Materialism and idealism in psychology. Historical development and main directions of world psychology

From the point of view of idealists, the soul is the primary phenomenon in the universe. Just as the content of a person’s dream is only a figment of his imagination, so all the physics of the real world is only someone’s will, someone’s fantasy (individual or collective). From the point of view of materialists, the psyche is a secondary phenomenon, derived from matter. The real physical world can exist in the absence of someone’s soul, psyche.

Idealistic ideas about the psyche

Man emerged from the animal world. The underdevelopment of the scientific picture of the world did not allow a person to solve a psychophysical problem (for a long time such a question was not even raised): how can it be that from the physical, material, the mental appears, which - it turns out - is also material. The life experience of an ancient man told him that someone else's will and someone else's mind are the source of the greatest troubles. If the stone lies on the ground, then it does not pose any danger. But if it falls into someone's hands, then it is already a deadly weapon. No matter what kind of protected dwelling the ancient man invented for himself, someone else’s cunning, coming from other people or animals, could overcome any walls. This led, on the one hand, to the fact that behind complex and dangerous physical phenomena (thunderstorm, flood, etc.) a person began to see someone’s will; and on the other hand, people began to consider other people, their psyche as the result of the manifestation of another will. In the ancient Egyptian treatise “Monument of Memphis Theology” (late 4th millennium BC) an attempt is made to describe the mechanisms of the psyche: the organizer of everything that exists, the universal architect is the god Ptah; no matter what people think or say, he knows their hearts and tongues. The same ancient Egyptian work gives the following interpretation of the meaning of the senses for humans: the gods “created the sight of the eyes, the hearing of the ears, the breathing of the nose, so that they would give a message to the heart.” Thus, the heart was given a role that is given to the brain today. In any idealistic teaching one can find elements of materialism, but for an idealist these elements are also the fruit of the work of someone’s higher will. Idealistic ideas are not necessarily religious. Many idealistic philosophers, outside of religious concepts, consider the psyche as something primary, existing independently, independently of matter; they see in mental activity a manifestation of an immaterial, incorporeal and immortal soul, and interpret all material things and processes either as our sensations and ideas, or as some mysterious manifestation of the “absolute spirit”, “world will”, “idea”. And in our time (20th and 21st centuries), more and more idealistic theories are appearing, because idealism is an endless field for fantasy.

Materialistic ideas about the psyche

The first materialistic ideas about the soul and psyche were very far from modern ones. The ancient Greek philosophers Heraclitus, Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes and their followers spoke about the material nature of mental phenomena, about the unity of soul and body. It was believed that all things are modifications of fire, that everything that exists, material and mental, is constantly changing. In the microcosm of the body, the general rhythm of the transformations of fire on the scale of the entire cosmos is repeated, and the fiery principle in the body is the soul - the psyche. Heraclitus believed that the soul is born by evaporation from moisture, then, returning to a wet state, dies. Moreover, between the state of “humidity” and “fiery” there are many intermediate states. About a drunken man, Heraclitus, for example, says that “... he does not notice where he is going, for his psyche is wet.” On the contrary, the drier the soul, the wiser it is.

6) The structure of the human psyche. Main types of mental phenomena, their characteristics.

The psyche is complex and diverse in its manifestations. Usually there are three large groups of mental phenomena, namely: 1) mental processes, 2) mental states, 3) mental properties.

Mental processes are a dynamic reflection of reality in various forms of mental phenomena.

A mental process is the course of a mental phenomenon that has a beginning, development and end, manifesting itself in the form of a reaction. It must be borne in mind that the end of a mental process is closely related to the beginning of a new process. Hence the continuity of mental activity in a person’s waking state.

Mental processes are caused by both external influences and irritations nervous system, coming from the internal environment of the body.

All mental processes are divided into educational– these include sensations and perceptions, ideas and memory, thinking and imagination; emotional– active and passive experiences; strong-willed– decision, execution, volitional effort; etc.

Mental processes ensure the formation of knowledge and the primary regulation of human behavior and activity.

In complex mental activity, various processes are connected and form a single stream of consciousness, providing an adequate reflection of reality and the implementation of various types of activities. Mental processes occur with varying speed and intensity depending on the characteristics of external influences and personality states.

A mental state should be understood as a relatively stable level of mental activity that has been determined at a given time, which manifests itself in increased or decreased activity of the individual.

Every person experiences different mental states every day. In one mental state, mental or physical work is easy and productive, in another it is difficult and ineffective.

Mental states are of a reflex nature: they arise under the influence of the situation, physiological factors, progress of work, time and verbal influences (praise, blame, etc.).

The most studied are: 1) general mental state, for example attention, manifested at the level of active concentration or absent-mindedness, 2) emotional states, or moods (cheerful, enthusiastic, sad, sorrowful, angry, irritable, etc.). There are interesting studies about a special, creative state of personality, which is called inspiration.

The highest and most stable regulators of mental activity are personality traits.

Mental properties of a person should be understood as stable formations that provide a certain qualitative and quantitative level of activity and behavior typical for a given person.

Each mental property is formed gradually in the process of reflection and is consolidated in practice. It is therefore the result of reflective and practical activity.

Personality properties are diverse, and they need to be classified in accordance with the grouping of mental processes on the basis of which they are formed. This means that we can distinguish the properties of intellectual, or cognitive, volitional and emotional activity of a person. As an example, let us give some intellectual properties - observation, flexibility of mind; strong-willed – determination, perseverance; emotional – sensitivity, tenderness, passion, affectivity, etc.

Mental properties do not exist together, they are synthesized and form complex structural formations of the personality, which must include: 1) the life position of the individual (a system of needs, interests, beliefs, ideals that determines the selectivity and level of activity of a person); 2) temperament (a system of natural personality traits - mobility, balance of behavior and activity tone - characterizing the dynamic side of behavior); 3) abilities (a system of intellectual-volitional and emotional properties that determine the creative capabilities of an individual) and, finally, 4) character as a system of relationships and modes of behavior.

7) Mental criteria according to Leontiev

Throughout the historical path of psychology as a science, possible answers to questions about the criteria of the psyche and when it appears in the history of the development of the world were periodically given. A. N. Leontiev devoted several works to the consideration of these issues, among them the book “Problems of Psychic Development” stands out, the first edition of which was published in 1959 and which was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1963.

In it, he first of all criticizes existing points of view on the decision mental problems. A.N. Leontiev identifies the following four positions.

1. Anthropopsychism(the criterion of the psyche is its awareness; therefore, animals do not have a psyche, since there is no consciousness; R. Descartes adhered to this point of view).

2. Panpsychism(the doctrine of universal animation - the psyche is recognized as existing as an integral property of any material formation, and therefore the problem of its occurrence is removed; this point of view was shared, for example, by B. Spinoza).

3. Biopsychism(according to this position, any living creature, including plants, has a psyche - a soul; Aristotle adhered to this position).

4. Neuropsychism(according to this point of view, there is a strictly objective criterion of the psyche: the presence of a nervous system; this position was adhered to by C. Darwin and G. Spencer).

A.N. Leontiev criticized the first position as very narrow, the second as too broad. The third position does not allow us to establish a qualitative difference between a living organism that does not have a psyche and a subject that does. Neuropsychism is insufficient because it postulates a rigid connection between the appearance of the psyche and the appearance of the nervous system, but the connection between an organ and a function is mobile, since different organs can perform the same function.

Rejecting the above points of view and the corresponding criteria of the psyche, A.N. Leontiev proposed his own criterion, which was completely objective, but not morphological, but functional. In his opinion, an objective sign of the psyche is the ability of an organism (in this case we can already talk about the subject) to respond to the so-called abiotic properties external environment(peace). Under abiotic a stimulus is understood as a property of objects that does not directly and directly determine the life processes of a particular organism, however, with an objective connection with a biotic factor, it can act as a signal for the subject of the presence of the latter in the world.

Biotic A stimulus is an external environmental factor that is directly and directly involved in metabolism in the organism reacting to it.

An example of a biotic stimulus is light for a chlorophyll plant. Without light energy in the corresponding organs, plants are not produced from inorganic substances into organic ones. For other living beings, this same light can be an abiotic stimulus, because the metabolism in their organisms does not directly depend on this factor. Nevertheless, they react to this stimulus from the external environment, neutral for the life of the organism, since in the individual activities of these subjects this stimulus acquired a “signal value” or “biological meaning” for them. Let's take the example of a dog that is used in conditioning research. After turning on the light (bulb), after a short time the dog receives food. After a certain number of combinations of abiotic and biotic stimuli, she begins to rejoice at just turning on the light bulb, tries to lick this light bulb, etc. Light acquired a signal meaning for her, or, in other words, a biological meaning (the meaning of food).

According to A. N. Leontiev, the appearance of a reaction to a biologically neutral stimulus, which appears for the subject in its signal meaning, means the emergence sensitivity - the actual mental reflection of reality. The ability of organisms to respond to biotic stimuli is called irritability (it is a pre-psychic or non-psychic form of reflection of the world by the body).

Psyche arises when pre-psychic forms of reflection become insufficient to ensure the vital activity of the organism in a changing world. The emergence of the psyche in the course of evolution is associated with the transition of the life of primary organisms from life in a homogeneous environment to life in a heterogeneous (subject-wisely dissected) environment. An object is distinguished from an environmental factor by the multiplicity of its properties, interconnected into an inseparable unity (some philosophers define an object as a “node of properties”).

To live in an objectively designed environment, a living organism needs to learn to recognize those objects that have biotic properties (suitable as food). But this can be done only by focusing on the abiotic properties of the same object, signaling the presence of its biotic qualities. Some primary organisms followed the path of evolution of the original forms of activity, during which only biotic stimuli are reflected (this is how the plant kingdom arose).

Thus, the emergence of the psyche in evolution was closely related to the emergence of an objective connection in the subject of biotic and abiotic properties. However, this is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the appearance of a mental reflection of the world by the subject. The latter appears only when this connection is highlighted by the subject himself, when the subject, in his individual activity, discovers the meaning of an abiotic stimulus as a signal of the presence of a biotic factor." Thus, the psyche is connected with the activity of the subject initially.

8) Methodology of psychological research. The role of methodology in psychological research and defining the subject of psychology.

The role of methodology in science is not only to indicate what a given science should investigate, but also to develop methods that lead knowledge to the shortest path to identifying the essence of a phenomenon. It is necessary to emphasize that the clarity of methodological positions is a determining condition for the development of good constructive theories, their evidence and predictive value.

Significant contribution to methodology scientific knowledge contributed by German classical (Hegel) and materialist (K. Marx) philosophy, which quite deeply developed the dialectical method on an idealistic and materialistic basis, respectively.

It is obvious that the specific nature of a psychologist’s activity, due to the individuality and hiddenness of a number of parameters, requires a greater degree of efficiency and quality of research and development than in a number of other branches of science. The latter largely depends on the level of methodological understanding of problems, scientific, methodological and methodological training of performers and especially managers who make responsible decisions.

a significant increase in the volume of methodological research, its completeness and subject matter in recent decades has not directly led to a direct positive accelerating impact on the development of modern psychological science. Scientists working in psychological science today are constantly faced with the unresolved nature of a number of scientific and methodological issues.

The continuing quantitative growth of scientific and methodological works creates certain difficulties in their comprehension and systematization even for professional methodologists. Many of these works are difficult for incompletely trained specialists to understand.

When considering questions about the methodology and methods of psychological research, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that its main principles are:

1) humanistic orientation due to the fact that the problem of man is central in the system of modern scientific knowledge;

2) the complexity of the study, since a person, being involved in various connections and relationships with the surrounding reality, reveals various facets, each of which can become the subject of a special study;

3) systematicity, which is based on the principles of the systems approach and is a group of methods by which a real object is described as a set of interconnected components.

Subject to these principles, an object will be a system if it can be divided into interconnected and interacting parts or elements that have their own structure and therefore can be represented as a subsystem of this object. At the same time, the structure reflects the orderliness of the internal and external connections of the object, ensuring its stability, stability, and internal certainty. System objects have a holistic, stable structure. In this case, such concepts as connection, integrity, sustainability, environment, etc. play an important role.

The activities of scientists, like the entire process of development of knowledge, cannot be considered outside the problems of methodological determination, which play an extremely important role in this process. Science has always been a form of collective activity. In modern conditions, it is virtually impossible to make any significant contribution to its development, being outside the framework of the scientific community, school, or team of scientists.

Real methodologicalization of science is a complex, dialectically contradictory process that requires special training and the necessary level of reflection from researchers, especially in psychological science.

Due to the fact that in any psychological research priority belongs to the use of general scientific logical methods of cognition, regardless of whether theoretical or empirical level it is carried out, it is necessary to reveal their essence in more detail. These include methods of analysis, synthesis, abstraction, idealization, generalization, induction, deduction and analogy.

Analysis– dividing an object into its component parts for the purpose of their independent study.

Synthesis- real or mental unification of various aspects, parts of an object into a single whole.

Analysis and synthesis are widely used in studying the experience of psychological, pedagogical and social activities. In these cases, activity is divided into stages, a relationship is established between them, and then human activity is reproduced as a whole. Through this method, the positive aspects of the activity are clarified, its strengths and weaknesses are clarified.

Analysis and synthesis are general scientific methods, without which no act of scientific research can do. Analysis is the process of mentally dividing the event under study into its component parts, elements, features, opposites and studying them in order to reveal the essence. Synthesis is the process of establishing connections between selected elements, features, opposites, connecting them and reproducing the event under study in its essential features and relationships.

Analysis and synthesis are oppositely directed (analysis - from the whole to the part, and synthesis - from the parts to the whole) and at the same time inextricably linked ways of cognition.

Comparison- the process of identifying signs of similarity and difference in the subject under study by comparing it with other subjects. This method is widely used in psychological and pedagogical scientific knowledge.

The comparison method becomes extremely important for clarifying the processes of change, development, dynamics of the phenomenon under study, revealing trends and patterns of its development. Each individual fact expresses some aspect of the development of the event. Comparison of facts relating to different states of an event in time allows the researcher to establish changes, the development of the event, and comparison of the previous and subsequent stages of the development of the event will allow revealing and tracing trends, main directions, patterns of its formation.

Abstraction fully relates to the methods of scientific knowledge. V.P. Kokhanovsky defines abstraction as: a) a side, a moment, a part of the whole, a fragment of reality, something undeveloped, one-sided, fragmentary (abstract); b) the process of mental abstraction from a number of properties and relationships of the object or phenomenon being studied with the simultaneous selection of properties that are of interest to the cognizing subject at the moment (abstraction); c) the result of abstracting activity of thinking (abstraction in the narrow sense)

Determining which of the properties under consideration are essential and which are secondary is the main issue of abstraction. If we answer the question, what in objective reality is distinguished by the abstracting work of thinking, from which thinking is distracted, in each specific case is solved primarily depending on the nature of the object or phenomenon being studied, as well as on the tasks facing cognition.

Abstraction is not an end in itself, it is a means to obtain specific processes in all the richness of their connections and relationships. In the process of abstraction, the cognizing subject moves away from the process being studied as a whole and goes deeper into the knowledge of its individual properties, sides, features, as a result of which the cognizable object turns out to be divided in our consciousness into individual elements. The task of developing specific, comprehensive knowledge about the process is solved by ascending from the abstract to the concrete.

The method of abstraction and ascent from the abstract to the concrete is universal in nature and is mandatory for any process of scientific research. It is also used in cases where the researcher does not think about its content and uses it intuitively. Of course, the conscious use of the named logical method, taking into account its advantages and the difficulties it contains, gives a greater effect in psychological and scientific research than its unconscious use.

Abstraction, distraction from the concrete is a necessary condition and prerequisite for the formation of inferential, generalized psychological and pedagogical knowledge about the ongoing phenomenon.

Generalization is closely related to abstraction. It is customary to distinguish between two types of scientific generalizations: highlighting essential or any features. On another basis, generalizations can be distinguished: a) from individual facts and events to their expression in thoughts (inductive generalization); b) from one thought to another, more general thought (logical generalization). The mental transition from the more general to the less general is a process of limitation. Generalization cannot be unlimited. It is limited to philosophical categories that do not have a generic concept. At the same time, a more complex form of generalization, which allows one to distinguish important, characteristic facts from secondary ones, is typification, which consists in the selection of characteristic (typical) facts that express the most important aspect of the phenomenon or group of phenomena being studied.

The selection of typical, characteristic facts is an important feature of psychological generalization. This form of generalization brings us closer to understanding the latent connections of a phenomenon. However, it is not enough to reveal the essence of the event under study. This requires generalizations of a higher order, and above all those that reveal the repeatability, necessity, significance and causality of the signs of an event.

The most important form of generalization at the theoretical stage of psychological research is the formulation of conclusions that generalize the historical experience of human development, the socio-economic construction of the state, the experience of educational and scientific activities, the conclusions that form the development strategy of the state on any problem. This inferential knowledge reveals the characteristic features, features and essence of the phenomena being studied, the patterns of their occurrence and development.

Idealization- mental construction of concepts about objects that do not exist and are not realizable in reality, but those for which there are prototypes in real world. Most often it is considered as a specific type of abstraction.

In the process of idealization, there is an extreme abstraction from all the real properties of an object with the simultaneous introduction into the content of the concepts being formed of features that are not realized in reality. As a result of this, a so-called “idealized object” is formed, with which theoretical thinking can operate when reflecting real objects.

Induction- a logical method (technique) of research associated with generalizing the results of observations, experiments and the movement of thoughts from the individual to the general. The data of experience “suggest” the general, induce it. Since experience is always infinite and incomplete, inductive conclusions are problematic (probable) in nature. Inductive generalizations are usually regarded as empirical truths or empirical laws.

Deduction means, firstly, the transition in the process of cognition from the general to the individual (particular), the derivation of the individual from the general; secondly, the process of logical inference, i.e., the transition, according to certain rules of logic, from certain given premise sentences to consequences (conclusions).

Deduction, being one of the methods (techniques) of scientific knowledge, is closely related to induction. These are dialectically interconnected ways of moving thought. In this regard, V.P. Kokhanovsky believes that the basis of great discoveries and progressive leaps of scientific thought lies in induction - an uninhibited, but truly creative method.

The rigor of deductive reasoning does not allow the imagination to fall into error; it allows, after establishing new starting points through induction, to derive consequences and compare conclusions with facts. Only deduction can ensure the testing of hypotheses and stop an over-running fantasy.

Analogy– a method of scientific cognition in which similarities in certain aspects, qualities and relationships between non-identical objects are established. Inference by analogy - conclusions that are drawn based on such similarities. Thus, when drawing a conclusion by analogy, the knowledge obtained from the consideration of an object is transferred to another, less studied and less accessible object for research. Conclusions, by analogy, are plausible when, based on the similarity of two objects in some certain parameters, a conclusion is made about their similarity in other parameters.

Analogy does not provide reliable knowledge: if the premise of reasoning by analogy is true, this does not mean that the conclusion will be true.

Modeling as a method of scientific knowledge, it is the reproduction of the characteristics of some object on another object, specially created for their study. The latter is called a model. Thus, under model should be understood as an object that resembles in some respects the prototype and serves as a means of describing or explaining or predicting the behavior of the prototype.

The need for modeling arises when researching the object itself is impossible, difficult, expensive, takes too long, etc.

There must be a certain similarity (relationship of similarity) between the model and the original: physical characteristics, behavioral functions of the object being studied and its mathematical description, structure, etc. It is this similarity that allows the information obtained as a result of studying the model to be transferred to the original.

Historical method of research in psychological science consists in studying, tracing the process of human development, events related to his activity in their specific historical form, if possible in all their versatility, the conditionality of the main stages and forms. Consistent consideration of the stages of development of the phenomenon under study in the direction from simple to complex, from previous to subsequent allows us to reveal not only the form of the actual development process, but also makes it possible to understand the patterns of development of a given event and discover its essence.

Boolean method there is a way to use accumulated knowledge about reality as a whole (philosophical knowledge) and about its individual areas (historical, socio-economic, special knowledge, etc.) to study new phenomena. In this sense, the logical acts as a generalized reflection of the historical, cleared of the accidental, secondary, incidental and expressing the essential, important, fixed in laws, categories (concepts), principles, concepts, theoretical positions. The logical method is a form of movement of thought in accordance with the objective logic of the development of objects, phenomena, events, and processes of the real world.

The historical method protects the logical method from excessive theorizing and gives inferential knowledge and generalizations a specific historical character. In turn, the logical method saves the historical method from flat empiricism, from sliding onto the path of simple factualism, and gives historicism an essential character.

Historical and logical methods of research and presentation serve as a unique form of interrelation between other general scientific methods of cognition.

The methods of cognition outlined above provide the disclosure not only of the essence of the real life phenomena under study, but also of certain basic cause-and-effect relationships and dependencies in them. However, when studying complex multifaceted and multidimensional phenomena, they act as methods that can reveal only certain aspects of a complex process. In this regard, the need to solve complex problems has given rise to more and more general research methods.

Everyday experience convinces us that the more a person knows about the phenomenon under study (object or process), the faster he finds the most significant aspects in it, their cause-and-effect relationship and general patterns of development. Therefore, it is quite natural to consider the established practice of studying complex phenomena with the help of groups of specialists who must answer the problematic question.

This research technique is called expert assessment method. Currently, expert methods based on the work of special commissions that discuss a particular problem until all experts come to a common opinion have become widespread. The latter are recorded as the collective opinion of the group. Despite its simplicity and widespread use, the commission method has a fundamental drawback, which is the following: the group in its judgments is guided mainly by the logic of compromise, and not by the internal logic of the problem being analyzed.

Systems approach by its nature determines the implementation in concrete form of the basic ideas of materialist dialectics. The system survey method requires presenting the object of study in the form of an integral system with a large number of connections between its parts (elements).

The increasing importance of systems research is currently determined by the increasing intensity and breadth of society’s impact on nature, the rapid development of industry, the need to create and operate large systems, and the need to further improve the organization of production and economic management.

The systems approach as a method of scientific knowledge is now gaining everything higher value and due to the increasing complexity of various areas of human activity. Currently, in systems theory, basic concepts are formulated in the broadest generality, such as “system”, “state of the system”, “ environment", "element", "structure and organization", which act as methodological tools regularly used in the interests of the practice of psychological research. In other words, the prerequisites are created for the development of a unique system of scientific thinking among researchers. They are a kind of “steps” along which the researcher learns about a complex object and the problem associated with it.

Computer modelling is a further generalization (from the point of view of spiral development) of all previous (discussed above) modeling methods. It allows you to study complex dynamic systems for managing social processes using a large number of characteristics.

The main features of computer modeling are the functional approach associated with the study of the behavior of the system and its individual elements under environmental conditions, and the mandatory presence of criteria for the efficiency of the system and the possibility of widespread use for the practical implementation of computer network models, which allow for fast and accurate modeling of complex control systems and establish optimal ways to improve their effectiveness.

Just listing the indicators indicates their diverse nature. Most of them can be expressed quantitatively, the rest - only qualitatively. Some indicators have a purely technical meaning, others have an operational meaning. Such an obvious diversity of indicators makes the process of assessing the system as a whole very difficult, since some of them can reveal the advantages of the system, while others, under the same conditions, indicate its shortcomings. Therefore, the final conclusion has to be made on the basis of a logical analysis of knowledge acquisition across the entire set of indicators. In this case, one has to resort to finding a compromise.

from the position of the activity approach, methodology can be defined as the doctrine of methods of human activity aimed at achieving goals in psychological science. The acquisition of knowledge of a new, theoretical quality creates conditions for a more complete and universal implementation, compared to empirical knowledge.

Behaviorism. The name of this direction comes from the English word behavior- behavior. It was developed by American psychologists E.L. Thorndike (1874-1949), J. Watson(1878-1958), etc. The development of behaviorism was greatly influenced by the teachings of Russian scientists I.P. Pavlova and V.M. Bekhterev on the nature of reflexes.

Behavioral scientists believed that human consciousness, his thoughts, feelings, experiences are too subjective and cannot be recorded by objective means, therefore they are not subject to research. You can only study what can be accurately observed in behavior and recorded. Psychology began to be understood by them as the science of behavior.

The basic pattern of behavior was described by behaviorists in symbols "S-R: stimulus - response." A stimulus is any effect on the body, a reaction is any response. Most often, behavior is determined by a complex set of stimuli, which are defined as the environment, or situation. The reaction can also be simple (for example, withdrawing your hand from the fire) or complex. Complex reactions include all forms of human activity that contain some kind of action (for example, eating, writing a text, playing). A person’s speech, both external (out loud) and internal (to himself), was also classified by them as reactions.

This approach excluded the fundamental difference between the psychology of animals and humans. It is not without reason that in the works of psychologists in this direction to this day, data obtained on animals are directly transferred to humans.

Subsequently, researchers who developed the ideas of behaviorism recognized that the formula "S-R: stimulus-response" cannot fully describe behavior and activity, not only in humans, but also in animals. There are many factors influencing them. Between stimulus and response, modern behavioral psychologists believe, humans have an intermediate mechanism - cognitive processes: thinking, memory, imagination. These ideas formed the basis of neobehaviorism, the main representatives of which are E. Tolman(1886-1959), K.Hull(1884-1953), B. Skinner(1904-1990), etc.

Central to the psychology of behaviorism and neobehaviorism throughout its history have been the questions learning, those. what is the process of acquiring individual experience and what are the conditions for achieving the best results. It is not for nothing that one of the modern trends in behaviorism is called the theory of social learning. Its founder A. Bandura (b. 1925) believes that learning in a person can occur in two main ways: 1) direct; direct reinforcement; 2) indirect reinforcement, when he observes the behavior of other people and what such behavior can lead to.

Psychology owes to behaviorism and the school of social learning the presence of many clear, verifiable facts and subtle experimental techniques. Largely thanks to these areas, psychology has become an objective science that uses precise methods for identifying and measuring the phenomena being studied.

Criticism of behaviorism is associated with the mechanistic view of its representatives on the human psyche, ignoring the actual mental phenomena - will, emotions, human needs, his activity and the resulting ideas about strict determinism, the conditioning of human behavior and development by external circumstances.

Psychoanalysis. The founder of this direction was the Austrian psychiatrist and psychologist Z. Freud (1856-1939).

3. Freud was a doctor, and psychoanalysis originally emerged as a method of treating neuroses. 3. Freud noted that neurotic diseases in adults are often caused by mental trauma received in childhood and associated with real or imagined sexual harassment by close adults of the opposite sex (for example, father, brother, uncle). Such injuries caused difficult experiences in their carriers, the awareness of which could be unbearable for the child. Therefore, traumatic memories are expelled, are being forced out from consciousness, and this happens without any participation of human consciousness, unconsciously. However, they do not disappear, but continue to exist, but exist unconsciously. Moreover, they become an active force influencing behavior and motivating it. The presence of such unconscious experiences and motives caused, Z. Freud believed, neurotic symptoms of diseases in adulthood. 3. Freud and his colleagues noticed that the symptoms of diseases disappear when the patient reacts to this memory, i.e. will remember and, as it were, relive the traumatic event. Appeal to childhood experience for understanding the experiences of an adult was the most important discovery of 3. Freud.

To treat diseases of this type 3. Freud and his colleagues used various methods, such as hypnosis. However, the method of free associations invented by Z. Freud turned out to be the most effective. When using this method, the patient lies on the couch, and the doctor encourages him to say whatever comes into his head, without thinking about how stupid, petty or indecent he may appear in the eyes of the doctor. Since the cause of neurotic symptoms is hidden in the sphere of the unconscious, and the patient himself does not even suspect what exactly is repressed, the doctor must be able to recognize these hidden symptoms in the patient’s words and help respond to repressed experiences. At the same time, the repressed material is difficult to recognize. Such awareness may be accompanied by strong resistance on the part of the patient.

It is this method that is called psychoanalysis. Later, it was also joined by the interpretation of dreams, the content of which, according to Freud, makes it possible to discover a person’s unconscious problems, and later - everything that he called “the psychopathology of everyday life” - all kinds of mistakes, slips of the tongue, forgetting what is needed was to do or take with you, as well as jokes. All this, Z. Freud believed, is not an accident, but a manifestation of the unconscious. The influence of the unconscious is also manifested in human creativity. So psychoanalysis was transferred from medicine to understanding how the human psyche works normally.

As a result, psychoanalysis turned into a psychological theory, and then into one of the directions of philosophy. The idea that human behavior is determined not only by conscious, but also by unconscious motives, desires, experiences that arose as a result of either suppression, repression, or preventing certain experiences, drives, and motives from entering consciousness, has produced a genuine revolution in ideas about the human psyche and is is now generally accepted.

Describing the significance of this revolution, one of Z. Freud’s biographers explains: “Copernicus moved humanity from the center of the world to its outskirts, Darwin forced us to recognize our kinship with animals, and Freud proved that reason is not the master in own home" 1 . A similar assessment is shared by many authors who considered the role of psychoanalysis in the development of not only science, but also the culture of the entire social consciousness in the 20th century.

What experiences, desires, motives are being repressed? Why does repression occur? 3. Freud came to the conclusion that this happens because they do not correspond to the existing cultural norms and ideas that are valuable for the person himself and his environment. First of all, 3. Freud believed, this refers to experiences and motives of a sexual nature. It is the sexual content, according to Freud, that is hidden in dream symbols, slips and jokes (hence the well-known expression “Freudian slip”).

3. Freud proceeded from the fact that there are two main motivational forces that direct the entire life of the human body. These are the life instincts and the death instincts. The first refers to sexuality (or more broadly, eros). The second includes destructive, destructive forces that can be directed outward (aggression, hatred) and inward (masochism, suicide). These two tendencies control psychic energy, and each instinct has its own source of energy. Psychic energy associated with the life instinct,

1 Quote By: Shultz D.P., Shultz S.E. History of modern psychology. -SPb., 1998.-S. 419.received the name libido(from lat. libido- desire, attraction). The psychic energy associated with the death instinct has no name. The instinct of life and the instinct of death are in constant conflict and confrontation.

The idea of ​​the connection between the life instinct and sexual desires led Z. Freud to the idea that a person’s sexuality does not manifest itself after puberty, he is born with it, and it is she who is driving force human development. At the same time, 3. Freud did not reduce sexuality to sexual intercourse. He understood it much more broadly - as receiving pleasure from various parts of the body. Man is born with the desire to satisfy instinctual desires. He is guided by a principle that 3. Freud called the pleasure principle. However, later this principle comes into conflict with the requirements of reality, which include adaptation to the requirements of society and the conscious aspects of mental life. Very early, the child learns to restrain his immediate desires and behave in accordance with the requirements. In the process of development, it gradually moves from the pleasure principle to the reality principle. Thus, those desires, those impulses that do not correspond to the principle of reality and are condemned by others are repressed, i.e. sexy.

The psyche, from the point of view of Z. Freud, consists of three parts: id, ego And superego, or It, I And super-ego.“Id”, or “It”, is the most primitive and inaccessible part of mental life. This is where the instincts (both sexual and aggressive) are located. 3. Freud compares it to a boiling cauldron, which contains the most powerful forces: “The id does not know values, good and evil, does not know morality” 1. Therefore, “it” acts only in accordance with the principle of pleasure and does not take into account reality.

Unlike the id, the ego, or “I,” is guided by the principle of reality, serving as a kind of mediator between the id and the outside world. The ego restrains impulses coming from the id and finds indirect, roundabout ways to satisfy them. The ego (“I”) is closely connected with the id (“It”), it receives energy from it and serves to satisfy the aspirations and drives coming from the id. 3. Freud writes that the “I” in relation to the “Id” “is like a horseman who must restrain

1 Quote By: Shultz D.P., Shultz S.E. History of modern psychology. -SPb., 1998.-S. 419.give a horse superior in strength; the difference is that the rider tries to do this with his own forces, and the “I” with borrowed ones. If the rider does not want to part with the horse, then he has no choice but to lead the horse where the horse wants; so the “I” turns the will “It” acts as if it were its own will.” 1 However, in order for the horse not to throw off and trample the rider, he must control and direct its movement. Therefore, the ego must direct and control the impulses coming from the id.

The superego, or superego, develops from the ego in the process of the child assimilating the norms of behavior and values ​​that his parents instill in him. The three main functions of the superego are moral consciousness, ideal formation, and introspection. After the superego has been formed, the functions of controlling the child’s behavior, which were initially carried out by the parents, begin to be carried out by the child independently. Precursors of the superego appear already in the second year of life. However, Freud associated the final formation of the superego 3. with overcoming the so-called Oedipus complex. Oedipus is a hero of ancient Greek mythology who kills his father (not knowing that it is his father) and marries his own mother (not knowing who it is). Freud believed that every boy between the ages of three and five experiences similar feelings: he develops an attraction to his mother and a perception of his father as a rival, causing hatred and fear. Fearing punishment from his father, the boy begins to identify with him and learns his norms of behavior. A girl can also experience hostility towards her mother and love for her father, but for her this happens much less intensely. Later, psychoanalyst C. Jung called the girls’ complex of experiences the Electra complex, named after the heroine of ancient Greek mythology, who, avenging her father killed by her mother, encourages her brother Orestes to kill his mother.

The id belongs entirely to the realm of the unconscious. The ego and superego are partly in the realm of consciousness and partly in the realm of the unconscious. The ego becomes a kind of arena of struggle between drives coming from the id,

1 Freud 3."I" and "It". Works of different years. - Book 1. - Tbilisi, 1991. -P. 363.demands for perfection from the superego and the need to correspond to reality. When the situation becomes overly tense, the internal conflict becomes traumatic.

Criticism of the ideas of 3. Freud is associated primarily with his revaluation of the role of sexuality in the development of the psyche and giving decisive importance to early childhood experiences. This was already pointed out by his closest followers.

So, K.G. Jung(1875-1961) disagreed with Z. Freud in understanding the essence of libido. He believed that it characterizes not only sexual energy (as Z. Freud believed), but life energy as a whole, of which sexual impulses constitute only a part. In a different way than 3. Freud, K. Jung understood the essence of the unconscious. He believed that, in addition to the “personal unconscious” described by Z. Freud, there is also "collective unconscious". The collective unconscious is the part of the psyche that contains the experiences of humanity. It is common to all people and is inherited. The collective unconscious exists in the form of special formations - archetypes. Archetypes appear in myths and fairy tales, the common themes of which appear among different peoples.

One of the most important discoveries of K.G. Jung is the identification of psychological types of people: extroverts - aimed outward And introverts - self-directed. This typology is being widely developed today within the framework of a special science - socionics.

Another follower of S. Freud, A. Adler (1870-1937), considered the desire for superiority and a sense of inferiority to be the central driving force of development. He argued that a child is born with a certain sense of inferiority and self-doubt, which is due to his helplessness and dependence on the environment. This feeling gives rise to the desire for superiority, i.e. to self-affirmation.

The most important branch of psychoanalysis is neo-Freudianism. Neo-Freudians denied the exclusive role of sexual factors in development, attaching significant importance to social factors: the characteristics of a child’s communication with adults, especially in the first years of life [K.Horney,(1885-1953), G.S. Sullivan(1892-1949)], characteristics social environment, its values ​​[E. Fromm(1900-1980)]. Among psychoanalysts who dealt with developmental problems, a special role belongs to the American psychologist E. Erikson (1902-1994). He developed an original concept of human personality development from birth to death. From the point of view of E. Erikson, the basis of this process is the acquisition of identity, i.e. ideas about one’s own usefulness, identity with oneself over time, the ability to manage one’s “I” in various situations, to feel capable of solving the tasks that life sets before one.

Psychoanalysis has developed and continues to develop rapidly. He not only influenced many areas of modern psychology, his impact on philosophy, culture, art, and social consciousness of our time is extremely great.

Gestalt psychology. Gestalt psychology arose at the beginning of this century in Germany. Its founders were M. Wertheimer(1880-1943), K. Koffka(1886-1967), V. Ke-ler(1887-1967). The name of this direction comes from the word “gestalt” (German). Gestalt- form, image, structure). The psyche, representatives of this direction believed, should be studied from the point of view of integral structures (gesh-talts).

Central to them was the idea that the basic properties of Gestalt cannot be understood by summing up the properties of its individual parts. The whole is fundamentally not reducible to the sum of its individual parts; moreover, the whole is completely different than the sum of its parts. It is the properties of the whole that determine the properties of its individual parts. Thus, a musical melody cannot be reduced to a sequence of different musical sounds.

In relation to personality psychology, the ideas of Gestalt psychology were developed by a German and then an American psychologist K. Levin(1890-1947).

Genetic psychology by J. Piaget. Swiss psychologist J. Piaget(1896-1960) developed a theory of the development of intelligence. He was interested in how a child learns to know and understand the world around him, and how his thinking is formed in this process.

J. Piaget considered development in the process of adaptation of the child to the world around him. The central link of this adaptation, he believed, is mental development, since only it can give a correct idea of ​​the world and understanding of it. Adaptation is an active process of interaction between a child and his environment. As a child develops, he constantly faces new situations, tasks, and problems. Their solution upsets some of the child’s existing balance, so in order to regain a sense of “balance,” he begins to look for new answers to these problems.

The development of a child’s thinking goes through a number of stages, each of which is qualitatively different from the other. It is ensured by the maturation of the nervous system, the formation of experience of communication with different people and mastery of objects, objects of the surrounding world.

J. Piaget's theory had a tremendous influence on the further development of psychology, especially children's psychology.

Cognitive psychology. The name of this direction goes back to the Latin word cognition- knowledge, cognition. Its emergence and development are associated with the rapid development of computer technology and the development of cybernetics as a science of general patterns process of management and information transfer. Cognitive psychology examines the dependence of a person’s behavior on his existing cognitive schemes (cognitive maps), which allow him to perceive the world around him and choose ways correct behavior in him. This direction is currently rapidly developing, and it does not have any recognized leader.

Criticism of cognitive psychology is primarily due to the fact that the research carried out in it identifies the human brain with a machine, thereby significantly simplifying the complex, diverse inner world of a person, considering it as relatively simplified diagrams and models.

Humanistic psychology. Humanistic psychology arose in the 60s of our century in American psychology. This direction was proclaimed as the main idea A New Look on human development. It is based on an optimistic approach to understanding human nature: faith in the creative possibilities, creative powers of each person, that he is able to consciously choose his destiny and build his life. This is precisely what is associated with the name of this direction, which comes from the Latin word humanus - humane. The most famous representatives of this direction are K. Rogers (1902-1987) and A. Maslow (1908-1970). 1.5. Development of domestic psychology

The development of domestic psychology, as well as And world, was initially carried out in line with two main directions - philosophical, religious and natural science. The first direction goes back to the ideas of the outstanding Russian philosopher V. Solovyova(1853-1900). Representatives of this direction - N.Ya. Grotto(1852-1899), G.I.Chelpanov(1862-1936), L.M.Lopatin(1855-1920), BUT. Lossky(1870-1965) and others - believed that the main subject of psychology is the soul, its action, and introspection was identified as the main method.

The second is related to the ideas of objective experimental research of the human psyche. Its representatives are outstanding domestic physiologists THEM. Sechenov(1829-1905), V.M. Bekhterev (1857-1927), I.P. Pavlov(1849-1936), A.A. Ukhtomsky(1875-1942). Their ideas formed the basis reflexology- scientific direction, the founder of which was V.M. Bekhterev. As a subject of psychology in this direction, reflexes that occur with the participation of the cerebral cortex in relation to those external stimuli, which triggered their action. Mental activity was studied in connection with the course of nervous processes, and theories of the physiology of higher nervous activity were used to explain mental phenomena.

At the same time, other approaches also developed, whose representatives sought to find other ways of studying mental phenomena, which, being strictly scientific, made it possible to understand the holistic picture of human development. In 1911 A.F. Lazursky(1874-1917) proposed the scheme natural experiment(See the topic “Methods of Psychology”). These ideas were continued in the works M.Ya. Basova(1892-1931), dedicated to the development of the method observations as a leader in studying mental development children.

After the October Revolution, Russian psychology continued to develop rapidly. Many schools and trends emerged. However, gradually, especially in the 30-50s, domestic psychology, like other branches of science and culture, increasingly came under ideological pressure, and the management of science using administrative methods was increasingly being introduced.

All areas of so-called idealistic psychology are prohibited, i.e. psychology as a science of the soul. Its founders are expelled from institutes and universities. Marxism is put forward as a unified philosophical and methodological basis of Soviet psychology.

The importance of physiological explanations is maximally enhanced, and they begin to be considered not just as necessary, but as a central link in the study of any psychological phenomena.

Psychological science suffered great damage in connection with the Resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On pedological perversions in the system of People's Commissariat of Education” (1936) and the decision of the Joint Scientific Session of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, which proclaimed the teachings of I.P. Pavlova is the only true and possible, including for the development of psychology (1950).

However, psychology continued to develop contrary to ideological dictates. It, as already mentioned, was based on a single methodological base - the Marxist-Leninist doctrine of socio-historical and social essence man and activity as the basis of his existence. But on this general basis, various schools and directions developed, various industries psychologists who have made significant contributions to world psychology.

Cultural-historical concept. The founder of this concept was L.S. Vygotsky(1896-1934). According to this concept, the human psyche has a cultural and historical character. In the process of history, humanity has developed certain means by which a person builds his relationships with the world, with the people around him, with himself. These means are embodied in everything that makes up human culture, starting from methods of action with various items(for example, using a spoon), more complicated ways human activity to the highest examples of science and works of art. Therefore, the highest forms of the psyche are mediated forms.

A child, L.S. believed. Vygotsky, can become a person only in joint activity with an adult. The mental development of a child is, first of all, the process of his cultural development, mastery, appropriation of culturally given means of action with objects and mastery of himself, his mental activity, as a result of which the strictly human, higher mental functions develop and personality is formed. Higher mental functions (logical memory, conceptual thinking, voluntary attention) differ from simple, elementary, “natural”, in the terminology of L.S. Vygotsky, forms. Higher mental functions initially arise in external objective activity, communication between people and are mediated by signs, i.e. by those means and methods that were created by culture. The universal form of a sign is the word. And only then does it move into the internal, mental plane, becoming the content of mental development. This law of the development of higher mental functions of L.S. Vygotsky formulated it as follows: “Each higher mental function manifests itself twice in the process of behavioral development: first as a function of collective behavior, as a form of cooperation or interaction, as a means of social adaptation, i.e. as an interpsychological category, and then secondarily as a method of individual behavior of the child, as a means of personal adaptation, as an internal process of behavior, i.e. as an intrapsychological category" 1 .

This approach largely solved the problem of the “impossibility” of subjective psychological phenomena to objective study. He contributed to many areas of Russian psychology.

One of the most important directions in the development of this theory was the developed A.N. Leontyev(1903-1979) activity theory. The activity was reviewed by A.N. Leontiev as active interaction with the surrounding reality, expressing a person’s attitude to the world and contributing to the satisfaction of his needs. The mental development of a person largely constitutes the process of development of his activity.

A.N. Leontyev developed the theory of leading activity as one that becomes central, fundamental at various stages of development and has the greatest influence on the formation of consciousness and the personality of the child at this stage. Such an activity for preschoolers is play, and for younger schoolchildren it is learning.

Such domestic psychologists as P.Ya.Galperin(1902-1988), A.R.Lu- Riya(1902-1977), D.B. Elkonin(1904-1984), A.V. Constipated

1 Vygotsky L.S. Collection cit.: In 6 volumes-M., 1984. - T.5. - P. 197. zhets(1905-1981), L.I. Bozovic(1908-1981), V.V. Davydov

(1930-1998), etc.

Unity of consciousness and activity. As has been repeatedly noted, one of the most important questions that worried psychology from its very foundation was the question of the inaccessibility of the phenomena of consciousness to objective research. Russian philosopher and psychologist S.L. Rubinstein / (1899-1960) approached the solution of this issue and formulated the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity as the main explanatory principle of the psychologist. Activities for S.L. Rubinstein is, first of all, a work to transform the world around us. In work, a person creates the entire “humanized” environment, culture, his own psyche, changes both the world around him and himself. Thus, to study consciousness, it is necessary not to describe certain aspects of it that are accessible only to introspection, but to analyze how changes in objects occur in the process of specific activity. This method of psychological research by S.L. Rubinstein called it the method of unity of influence and study.

S.L. Rubinstein also gave his answer to the question of what determines mental phenomena - the influence of the environment or internal factors. He objected to the absolutization of the role of the environment, which was at that time almost the dominant ideological position, covering not only psychology, but also all natural sciences (remember the theory of T.D. Lysenko). In contrast to this, he put forward the principle that external reasons influence the object, including the human psyche, through internal conditions.

Psychology of individual differences. This direction in Russian psychology is associated with such names as B.M. Teplov(1896-1965), V.D. Nebylitsyn(1930-1972), V.S.Merlin(1892-1982). In this direction, I.P.’s theory received meaningful psychological development. Pavlova on the types of higher nervous activity. On its basis, the psychology of individual psychological differences, or differential psychology, was developed.

In line with this theory I received new development theory of temperament types. The theory of abilities also received a new development. It has been shown that abilities are based on innate characteristics - inclinations. However, the real development of abilities is carried out only in activities that create the opportunity for the implementation and formation of these abilities.

Psychology of relationships. The founder of this theory was a domestic psychologist, psychoneurologist and psychotherapist V.N. Myasishchev(1892-1973). He proceeded from the idea that every person from birth is included in the system of social relations. These relationships form his subjective attitudes towards the world around him, other people and himself. The internal system of relationships formed in this way constitutes the core of a person’s personality. It is she, and not character, abilities or temperament, that determines the characteristics of a person’s personality. A person’s true relationships, he emphasized, may not appear until a certain moment; they exist only potentially and are revealed only when a person acts in a situation that is very significant for him.

At the same time, the personality of V.N. Myasishchev did not consider it as a frozen, once and for all formed mental formation. He emphasized its dynamism and variability under the influence of external, primarily social, influences.

Humanities as a complex discipline. This direction was developed in research B.G.Ananyeva(1907-1972). He proceeded from the idea that a full-fledged study of man can be carried out in line with a special complex discipline - human science, which unites the entire complex of sciences about man, in its unity with the history of mankind and the development of the Universe.

1.6. Branches of psychology

Majority structure modern sciences can be imagined as a tree. The trunk consists of knowledge that reveals the basic concepts of this science and the patterns it reveals, and many branches are its individual sections, in relation to individual issues, individual areas of activity, etc.

The tree of modern psychology is very branched. Its trunk is general psychology. This section of psychology studies and describes the most general psychological patterns, the basic concepts of psychology, substantiates and defines its methodological apparatus. General psychology is the foundation of all its other branches. Today there are a lot of these industries. We will not list them all. Let's point out just a few.

Differential psychology studies individual psychological differences between people. Differences are examined both between specific individuals and between specific groups (for example, between men and women, representatives different professions, different social, national, ethnic groups). The prerequisites and reasons for these differences are identified. Based on the most frequently occurring characteristics, certain typologies are built. The knowledge gained in this industry is important for many areas of practice, including school teaching.

Medical psychology studies the psychological patterns associated with the occurrence and course of the disease, explores the influence of diseases on the human psyche, mental factors on the physical and somatic state of a person. It is known, for example, that many diseases (heart attack, ulcer, asthma) are often caused by purely psychological reasons.

Neuropsychology explores the influence of changes in the structure and functioning of the brain, its damage, and age-related underdevelopment on human mental activity and behavior. Neuropsychology is of great importance for working with children, as it allows us to identify and eliminate the causes of many difficulties in learning and behavior.

Social Psychology deals with the psychological characteristics, behavior and activities of people that are associated with their belonging to certain social groups(friendly, educational, professional, national, racial, etc.). Children's groups are studied separately.

Research is being conducted on these groups, their activities and development, as well as various types of communication, relationships between people, which are called interpersonal relationships. Social psychologists study the psychological climate of a particular enterprise or institution, its dependence on the relationship between employees, bosses and subordinates, the influence of this climate on psychological condition people, on the success of their activities. For example, social psychologists have shown that the relationship between the school principal and teachers influences the relationships between children even in cases where the children seem to have no way of knowing about it, and determines the psychological climate of the school.

This industry is actively developing family psychology, revealing the peculiarities of creating a family and choosing a spouse. The relationships between spouses, between parents and children, relationships between several generations in the family, the causes of family conflicts, etc. are explored.

Psychodiagnostics- a branch of psychology that develops methods and means for identifying and measuring human psychological characteristics, studying the possibilities of using these tools in practice. Psychodiagnostics makes it possible to identify and measure the severity of certain individual psychological characteristics in a person: level of intelligence development, abilities, personality traits, interests. Thanks to psychodiagnostics, it is possible to identify reasons for behavior, actions, success and failure in activities, including educational activities, and in communication that are hidden from direct observation.

For work at school, knowledge from the field is of particular importance developmental and educational psychology.

Age-related psychology, or developmental psychology, studies the development of the human psyche and its characteristics throughout ontogeny. Ontogenesis - the process of individual development of an organism from birth to death. This term is used not only in psychology, but also in physiology, medicine, and biology. Developmental psychology includes child psychology, psychology individual development adult and the psychology of old age. She studies the patterns of mental development, the psychological characteristics of each age, reveals how various forms, function and disintegrate. psychological structures at different age stages, how various psychological formations interact at each stage, how the transition occurs from one age period to another.

Pedagogical psychology includes psychology of learning And psychology of education. She studies the influence of the learning and upbringing process on the formation of personality traits, a person’s cognitive capabilities, the development of his abilities and interests, identifies the psychological patterns of learning and upbringing, and the manifestation of individual psychological characteristics of a person in them. Educational psychology also studies the characteristics of the relationship between the teacher and students, as well as the psychology of the teacher himself.

Among the branches of psychology, occupies a special place parapsychology, exploring mental phenomena that cannot be explained by existing scientific knowledge. Therefore, the name of this branch of psychology includes the Greek word “pair”, meaning - to the side, nearby. This is, first of all, perception that goes beyond the capabilities of the senses (extrasensory), as well as methods of direct mental influence on physical processes, including people’s illnesses, their well-being, and their relationships with loved ones. The psychological study and explanation of these phenomena is one of the most interesting tasks of psychological science.

1. 7. Psychology, theoretical and practical

Psychology, like all other sciences, is divided into two large sections. Some psychologists are engaged in theoretical research, while others are engaged in applying the results of this research in practice. Are allocated accordingly theoretical and practical psychology. The first task, which we have talked about so far, is to identify patterns, psychological mechanisms, and develop a theory. The task of practical psychology is to use the acquired knowledge in various spheres of life.

Psychological knowledge concerns every person. They can be used in professional activities and personal life, in relationships with other people. However, their real application requires the participation of a psychologist who has not only knowledge, but also the ability to practically use it.

Practicing psychologists work in kindergartens, schools, factories, clinics, hospitals, special consultations, the army, management systems, family assistance services, etc. - in almost all areas of human activity. Their work involves responding to a variety of practical needs.

Psychologist working in kindergartens, schools, colleges, vocational schools, orphanages, etc. - educational psychologist, or child practical psychologist, deals with many problems. It helps to identify and develop the abilities of children, promotes the formation of basic mental processes - attention, memory, thinking, etc. He can determine why the child is studying below his capabilities, find out why children do not learn this or that educational material, why the child behaves badly, and cannot be friends with classmates. And not only to define, but also to explain. A psychologist has means that allow him to prevent possible violations and deviations in the child’s development. This work is called psychological prevention. He is also working to overcome existing violations. This kind of work is called psychological correction. However, a psychologist can do all this only in close cooperation with teachers. It is their constant cooperation that can ensure that the school operates in such a way that children are excited and happy to learn, and adults are interested in working.

A practical educational psychologist solves many everyday issues and problems. But main goal its activities, the purpose of the existence of the educational psychological service in general is the mental and psychological health of children and adolescents.

Mental health - condition mental well-being, full-fledged psychological activity of a person, expressed in a cheerful mood, good health, and activity. The basis of mental health is complete mental development at all stages of ontogenesis. One of the most important goals of the educational psychological service is the creation of psychological and pedagogical conditions that ensure such development. Mental health creates the foundation for a higher level of health - psychological health.

Psychological health characterized by a high level of personal development, understanding of oneself and others, the presence of ideas about the purpose and meaning of life, the ability to manage oneself (personal self-regulation), the ability to relate correctly to other people and oneself, and an awareness of responsibility for one’s destiny and one’s development. Of course, at each stage of development, psychological health, like mental health, has its own distinct age specifics.

Every practical psychologist, in order to fully work in a particular area of ​​practice, must understand it. A medical psychologist must know the basics of medicine, a psychologist working in the field of psychology of art must understand it and understand it, and know aesthetics well. Sports psychologist - have knowledge of various areas sports activities. An educational psychologist, or a practical child psychologist, must know pedagogy, didactics, and have an idea of ​​methodology. Only in this case will he be able to work well, contribute to the development of children, help children and teachers.

However, in order for this work to be truly effective, it is necessary that the teacher also knows psychology. At the same time, it is important that each of them respects the knowledge of the other, recognizes his professional awareness, professional skills - his professional competence. This will ensure their effective professional interaction, allowing each and every one of them to work better, bring more value and get more pleasure from their work.

Questions and tasks

1 . IN than the difference between everyday life and scientific psychology?

2. Give examples of various mental phenomena based on observations of yourself or others.

3. What is the difference between the work of a research psychologist and a practicing psychologist?

4. What branches of psychology are most important for the education system? Why?

5. How are mental and psychological health related?

6. How has the idea of ​​what psychology should do change over the history of the development of this science?

7. Why do they say that psychology is both a very old and a very young science? What are the differences between pre-scientific and scientific psychology?

8. Is there a connection between ideas about human nature and understanding of the subject of psychology?

9. What, in your opinion, is the reason for the existence of many schools and trends in psychology?

10. What areas in psychology, in your opinion, are most useful for a teacher? Why?

Photographer Andrea Effulge

Idealist philosophy refers to all directions and concepts within this science that trace idealism as its basis. Therefore, in order to understand the essence of these trends and concepts in philosophy, one should become familiar with the concept of idealism itself, as well as its consequences.

Idealism (from the Greek idea - idea) is a fundamental principle in science, asserting the primacy of the immaterial (ideal) before the material, to put it narrowly. And also the primacy of the incorporeal, insensitive, subjective, evaluative and non-spatial in any phenomena and processes over the material, which is characterized by objectivity, corporeality, sensory sensation without evaluation and the presence of space, if we consider the concept broadly. That is, in many respects it is true that idealism is an alternative to materialism, and in cosmogonic (the origin of the Universe) issues these concepts are often considered as antagonists. Thus, it is not difficult to understand that idealistic philosophy fully includes all the properties of idealism.

It is important to understand that the term idealism should not be confused with the concept of idealist, since the latter is derived from the term “ideal”, which in turn is not synonymous with the concept of “idea”.

Idealistic philosophy itself is divided into two directions, diverging in the fundamental consequence, despite the agreement in other opinions. These directions: objective and subjective idealism, that is, subjective and objective idealistic philosophy. The first, objective direction, declares that the immaterial, that is, the ideal, exists outside and independently of any consciousness, while the second, subjective direction, asserts that only in any consciousness can ideal reality exist. Here it is important to understand that “ideal” reality is not a synonym for “perfect”; understanding the real meaning of the terms is what distinguishes scientific perception from ordinary perception.

One of the first to deal with the problems of idealistic philosophy, who is known to history, was Plato. For this thinker, idealism was presented in a dualistic combination of the perception of the world by the mind. The first part is the perception and awareness of the true essence of things - their ideas, which are eternal and accurate, and the second part is the sensation of things in their material form, which is multifaceted, deceptive and temporary.

We will omit the opinion of various religious thinkers - supporters of religious-idealistic philosophy, as obviously anti-scientific or extra-scientific, where, for example, an idea was understood as an eternal and accurate image of any thing, phenomenon or process, as a true idea in the mind of God. Such supporters of the idealistic trend in philosophy included George Berkeley, who called supporters of materialism best case scenario vulgar atheists, and at worst even sectarians of atheism.

A new word in idealistic philosophy, as well as in many areas of this science, was said by Immanuel Kant, who, with his transcendental, limited the knowledge of the idea and the ideal to consciousness, as a phenomenon that approaches this with difficulty. That is, Kant drew direct parallels between his concept and formal idealism.

Kant, as the founder of German classical philosophy, motivated the emergence of other types of idealism, which were formulated by the thinkers of his era. For example, Hegel's absolute idealism, Schelling's objective, and Fichte's subjective. The key differences between these views within idealistic philosophy are that Kant asserted the completeness and completeness of the world in itself, but the unknowability of some of its parts for reason. Fichte called reality (environment) outside the mind of the subject limited for the latter and therefore provoking the mind to reflect and organize the internal (ideal) world. Schelling believed that the boundary between the ideal (mind) and the material is the identity of any object and subject, that is, the secret fundamental principle. And Hegel, with his absolute idealism, abolished material reality, assigning it only the role of stating the ideal, which was revealed in the former. That is, Hegel’s idealistic philosophy assigned idealism the role of an absolute process, where the immanent statement of any ideas proceeds dialectically. Yes, this subject is very difficult to understand, but for a deep consideration of it it is necessary to become closely acquainted with the works of each of the representatives of idealistic philosophy. For obvious reasons, I cannot provide the latter to you, the reader, within the framework of the article.

Georg Hegel not only made a significant contribution to the improvement of philosophy, but also formulated new type idealism is absolute. The main criticism of absoluteness in idealistic philosophy lies in its separation from reality, that is, it is good in the theoretical and abstract construction of all known conditions and quantities, but is difficult to apply in practice in the existence and life of a rational being - man. In the latter, the limit of the research of mental science was discovered, where it ceased to be practically useful; at least at this stage of the evolution of the mind.

Modern idealistic philosophy has defined itself by no longer considering idealism as an antagonist of materialism, but only as its alternative, while at the same time opposing the former to realism. In general, there is a steady tendency for idealistic philosophy to disguise its fundamental principle, based on idealism, behind ambiguous or neutral concepts, names and expressions. But despite this, the ideological modality of any concepts and trends in modern philosophy that is not related to materialism or realism is indisputable.

There are the following main directions in psychology: behaviorism, Gestalt psychology, psychoanalysis.

(from the English behavior - behavior) - the founder of this direction, the American physiologist J.B. (1878-1958) proposed behavior as a subject of study, since everything else (consciousness, sensations, etc.) is a “black box” , inaccessible for research by natural scientific means. The scientific search of behaviorists was aimed at clarifying the laws connecting influencing stimuli and behavioral responses.

In the future, this should have helped in predicting and purposefully changing human behavior.

For behaviorists, the behavior of humans and animals in terms of its structure, mechanisms and incentives is not fundamentally different. They believed that it was quite acceptable, when studying the behavior of animals, to transfer the discovered facts and laws to humans and, conversely, to interpret the types and forms of behavior of animals “in a human way.” Therefore, animals were used as test subjects, mainly rats and pigeons, since they were cheap. However, it was impossible to completely abandon the study of mental phenomena, given their actual significance in human life and behavior. Watson's views were softened by his followers, who tried to simultaneously bring the science of behavior closer to reality and reconcile it with the existing philosophical understanding of man.

Neobehaviorists abandoned the simplified understanding of behavior as a system of reactions to external stimuli. E. Ch. (1886-1959) introduced into behaviorism the ideas of activity, rationality and expediency of behavior. He saw the organizing and directing principle of behavior in the goal, understood as the final result that should be achieved as a result of the practical implementation by the body of a system of behavioral acts.

A special role in behaviorism was played by B.F. (1904-1990), a recognized authority in the theory and practice of learning, the author of programmed training, and a talented and interesting psychologist.

Behaviorism has been subject to extensive criticism many times. Its influence as a theoretical concept is small, which cannot be said about practical psychology. Psychological tests and diagnostic techniques, consulting techniques built on behavioral principles, have become widespread all over the world, especially in the field of personnel management, learning programs on education and training of children and adults.

Gestalt psychology (rel. Gestalt - image, structure, form) originated in Germany among scientists who had a fundamental education in the field of physics and mathematics. Representatives of this direction M. (1880-1943), W. Koehler (1887-1967), K. (1890-1947) argued that there are laws for the formation of complex, integral systems of mental phenomena and their functioning, which cannot be explained by elementary laws of combination of elements , as traditional (associationist) psychology did. The world, they argued, consists of organized forms, and the very perception of this world is also organized. Gestaltists began to conduct social-psychological experiments to study personality and interpersonal behavior, during which we were repeatedly convinced of the presence of a “silent organization” that makes its own adjustments to the processes of perception.

The ideas of Gestalt psychologists played a positive role in the development of a number of important issues psychology, in particular such categories as perception, thinking, memory, personality and interpersonal relationships. They also contributed to the introduction into psychology of useful theories and concepts borrowed from the field of natural science research. Based on this concept, Gestalt therapy is being developed, which is today popular in many countries of the world, including Russia.

Psychoanalysis was developed by the Austrian doctor Z. (1856-1939), who began with research and generalization of psychotherapeutic practice, and then turned the accumulated experience into a psychological theory. In this direction, psychology regained the living person and, since ancient times, its inherent depth of penetration into the essence of the soul and behavior. With dramatic acuteness, psychoanalysis raised the question of the irrational in the seemingly rational behavior of a person, seeing the reason for everything in the same something that cannot be studied by natural scientific methods. Behaviorists called it a “black box”, Gestaltists called it a “silent organization”, and Freud introduced the concept of “Id” - “It”. The human Self is the realm of the conscious, intelligent repository of outer experience, which is regulated by the reality principle, but its energy is weak. On the contrary, it has colossal psychic energy, guided by the principle of pleasure.

For psychoanalysis, the key concepts were “consciousness” and “unconscious”, and the latter was given special attention important role in the determination of human behavior. Freud wrote that there is strong evidence that subtle and difficult intellectual work, requiring deep and intense thinking, can take place outside the sphere of consciousness, that there are people in whom self-criticism and conscience turn out to be unconscious and, remaining as such, determine the most important actions. According to Freud, guilt can also be unconscious. The conflict between unconscious drives and social demands and prohibitions marked the beginning of the study of psychological defense mechanisms!

The fate of psychoanalytic teaching in different countries developed differently. At first, everyone except Freud's closest students and followers and some practicing doctors treated him very coolly. Perhaps no other branch of psychology has been so harshly criticized as psychoanalysis. Then it found supporters in Germany and Austria, in other European countries and, finally, in the USA. Having achieved enormous success on both continents, psychoanalysis continues to lead the way in France and Canada. In other countries, it is gradually being replaced by methods of other types of psychotherapy, in particular those developed by numerous followers of Freud. Here are a few names that are no less famous in the world than the name of Freud himself.

A. (1870-1937) - Austrian psychologist, founder of individual psychology, the main provisions of which can be formulated as follows:
there is no direct dependence of human mental development on organic factors;
From the first years of life, a child develops a deeply felt feeling own inferiority and the desire for creative self-improvement to overcome this inferiority complex;
a person is a being who initially strives for a certain life goal, acting generally rationally, actively, expediently and deliberately, and not passively and reactively;
The goals of life are determined by the person himself. Much in human behavior depends on the nature of these goals; under their influence, he forms images, memory, develops a certain perception of reality, certain personality and character traits, inclinations and abilities, moral character, affects and feelings.

K. G. (1875-1961) - Swiss psychologist (psychiatrist) and philosopher, founder of analytical psychology, viewed the psyche as a complex whole, the relatively independent parts of which are peculiarly separated from each other. The center of human individuality is the so-called “I” complex, with which two types of the unconscious are associated: personal and collective. The first is the life experience acquired by a person, the second is passed on to him by inheritance and reflects the social knowledge accumulated by humanity (myths, impressions, images, etc.). Jung introduced into psychology the concept of two personality types: introverts (from the Latin intro - movement inward and verto - to turn, turn) and extroverts (from the Latin extra - outside and verto...). The personality typology he created is one of the most interesting and productive psychological concepts.

E. (1900-1980) - German-American psychologist, philosopher and sociologist, representative of humanistic psychoanalysis, according to which a person has two ways of existence - having and being. Human activity is subordinated to the satisfaction of a basic need - gaining unity with the world and with oneself. Society and life circumstances shape a person's character. Where personal freedom is suppressed, where “to have” prevails over “to be,” pathological characters arise. In such a society, people cease to be themselves, automatically adopting the type of thinking and behavior that is imposed by society, the model of ideology and culture adopted in it, or just as automatically opposing themselves to it. Total alienation sets in as a characteristic of human existence. Fromm sees the only adequate answer to the problem of human existence in love - a form of human relationships that allows one to find the true Self.

Russian psychology also did not escape the global crisis of the 20th century. The foundations of a new direction in Russian psychology were laid by the outstanding physiologists I.M. Sechenov and I.P. , which predetermined its natural-scientific character.

In Soviet psychology in the 1920-1930s. (1896-1934), with the participation of his students A.N. and A.R. Luria, a holistic cultural-historical theory was developed. Vygotsky expressed the idea that the basic unit that preserves the properties of the whole is the most complex forms of reflex activity - the use of means (tools). In psychology, such means (tools) are signs, by operating with which and influencing another, a person forms his own inner world. Cultural signs (myths, religion, art, science) ensure the preservation and transmission of culture. Its core is language as the most developed system. Mental functions given by nature (natural) are transformed through the “appropriation” of tools into functions top level development, becoming “cultural”. Mechanical memory turns into logical memory, impulsive action into voluntary action. Vygotsky called the area of ​​his research - the study of tools and signs artificially created by man, thanks to which higher mental functions arise - instrumental psychology.

Developing Vygotsky's ideas, his students and followers developed a general psychological concept of activity. Leontyev proposed a diagram of the structure of activity (activity - action - operation), correlated with the structure of the motivational sphere (motive - goal - condition). Managing an organization external activities, a person simultaneously controls internal (mental) activity. The main structural unit is considered to be action: a process aimed at achieving a goal - an image of the desired result. But the main motivator for activity is motive. The method (set of operations) by which the goal will be achieved is determined by the specific conditions of the activity. Based on the proposed scheme, the highest forms of mental processes were studied: perception (perceptual activity), thinking (mental activity), memory (mnemonic activity), etc. In his fundamental work “Problems of psychic development,” Leontiev analyzed the development of the psyche, revealing the mechanisms of origin consciousness and its role in the regulation of human activity. The principle of the unity of psyche and activity was also implemented when considering the activity of animals in the process of adaptation to the surrounding world. The criterion for the emergence of the psyche was identified, the stages of its development were described, and a series of experimental works on these problems were carried out.

Currently, the activity approach is one of the most influential areas of world psychology. Representatives of this direction have achieved particular success in the field of learning and mental development, neuropsychology and psychophysiology.

Thus, within scientific psychology there are different approaches to the subject of its research. Psychology is a science that studies:
the soul as a property of the body, consisting in the ability to predict the implementation of what has the opportunity to be realized (comes from Aristotle);
consciousness as the ability to think, feel, desire... (the definition appeared in the 17th century in connection with the development of the natural sciences);
behavior as a set of reactions of the body to environmental stimuli (the direction of “behaviorism” arose in the USA at the beginning of the 20th century);
Gestalt as a functional structure that organizes the diversity of individual phenomena (the direction of “Gestalt psychology” arose in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century);
the unconscious as a set of mental processes and states caused by phenomena of reality, the influence of which the subject is not aware of (the direction of “psychoanalysis” arose in Austria at the beginning of the 20th century);
psyche as higher form the relationship of living beings with the objective world, expressed in their ability to realize their motives and act on the basis of information about them;
psyche as the property of highly organized matter to reflect objective reality and, on the basis of the mental image formed in this case, it is advisable to regulate the activity of the subject and his behavior (the definition was given in the 19th-20th centuries).

The main directions in psychology listed above, to one degree or another, relate to the natural scientific areas of psychology. In the middle of the 20th century. As a social movement of psychologists not oriented towards the natural sciences, a new direction arose - humanistic psychology. The name was proposed by Doctor of Philosophy, professor from Boston A.R. Cohen, but the “spiritual father” of this trend is rightfully considered the American psychologist A. (1908-1970). For a humanistic psychologist, belief in human freedom and refusal to manipulate him in the name of any goals and ideals is the basis of psychological practice. Representatives of this approach put forward the postulate that each person has innate potentials that are updated under the influence of social conditions. They assign the main role in studying a person to his personal experience.

The formation and development of scientific views on the essence of the psyche has always been associated with the solution of the main issue of philosophy - the relationship between matter and consciousness, material and spiritual substance.

It was around the solution of this issue that two diametrically opposed philosophical directions arose: idealistic and materialistic. Representatives of idealistic philosophy considered the psyche as something primary, existing independently, independently of matter. The materialistic understanding of the psyche is expressed in the fact that the psyche is considered as a secondary phenomenon, derived from matter.

Representatives of idealistic philosophy recognize the existence of a special spiritual principle, independent of matter; they consider mental activity as a manifestation of the material, incorporeal and immortal soul. And all material things and processes are interpreted only as our sensations and ideas, or as some mysterious discovery of some “absolute spirit”, “world will”, “idea”. Idealism arose when people, not having correct ideas about the structure and functions of the body, thought that mental phenomena represented the activity of a special, supernatural being - the soul and spirit, which supposedly inhabits a person at the moment of birth and leaves him at the moment of sleep and death. Initially, the soul was imagined as a special subtle body or being living in different organs. When religion appeared, the soul began to be understood as a kind of double of the body, as an incorporeal and immortal spiritual entity associated with some “ other world", where she lives forever, leaving a person. On this basis, various idealistic systems of philosophy arose, asserting that ideas, spirit, consciousness are primary, the beginning of everything that exists, and nature, matter are secondary, derived from spirit, ideas, consciousness.

The materialistic approach to understanding the human psyche was pushed aside for many centuries by idealistic philosophy, which viewed the human psyche as a manifestation of his spiritual life, believing that it does not obey the same laws as all material nature. And no matter what metamorphoses the ideas about the soul underwent, the conviction remained unshakable that it is the driving principle of life. Only in the 17th century. Rene Descartes began a new era in the development of psychological knowledge. He showed that not only work internal organs, but the behavior of the organism - its interaction with other external bodies - does not need a soul. His ideas had a particularly great influence on the future fate of psychological science. Descartes simultaneously introduced two concepts: reflex and consciousness. But in his teaching he sharply contrasts the soul and body. He argues that there are two substances independent of each other - matter and spirit. Therefore, in the history of psychology, this doctrine was called “dualism” (from Latin, dualis - “dual”). From the point of view of dualists, the mental is not a function of the brain, its product, but exists as if by itself, outside the brain, in no way dependent on it. In philosophy, this direction is called objective idealism.

Based on dualistic teachings in psychology of the 19th century. The idealistic theory of the so-called psychophysical parallelism (i.e., asserting that the mental and physical exist in parallel: independently of each other, but together) has become widespread. The main representatives of this direction in psychology are Wundt, Ebbinghaus, Spencer, Ribot, Binet, James and many others.

Around this time, a new understanding of the subject of psychology emerged. The ability to think, feel, desire began to be called consciousness. Thus, the psyche was equated with consciousness. The psychology of the soul has been replaced by the so-called psychology of consciousness. However, consciousness has long been understood as a phenomenon of a special kind, isolated from all other natural processes. Philosophers have interpreted it differently conscious life, considering it a manifestation of the divine mind or the result of subjective sensations, where they saw the simplest “elements” from which consciousness is built. However, all idealist philosophers were united by the common conviction that mental life is a manifestation of a special subjective world, cognizable only through introspection and inaccessible to any objective world. scientific analysis, nor for a causal explanation. This understanding has become very widespread, and the approach has become known as the introspective interpretation of consciousness. According to this tradition, the psyche is identified with consciousness. As a result of this understanding, consciousness became isolated in itself, which meant a complete separation of the psyche from objective being and the subject itself.