Psychology of human behavior in emergency situations. Human's psychology

Introduction

1. The essence and content of the psychology of behavior in emergency situations

2. Psychological preparedness of people for emergency situations

3. Group behavior of people in emergency situations

3.1 Panic

3.2 Prevention of panic reactions

Conclusion

List of references

Introduction

Emergency Is a situation that has developed as a result of an accident, natural phenomenon or other disaster, which are accompanied by human casualties, material losses or damage to the natural environment.

With the development of civilization, with the use of more and more new technologies, the progress of scientific research, the threat of man-made disasters is constantly increasing. There are a large number of warehouses on the territory of the country with stocks of combustible, explosive, highly toxic and radioactive substances. In addition, there is a huge number of chemical and bacteriological weapons. All these stocks are stored for a long time without proper revision and disposal, storage facilities are often in disrepair. Deterioration of equipment often exceeds permissible standards: for example, 40% of pipelines for pumping gas and oil have served their life. The high-risk zone is transport communications, power facilities. It is believed that 30% of the population lives in dangerous zones, 10% - in extremely dangerous zones. In particular, the city of Dubna belongs to this kind of dangerous zones: there are certain reserves of radioactive substances that ensure the operation of the nuclear reactor of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research; there is a dam that holds the huge reserves of water in the Moscow Sea (Ivankovskoe reservoir). In conditions of low technological discipline, chronic lack of financial and material resources to maintain fixed assets in working order, the likelihood of mass accidents, man-made disasters and other emergencies increases.

All emergencies can be subdivided into local, local, territorial, regional, federal and transboundary. The criteria for such a classification of emergency situations are: the number of the affected population, the amount of material damage, as well as the boundaries of the zones of distribution of damaging factors. However, social resonance very often depends not on the number of victims, but on the conditions under which the catastrophe occurred. An example is the nuclear submarine Kursk, which sank in August 2000 in an accident that killed 118 people. As a result of numerous terrorist attacks committed on the territory of our country, man-made accidents and natural disasters, more people die, but these events do not receive such wide coverage in the media.

The issues of human psychology in emergency situations must be considered in order to prepare the population, rescuers, leaders to act in extreme situations.

When considering the issues of human behavior in emergency situations, much attention is paid to the psychology of fear. In everyday life, in extreme conditions, a person constantly has to overcome the dangers that threaten his existence, which causes (generates) fear, that is, a short-term or long-term emotional process generated by a real or imaginary danger. Fear is an alarm signal, but not just an alarm, but a signal that causes a person's likely protective actions.

Fear causes unpleasant sensations in a person - this is a negative effect of fear, but fear is also a signal, a command for individual or collective protection, since the main goal facing a person is to stay alive, to prolong his existence.

It should be borne in mind that the most frequent, significant and dynamic are rash, unconscious actions of a person as a result of his reaction to danger.

The greatest danger to a person is represented by factors that can cause his death as a result of various aggressive influences - these are various physical, chemical, biological factors, high and low temperatures, ionizing (radioactive) radiation. All these factors require different ways of protecting a person and a group of people, that is, individual and collective methods of protection, which can be attributed to: the desire of a person to move away from the action of damaging factors (to escape from danger, protect himself with a screen, etc.); vigorous attack by a person on the source of possible damaging factors to weaken their action or destroy the source of possible damaging factors.

The special conditions in which a person may find themselves, as a rule, cause him psychological and emotional tension. As a consequence, for some this is accompanied by the mobilization of internal vital resources; for others - a decrease or even a breakdown in working capacity, deterioration in health, physiological and psychological stressful phenomena. It depends on the individual characteristics of the organism, working conditions and upbringing, awareness of current events and understanding of the degree of danger.

In all difficult situations the decisive role is played by moral conditioning and the mental state of a person. They determine the readiness for deliberate, confident and prudent action in any critical moments.

1 ... The essence and content of the psychology of behavior in emergency situations

The psychology of states combines the vast experience of the world psychological science in the field of the study of mental states. The problem of optimal human states was considered by E.P. Ilyin. A.O. Prokhorov is developing the psychology of non-equilibrium states. The psychology of states also includes the consideration of certain types of conditions, including those arising in emergency situations. Tension states (stress states) were studied by T.A. Nemchin, L.P. Grimak V.I. Lebedev. Emotional states arising in emergency situations were studied by A.O. Prokhorov, A. Kempinski and others.
Among mental phenomena, mental states belong to one of the main places. At the same time, despite the intensive study of the problem of mental states, much of it remains unclear. According to T.A. Nemchina, “successful development of this problem is necessary because mental states significantly determine the nature of human activity”.

I.P. Pavlov believed that psychology is the science of our states, and that thanks to it, one can imagine the entire complexity of the subjective.

Against the background of disagreements and a wide variety of opinions about the definition, composition, structures, functions, mechanisms, classifications and other problems associated with the mental state, many authors remain unanimous in their opinion about the great, if not decisive, significance of research of this mental phenomenon for psychology ... So, N. D. Levitov, who was the first to place the concept of "mental state" in the status of a psychological category, believed that the solution to this problem fills the existing gap in psychology - the gap between the doctrine of mental processes and mental properties of the individual. On this occasion, Yu.E. Sosnovikova writes: "It is impossible to understand the psyche as a whole without examining its specific integral manifestations in the form of mental states."
So, let's flip through the works of different authors. There is a term “tense situations” - M.I. Dyachenko, L.A. Kandybovich, V.A. Ponomarenko, “extreme conditions” - L.G. Wild, "difficult situations" - A.V. Libin, “stressful situations” - G. Selye, Kitaev-Smyk, “acute situations - V.V. Avdeev, “emergency situations” - A.F. Maidykov, “abnormal conditions” - VD Tumanov, “special conditions” - S.А. Shapkin, L.G. Wild. The term "extreme situations" is used by the following authors: T.A. Nemchin, V.G. And-rosyuk, V.I. Lebedev, G.V. Suvorov, M.P. Mingalieva, T.S. Nazarov and V.S. Shapovalenko and others.

Ukrainian scientists M.I. Dyachenko, L.A. Kandybovich, V.A. Ponomarenko also point to the importance of subjective perception of an emergency (in their thesaurus of a difficult) situation: “A tense situation is such a complication of the conditions of activity that has acquired special significance for the individual. In other words, complex objective conditions of activity become a tense situation when they are perceived, understood, evaluated by people as difficult, dangerous, etc. Any situation presupposes the involvement of the subject in it. This applies all the more to a tense situation that combines a certain content of objective activity with the needs, motives, goals, and relationships of a person. Consequently, a tense situation, like any situation, embodies the unity of the objective and the subjective. Objective is the complicated conditions and process of activity; subjective - state, attitudes, methods of action in dramatically changed circumstances. The general feature that characterizes tense situations is the emergence of a task that is quite difficult for the subject, a "difficult" mental state. "

V.G. Androsyuk in his book "Pedagogy and Psychology" comes to the following conclusion: "an emergency is a state of the vital activity system that is dangerous to life and health, is unfavorable for the functioning of the human psyche and can cause tension."
Based on the foregoing, we list the main characteristics of an emergency:

1. This is an extreme situation, with a very strong impact that goes beyond the range of human capabilities.

2. These are complicated conditions of activity that are subjectively perceived, understood and assessed by a person as difficult, dangerous, etc.

3. The situation causes the emergence of a rather difficult task for the subject, a "difficult" mental state.

4. An emergency situation leads to the emergence of a state of dynamic mismatch and requires maximum mobilization of the body's resources.

5. This situation causes negative functional states, violations of the psychological regulation of activity, and thereby reduces the efficiency and reliability of activities.

6. A person is faced with the impossibility of realizing his motives, aspirations, values, interests.

An emergency situation is dangerous for life and health, unfavorable for the functioning of the human psyche. The factors that give rise to mental tension can, in some cases, have a positive mobilizing effect on a person, and in others - a negative, disorganizing effect. We are interested in the resource state in extreme situations, therefore, we will consider the positive, mobilizing changes in the emotional, cognitive and behavioral spheres of the individual, caused by the impact of such situations.

According to V.G. Androsyuk, these changes include:

Decrease in thresholds of sensations, acceleration of sensory and motor reactions. A person shows the ability to more accurately assess stimuli, quickly responds to all changes in environmental conditions;

decrease in fatigue, - the disappearance or dulling of the feeling of fatigue. A person's endurance and performance increase, unpretentiousness is manifested in uncomfortable situational conditions;

Increased readiness for decisive and bold action. Strong-willed qualities are manifested, the decision-making stage is reduced, forecasting the development of the situation is optimally combined with a healthy risk;

Activation of business motives, feelings of duty. A person develops a business excitement, the final and intermediate goals of activity are defined clearly and unambiguously;

Enhanced cognitive activity. A person shows sharpness of perception, actively includes the reserves of operational and long-term memory. Creativity is actualized, thinking is characterized by dynamism, flexibility, flexibility, active and successful search for non-standard solutions. Intuition is widely used.

Show of interest, enthusiasm. In solving problems, a person mobilizes his psychological capabilities and special abilities).

The ability to withstand an emergency has three dimensions:

1.physiological stability, due to the state of the physical and physiological qualities of the body (constitutional features, type of nervous system, vegetative plasticity);

2. mental stability due to training and the general level of personality traits (special skills of action in extreme situations, the presence of positive motivation, etc.);

3. psychological readiness (active state of activity, mobilization of all forces and capabilities for future actions). "
Various authors give different definitions the concept of "mental state". Some of them, for example, James, identify the concepts of "state" and "process", others reduce the concept of "mental state" to the concept of "state of consciousness", and still others, in one way or another, connect the mental state with the characteristics of the emotional sphere.
We believe that the most complete definition of the mental state of D.N. Levitova: "This is a holistic characteristic of mental activity for a certain period of time, showing the originality of the course of mental processes, depending on the reflected objects and phenomena of reality, previous states and mental properties of the individual." Analysis of the behavior and state of a person in an extreme situation shows that the most powerful irritant leading to erroneous actions is incomplete information.

P.V. Simonov developed the information theory of emotions, according to which, when there is a shortage of available information, negative emotion appears, which reaches its maximum in the absence of information. Positive emotion arises when the available information exceeds the information necessary to satisfy a given need. Thus, in a number of cases, knowledge and awareness of the individual remove emotions, change the emotional mood and mental state of the individual, and open access to the inner resources of a person.
"Will is a person's conscious regulation of his behavior and activities, associated with overcoming internal and external obstacles." Overcoming obstacles by a person requires volitional effort - a special state of nervous and mental stress, mobilizing his physical, intellectual and moral strength. The will is manifested as a person's confidence in his abilities, as a determination to perform the act that he considers appropriate and necessary in a particular situation.
Since a state is a multidimensional phenomenon, any state can be described by a wide range of parameters. This or that parameter can be leading. What parameters of condition come to the fore in an emergency? First of all, tension.

Tension in the dictionary of psychology by J. Drever is defined as a feeling of tension, tension, a general feeling of imbalance and readiness to change behavior when faced with any threatening situational factor. Such factors can be increased workload, lack of time, lack of information, etc. According to L.V. Kulikov, it is these factors that are the real cause of tension, and not the experiences caused by them, which are a natural reaction to the situation. Therefore, with the interpretation of emotions as a cause of tension, according to L.V. Kulikov, it is difficult to completely agree. The role of emotion is quite precisely defined by A.V. Zaporozhets, who wrote that emotion is not the process of activation itself, but a special form of reflection of reality, through which mental control of activation is carried out, or, more correctly, mental regulation of the general direction and dynamics of behavior is carried out.

behavior human emergency

2 ... Psychological preparedness of people for emergencies

Natural disasters, major accidents and catastrophes, their tragic consequences cause great emotional excitement in people, require high moral and psychological resilience, endurance and determination, readiness to provide assistance to victims, to save dying material values.

A severe picture of destruction and devastation, an immediate threat to life negatively affect the human psyche. In some cases, they can disrupt the process of normal thinking, weaken or completely eliminate control over themselves, which leads to unjustified and unpredictable actions.

As a rule, overcoming fear is facilitated, first of all, by a sense of personal responsibility, an awareness of the importance of the work that is being done. The danger and risk to health, the importance of the work performed - all this raises the significance of what is being done in our own eyes and in the opinion of society as a whole.

Psychologically unprepared, not hardened people have a feeling of fear and a desire to escape from a dangerous place, while others have a psychological shock, accompanied by muscle numbness. At this moment, the process of normal thinking is disrupted, control of consciousness over feelings and will weakens or is completely lost. Nervous processes (excitement or inhibition) manifest themselves in different ways. For example, some have dilated pupils - they say, "fear has large eyes," breathing is disturbed, heartbeat begins "the heart is ready to escape from the chest", spasms of peripheral blood vessels - "white as chalk", cold sweat appears, muscles weaken - "hands dropped or knees buckled ", the tone of voice changes, and sometimes the gift of speech is lost. There are even known cases of death with a sudden fear of a sharp disruption of the cardiovascular system.

This condition can be quite long - from several hours to several days. When eliminating the consequences of earthquakes and accidents, one sometimes has to observe people who are in a state of mental depression, can wander aimlessly through the ruins for a long time.

Unexpected occurrence of danger, ignorance of the nature and possible consequences natural disaster or an accident, rules of behavior in this environment, lack of experience and skills in dealing with the elements, poor moral and psychological training - all these are the reasons for such behavior of people.

3. Group behavior of people in emergency situations

3.1 Panic

The group behavior of people in an emergency is understood as the behavior of the majority of persons included in the group and who find themselves in the face of a sudden and dangerous incident or the threat of such an incident, which affects the interests of all people. This is associated with real or potential material losses, human casualties and is characterized by a noticeable disorganization of public order.

Group behavior of people is associated with one and the same external event and depends on such emotional factors that are associated with the group mentality, and not with the individual properties of the human psyche. This is evidenced by the statistics of disasters, the fate of the victims, the actions of rescuers and the behavior of the surrounding population, which itself did not suffer from emergencies.

The behavior of people in extreme situations is divided into two categories.

Cases of rational, adaptive human behavior with mental control and management of the emotional state of behavior. In many extreme situations, no pathological behavior of people was observed and adaptation of people to the situation was noted, calm was maintained and measures of protection, mutual assistance were carried out, measures were taken to restore the disturbed order of life. This behavior is a consequence of the exact implementation of the instructions and orders of the management in case of emergency. It should be remembered that the implementation of orders and instructions prevents the spread of anxiety and anxiety and, at the same time, does not impede the manifestation of personal initiative in the field of their protection.

Cases that are negative, pathological, they are characterized by a lack of adaptation to the situation, when people, by their irrational behavior and actions dangerous to others, increase the number of victims and disorganize public order. In this case, “shock lethargy” may occur, when the mass of people becomes confused and lack of initiative, or even simply distraught. A particular case of "shock inhibition" is panic, when fear of danger takes possession of a group of people. Usually panic manifests itself as a wild disorderly flight, when people are guided by consciousness, reduced to a primitive level (a primitive human reaction to fear). It can be accompanied by real frenzy, especially if obstacles are encountered on the way, the overcoming of which is accompanied by a large number of human victims.

Panic reactions can also be observed in a group of people in confined spaces with an unknown layout, when a person feels a threat to his life. Many in these cases believe that it is almost impossible to be saved, they are instantly exposed to a feeling of mass fear, especially if there are unbalanced people in the group, and there can be no more than 2% of the entire group. Psychologically, panic is very contagious, as it is associated with the manifestation of the “herd instinct”. You should be aware that precautions taken in advance cannot fully guarantee the possibility of panic, but can significantly reduce it, so taking such measures is mandatory.

3.2 Prevention of panic reactions

1) The basis for the prevention of any psychological phenomena is the analysis of the characteristics of the occurrence and course of various forms of individual and collective reactions of fear (panic).

2) Professional selection of persons for work in hazardous types of work, and especially heads of production teams (there are individuals with an increased level of risk). The accumulated experience in the study of catastrophic situations allows us to assert the position of the presence of persons (psychopathy, nervousness) prone to the creation of accidents and to inappropriate actions in a threatening situation.

3) Training in safety issues and educational work on the formation in the minds of people of caution, prevention and reasonable behavior in emergency and emergency situations. A person working in hazardous industries must:

Know their responsibilities for the prevention of emergencies and be responsible not only for the occurrence of accidents, but also for the nature of their actions when leading the masses in case of fires and other emergencies;

Have a psychological readiness to act in an emergency, be aware that an explosion, fire or other phenomenon is a real danger, and be ready not only to prevent or stop a catastrophic process, but also to lead the masses of people;

Know the work schedules of shifts and schemes of actions in critical situations;

Participate not only in business games, but also in emergency games, which contributes to the knowledge of the problem and the formation of the automatism of actions in an emergency.

4) The main task in an emergency and during a disaster is to keep people calm and to act quickly and intelligently. This is achieved by means of information and an example of the actions of others. People should know and understand that people are dying in a crush.

5) Leading the mass of people is the foundation of panic prevention. Panic reaction is always the induction of fear, the loss of the degree of conscious leadership and the accidental seizure of “leadership” by the actions of people by persons in a state of fear and acting unconsciously, automatically. These faces, by the brightness of their actions and speech (shouts), excite those around them and in fact carry along with them those who are in a state of narrowed consciousness due to fear and who act automatically without assessing the situation. In a state of fear, people are easy to control and can be drawn into safe and objective conditions. If the leadership of the masses is carried out by a conscientious person, then people retain the ability to act intelligently and protect their lives.

6) A special role in the prevention of fear is played by the business employment (position) of a person and the demonstration of the organized actions of those around him. “Action saves from fear. It saves both from fear and weakness, even from cold and disease ”(Antoine de Saint-Exupery). Thus, the soldiers involved in rescuing children from repeated shocks of the earthquake did not feel fear, unlike the people who were not busy (Leninakan).

7) In an acute situation or a threatening situation, it is necessary to remove (fix) people who are able to induce fear and involve people in dangerous activities. Their influence on others must be suspended, since the induction (transmission) of their actions to a mass of people can occur.

8) In the structure of managing a mass of people, the warning system plays an important role: loudspeaker notification, light and sound signals, exit indicators, directions of movement and other means.

Loud-speaking notification of the population (loudspeakers on the streets, indoors) allows to ensure the safety of the actions of persons in a crisis (catastrophic) situation. The danger of using the elevator (stopping and inability to leave it) is reported and instructions are given on actions to protect and exit the danger zone, etc.

Local residents associate a reliable source of information during natural disasters and liquidation of their consequences with the central executive authority for the region. In order to prevent unwanted psychoemotional reactions of people, panic moods, it is advisable to strengthen local authorities at the level of heads of city districts, villages with information resources of the subject of the Federation and the federal center.

Local mass media (in comparison with the central ones) in the period of natural disasters and liquidation of their consequences are more effective in influencing the consciousness of people, since newspapers, television, radio of a particular region are directly involved in the extreme conditions of its life, in the process of liquidating the consequences of emergencies.

Information messages for residents of settlements affected by a natural disaster must undergo an operational psychological examination. For all sources of information, appropriate recommendations should be prepared based on knowledge of the psychological patterns of perception and processing of information by people under stress.

It is advisable to “tie” measures to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters to the natural cycles and daily rhythms of human life (unless, of course, the suspension of emergency recovery work or their slowdown does not threaten the emergence of new victims).

Lack of information about the event contributes to rumors and any misinformation. If the authorities are late in informing the population, it is natural that rumors and gossip spreaders appear.

Any information coming from a trusted source is objectively reassuring. People, especially adults, need truthful information from the authorities or from competent specialists. More often, those who are closer to the source of information, even if it is not the most encouraging, feel more relaxed and confident.

People who, from the very beginning of the emergency, have been involved in practical, socially useful activities (there are practically no mental manifestations left) suffer to a lesser extent.

It is necessary to continue to study and summarize the experience (including foreign) of the psychological informational impact on the population during various emergencies.

Conclusion

The normal state is the most important part of all mental regulation, plays an essential role in any kind of activity and behavior. However, the theory of mental states is far from complete; many aspects of mental states have not been studied with the necessary completeness. According to the doctor of psychological sciences L.V. Kulikova, “the potentials of the personality, which allow regulating the state, remain little studied.

The analysis of the influence of emotional stress on the body is devoted to the research of the authors - specialists in the field of sociology, psychology and physiology. First of all, in such situations it is necessary to take into account the possibility of normal positive adaptation to frustrations. "Frustration is an emotionally difficult experience of a person of his failure, accompanied by a feeling of hopelessness, the collapse of hopes in achieving the desired goal." A person who often has to be in emergency situations is able to develop the skills of the most adequate reactions, the most correct mobilization of his functions. Training in different ways of fear elimination is possible. The role of positive experience, a sense of satisfaction in connection with the task at hand, is also significant. All this leads to an increase in self-confidence, which contributes to better adaptation to extreme situations that may arise as a result of emergencies.

In conclusion, one can also draw a conclusion about how to proceed to avoid the depressed state of people in an emergency.

First, it must be borne in mind that a person who has suffered severe mental trauma restores mental balance much faster if he is involved in some kind of physical work and not alone, but as part of a group.

Secondly, in order to weaken the negative impact on a person, we need constant preparation for action in emergency situations, the formation of mental stability, the education of will. That is why the main content of psychological training is the development and consolidation of the necessary psychological qualities.

Thirdly, the preparation of collectives - all workers of enterprises, organizations and institutions - for increasing resilience, for psychological stress, the development of endurance, self-control, unswerving aspirations to fulfill the assigned tasks, the development of mutual assistance and interaction is of particular importance.

It must be remembered that the level of psychological training of people is one of the most important factors. The slightest confusion and manifestation of fear, especially at the very beginning of an accident or disaster, at the time of the development of a natural disaster can lead to serious, and sometimes even irreparable consequences. First of all, this applies to officials who are obliged to immediately take measures to mobilize the team, while showing personal discipline and endurance.

List of references

1. V.G. Bakharev. Autotraining. M., "Knowledge", 1992.

2. Gurenkova T.N., Eliseeva I.N., Kuznetsova T.Yu., Makarova O.L., Matafonova T.Yu., Pavlova M.V., Shoigu Yu.S. Psychology of extreme situations. M., 1997.

3. Druzhinin VF, Motivation of activities in emergency situations, M., 1996.

4. Strelyakov J. The role of temperaments in psychological development. M., 1982.

5. Practical psychology in places, or how to learn to understand yourself and others. M., AST-PRESS., 1997.

6.S.S.K.Shoigu, S.M. Kudinov, A.F. Nezhiva, S.A. Nozheva. Lifeguard tutorial. M., 1997.

7.S.S.K.Shoigu, S.M.Kudinov, A.F. Nezhivoi, A.V. Gerokaris. Rescuer labor protection. M., 1998.

Science, which appeared at the intersection of biology, sociology, ecology and psychology, in the modern flow of information has overgrown with a multitude of materials of dubious content.

What is the problem?

Ethology is the science that studies, through observation, the behavior of animals in their natural habitat. This is how the founders positioned it. The current state of this science, differentiated in different directions, presents a wide range of possible definitions and application mechanisms.

If children from school age were taught the basics of ethology, surely this would become a certain guideline in actions. After all, an understanding of the biological motives of human behavior as a biological species indicates that we are not as far away as it seems from our smaller brothers, and allows us to treat social manifestations in modern society in a completely different way.

Origins

The well-known ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in his works "History of Animals" noted the differences in the customs of animals, depending on their tameness, cowardice or meekness, and most importantly, intelligence or lack thereof. Can he be considered the progenitor of the science that studies the behavior of animals and humans?

The official founder of the science is the Australian zoologist Konrad Lorenz (1903-1995). In the 30s of the XX century, in his works, he generalized the system of previous knowledge of behaviorists and zoopsychologists and introduced the term ethology into the international scientific environment, understanding it as the science of the biology of animal behavior, combining the physiological component of behavior, the development of behavior in the ontogeny of an individual, interspecific (comparative ) behaviors and behaviors are adaptive. For his discoveries in the study of models in individual and group behavior of animals and in their intrinsic motivation, in 1973 he was awarded the Nobel Prize.

And at the beginning of the last century, Konrad Lorenz did not find understanding among biologists involved in all areas of zoology.

Scientific environment at the stage of ethology formation

At the beginning of the 20th century, revolution after revolution took place in the natural sciences. Charles Darwin, with the theory of the origin of species and natural selection as a mechanism of evolution, initiated the development of a whole spectrum of sciences, such as comparative embryology, pathological and comparative anatomy, paleontology and archeology.

Natural knowledge in these areas stimulated the direction of thought of zoologists, evolutionists, cytologists, geneticists, neurophysiologists. In the scientific community, there were debates about the relationship between the psyche and consciousness. The schools of classical behaviorism and non-behaviorism, classical zoopsychology, gestalt psychology have developed their own directions in the study of instinctive behavior, the theory of stimuli and signs. Human psychology and the study of the neurophysiology of the brain have led scientific thought to the adoption of the biological component of the species Homo sapiens.

Basic conceptual base

Modern popularization of knowledge on this issue occurs thanks to the mass media and in the key of popular science knowledge, and much less scientific knowledge. This happened because it is impossible to read scientific literature in the field of animal or human ethology without knowledge of specific terminology. And to understand the terminology, at least a minimum of theoretical knowledge is required. Let us introduce only some general concepts necessary for the formation of the reader's idea of \u200b\u200bthe modern concept of the provisions of traditional ethology.

Ethology is a scientific discipline that studies patterns (models) of general biological behavior of animals.

The name of the discipline comes from the Greek ethos - "character, disposition, habit, demeanor", logos - "teaching".

Traditional ethology is the science of all manifestations of the behavior of all types of living organisms. In any branch of ethology, four main aspects of study are considered: the mechanisms of behavior, the biological component and functions of behavior, ontogeny of behavior and the evolutionary development of behavioral reactions. The main determining factor is in vivo study.

Areas of ethology

Ethology of man has become a separate area - the science of studying man as a representative of a biological species. She studies the formation of ontogenetic and species characteristics, the evolution of human behavior in the aspect of historical development.

A sufficient number of private branches of this science are distinguished, depending on the object that is chosen as the subject of ethology. In this vein, it is worth highlighting ornithoethology (the study of the behavior of birds) and cognitive (the subject of study is the ability of cognition and learning). Anthropogenic ethology is the science of the behavior of animals in artificial habitats. Molecular ethology studies the influence of a particular gene on behavioral responses. Sociobiology has emerged from general ethology into a separate scientific discipline, it considers behavior in groups and hierarchical stereotypes.

Positions: traditional ethology

The definition of the science of behavioral reactions has undergone refinements and additions. The concept was finally formed in 1962, then the science of animal behavior in the general biological sense appeared. Studying a complete overview of the fundamental principles of science is unlikely to succeed. Let's focus on those that will give a general understanding and give confidence when reading specialized literature.

Species-specific (typical for representatives of the whole species), congenital (ready-made models that do not require training), stereotyped (template, performed in an unchanged order and in an unchanged form) units of behavior in ethology are called fixed complexes of actions.

Nonspecific, individual and labile units of behavior of individuals are called dynamic stereotypes. This type of reaction is characteristic exclusively for organisms with a developed nervous system and learning abilities.

By learning, ethologists understand the modification of behavior that arises as a result of the individual's personal experience and leads to the emergence of completely new reactions, a change in stimulus for habitual reactions, a change in the form or probability of a response to a stimulus. The general biological laws of learning are as follows:

• Repetitions increase with the reward reaction and decrease if the reward does not follow the reaction (Thorndike Effect Law).
• Seeking an incentive with the least effort (Skinner's principle).
• Reinforcements are always insufficient in relation to overcoming innate tendencies and replacing them with learned stereotypes (Breland's law).
• Optimal motivation ensures successful learning. The boundary values \u200b\u200bof motivation lead to a decrease in the success of training (Yerkes - Dodson law).

Learning as potential behaviors is one of the fundamental concepts. Human ethology does not accept Thorndike's law, although the entire Criminal Code, it would seem, confirms the effectiveness of this law in human behavior.

Four main questions

Whatever particular area of \u200b\u200bethology we consider, in the discipline it is studied in response to four questions. They were formulated by Nicholas Timbergen (1907-1988), a Dutch ornithologist, student and colleague of Konrad Lorenz, who shared the Nobel Prize with him. Although not all ethologists agree with the methods of answering these questions, there is an enviable unity about the questions themselves.

1. What drives a particular behavior pattern is the cause.
2. The degree of involvement of the structures and functions of the animal.
3. Variability and limits of behavior change in the process of ontogenesis.
4. How much the behavioral response meets the adaptive need.

Human study

Man at all times was interested in studying his own kind. The classification of the characters of the people of Hippocrates (choleric - phlegmatic) is relevant today.

The flourishing of interest in man as an object of study is inextricably linked with Sigmund Freud, the result of the work of his conscious and subconscious psychoanalysis was the catch phrase: "I discovered that man is an animal." Linnaeus and Darwin, Whitman and Craig, Konrad Lorenz with his talkative works "Aggression: the so-called evil" and "The Eight Deadly Sins of Civilized Humanity" could not bring a sufficiently convincing evidence base under the words of Freud.

As a result, two directions were formed in human ethology: humanitarian and natural science.

Natural science bias of human ethology

In the field of knowledge donated to the world by Lorenz and Timbergen, Charles Darwin's cousin, anthropologist, psychologist and aristocrat Sir Francis Hamilton became a follower of the behaviorists. He actively studied the possibilities of inheriting moral qualities, talent and abilities. Among those who supported his idea - to find mechanisms for the inheritance of personality traits, were Bernard Shaw, HG Wells, Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt.

This direction of ethology took shape in eugenics (translated from Greek "the birth of the best") - a theory about hereditary human health and the possibilities of its improvement. Positive eugenics (studying the factors influencing the improvement of racial characteristics) very quickly gave way to negative, the purpose of which was determined to breed eugenically valuable populations. This concept came in handy for the autocratic regime of Germany, which for a long time discredited not only eugenics itself, but also the very principle of the natural-scientific approach.

Humanitarian ethology of man

The humanities did not strive to change anything. Humanitarian ethology is an area where descriptive and classification methods of studying the characteristics of human behavior prevail, without seeking to explain the causes and mechanisms of occurrence. There are a huge number of schools, like various classifications, in this direction. For example, the classification of personalities according to Leonhard or Jung. But all humanitarian ethologists are unanimous on the following:

• In human behavior, the animal part is insignificant.
• The character of a person is completely shaped by the environment (the concept of a blank slate).

The modern concept of human ethology

The modern concept of human ethology is defined as the biology of behavior, formed in ontogeny and phylogenesis and leading to a specific behavioral strategy. The objects of research are traditional groups in comparison with neo-industrial culture.

Sociobiology was formed at the junction of many sciences. She studies behavior as a set of preferential qualities that have evolved.

There are two schools of human ethology: European and American. The Austro-German school (I. Aybl - Eisfeld, F. Sutter) are the followers of K. Lorentz. The Dutch and British schools are followers of N. Timbergen (F. Schiefenhoevel). The American school borrows methods from the evolutionary approach and focuses on sociobiology.

In Russia, the school of ethology is developing under the leadership of Doctor of Historical Sciences M.L.Butovskaya and Professor V.R.Dolnik, Doctor of Biological Sciences Z.A. Zorin, ornithologist and ethologist V.S.Fridman. K. Efremov, chief editor of the project "Internet Association of Rest Camps", became the propagandist of the exercise.

Modern ethology is a set of disciplines designed to help a person understand the origins and motives of his behavior. It helps you find the key to knowing yourself. The ethology of animals is designed to help us in agricultural activities. Numerous publications and examples of popular ethology are designed to draw our attention to the unity of all life on the planet and the place of humanity in the system of the organic world.

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Sigmund Freud never imagined how unconscious desires and impulses influence the way we think and act. When psychologists try to understand our thinking, they often come to a startling conclusion: people usually make decisions almost without thinking, or rather, even before they consciously think about it. When we decide how to vote, what to buy, where to go on vacation and much more, unconscious thoughts play a big role, the existence of which we do not even suspect. Recent research has shown how strongly our subconscious mind influences our daily reactions. One of the most famous studies of the importance of the unconscious examined the decision-making about the suitability of a candidate for public office. A group of American voters were given a split second to look at photos taken from the Internet of candidates for governors and senators from other states. They were then asked to rate candidates based on this fleeting information. This sample survey predicted the results of subsequent real elections in these states fairly accurately. In two out of three cases, the prediction based on a quick glance at the candidate's face was correct.

For more than a hundred years, scientists have been wondering how the unconscious affects our thoughts and actions. Sigmund Freud, in most of his work, viewed the conscious as rational thinking and emotion, and the unconscious as something irrational, but modern cognitive psychologists do not make such a polar division. It turned out that both types of thought processes help us adapt to a changing environment, ensuring survival by throwing mental efforts on an urgent problem, which allowed us to hunt mastodons during the Stone Age, to participate in knightly tournaments in the Middle Ages, and to correctly manage Apple stocks in the new millennium.

Psychologists of the post-Freudian era have abolished the division into "I" and "It", which made it possible to more pragmatically study what affects our unconscious. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman (Daniel Kahneman) described the modern view of the differences between automatic and controlled by will. In his bestselling book Think Slow ... Decide Fast, Kahneman writes that automatic thought processes are fast, efficient, and usually unconscious, and therefore not amenable to discussion or planning. They involve only simple stimuli: for example, reading the words on this page easily conjures up associations with their meaning in your head. The situation is different with controlled processes. They require the focused and relatively slow involvement of conscious thinking - the kind of stress you experience, for example, when filing a tax return.

Key points:

1. Often people do not hesitate to decide for whom they will vote, what they will buy, where they will go on vacation, and also make many other choices in their lives.
2. The thinking and planning of our life is based on unconscious processes, and this is not accidental. For example, automatic solutions are needed to dodge an oncoming car or bus.
3. However, the behavior controlled by the unconscious is not limited to the fact that, leaving the intersection, we look in both directions. Unconscious attitudes determine many aspects of our relationship to other people.
4. Even Sigmund Freud pondered a lot about the meaning of the unconscious. Recent research shows a more realistic picture of our relationship with a boss or spouse.

Like Freud's "It" and "I", automatic and controlled systems complement each other, but sometimes they can conflict. You need to quickly, without hesitation, dodge the bus, but at the same time refrain from the desire to hit the reckless driver. In our daily life, automatic quick decisions are the majority, and this is no coincidence. We only know a very small number of people well enough, most often we have to communicate with strangers whom we may never see again - these are people standing in line at the bank, cashiers, taxi drivers, waiters, insurance agents, teachers, etc. .d. Unconscious perception forms expectations about human behavior and personality based on minimal information. We expect waitresses to behave in a certain way and not in the same way as librarians or truck drivers. We form such assumptions instantly, without hesitation, guided by the social status of a person.

Our unconscious perception of people during the day is a reflex reaction. We have to make a conscious effort to push aside the inexplicable and sometimes unfounded hidden negative feelings that we may have towards others. The stronger the unconscious influence, the more you will have to make a conscious effort to overcome it. This applies in particular to our habits. The alcoholic comes home in the evening and gets drunk, the overweight person gets to the chips, and both of them easily discard the idea of \u200b\u200babstinence.

It is important to understand how the unconscious affects us in order not to drown in impulses that are difficult to understand and even more so to control. The ability to manage one's own behavior - the ability to make friends, get up to speed in a new job, get rid of alcoholism - depends not only on genes, character and social support; it is also due to our ability to identify and overcome the automatic urges and emotions that affect all aspects of our lives. To chart our own path in life, we need to learn to find a compromise with our unconscious.

Reflex reactions

When we meet someone unfamiliar, our first impression is formed even before the conversation begins. We notice race, gender, or age - traits that are automatically associated with our internal stereotypes about how members of this particular group usually behave. They are aggressive and lazy or pleasant and quick-witted, etc. - such ideas about a social group as a whole are often incorrect in relation to its specific representative, who is standing in front of us and has not yet had time to do anything to confirm our impression. Often these reflex reactions persist even when they run counter to our conscious beliefs. Many people who claim they treat minorities well are surprised when sociologists use a simple test to demonstrate that they are not. In the test for hidden associations, the subject is asked to characterize what qualities objects on a computer screen have: for example, a puppy may be good, and a spider may be bad. After that, a series of faces of people of different races is presented and it is proposed to classify them as white, black, etc. There is a catch: the same buttons are used for the initial grade and for subsequent grading tasks. The left one can mean in one case "good" and "white", and the right one - "bad" and "black". In the next episode, the buttons were reversed so that the left one meant good objects and black faces, and the right one meant bad and white ones. The prejudices of the white subject can be revealed if he can more easily and quickly complete the task in the case when one button combines "black" and "bad", and the other - "white" and "good". Many subjects who deliberately adhere to a positive perception of minorities and believed that they treated all people equally and fairly were greatly surprised at how hard and slowly they pressed the "good / black" button.

These types of reactions complicate the relationship and make it difficult to get a fair decision in court, at work and at school precisely because these reactions are subconscious. We do not know about them, but these feelings interfere with what we are trying to focus on at the moment. Instead of recognizing an unconscious racial bias, we turn our attention to negative traits and characteristics of this person. A college admissions manager may notice that a prospective minority student is not doing very well without realizing that he is not considering the same shortcoming of other applicants just as strongly. Although research into unconscious social perception usually focuses on identifying stereotypes and prejudices, in reality the field is much broader. In general, people have a hard time understanding their own positive and negative feelings and often do not understand their true cause. There is a classic demonstration of this effect, which shows how the weather affects the way people characterize their lives during a telephone survey: when the weather is good, they are more likely to say that their whole existence is sunny. Moreover, awareness of this effect leads to an immediate change: when the interviewer drew subjects' attention to the weather outside, the sun or clouds were no longer used to describe feelings.

Inconsistency: when the color of the letters does not match the meaning of the word, it reads more slowly due to subconscious distraction

No control

Unconscious thoughts and feelings affect not only how we perceive ourselves and the world around us, but also our daily activities. For decades, psychologists have debated the effect of the unconscious on behavior. Much of the XX century. in psychology was influenced by Berres Frederick Skinner (B. F. Skinner) and the behaviorist school, who insisted that our actions are completely determined by sound, visual and tactile signals from the environment, and conscious intention does not play any role. This idea was implemented in a classic experiment in which the rat was trained by trial and error, where each press of the pedal resulted in a pellet of food. From Skinner's point of view, almost everything we do is just a more complex variation on the pedal with our nose: we just need to use the analogue of the correct pedal, for example, insert a dollar bill into a coffee machine, and we get what we want. Skinner's concept was refuted by research in the 1960s. However, the other extreme, when it is believed that behavior is always intentional and never directly triggered by environmental cues, is also wrong. We can change our behavior in unexpected ways, simply by listening to someone or observing someone.

People have an innate tendency to imitate and imitate other people's behavior - demonstrating emotions, gestures and postures. In nature, this manifests itself in a wide variety of organisms when combined into a group, so that schools of fish, herds of antelopes and flocks of birds coordinate their behavior in such a way that they move almost like a single organism. The tendency to spontaneously imitate and imitate the actions of others has been described even in very young children. Psychologists have argued for almost a century that imitation helps us learn language and other behaviors from our parents.

However, imitation does not disappear as we get older. There is the so-called chameleon effect, when at a party you suddenly find yourself repeating the pose and movements of your interlocutor: crossing your legs, crossing your arms, scratching at the back of your head. The imitation will continue until you want to take the next glass and find another interlocutor, whose posture and gestures you will again begin to copy, like a chameleon, merging with the environment. Apparently, this behavior can be useful, especially if you have not yet figured out how to properly behave in this social situation.

The Latin proverb "If you live in Rome, live according to Roman customs" is appropriate because it significantly reduces the likelihood of dangerous or socially inappropriate behavior. And as was shown in research by Paula Niedenthal and Robert Zajonc, who were at the University of Michigan at the time, imitation has a remarkable long-term effect: the longer a couple is together, the more similar the partners are, in part because they are daily unconsciously copy each other's poses and facial expressions.

Answer to criticism: why is not all case studies successful? Recently, it has been shown that some experiments showing the influence of the subconscious on social behavior, for example, when people walked slower down the hallway after hearing the words associated with old age ("Florida", "bingo"), fail to be repeated. the same result. At the same time, it is forgotten to say that many other studies published over the past ten years have successfully confirmed and expanded the original data on the influence of the unconscious on behavior. These studies confirmed that unconscious gestures or random words, for which clear associations were previously formed, change human behavior. This means that the subconscious uses the same mechanisms (working memory and goal-directed behavior) that are used in conscious activity, and that people usually misunderstand the true causes of behavior caused by unconscious urges. Experiments that failed to replicate tended to neglect procedures that increase the likelihood of detecting the influence of the unconscious on behavior. Initially, many studies used words to trigger certain behaviors. But works that used natural stimuli, such as photographs of winning athletes, to activate it instead of verbal cues, are very successful. These are the types of stimuli that have the greatest unconscious effect in our daily life.

Further support for this area of \u200b\u200bsocial psychology has come from MRI studies, which assessed the activity of brain regions when unconscious signals influence decision making and our behavior. This work provides some insight into the physiological mechanisms of such phenomena. The brain tomogram shows that the areas that are usually activated when a rough or smooth surface is perceived, glow even when a person has or does not have difficulties, i.e. when communication with someone is uneven or, conversely, smooth. The same areas of the midbrain respond to physical warmth and friendliness and generosity, indicative of warm social relationships. The question is not whether the unconscious really affects our behavior and judgments, and whether these effects are repeatable (because they are), but why some researchers reproduce these results and some do not. This is important for understanding how unconscious social influences work, and therefore one must pay attention to the context and conditions necessary for the unconscious to influence behavior and thinking. There is still a lot of work to do. Nevertheless, the total amount of information collected to date clearly shows that the influence of the unconscious on our judgments, desires, emotions and behavior is of great importance for society as a whole and for the daily life of each of us.

Imitation builds public awareness without the need to hang out any special prescriptions: quietly waiting in a long line encourages others to behave in the same way; holding a neighbor's door, walking the dog on a leash, throwing trash in a trash can, you encourage others to do the right thing too. Unconscious imitation increases sensitivity in relation to each other, "socially glues" even strangers. The strongest unity occurs when two or more people are simultaneously engaged in the same common cause, whether they are marching or singing in church. Research has shown that synchronous behavior strengthens collaboration, even when the participants see each other for the first time.

Unfortunately, the natural tendency to imitate is a double-edged sword. Psychologist Kees Keizer from the University of Groningen and colleagues showed that one offense leads to another. After they painted the wall in the alley, the amount of debris around the bicycles parked there increased. Fighting graffiti and other petty crime, it turns out, can significantly improve the quality of life in cities. This study confirmed the "broken windows theory" advocated by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the mid-1990s. campaigned for strict compliance with the law regarding petty crimes - from throwing garbage and crossing the street in the wrong place to vandalism: in part, this was what helped to dramatically reduce crime at the time.

The penchant for imitation often goes beyond just copying facial expressions and gestures, so much so that a person literally turns into another person. When we meet with someone or just remember a friend, we may unconsciously start the behavior characteristic of this person. Some studies have shown that after presenting words related to old age: "Florida" (there are a lot of retirees among the inhabitants of this state. - Note. Per.), "Gray-haired", "bingo" (it is believed that this is a game mainly of the elderly people. - Note. trans.) and the like, - students walked along the corridor more slowly in accordance with the stereotype that elderly people are weak and move slower. In addition, words or images associated with a nurse increase the urge to help, and those associated with politics encourage more drawn-out speeches. All these effects, called "priming" (from English to prime - "to precede, control"), occur unconsciously, so that a person does not realize that they affect his behavior.

Research on the so-called stereotype confirmation threat has shown that simply reminding a person of a stereotype about, for example, their race or gender can affect their success in school or at work. Claude Steele of Stanford University has shown that if a student is asked to indicate which racial or ethnic group he belongs to before an exam, minority students perform worse on the test. The late Nalini Ambady, who worked at Harvard University, notes that even preschool girls are worse at solving simple math tests if they are casually reminded beforehand that they are women. Widespread positive stereotypes are counterproductive. In the same study of preschool girls, Asian American women, on average, performed better when reminded of their ethnicity and worse when reminded of gender.

Some studies have recently been found to be irreproducible. The reasons why the study cannot be repeated are quite complex and depend, in particular, on the characteristics of the methodology. In fact, the unconscious does not always effectively influence our desire to do something. Many people are familiar with the idea of \u200b\u200bhidden advertising in cinemas - the words "eat popcorn", imperceptibly flickering on the screen and, as was once thought, increase sales in the buffet. Concerns about hidden advertising arose in the 1950s with the release of Vance Packard's bestseller, The Hidden Persuaders. As it turned out, most of the data presented there was not true, but many people still believe in the ability to influence behavior on a subconscious level. Subsequent research has shown that if a person already wants to do something, such as quench their thirst, then implicitly communicating the benefits of a particular beverage can be quite effective. However, regular advertising without any hidden messages in itself has a strong enough impact. In one recent study of the effects of advertising, subjects watched five-minute snippets of a popular comedy show with a bowl of crackers. It turned out that any advertising for food products significantly increased the consumption of crackers. The food advertisement launched the snack on its own, without any subliminal tricks. We often mistakenly believe that we can only control the impact of advertising on our behavior because we are fully aware of its content.

The transition of the physical to the mental

Some studies of behavior and the unconscious are devoted to how the environment affects the state of our consciousness. In the 1980s. Fritz Strack, now working at the University of Würzburg in Germany, conducted a series of experiments with his colleagues in which he showed that unconscious feedback from his own random facial movements - a smile or a grimace of displeasure - is enough for a person to decide for himself, whether he likes the object in sight or not. The subjects held the pencil with their teeth, so that the muscles involved in the smile were activated, or with their lips, tightening the muscles that work with the frown. The physical position of the facial muscles produced a corresponding psychological state.

Research in this area has shown that a range of physical actions and sensations induce a psychological state consistent with this behavior and feeling. Remembering a time when you hurt someone emotionally can make you want to cooperate and help other people in order to compensate for the bad deed. In one famous study, subjects were asked to wash their hands after being reminded of guilt, ostensibly to prevent the spread of the flu virus in the room where the experiment was being conducted. The physical act of washing hands seemed to wash away the guilt. People who went through this procedure lost their benevolence and willingness to help; this phenomenon was called the Lady Macbeth effect.

Likewise, protection against infection satisfies abstract social and political needs. In one study, conservatively politically-minded subjects who received the H1N1 flu vaccine reported more loyal attitudes towards immigrants than those who were not vaccinated, as if the sense of security extended to newcomers who were perceived as not being a threat to their host culture. country. Metaphors are also used when we describe people we regularly encounter. We all use phrases like "close connection" or "cold tone". There is a theory that we so easily operate with these metaphors because our abstract ideas are clearly connected with the real world. In experiments, people who barely held a cup of hot coffee in their hands consider others more "warm", benevolent and complacent, while those who held glazed coffee do not. There are other studies that have shown how physical experience unconsciously and metaphorically influences judgment and behavior. It turned out that subjects sitting on hard chairs during negotiations take a more "hard", uncompromising line than those who sit in soft chairs. Holding something rough in their hands, people assess the meeting as something difficult, not going "smoothly".

We tend to unconsciously rate almost everything we encounter using simple good / bad categories. Unconscious, automatic reactions even transfer to our movements, the desire to approach or move away from the object. Based on this idea, clinical psychologist at the University of Amsterdam, Reinout Wiers, recently developed a successful therapeutic procedure for the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction. During treatment, patients had to move the lever away from themselves every time they were presented with some kind of image related to alcohol abuse. There were no additional instructions on how to evaluate the meaning of the picture. Compared with the control group, those who pushed the lever away from themselves reliably less often returned to their addiction after a year and more often involuntarily reacted negatively to alcohol. The unconscious connections between muscle movement and rejection have contributed to the development of negative attitudes and internal reflex responses that help patients reject temptations after leaving the clinic.

Return to Freud

More recently, there have been several experimental works on unconscious goals and motivations. Their main question is "What do people want?" - for a long time was central to Sigmund Freud. Modern theories about the causes of behavior differ from those advanced by the Austrian neurologist, since they are based on the study of a large number of ordinary people, and not on individual pathological cases. According to modern ideas, our conscious and unconscious work as a single system, which differs from the views of Freud, who believed that the unconscious acts on its own, separate from conscious activity.

In fact, scientists, studying the psychology of desire, have found that regardless of whether we are aware of the goal set for ourselves or not, we move towards it in the same way. This phenomenon was investigated by Mathias Pessiglione and Chris Frith, at the time at the Wellcome Trust's Functional Tomography Center at University College London. The subjects were asked to press the lever as quickly as possible in response to the signal. Before each test, on a conscious or unconscious level, they received information about the reward. The more valuable reward (pounds instead of pence) accelerated the reaction, whether the message was acknowledged or not. Moreover, the use of tomography made it possible to show that in both cases the same brain regions were activated.

This and other research suggests that unconscious perception of stimuli may be sufficient to form a goal without any understanding of how it came about, conscious deliberation, or the exercise of free will.

The unconscious not only can push us towards a certain choice, but also helps to find motivation to achieve the goal. Psychologists have long known that people who have gained power as a result of a social experiment often behave selfishly and immorally, putting personal interests first. Usually, the desire to demonstrate authority in a group is manifested as a series of weak somatic signals that we are not aware of. In one study, participants who accidentally ended up in a professor’s chair showed less concern about what people thought of them and were less likely to suppress racist and other antisocial sentiments than those who sat at their desks in student seats.

Fortunately, many people make the well-being of others as their goal, for example, parents put their child's best interests ahead of their own. If the power activates any unconscious personal goals, then people with a similar "social" orientation will help others to a greater extent and pay less attention to themselves. Indeed, studies have shown that access to power on an unconscious level enhances altruism in these people. In addition, these people are more worried about what others think of them and are less prone to racial prejudice.

Freud used thousands of words to explain why our unfulfilled desires are manifested in the images and stories that fill our dreams. Modern research provides a more plausible picture of how thoughts and emotions subconsciously shape our relationship to a boss, parent, spouse, or child. This means that we can discard outdated concepts like the Oedipus complex and accept for granted that the unconscious is constantly present in our life, whether we are sleeping at this moment or awake.

Author of the publication: John A. Bargh - Professor of Psychology at Yale University. In his laboratory, they study how the unconscious affects behavior and to what extent free will exists. (Journal "In the world of science", sci-ru.org)

Most people completely underestimate the role of gestures and facial expressions in communication, paying more attention to words. However, it is based on non-verbal signals that the first impression of the interlocutor is created. It is subsequently remembered for a very long time.

Fanatics are colorful, but humanity is more pleased to see gestures,
rather than listening to arguments.
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Gestures as a non-verbal means of communication

The actions and various gestures with which we accompany our speech make a significant contribution to our speech.

They help or, conversely, distract listeners from the conversation. Even the complete absence of gestures also carries certain information.

In any case, non-verbal speech can tell a lot about us as speakers.

Handshake

Paying attention to the actions and deeds that people do unconsciously, you can learn a lot about them. For instance, handshake.

When performing this action, a person does not think exactly how he does it. Very often because of this, the handshake turns out to be incorrect.

• If it insecure and lethargic, then this will surely cause the interlocutor to think that you are not the authority here.


• You also can't overdo it squeezing the hand of the interlocutor, like ticks... Such a gesture can be perceived as desire to impose one's will.

Uncontrolled touch

There are various non-conscious gestures such as fidgeting in a chair, touching the face, hair.

They testify to your excitement and even slyness.

• When woman corrects her hair, it is perceived as sexy gesture, symbolizing "preening".


• Any touching the forehead, nose, mouth in sign language is regarded as not true... Unconsciously, you are trying to neutralize the lies that you are telling, thereby trying to close your own mouth.

Also read:

Why gestures need to be recognized

All people lie periodically. That is why it is so important to be able to decipher actions that are not controlled by consciousness.

Unconscious gestures and body movements can betray a deceiver. Many psychologists are convinced that a liar can always be recognized, no matter how hard he tries to hide his lie. He will be betrayed by the inconsistency between what he says and what he does.

Hands will tell us everything about the interlocutor

It is worth paying attention to symmetry:

• When a person gestures with one handlooks like it's unnatural... Therefore it is necessary to use both hands alternately or equally.


• Crossing arms during a conversation, makes your interlocutors think that you show your skepticism or don't believe your own words.

Posture

Posture can tell a lot:

• Stoopedhunched over people always mistaken for insecure or apathetic. Such people are considered nervous or unhealthy.

Clock

Constantly glancing at your watch can make the other person angry... This gesture must be done as discreetly as possible or even from him refuse.

The role of sign language and facial expressions in non-verbal communication

Sign language is essential for more than just communication. He helps to change his own approach to many things. Since the expressiveness of sign language is quite high, it should be used with extreme caution.

Elements of non-verbal communication are polysemantic, therefore, they need to be interpreted only based on the context of a certain situation.

However, one cannot unconditionally trust solely unconscious behavior. It is necessary to perceive information in a complex, combining non-verbal information with verbal. Having already certain knowledge about specific human gestures, one can only rely on them.

It is necessary to develop observation, as it helps to collect as much information as possible about the people with whom you have to communicate.

The ability to listen - great skill... The intonation and sound of the voice are as important as the meaning of the words.

We watch ourselves

You also need to pay attention to your own unconscious actions.

Noticing the signals coming from us, you need to note our reaction to what is happening, remember the change in voice, body position, gestures.

It is necessary to take into account the internal signals that we feel. These include a nervous tremor, signaling excitement, or, for example, a headache, warning of stress.

Conclusion

Sign language is used both to explain human behavior and to achieve success in life. Learning to correctly interpret various actions and actions, you can help both yourself and others.

After all if you correctly decode unconscious signalsthat come to us from other people, you can understand their hidden motives.

In life, it often happens that those around us demand from us what we ourselves do not want, or they act contrary to our interests. In most cases, such situations are not pleasant for us, which makes us look for a way out of this situation. This way out for humans, in contrast to animals, can serve as a compromise, aggressiveness or passivity of our actions.

A person who behaves passively by virtue of his character does not know how to clearly state his desires and needs, and at the same time he is defenseless in front of the demands of others. The passive person is not immune to the vigorous activity of others. A small onslaught attempt is enough and he begins to accept it resignedly, which practically suppresses his already weak self-awareness. There is no confidence in his actions, he is tormented by the fact that he cannot properly use his abilities and strength. This state leads to a violation of internal self-awareness as a person, which is reflected in the entire sphere of his activity. However, passivity is not only uncomplaining submission. A person may decide that some action does not deserve the costs and efforts that are required of him, thereby showing passivity. But, in the future, he begins to harass himself about this or that fact by asking whether he did the right thing or not. And such a doubt leaves an imprint of uncertainty in the correctness of his decision.

An aggressive person who behaves in relation to others causes psychological or moral damage, because achieves his desire to the detriment of others, thereby suppressing their rights. Such behavior towards others destroys trust in him and sets people against him, which ultimately manifests itself in the opposite action, i.e. the same behavior towards him. A person, showing an aggressive character, often achieves a temporary achievement of success, which subsequently does not give anything good. The result of this success is zero.

Considering the passive and aggressive state, one can at first glance say that there is a difference between them. However, this is not true, since they have a common base - the opposite side is regarded as an adversary who pursues the only goal - to harm. Therefore, the conclusion from this is that one should not say something that can be interpreted in different ways. Information should be submitted selectively, in accordance with the current situation.

A person who knows how to find a compromise in any situation is able to clearly and clearly control what is happening around him. His main difference from the above is that he has a positive opinion of people and adequate self-esteem. With his whole body he is able to show how fair and feasible the reaction of another is in relation to him. Compromising behavior is characterized by calmness, which at first glance is characteristic of relaxation, speech is properly expressive and confident. Self-confidence emanates from such a person, he is well oriented in the current situation and controls it. He does not suggest anything to himself in advance, and even if he does not succeed in something, he does not blame others for it. He knows how to recognize various tricks and will always protect himself from them in time. He easily converges with other people and feels great in any environment. Based on the above, it can be argued that our life is arranged as an eternal struggle for survival, for the right to have our place and to be a person in this world. In the old days they said: if you don't die in the struggle, you will become Stronger. " The desire to overcome difficulties is the basis of the strength of the Personality. Without overcoming them, no one will be able to believe in their creative abilities ”. But, we often spend our energy on overcoming those difficulties that we ourselves create, that we can observe every day, communicating with different people. And depending on how they develop, and how we react to these relationships, one can judge our personality. A person is characterized by a synthesis of body, mind and spirit and at the same time destructive cynicism. But, the main source of physiological symptoms is still - emotions. It is the emotional mood that reflects our behavior, which is accompanied by gestures and facial expressions.

Having excluded from our life the natural rhythms of nature, constructing an artificial environment around us, we thereby lose that vital energy and mental balance, so necessary for our existence. The more we create someone else's environment, the more we feel the need for the same natural nature that we rejected, which initially gave us everything we need. The formation of a person as a person with his emotions is laid down in early childhood. And as the ancients said: "Give us your child, who is not yet seven years old and we will make a man out of him." So who we are is a product of the society around us and people in particular. The ability to observe and absorb everything we see and feel is a great gift from nature. This ability allows us to use the accumulated knowledge not only with our mind, but also with our heart, perceiving everything that happens around us to one degree or another, depending on whether we love or hate. Our chances of coping with the vicissitudes of fate largely depend on our willingness to overcome them. To perceive life situations as they are, without any conditions, means to accept it with understanding and awareness of oneself.

Self-control is what helps us transform various aspects of our thoughts and feelings. A person who is in control of himself is less prone to emotional outbursts, which means less vulnerable to others. In our time, human behavior depends on stimulating mutual influence. It is difficult for us to do without strong fields of tension between profitability and humanity, which can only retain their strength if we stop one-sidedly placing increased demands on each other. In this regard, one should adhere to at least half of the points listed below, which should be guided in our life:

The one who knows himself and others better will find his place in life faster.

Learning to understand people will help improve your relationship with your environment.

• A person will always succeed if he learns to get along with people and to influence them.
• Remember that everyone is entitled to their personal opinion, love and well-being.
• Never put up with your problems, try to solve them and help others solve them.
• Wanting to be understood does not mean that you should not understand others.
• Remember that the world does not judge you by your words, but by your actions.
• Many life problems are related to sex life, but make sure that their solution does not go to the detriment of others.
• Lead a dynamic lifestyle that will significantly increase your energy vitality.
• The power of positive thinking can inspire a person, but power and compulsion will push anyone away from you.
• You should not constantly think about your mistakes, it is depressing, but do not be afraid to commit them.
• Your rights are best asserted when you know your responsibilities well.
• If you believe that you are born to succeed, then you must remember that the criterion for success is practice.
• As you build your own world, remember that others are also building it.

Do you know your surroundings.

Everyone understands perfectly well that a person cannot live alone, although there are those who temporarily or for a long time feel isolated. And nothing can be done about it, this is how society works. A person maintains contact with others in most cases through his environment. These are close people or just acquaintances, where it is almost impossible to draw clear boundaries. Thus, it is necessary to have good contact and, above all, with close people in your environment, where personal authority plays an important role. By exerting its influence on your environment, it, in turn, affects you, from this relationships are formed, be they good or bad. Therefore, for a start, you should take a closer look at those people with whom you have to deal most often, because such analysis will allow you to be sure to what extent certain people play a role in your life - family, friends, acquaintances, etc. And this is important for solving some of the problems that arise.

Considering the family, we can say with confidence that it is she who can always help in solving various problems. But, often some complain about what exactly the family prevented them from doing right choice or did not provide the necessary support in difficult times. However, it should be noted that the family is not the true reason (especially when choosing a career), but rather, on the contrary, the life experience of elders or other members can only suggest the right way out of this situation. But, if she did not provide the necessary support during a difficult period, then this speaks only of the personal relationships that have developed in this family.

Friends are more than acquaintances. However, it is equally important to find out how much you can rely on them. Are they worthy to spend their time on? it should be said that friendship not only unites, but also imposes certain obligations, where reliability is one of the factors in maintaining friendship. It should be remembered that you should not call the first person you meet your friend. The point is not how many friends you have, but how many of them are good, on whom you can rely in difficult times. Of course, it's nice to have a wide circle of acquaintances, but it's worth asking yourself what it gives, since friends are not chosen, but acquired.

Rivals and adversaries - the more enemies, the more honor - this is the ancient proverb. But these days it is not suitable because hardly anyone today wants to multiply the number of their enemies. However, one should be able to distinguish enemies from rivals and opponents. In our time, you should not be at enmity with anyone at all, but rivals and opponents should be imagined in the form of enemies.

Who are your rivals and opponents, where and how did they appear? Who is the reason? This should be clarified. You should also find out if there are really irreconcilable opponents in front of you, or is it just the fruit of your fantasies, or the result of some circumstances, because no one will recklessly destroy everything and everyone in their path, without any good reason. Tolerance and the ability to respect others are what can strengthen friendship and make a rival and an adversary a friend, from which both sides benefit.

Direct communication with people, a clear understanding of your goals and objectives, the strength of argument and conviction, that is all that contributes to the manifestation of your activity and creativity in any case, no matter what position you occupy.