group, interpersonal interaction, small group, intergroup interaction, large group. Those. the object of psychology is what the activity of social psychology is aimed at.

She studies the following phenomena:

1 ... Psychological processes, states and properties of the individual, which are manifested as a result of his inclusion in relations with other people, in various social groups (family, educational and labor groups, etc.) and in the whole in the system of social relations (economic, political, managerial , legal, etc.).

2. The phenomenon of interaction between people, in particular, the phenomenon of communication. For example - matrimonial, child-parent, pedagogical, managerial, psychotherapeutic and many other types of it. Interaction can be not only interpersonal, but also between an individual and a group, as well as between groups.

3 ... Psychological processes, states and properties of various social groups, as integral formations, differing from each other and not reducible to any individual.

4 ... Mass mental phenomena. For example: crowd behavior, panic, rumor, fashion, mass enthusiasm, glee, fear.

Social psychology as a science includes the following main sections:

- communication psychology studying the patterns of communication and interaction of people - in particular, the role of communication in the system of social and interpersonal relations;

- group psychology studying the psychological characteristics of social groups - both large (classes, nations) and small. It studies such phenomena as cohesion, leadership, group decision-making, etc .;

- social personality psychology studying, in particular, the problems of social attitudes, socialization, etc .;

- practical applications.