1.1. The subject and structure of social psychology

1.1.1. The subject of social psychology

Modern ideas about the subject of social psychology are extremely differentiated, that is, they differ from each other, which is typical for most borderline, related branches of science, to which social psychology belongs. She studies the following:

Psychological processes, states and properties of an individual, which manifest themselves 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.). The most frequently studied manifestations of personality in groups are: sociability, aggressiveness, compatibility with other people, conflict potential, etc.

The phenomenon of interaction between people, in particular, the phenomenon of communication, for example: marital, parent-child, 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 intergroup.

Psychological processes, states and properties of various social groups as integral formations that differ from each other and are not reducible to any individual. Social psychologists are most interested in studying the socio-psychological climate of the 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, jubilation, apathy, fears, etc.

Combining various approaches to understanding the subject of social psychology, we can give the following definition:

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

1.1.2. The main objects of research in social psychology

Depending on one or another understanding of the subject of social psychology, the main objects of its study are distinguished, that is, the carriers of socio-psychological phenomena. These include: a person in a group (system of relations), interaction in the "personality - personality" system (parent - child, leader - performer, doctor - patient, psychologist - client, etc.), small group (family, school class , a labor brigade, a military crew, a group of friends, etc.), interaction in the "personality - group" system (leader - followers, leader - work team, commander - platoon, novice - school class, etc.), interaction in the group-group system (competition of teams, group negotiations, intergroup conflicts, etc.), a large social group (ethnos, party, social movement, social strata, territorial, confessional groups, etc.). The most complete objects of social psychology, including those that have not yet been sufficiently studied, can be represented in the form of the following diagram (Fig. I).

Interaction

Interaction

Rice. I. Objects of research in social psychology.

1.1.3. Structure of modern social psychology

1.2. History of Russian social psychology

The traditional view was that the origins of social psychology go back to Western science. Historical and psychological studies have shown that social psychology in our country has an original history. The emergence and development of Western and domestic psychology took place, as it were, in parallel.

Domestic social psychology arose at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The path of its formation has a number of stages: the birth of social psychology in the social and natural sciences, sprout 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. - beginning of the 20th century,

II - the 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 (the 60s of the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century)

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

The process of self-determination of psychology in the system of sciences about nature, society, and man had a great influence on the development of social psychology. There was a sharp struggle for the status of psychology, the problem of its subject, research methods was discussed. There was a cardinal question of who and how to develop psychology. The problem of social determination of the psyche was of great importance. There was a clash of intraspectionist and behavioral trends in psychology.

The development of socio-psychological ideas took place mainly within applied psychological disciplines. Attention was drawn to the psychological characteristics of people, manifested in their interaction, joint activities and communication.

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 command, in the study of beliefs and customs. These studies in related fields of knowledge, in different areas of practice, were distinguished by the richness of the socio-psychological questions posed, the originality of the decisions made, the uniqueness of the socio-psychological material collected by research, observations, and experiments (E. A. Budilova, 1983).

Social and psychological ideas during this period were successfully developed by representatives of the social sciences, primarily sociologists. For the history of social psychology big interest represents the psychological school in sociology (P. L. Lavrov (1865), N. I. Kareev (1919), M. M. Kovalevsky; (1910), N. K. Mikhailovsky (1906)). 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. Laws in force in social life, we must look in social psychology, Mikhailovsky belongs to the development of the psychology of mass social movements, one of the varieties of which are revolutionary movements.

The active forces of social development are the heroes and the crowd. 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 moments of the historical process. It accumulates disparate feelings, instincts, and thoughts that function 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 hero, mental moods of the crowd. Public sentiment is a factor that must necessarily be taken into account by the hero in order for the masses to follow him. The function of the hero is to control the mood of the crowd, to be able to use it to achieve their goals. He must use the general orientation of the activity of the crowd, due to the consciousness of common needs. Socio-psychological problems were especially clearly manifested in the scientific ideas of N.K. Mikhailovsky about the psychological characteristics of the leader, the hero, about the psychology of the crowd, about the mechanisms of interaction between people in the crowd. Investigating the problem of communication between the hero and the crowd, interpersonal communication of people in the crowd, he singles out suggestion, imitation, infection, opposition as communication mechanisms. The main one is the imitation of people in the crowd. The basis of imitation is hypnotism. In the crowd, automatic imitation, "moral or mental infection" is often carried out.

The final conclusion of N. K. Mikhailovsky is that the psychological factors in the development of society are imitation, public mood and social behavior.

Socio-psychological problems in jurisprudence are represented by the theory of L. I. Petrazhitsky. He is one of the founders of the subjective school in jurisprudence. L. I. Petrazhitsky believed that psychology is a fundamental science, which should become the basis of the social sciences. According to L. I. Petrazhitsky, only mental phenomena really exist, and socio-historical formations are their projections, emotional fantasies. The development of law, morality, ethics, aesthetics is a product of the people's psyche. As a jurist, he was interested in the question of the motives of human actions, of social norms of behavior. The true motive of human behavior is emotions (L. I. Petrazhitsky, 1908).

V. M. 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 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 of its development" (1905). The special socio-psychological work "The Subject and Tasks of Social Psychology as an Objective Science" (1911) contains a detailed presentation of his views on the essence of socio-psychological phenomena, on the subject of social psychology, and the methods of this branch of knowledge. After 10 years, V. M. Bekhterev publishes his fundamental work "Collective reflexology" (1921), which can be considered as the first Russian textbook on social psychology. This work was a logical development of his general psychological theory, which constituted a specific Russian direction in psychological science - reflexology (V. M. Bekhterev, 1917). The principles of the reflexological explanation of the essence of individual psychology were extended to the understanding of collective psychology. There has been a lively discussion around this concept. A number of supporters and followers defended and developed it, others sharply criticized it. These discussions, which began after the publication of Bekhterev's main works, subsequently became the center of theoretical life in the 1920s and 1930s. The main merit of Bekhterev is that he owns the development of a system of socio-psychological knowledge. His "collective reflexology" is a synthetic work on social psychology in Russia at that time. Bekhterev owns a detailed definition of the subject of social psychology. Such a subject is the study of the psychological activity of assemblies and gatherings made up of a mass of individuals who manifest their neuropsychic activity as a whole. Thanks to the communication of people at a rally or in a government meeting, a general mood, conciliar mental creativity and collective actions of many people connected with each other by one or another condition are manifested everywhere (V. M. Bekhterev, 1911). V. M. Bekhterev highlights the system-forming features of the team: common interests and tasks that encourage the team to unity of action. The organic inclusion of the individual in the community, in the activity led V. M. Bekhterev to the understanding of the collective as a collective personality. As socio-psychological phenomena, V. M. Bekhterev singles out interaction, relationships, communication, collective hereditary reflexes, collective mood, collective concentration and observation, collective creativity, coordinated collective actions. The factors that unite people in a team are: the mechanisms of mutual suggestion, mutual imitation, mutual induction. A special place as a unifying factor belongs to the language. Important is the position of V. M. Bekhterev that the team as an integral unity is a developing entity.

V. M. Bekhterev considered the question of the methods of this new branch of science. Like the objective reflexological method in individual psychology, the objective method can and must also be applied in collective psychology. The works of V. M. Bekhterev contain a description of a large amount of empirical material obtained through the use of objective observation, questionnaires, and surveys. Bekhterev's inclusion of the experiment in socio-psychological methods is unique. An experiment set up by V. M. Bekhterev together with M. V. Lange showed how socio-psychological phenomena - communication, joint activity - influence 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 the 30s of the XX century)

After October revolution In 1917, especially after the end of the civil war, during the recovery period, interest in social psychology sharply increased in our country. The need to comprehend the revolutionary transformations in society, the revival of intellectual activity, the acute ideological struggle, the need to solve a number of urgent practical problems (organization of work to restore the national economy, the fight against homelessness, the elimination of illiteracy, the restoration of cultural institutions, etc.) were the reasons for the deployment of socio-psychological research holding heated discussions. 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. This search was carried out in two ways:

in discussions with the main schools of foreign social psychology;

by mastering Marxist ideas and applying them to understanding the essence of socio-psychological phenomena.

a critical attitude towards foreign social psychologists and domestic scientists who have adopted a number of their main ideas (it should be pointed out to the positions of V. A. Artemov),

the tendency to combine Marxism with a number of trends in foreign psychology. This "unifying" trend was coming from both natural science-oriented scientists and social scientists (philosophers, jurists). L. N. Voitolovsky (1925), M. A. Reisner (1925), A. B. Zalkind (1927), Yu. V. Frankfurt (1927), K. N. Kornilov (1924), G. I. Chelpanov (1924).

The construction of a 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 period of the 1920s and 1930s. The latter has a special place. Plekhanov's works, published before the revolution, entered the arsenal of psychological science (GV Plekhanov, 1957). These works were in demand by social psychologists and were used by them for a Marxist understanding of socio-psychological phenomena.

The development of Marxism in the 1920s and 1930s was carried out jointly in social and general psychology. This was natural and was explained by the fact that representatives of these sciences discussed a number of cardinal methodological problems: the relationship between social psychology and individual psychology; correlation of social psychology and sociology; the nature of the collective as the main object of social psychology.

When considering the question of the relationship between individual and social psychology, there were two points of view. A number of authors argued that if the essence of man, according to Marxism, is the totality of all social relations, then the whole psychology that studies people is social psychology. There should not be any social psychology along with the general one. The opposite view was represented by the views of those who argued that only social psychology should exist. “There is a unified social psychology,” V. A. Artemov argued, “decaying into the social psychology of the individual and the social psychology of the collective” (V. A. Artemov. 1927). During the discussions, these extreme points of view were overcome. The prevailing views became that there should be an equal interaction between social and individual psychology.

The question of the relationship between individual and social psychology has been transformed into the question of the relationship between experimental and social psychology. A special place in discussions on the question of the restructuring of psychology on the basis of Marxism was occupied by G. I. Chelpanov (G. I. Chelpanov, 1924). 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. For this connection to be productive, G. I. Chelpanov considered it necessary to comprehend the scientific content of Marxism itself in a different way, to free it from its vulgar materialist interpretation. A positive attitude towards the inclusion of social psychology in the system reformed under the new ideological conditions was also manifested in the fact that he proposed to include the organization of research on social psychology in the plan of research activities and, for the first time in our country, raised the question of organizing the Institute of Social Psychology. In relation to Marxism, the point of view of G. I. Chelpanov is as follows. 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). Sharply arguing with representatives of the authoritative psychological trend - reflexology, G. I. Chelpanov argued that the task of the reform of psychology should not be the organization of dog lovers, but the organization of work on the study of social psychology (G. I. Chelpanov, 1926). K. N. Kornilov (1924) and P. P. Blonsky (1920) also spoke on the question of the reform of science.

One of the main trends 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 aggregate, a simple sum of the individuals that make it up. Representatives of the second argued that the behavior of the individual is fatally predetermined by common tasks and the structure of the team. 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, at the same time, an independent creative character of behavior is inherent in the team as a whole. Many social psychologists participated in the detailed development of the theory of collectives, their classification, the study of different collectives, problems of their development (B. V. Belyaev (1921), L. Byzov (1924), L. N. Voitolovsky (1924), A. S. Zatuzhny (1930), M. A. Reisner (1925), G. A. Fortunatov (1925) and others.

In the scientific and organizational development of social psychology in Russia, the First All-Union Congress for the Study of Human Behavior, held in 1930, was of great importance. Personality problems and problems of social psychology and collective behavior were singled out as one of the three priority areas of discussion. These problems were discussed both in methodological terms, in connection with the ongoing discussion about Marxism in psychology, and in a concrete form. The social transformations that took place in post-revolutionary Russia in ideology, in industrial production, in agriculture, in national politics, in military affairs, according to the congress participants, caused new socio-psychological phenomena that should have attracted the attention of social psychologists. The main socio-psychological phenomenon was collectivism, which manifests itself in different ways in different conditions, in different associations. Theoretical, methodological, specific tasks for the study of the collective were reflected in a special resolution of the congress. The beginning of the 1930s was the peak of the development of socio-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 domestic science from Western psychology began. Translations of works by Western authors have ceased to be published. Within the country, ideological control over science increased. The atmosphere of decreeing and administration thickened. This fettered creative initiative, gave rise to fear to explore socially sharp questions. The number of studies on social psychology has drastically decreased, and books on this discipline have almost ceased to be published. There was a break 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 widely spread that, since all mental phenomena are socially determined, there is no need to single out specifically socio-psychological phenomena and the science that studies them.

The ideological orientation of Western social psychology, differences in the understanding of social phenomena, psychologization in sociology caused a sharp critical assessment of the Marxists. This assessment was often transferred to social psychology, which led to the fact that social psychology in the Soviet Union fell into the category of pseudoscience.

One of the reasons for the break in the history of social psychology was the practical lack of demand for research results. No one needed to study the opinions, moods of people, the psychological atmosphere in society, moreover, they were extremely dangerous.

The ideological pressure on science was reflected in the Decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of 1936 “On Pedological Perversions in the System of People's Commissariat of Education”. This decree closed not only pedology, but rebounded on psychotechnics and social psychology. The period of interruption, which began in the second half of the 1930s, continued until the second half of the 1950s. But even at that 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. Leontiev, S. L. Rubinshtein, etc.). In this regard, ideas about the socio-historical determination of mental phenomena, the 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 pedagogical practice. The central theme of this period was the psychology of the collective. The views of A. S. Makarenko were defining the face 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 owns one of the definitions of the collective, which was the starting point for the development of socio-psychological problems in the following decades. The team, according to A. S. Makarenko, is a purposeful complex of individuals who are organized and have governing bodies. This is a contact set based on the socialist principle of association. The collective is a social organism. The main features of the team are: the presence of common goals that serve the benefit of society; joint activities aimed at achieving these goals; certain structure; the presence in it of bodies coordinating the activities of the collective and representing its interests. The collective is a part of society, organically connected with other collectives. Makarenko gave a new classification of teams. He singled out two types: 1) the primary team: its members are in constant friendly, everyday and ideological association (detachment, school class, family); 2) secondary collective - a wider association. In it, goals and relationships flow from a deeper social synthesis, from the tasks of the national economy, from the socialist principles of life (school, enterprise). The goals themselves differ in terms of their implementation. Near, medium and long-range targets were identified. Makarenko belongs to the development of the question of the stages of development of the team. In its development, the collective, according to A. S. Makarenko, goes from the dictatorial demand of the organizer to the free demand of each individual about himself against the background of the requirements of the collective. The psychology of personality is central to Makarenko's collective psychology. Criticizing functionalism, which decomposed the personality into impersonal functions, negatively evaluating the biogenetic and sociogenetic concepts of the personality that prevailed then, the individualistic orientation of general psychology, A. S. Makarenko raised the question of the need for a holistic study of the personality. The main theoretical and practical task is the study of the individual, in a team.

The main problems in the study of personality were the relationship of the individual in the team, the definition of promising lines in its development, the formation of character. In this regard, the purpose of educating a person is the formation of the projected qualities of the personality, the lines of its development. For a full-fledged study of personality, it is necessary to study; 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 perspective aspiration. The study of the motivational sphere of personality is essential. The main thing in this area is needs. A morally justified need, according to A. S. Makarenko, is the need of a collective, that is, a person connected with the collective by a single goal of movement, unity of struggle, a living and undoubted sense of his duty to society. Need we have a sister of duty, duty, ability; this is a manifestation of the interest not of a consumer of public goods, but of a figure in a socialist society, a creator of common goods, - A.S. Makarenko.

In the study of personality, A. S. Makarenko demanded to overcome contemplation, the use of active methods of education. Makarenko drew up a scheme for studying personality, which was reflected in the work “Methods for organizing the educational process”. The core idea of ​​the socio-psychological concept of A. S. Makarenko is the unity of the team and the individual. This determined the basis of his practical requirement: the education of the individual in the team through the team, for the team.

The views of A. S. Makarenko were developed by many researchers and practitioners, covered in numerous publications. Of the psychological works, the most consistent teaching about the collective of A. S. Makarenko is presented in the works of A. L. Shnirman.

Local socio-psychological research in various branches of science and practice (pedagogical, military, medical, industrial) in the 1940s and 1950s maintained a certain continuity in the history of Russian social psychology. At the end of the 1950s, its final stage began,

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

During this period, a special social and intellectual situation developed in our country. The "warming" of the general atmosphere, the weakening of administration in science, the decline 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 a person increased, the tasks of forming a comprehensively developed personality, its active life position, arose. The situation has changed in social sciences. Concrete sociological research began to be intensively carried out. Changes in psychological science were an important circumstance. Psychology in the 50s defended its right to independent existence in heated discussions with physiologists. In general psychology, social psychology has received reliable support. The period of revival of social psychology in our country began. With a certain reason, this period can be called a recovery period. Social psychology was formed as an independent science. The criteria for this independence were: the awareness of the representatives of this science of the level of its development, the state of its research, the characterization of the place of this science in the system of other sciences; definition of the subject and objects of its research; allocation and definition of the main categories and concepts; formulation of laws and patterns; institutionalization of science; training of specialists. Formal criteria include publication of special works, articles, organization of discussions at congresses, conferences, symposiums. All these criteria were met by the state of social psychology in our country. Formally, the beginning of the renaissance period is associated with a discussion on social psychology. This discussion began with the publication of an article by A. G. Kovalev "On Social Psychology" in the Bulletin of Leningrad State University, 1959. No. 12. Discussions continued in the journals "Psychology Issues" and "Philosophical Issues", at the II Congress of Psychologists of the USSR, at plenary session and at the section on social psychology organized for the first time within the framework of the All-Union Congresses. A permanent seminar on social psychology worked at the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

In 1968, the book "Problems of Social Psychology" was published, ed. V. N. Kolbanovsky and B. F. Porshnev, which attracted the attention of scientists. In a synthesized form, self-reflection of social psychologists about the essence of socio-psychological phenomena, the subject, tasks of social psychology, the definition of the main directions of its further development were reflected in textbooks and teaching aids, the main of which were published in the 60s - the first half of the 70s (G M. Andreeva, 1980; A. G. Kovalev, 1972; E. S. Kuzmin, 1967; B. D. Parygin, 1967, 1971). In a sense, the final work of the recovery period is the book Methodological Problems of Social Psychology (1975). It appeared as the result of "collective thinking" of social psychologists, which was carried out at a permanent seminar on social psychology at the Institute of Psychology. The book reflects the main problems of social psychology: personality, activity, communication, social relations, social norms, value orientations, large social groups, regulation of behavior. This book is presented in its entirety by authors who were among the country's leading social psychologists of that period.

The final stage in the history of domestic 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 collective problems. Studies of the social psychology of personality are associated with the names of L. I. Bozhovich (1968), K. K. Platonov (!965), V. A. Yadov (1975). The works of L. P. Bueva (1978), E. S. Kuzmin (1967) are devoted to the study of the problems of activity. The study of the 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 1970s, 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 scientific 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, and in 1972 the Institute of Psychology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR created the country's first sector of social psychology. Articles, monographs, collections are published. Problems of social psychology are discussed at congresses, conferences, symposiums, meetings.

1.3. On the history of the emergence of foreign social psychology

The authoritative American psychologist S. Sarason (1982) formulated the following very important idea: “Society already has its place, its structure and its mission - it is already going somewhere. A psychology that avoids the question of where we are going and where we should go is a very misguided psychology. If psychology is not concerned with the question of its mission, it is doomed to be rather led, rather than leading. We are talking about the role of psychological science in society and in its development, and the above words should be attributed primarily to social psychology, since the problems of man in society form the basis of its subject. Therefore, the history of social psychology should be considered not simply as a chronological sequence of the emergence and change of certain teachings and ideas, but in the context of the connections of these teachings and ideas with the history of society itself. This approach makes it possible to understand the very process of the development of ideas both from the point of view of objective socio-historical requests to science, and from the standpoint of the internal logic of science itself.

Social psychology can be considered, on the one hand, the most ancient field of knowledge, and on the other hand, an ultra-modern scientific discipline. Indeed, as soon as people began to unite in some more or less stable primitive communities (families, clans, tribes, etc.), there was a need for mutual understanding, for the ability to build and regulate relations within communities and between them. Consequently, from this moment in human history, social psychology also began, first in the form of primitive everyday ideas, and then in the form of detailed judgments and concepts that were included in the teachings of ancient thinkers about man, society and the state.

At the same time, there is every reason to consider social psychology as an ultra-modern science. This is explained by the undeniable and rapidly growing influence of social psychology in society, which in turn is associated with a deepening awareness of the role of " human factor» in all areas modern life. The growth of this influence reflects the tendency of social psychology to become from a "led" science, that is, only reflecting the demands of society, explaining, and often justifying the status quo, a "leading" science, focused on the humanistic-progressive development and improvement of society.

Following the logic of considering the history of social psychology from the standpoint of the development of ideas, three main stages in the evolution of this science can be distinguished. The criterion for their differences lies in the predominance of certain methodological principles at each stage, and their connection with historical and chronological milestones is rather relative. According to this criterion, E. Hollander (1971) singled out the stages of social philosophy, social empiricism and social analysis. The first is characterized primarily by a speculative, speculative method of constructing theories, which, although based on life observations, does not include the collection of systematized information and relies only on the subjective "rational" judgments and impressions of the creator of the theory. The stage of social empiricism takes a step forward in that in order to substantiate certain theoretical considerations, not just rational conclusions are used, but a set of empirical data collected on some basis and even somehow processed, at least in a simplified way, statistically. Social analysis means a modern approach, which includes the establishment of not only external links between phenomena, but also the identification of causal interdependencies, the disclosure of patterns, the verification and re-verification of the data obtained and the construction of a theory taking into account all the requirements of modern science.

In chronological space, these three stages can be conditionally distributed as follows: the methodology of social philosophy was predominant from ancient times to the 19th century; The 19th century was the heyday of social empiricism and laid the foundations for the stage of social analysis, which from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day constitutes the methodological basis of a truly scientific social psychology. The conditionality of this chronological distribution is determined by the fact that today all three of these methodological approaches have a place in social psychology. At the same time, one cannot unambiguously approach their assessment from the standpoint of what is “better” or “worse”. A deep purely theoretical thought can give rise to a new direction of research, the sum of "raw" empirical data can become an impetus for the development of an original method of analysis and some kind of discovery. In other words, not the methods themselves, but the creative potential of human thought is the basis of scientific progress. When this potential is absent, and the methodology and methods are applied thoughtlessly, mechanically, then the scientific result may turn out to be the same for both the 10th century and ours, the computer age.

Within the framework of these stages in the development of social psychology, we will get acquainted with the individual, most scientifically significant periods and events in the history of this science.

Stage of social philosophy. For ancient times, as well as for the thinkers of the Middle Ages, it was common to strive to build global theories that included judgments about a person and his soul, about society and its social and political structure, and about the universe as a whole. At the same time, it is noteworthy that many thinkers, developing the theory of society and the state, took as a basis their ideas about the soul (today we would say about the personality) of a person and about the simplest human relations- relationships in the family.

So, Confucius (VI-V centuries BC) proposed to regulate relations in society and the state on the model of relations in the family. Both there and there there are elders and younger ones, the younger ones should follow the instructions of the elders, relying on traditions, norms of virtue and voluntary submission, and not on prohibitions and fear of punishment.

Plato (5th-4th centuries BC) saw the same principles for the soul and the society-state. Reasonable in man - deliberative in the state (represented by rulers and philosophers); "furious" in the soul (in modern language - emotions) - protective in the state (represented by warriors); "lustful" in the soul (there are needs) - farmers, artisans and merchants in the state.

Aristotle (4th century BC) singled out, as we would say today, the concept of “communication” as the main category in the system of his views, believing that this is an instinctive property of a person, which is a necessary condition for his existence. True, communication in Aristotle obviously had a broader content than this concept in modern psychology. It signified the human need to live in community with other people. Therefore, the primary form of communication for Aristotle was the family, and the highest form was the state.

A remarkable feature of the history of any science is that it allows you to see with your own eyes the connection of ideas in time and to be convinced of the well-known truth that the new is the well-forgotten old. True, the old usually arises at a new level of the spiral of knowledge, enriched with newly acquired knowledge. Understanding this is a necessary condition for the formation of professional thinking of a specialist. For simple illustrations, what little has already been said can be used. So. Confucius's ideas are reflected in the moral and psychological organization of modern Japanese society, to understand which, according to Japanese psychologists, it is necessary to understand the connection and unity of relations along the axis "family - ~ firm - state". And the Chinese authorities organized a conference in 1996 to show that the ideas of Confucius did not contradict the communist ideology.

Plato's three initial beginnings can quite justifiably give rise to an association with modern ideas about the three components of a social attitude: cognitive, emotional-evaluative and behavioral. Aristotle's ideas have something in common with the ultra-modern concept of people's need for social identification and categorization (X. Tezhfel, D. Turner and others) or with modern ideas about the role of the "compatibility" phenomenon in the life of groups (A. L. Zhuravlev and others).

The socio-psychological views of ancient times, as well as the Middle Ages, can be combined into a large group of concepts that G. Allort (1968) called simple theories with a "sovereign" factor. They are characterized by a tendency to find a simple explanation for all the complex manifestations of the human psyche, while highlighting some one main, determining, and therefore sovereign factor.

A number of such concepts originate from the philosophy of hedonism of Epicurus (IV-III century BC) and are reflected in the views of T. Hobbes (XVII century), A. Smith (XVIII century), J. Bentham (XVIII -19th century), etc. The sovereign factor in their theories was the desire of people to get as much pleasure (or happiness) as possible and avoid pain (compare with the principle of positive and negative reinforcement in modern behaviorism). True, in Hobbes this factor was mediated by another - the desire for power. But people needed power only in order to be able to get maximum pleasure. From here, Hobbes formulated the well-known thesis that the life of society is a "war of all against all" and only the instinct of self-preservation of the race, combined with the human mind, allowed people to come to some kind of agreement on how to distribute power.

J. Bentham (1789) even developed the so-called hedonistic calculus, that is, a tool for measuring the amount of pleasure and pain received by people. At the same time, he singled out such parameters as: duration (of pleasure or pain), their intensity, certainty (of receiving or not receiving), proximity (or remoteness in time), purity (that is, whether pleasure is mixed with pain or not), etc. P.

Bentham understood, of course, that pleasure and pain are generated by different sources and therefore have different character. Pleasure, for example, can be simply sensual pleasure, the joy of creativity, satisfaction from friendship relationships, a feeling of power from power or wealth, etc. Accordingly, pain can be not only physical, but also appear in the form of grief for one reason or another. . The main point was that, by their psychological nature, pleasure and pain are the same regardless of their sources of origin. Therefore, they can be measured based on the fact that the amount of pleasure received, for example, from a delicious meal, is quite comparable to the pleasure from reading good poetry or from communicating with a loved one. It is interesting that such a psychologized approach to the assessment of pleasure-pain predetermined complex and far-reaching socio-political assessments. According to Bentham, the task of the state was to create as much pleasure or happiness as possible for the largest possible number of people. It should be recalled that Bentham's ideas were formulated in the initial period of the development of capitalism in Europe, which was characterized by the most severe and overt forms of exploitation. Bentham's hedonistic calculus was very convenient for explaining and justifying the fact why some part of society works 12-14 hours in "sweat-pressing workshops", while the other enjoys the fruits of their labor. According to Bentham's method of calculation, it turned out that the "pain" of those thousands of people who work in "sweat extractors" is much less in total than the "pleasure" of those who use the results of their work. Consequently, the state is quite successful in its task of increasing the total amount of pleasure in society.

This episode from the history of social psychology testifies to the fact that in its relations with society it played, basically, the role of a "guided one". It is no coincidence that G. Allport (1968), speaking about the psychology of hedonism, noted: “Their psychological theory was woven into the social situation of the day and became, to some extent, what Marx and Engels (1846) and Mannheim (1936) ) is called an ideology.

The ideas of the psychology of hedonism also find their place in later socio-psychological concepts: for 3. Freud, this is the “pleasure principle”, for A. Adler and G. Lasswell, the desire for power as a way to compensate for feelings of inferiority; behaviorists, as already noted, the principle of positive and negative reinforcement.

Foundation of others simple theories with the sovereign factor is the so-called "big three" - sympathy, imitation and suggestion. Their fundamental difference from hedonistic concepts lies in the fact that not negative features of human nature, such as egoism and the desire for power, are taken as sovereign factors, but positive principles in the form of sympathy or love for other people and their derivatives - imitation and suggestion. Nevertheless, the desire for simplicity and the search for a sovereign factor remains.

The development of these ideas went at first in the form of a search for compromises. So, even Adam Smith (1759) believed that, despite the selfishness of a person, “there are some principles in his nature that give rise to his interest in the well-being of others ...” The problem of sympathy or love, or rather, benevolent principles in relations between people, occupied a large place in the reflections of theorists and practitioners of the 18th, 19th and even 20th centuries. Different types of sympathy were proposed according to the signs of their manifestation and character. So, A. Smith singled out reflex sympathy as a direct inner experience of the pain of another (for example, at the sight of the suffering of another person) and intellectual sympathy (as a feeling of joy or grief for events happening to loved ones). G. Spencer, the founder of social Darwinism, considered it necessary to have a feeling of sympathy only in the family, since it forms the basis of society and is necessary for the survival of people, and excluded this feeling from the sphere of social relations, where the principle of struggle for existence and survival of the strongest should operate.

In this regard, one cannot fail to note the contribution of Peter Kropotkin, who had a noticeable influence on socio-psychological views in the West.

P. Kropotkin (1902) went further than his Western colleagues and suggested that not just sympathy, but the instinct of human solidarity should determine the relationship between people and human communities. It seems that this is very consonant with the modern socio-political idea of ​​universal human values.

The concepts of "love" and "sympathy" are not often found in modern socio-psychological research. But they were replaced by the concepts of cohesion, cooperation, compatibility, harmony, harmony, altruism, social mutual assistance, etc., which are very relevant today. In other words, the idea lives, but in other concepts, including the concept of “joint life activity”, developed at the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences , is one of the most integral and explaining phenomena, including "sympathy", "solidarity", etc.

Imitation became one of the sovereign factors in the socio-psychological theories of the 19th century. This phenomenon was considered as a derivative of the feeling of love and sympathy, and the empirical beginning was observations in such areas as the relationship between parents and children, fashion and its distribution, culture and traditions. Everywhere one could single out a pattern of attitudes and behavior and trace how this pattern was repeated by others. Hence, all social relations received a fairly simple explanation. Theoretically, these views were developed by G. Tarde in The Laws of Imitation (1903), where he formulated a number of patterns of imitative behavior, and also by J. Baldwin (1895), who identified various forms of imitation. W. McDougall (1908) proposed the idea of ​​"induced emotions", generated by the desire to repeat the instinctive reactions of others. Simultaneously named and other authors tried to identify different levels of awareness of imitative behavior.

Suggestion became the third "sovereign" factor in a series of simple theories. It was introduced into use by the French psychiatrist A. Liebo (1866), and the most accurate definition of suggestion was formulated by W. MacDougall (1908). “Suggestion is a process of communication,” he wrote, “as a result of which the transmitted statement is accepted with conviction by others, despite the absence of logically adequate grounds for such acceptance.”

At the end of XIX and beginning of XX centuries. under the influence of the works of J. Charcot, G. Le Bon, W. MacDougall, S. Siegelet and others, almost all problems of social psychology were considered from the standpoint of the concept of suggestion. At the same time, many theoretical and empirical studies have been devoted to the issues of the psychological nature of suggestion, which remain relevant today.

Stage of social empiricism. It is easy to see that the elements of empirical methodology appeared, for example, already in Bentham in his attempt to connect his conclusions with a specific situation in his contemporary society. This tendency, either explicitly or implicitly, was also manifested by other theorists. Therefore, by way of illustration, we can limit ourselves to only one example of such a methodology, namely the work of Francis Galton (1883). Galton is the founder of eugenics, that is, the science of improving humanity, the ideas of which are offered in an updated version today in connection with the development of genetic engineering. Nevertheless, it was Galton who demonstrated the limitations of the methodology of social empiricism. In his most famous study, he tried to find out where intellectually outstanding people come from. Having collected data on outstanding fathers and their children in modern English society, Galton came to the conclusion that gifted people give birth to gifted children, that is, the genetic principle is the basis. He did not take into account only one thing, namely, that he studied only very wealthy people, that these people could create exceptional conditions for the upbringing and education of their offspring, and that, being "outstanding" people themselves, they could give their children incomparably more than "simple " people.

It is important to remember about Galton's experience and the methodology of social empiricism in general, because even today, especially in connection with the spread of computer data processing technology, random, external relationships (correlations) between certain phenomena are interpreted as the presence of a causal relationship between them. When used thoughtlessly, computers become, in the words of S. Sarason, “substitutes for thinking”. One could give examples from domestic dissertations of the 80s, in which, on the basis of “correlations”, it was stated that “sexually unsatisfied girls” tend to listen to the Voice of America, that American youth hate their police, and Soviet youth love the police, etc. d.

Stage of social analysis. This is the stage of formation of scientific social psychology, it is closer to current state science, and therefore we will touch only on individual milestones on the way to its formation.

If the question was raised: who is the "father" of modern social psychology, it would be practically impossible to answer it, since too many representatives of different sciences have made a significant contribution to the development of socio-psychological thought. Nevertheless, one of the closest to this title, paradoxically, could be called the French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857). The paradox is that that this thinker was considered almost an enemy of psychological science. But in fact, the opposite is true. According to many publications, Comte is known to us as the founder of positivism, that is, external, superficial knowledge, supposedly excluding the knowledge of internal hidden relationships between phenomena. At the same time, it was not taken into account that by positive knowledge Comte meant, first of all, objective knowledge. As for psychology, Comte did not speak out against this science, but only against its name. In his time, psychology was exclusively introspective, that is, subjective-speculative. This contradicted Comte's ideas about the objective nature of knowledge, and in order to rid psychology of the unreliability of subjectivism, he gave it a new name - positive morality (la morale positive). It is not so widely known that, by closing the multi-volume series of his works, Comte planned to develop a "genuine final science", by which he understood what we call psychology and social psychology. The science of man as more than a biological being and at the same time more than just a "clot of culture" was to become, according to Comte, the pinnacle of knowledge.

The name of Wilhelm Wundt is usually associated with the history of psychology in general. But it is not always noted that he distinguished between physiological psychology and the psychology of peoples (in modern language - social). His ten-volume work The Psychology of Nations (1900-1920), on which he worked for 60 years, is essentially social psychology. Higher mental functions, according to Bundga, should have been studied from the standpoint of the "psychology of peoples."

W. McDougall left a memory of himself as one of the first textbooks of social psychology, published in 1908. His entire system of views on socio-psychological relations in society was based on the theory of instincts, which, taking into account the contribution of 3. Freud, dominated in scientific consciousness over the next 10-15 years.

At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. social psychology was still undergoing a period of formation as an independent science, so many of its problems were reflected in the works of sociologists. It is impossible not to note in this connection the works of E. Durkheim (1897), who sharply raised the questions of the influence of social factors on the mental life of individuals, and C. Cooley, who developed the problem of the relationship between the individual and society.

A large place in the writings of sociologists at the end of the XIX century. occupied the problem of the crowd, but this issue will be considered in the corresponding section of this work.

Social psychology as a science studies the characteristics of human behavior among other people in various life situations and in certain historical contexts.

Social psychology as a science includes the social psychology of personality; social psychology of communication, knowledge and mutual influence of people; social psychology of individual groups.

To understand the specifics of social psychology as a science, it is necessary to consider the complex of levels at which the social behavior of people as a whole develops.

The sciences consider people at the following levels: social, personal and interpersonal. The social level implies the influence of individuals on the person included in them (for example, in the process of migration, in an environment of unemployment, etc.) This level of relations is studied by sociology. The personal level is the influence of individual and psychological characteristics of a person on his own behavior. This is studied by personality psychology and differential psychology. The interpersonal level belongs to the research and study of social psychology. At each level, there is an explanation of the phenomena that occur to a person.

Social psychology as a science can be defined as the science of the basic patterns of people's behavior, which is determined by their presence in society (society). It studies the perception by individuals of the actions and feelings of other people, as well as the influence of groups of people on the consciousness, as well as the behavior of individuals.

Until now, disputes about the place social psychology occupies in the system of other sciences do not stop. Some consider it to be entirely social science, others consider it entirely psychological. On the other hand, researchers disagree on whether social psychology occupies a separate niche in the system of knowledge or has common overlapping areas with sociology and psychology. Most researchers share the general opinion that social psychology is an independent branch of psychological science.

Social psychology as a science uses methods of empirical research (surveys, analysis of documents, observation), specialized methods of socio-psychological research (experiments, tests), simulated methods (laboratory reconstruction of realities) and managerial and educational methods (trainings).

There is no single generally accepted idea about the subject of the discipline. This can be explained by the complexity of socio-psychological phenomena, real facts and patterns that she studies. There are two approaches to this issue. The first under the subject understands the mass phenomena of the psyche, the second - individual. Recently, a third approach has also appeared, combining mass and personal mental processes into a single subject. Thus, the subject can be understood as facts, patterns of behavior and activity, as well as communication of people and their mechanisms, which are due to the inclusion of individuals in society.

Separate branches of social psychology are scientific fields related to the study of certain areas of human activity. For example, the discipline sociology and psychology of labor studies socio-psychological relations and social processes in the sphere of labor. It uses methods of influencing the psychological and social climate of the team, collects and processes primary information on sociology in order to resolve and prevent labor conflicts in the team.

The discipline studies, diagnoses and predicts the professional suitability of a person, explores the role of labor discipline and its significance, labor behavior, motivation and attitude of people to work.

Object of social psychology- a single person from a group, a small, medium or large social group, interpersonal or intergroup interaction.

Tasks of social psychology

Below is a list of the main tasks of social psychology, but in reality the list is much wider, each individual task contains a number of additional tasks:

• The study of the phenomenon of human interaction, information exchange;
• Mass mental phenomena;
• Socio-psychological characteristics of social groups as integral structures;
• Mechanisms of social impact on a person and his involvement in society as a subject of social life and social interaction;
• Creation of theoretical and practical recommendations for improving the interaction of people and social groups:
  • Further development of social psychology as a multi-level system of knowledge;
  • Research and problem solving in small groups (hierarchy, leadership, manipulation, interpersonal relationships, conflicts, etc.);
  • Exploring and solving problems in large groups (nations, classes, unions, etc.);
  • The study of the socio-psychological activity of the individual in the team.

Problems of social psychology

A short list of the main problems of social psychology:

• Intra-group fluctuations;
• Stages of development of social groups;
• Intragroup and intergroup leadership;
• Psychological characteristics of social groups;
• Communication and interpersonal relationships in a social group;
• Intergroup social relations;
• Psychology of large, medium and small social groups and mass media;
• Massive socio-psychological phenomena (mass mood, consciousness, mental infection, etc.);
• Human adaptation and its features in social environments;
• Management of socio-psychological processes.

• More details in the article

Methods of social psychology

Social psychology uses the methods of general psychology and sociology:

• questioning;
• interviewing;
• conversation;
• group experiment;
• study of documents;
• observation (included and not included).

Social psychology also has its own specific methods, for example, the method sociometry- measurement of private relationships of people in groups. The basis of sociometry is the statistical processing of the answers of the subjects to questions related to their desire to interact with members of a particular group. The data obtained as a result of sociometry is called sociogram(Fig. 1), which has a specific symbolism (Fig. 2).

Rice. one. Sociogram. According to this sociogram, it is possible to identify the central core of the group, that is, individuals with stable positive relationships (A, B, Yu, I); the presence of other groups (B-P, S-E); the person with the most authority in a certain respect (A); a person who does not enjoy sympathy (L); mutually negative relationships (P-S); lack of stable social ties (M).

Rice. 2. Sociogram symbols.

History of social psychology

Social psychology as a separate area of ​​psychology took shape only by the middle of the 19th century, but the period of accumulation of knowledge about society and man in particular began long before that. In the philosophical works of Aristotle and Plato, one can find socio-psychological ideas, the French materialist philosophers and utopian socialists made a significant contribution, and later the works of Hegel and Feuerbach. Socio-psychological knowledge until the 19th century took shape within the framework of sociology and philosophy.

The second half of the 19th century is considered the first stage in the formation of social psychology as an independent field of psychological science, but it was only a theoretical and empirical science, all activity consisted in describing the observed processes. This transition period is associated with the appearance of a journal on linguistics and ethnopsychology in 1899 in Germany, founded by Lazarus Moritz(Lazarus Moritz, philosopher and writer, Germany) and Heyman Steinthal(Heymann Steinthal, philosopher and philologist, Germany).

The first outstanding personalities on the path of development of empirical social psychology are William McDougall(McDougall, psychologist, England), Gustave Lebon(Gustave Le Bon, psychologist and sociologist, France) and Jean Gabriel Tarde(Gabriel Tarde, criminologist and sociologist, France). Each of these scientists put forward their theories and justifications for the development of society by the properties of an individual: W. McDougall justified instinctive behavior, G.Lebon - from the point of view, G.Tard - .

1908 is considered the starting point of Western social psychology, thanks to the publication of the book " Introduction to Social Psychology» W. McDougall.

In the 1920s, thanks to the published work of the researcher V. Mede(Walther Moede, psychologist, Germany), who was the first to apply mathematical methods of analysis, a new stage began in the history of social psychology - experimental social psychology(Experimentelle Massenpsychologie). It was V. Mede who first recorded a significant difference in the abilities of people in groups and alone, for example, pain tolerance in a group, sustained attention, etc. It is also important to discover the influence of groups in the emotional and volitional spheres of a person.

The next significant step in the development of social psychology was detailing the methods of mass socio-psychological experiment an outstanding psychologist Gordon Willard Allport(Gordon Willard Allport, USA). This technique entailed a lot of experimental work, which was based on the development of recommendations for the development of advertising, political propaganda, military affairs and much more.

W. Allport and V. Mede set a point of no return in the development of social psychology from theory to practice. In particular, in the United States, social psychology is closely related to the business sphere and is an applied science. Large-scale studies of professional diagnostics, management problems, manager-employee relationships, and much more.

A further significant event in the development of the methodological field of social psychology was the development and creation of the method sociometry Jacob Levi Moreno(Jacob Levy Moreno, psychiatrist and sociologist, USA). According to the works of Moreno, the framework of all social groups determines the syntonicity (sympathy / antipathy) of individual members of this group. Jacob Moreno argued that all social problems are solvable with the correct division and integration of individuals into microgroups according to their sympathies, values, behavior and inclinations (if an activity satisfies a person, he does it as well as possible).

In all areas of Western social psychology, the basic element is "cell" of society- the microenvironment of society, a small group, that is, the average structure in the standard scheme "Society - Group - Personality". A person is dependent on his social role in the group, on its standards, requirements, norms.

In Western social psychology, field theory Kurt Zadek Lewin(Kurt Zadek Lewin, psychologist, Germany, USA), according to which the individual is constantly influenced by the field of attraction and the field of repulsion.

The concepts of Western social psychology are based on psychological determinism unrelated to economic conditions. human behavior is explained psychological reasons : aggressiveness, sexuality, etc. All concepts of Western social psychology are divided into four areas:

1. Psychoanalytic;
2. Neo-behavioristic;
3. cognitive;
4. Interactionist.

Directions of social psychology

Psychoanalytic direction of social psychology based on the concept and socio-psychological views of Sigmund Freud, on the basis of which several theories have been created by modern followers, one of which is put forward Wilfred Ruprecht Bayon(Wilfred Ruprecht Bion, psychoanalyst, England), according to which a social group is a macro species of an individual, that is, the features and qualities of groups, as in individuals. Interpersonal Needs = biological needs. All people have a need to please other people and desire to join a group (the need to be a link). The leader of the group has the function of supreme regulation.

Neo-Freudian social psychologists are looking for an explanation of interpersonal relationships in the subconscious and human emotions.

Neo-behavioral direction of social psychology is based on the facts of observation, excluding the specific properties of human behavior, theoretical materials, spheres of values ​​and motivations. In the concept of the neobehavioristic direction, behavior directly depends on learning. According to neobehavioristic judgments, the organism adapts to conditions, but the principle of transforming these conditions as a result of human activity is rejected. The main non-behaviouristic thesis: the genesis of the individual is determined by random reinforcements of his reactions. One of the main representatives of the neo-behaviouristic direction is Burres Frederick Skinner(Burrhus Frederic Skinner, psychologist and writer, USA), according to his works, the composition of human behavior depends on the consequences of this behavior (operant conditioning).

One of the most famous theories of the neobehaviorist direction is the theory of aggression, which is based on the “aggression-frustration” hypothesis (1930), according to which the aggressive state is the basis of the behavior of all people.

Neo-Freudians and neo-behaviorists have the same interpretation of human behavior, which is based on the desire for pleasure, and all the needs and environment of a person are not associated with historical conditions.

At the core cognitivist direction of social psychology(cognition - cognition) lie the features of the cognitive processes of people, which are the basis of socially conditioned behavior, that is, behavior is based on human concepts (social attitudes, attitudes, expectations, etc.). The attitude of a person to an object is determined by its categorical meaning. The main cognitivist thesis: consciousness determines behavior.

Interactionist direction of social psychology based on the problem of interaction between people in a social group - interactions based on the social roles of group members. The very notion of social role» introduced George Herbert Meade(George Herbert Mead, sociologist and philosopher, USA) in the 1930s.

Representatives of interactionism Shibutani Tamotsu(Tamotsu Shibutani, sociologist, USA), Arnold Marshall Rose(Arnold Marshall Rose, sociologist and political scientist, USA), Munford Kuhn(Manford H. Kuhn, sociologist, leader of symbolic interactionism, USA) and others gave paramount importance to such socio-psychological problems as communication, reference groups, communication, social role, social norms, social status, etc. Developed by Herbert Mead and other representatives interactionism conceptual apparatus, thoroughly common in socio-psychological science.

Interactionism recognizes the social conditioning of the human psyche as the basis of communication. In a number of empirical studies conducted by representatives of interactionism, the same type of behavioral manifestations in similar social situations have been recorded. However, social interaction is considered by interactionists without specificity in the content of the process of this interaction.

The problem of social psychology of the USSR and Russia

Research in the field of social psychology in the 1920s was based on biopsychological positions, which was contrary to the ideology of the country. As a result, work in the field of social psychology and many other branches of psychology were banned, as they were perceived as an alternative to Marxism. In Russia, the development of social psychology began only in the late 1950s. As a result of this “freeze” in the development of social psychology, a single categorical specificity has not been formed, research is being carried out at the level of empiricism and description, but despite these difficulties, the social psychology of Russia has scientific data and applies them in various fields of human activity.

Books on social psychology

Social Psychology

psychology and sociology

Subject

An object

1

2.

3

4

main sections:

- communication psychology

- group psychology

-

- practical applications.

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

Socio-psychological research- a type of scientific research with the aim of establishing 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 for organizing and constructing theoretical and practical activities, as well as the doctrine of this system. The methodology determines the initial principles of the study, the norms and requirements for the use of methods, the rules for exerting influence.

Crowd classification

- on the basis of controllability:

spontaneous crowd. It is formed and manifested without any organizing principle on the part of a particular individual.

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 this crowd.

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

- according to 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 some pre-announced mass entertainment, spectacle or other socially significant specific occasion.

expressive crowd. Formed - like a conventional crowd. It jointly expresses a general attitude towards an event (joy, enthusiasm, indignation, protest, etc.)

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

acting crowd. Formed - like conventional; performs actions on a specific object. The current 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 escaping from a real or imagined source of danger.

3. Acquisitive crowd. Enters into an unordered direct conflict for the possession of any values. Provoked by the authorities, ignoring the vital interests of citizens.

4. rebel mob. It is formed on the basis of general just indignation at the actions of the authorities.

G. Lebon distinguishes types of crowds on the basis of homogeneity. Diverse: anonymous (street, for example), not anonymous (parliamentary assembly). Homogeneous: sects; castes; classes.

factors of socialization.

Socialization proceeds in the interaction of children, adolescents, young men with a huge number of various conditions that more or less actively influence their development. These conditions acting on a person are usually called factors. More or less studied conditions or socialization factors conditionally can be divided into four groups.

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

Second – macro factors- a country, ethnic group, society, state, which affect the socialization of all living in certain countries.

Third – mesafactors, the conditions for the socialization of large groups of people, distinguished: by the area and type of settlement in which they live (region, village, city, settlement); by belonging to the audience of certain networks of mass communication (radio, television, etc.); by belonging to certain subcultures. Mesofactors affect the socialization of a person 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, religious, private organizations, microsociety.

Stages of team development

- (lowest)- disunited, this is a team that has either begun to form, or is already “decaying”. 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 more associated with negative assessments of various deviations from official norms, prescriptions, orders, etc.

- II- (medium)- dismembered team. The goals of value and its norms are already recognized by many members, but so far they are perceived and interpreted in different ways, depending on the groupings to which 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 groups are unfriendly to each other. Formal and informal structure are close in some elements. Both positive and negative assessments are used in the impact on the personality.

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

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

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

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

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

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 with common goals and values, actively and energetically participate in joint activities);

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

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, features of the behavior and activities of people, due to their social interaction.

Social psychology arose 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, socio-psychological ideas were formed within the framework of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, ethnography and linguistics.

AT mid-nineteenth in. social psychology emerged as an independent, but still descriptive science.

Subject 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:

1 . Psychological processes, states and properties of an individual, which manifest themselves 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.).

2. The phenomenon of interaction between people, in particular, the phenomenon of communication. For example - marital, parent-child, 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 intergroup.

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

4 . Mass mental phenomena. For example: crowd behavior, panic, rumors, fashion, mass enthusiasm, jubilation, fears.

Social psychology as a science includes the following main sections:

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

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

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

- practical applications.

1. The subject and tasks of social psychology. Branches of social psychology.

Social Psychology- this is a branch of psychological science that studies the patterns of emergence and functioning of socio-psychological phenomena 1 that are the result of the interaction of people (and their groups) as representatives of various communities.

Subject- socio-psychological phenomena and processes that are the result of the interaction of people as representatives of various social communities.

An object- specific social communities (groups) or their individual representatives (people).

Tasks of social psychology as a science. Social psychology as a branch of scientific research has its own specific tasks, including:

the study of: a) the specifics and originality of the phenomena that make up the public consciousness of people; b) the relationship between its components; c) the influence of the latter on the development and life of society;

comprehensive understanding and generalization of data on: a) the sources and conditions for the emergence, formation, development and functioning of socio-psychological phenomena and processes; b) the impact of these factors on the behavior and actions of people as part of numerous communities;

study of the most significant features and differences of socio-psychological phenomena and processes from other psychological and social phenomena that arise as a result of interaction, communication and relationships of people in different communities;

identification of patterns of functioning of socio-psychological phenomena and processes in various social conditions;

socio-psychological analysis of interaction, communication and relationships between people, as well as factors that determine the specifics and effectiveness of their influence on joint activities;

a comprehensive study of the socio-psychological characteristics of the personality and the uniqueness of its socialization in various social conditions;

understanding the specifics of the functioning of socio-psychological phenomena and processes that occur in a small group, and their influence on the behavior, communication and interaction of people in it;

study of the originality of the psychology of large social groups and the specifics of the manifestation of motivational, intellectual-cognitive, emotional-volitional and communicative-behavioral characteristics of people who are their members;

revealing the role and significance of religious psychology in the life and activities of people, its socio-psychological content and forms of manifestation, as well as the specifics of its influence on the communication and interaction of individuals;

comprehensive study of socio-psychological characteristics political life and the political activity of people, the originality of the transformation of the psyche of a person and groups of people who are under the direct influence of the political processes taking place in society;

the study of massive socio-psychological phenomena and processes, their role and significance in public life, the impact on the actions and behavior of people in extreme situations;

forecasting political, national and other processes in the development of the state (society) on the basis of taking into account socio-psychological laws and mechanisms.

Branches of social psychology.

The tasks solved by social psychology as a science, as well as the great variety and complexity of the socio-psychological phenomena that it studies, and the communities in which they arise, determined the emergence and development of its specific industries.

ethnic psychology studies the psychological characteristics of people as representatives of various ethnic communities.

Psychology of religion studies the psychology of people involved in various religious communities, as well as their religious activities.

Political psychology explores various aspects of psychological phenomena and processes related to the sphere of the political life of society and the political activity of people.

Psychology of management focuses on the analysis of problems associated with the impact on groups, society as a whole or its individual links in order to streamline them, preserve their qualitative specifics, improve and develop.

Psychology of social impact, while a poorly developed branch of social psychology, is engaged in the study of features, patterns and methods of influencing people and groups in various conditions of their life and activity.

Psychology of communication reveals the originality of the processes of interaction and exchange of information between people and social groups.

Psychology of the family (family relations) sets itself the task of a comprehensive study of the specifics of relations between members of the initial cell of human society.

Psychology of conflict relations (conflictology), a rapidly progressing branch of social psychology, aimed at a thorough study of the psychological characteristics of various conflicts and identifying ways to most effectively resolve them.

2 . Psychology of communication. Content, means, goals of communication. Forms, types, functions of communication. Interaction in the process of communication.

The concept and essence of communication.

Communication- a complex multifaceted process of establishing and developing contacts and connections between people, generated by the needs of joint activities and including the exchange of information and development of a unified strategy of interaction.

Communication is included in the practical interaction of people (joint work, teaching, collective play, etc.) and ensures the planning, implementation and control of their activities.

In the course of communication, its participants exchange not only their physical actions or products, the results of labor, but also thoughts, intentions, ideas, experiences, etc.

Communication in its content is the most complex psychological activity of partners.

Features and functions of communication.

Communication is usually manifested in the unity of its five aspects: interpersonal, cognitive, communicative-informational, emotive and conative.

Interpersonal side communication reflects the interaction of a person with the immediate environment.

Cognitive side communication allows you to answer questions about who the interlocutor is, what kind of person he is, what can be expected from him, and many others related to the personality of the partner.

Communication and information side represents an exchange between people of various ideas, ideas, interests, moods, feelings, attitudes, etc.

Emotive side communication is associated with the functioning of emotions and feelings, moods in personal contacts of partners.

Conative (behavioral) one hundred rona communication serves the purpose of reconciling internal and external contradictions in the positions of partners.

Communication performs certain functions:

pragmatic function communication reflects its need-motivational reasons and is realized through the interaction of people in the process of joint activities.

Forming function and times orgy reflects the ability of communication to have an impact on partners, developing and improving them in all respects. Communicating with other people, a person learns universal human experience, historically established social norms, values, knowledge and methods of activity, and is also formed as a person.

Confirmation function provides people with the opportunity to know, approve and confirm themselves.

Merge-Unmerge Function of people.

Function of organizing and maintaining relations serves the interests of establishing and maintaining sufficiently stable and productive ties, contacts and relationships between people in the interests of their joint activities.

intrapersonal function communication is realized in a person's communication with himself (through internal or external speech, built according to the type of dialogue).

Types of communication:

Interpersonal commonnieassociated with directtacts of people in groups or pairs, constant in composition of participants.

Mass communication- this is a lot of direct contactsstrangers, andnication mediated by varioustypes of media.

interpersonal communication. The participants in communication are specific individuals with specific individual qualities that are revealed in the course of communication and the organization of joint actions.

When role-playing communication, its participants act as carriers of certain roles (buyer-seller, teacher-student, boss-subordinate). In role-playing communication, a person loses a certain spontaneity of his behavior, since one or another of his steps, actions are dictated by the role being played.

trusted. In the course, particularly significant information is transmitted.

credibility- an essential feature of all types of communication, without it it is impossible to negotiate, to resolve intimate issues.

Conflict communicationcharacterized by mutual opposition of people, expressions of displeasure and distrust.

personal communication- it is an exchange of informal information.

Business conversation- the process of interaction between people performing joint duties or included in the same activity.

direct(immediate) communicationis historically the first form of communication between people.

mediated communication- this interaction with the help of additional means (letters, audio and video equipment).

Means of communication:

verbal communication two types of speech: oral and written. Written speech is the one taught in school. Oral speech, independent speech with its own rules and grammar.

non-verbal means of communication are needed in order to: regulate the course of the communication process, create psychological contact between partners; enrich the meanings conveyed by words, guide the interpretation of a verbal text; express emotions and reflect the interpretation of the situation.

They are divided into:

1. visual means of communication are (kinesics - movements of the arms, legs, head, torso; direction of gaze and visual contact; eye expression; facial expression; posture, skin reactions, etc.)

2. Acoustic(sound) means of communication are (paralinguistic, i.e. related to speech (intonation, loudness, timbre, tone, rhythm, pitch, speech pauses and their localization in the text, extralinguistic, i.e. not related to speech ( laughter, crying, coughing, sighing, gnashing of teeth, sniffling, etc.).

3. Tactile-kinesthetic(associated with touch) means of communication are (physical impact (leading the blind by the hand, contact dance, etc.); takeshika (shaking hands, clapping on the shoulder).

4. Olfactory means of communication are: pleasant and unpleasant odors environment; natural, artificial smells of a person, etc.