Definition of behavior and its types. Some general points

There are many classifications of behavior. There are social, bodily and psychological behavior. On the other hand, they distinguish between internal and external behavior, innate and acquired (and in it - creative), intentional and not, conscious and not, right and wrong.

Activity

Activity is understood as the activity of a subject aimed at changing the world, at producing or generating a certain objectified product of material or spiritual culture. Human activity appears first as practical, material activity. Then theoretical activity is separated from it. Any activity usually consists of a series of acts - actions or actions based on certain motives or motivations and aimed at a specific goal. Since in different conditions this goal can be achieved in various ways (<операциями>) or paths (<методами>), the action acts as a solution to the problem.

6. Development of the psyche in phylogenesis Development of the psyche in phylogenesis; qualitative changes in the psyche that occur within evolutionary development living beings, due to the complication of their interaction with environment. These changes can occur on a biological or sociohistorical basis. The psyche itself, as the ability to sense, arose from the irritability of living beings and developed in connection with the formation and development of their nervous system. In its evolution, the psyche went through a number of stages: from sensory to perceptual and further to the intellectual stage and to the formation of consciousness. At the same time, consciousness as a feature of the human psyche is a product of the socio-historical development of human society, the possibility of the existence of which is determined by the use and production of tools, elements of language, knowledge, and norms of behavior Development of the psyche in ontogenesis The development of the psyche in ontogenesis is the process of evolution of the ways an individual interacts with the environment. The emergence of the psyche is associated with the formation at a certain stage of development of the ability to actively move in space, in which needs are satisfied through active movements in the environment, which must be preceded by the search for necessary objects. The development of the human psyche is based on the individual’s mastery of historically formed social tools that serve as a means of satisfying human needs. In the period from 1 to 3 years, a child masters the basics of object-manipulative activities using the simplest objects, due to which the ability to perform universal hand movements, to solve simple motor problems, and the ability to take his own position within relationships with adults and peers is formed (the emergence of the child’s attitude of “I am myself”). ). At the age of 3 to 67 years, the ability to imagine and use various symbols is formed in the process of gaming activity. At school age, a child, in the process of educational activities, appropriates elements of science and art, which leads to the formation of the foundations of logical thinking.

7. The oldest, originating in ancient times and lasting for centuries understanding consciousness , identifies it with all the psychological characteristics of a person, puts, in fact, an equal sign between the consciousness and psyche of a person. Ancient scientists believed that everything that is connected with the human soul, everything in which it manifests itself, is included in the content of consciousness, since the psyche is consciousness and no other psyche exists except the conscious one. This understanding of consciousness as equivalent to the psyche as a whole not only survived until the Renaissance, but was also firmly established in the 17th century. for about 200 years, when there was a clear separation of the human psyche and the psyche of animals. Since then, thanks to the works of R. Descartes and some of his other contemporaries, in particular J. Locke, psychology has long turned into the science of consciousness. Although the existence of the unconscious in the psyche is recognized, the main scientific studies of the psyche still concern consciousness, its structure and functioning. At present, this point of view is not openly defended by the majority of psychologists, but in a hidden form continues to exist, exerting a certain influence on the choice of subject of research and methods of studying the psyche. It is clearly visible, for example, in modern cognitive psychology.

Psychology views consciousness as a specific phenomenon of human spiritual life, characterized by a number of characteristics. Firstly, consciousness is awareness of the surrounding world, it is a certain system of knowledge, historically developed, continuously replenished, refracted through the prism of personal experience.

Realize object - this means including it in the system of your knowledge, attributing it to a certain class of objects, denoting it with a word, verbalizing it. At the same time, the property of consciousness can be both reliable and unreliable knowledge: guesses, inventions, etc. Consciousness represents the unity of sensory and logical reflection.

Conscious and unconscious in the human psyche

Along with conscious forms of reflection and activity, humans are also characterized by those that are, as it were, beyond the “threshold” of consciousness.

A person’s mental activity and psyche function simultaneously at three interconnected levels: unconscious, subconscious And conscious.

Consciousness does not always control actions and feelings, or determine the direction of our thoughts. There is also the unconscious. Often it is precisely this driving force and determines a person’s behavior style.

Unconscious level mental activity is an innate instinctive-reflex activity. Behavioral acts at the unconscious level are regulated by unconscious biological mechanisms. They are aimed at satisfying biological needs - preserving the organism and the species (procreation). However, the genetically determined program of human behavior is not autonomous; it is under the control of higher and later formed brain structures. And only in certain critical situations for the individual (for example, in a state of passion) can this sphere of the human psyche go into the mode of autonomous self-regulation.

S. Freud made a great contribution to the development of the problems of the personal unconscious.

The unconscious in a person’s personality is those qualities, interests, needs, etc. that a person is not aware of in himself, but which are inherent in him and manifest themselves in a variety of involuntary reactions, actions, and mental phenomena. One of the groups- erroneous actions: slips of the tongue, slips of the tongue, errors when writing or listening to words. At the core second group conscious phenomena, lies the involuntary forgetting of names, promises, intentions, objects, events and other things that are directly or indirectly associated for a person with unpleasant experiences. Third group unconscious phenomena of a personal nature, belongs to the category of ideas and is associated with perception, memory and imagination: dreams, reveries, daydreams.

set of real actions, ext. manifestations of the vital activity of living beings, including humans. In everyday speech and ped. In practice, a narrower interpretation of P. is traditionally accepted as a person’s compliance with generally accepted rules of relationships and the performance of certain forms of actions (educational, professional, etc.). Accordingly, performance is defined in the evaluation criteria as exemplary, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory. This interpretation, however, does not exhaust the entire variety of P. forms and does not allow us to consider this phenomenon comprehensively.

P. of any living creature is a continuous process of adaptation to constantly changing external conditions. environment. For all animals, the environment acts as a set of biol. factors. Animal nutrition is inherently reactive, i.e. represents a complex of reactions to environmental stimuli. It is in this aspect that P. is considered within the framework of behaviorism. Its supporters (J. Watson, B. Skinner, and others) extended ideas based on the study of animal behavior to human activity. This approach has drawn sharp criticism from many. scientists who proved the inconsistency of human biologization. Indeed, many human actions are dictated by the need to respond to external demands. environment. But human P. is not limited to this. The simplest actions are determined by external factors. motives, i.e. P. of a person in his departments. manifestations may be reactive. But many more complex actions are determined internally. the motives of a person, and, thus, his P. acts as a genuine activity. Basic The content of animal life is adaptation to the environment. A person is able to go beyond the reactive adaptation. Higher manifestations of his P. are in the nature of activity. With scientific and methodological point of view, activity is a specifically human category. Its originality lies in the fact that it is aimed at adapting to external conditions. conditions, and (at a higher level) to adapt environmental conditions to the needs of the person himself. This achieves a truly active, rather than reactive, character of human P.

In the early stages of a child’s development, the child’s behavior is entirely dictated by environmental stimuli. (This is why the pedagogical recommendations of behaviorists turn out to be extremely effective for children of younger age; subsequently their role decreases.) Psychologists define the child’s education in the first years of life as field, i.e. conditioned by external field - that material environment that consistently appears before the child. If mental development is disrupted, as happens with diff. psychic diseases and anomalies (for example, schizophrenia, early childhood autism.

etc.), P. and subsequently remains field and involuntary for a long time. For example, by placing toys in the room appropriately, you can accurately predict the sequence of actions of a child suffering from early childhood. autism when he walks into this room. Normal mental development involves the gradual formation of voluntary regulation of P., when the child’s own impulses acquire an increasingly greater role (P. becomes so-called field independent). P. gradually loses its spontaneous, impulsive character and is increasingly mediated by consciously set goals.

The formation of specifically human skills involves the assimilation of certain norms and rules developed by mankind. Just as a child first randomly manipulates any objects, and subsequently masters them practically. purpose and properties, so he assimilates the social nature of his actions, learns to correlate actions and their results. The decisive role here belongs to adults, who initially act externally for the child. regulators of his P., but gradually shift this role to the child himself. As a result, he turns out to be able to independently regulate his actions, i.e. regulation becomes internal. On the part of adults, it is pedagogically unjustifiably rigid to adhere to their directing, regulating function, without taking into account the child’s growing ability to appropriate this function. This kind of appropriation should be carried out gradually, however, if adults deliberately slow down this process, the child may not learn the skills of managing his P for a long time.

The motivating force of human behavior is a system of motives that determine each specific action and its direction. Insufficient formation of the motivational sphere or its distortion, which arose as a result of unfavorable conditions for the formation of personality, leads to violations of P., which in ped. practice, along with insufficient voluntary regulation, are assessed as unsatisfactory P. For example, the activity of ml. schoolchildren, especially first-graders, are determined by a premium. gaming motives. Only gradually, as a result of purposeful formation, does the formation of the actual teaching occur. motivation.

P. of a person acts externally. expression of his inner the world, the entire system of its life attitudes, values, ideals. Moreover, a person’s knowledge of certain norms and rules is not enough to regulate his behavior if they are not consciously learned by him and accepted as his own beliefs. Only having embodied in the real P., internal. attitudes acquire the property of beliefs. Therefore, it is pedagogically advisable to form internal activity regulators through practical implementation of a certain P.

Each person's personality is reflected in his individual psychology. features: degree of emotional stability, character traits, inclinations, etc. Dept. individual traits can leave a negative imprint on P. For example, emotional imbalance in combination with an acquired tendency to violent actions can manifest itself in aggressive behavior. The teacher’s task is to correct unwanted behavior, taking into account the peculiarities of internal formation. the world of a particular child, his individual traits.

Many deviations in the P. of children are a manifestation of emotional distress, internal. conflicts. Corrective influences should be aimed at mitigating psychol. imbalance, elimination of painful experiences that generate negative P.

Lit. Leontiev A.N., Activity. Consciousness. Personality, M., 1975; Aseev V.G., Motivation of behavior and personality formation, M., 1976; Vygotsky L. S., L u p and I A. R., Etudes on the history of behavior, M; see also lit. at st. Activities, Motives. P. S. Ariskin.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

The topic of social behavior is of great importance in modern times. Social behavior involves psychological impact on people and the occupation of a specific position among them. As a rule, this type of behavior is considered as the opposite of individual behavior, which, in turn, is not related to the position a person occupies in society, and to the relationships that develop between him and the people around him, and is also not designed to affect individual people. or society as a whole of any influence.

Psychologists distinguish several types of social behavior. We will consider the following:

  • Mass behavior
  • Group behavior
  • Sex role behavior
  • Prosocial behavior
  • Competitive Behavior
  • Obedient behavior
  • Deviant behavior
  • Illegal behavior
  • Problem behavior
  • Attachment behavior
  • Maternal behavior
  • Some other forms

Let's look at each type in more detail.

Mass behavior

Mass behavior is a poorly controlled social activity large quantity people who are not organized and do not pursue specific purpose. It is often called spontaneous behavior. Examples include fashion, rumors, panic, various religious, political and economic movements, etc.

Group behavior

Group behavior refers to the actions of people who are united in a social group. Most often it occurs due to special processes occurring in such groups. It differs in that group members act in concert, constantly interacting with each other, even when they are outside the group.

Sex role behavior

Gender-role behavior is behavior that is characteristic of people of a particular gender and is associated with the main social roles performed by these people in the life of any society.

Mass, group and sex-role behavior are characteristic of groups and individuals and depend on what social functions they perform and what goals they pursue. The following types of social behavior describe a person in the process of his interaction with other individuals.

Prosocial behavior

The basis of a person’s prosocial behavior is his desire for help and support from others. When prosocial behavior is aimed at directly helping someone who needs it, then it is called helping behavior.

Competitive Behavior

Competitive behavior is when people around him are perceived by a person as potential or real competitors, and he enters into struggle or competition with them. This behavior is designed to achieve advantage and victory. Functionally or meaningfully related to competitive behavior type behaviorA, according to which a person is impatient, irritable, hostile and distrustful, and type behaviorB, according to which a person does not seek to compete with anyone, and expresses a friendly attitude to everyone.

Obedient behavior

Obedient behavior refers to forms of social behavior that ensure civilized and cultural interaction between people. Quite often, this type of behavior is called law-abiding behavior, and in contrast to it is called deviant, illegal and problematic behavior.

Deviant behavior

Deviant behavior is behavior that goes against accepted social, moral and/or ethical norms in society. Despite this, deviant behavior cannot be called illegal, which requires conviction under the law.

Illegal behavior

Illegal behavior is behavior that violates established social norms. This form of behavior presupposes conviction by a court - a person can receive punishment for it, based on the current legislation.

Problem behavior

Problem behavior refers to any behavior that causes a person to develop psychological problems. In most cases, problem behavior consists of behaviors that are incomprehensible and unacceptable to others and may be maladaptive, destructive, or antisocial.

In addition to other forms of social behavior, one can also find those that characterize close relationships between people. These types are attachment behavior and maternal behavior.

Attachment behavior

Attachment behavior is expressed in a person’s desire to be close to others all the time. This form of behavior manifests itself already in childhood, and the object of attachment in most cases is the mother.

Maternal behavior

In general, maternal behavior is the behavior inherent in mothers in relation to their children, as well as the behavior of any person in general, which is similar to the behavior of a mother in relation to a child.

There are also some other forms of social behavior that are interconnected with the relationships of people developing in society. Such behavior can be called behavior the purpose of which is to avoid failures and achieve success, gain power or subordination to someone; confident or helpless behavior, as well as some others.

Other forms of social behavior

Striving for success- this is a special form of social behavior that influences a person’s success and, to a certain extent, his fate. The desire for success received its greatest development in the last century, and today characterizes great amount successful people.

Avoiding Failure is an alternative form of striving for success. This type of behavior manifests itself in a concern about not being last among other people, not being worse than them, not becoming a loser.

We can also distinguish such types of social behavior as desire for communication with other people and its opposite - avoidance of people. A separate form can be called desire for power And desire to maintain power, if a person already has it. The opposite of the last two is desire for obedience.

Another form of social behavior that scientists have noticed is confident behavior when a person is confident in himself, strives for new achievements, sets new tasks for himself, solves them, etc.

However, it is quite common to see how capable people Those who want to achieve success and have the ability to do so, fail due to uncertainty and in cases where they should not have shown it. This behavior is called helpless behavior, and is defined as behavior in which a person, having everything he needs to achieve success, remains inactive, thereby dooming himself to failure.

Conclusion

IN Lately The attention of sociologists is attracted precisely by those types of social behavior that have the greatest impact on the state of society, the position of an individual and his fate.

These can be considered all kinds of manifestations of good and evil, friendliness or hostility, the desire for success and power, confidence or helplessness. Among the manifestations of good and evil, much attention is paid to altruism and prosocial behavior.

As for antisocial behavior, among its forms, manifestations of aggression are especially studied. It is also interesting that aggression and aggressive behavior began to interest scientists for the reason that hostile behavioral forms and hostility between people in general have existed for many centuries, and for some researchers aggressiveness is a form of social behavior that cannot be eliminated from the life of society.

NOTE: How a person behaves and what form of social behavior is most comfortable and acceptable for him is greatly influenced by his stable traits. But the more important thing is that knowing about them, a person gets the opportunity to adjust his course of action, as well as understand what his advantages and disadvantages are. And if you are reading this article, then it is likely that you yourself are interested in such questions, albeit not with the goal of changing yourself, but with the goal of... So we invite you to take our special course on self-knowledge, which will tell you a lot of interesting things about yourself. You can find it here.

The concept of “behavior” came to sociology from psychology. The meaning of the term “behavior” is different, different from the meaning of such traditional philosophical concepts as action and activity. If action is understood as a rationally justified act that has a clear goal, strategy, and is carried out using specific conscious methods and means, then behavior is just the reaction of a living being to external and internal changes. Such a reaction can be both conscious and unconscious. Thus, purely emotional reactions - laughter, crying - are also behavior.

Social behavior - is a set of human behavioral processes associated with the satisfaction of physical and social needs and arising as a reaction to the surrounding social environment. The subject of social behavior can be an individual or a group.

If we abstract from purely psychological factors and think at the social level, then the behavior of an individual is determined primarily by socialization. The minimum of innate instincts that a person possesses as a biological being is the same for all people. Behavioral differences depend on qualities acquired during the process of socialization and, to some extent, on congenital and acquired psychological individual characteristics.

In addition, the social behavior of individuals is regulated by the social structure, in particular the role structure of society.

Social norm of behavior- this is behavior that fully corresponds to status expectations. Thanks to the existence of status expectations, society can predict the actions of an individual in advance with sufficient probability, and the individual himself can coordinate his behavior with the ideal model or model accepted by society. Social behavior that corresponds to status expectations is defined by the American sociologist R. Linton as social role. This interpretation of social behavior is closest to functionalism, since it explains behavior as a phenomenon determined by social structure. R. Merton introduced the category of “role complex” - a system of role expectations determined by a given status, as well as the concept of role conflict that arises when the role expectations of the statuses occupied by a subject are incompatible and cannot be realized in any single socially acceptable behavior.

The functionalist understanding of social behavior was subjected to fierce criticism from, first of all, representatives of social behaviorism, who believed that it was necessary to build the study of behavioral processes on the basis of the achievements of modern psychology. The extent to which the psychological aspects were really overlooked by the role interpretation of the command follows from the fact that N. Cameron tried to substantiate the idea of ​​the role determination of mental disorders, believing that mental illness is the incorrect execution of one’s social roles and the result of the patient’s inability to fulfill them as society needs. Behaviorists argued that in the time of E. Durkheim, the successes of psychology were insignificant and therefore the functionality of the expiring paradigm met the requirements of the time, but in the 20th century, when psychology reached a high level of development, its data cannot be ignored when considering human behavior.

Forms of human social behavior

People behave differently in one or another social situation, in one or another social environment. For example, some demonstrators peacefully march along the declared route, others seek to organize unrest, and others provoke mass clashes. These various actions of social interaction actors can be defined as social behavior. Hence, social behavior is the form and method of manifestation by social actors of their preferences and attitudes, capabilities and abilities in social action or interaction. Therefore, social behavior can be considered as qualitative characteristics social action and interaction.

In sociology, social behavior is interpreted as: o behavior expressed in the totality of actions and actions of an individual or group in society and depending on socio-economic factors and prevailing norms; o external manifestation of activity, a form of transformation of activity into real actions in relation to socially significant objects; o a person’s adaptation to the social conditions of his existence.

To achieve life goals and in the implementation of individual tasks, a person can use two types of social behavior - natural and ritual, the differences between which are fundamental.

"Natural" behavior, individually significant and egocentric, is always aimed at achieving individual goals and is adequate to these goals. Therefore, the individual does not face the question of the correspondence between the goals and means of social behavior: the goal can and should be achieved by any means. The “natural” behavior of an individual is not socially regulated, therefore it is, as a rule, immoral or “unceremonious.” Such social behavior is “natural”, natural in nature, since it is aimed at ensuring organic needs. In society, “natural” egocentric behavior is “forbidden”, therefore it is always based on social conventions and mutual concessions on the part of all individuals.

Ritual behavior(“ceremonious”) - individually unnatural behavior; It is thanks to this behavior that society exists and reproduces. Ritual in all its diversity of forms - from etiquette to ceremony - permeates all social life so deeply that people do not notice that they live in a field of ritual interactions. Ritual social behavior is a means of ensuring the stability of the social system, and the individual implementing various shapes such behavior participates in ensuring the social stability of social structures and interactions. Thanks to ritual behavior, a person achieves social well-being, constantly being convinced of the inviolability of his social status and maintaining the usual set of social roles.

Society is interested in ensuring that the social behavior of individuals is ritual character, but society cannot abolish “natural” self-centered social behavior, which, being adequate in goals and unscrupulous in means, always turns out to be more beneficial for the individual than “ritual” behavior. Therefore, society strives to transform forms of “natural” social behavior into various forms of ritual social behavior, including through socialization mechanisms using social support, control and punishment.

Such forms of social behavior as:

  • cooperative behavior, which includes all forms of altruistic behavior - helping each other during natural disasters and technological disasters, helping young children and the elderly, helping subsequent generations through the transfer of knowledge and experience;
  • parental behavior - the behavior of parents towards their offspring.

Aggressive behavior is presented in all its manifestations, both group and individual - ranging from verbal insults of another person to mass extermination during wars.

Human Behavior Concepts

Human behavior is studied in many areas of psychology - in behaviorism, psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, etc. The term “behavior” is one of the key ones in existential philosophy and is used in the study of a person’s relationship to the world. The methodological capabilities of this concept are due to the fact that it allows us to identify unconscious stable structures of personality or human existence in the world. Among the psychological concepts of human behavior that have had a great influence on sociology and social psychology, we should mention, first of all, the psychoanalytic directions developed by 3. Freud, C. G. Jung, A. Adler.

Freud's ideas are based on the fact that an individual’s behavior is formed as a result of a complex interaction between the levels of his personality. Freud identifies three such levels: lowest level form unconscious impulses and drives determined by innate biological needs and complexes formed under the influence of the individual history of the subject. Freud calls this level the Id (Id) to show its separation from the individual’s conscious self, which forms the second level of his psyche. The conscious self includes rational goal setting and responsibility for one's actions. Highest level constitutes the Super-ego - what we would call the result of socialization. This is a set of social norms and values ​​internalized by the individual, exerting internal pressure on him in order to displace from the consciousness unwanted (forbidden) impulses and drives for society and prevent them from being realized. According to Freud, the personality of any person is an ongoing struggle between the id and the super-ego, which undermines the psyche and leads to neuroses. Individual behavior is entirely conditioned by this struggle and is completely explained by it, since it is merely a symbolic reflection of it. Such symbols can be dream images, slips of the tongue, slips of the tongue, obsessive states and fears.

Concept of C. G. Jung expands and modifies Freud's teachings, including in the sphere of the unconscious not only individual complexes and drives, but also the collective unconscious - a level common to all people and nations key images- archetypes. Archetypes record archaic fears and value concepts, the interaction of which determines the behavior and attitude of an individual. Archetypal images appear in the basic narratives - folk tales and legends, mythology, epic - of historically specific societies. The social regulatory role of such narratives in traditional societies is very great. They contain ideal models of behavior that form role expectations. For example, a male warrior should behave like Achilles or Hector, a wife like Penelope, etc. Regular recitations (ritual reenactments) of archetytic narratives constantly remind members of society of these ideal models of behavior.

Adler's psychoanalytic concept is based on an unconscious will to power, which, in his opinion, is an innate personality structure and determines behavior. It is especially strong among those who, for one reason or another, suffer from an inferiority complex. In an effort to compensate for their inferiority, they are able to achieve great success.

Further splitting of the psychoanalytic direction led to the emergence of many schools, disciplinary terms occupying a borderline position between psychology, social philosophy, and sociology. Let us dwell in detail on the work of E. Fromm.

Fromm's positions - a representative of neo-Freudianism in and - more precisely, can be defined as Freilo-Marxism, since, along with the influence of Freud, he was no less strongly influenced social philosophy Marx. The uniqueness of neo-Freudianism in comparison with orthodox Freudianism is due to the fact that, strictly speaking, neo-Freudianism is rather sociology, while Freud, of course, is a pure psychologist. If Freud explains the behavior of an individual by complexes and impulses hidden in the individual unconscious, in short, by internal biopsychic factors, then for Fromm and Freilo-Marxism in general, the behavior of an individual is determined by the environment. social environment. This is his similarity with Marx, who explained the social behavior of individuals ultimately by their class origin. Nevertheless, Fromm strives to find a place for the psychological in social processes. According to the Freudian tradition, turning to the unconscious, he introduces the term “social unconscious,” meaning mental experience that is common to all members of a given society, but for most of them does not reach the level of consciousness, because it is repressed by a special mechanism that is social in nature, belonging not to the individual, but to society. Thanks to this mechanism of repression, society maintains a stable existence. The mechanism of social repression includes language, the logic of everyday thinking, a system of social prohibitions and taboos. The structures of language and thinking are formed under the influence of society and act as a weapon of social pressure on the individual’s psyche. For example, coarse, anti-aesthetic, ridiculous abbreviations and abbreviations of “Newspeak” from Orwell’s dystopia actively distort the consciousness of the people who use them. To one degree or another, the monstrous logic of formulas like: “The dictatorship of the proletariat is the most democratic form of power” became the property of everyone in Soviet society.

The main component of the mechanism of social repression is social taboos, which act like Freudian censorship. That in the social experience of individuals that threatens the preservation of the existing society, if realized, is not allowed into consciousness with the help of a “social filter.” Society manipulates the consciousness of its members by introducing ideological clichés, which, due to frequent use, become inaccessible to critical analysis, withholding certain information, exerting direct pressure and causing fear of social isolation. Therefore, everything that contradicts socially approved ideological clichés is excluded from consciousness.

These kinds of taboos, ideologemes, logical and linguistic experiments form, according to Fromm, the “social character” of a person. People belonging to the same society, against their will, are, as it were, marked with the seal of a “common incubator”. For example, we unmistakably recognize foreigners on the street, even if we don’t hear their speech, by their behavior, appearance, attitude towards each other; These are people from another society, and when they find themselves in a mass environment that is alien to them, they stand out sharply from it due to their similarities with each other. Social character - This educated by society and an unconscious style of behavior by the individual - from social to everyday. For example, Soviet and former Soviet people are distinguished by collectivism and responsiveness, social passivity and undemandingness, submission to power, personified in the person of the “leader,” a developed fear of being different from everyone else, and gullibility.

Fromm directed his criticism against modern capitalist society, although he also paid a lot of attention to describing the social character generated by totalitarian societies. Like Freud, he developed a program for restoring individuals' undistorted social behavior through awareness of what had been repressed. “By transforming the unconscious into consciousness, we thereby transform the simple concept of the universality of man into the vital reality of such universality. This is nothing more than the practical implementation of humanism.” The process of derepression - the liberation of socially oppressed consciousness - consists in eliminating the fear of awareness of the forbidden, developing the ability to critical thinking, humanization social life generally.

A different interpretation is offered by behaviorism (B. Skinner, J. Homans), which considers behavior as a system of reactions to various stimuli.

Skinner's concept is essentially biologizing, since it completely eliminates the differences between the behavior of humans and animals. Skinner distinguishes three types of behavior: unconditioned reflex, conditioned reflex and operant. The first two types of reactions are caused by exposure to appropriate stimuli, and operant reactions are a form of adaptation of the organism to the environment. They are active and voluntary. The body, as if by trial and error, finds the most acceptable method of adaptation, and if successful, the find is consolidated in the form of a stable reaction. Thus, the main factor in the formation of behavior is reinforcement, and learning turns into “guidance to the desired reaction.”

In Skinner's concept, a person appears as a creature whose entire inner life comes down to reactions to external circumstances. Changes in reinforcement mechanically cause changes in behavior. Thinking, the highest mental functions of a person, all culture, morality, art turn into a complex system of reinforcements designed to evoke certain behavioral reactions. This leads to the conclusion that it is possible to manipulate people’s behavior through a carefully developed “technology of behavior.” With this term, Skinner refers to the purposeful manipulative control of some groups of people over others, associated with the establishment of an optimal reinforcement regime for certain social goals.

The ideas of behaviorism in sociology were developed by J. and J. Baldwin, J. Homans.

Concept by J. IJ. Baldwin is based on the concept of reinforcement, borrowed from psychological behaviorism. Reinforcement in the social sense is a reward whose value is determined by subjective needs. For example, for a hungry person, food acts as a reinforcer, but if the person is full, it is not a reinforcer.

The effectiveness of reward depends on the degree of deprivation in a given individual. Subdeprivation is understood as the deprivation of something for which an individual feels a constant need. To the extent that a subject is deprived in any respect, his behavior depends on this reinforcement. So-called generalized reinforcers (for example, money), which act on all individuals without exception, do not depend on deprivation due to the fact that they concentrate access to many types of reinforcers at once.

Reinforcers are divided into positive and negative. Positive reinforcers are anything that is perceived by the subject as a reward. For example, if a particular encounter with the environment brings a reward, it is likely that the subject will strive to repeat this experience. Negative reinforcers are factors that determine behavior through the refusal of some experience. For example, if a subject denies himself some pleasure and saves money on it, and subsequently benefits from this saving, then this experience can serve as a negative reinforcer and the subject will always act that way.

The effect of punishment is the opposite of reinforcement. Punishment is an experience that causes a desire not to repeat it again. Punishment can also be positive or negative, but here everything is reversed compared to reinforcement. Positive punishment is punishment using a suppressive stimulus, such as hitting. Negative punishment influences behavior through the deprivation of something valuable. For example, depriving a child of sweets at lunch is a typical negative punishment.

The formation of operant reactions is probabilistic in nature. Unambiguity is characteristic of reactions at the simplest level, for example, a child cries, demanding the attention of his parents, because parents always come to him in such cases. Adult reactions are much more complex. For example, a person selling newspapers in train cars does not find a buyer in every car, but he knows from experience that a buyer will eventually be found, and this makes him persistently walk from car to car. In the last decade, the receipt of wages at some Russian enterprises has assumed the same probabilistic nature, but nevertheless, people continue to go to work, hoping to receive it.

Homans' behaviorist concept of exchange appeared in the middle of the 20th century. Arguing with representatives of many areas of sociology, Homans argued that a sociological explanation of behavior must necessarily be based on a psychological approach. The interpretation of historical facts should also be based on a psychological approach. Homans motivates this by the fact that behavior is always individual, while sociology operates with categories applicable to groups and societies, therefore the study of behavior is the prerogative of psychology, and sociology in this matter should follow it.

According to Homans, when studying behavioral reactions, one should abstract from the nature of the factors that caused these reactions: they are caused by the influence of the surrounding physical environment or other people. Social behavior is simply the exchange of activities of some social value between people. Homans believes that social behavior can be interpreted using Skinner's behavioral paradigm, if supplemented with the idea of ​​the mutual nature of stimulation in relationships between people. The relationships between individuals always represent a mutually beneficial exchange of activities, services, in short, this is the mutual use of reinforcements.

Homans briefly formulated the exchange theory in several postulates:

  • postulate of success - those actions that most often meet social approval are most likely to be reproduced;
  • incentive postulate - similar incentives associated with reward are likely to cause similar behavior;
  • postulate of value - the probability of reproducing an action depends on how valuable the result of this action seems to a person;
  • postulate of deprivation - the more regularly a person’s action is rewarded, the less he values ​​subsequent rewards;
  • the double postulate of aggression-approval - the absence of an expected reward or unexpected punishment makes aggressive behavior probable, and an unexpected reward or the absence of an expected punishment leads to an increase in the value of the rewarded act and makes it more likely to be reproduced.

The most important concepts of exchange theory are:

  • the cost of behavior is what it costs an individual to perform a particular action - Negative consequences caused by past actions. In everyday terms, this is retribution for the past;
  • benefit - occurs when the quality and size of the reward exceed the price that the action costs.

Thus, exchange theory portrays human social behavior as a rational search for gain. This concept seems simplistic, and it is not surprising that it has attracted criticism from a variety of sociological directions. For example, Parsons, who defended the fundamental difference between the mechanisms of behavior of humans and animals, criticized Homans for the inability of his theory to provide an explanation of social facts on the basis of psychological mechanisms.

In his exchange theory I. Blau attempted a unique synthesis of social behaviorism and sociologism. Realizing the limitations of a purely behaviorist interpretation of social behavior, he set the goal of moving from the level of psychology to explaining on this basis the existence of social structures as a special reality that is not reducible to psychology. Blau's concept is an enriched theory of exchange, which identifies four successive stages of transition from individual exchange to social structures: 1) the stage of interpersonal exchange; 2) level of power-status differentiation; 3) stage of legitimation and organization; 4) stage of opposition and change.

Blau shows that starting from the level of interpersonal exchange, exchange may not always be equal. In cases where individuals cannot offer each other sufficient rewards, the social ties formed between them tend to disintegrate. In such situations, attempts arise to strengthen disintegrating ties in other ways - through coercion, through the search for another source of reward, through subordinating oneself to the exchange partner in the order of generalized credit. Last way means a transition to the stage of status differentiation, when a group of people capable of providing the required reward becomes more privileged in terms of status than other groups. Subsequently, the situation is legitimized and consolidated and opposition groups are identified. Analyzing complex social structures, Blau goes far beyond the behaviorist paradigm. He argues that the complex structures of society are organized around social values ​​and norms, which serve as a kind of mediating link between individuals in the process of social exchange. Thanks to this link, it is possible to exchange rewards not only between individuals, but also between an individual and a group. For example, considering the phenomenon of organized charity, Blau determines what distinguishes charity as a social institution from simple help from a rich individual to a poorer one. The difference is that organized charity is socially oriented behavior, which is based on the desire of a wealthy individual to conform to the norms of the wealthy class and share social values; through norms and values, an exchange relationship is established between the sacrificing individual and social group to which he belongs.

Blau identifies four categories of social values ​​on the basis of which exchange is possible:

  • particularistic values ​​that unite individuals based on interpersonal relationships;
  • universalist values, which act as a yardstick for assessing individual merits;
  • legitimate authority is a value system that provides power and privileges to a certain category of people compared to all others:
  • oppositional values ​​are ideas about the need for social change that allow the opposition to exist at the level of social facts, and not just at the level of interpersonal relations of individual oppositionists.

It can be said that Blau's exchange theory is a compromise option that combines elements of Homans' theory and sociology in the interpretation of reward exchange.

J. Mead's role concept is a symbolic interactionist approach to the study of social behavior. Its name is reminiscent of the functionalist approach: it is also called role-playing. Mead views role behavior as the activity of individuals interacting with each other in freely accepted and played roles. According to Mead, the role interaction of individuals requires them to be able to put themselves in the place of another, to evaluate themselves from the position of another.

Synthesis of exchange theory with symbolic interactionism P. Zingelman also tried to implement it. Symbolic interactionism has a number of intersections with social behaviorism and exchange theories. Both of these concepts emphasize the active interaction of individuals and view their subject matter from a microsociological perspective. According to Singelman, interpersonal exchange relationships require the ability to put oneself in the position of another in order to better understand his needs and desires. Therefore, he believes that there are grounds for merging both directions into one. However, social behaviorists were critical of the emergence of the new theory.

Every day we are among people, performing some actions in accordance with this or that situation. We have to communicate with each other using generally accepted norms. Collectively, all this is our behavior. Let's try to understand deeper,

Behavior as a moral category

Behavior is a set of human actions that an individual performs over a long period of time under given conditions. These are all actions, not individual ones. Regardless of whether actions are performed consciously or unintentionally, they are subject to moral evaluation. It is worth noting that behavior can reflect both the actions of one person and an entire team. In this case, both personal characteristics and the specifics of interpersonal relationships influence. Through his behavior, a person reflects his attitude towards society, towards specific people, and towards the objects around him.

The concept of a line of conduct

Behavior concept includes the determination of a line of behavior, which implies the presence of a certain systematicity and consistency in the repeated actions of an individual or the characteristics of the actions of a group of individuals over a long period of time. Behavior is perhaps the only indicator that objectively characterizes the moral qualities and driving motives of an individual.

The concept of rules of behavior, etiquette

Etiquette is a set of norms and rules that regulate a person’s relationships with others. This is an integral part of public culture (culture of behavior). It is expressed in a complex system of relationships between people. This includes concepts such as:

  • polite, courteous and protective treatment of the fair sex;
  • a sense of respect and deep respect for the older generation;
  • correct forms everyday communication with others;
  • norms and rules of dialogue;
  • being at the dinner table;
  • dealing with guests;
  • fulfillment of the requirements for a person’s clothing (dress code).

All these laws of decency embody general ideas about human dignity, simple requirements of convenience and ease in human relationships. In general they coincide with general requirements politeness. However, there are also strictly established ethical standards that are immutable.

  • Respectful treatment of students to teachers.
    • Maintaining subordination in relation of subordinates to their management.
    • Standards of conduct in public places, during seminars and conferences.

Psychology as the science of behavior

Psychology is a science that studies the characteristics of human behavior and motivations. This area of ​​knowledge studies how mental and behavioral processes proceed, specific personality traits, mechanisms that exist in a person’s mind and explain the deep subjective reasons for certain of his actions. She also considers the distinctive character traits of a person, taking into account the essential factors that determine them (stereotypes, habits, inclinations, feelings, needs), which can be partly innate and partly acquired, brought up in appropriate social conditions. Thus, the science of psychology helps us understand, since it reveals its mental nature and the moral conditions of its formation.

Behavior as a reflection of a person’s actions

Depending on the nature of a person’s actions, different ones can be defined.

  • A person may try to attract the attention of others through his actions. This behavior is called demonstrative.
  • If a person undertakes any obligations and fulfills them in good faith, then his behavior is called responsible.
  • Behavior that determines the actions of a person aimed at the benefit of others, and for which he does not require any reward, is called helping.
  • There is also internal behavior, which is characterized by the fact that a person decides for himself what to believe in and what to value.

There are others, more complex ones.

  • Deviant behavior. It represents a negative deviation from norms and patterns of behavior. As a rule, it entails the application of various types punishments.
  • If a person demonstrates complete indifference to his surroundings, a reluctance to make decisions on his own, and mindlessly follows those around him in his actions, then his behavior is considered conformist.

Characteristics of behavior

An individual's behavior can be characterized by various categories.

  • Innate behavior is usually instincts.
  • Acquired behavior is the actions a person performs in accordance with his upbringing.
  • Intentional behavior is actions carried out by a person consciously.
  • Unintentional behavior is actions performed spontaneously.
  • Behavior can also be conscious or unconscious.

Code of Conduct

Close attention is paid to the norms of human behavior in society. A norm is a primitive form of a requirement regarding morality. On the one hand, this is a form of relationship, and on the other, a specific form of consciousness and thinking of the individual. The norm of behavior is constantly reproduced similar actions of many people, obligatory for each person individually. Society needs people to act in given situations according to a certain scenario, which is designed to maintain social balance. The binding force of norms of behavior for each individual person is based on examples from society, mentors and the immediate environment. In addition, habit plays an important role, as does collective or individual coercion. At the same time, norms of behavior must be based on general, abstract ideas about morality (the definition of good, evil, and so on). One of the tasks of properly educating a person in society is to ensure that the simplest norms of behavior become an internal need of a person, take the form of a habit and are carried out without external and internal coercion.

Raising the younger generation

One of the most important moments in raising the younger generation is. The purpose of such conversations should be to expand the knowledge of schoolchildren about the culture of behavior, explain to them the moral meaning of this concept, and also develop their skills correct behavior in society. First of all, the teacher must explain to students that it is inextricably linked with the people around them, that how the teenager behaves depends on how easy and pleasant it will be for these people to live next to him. Teachers should also cultivate positive character traits in children using the examples of books by various writers and poets. The following rules also need to be explained to students:

  • how to behave at school;
  • how to behave on the street;
  • how to behave in a company;
  • how to behave in city transport;
  • how to behave when visiting.

It is important to pay special attention, especially in high school, to this issue, both in the company of classmates, as well as in the company of boys outside of school.

Public opinion as a reaction to human behavior

Public opinion is a mechanism through which society regulates the behavior of each individual. Any form of social discipline, including traditions and customs, falls under this category, because for society it is something like legal norms of behavior that the vast majority of people follow. Moreover, such traditions form public opinion, which acts as a powerful mechanism for regulating behavior and human relationships in different areas life. From an ethical point of view, the determining point in regulating an individual’s behavior is not his personal discretion, but public opinion, which is based on certain generally accepted moral principles and criteria. It must be recognized that an individual has the right to independently decide how to behave in a given situation, despite the fact that the formation of self-awareness is greatly influenced by the norms accepted in society, as well as collective opinion. Under the influence of approval or censure, a person’s character can change dramatically.

Human behavior assessment

When considering the issue, we must not forget about such a concept as assessing the behavior of an individual. This assessment consists of society’s approval or condemnation of a specific act, as well as the behavior of the individual as a whole. People can express their positive or negative attitude towards the subject being evaluated in the form of praise or blame, agreement or criticism, manifestations of sympathy or hostility, that is, through various external actions and emotions. In contrast to requirements expressed in the form of norms, which in the form general rules prescribe how a person should act in a given situation, the assessment compares these requirements with those specific phenomena and events that already take place in reality, establishing their compliance or non-compliance existing standards behavior.

Golden rule of behavior

In addition to what we all know generally accepted, there is Golden Rule. It originated in ancient times, when the first essential requirements for human morality were formed. Its essence is to treat others in the way you would like to see this attitude towards yourself. Similar ideas were found in such ancient works as the teachings of Confucius, the Bible, Homer's Iliad, and so on. It is worth noting that this is one of the few beliefs that has survived to this day almost unchanged and has not lost its relevance. The positive moral significance of the golden rule is determined by the fact that it practically directs the individual to develop important element in the mechanism moral behavior- the ability to put oneself in the place of others and emotionally experience their condition. In modern morality, the golden rule of behavior is an elementary universal prerequisite for relationships between people, expressing a continuity with the moral experience of the past.