Structural component of individuality. Educational and methodological manual for students majoring in clinical psychology. About the adaptive properties of personality
In Russian psychology, there are several approaches to identifying the structure of individuality, the authors of which are B.G. Ananyev, V.S. Merlin, E.A. Golubeva. A comparative analysis of their views was carried out by M.S. Egorova (Egorova M.S., 1997).
Table 4.1
Comparison of the structure of individuality in the approaches of B.G. Ananyeva, V.S. Merlina and E.A. Golubeva (according to: Egorova M.S., 1997).
| Levels in the structure of personality | Properties included in each level | System-forming properties |
| B.G. Ananyev (1969) | ||
| 1. Individual | 1) Gender, age, constitution, neurodynamics 2) Psychophysiological functions, organic needs 3) Inclinations, temperament | Personality traits |
| 2. Subject of activity | 1) Cognitive characteristics, communication properties, ability to work 2) Abilities | |
| 3. Personality | 1) Status, social roles, value structure 2) Motivation of behavior 3) Character, inclinations | |
| V.S. Merlin (1986) | ||
| 1. Properties of the body | 1) Biochemical properties 2) General somatic properties | Individual style of activity |
| 2. Mental properties | 3) Temperament 4) Personality traits | |
| 3. Socio-psychological properties | 5) Social roles in a social group 6) Social roles in historical communities | |
| E.A. Golubeva (1989) | ||
| 1. Organism | 1) Primary needs 2) Properties of the nervous system common to humans and animals 3) Specially human properties of the nervous system 4) Lifetime formed systems of temporary connections | Emotionality, activity, self-regulation, motivation |
| 2. Personality | 1) Inclinations 2) The most general properties of temperament 3) Realization of abilities 4) Character properties |
So, somewhat simplified, we can say that individuality is an individual, a personality and the connections that exist between them. Noting the heterogeneity of different characteristics of individuality, we can imagine it as a three-story “building” (Asmolov A.G., 1984; Gurevich K.M., 1982; Egorova M.S., 1997; Meshkova T.A., 2004; Merlin V. S., 1968; Nartova-Bochaver S.K., 2003).
Then on lower level(biological foundation of personality) we can collect all individual, formal-dynamic characteristics (gender, temperament, inclinations of abilities, asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres).
On second level we place subject-substantive qualities (traits, personality types, abilities, style characteristics of behavior).
A on the third, upper level spiritual and ideological characteristics will be present (personal orientation, values, beliefs, views, attitudes).
To make it easier to remember, you can use the following diagram:
· the lower floor (nature) stimulates activity “because” – from needs;
· the middle floor provides the means of human activity (abilities, character, characteristics of cognitive functions, style characteristics);
· the third floor is goals (direction of the individual, features of self-awareness - “why” the activity is carried out, what a person strives for).
Levels of individuality have a mutual, not only upward, but also downward influence on each other.
Subordination does not mean the primacy of any of the floors, but:
❑ the lower one is more stable over time, practically not amenable to social influence (try changing gender or the asymmetry of the hemispheres!);
❑ the middle one is more receptive to education (character can be changed, abilities can be formed);
❑ the third level contains very little biological content, and it is the most changeable (in fact, a person changes his views, beliefs, and values several times during his life).
Table 4.2
Personality structure
Naturally, there are other attempts to highlight the structure of individuality. So, for example, K. Leongard distinguishes 3 spheres: the orientation of interests and inclinations (in content reminiscent of the spiritual and worldview properties we have identified), feelings and will (close to the concept of “temperament”) and associative-intellectual (corresponding to abilities and stylistic characteristics) (Leongard K., 2000). In the domestic tradition, it is customary to distinguish at least two types of individual properties.
Dynamic(formal-dynamic, psychodynamic) components of individuality - qualities that determine the method of activity, regardless of its content. Mainly include the properties of the nervous system (temperament).
A comparative analysis of ideas about the structure of individuality that have developed within the framework of Russian psychology was undertaken in modern textbook M.S. Egorova (Egorova M.S., 1997) Thus, the identification of three floors can be consistently traced in different approaches.
Historically, different approaches to study corresponded to different “levels” of individuality. Thus, the “content-semantic” approach is aimed at knowing and measuring individual variations in character, knowledge, skills, abilities, meanings, experiences and other stable psychological characteristics of a person. The “behavioral” approach (which should not be confused with the behaviorist!) is associated with the analysis of objectively recorded forms of behavior - biochemical, vegetative, motor components of human activity. B.M. Teplov at one time rightly noted that in the first approach, despite all its substantive attractiveness, there is no theoretical basis that could confirm the validity of the psychological concepts put forward (Rusalov V.M., 1991; Teplov B.M., 1982). After all, personality traits, for example, often include purely situational fluctuations in behavior, and their stability is very doubtful. To ensure that individual differences measured by tests are not random, it is necessary to relate them to the properties of the nervous system (and other biological factors). That is, differential psychology can be recognized as an objective science only after it proves the content validity of its constructs (Chrestomat. 4.6).
The task of providing an objective basis for differential psychology can be assigned to differential psychophysiology.
System of individual properties of the body
Biochemical
General somatic
Properties of the nervous system (neurodynamic)
· System of individual mental properties
Psychodynamic (temperament properties)
Mental properties of personality
System of socio-psychological individual properties
Social roles performed in a group and in a team
Social roles performed in socio-historical communities
types and levels of connections:
Functional dependencies (within personality subsystems)
Multiple-valued connections (within personality subsystems)
Multi-valued relationships (between properties of different levels)
Individuality as a set of unique connections between mental properties of various levels (neurodynamic, psychodynamic, socio-psychological and socio-typical).
The process of personality development is expressed in an increase in connections between properties related to different levels of personality organization. Thus, the personality structure appears as a multi-level system V mutual relations and organization personality properties. Exactly unity, the harmonious consistency of multi-level properties gives rise to individuality.
4.Individuality as a new formation (Ananyev):
Understanding individuality as integrity and as a fundamentally new level of consideration of personality. Consequently, in this sense, individuality can be considered as a fundamentally new formation in the human structure. If we consider the series “individual - subject of activity - personality”, then in this series the integrity of each level is the prerequisites, possibilities and at the same time a form of manifestation of mental education of the next level. It is at the level of individuality that the highest achievements person, since individuality is manifested in interconnection and unity properties of a person as an individual, subject and personality. B.G. Ananyev postulated:“individuality is the depth of personality” everyone is a structural whole, but not everyone succeeds in achieving integrity, consistency, and harmony of the parts of the whole. as an individual, man exists in the singular and is unique in the history of mankind.
Systematic description of individuality according to Hansen:
productivity (E) individual psychological differences (Inf)
Individuality
individual history (T) individual experience (Space)
Reflection of the subjective nature of man
Philosophical foundations of the theory of subjectivity:
Self-transcendence of personality
The problem of action.
Personal choice.
Question 34. Personality as a self-developing system (humanistic and existential approaches).
In humanistic psychology, personality is understood as a self-developing system, capable of going beyond itself, of creatively creating itself. A living, real person is not reduced to a totality of mental and physiological functions, but exists as a unique Self, as a unity of bodily, mental and spiritual. The main problems of humanistic personality psychology: problems of self-awareness of the individual, its self-actualization, self-development, the problem of the meaning of life.
K. Rogers. K. Rogers (1902-1987) argued that all human behavior is regulated by the tendency towards self-actualization. It represents the most important motive in a person’s life, encouraging him to preserve and develop himself, to reveal as much as possible best qualities of your personality, inherent by nature. An important concept in K. Rogers' theory is the concept of the subjective world. a person’s experience, which forms the basis of his actions and actions. Each of us reacts to events in accordance with that. how we subjectively perceive them. If we want to explain why a person thinks, feels and behaves in a certain way, we need to understand his inner world. Therefore, an important aspect of psychological research is the study of a person’s subjective experiences.
K. Rogers established five main personal characteristics of a fully functioning person:
1. Openness to experience, that is, the ability to listen to yourself, be aware of your thoughts and feelings without suppressing them.
2. Existential way of life. These are the tendencies to live fully and richly at every moment of existence.
3. Organic trust. This quality is manifested in the decision-making process. Thus, many people are guided by social norms, the opinions of other people, or how they behaved in similar situations before. Fully functioning people are guided by their internal sensations.
4. Empirical freedom. “The only one responsible for my own actions and their consequences is myself.” Based on this feeling of freedom and power, a person has many choices in life and feels capable of doing almost anything he wants to do.
5. Creativity (creativity).
The existential approach differs from the person-centered approach (PCA) - another important trend in humanistic psychology - primarily in its qualitative assessment of the essence of man and the interpretation of the sources of the process of formation.
The existential position is that the essence of a person is not given initially, but is acquired by a person in the process of individual search for his own unique identity. Moreover, from an existential point of view, human nature has not only positive potential, but also negative, even destructive possibilities - and therefore everything depends on the personal choices of the person himself, for which he bears personal responsibility. Making such choices and accepting responsibility for their lives turns out to be very difficult for many people.
Personality as an adaptation system (cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic approaches).
These 3 approaches to understanding personality, with all their differences, are similar in that they believe that the individual has no or severely limited free will. Therefore, emphasis is placed on the development of adaptive properties of the individual as a system.
Psychodynamic approach
The founder is 3. Freud. According to Freud, the main source of personality development is innate biological factors (instincts), or rather, general biological energy - libido. This energy is aimed, firstly, at procreation (sexual attraction) and, secondly, at destruction (aggressive attraction). Personality is formed during the first six years of life. The unconscious dominates in the personality structure. Sexual and aggressive drives, which make up the main part of libido, are not recognized by a person.
Freud argued that the individual has no free will. Human behavior is completely determined by his sexual and aggressive motives, which he called the id (it). As for the inner world of the individual, within the framework of this approach it is completely subjective. A person is captive of his own inner world. And only slips of the tongue, slips of the tongue, dreams, as well as special methods can provide more or less accurate information about a person’s personality.
Freud identifies three main conceptual blocks, or levels of personality:
1) eid(“it”) - functions in accordance with the pleasure principle;
2) ego(“I”) is a structure that is designed to serve the id, functions in accordance with the principle of reality and regulates the process of interaction between the id and;
3) superego(“super-ego”) - a structure containing social norms, attitudes, and moral values of the society in which a person lives.
About the adaptive properties of personality:
The id, ego and superego are in constant battle. Strong conflicts can lead a person to psychological problems and diseases.
To relieve the tension of these conflicts, the personality develops defense mechanisms: denial, regression, repression; projection; substitution (redirecting aggression from a more threatening object to a less threatening one); reactive education (suppression of unacceptable impulses and replacing them in behavior with opposite impulses); sublimation (replacing unacceptable sexual or aggressive impulses with socially acceptable forms of behavior for the purpose of adaptation). Thus, within the framework of psychodynamic theory, personality is a system of sexual and aggressive motives, on the one hand, and defense mechanisms, on the other, and the structure of personality is an individually different ratio of individual properties, individual blocks (instances) and defense mechanisms.
Behavioral approach
According to behavioral theory, a person is almost completely deprived of free will. Our behavior is determined by external circumstances. We often behave like puppets and are not aware of the consequences of our behavior, since the social skills we have learned and the reflexes from long-term use have long been automated. The inner world of a person is objective. Everything about him is from the environment. Personality is completely objectified in behavioral manifestations. Our behavior is our personality. Behavioral traits of personality are amenable to operationalization and objective measurement. The main source of personality development is the environment in the broadest sense of the word. Personality is a product of learning, and its properties are generalized behavioral reflexes and social skills.
The elements of personality in behaviorist theory are reflexes or social skills. It is postulated that the list of social skills (i.e. properties, characteristics, personality traits) inherent in a particular person is determined by his social experience (learning). If you were raised in a kind, calm family and were encouraged to be kind and calm, then you will have the characteristics of a kind and calm person.
In the behavioral model, there are three main conceptual blocks of personality. The main block is self-efficacy, which is a kind of cognitive construct “I can - I can’t.” If a person makes a decision: “I can,” then he begins to perform a certain action, but if a person makes a verdict: “I can’t,” then he refuses to perform this action or to learn it. According to Bandura, there are four main conditions that determine the development of a person's confidence in what he can and cannot do:
1) past experience (knowledge, skills); for example, if I could before, then apparently I can now;
2) self-instruction; for example, “I can do it!”;
3) increased emotional mood (alcohol, music, love);
4) (the most important condition) observation, modeling, imitation of the behavior of other people (observation of real life, watching movies, reading books, etc.); for example, “If others can do it, then I can too!”
J. Rotter identifies two main internal blocks of personality - subjective significance (a structure that evaluates upcoming reinforcement) and availability (a structure associated with the expectation of receiving reinforcement based on past experience). People who see no connection (or see a weak connection) between their behavior (their efforts) and their results (reinforcements), according to Rotter, have an external, or external “locus of control.” “Externals” are people who do not control the situation and hope for chance in their lives. People who see a clear connection between their behavior (their efforts, their actions) and the results of their behavior have an internal, or internal, “locus of control.” “Internals” are people who manage the situation, control it, it is available to them.
Cognitive approach
The founder of this approach is the American psychologist J. Kelly.
Kelly believed that individuals have limited free will. The constructive system that a person has developed over the course of his life contains certain limitations. However, he did not believe that human life is completely determined. In any situation, a person is able to construct alternative predictions. The outside world is neither evil nor good, but the way we construct it in our heads. Ultimately, according to cognitive scientists, a person's fate is in his hands. The inner world of a person is subjective and, according to cognitivists, is his own creation. Each person perceives and interprets external reality through his own inner world.
In his opinion, the only thing a person wants to know in life is what happened to him and what will happen to him in the future.
The main source of personality development, according to Kelly, is the environment, the social environment. Cognitive theory of personality emphasizes the influence of intellectual processes on human behavior. In this theory, any person is compared to a scientist who tests hypotheses about the nature of things and makes predictions about future events. Any event is open to multiple interpretations. The main concept in this direction is “construct”. Thanks to constructs, a person not only understands the world, but also establishes interpersonal relationships. A construct is a kind of classifier-template of our perception of other people and ourselves. There are two types of holistic personality: a cognitively complex personality (a personality who has a large number of constructs) and a cognitively simple personality (a personality with a small set of constructs).
The Main Postulate states that personal processes are psychologically canalized in such a way as to provide a person with maximum prediction of events. All other corollaries clarify this basic postulate.
From Kelly’s point of view, each of us builds and tests hypotheses, in a word, solves the problem of whether a given person is athletic or non-athletic, musical or non-musical, intelligent or non-intelligent, etc., using the appropriate constructs (classifiers).
Starting to present this topic of this topic, I would like to emphasize that the outstanding merit of Boris Gerasimovich Ananyev (1907-1972) was his idea of the unity of the natural and social in the structure of human development. In other words, psychology is the science of man, where the psyche appears as an integration of phylogenesis, ontogenesis, socialization and human history. Such an understanding of the subject of psychology makes it possible to fully realize the principle of the unity of the biological and social in a person in the course of his individual development. This means that in a person there are structures related to a greater extent either to the biological or to the social principle.
According to B. G. Ananyeva The unity of the biological and social in a person is ensured through the unity of such macro-characteristics as the individual, personality, subject and individuality.
The carrier of the biological in man is mainly individual. A person as an individual is a set of natural, genetically determined properties, the development of which occurs during ontogenesis, resulting in the biological maturity of a person. Man as an individual and his development in ontogenesis are studied - general, differential, developmental psychology, psychophysiology, ontopsychophysiology.
The social is represented in man through personalities And subject of activity. In this case, we are not talking about the opposition of the biological and the social, if only because the individual, in the course of his individual life, is socialized and acquires new properties. On the other hand, a person can become a person and a subject of activity only on the basis of certain individual structures.
Each person as an individual goes through his own life path, within the framework of which the individual’s socialization occurs and his social maturity is formed.
A person as an individual is a set of social relations: economic, political, legal. A person as a personality is studied - general, differential, comparative psychology, psycholinguistics, psychology of relationships, psychological study of motivation.
However, a person is not only an individual and a personality, but also a bearer of consciousness, a subject of activity, producing material and spiritual values. Man as a subject appears from the side of his inner, mental life, as a bearer of mental phenomena. The structure of a person as a subject of activity is formed from certain properties of the individual and personality that correspond to the subject and means of activity. The basis of human objective activity is labor and therefore he acts as a subject of labor. The basis of theoretical or cognitive activity is the processes of cognition and therefore a person appears as a subject of cognition. The basis of communicative activity is communication, which allows us to consider a person as a subject of communication. The result of the implementation various types The activity of a person as a subject becomes his achievement of mental maturity. Man as a subject of activity is studied by the psychology of cognition, creativity, labor, general and genetic psychology.
Thus, each person appears in the form of a certain integrity - as an individual, personality and subject, conditioned by the unity of biological and social. As an individual, he develops in ontogenesis, and as a person, he goes through his life path, during which the socialization of the individual takes place.
However, it is also obvious to each of us that we all differ from each other in our temperament, character, style of activity, behavior, etc. Therefore, in addition to the concepts of the individual, personality and subject, the concept of individuality is also used. Individuality is a unique combination in a person of his traits from all three of the above-mentioned substructures of the psyche. A person as an individual, personality and subject of activity can be classified into certain classes, groups and types. But as an individual, he exists in the singular and is unique in the history of mankind. It is possible to understand individuality only by combining all the facts and data about a person in all aspects of his being. From this point of view, individuality is a functional characteristic of a person, manifesting itself at all levels of his structural organization - an individual, a personality, a subject of activity.
It is at the level of individuality that the highest achievements of a person are possible, since individuality is manifested in the interconnection and unity of the properties of a person as an individual, personality and subject of activity.
In psychological science, there are several concepts to designate a person: individual, personality, subject, individuality.
1. Man as an individual. The concept of a person as an individual usually expresses two main features:
1) man as a unique representative of other living beings, different from animals and being a product of phylogenetic and ontogenetic development, a bearer of species traits;
2) an individual representative of the human community, using tools, signs and through them mastering his own behavior and mental processes.
Both meanings of the concept are interrelated and describe a person as a unique being. Most general characteristics of the individual are: the integrity and originality of the psychophysiological organization; sustainability in interaction with the environment; activity. In everyday life, an individual is understood as a specific person with all his inherent characteristics.
2. Man as a personality. This is a specific person who is a representative of a certain society, a certain social group, engaged in a specific type of activity, aware of his attitude to the environment and endowed with certain individual psychological characteristics.
The personality is distinguished by its social essence. Outside of society, outside of a social and professional group, a person cannot become an individual, he will not develop a human appearance: that is, nature creates a person, but society shapes him.
The essential characteristics of personality and its main features are determined by:
a) the content of a person’s worldview, i.e., his established system of beliefs, scientific views on nature, society, human relationships, which have become his internal property and deposited in his consciousness in the form of certain life goals and interests, relationships, positions;
b) the degree of integrity of worldview and beliefs, the absence or presence of contradictions in them, reflecting the opposing interests of different layers of society. The integrity of the worldview is violated if a person is guided or influenced by conflicting interests, the bearer of which he suddenly finds himself due to various kinds of social circumstances;
c) the degree to which a person is aware of his place in society. It often happens that a person cannot find his place in society for too long due to various circumstances, which does not allow his worldview to finally take shape and manifest itself effectively;
d) the content and nature of needs and interests, the stability and ease of their switchability, their narrowness and versatility. Being quite changeable, the needs and interests of the individual, while poorly formed or narrow, very much limit a person’s worldview;
e) the specificity of the relationship and manifestation of various personal qualities. Personality is so multifaceted in its individual psychological manifestations that the relationships between its various qualities can affect both the manifestations of worldview and behavior.
3. Man as a subject. A person is always a subject (participant, performer) of the historical and social process as a whole, a subject of specific activity, in particular, a source of knowledge and transformation of objective reality. The activity itself in this case acts as a form of human activity, allowing him to improve the world and himself.
4. Man as an individual. Individuality is not something supra- or superpersonal. When they talk about individuality, they mean the originality of the individual. Usually the word “individuality” is used to define any dominant feature of a person that makes him different from those around him. Each person is individual, but the individuality of some manifests itself very clearly, while of others it is barely noticeable.
Individuality can manifest itself in the intellectual, emotional, volitional sphere and in all spheres of mental activity at once. Individuality characterizes a person more specifically, in more detail and thereby more completely. It is a constant object of research when studying each individual person.
All identified levels in the structure of individuality are integrated into a single whole according to the following characteristics:
1. Subordination, or hierarchical, in which more complex and general socio-psychological properties subordinate more elementary and particular psychophysiological and psychological properties.
2. Coordination, in which interaction is carried out on a parity basis, allowing a number of degrees of freedom for the correlated properties, i.e., the relative autonomy of each of them (B. G. Ananyev).
The main blocks that can be distinguished in this structure:
1. Individual psychological characteristics of a person. These include the properties and type of the nervous system, temperament, which determines the dynamic side of the personality, and character, which determines the stable side of the personality.
2. General and special human abilities that have a natural basis in the properties of the nervous system and inclinations.
3. The structure of intelligence as an integral multi-level formation, consisting of certain elements of human cognitive activity.
4. Personal orientation, which is based on a certain hierarchy of needs, interests and beliefs.
5. Social properties of the individual, including moral qualities and social activity.
Based on an assessment of personality traits, you can create an ncuxological portrait of your own and another person. The psychological portrait usually includes: temperament; character; capabilities; orientation, its types (business, personal, communicative); intellectuality - the degree of development and structure of intelligence; emotionality - level of reactivity, anxiety, stability; strong-willed qualities - the ability to overcome difficulties, perseverance in achieving goals; sociability; self-esteem (low, adequate, high); level of self-control; ability for group interaction.
The development of a person’s individuality continues throughout life. With age, only a person’s position changes - from an object of education in the family, school, university, he turns into a subject of education and must actively engage in self-education.
Improving and changing the programming properties of the individual provides her with a full-fledged, fruitful long-term creative activity and influences changes in some basic qualities, in particular character. For example, increased interest in a profession leads to intensification of intellectual activity, increased motivation, and the development of intelligence leads to the search for new tasks and goals of this activity, which leads to the formation of character traits such as perseverance and determination.
A person’s individuality can reveal itself brightly, multifacetedly, and then they talk about a bright personality, but it happens that a person does not show himself in any way, and then the opinion arises that he is faceless, inconspicuous. And this happens because the person was unable to sufficiently understand himself, developed a complex, and so he is perceived as faceless, devoid of individuality. In fact, there cannot be a normal person without personality and individuality. The whole question is how to develop and reveal your individuality, find and express yourself!
In this section of our book, we want to reveal the main components that make up the psychological portrait of an individual, and offer psychological techniques that will help determine the degree of development of certain human qualities.
Let's begin the study of the psychology of individuality from a natural basis - psychophysiology, then we will get acquainted with the characteristics of basic and programming properties and, finally, we will move on to the role of creativity in the individual development of a person.
Based on the unity of the objective and subjective, at the Perm psychological school under the leadership of V.S. Merlin paid special attention to substantiating the role of the subject's properties in the formation of structures of integral individuality, depending on the objective requirements of activity and its social significance. To date, among the numerous and varied properties of the subject, the individual style of activity and communication, value orientations, the sociometric status of a person in a group, socio-moral attitudes, highly significant personal or social motives for learning, the pedagogical skill of the teacher, etc. have been thoroughly substantiated. The entire listed complex of properties of the subject acts as an intermediate link in multi-valued connections between multi-level properties of integral individuality. Each intermediate variable is acquired in a formative experiment with the aim of mediating multi-level connections. Moreover, it has been established that “the main mediating link in the educational experiment is the individual style of activity,” the assimilation of which “occurs thanks to a special, as we believe, universal motive - to always remain an individual, to protect one’s individuality and to become an increasingly harmonious individual” / V.S. Merlin, 1986, p.45; p.217/.
To the work carried out under the guidance of V.S. Merlin and reflecting the dynamics of the development of integral individuality through the system-forming function of the style of activity and communication include experimental studies by G.S. Vasilyeva (1976), N.M. Gordetsova (1978), A.A. Eroshenko (1981), V.V. Liukin (1981), L.P. Kolchina (1976), A.A. Korotaeva and T.S. Tambovtseva (1984), I.Kh. Pikalova (1977), T.S. Tambovtseva (1981) and others. V modern period the problem of individual style of activity and communication as a universal mediating factor in the development of multi-valued connections of integral individuality is successfully developed by B.A. Vyatkin and his students / B.A. Vyatkin, 2000; L.Ya. Dorfman, 1993 and others; A.I. Shchebetenko and his students / S.Yu. Bessonova, 1998; A.K. Serkov, 1992/; M.R. Shchukin /1995/ and others.
In the Pyatigorsk psychological laboratory, the integral individuality of a person is also considered either depending on the properties of the subject of activity and communication, or their place in the structure of the integral individuality is revealed. Initially, we substantiated the place of the subject’s global properties in the structure of integral individuality. For example, we paid special attention to clarifying the place of temperament in the “person - society” system / V.V. Belous, I.V. Boyazitova, 1989/.
Solving the problem of the place of temperament in the structure of integral individuality in people of different ages in mass professions, we sought to simultaneously show that the ancient humoral theory of temperament types of Hippocrates, the constitutional theory of temperament types of Kretschmer and Sheldon, the neuro-physiological theory of personality and temperament of Eysenck and Cattell are untenable and reflect the essence of mechanism . Each of these theories separately postulates the idea of either the reduction of temperament to various features of the lower level of integral individuality - the level of the organism (for example, to the characteristics of reactive inhibition or morphotypes), or the derivation from temperament of the highest levels of integral individuality - the level of personality. In any case, the actual psychological specificity of temperament disappears, its characteristics become linearly and unambiguously determined by the laws of other levels of integral individuality. In short, temperament dissolves in the concepts of organism and personality and is completely identified with them. Consequently, from a mechanistic point of view, the actual psychological characteristics of temperament types are impossible. Only in integrative differential psychology is the question of the relative independence of temperament from various subsystems of integral individuality rightly raised and, to a certain extent, resolved. “The criterion of such relative independence,” emphasized V.S. Merlin, is a multi-valued connection of a given subsystem with subsystems of another hierarchical level, which is expressed in the fact that the same phenomena of a given subsystem can arise under certain conditions with the same probability as a result of the interaction of different phenomena of another subsystem and, conversely, different phenomena of a given subsystem can arise as a result of the same phenomena of another subsystem and under certain conditions with the same degree of probability” (V.S. Merlin, 1976, p. 5).
V.S. Merlin successfully applied this mathematical criterion of systems theory to the integral characteristic of individuality, consisting of many multi-level subsystems of the large “man-society” system: from the properties of the organism (for example, the neurodynamic level), the individual (for example,
psychodynamic level); from the mental properties of the individual; from the features of relationships between people in a social group and society.
Comparing the results of domestic and foreign research, V.S. Merlin discovered “that indicators of the same properties of temperament correlate with indicators of different properties of the nervous system, and, conversely, indicators of different properties of temperament correlate with indicators of the same property of the nervous system and, moreover, with the same density and degree of statistical significance” (there same, p. 7).
So, according to A.I. Shchebetenko, different indicators of psychodynamic sociability (initiative, ease and expressiveness of communication) correlate with electroencephalographic indicators of the strength and lability of the nervous system. Conversely, indicators of extraversion, rigidity and psychodynamic sociability correlate with EEG - indicators of nervous system lability. This is an example of multi-valued dependence, indicating the relative independence of properties such as temperament and properties such as the nervous system.
In our experimental studies, we each time discovered two orthogonal symptom complexes of mental properties of temperament: the extroversion-introversion symptom complex and the emotionality symptom complex. The symptom complex of extraversion-introversion includes experimental indicators of this property, rigidity, anxiety, and impulsivity. The symptom complex of emotionality includes experimental indicators of emotional excitability and emotional stability. Symptom complexes of extraversion-introversion and emotionality are determined by a variety of properties of the nervous system, including the strength of the excitatory process, the dynamics of inhibition, the balance of nervous processes, and mobility in the sense of alteration, understood in the Pavlovian spirit.
In particular, we have established an equally probable multi-valued dependence of various indicators of various properties of the extraversion-introversion symptom complex on various indicators of the strength of the excitatory process, namely: on the degree of extinction with reinforcement of conditional GSR; on the ratio of the latent time of a simple motor reaction to a weak and strong sound stimulus; on the ratio of the latent time of a simple motor reaction at the beginning and at the end of the experiment; from changes in the latent time of a simple motor reaction under the influence of an external stimulus.
In addition, in the study by L.D. Vasilenko, the symptom complex of extraversion-introversion reveals an equally probable multi-valued dependence on various indicators of the mobility of nervous processes, in particular, on the conversion of positive conditioned GSR into inhibitory and on the duration of the aftereffect of the conditioned brake on motor reactions.
Consequently, different indicators of different properties of the extraversion-introversion symptom complex are regulated by different properties of the nervous system. Moreover, this regulation is carried out on equally probable basis. In all cases, the linear dependence of various indicators of temperament properties on various indicators of properties of the nervous system is 99.9% confidence level or 0.1% significance level.
Similar behavior is demonstrated by the factor of emotionality. Various indicators of various properties of the symptom complex of emotionality reveal an equally probable multi-valued dependence on various indicators of the strength of the excitatory process, the dynamics of inhibition, in particular, on the rate of extinction of the indicative GSR to sound stimuli, on the speed of development of motor differentiation to sound stimuli, on the number of errors in the development of a dynamic stereotype etc.
Consequently, there are no grounds to explain the patterns of the psychodynamic level by the patterns of the underlying level of the organism. There is a multi-valued relationship between these subsystems of integral individuality.
The same type of dependence was identified by V.S. Merlin and his colleagues between the properties of temperament and personality traits. They convincingly showed that the dependence of personality properties on temperament properties is not direct, but indirect, conditioned by a complex of mediating variables. The mediating variables, as we have already reported, are: individual style of activity, individual style of social work, pedagogical skill of the teacher, sociometric status of children in the peer group, attitudes, COE (value-orientation unity of the social group), social situation, etc. All this suggests that there is an indirect multi-valued relationship between personality properties and temperament properties.
The very fact of discovering a multi-valued connection between at different levels integral individuality means their relative independence, isolation and irreducibility to each other. This way of recognizing various hierarchical levels of integral individuality V.S. Merlin designated it as transitive. At present, we have been able to identify diagnostic (statistical), functional-procedural and functional-resultative options for cognition of the structure of integral individuality. The essence of the diagnostic approach to recognizing the multi-level properties of integral individuality is as follows.
If a group of subjects is diagnosed based on several properties, for example, by temperament and personality, and it is discovered that type “A” subjects are characterized by a high and low index of the level of personality aspirations, and a high or low index of the level of personality aspirations is included not only in the “type” A”, but also in type “B”, then this makes it possible to recognize both studied parameters of individuality as relatively independent, because there is a multi-valued dependence between them. This kind of fact was found in the study of A.T. Naimanov, who studied resistance to failure in joint cognitive activity (A.T. Naimanov, 1991). According to L.V. Mishchenko (1996), among extroverted and introverted students the ratio of self-esteem and group assessment is the same: in the first year - statistically insignificant, in the fifth year - statistically significant. In addition, S.L. Rubinstein noted that when testing intelligence as an ability, one must take into account not only the result, but also the process that leads to it. Thus, in the experimental work of N.V. Orlinkova tested the subjects in pairs with educational activities to compile a program for solving a computational problem on a computer with display stations. Homogeneous and heterogeneous dyads were assembled according to the type of temperament. Temperament types were identified using taxonomic analysis. It turned out that in homogeneous dyads according to taxa, various types of interaction develop. In homogeneous dyads - coordination, directive subordination, liberal subordination; in heterogeneous dyads - coordination, autonomy, directive and liberal subordination. Consequently, the same type of interaction between partners in joint activities is found in both homogeneous and heterogeneous dyads according to the type of temperament. This is a pattern of multi-valued dependence between different levels of integral individuality, established in a functional-processual way (N.V. Orlinkova, 1988). A functional-effective approach to recognizing various hierarchical levels of integral individuality in conditions of joint activity was implemented in the already mentioned work of A.T. Naimanova. He recruited dyads taking into account the type of temperament and level of aspirations of the individual and asked them to perform difficult cognitive activities. It turned out that dyads of different types of temperament are more productive in overcoming difficult operating conditions than those who are homogeneous in terms of the same personality parameters. Other results are demonstrated by partners united by personality traits. In joint activities to resist failure, couples who are homogeneous in terms of the level of personality aspirations are more productive than couples who are heterogeneous.
Consequently, temperament and personality are relatively disjunctive and autonomous psychological categories belonging to different hierarchical levels of integral individuality.
Thus, even a relatively insignificant analysis of the relationships between various hierarchical levels of the large “person-society” system shows that the type of temperament is relatively independent of the underlying (properties of the organism) and overlying (properties of the individual) subsystems of integral individuality. Temperament, as V.S. has repeatedly emphasized. Merlin is a psychological category, i.e. the inappropriateness of the reductionist interpretation of holistic individuality. At the next stage, we analyzed the structures of integral individuality depending on the properties of the subject of activity.
S. Akur came to noteworthy conclusions by studying the classical types of extroverts and introverts from the perspective of systems theory. Thus, he found out that the integral portrait of an extrovert is based on reciprocal relationships between the natural and the social. Multi-level properties of integral
an extrovert's individuality forms a linear relationship; the basis of the introvert's integral individuality is the reciprocal relationship between the social and the natural. The multi-level properties of the introvert’s integral individuality form a nonlinear relationship; Thanks to the mutual balancing of the multi-level properties of integral individuality, representatives of extroverted and introverted types of behavior quite successfully assimilate educational programs higher humanitarian cycle /S. Akur, 1999/.
Nguyen Khac Thanh conducted a study in the same vein, revealing the content of integral individuality among students with different adaptations to the higher education society. In particular, he carried out an element-by-element and systemic study of the structures of the integral individuality of passively adaptive and non-adaptive students aged 18-20 in the higher education community. It has been established that the structures of integral individuality are dynamic and vary depending on the properties of the subject of activity. In non-adaptive students, whose behavior is characterized by active, purposeful overcoming of life's difficulties and obstacles, multi-level properties are more consistent and harmonized, subject to the laws of dialectical unity of single-valued (horizontal) and multi-valued (vertical) dependencies in comparison with the rigid nature of multi-level connections of passively adaptive students. Moreover, the dialectical unity of single-valued and multi-valued determinations is considered by the author as a source of development of the integral individuality of the age under study /Nguyen Khac Thanh, 2003/.
Consequently, in the Pyatigorsk psychological laboratory, attention is focused both on determining the place of basal mental realities in the structure of integral individuality, and on elucidating their influence on the peculiarities of the formation of integral individuality, depending on variations in the human factor.
These are some of the achievements in knowledge regarding the “left” determining wing of the integral individuality that is actively manifesting itself and developing in activity. In the future - the deployment of intensive research to substantiate the system-forming function of the individual and group subject of activity in the harmonization of multi-level properties of integral individuality / A.V. Brushlinsky, 2003; A.L. Zhuravlev, 1999; V.S. Merlin, 1986/.
The connection between the stages of moral development, according to Kohlberg, and the stages of mental development, according to Piaget, is clearly presented in the table.
But how is the development of a person’s moral consciousness related to his behavior? At the cognitive level, indicators of a person’s moral development are the degree of awareness and generalization of his judgments; at the behavioral level, real actions, consistency of behavior, ability to resist temptations, not succumb to situational influences, etc. These criteria do not always coincide, and it seems more reliable to evaluate a person by by his actions than by his moral judgments. But this also has its difficulties. Human behavior always depends in one way or another on the situation and its perception by the subject; the same child can show himself to be honest in one situation and a deceiver in another, and this can be explained by different reasons.
IV. Approximate topics of abstracts
Features of the development of differential psychology in Russia.
Characterology, psychognostics and physiognomy as directions of pre-scientific, empirical thought.
Graphology as the science of handwriting and character.
Psychogenetic methods in differential psychology.
Psychological norm: history of study.
Teachings of L.S. Vygotsky about higher mental functions.
I.P. Pavlov as a person and as a scientist.
The relationship between temperament and other personality traits.
Personality is a psychological carrier of social properties.
The structure of personality.
Individual specificity of mental processes.
Coordinates of a person's individuality.
Heredity and environment in the determination of intellectual differences.
Intelligence in the structure of individual properties.
Concepts of personality traits.
Some aspects of sexual differentiation.
Criteria for differences between social groups.
Psychological type and leadership style.
Individual response styles.
Differential psychocorrection
V. Sample test tasks for the course “differential psychology”
1. A synonym for differential psychology is
a) comparative psychology,
b) ethnic psychology,
c) psychology of individual differences.
2. The humanitarian paradigm of knowledge means
a) preference for the participant observation method when studying human characteristics,
b) studying a person in compliance with ethical standards and without the use of hardware methods,
c) stage of maturity scientific discipline, characterized by attention to single phenomena.
3. Statistical methods have gained popularity in psychology thanks to the works
a) Dutch psychologist F. Donders,
b) the creator of the “theory of the average man”, Belgian sociologist A. Quetelet,
c) German philosopher G. Fechner.
4. Idiographic approach is
a) a method based on the analysis of the respondent’s graphic products,
b) a method that implements the humanitarian paradigm of studying man as uniqueness
c) a method based on computer graphics.
5. Genogram is
a) a variant of the genealogical method, which records psychological relationships of intimacy,
b) a schematic representation of the sources of risk for normal development (burdened heredity),
c) a schematic representation of the probability of having boys and girls in a family.
6. Psychography is
a) compiling biographies of the most famous psychologists,
b) drawing up psychological portraits of psychotic personalities,
c) a description of individuality that takes into account the historicity of its development
7. The concept of norm in psychology most often
a) has an empirical nature, determined by the frequencies of indicators,
b) has a conventional nature, established on the basis of an agreement among researchers,
c) has a theoretical nature and is established through methodological principles.
8. The twin method belongs to the class
a) psychogenetic methods,
b) hardware methods,
c) psychological and pedagogical methods.
9. T-data is obtained using
a) questionnaire tests,
b) objective experimentally created situations of human behavior,
c) observations in T-groups.
10. Individuality in differential psychology is understood as
a) the sum of features that distinguish a given person from others,
b) personality traits that help resist group pressure,
c) a system of multi-level connections, covering all factors of a person’s individual existence.
11. Special theory of individuality is
a) the doctrine of the origin, structure, functioning and place of temperament in general structure individual properties,
b) the doctrine of the origin and manifestation of individual differences in the psyche,
c) the doctrine of the interaction of environmental factors and heredity in the formation
personality traits.
12. The operational (working) structure of individuality includes
a) somatic, humoral and psychological characteristics,
b) individual, psychological and spiritual qualities,
c) the results of the influence of heredity, common and differing environments.
13. Heritability indicators are reflected
a) in the correlation of characteristics of children and their biological parents,
b) in the similarity of absolute indicators of characteristics of children and their biological parents,
c) in differences in the characteristics of children and their adoptive parents.
14. Motility is a property of the nervous system, meaning
a) the rate of emergence and cessation of nervous processes,
b) the speed of alteration of stimulus signs,
c) the performance of the nervous system.
15. Functional asymmetry is
a) displacement of the axis of symmetry in the structure of the cerebral hemispheres caused by organic damage,
b) characteristics of the distribution of mental functions (specialization) between the right and left hemispheres,
c) a human-specific brain structure associated with speech.
16. Temperament in the teachings of W. Wundt was described by characteristics
a) strengths and weaknesses,
b) strength and stability,
c) activity and emotionality.
17. In modern Russian psychology, temperament is understood as
b) a set of properties of the nervous system characteristic of each person,
c) way of behavior in frustrating situations.
18. Character is
a) personality traits that develop in early childhood,
b) the uniqueness of human behavior in social situations,
c) a set of personality manifestations in frustrating situations.
19. The concept of character accentuation was introduced
a) A.E. Lichko,
b) K. Leonhard,
c) K.-G. Jung.
20. Normal character according to P.B. Gannushkina is
a) a character devoid of pronounced accentuations,
b) the most common character type in a given population,
c) a character devoid of pathological tendencies.
21. Exopsyche is
a) a system of typological characteristics of exomorphic people,
b) the attitude of the individual to external objects, similar in content to the subject-obsessive ones,
c) the most pronounced character trait.
22. Personality type is
a) a tendency towards the behavior of a particular clinical group,
b) a behavioral characteristic determined by temperament,
c) generalization based on the likening of a person to the average image of a certain group.
23. People who are at the highest level of development in their development, A.F.
Lazursky called
a) adapted
b) adaptable,
c) underadapted.
24. Abilities are understood in domestic psychology as
a) individual characteristics that ensure the successful implementation of any activity,
b) individual personality characteristics determined genetically,
c) innate inclinations, enhanced by a person’s ability to work and will.
25. Each of the factors in J. Guilford’s model of intelligence can be characterized in terms of
a) knowledge, skills and abilities,
b) inclinations and abilities,
c) operations, content and results.
26. Increased moral responsibility in family psychology is
a) an attitude towards the primacy of the interests of the child, close to child-centrism,
b) a distorted parenting style that combines high demands with insensitivity to the child’s needs,
c) preference for family values over professional ones.
27. Character in general terms completes its formation
a) by adolescence,
b) by preschool age,
c) in the prenatal period.
28. Theoretical typologies, as opposed to empirical ones
a) are created without reliance on clinical data,
b) meet the requirements of scientific classification,
c) based on the use of factor analysis.
29. The clinical-existential approach allows
a) clarify the differential diagnosis of a sick person,
b) establish the relationship between a person’s symptoms and experiences,
c) detect violations concerning a person’s life philosophy.
30. Psychological defenses are
a) individual ways of expressing aggressiveness,
b) adaptive ways of experiencing the world, ensuring control over affect and maintaining self-esteem,
c) neurotic reactions to internal conflicts.
31. Introversion is
a) an attitude towards preventing contact with objects of the external and internal world due to high reflection,
b) the method of introspection used in pre-experimental psychology,
c) a neurotic feature consisting of impaired communication with people.
32. Trait is
a) a quality that is persistently inherent in a given person and manifests itself in different situations,
b) a feature that distinguishes a particular person from other representatives of the psychotype,
c) a feature that makes it difficult for a person to approach the so-called “normal” character.
33. The most popular theory of personality traits developed
a) J. Guilford,
b) R.B. Cattell,
c) B.G. Ananyev.
34. Traits are identified in the following ways:
a) by comparing data from “longitudinal” and “transverse” sections,
b) thanks to the use of L-, Q- and T-data,
c) semantically, through factor analysis and conceptualization.
35. R.B. Cattell used to predict human behavior in various situations
a) clinical conversation,
b) expert survey,
c) specification equation.
36. The phenomenon of sexual dimorphism is
a) the presence of sex differentiation in a given biological species,
b) the presence of differences in the average indicators of biological or psychosocial characteristics among representatives of different sexes,
c) the difference between females and males according to primary and secondary sexual characteristics.
37. The evolutionary purpose of sex differentiation is
a) in the distribution of functions of stability and variability between representatives of different sexes,
b) in increasing the number of individuals,
c) in increasing the combinatorial capabilities of the genotype.
38. Biological and psychosocial neoplasms appear in phylogenesis
a) simultaneously in men and women,
b) first in women, then in men,
c) first in men, then in women.
39. Gender-role socialization within the framework of psychoanalysis is
a) the result of social learning,
b) epiphenomenon of intellectual development,
c) the result of resolving early childhood conflicts with parents.
40. The diversity of relationships between men and women within the framework of ethology is explained
a) through reproductive programs,
b) through programs regulating the care of offspring,
c) through a combination of elements of breeding and child rearing programs.
41. Professional significant sign- This
a) a quality acquired as a result of acquiring professional experience,
b) quality essential for the success of this professional activity,
c) determination to master this profession.
42. Professional typologies contain
a) a list of professionally important signs,
b) qualities that necessarily appear as a result of engaging in this professional activity,
c) complexes of psychological characteristics inherent in a typical representative of a given professional group.
43. Individual style of activity is
a) a system of methods of activity, determined by the personal qualities of a person and serving to adapt to objective circumstances,
b) individual pace of activity, determined by a person’s temperament,
c) individual professional choice of a person.
44. The most productive conflict resolution strategy within the framework of the concept of K. Thomas is considered
a) compromise
b) avoidance,
c) cooperation.
45. The style of pedagogical communication is closer in content
a) parenting style,
b) management style (leadership),
c) conflict resolution style.
46. The concept of the development of moral consciousness, created by L. Kohlberg, implements
a) the morality of justice, characteristic primarily of men,
b) the morality of care (sage), characteristic primarily of women,
c) personalized moral standards.
47. The conventional level of development of moral consciousness is
a) the initial level of human development,
b) the purpose of the moral aspirations of the individual,
c) the most common level that ensures social interaction between people.
48. The concept of life style began to be used for the first time in works
a) A. Adler,
b) G. Allport,
c) B.C. Merlina.
49. A person’s stylistic characteristics are revealed
a) only in the field of cognitive processes,
b) only in professional activities and communication,
c) in the way the subject interacts with reality at all levels of his existence.
50. Psychological overcoming is
a) human behavior under stress,
b) the tendency of development of the self-concept, expressing the personal growth of a person,
c) an individual way of interaction between a person and a situation, depending on its significance and psychological resources.
| 1 V | 11 A | 21 B | 31 A | 41 B |
| 2 V | 12 B | 22 V | 32 A | 42 V |
| 3 B | 13 A | 23 A | 33 B | 43 A |
| 4 B | 14 A | 24 A | 34 V | 44 V |
| 5 A | 15 V | 25 V | 35 V | 45 B |
| 6 V | 16 V | 26 V | 36 A | 46 V |
| 7 A | 17 B | 27 A | 37 V | 47 V |
| 8 A | 18 B | 28 A | 38 V | 48 A |
| 9 A | 19 B | 29 B | 39 V | 49 V |
| 10 V | 20 V | 30 B | 40 A | 50 A |