Features of mental reflection briefly. General idea of ​​the psyche

1. reflection activity. The mental reflection of a person is active, not passive, i.e. people, reflecting the objective world, influence it themselves, change it in accordance with their goals, interests and needs.

2. Purposeful reflection. The mental reflection of a person is purposeful, conscious in nature, continuously associated with vigorous activity.

3. Dynamic reflection. With the development in phylogenesis and ontogenesis, with the complication of the NS, mental reflection develops: it deepens and improves.

4. Uniqueness, individuality mental reflection. Each person, due to the peculiarities of the structure of his own nervous system, due to the specifics of his life experience, reflects the objective world in his own way. Two people have the same pictures of the world various people does not exist.

5. The mental reflection of a person is of a leading nature. Reflecting the objects of the real world, a person identifies, first of all, those of them that may be important for his future activities.

6. Objectivity of mental reflection. The mental reflection of a person implies a certain similarity between the material characteristics of the source of information and what is presented in the mental formations of the subject. Any reflected image, no matter how amazing it may be, contains real-life elements. The correctness of the reflection is confirmed by practice.

Due to the above features of mental reflection, it ensures the expediency of behavior and objective activity.

Phenomena studied by psychological science

Let us continue the discussion of the categories and concepts of psychology. Among the most important concepts can be called “psychic phenomena”. Recall that psychological science studies the processes of active reflection of reality by the subject in various forms: sensations, feelings, mental forms and other mental phenomena. In other words, mental phenomena are the forms in which the facts of mental life exist.

Psychic events include:

1. mental processes

a) cognitive processes: sensations, perception, thinking, imagination, attention, representation, memory, motor skills, speech;

b) emotional-volitional processes: feelings, will.

2. Mental properties(features): abilities, temperament, character, knowledge;

3. Mental states: apathy, creativity, doubt, confidence, attentiveness, etc.;

4. Mass mental phenomena.

It should be noted that the term "mass mental phenomena" is used by far not all authors, speaking of mental phenomena.

The division of all manifestations of the psyche into these categories is very conditional. The concept of "mental process" emphasizes the procedural nature, the dynamics of the phenomenon. The concept of "mental property", or " mental peculiarity” expresses the stability of a mental fact, its fixation and repetition in the structure of the personality. The concept of "mental state" characterizes mental activity for a certain period of time.

All psychic phenomena have common properties, allowing to combine them - they are all forms of reflection of the objective world, therefore their functions are basically similar and serve to orient a person in the outside world, regulate and adapt his behavior.

One and the same mental fact can be characterized both as a process, and as a state, and even as a property (because a certain personality trait is revealed).

Every kind mental phenomena designed to perform certain functions.

For example:

a) functions of cognitive processes: cognition, study of the surrounding world; creation of a subjective image of the objective world; development of a strategy for one's own behavior.

b) Functions of mental properties and states: regulation of a person's communication with other people; direct control of actions and actions.

All mental phenomena have common features that unite them. At the same time, each phenomenon of the psyche carries not one any sign, but a certain combination. Possession of a system of specific features makes it possible to attribute this or that phenomenon to the facts of the mental world. What are the signs of psychic phenomena?

The specificity of mental phenomena

1. Polyfunctionality and polystructurality.

Psychic phenomena have intersecting functions, structures that are difficult to define.

2. Inaccessibility for direct observation.

Internal mechanisms and internal processes in most cases are not available for direct observation. Exceptions are motor acts.

3. Lack of clear spatial features.

Most mental phenomena do not have clear spatial features, which makes it almost impossible to accurately indicate and describe their spatial structure.

4. High mobility and variability.

5. High adaptability.

Principles of psychology

1. The next important term for any science is “principles of science”. Scientific principles are the guiding ideas, the basic rules of science. Principle is the central concept, the basis of the system, representing the generalization and extension of any provision to all phenomena of the area from which this principle is abstracted.

For modern domestic psychology the dialectical approach acts as a general scientific methodology, and the system-activity approach acts as a concrete scientific methodology.

The main principles of the system-activity approach:

1. e.g. determinism;

2. etc. unity of consciousness and behavior (activity);

3. Development Ave;

4. etc. activity;

5. etc. consistency.

Principle of determinism means that every phenomenon has a cause. Psychic phenomena are generated by factors of external reality, since the psyche is a form of reflection of objective reality. All mental phenomena are due to the activity of the brain. Mental reflection is determined by the way of life and features of the functioning of the central nervous system.

The principle of unity of consciousness and activity means that activity is the category that combines the unity of the external and internal: the subject's reflection of the external world, the subject's own knowledge of the current situation, and the activity of the subject's interaction with the environment. Activity is a form of manifestation of the activity of consciousness, and consciousness is an internal plane and the result of activity. Changing the content of activity contributes to the formation of a qualitatively new level of consciousness.

Development principle means that the psyche develops, is realized in different forms:

a) in the form of phylogenesis - the formation of the structures of the psyche in the course of biological evolution;

b) in ontogenesis - the formation of mental structures during the life of an individual organism;

c) sociogenesis - the development of the processes of cognition, personality, interpersonal relations, due to socialization in different cultures Oh. The consequence of sociogenesis is the development of thinking, values, standards of behavior among representatives of different cultures;

d) microgenesis - the formation and dynamics of images, ideas, concepts, etc., determined by the current situation and unfolding in short time intervals (skill, assimilation of a concept, etc.).

Higher, genetically later forms of the psyche develop on the basis of lower, genetically early ones. With a dialectical understanding, the development of the psyche is seen not only as growth, but also as a change: when quantitative changes turn into qualitative ones.

Each step mental development has its own qualitative originality, has its own patterns. Consequently, it is unlawful to raise the reflex mechanisms of animal behavior to the rank of universal laws of human behavior. And the thinking of an adult differs from the thinking of a child not so much in the amount of knowledge and skills, but in other ways of thinking, using other logical schemes, relying on other adult value systems.

The human psyche has a genetic diversity, i.e. structures can coexist in the psyche of one person different levels- higher and lower:

Along with conscious regulation there is a reflex one;

· logical thinking adjacent to the irrational, pralogical.

The psyche is constantly changing quantitatively and qualitatively. Characterization of a mental phenomenon is possible with the simultaneous clarification of its features in this moment, history of origin and prospects for change.

Activity principle means that the psyche is an active reflection of the external world. Due to the activity, the psyche performs the function of orienting the subject in the variety of surrounding events and phenomena, which is manifested in the selectivity, bias of the subject in relation to external influences (hypersensitivity or ignoring certain incentives, depending on the needs or attitudes of the individual) and the regulation of behavior (the impulse to act in accordance with the needs and interests of the individual).

The principle of consistency. A system is understood as a set of elements that are in connection with each other and form integrity, unity. Man included in various connections relations with reality (cognition, communication, adaptation to conditions). Accordingly, a person has many mental properties according to the multitude of such connections. At the same time, he lives and acts as a whole. The development of the whole variety of mental properties of a person cannot be deduced from one basis. Systems approach implies a variety of sources and driving forces of human mental development.

Methods of psychology

Here are examples of the most common modern psychological methods study.

Observation is a widely used empirical method. The method of observation allows you to collect a rich variety of material, the natural conditions of activity are preserved, it is not necessary to obtain the prior consent of the subjects, it is permissible to use a variety of technical means. The disadvantages of observation can be considered difficulties in controlling the situation, the duration of observation, the difficulty in differentiating significant and minor factors influencing the observed phenomenon, the dependence of the results on the experience, qualifications, predilections, and performance of the researcher.

Experiment– central empirical method scientific knowledge. It differs from observation by active intervention in the situation on the part of the researcher, who systematically manipulates one or more variables and registers concomitant changes in the behavior of the object under study. The experiment allows you to test hypotheses about causal relationships, not limited to ascertaining relationships between variables. The experiment provides high precision results, almost complete control over all variables is carried out, repeated studies in similar situations are possible. At the same time, during an experimental study, the conditions of the activity of the subjects do not correspond to reality, the subjects can provide false information, because aware of their participation in the study.

Questionnaire- an empirical socio-psychological method of collecting information based on answers to specially prepared questions that meet the main objective of the study.

Among the empirical methods are often used such methods as: conversation, interview, projective methods, testing, analysis of products of activity, physiological, etc.

The whole variety of psychological methods is not exhausted by the above, in order to give at least a general idea of ​​the methods of psychological science, we will try to systematize them, in other words, we will give one of the many classifications of the methods of psychology.

Mental reflection is a subjective representation of the world. Everything that enters the human mind with the help of the senses is subjected to specific processing based on experience.

There is an objective reality that exists independently of human consciousness. And there is a mental reflection, which depends on the characteristics of the senses, emotions, interests and level of thinking of the individual. The psyche interprets objective reality based on these filters. Thus, mental reflection is a "subjective image of the objective world."

When a person rethinks his reality, he forms a worldview based on:

• events that have already taken place;
• actual reality of the present;
• actions and events to take place.

Each person has his own subjective experience, it firmly settles in the psyche and affects the present. The present contains information about internal state the human psyche. While the future is aimed at the implementation of tasks, goals, intentions - all this is displayed in his fantasies, dreams and dreams. We can say that a person is in these three states at the same time, regardless of what he thinks at the moment.

Mental reflection has a number of features and characteristics:

• The mental (mental) image is formed in the process vigorous activity person.
• It makes it possible to correctly reflect reality.
• It has a preemptive character.
• Refracted through the individuality of a person.
• Ensures the expediency of behavior and activity.
• The psychic reflection itself deepens and improves.

This implies the main function of mental reflection: reflection of the surrounding world and regulation of human behavior and activities in order to survive.

Levels of mental reflection

Mental reflection serves to create a structured and integral image from dissected objects of reality. Soviet psychologist Boris Lomov identified three levels of mental reflection:

1. Sensory-perceptual. It is considered the basic level on which mental images are built, which arise in the process of development in the first place, but do not lose their relevance later. A person is based on the information that comes with the help of his senses and builds an appropriate strategy of behavior. That is, the stimulus causes a reaction: what happened in real time affects the behavior of a person.
2. Presentation Layer. In order for a person to have an image, it is not at all necessary that he be present here and now and that it be stimulated with the help of the senses. For this, there is figurative thinking, and imagination. A person can cause the representation of an object if it has appeared several times before in his field of vision: in this case, the main features are remembered, while the secondary ones are discarded. The main functions of this level are: control and correction of actions in the internal plan, planning, drawing up standards.
3. Verbal-logical thinking and speech-thinking level. This level is even less related to the present time, it can even be called timeless. A person can operate with logical methods and concepts that have developed in his mind and the minds of mankind during its history. He is able to abstract from the first level, that is, not to be aware of his feelings and at the same time fully concentrate, relying on the experience of mankind.

Despite the fact that often the three levels function as if by themselves, in fact they smoothly and imperceptibly flow into each other, forming a mental reflection of a person.

Forms of mental reflection

The elementary forms of reflection are: mechanical, physical and chemical. The main form of reflection is biological reflection. Its specificity is that it is characteristic only of living organisms.

When moving from biological form reflections to the mental, the following stages are distinguished:

• Perceptual. It is expressed in the ability to reflect a complex of stimuli as a whole: orientation begins with a set of signs, a reaction is also observed to biologically neutral stimuli, which are only signals of vital stimuli (sensitivity). Sensations are an elementary form of mental reflection.
• touch. Reflection of individual stimuli: the subject reacts only to biologically significant stimuli (irritability).
• intellectual. It manifests itself in the fact that in addition to the reflection of individual objects, there is a reflection of their functional relationships and connections. This is the highest form of mental reflection.

The stage of intellect is characterized by very complex activity and equally complex forms of reflection of reality.

Is our mental reflection immutable, or can we influence it? We can, but on condition that we develop, with the help of which we are able to change perception and even sensations.

Self-regulation

Self-regulation is the ability of a person, despite the circumstances, to maintain internal stability at a certain, relatively constant level.

A person who does not know how to manage his mental state consistently goes through the following stages:

1. Situation: The sequence begins with a situation (real or imagined) that is emotionally relevant.
2. Attention: Attention is directed to the emotional situation.
3. Evaluation: The emotional situation is evaluated and interpreted.
4. Answer: an emotional response is generated resulting in loosely coordinated changes in experimental, behavioral and physiological systems response.

If a person is developed, he can change this behavior pattern. In this case, the model will look like in the following way:

1. Choosing a situation: a person decides for himself whether this situation is necessary in his life and whether it is worth emotionally approaching it if it is inevitable. For example, he chooses whether to go to a meeting, a concert or a party.
2. Changing the Situation: If the situation is unavoidable, then the person makes a conscious effort to change its impact. For example, he uses or physically moves away from an object or person that is unpleasant to him.
3. Attentive deployment: involves directing attention towards or away from an emotional situation. For this, distraction, reflection and suppression of thoughts are used.
4. Cognitive change: modification of how one evaluates a situation in order to change its emotional meaning. A person uses strategies such as overestimation, distance, humor.
5. Response Modulation: Attempts to directly influence experimental, behavioral, and physiological response systems. Strategies: expressive suppression of emotions, exercise, sleep.

If we talk about specific practical methods, then the following are distinguished:

• Neuromuscular relaxation. The method consists in performing a set of exercises consisting in alternating maximum tension and relaxation of muscle groups. This allows you to relieve tension from individual parts of the body, or from the entire body.
• Ideomotor training. This is a consistent tension and relaxation of the muscles of the body, but the exercises are performed not really, but mentally.
• Sensory reproduction of images. This is relaxation through the representation of images of objects and holistic situations associated with relaxation.
• Autogenic training. This is learning the possibilities of autosuggestion or autosuggestion. The main exercise is saying affirmations.

As you can see, a person can decide how to relate to a particular situation. However, given that the will is an exhaustible resource, it is necessary to obtain energy through sleep, rest, exercise, proper nutrition as well as specific methods.

Psyche- a systemic property of highly organized matter, which consists in the active reflection of the objective world by the subject, in the construction by the subject of a picture of the world inalienable from him and self-regulation on this basis of his behavior and activity.

By, consciousness = psyche.
By, consciousness is a small part of the mind, it includes what we are aware of every moment.
. Consciousness is a reflection of objective reality in its separation from the subject's actual relations to it, i.e. reflection highlighting its objective stable properties. In consciousness, the image of reality does not merge with the experience of the subject: in consciousness, what is reflected acts as “coming” to the subject. The prerequisites for such a reflection are the division of labor (the task of realizing one’s action in the structure general activities). There is a breeding of the motive of the whole activity and the goal (conscious) of a separate action. There is a special task to understand the meaning of this action, which has no biological meaning (ex.: beater). The connection between motive and purpose is revealed in the form of the activity of the human labor collective. There is an objective-practical attitude to the subject of activity. Thus, between the object of activity and the subject is the awareness of the very activity for the production of this object.

The specifics of psychological reflection

Reflection is a change in the state of an object, which begins to carry traces of another object.

Reflection forms: physical, biological, mental.

physical reflection- direct contact. This process is finite in time. These traces are indifferent for both objects (symmetry of interaction traces). According to A.N. Leontiev, destruction occurs.

biological reflection- a special type of interaction - the maintenance of the existence of an animal organism. Transformation of traces into specific signals. Based on the signal transformation, a response occurs. (to the outside world or to yourself). Reflection selectivity. Hence the reflection is not symmetrical.

Psychic reflection- as a result, an image of the object (cognition of the world) arises.

images- sensual, rational (knowledge about the world).

Features of mental reflection: a) purely subjective education; b) the psychic is a symbol of reality; c) mental reflection is more or less correct.

Conditions for building an image of the world: a) interaction with the world; b) The presence of a reflection body; c) full contact with society (for a person).

Today it can hardly be denied that along with the laws of the material world there is also a so-called subtle plane. The mental level is closely connected with the energy structure of a person, which is why we have individual feelings, thoughts, desires, moods. All emotional sphere personality is subject to the laws of the psyche and is completely dependent on its well-coordinated work.

A person with a healthy mental organization feels happy and quickly restores inner balance. He strives for self-realization, he has enough strength for new achievements and ideas. Anyone who lacks energy for activities that would bring him pleasure sometimes has a weak psyche, and he is often visited by a feeling of vulnerability, insecurity before life, which now and then throws him new tests. Self-confidence largely depends on mental processes and the emotional sphere.

The psyche is an amazing and mysterious system that allows him to interact with the surrounding reality. The inner world of a person is an extremely thin non-material substance that cannot be measured by the laws of the material world. Each person is unique, each thinks and feels individually. This article examines the processes of mental reflection and their connection with the inner world of the individual. The material will be useful to all readers for the formation of general ideas about the human psyche.

Definition

The mental reflection is special form active interaction of the individual with the world, which results in the formation of new needs, views, ideas, as well as making a choice. Each person is able to model their own reality and reflect it in artistic or any other images.

Process features

Mental reflection is accompanied by a number of characteristic conditions that are its specific manifestations.

Activity

The individual perceives the surrounding space not passively, but seeking to influence it in a certain way. That is, each of us has our own ideas about how this world should be arranged. As a result of mental reflection, there is a change in the consciousness of the individual, an exit to a new level of understanding of reality. We are all constantly changing, improving, and not standing still.

Purposefulness

Each person acts in accordance with the task to be solved. No one will spend time doing something just like that, if it does not bring material or moral satisfaction. Psychic reflection is characterized by awareness and intentional desire to transform the existing reality.

Dynamism

The process called mental reflection tends to undergo significant changes over time. The conditions in which the individual acts are changing, the very approaches to transformations are changing.

Uniqueness

It should not be forgotten that each person has bright individual characteristics, own desires, needs and desire for development. In accordance with this circumstance, each person reflects mental reality according to their individual character traits. The inner world of a person is so diverse that it is impossible to approach everyone with the same yardstick.

Leading character

Reflecting the objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, the individual creates for himself a kind of reserve for the future: he acts to attract the best and most significant conditions into his life. That is, each of us always strives for useful and necessary progression.

Objectivity

Mental reflection, although characterized by subjectivity, individuality, nevertheless contains a set of certain parameters so that any such process is correct, complete and useful.

Features of mental reflection contribute to the formation of an adequate perception of these processes by a person.

Forms of mental reflection

Traditionally, it is customary to distinguish several areas:

1. Touch form. At this stage, there is a reflection of individual stimuli associated with the senses.

2. Perceptual form. It is displayed in the unconscious desire of the individual to fully reflect the system of stimuli as a whole.

3. Intelligent shape. It is expressed in the appearance of a reflection of the connections between objects.

Levels of mental reflection

In modern psychological science, there are several significant steps in this process. All of them are necessary, none can be rejected or discarded.

Sensory-perceptual level

The first level is closely related to the feelings of a person, it is the main one on which others begin to build later. This stage is characterized by constancy and transformation, that is, it gradually undergoes changes.

Presentation Layer

The second level is closely related to the imagination and creative abilities of the individual. Representations arise in a person's head when, on the basis of existing images, as a result of certain mental actions, new models of the surrounding world and judgments are formed.

Such a phenomenon as creative activity, of course, in most cases depends on how developed the emotional-figurative sphere of a person is. If an individual has bright artistic abilities, then his ideas will develop according to how often and quickly new images will interact with existing ones.

Verbal-logical level

This level is characterized by the presence of a speech-thinking process. It is known that the ability of a person to speak is closely connected with thinking, as well as with other cognitive processes. It must be recognized that reflection at the level of concepts contributes to the development of rational knowledge. Here, not just ideas about some phenomena or objects are formed, but entire systems arise that allow you to build subject connections and relationships. In the process of conceptual thinking, language acts as the main sign system, which is actively used to establish and maintain contact between people.

The highest form of mental reflection is, of course, human consciousness. It depends on the degree of its development, as well as motivation, whether a person can independently move through life, take active steps to achieve his desires, act purposefully.

Even in ancient times, it was discovered that along with the material, objective, external, objective world, there are non-material, internal, subjective phenomena - human feelings, desires, memories, etc. Every person is endowed with a psychic life.

The psyche is defined as a property of highly organized matter to reflect objective reality, and on the basis of the mental image formed in this case, it is expedient to regulate the activity of the subject and his behavior. From this definition It follows that the main functions of the psyche are closely interconnected reflection of objective reality and regulation of individual behavior and activity.

Reflection expresses the ability of material objects in the process of interaction to reproduce in their changes the features and traits of the objects affecting them. The form of reflection depends on the form of existence of matter. In nature, three main forms of reflection can be distinguished. The lowest level of organization of life corresponds to the physical form of reflection, characteristic of the interaction of objects of inanimate nature. More high level corresponds to the physiological form of reflection. The next level takes the form of the most complex and developed mental reflection with the highest level of reflection specific to the human psyche - consciousness. Consciousness integrates the diverse phenomena of human reality into a truly holistic way of being, makes a person a Human.

Consciousness of a person's mental life lies in his ability to separate himself, his own "I" from the life environment in his representation, to make his own inner world, subjectivity is the subject of comprehension, understanding, and, most importantly, the subject of practical transformation. This ability of the human psyche is called self-consciousness, and it is this ability that defines the boundary separating the animal and human modes of being.

Mental reflection is not a mirror image and is not passive - it is an active process associated with the search and choice of methods of action that are adequate to the prevailing conditions. A feature of mental reflection is subjectivity, i.e. mediation by the past experience of a person and his individuality. This is expressed, first of all, in the fact that we see one world, but it appears to each of us differently. At the same time, mental reflection makes it possible to build an “internal picture of the world” that is adequate to objective reality, in connection with which it is necessary to note such a property as objectivity. Only thanks to the correct reflection is it possible for a person to know the world around him. The criterion for correctness is Practical activities in which mental reflection is constantly deepening, improving and developing. An important feature mental reflection is, finally, its anticipatory nature: it makes it possible to anticipate in the activities and behavior of a person, which allows you to make decisions with a certain temporal-spatial lead in relation to the future.

Thanks to the regulation of behavior and activity, a person not only adequately reflects the surrounding objective world, but has the ability to transform this world in the process of purposeful activity. The adequacy of human movements and actions to the conditions, tools and subject of activity is possible only if they are correctly reflected by the subject. The idea of ​​the regulatory role of mental reflection was formulated by I.M. Sechenov, who noted that sensations and perception are not only trigger signals, but also a kind of “patterns”, in accordance with which movements are regulated. The psyche is a complex system, its elements are hierarchically organized and changeable. Like any system, the psyche is characterized by its own structure, dynamics of functioning, a certain organization.

4.2. The structure of the psyche. Mental processes, mental states and mental properties.

Many researchers focus on the system, integrity and indivisibility of the psyche as its fundamental property. The whole variety of mental phenomena in psychology is usually divided into mental processes, mental states and mental properties. These forms are closely related. Their selection is determined by the methodological necessity to systematize the study of such a complex object as the mental life of a person. Thus, the selected categories represent more a structure of knowledge about the psyche than the structure of the psyche itself.

The concept of "mental process" emphasizes the procedural (dynamic) nature of the phenomenon under study. The main mental processes are cognitive, motivational and emotional.

Cognitive processes provide a reflection of the world and the transformation of information. Sensation and perception make it possible to reflect reality with the direct impact of signals on the sense organs and represent the level of sensory cognition of the world around. Feeling associated with reflection individual properties of the objective world, as a result of perception, a holistic image of the surrounding world is formed in all its completeness and diversity. Perceptual images are often called primary images. The result of imprinting, reproduction or transformation of primary images are secondary images, which are the product of rational knowledge of the objective world, which is provided by such mental processes as memory, imagination, thinking. The most mediated and generalized process of cognition is thinking, as a result of which a person receives subjectively new knowledge that cannot be derived from direct experience.

The processes of motivation and will provide mental regulation of human activity, inducing, directing and controlling this activity. The main component of the motivational process is the emergence of a need, subjectively experienced as a state of need for something, desire, passion, aspiration. The search for an object that satisfies the need leads to the actualization of the motive, which is an image of the object of satisfying the need, based on the past experience of the subject. Based on the motive, goal-setting and decision-making take place.

Emotional processes reflect the partiality and subjective assessment of the world around him, himself and the results of his activity. They appear in the form subjective experiences and are always directly related to motivation.

Mental states characterize the static moment of the individual psyche, emphasizing the relative constancy of the mental phenomenon in time. In terms of dynamism, they occupy an intermediate position between processes and properties. Like mental processes, mental states can be divided into cognitive (doubt, etc.), motivational-volitional (confidence, etc.) and emotional (happiness, etc.). In addition, a separate category is the functional states of a person, which characterize the readiness for the effective performance of activities. Functional states can be optimal and suboptimal, acute and chronic, comfortable and uncomfortable. These include various states of working capacity, fatigue, monotony, psychological stress, extreme conditions.

Mental properties are the most stable mental phenomena fixed in the personality structure and determining permanent ways human interaction with the world. The main groups of mental properties of a person include temperament, character and abilities. Mental properties are relatively unchanged over time, although they can change in the course of life under the influence of environmental and biological factors, experience. Temperament is the most general dynamic characteristic of an individual, which manifests itself in the sphere of a person’s general activity and his emotionality. Character properties determine the typical this person a way of behavior in life situations, a system of relations to oneself and others. Abilities are called individual psychological characteristics of an individual, which determine the successful performance of an activity, develop and manifest themselves in activity. Mental processes, states and properties are an inseparable indivisible unity, forming the integrity of a person's mental life. A category that integrates everything mental manifestations and facts in a complex, but single system, is "personality".

4.3. Consciousness as the highest form of mental reflection. States of consciousness.

fundamental characteristic human being is his awareness. Consciousness is an essential attribute of human existence. The problem of the content, mechanisms and structure of human consciousness to this day remains one of the fundamentally important and most complex. This is connected, in particular, with the fact that consciousness is the object of study of many sciences, and the circle of such sciences is expanding more and more. The study of consciousness is carried out by philosophers, anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, educators, physiologists and other representatives of natural and humanities, each of which studies certain phenomena of consciousness. These phenomena are quite far from each other and do not correlate with consciousness as a whole.

In philosophy, the problem of consciousness is covered in connection with the relationship between the ideal and the material (consciousness and being), from the point of view of origin (a property of highly organized matter), from the position of reflection (reflection of the objective world). In a narrower sense, consciousness is understood as a human reflection of being, embodied in socially expressed forms of the ideal. The emergence of consciousness is associated in philosophical science with the emergence of labor and the impact on nature in the course of collective labor activity, which gave rise to an awareness of the properties and regular connections of phenomena, which was fixed in the language that was formed in the process of communication. Work and real communication is also seen as the basis for the emergence of self-awareness - awareness of one's own attitude to the natural and social environment, understanding one's place in the system social relations. The specificity of the human reflection of being is determined, first of all, by the fact that consciousness not only reflects the objective world, but also creates it.

In psychology, consciousness is considered as the highest form of reflection of reality, purposefully regulating human activity and associated with speech. The developed consciousness of the individual is characterized by a complex, multidimensional psychological structure. A.N. Leontiev singled out three main components in the structure of human consciousness: the sensual fabric of the image, meanings and personal meaning.

The sensory fabric of the image is the sensory composition of specific images of reality, actually perceived or emerging in memory, related to the future or only imaginary. These images differ in their modality, sensual tone, degree of clarity, stability, and so on. A special function of sensory images of consciousness is that they give reality to the conscious picture of the world that opens up to the subject, in other words, the world appears to the subject as existing not in consciousness, but outside his consciousness - as an objective "field" and object of activity. Sensual images represent a universal form of mental reflection generated by the objective activity of the subject.

Meanings are the most important components of human consciousness. The bearer of meanings is a socially developed language, which acts as an ideal form of existence of the objective world, its properties, connections and relations. The child learns meanings in childhood in the course of joint activities with adults. Socially developed meanings become the property of individual consciousness and allow a person to build his own experience on its basis.

Personal meaning creates partiality of human consciousness. He points out that individual consciousness is irreducible to impersonal knowledge. Meaning is the functioning of meanings in the processes of activity and consciousness of specific people. Meaning connects meanings with the reality of a person's life, with his motives and values.

The sensual fabric of the image, meanings and meaning are in close interaction, mutually enriching each other, form a single fabric of the personality's consciousness. Another aspect of the psychological analysis of the category of consciousness in psychology is close to how consciousness is understood in the natural sciences: physiology, psychophysiology, and medicine. This way of studying consciousness is represented by studies of states of consciousness and their changes. States of consciousness are considered as a certain level of activation, against which the process of mental reflection of the surrounding world and activity take place. Traditionally in Western psychology, there are two states of consciousness: sleep and wakefulness.

Among the basic laws of human mental activity is the cyclical alternation of sleep and wakefulness. The need for sleep depends on age. The total sleep duration of a newborn is 20-23 hours per day, from six months to one year - about 18 hours, at the age of two to four years - about 16 hours, at the age of four to eight years - about 12 hours. the body functions as follows: 16h - wakefulness, 8h - sleep. However experimental studies rhythms of human life have shown that such a relationship between the states of sleep and wakefulness is not mandatory and universal. In the USA, experiments were carried out to change the rhythm: a cycle of 24 hours was replaced by a cycle of 21, 28 and 48 hours. According to the 48-hour cycle, the subjects lived during long stays in the cave. For every 36 hours of wakefulness, they had 12 hours of sleep, which means that on every ordinary, “earthly” day, they saved two hours of wakefulness. Many of them fully adapted to the new rhythm and retained their ability to work.

A sleep-deprived person dies within two weeks. As a result of a 60-80-hour lack of sleep, a person has a decrease in the rate of mental reactions, mood deteriorates, disorientation occurs in the environment, working capacity is sharply reduced, the ability to concentrate is lost, and various violations motor skills, hallucinations are possible, memory loss and inconsistency of speech are sometimes observed. Previously, it was believed that sleep is just a complete rest of the body, allowing it to recuperate. Modern views they prove about the functions of sleep: this is not just a recovery period, and most importantly, it is not at all a homogeneous state. A new understanding of sleep became possible with the beginning of the use of psychophysiological methods of analysis: recording the bioelectrical activity of the brain (EEG), recording muscle tone and eye movements. It was found that sleep consists of five phases, changing every hour and a half, and includes two qualitatively various states- slow and fast sleep - which differ from each other in the types of electrical activity of the brain, vegetative indicators, muscle tone, eye movements.

Non-REM sleep has four stages:

drowsiness - at this stage, the main bioelectric rhythm of wakefulness disappears - alpha rhythms, they are replaced by low-amplitude oscillations; dream-like hallucinations may occur;

superficial sleep - sleep spindles appear (spindle-shaped rhythm - 14-18 oscillations per second); when the first spindles appear, consciousness is turned off;

and 4. delta sleep - high-amplitude, slow EEG oscillations appear. Delta sleep is divided into two stages: at the 3rd stage, the waves occupy 30-40% of the entire EEG, at the 4th - more than 50%. This is deep sleep: muscle tone is reduced, eye movements are absent, breathing rhythm and pulse become less frequent, temperature drops. Awakening a person from delta sleep is very difficult. As a rule, a person awakened in these phases of sleep does not remember dreams, is poorly oriented in the environment, and incorrectly estimates time intervals (reduces the time spent in sleep). Delta sleep, the period of greatest disconnection from the outside world, prevails in the first half of the night.

REM sleep is characterized EEG rhythms similar to the rhythms of wakefulness. intensifies cerebral blood flow with a strong muscle relaxation with sharp twitches in certain muscle groups. This combination of EEG activity and complete muscle relaxation explains the second name of this stage of sleep - paradoxical sleep. Abrupt changes in heart rate and respiration occur (series frequent breaths and exhalations alternate with pauses), episodic rise and fall blood pressure. There are rapid eye movements with closed eyelids. It is the stage REM sleep accompanied by dreams, and if a person is awakened during this period, he will tell in a rather connected way what he dreamed about.

Dreams as a psychological reality introduced into psychology 3. Freud. He viewed dreams as a vivid expression of the unconscious. In the understanding of modern scientists in a dream, the processing of information received during the day continues. Moreover, the central place in the structure of dreams is played by subthreshold information, to which due attention was not paid during the day, or information that did not become the property of conscious processing. Thus, sleep expands the possibilities of consciousness, streamlines its content, and provides the necessary psychological protection.

The state of wakefulness is also heterogeneous: during the day, the level of activation constantly changes depending on the influence of external and internal factors. It is possible to single out tense wakefulness, the moments of which correspond to periods of the most intense mental and physical activity, normal wakefulness and relaxed wakefulness. Tense and normal wakefulness are called extraverted states of consciousness, since it is in these states that a person is capable of full and effective interaction with the outside world and other people. The efficiency of the performed activity and the productivity of solving life problems are largely determined by the level of wakefulness and activation. Behavior is the more effective, the closer the level of wakefulness is to some optimum: it should not be too low and too high. At low levels, a person's readiness for activity is low and he may fall asleep soon; at high activation, a person is agitated and tense, which can lead to disorganization of activity.

In addition to sleep and wakefulness in psychology, a number of states are distinguished, which are called altered states of consciousness. These include, for example, meditation and hypnosis. Meditation is a special state of consciousness, changed at the request of the subject. The practice of inducing such a state has been known in the East for many centuries. At the heart of all types of meditation is concentration of attention in order to limit the field of extraverted consciousness and make the brain respond rhythmically to the stimulus on which the subject has focused. After a meditation session, there is a feeling of relaxation, a decrease in physical and mental stress and fatigue, mental activity and general vitality increase.

Hypnosis is a special state of consciousness that occurs under the influence of suggestion (suggestion), including self-hypnosis. In hypnosis, something is revealed in common with meditation and sleep: like them, hypnosis is achieved by reducing the flow of signals to the brain. However, these states should not be identified. The essential components of hypnosis are suggestion and suggestibility. A report is established between the hypnotized and the hypnotizing - the only connection with the outside world that a person maintains in a state of hypnotic trance.

Since ancient times, people have used special substances to change the state of their consciousness. Substances that affect behavior, consciousness and mood are called psychoactive or psychotropic. One of the classes of such substances includes drugs that bring a person into a state of "weightlessness", euphoria and create a feeling of being outside of time and space. Majority narcotic substances produced from plants, primarily poppies, from which opium is obtained. Actually, drugs in the narrow sense are called opiates - derivatives of opium: morphine, heroin, etc. A person quickly gets used to drugs, he develops physical and mental dependence.

Another class of psychotropic substances are stimulants, aphrodisiacs. Minor aphrodisiacs include tea, coffee, and nicotine - many people use them to wake up. Amphetamines are stronger stimulants - they eliminate a surge of strength, including creative ones, excitement, euphoria, self-confidence, a feeling of limitlessness of one's possibilities. The aftereffect of the use of these substances may be the appearance of psychotic symptoms of hallucinations, paranoia, loss of strength. Neurodepressants barbiturates and tranquilizers reduce anxiety, calm, reduce emotional stress, some act like sleeping pills. Hallucinogens and psychedelics (LSD, marijuana, hashish) distort the perception of time and space, cause hallucinations, euphoria, change thinking, and expand consciousness.

4.4. Consciousness and the unconscious.

An important step in the study of the conscious reflection of the surrounding reality is the definition of a range of phenomena that are commonly called unconscious or unconscious. Yu.B. Gippenreiter proposed to divide all unconscious mental phenomena into three large classes:

unconscious mechanisms of conscious actions;

unconscious stimuli of conscious actions;

supraconscious processes.

Among the unconscious mechanisms of conscious actions are:

unconscious automatisms - actions or acts that are performed as if "by themselves", without the participation of consciousness. Some of these processes were never realized, while others passed through consciousness and ceased to be realized. The former are called primary automatisms, or automatic actions. They are either congenital or formed very early - during the first year of life: sucking movements, blinking, grasping, walking, eye convergence. The latter are known as secondary automatisms, or automated actions, skills. Thanks to the formation of a skill, the action begins to be carried out quickly and accurately, and due to automation, the consciousness is freed from the need for constant control over the performance of the action;

unconscious attitudes - the readiness of an organism or a subject to perform a certain action or to react in a certain direction, there are extremely many facts demonstrating the readiness or preliminary adjustment of the organism for action, and they relate to different areas. As examples of unconscious attitudes, one can name a muscular pre-adjustment to the implementation of a physical action - a motor attitude, a willingness to perceive and interpret a material, an object, a phenomenon in a certain way - a perceptual attitude, a readiness to solve problems and tasks in a certain way - a mental attitude, etc. Attitudes have a very important functional significance: a subject prepared for action is able to carry it out more efficiently and economically;

unconscious accompaniments of conscious actions. Not all unconscious components carry the same functional load. Some realize conscious actions, others prepare actions. Finally, there are unconscious processes that simply accompany actions. This group includes involuntary movements, tonic tension, facial expressions and pantomimics, as well as a wide range of vegetative reactions that accompany the actions and states of a person. For example, a child sticks out his tongue when he writes; a person watching someone endure pain has a sorrowful expression on his face and does not notice it. These unconscious phenomena play important role in communication processes, representing a necessary component of human communication (facial expressions, gestures, pantomime). They are also objective indicators of various psychological characteristics and states of a person - his intentions, attitudes, hidden desires and thoughts.

The study of unconscious stimuli of conscious actions is associated with the name of Freud. Freud's interest in unconscious processes arose at the very beginning of his medical career. The attention of the scientist was attracted by the phenomena of post-hypnotic suggestion. Based on the analysis of such facts, he created his theory of the unconscious. According to Freud, there are three realms in the psyche: the preconscious, the conscious, and the unconscious. Preconsciousness - hidden, latent knowledge that a person has, but is not present in his mind at the moment; if necessary, they are easily moved into consciousness. The contents of the unconscious, on the contrary, hardly become the property of consciousness. At the same time, it has a strong energy charge and, penetrating consciousness in an altered form - like dreams, erroneous actions or neurotic symptoms - has a great influence on it. Freud believed that the true causes of human behavior are not recognized by him - they are hidden and are closely related to repressed drives, primarily sexual ones. Awareness true reasons behavior, the scientist believed, is possible only in interaction with a psychoanalyst in a specially organized therapeutic process. The study of unconscious stimuli of conscious actions is associated with the name of Freud. Freud's interest in unconscious processes arose at the very beginning of his medical career. The attention of the scientist was attracted by the phenomena of post-hypnotic suggestion. Based on the analysis of such facts, he created his theory of the unconscious. According to Freud, there are three realms in the psyche: the preconscious, the conscious, and the unconscious. Preconsciousness - hidden, latent knowledge that a person has, but is not present in his mind at the moment; if necessary, they are easily moved into consciousness. The contents of the unconscious, on the contrary, hardly become the property of consciousness. At the same time, it has a strong energy charge and, penetrating consciousness in an altered form - like dreams, erroneous actions or neurotic symptoms - has a great influence on it. Freud believed that the true causes of human behavior are not recognized by him - they are hidden and are closely related to repressed drives, primarily sexual ones. Awareness of the true causes of behavior, the scientist believed, is possible only in cooperation with a psychoanalyst in a specially organized therapeutic - psychoanalysis.

Outstanding domestic psychologist A.N.Leontiev also argued that most of the motives of human activity are not realized. But, in his opinion, motives can manifest themselves in emotional coloring certain objects or phenomena, in the form of a reflection of their personal meaning. A person is able to realize the motives of his behavior without resorting to the help of a psychologist. However, this is a special challenge. Often the awareness of the motive is replaced by motivation - a rational justification for an act that does not reflect the real motives of a person.

Subconscious processes are the processes of formation of a certain integral product of a large unconscious work, which then "intrudes" into a person's conscious life. For example, a person is busy solving some complex problem that he thinks about day after day for a long time. Reflecting on the problem, he goes over and analyzes various impressions and events, makes assumptions, checks them, argues with himself. And suddenly everything becomes clear: sometimes it arises unexpectedly, by itself, sometimes after an insignificant event, which turns out to be, as it were, the last drop that overflows the cup. What has entered his consciousness is really the integral product of the preceding process. However, the person has no idea about the course of the latter. "Supraconscious" - these are processes that take place above consciousness in the sense that their content and time scales are larger than anything that consciousness can accommodate. Passing through consciousness in their separate sections, they as a whole are outside of it.

The selected classes of unconscious mental phenomena expand our understanding of the psyche, not limiting it only to the facts of conscious reflection of reality. It should be especially emphasized that the conscious and the unconscious are not opposites, but particular manifestations of the psychic.

Questions for self-examination.

1. What is the mind and what are its main functions?
2. What are the main levels of mental reflection?
3. What is consciousness?
4. What are states of consciousness? What states of consciousness do you know?
5. What are unconscious psychic phenomena? What classes of unconscious mental phenomena are distinguished by Yu.B. Gippenreiter?

Literature.

1. Gippenreiter Yu.B. Introduction to General Psychology: A Course of Lectures. M., 1988. Bream. 5 and 6.
2. Psychology: Textbook / Ed. V.N. Druzhinin. SPb., 2003. Ch. 5.
3. Leontiev A.N. Activity. Consciousness. Personality. M., 1975.
4. Slobodchikov V.I., Isaev E.I. Human psychology. M., 1995.