Communication is a necessary condition for any joint activity and is the process of establishing and developing contact between people, the exchange of information, the participants’ perception of each other and their interaction.

Communication research has a long tradition in Russian psychology. Sechenov also spoke about the importance of this issue for the study of moral feelings. Bekhterev was the first in Russia to conduct experiments to study certain aspects of communication. Lazursky, Vygotsky, Myasishchev contributed to the development of communication problems. Considering the question of the psychological structure of a person as a subject of activity (that is, producing material and spiritual values), Ananyev emphasized the role of communication. He noted that communication is the most important activity that arose on the basis of labor and in the process of socio-historical development became an independent type of activity.

Currently, communication problems are the focus of attention of many domestic psychologists. Communication in ontogenesis is considered as one of the factors in the mental development of the individual, the connection between the need for communication and other human needs, the importance of communication for the regulation of personal behavior, the relationship between communication and the emotional sphere of the individual, features of mental processes in conditions of communication, etc.

Basic aspects of the transmission and perception of information in the process of communication. Any joint activity of people is inseparable from their communication. Communication is based on the communicative process of transmitting information from one person to another or a group of people and the perception of this information by these persons. In any single act of transmitting and perceiving information, at least two people are needed - the sender of information (communicator) and its recipient (communicator or addressee).

Approaching the problem of communication from the point of view of information theory, we can distinguish, in accordance with the works of the classics of this theory, Shannon and Weaver, the following three problems of communication (transmission - reception of information).

1. Technical problem. How accurately can communication symbols be conveyed?

2. Semantic problem. How accurately do the rendered symbols express the desired meaning?

3. The problem of efficiency. How effectively does perceived meaning influence people in the desired direction?

All these problems are closely interconnected. Thus, technical interference in a transmitting device or inaccuracy in the concepts used may reduce the effectiveness of a particular communication. In the scientific analysis of communications, they usually proceed from Shannon’s model, according to which the following main elements of the communication chain can be distinguished:

1) source of information (its sender, communicator);

2) transmitter;

3) receiver;

4) recipient of information (communicator, recipient of communication).

The role of information sender can be any individual who has the intention of communicating something to another person or group of people, as well as influencing them accordingly. The sender of information is often at the same time the source of information, but these two roles should not be completely identified. For example, when at a lecture a teacher talks about the research of other scientists, he acts more as a communicator than as a source of this information.

This or that information is encoded by its sender based on a system of signs for transmission to the communication recipient. The conversion of information into signals is carried out by the communicator through a transmitter, which can be biological organs (for example, vocal cords) or technical devices (for example, an automatic electrical display). The communicator can say or write something, demonstrate a diagram or drawing, and finally, express his thoughts with facial expressions and gestures. Thus, when transmitting information, a number of specific signs are always used.

The communicator signals are sent to the receiver, which, like the transmitter, is a biological organ or technical device with the function of decoding the received message. The communication chain is completed by the recipient (addressee) of information - the person who perceives and interprets this information.

The entire path of information, from its sender to its recipient, is called communication channel(meaning both physical and social environment). It is necessary to distinguish channels from the various means used in transmitting information. Such means are written documents, telephone, radio, television, etc. Information can also be transmitted directly when communication participants interact face to face based on oral speech or using non-verbal signs.

The roles of communication participants cannot be divided into active (senders of information) and passive (receivers of information). The latter must also show some activity in order to adequately interpret the information. In addition, the sender of information and its recipient can change their roles during communication. One of the first problems that every communicator faces is the need to attract the attention of the recipient of information to the upcoming message. There are two obvious characteristics of communication that allow you to hold the attention of the recipient of information. This is the novelty and significance of this message for him. Therefore, it is important for the communicator to have a clear idea of ​​the range of information available to the future addressee of information and the hierarchy of his value orientations.

For an adequate understanding of any message, a certain commonality of “thesauruses” between the sender of information and the addressee is necessary. Translated from ancient Greek, “thesaurus” means treasure. In this case, a thesaurus is understood as the entire body of information that a given person has. Large differences in the supply and nature of information make communication difficult. It is known that members of each professional group have their own specific language, widely used in the practice of their work. On the one hand, the presence of such a language helps specialists quickly exchange information with each other; on the other hand, their use of elements of their professional jargon when communicating with representatives of other professional groups negatively affects their mutual understanding.

The effectiveness of communication depends on many socio-psychological factors accompanying the process of transmission and perception of information. These factors are the subject of research in domestic and foreign social psychology. For example, the features of the social roles of communication participants, the prestige of communicators, the social attitudes of the recipient of information, and the features of the course of his mental processes are considered. There is experimental data indicating that the age, professional and role characteristics of communication participants significantly influence the processes of transmission and perception of information.

Successful interpersonal communication can be hampered by various obstacles. Sometimes the sender of information encodes it incorrectly, for example, expressing his message in inappropriate words. In this case, we can assume that the semantic problem of communication is not being solved. Thus, sometimes one or another careless word or thoughtless phrase can painfully offend the recipient of communication and cause in him an acute emotional reaction of objection and opposition. The situation may turn into a conflict. Often the communicator then has to convince the recipient of the communication for a long time that he misunderstood him, that he did not want to offend him, that he did not mean at all what the recipient of the information thought, etc.

The process of transmitting information can also be accompanied by interference, due to which the information reaches the recipient in a distorted form. This happens, for example, when information passes through a large number of individuals or hierarchical levels of an organization. According to American authors, in oral communication, about 30% of information is lost with each subsequent transmission. Note that the person to whom the information is addressed may simply interpret it incorrectly.

Western researchers pay a lot of attention to the consideration of various barriers to interpersonal communications (Rogers, Roethlisberger). The main barrier is the tendency to prematurely evaluate the message, its approval or disapproval, rather than maintaining a neutral position during the exchange of opinions. Possible barriers to effective communication include differences in education, experience, motivation, and others.

In the process of transmitting information, various sign systems are used. On this basis, verbal and nonverbal communications are usually distinguished.

Verbal communication uses messages expressed in words (orally, written or printed). The most important means of such communication is oral speech, if only for the reason that it does not require special material costs in interpersonal communication. In addition, by turning to oral speech, you can convey information not only in words or sentences. In such speech, people also use paralinguistic means, which can also carry a certain meaning. This is the degree of volume of speech, its rhythm, the distribution of pauses, as well as vocalization - laughter, crying, yawning, sighs. For example, if someone laughingly tells us: “Get out of here!”, without putting the literal meaning into his words at all, then we understand the subtext of this phrase. Or, if a person increases the pace of his speech, then by this he wants to tell us about his anxiety or excitement. Thus, there is a huge variety of different linguistic and paralinguistic forms of information transmission. However, along with verbal forms of communication, people also use nonverbal forms, which sometimes support verbal messages and sometimes contradict them. Sometimes nonverbal forms of communication even surpass verbal forms in their effectiveness. Nonverbal communication involves the transfer of information without the use of words. At the same time, we receive information through vision, recording such expressive elements of behavior as facial expression, gestures, posture, facial expressions, and appearance in general.

Nonverbal communication.Visual contact. Often, when we look at a person, we establish visual contact with him. Such contact is one of the forms of nonverbal communication. Through visual contact you can get some information about another person. First of all, his gaze may express interest in a given situation or, conversely, its absence. Authors of novels about lovers often write that “they did not take their eyes off each other.” An “absent-minded” look or a “sideways” look indicates a lack of attention to someone or something. However, sometimes a person’s reluctance to look another in the eyes is due to the fact that the first one must tell him unpleasant news. Lack of visual contact may also indicate that the individual is shy or fearful. Because the gaze carries significant emotional weight, there are certain unwritten rules regarding how and when to use it. Much is determined by the cultural traditions of a particular country. Thus, in Europe and North America, a direct look into the eyes of another person expresses a desire for sincerity and trust. In Asia, such as Japan and Korea, direct gaze can be interpreted as an indicator of aggressiveness. In Japan, it is not customary to look closely at the interlocutor - those talking mainly look at the ikebana. In Chechnya, according to tradition, women avoid visual contact when meeting an unfamiliar man. Staring into another person's eyes can also be used as a sign of aggression or dominance. Another teacher in the classroom stops the naughty schoolchildren with one glance. Eye contact can also make it easier for people to interact when performing a joint task. Often, athletes playing for the same team, having exchanged only glances, successfully coordinate subsequent joint actions.

Often visual contact is combined with verbal interaction - conversation. When two people talk, they look into each other's eyes from time to time. According to the English psychologist Argyll, the proportion of time devoted to this gaze on each side typically ranges from 25 to 75 percent of the duration of a conversation, although the full range recorded in his laboratory extends from zero to one hundred percent.

Research data suggests that there are individual differences in people's desire for eye contact. Extroverts spend more time looking at the person interacting with them than introverts, and their gazes last longer. People with high levels of affiliation need spend more time looking at other people, but only when the underlying situation is friendship or cooperation. If the situation is competitive, such individuals look less at their rivals. However, in such a situation, individuals with a high level of need for dominance spend more time looking at other people (Exline). There are differences between men and women in their desire for eye contact. Women are more likely to stare than men, especially when talking to other women. Exline also found that abstract thinkers looked more at others during interactions than concrete thinkers. The former have greater ability to integrate perceptual factors and are less susceptible to the sometimes confusing properties of visual contact.

In general, as American psychologist Patterson notes, gaze used for the purpose of eye contact performs the following five functions:

1) information support;

2) regulation of interaction;

3) expression of intimacy;

4) manifestation of social control;

5) making it easier to complete the task.

Thus, staring for the purpose of eye contact is as important an aspect of communication as the use of words.

Facial expressions can also play an important role in interpersonal communication. The belief that a person's facial expression can reflect his true feelings is a generally accepted belief. More than two thousand years ago, the ancient Roman orator Cicero called the face “the reflection of the soul.” However, it should be noted that people are able to control their facial expressions, and this makes it difficult to recognize their true emotional states.

In 1871, Darwin proposed that certain facial expressions are innate and therefore understandable to every person. Therefore, they play an important communicative role. Data from modern research confirm these positions, showing, for example, that representatives of different cultures, experiencing certain emotions, show the same facial expressions. In Matsumoto's experiment, subjects - American and Japanese college students - looked at the expressions of six universal emotions (anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise) portrayed by American and Japanese men and women. It was found that both American and Japanese students were able to differentiate between the presented emotions. And this did not depend on whether the people portraying this or that emotion were American or Japanese.

Human body movements, postures and gestures, along with facial expression, gaze can also carry this or that information about him, playing a certain role in interpersonal communication. So, by gait you can judge a person’s physical condition and his mood. The characteristics of posture and gestures reveal a person’s personality traits, intentions, and emotional states. Various emotional states are most accessible to direct observation. Sometimes you have to watch how an excited person constantly touches certain parts of his body, rubs or scratches them. Research data show that people in a state of excitement make a greater number of such body movements than in a calm state. Gestures are specifically used by humans to convey information. Certain movements of the head can express a sign of affirmation or negation, a hand gesture invites a person to sit or stand, or waves a hand as a sign of greeting or farewell. Of course, gestures can act as a kind of language only if the interacting people clearly understand them in accordance with the characteristics of the national culture and the context of the situation.

In recent decades, the study of the communicative functions of body movements (body language) has emerged as a separate branch of scientific knowledge (kinesics). It has been suggested that there are approximately 50 to 60 basic types of body movements that form the core of nonverbal body language. Its basic units are used simultaneously to express a particular meaning, much like spoken sounds are combined to form words full of meaning.

Nonverbal behavioral acts that are directly related to verbal language are called illustrators. For example, if someone asks where the nearest subway station is, both words and gestures at the same time will likely be used to explain.

Of course, gestures do not always accompany verbal language. Sometimes gestures replace entire phrases. Such gestures, called emblems, are nonverbal acts that are uniquely understood by the majority of representatives of a particular culture. Waving your hand as a greeting during a meeting is widespread in many countries in Europe and North America. Sometimes the same gesture can express different meanings in different cultures. For example, in North America, a circle formed by the thumb and forefinger when the other fingers are raised means that everything is fine, but in France it means zero or something worthless. In Mediterranean countries and the Middle East, this is an indecent gesture. Such differences can lead to misunderstandings in contacts between representatives of different cultures.

Postures and gestures often indicate the nature of the relationship between two individuals, for example, the status differences between these people. A person of higher social status tends to appear more relaxed when interacting with another individual, with his arms and legs in asymmetrical positions and slightly bent in relation to his body. A low-status person is likely to remain completely still, with his body straight, legs together, and arms close to his body.

Western researchers also note gender differences in body language, which are considered to be the result of different socialization of men and women. It is believed that men tend to adopt open postures to a much greater extent, while women are more likely to adopt closed postures, which is characteristic of people of lower status. Mutual attraction is also expressed in body movements and gestures. People who like each other are more likely to lean forward, staying directly opposite the other person, while maintaining a more relaxed body position. In general, a person's postures and gestures, combined with his facial expressions and gaze, can convey a wealth of information about him. All these elements of nonverbal behavior are used by a person in order to form one or another impression of himself among others.

Forming a first impression about a person.“They meet you by their clothes, they see you off by their mind,” says an old Russian proverb. But the first impression of another person is influenced not only by his suit, dress, and various elements of them. The entire external appearance of the perceived person, facial expressions, gestures, demeanor, and voice are formed in us into a certain image. We make conclusions about the intentions and motives of this person, his emotions, attitudes, personality traits.

The first meeting with a new person, getting to know him already leads to the formation of some impression about him. The significance of such an impression is important. Depending on it, we react to this meeting accordingly and take certain actions. Based on the first impression, subsequent contacts between participants in a given social situation are made (or not made).

The role of appearance and behavior when meeting a stranger for the first time is well demonstrated by the following experiment by Bodalev. A group of adult subjects were asked to describe in writing a stranger who appeared in front of them several times. The first time, the stranger only slightly opened the door to the room where the subjects were, looked for something with his eyes and, saying: “Excuse me,” closed the door. Another time he went in there and stood silently. For the third time, the stranger walked around the room, looked at the notes of one of the subjects, shook his finger at the girl who wanted to talk to a neighbor at that moment, looked out the window and left. Returning to the room again, he masterfully began to read the fable. Finally, at the last time the stranger appeared before the subjects, they were allowed to ask him any questions, except those that would require him to answer directly about his own personality traits. The intervals before these sessions were three minutes. The unfamiliar person was in the field of view of the subjects for the first time for ten seconds, the second, third and fourth time for one minute each, and the last time for five minutes. The data obtained showed that the number of statements made by the subjects about certain aspects of the appearance and behavior of the person who was the object of perception differed at different stages of acquaintance with him. At the very first stages, the subjects perceived mainly the features of his external appearance. Almost all of the subjects' statements about the personality traits of the observed person and the impression he made on them fell on the fourth and fifth stages. The last stage of acquaintance with the perceived person involved the greatest number of judgments about his mental properties. Most of the subjects were able to formulate their attitude towards this person at the last stage of the meeting with him.

It has been demonstrated that the very first impression is determined by the characteristics that are best expressed in the appearance of the perceived person. As for the interests, tastes, outlook, and affections of the stranger, the subjects were able to draw a conclusion about them only after he read the fable and answered a series of questions. In the same experiment, it was discovered that individual differences between people are manifested not only in their powers of observation, which can be measured by quantitative data on the subjects’ perception of the stranger’s appearance and behavior. The subjects assessed the person they perceived differently and expressed different attitudes towards him. Some thought he was cute, others had the opposite opinion. Some did not express their attitude towards the stranger in any way.

The data obtained indicate that the formation of an image of another person based on the first impression also depends on the personality characteristics of the subject of perception. Such an image always contains inaccuracies, and any assessment of personality traits and its emotional state may turn out to be a hasty generalization.

So, when we see a person for the first time, our impression of him is determined not only by one or another of his characteristics and the specifics of a given situation. We inevitably show ourselves and our personal traits. It is assumed that each person has an implicit, that is, implied, not directly expressed theory of personality and, when perceiving another, proceeds precisely from such a theory. For example, if we consider a person to be aggressive, don't we also tend to consider him energetic? Or, considering a person to be kind, do we not at the same time attribute honesty to him?

American psychologist G. Kelly obtained experimental data that demonstrates the influence of the implicit theory of personality on the perception of another person. First, students were presented with brief descriptions of a lecturer they were completely unfamiliar with. All descriptions were identical, except for the following: in one case the lecturer was described as “very cold”, in another case as “very cordial”. A number of students received one description, another row received another. After the lecture, students who listened to a “very warm” lecturer rated his tactfulness, knowledge, friendliness, openness, naturalness, sense of humor and humanity more highly than those students who listened to a “cold” lecturer. It is assumed that the data obtained originate in the subjects' implicit opinion about which personality traits accompany warmness and which ones accompany coldness. Thus, implicit theory of personality is a specific cognitive system that influences how other people are perceived.

Among the factors that form the first impression of a person, one should note his social status and the associated prestige in society. In this regard, an experiment conducted by Wilson in one of the colleges in Australia is indicative. Five groups of students were introduced to a stranger as a guest teacher. At the same time, his academic status was called differently in each group. Thus, in one group he was presented as a professor of psychology at the University of Cambridge, in another group as the main lecturer, then simply as a lecturer, a laboratory assistant and, finally, a student. After this, students in each group were asked to rate the height of the guest teacher. It was found that the higher the status attributed to a given stranger, the taller he appeared to students. It turned out that the height of the “professor of psychology” is more than six centimeters higher than the height of the “student”. The socio-psychological indicator - the status of a person - turned out to be related to his physical indicator - height. Sometimes researchers note another trend. Tall, massive people are perceived as more significant in a social sense, compared to those whose dimensions are not so large.

According to Bodalev, when perceiving other people and then verbally recreating their appearance, adult subjects primarily highlight height, eyes (color), hair (color), facial expressions (expression of the eyes and face), nose, and body features of a person. All other signs are observed less frequently. Height, eye and hair color are the most significant distinguishing elements of a person’s appearance in adults. When verbally recreating people's appearance, these elements serve as a kind of reference signs for the majority of subjects. These signs are then associated with other characteristic elements of the appearance of the perceived person.

Research by domestic psychologists shows how a person’s perception develops with age. As Bodalev notes, with age, when verbally recreating the appearance of a perceived person, the components that form his physical appearance, as well as descriptions of the features of his expression, are increasingly included as essential signs of appearance. One of the important conclusions here is that “although practically a person relatively early begins to “read” the language of expression and use it in his communication with others, the fact that expressive behavior is an important feature among the characteristic individual features of external appearance is realized gradually". There is also no doubt that a person’s professional activity affects the characteristics of perception and understanding of other people. This manifests itself already when forming the first impression of a stranger. First of all, professional differences are visible in the thoroughness of the description of the external appearance and inner world of the perceived person. For this purpose, Kukosyan uses the term “completeness of reflection,” meaning the ratio of the number of elements of the external and internal appearance of the object of cognition perceived and recorded by the test subjects to the total number of elements that could be reflected under given conditions. In terms of “completeness of reflection,” lawyers and physicists differed especially sharply from each other. The former, much more fully than the latter, “reflected” the person being known when forming the first impression about him.

The professional affiliation of the individual - the subject of cognition - also influences the specificity of his description of the people he perceives when forming a first impression. Here, too, the sharpest difference was revealed between lawyers and physicists (in addition to them, data was compared for groups of economists, biologists and artists). The lawyers' descriptions were characterized by detail, the largest amount of information, and consistency of presentation according to a certain scheme. The descriptions given by physicists were distinguished by brevity, a small amount of information, more general in nature, and abstractness. Apparently, this difference is due to the fact that lawyers in their professional activities are constantly associated with people, while physicists deal primarily with instruments.

Social categorization and stereotyping as products of interpersonal perception. When we perceive various objects in the surrounding world, we first of all identify them in accordance with certain characteristics. At the same time, based on the knowledge we have, we classify these objects. Thus, a table belongs to the furniture category, a cup belongs to the tableware category, and a cat belongs to the pet category. Each category includes objects that have any significant common features and properties. Such categorization makes it easier for us to understand the world and makes it possible to successfully act in it. We cannot do without categorization even when it comes to people, both from our immediate environment and those we will never meet. This tendency we constantly demonstrate is called the process social categorization Our attitude towards him and subsequent actions depend on what social category we attribute a person to.

Facts indicate that the same person can be classified into different social categories, sometimes even with polar evaluative overtones. So, speaking today about the ex-president of Chile, General Pinochet, some call him a “bloody dictator,” others call him “the creator of the Chilean economic miracle.” Accordingly, different attitudes towards the activities of General Pinochet as head of state are determined. It is obvious that such categorization can lead to one-sided assessments, whereas it is necessary to take into account all aspects of the activity of a given person.

Although categorization is absolutely necessary for organizing the material of perception, at the same time, this mental operation is fraught with a certain danger for an adequate judgment about any object. Who hasn’t at times found themselves captive to preconceived judgments about another person? Even the first meeting is enough for us to form a definite opinion about him. Gender, age, race, nationality, elements of the external appearance of the perceived person - hair length, type of clothing, various jewelry, etc. - all these signs, both individually and taken together, encourage us to classify him as a certain category of people. At the same time, we usually attribute to him certain personal properties, abilities, motives, social values, that is, we carry out the process stereotyping Ultimately, when we perceive a person, we evaluate him in accordance with the social category to which, in our opinion, he belongs. We endow this person with those traits and properties that, as it seems to us, are characteristic of this category of people. Thus, many of us believe that politicians are prone to compromise, military personnel are straightforward, and beautiful people are narcissistic. These are all examples of social stereotypes. How legitimate are our judgments?

The term “stereotype” itself is borrowed from the typographic world. This is the name of a monolithic printing plate used for printing large quantities. This form saves time and effort, but makes it difficult to make changes to the text. The term “stereotype” was introduced into social science in 1922 by the American journalist Lippman, who noted that people often use a similar mechanism when communicating with each other and resorting to certain patterns of perception. By assigning a person to one or another category of persons, it is easier to build your relationship with him.

Raven and Rubin identify two important functions of stereotypes. First, through stereotyping, it is possible to reduce “the overwhelming complexity of information to analyzable proportions.” Instead of wandering around looking for the characteristic and unique features of the person you meet, you can limit yourself to general stereotypes. This is especially important when you need to make a quick decision in a situation of uncertainty. Secondly, since many people hold the same stereotypes, they can easily communicate with each other. Stereotypes act as a form "social shorthand".

Ethnic (or cultural) stereotypes are widespread, according to which certain psychological properties are attributed to representatives of certain nations. Myers cites research showing that Europeans view southern Europeans, such as Italians, as more emotional and less skilled at work than northern Europeans, such as Germans and Scandinavians. The stereotype of a southerner as a more expansive person exists even within one country. Thus, in each of the twenty countries of the Northern Hemisphere, residents of the south of a given country are considered more expressive than residents of the north (which cannot be said about six countries in the Southern Hemisphere).

It is noteworthy that a significant proportion of people attribute the same traits to any given group. Indicative in this regard are the data from one of the studies conducted in the USA (Carlins, Coffman, Walters). One hundred university students were given a list of 84 personality traits and asked them to indicate which of these traits were most common among ten ethnic groups. If any traits were randomly selected by students, we would expect about 6% of them to select any given trait for any given group. However, for almost every ethnic group, more than 20% of students were matched with at least three traits. And at least one trait was selected by more than 50% of the students. For example, Americans were called materialistic (67%), the British - conservative (53%), Germans - diligent (59%). Thus, we can talk about a certain agreement regarding the properties attributed to various ethnic groups.

Is such stereotyping justified? Do stereotypes correspond to reality? First of all, we note that stereotypes do not arise out of nowhere. A number of American researchers believe that stereotypes may contain a grain of truth. In their opinion, people, when making judgments about other groups, compare them with their own group. Thus, if Germans are, on average, considered somewhat more diligent than Americans, then this trait will be part of the stereotype, even though the average difference may be very small.

Some evidence suggests that there are rational grounds for the formation of certain stereotypes. Take, for example, the stereotype of the older worker, which is shared by many people in various organizations in the United States. One study found that older workers were rated as less changeable and less creative, more cautious, and less productive even when their work performance was as good as that of younger workers (Mitchell). It should be added that, according to another study conducted earlier, a lower risk appetite (more prudence) was found among older managers compared to younger ones. Thus, we can talk about the grain of truth contained in the stereotype of an older worker, that is, that such a worker has certain characteristic properties. But it does not at all follow from this that all older workers, without exception, have the indicated properties. The fallacy of a stereotype manifests itself when it influences the judgment of a specific person with his individual characteristics. Indeed, in this case, instead of trying to take into account the entire uniqueness of a given person, he is perceived only on the basis of some single category to which he belongs. Stereotypes create certain expectations about people's behavior and provide an opportunity to interact on this basis.

Social interaction and communication. When communicating with each other, people not only transmit and receive information, perceive each other in one way or another, but also interact in a certain way. Social interaction is a characteristic feature of human life. Our every day includes many types of interaction with other people, different in form and content. It is no coincidence that many researchers believe that interaction problems should occupy a central place in social psychological science. Social interaction can be most generally defined as “the process in which people act and react to the actions of others” (Smelser).

Social interaction can also be considered as one of the aspects of communication, as a communication process aimed at influencing the actions and views of the individuals involved in this process.

American psychologist Hollander identifies the following characteristic features of social interaction. The first feature is the interdependence of the behavior of interaction participants, when the behavior of one participant acts as a stimulus for the behavior of another, and vice versa. The second characteristic feature of social interaction is mutual behavioral expectations based on interpersonal perceptions of each other. The foundation underlying the first and second is the third trait - each participant's implicit assessment of the value attributed to the actions and motives of others, as well as the satisfaction that others can provide.

Western researchers distinguish two large categories in the concept "interaction structure". Firstly, this is a formal structure of interaction, which is understood as such patterns of relationships that are required by society, its social institutions and organizations. Secondly, there is also an informal structure of interaction generated by individual motives, values, and characteristics of perception. What is called the formal level of interaction is enshrined in formal (official) social roles. The informal level of interaction is based on interpersonal attractiveness, the attachment of people to each other. This level is determined by individual dispositions. We also note that interaction in formal situations may acquire some features of informal interaction. Being long-term and continuous, formal relationships are also determined by the individual psychological properties of the interacting people.

When considering the characteristics of connections between people, two types of interdependence are usually distinguished - cooperation and competition. In the first case (cooperation), a number of individuals come into contact with each other and carry out coordinated actions in order to achieve a certain goal. Usually we are talking about a goal that cannot be achieved by acting alone. The level of cooperation increases as people realize their interdependence and the need to trust each other. In the second case (competition), the actions of several individuals occur in competitive conditions, where winning is possible only for one person. For example, playing chess.

These two types of interaction should not be contrasted and viewed as mutually exclusive. Thus, there are many competitive situations in which both parties involved can win through cooperative actions. Take, for example, a scientific discussion. Of course, each of its participants wants his position to prevail over the others. However, in the process of a scientific dispute, expressing their own arguments in favor of their concept, all its participants move in the direction of searching for truth. Diplomacy is also an interdependent relationship that includes both competitive and cooperative elements.

In general, researchers note that one person's dependence on another increases the possibility of influence. This type of interdependent relationship, in which the susceptibility to influence is relatively large, can be noted in cases of dominance, including power. Although the terms “power” and “influence” are sometimes used interchangeably, the concepts cannot be equated. Usually power is associated with some kind of coercion, even in a “soft” form. In the most extreme case, the presence of power presupposes a situation of forced domination. At the same time, people on whom the influence of power is directed have no alternatives other than submission. When we talk about influence, we usually mean the transfer of information in order to change the opinion or behavior of an individual (group of individuals). Moreover, these individuals have more than one alternative as a response.

The most important aspect of power (this also applies to interpersonal relationships) is that it is a function of dependence. Thus, the more person B depends on person A, the more power A has over B. If you have something that other people want but that only you control, then you make those people dependent on you. Therefore you gain power over them. Sometimes a person who is at a relatively low hierarchical level in an organization has important knowledge that other employees occupying higher positions on the career ladder may not have. In such cases, the more important the information, the more power the first has over the second. A person's ability to reduce situational uncertainty for his group also increases his dominance and individual power potential. This is why some employees withhold information or shroud their actions in secrecy. Such practices may create the impression that the employee's activities are more complex and important than they actually are.

Typically, psychologists identify the following three processes through which people come under one influence or another. This compliance, identification And internalization.The same behavior can be a derivative of any of these processes or a combination of them. Let's say you tell another person to do something, and he does it. A given person's behavior may result from compliance, identification, or internalization. Let's consider these processes.

Compliance stems from the fact that a person (sometimes unconsciously) estimates to himself how much failure to comply with a given requirement or order will cost him, what the “price” of disobedience might be. An individual follows some order, but he himself may experience a feeling of indignation, or, conversely, a feeling of humility. Any influence of a person with power, for example, a leader in an organization, can be based on compliance, especially when there is a fear of punishment or a desire to receive reward. At the same time, managers have reason to expect compliance during the entire time they control what their subordinates need.

Identification occurs when one person becomes influenced by another person due to the latter's attractiveness. This other may arouse sympathy in the first or provide something for which the first strives, for example, a significant position, position in society. In social psychology, identification is usually understood as an individual’s identification of himself with another person or group of individuals. Consciously or unconsciously, an individual ascribes to himself certain properties of another person or group. Many leaders, including political figures, often influence other people precisely because they identify themselves with these leaders.

Internalization occurs when someone (often a formal or informal leader) is competent enough to command the trust of others. In this case, people believe that the person's proposals are the best course of action for them. His opinions and assessments are considered reliable and trustworthy. The result of the internalization process is that the demands expressed by this authoritative person are unconditionally accepted by the other person and become his own demands on himself.

In conclusion, we note that the sphere of social interaction covers a wide range of diverse interpersonal contacts. In their process, certain joint actions are carried out, which further lead to new contacts and interactions, etc. Almost all behavior of any person is the result of social interactions in the present or past. At the same time, the transmission and reception of information by people, their perception, understanding and evaluation of each other, their interaction are in continuous unity, ultimately constituting what can be called interpersonal communication.

Security questions

1. The most detailed description of a stranger when forming a first impression of him is given in experiments:

1) physics;

2) economists;

3) lawyers;

4) biologists.

2. How do social stereotypes affect us?

1) help to better understand other people;

2) allow us to form the correct impression of another person at the first meeting;

3) can lead us to erroneous judgments about a particular person;

4) contribute to the successful interaction of people.

3. What is your personality thesaurus?

1) the totality of my sensations;

2) what other people think about me;

3) the stock of my knowledge about the world;

4) the results of my self-esteem.

4. What does kinesics study?

1) interpersonal interaction;

2) communicative functions of body movements;

3) perception of a person by a person;

4) self-esteem of interacting people.

CONCEPT, TYPES, FUNCTIONS AND DIFFICULTIES OF COMMUNICATION

When they talk about communication, they usually mean the process of sending and receiving messages using verbal and nonverbal means, including feedback, resulting in the exchange of information, its perception and cognition by the participants in communication, as well as their influence on each other and interaction to achieve changes in activities. Schematically, communication can be represented as follows:

• transmitter, sender;
• recipient, receiver, addressee;
• communication channel;
• noise, signal;
• code, decoder.

The structure of communication includes:

communicative information component, meaning the reception and transmission of messages and suggesting feedback; this component is based on psychological contact;

cognitive an aspect based on the process of people's perception and understanding of each other;

interactive(contact) side associated with the process of influence and behavior.

The following are distinguished: species communication:

• interpersonal, group and intergroup, mass;
• trust and conflict;
• intimate and criminal;
• business and personal;
• direct and indirect;
• therapeutic and non-violent.

Recently, the approach to considering communication from the perspective of humanistic psychology has become of particular importance. In this regard, the concept of “nonviolent communication” is of increasing interest, since it is based on openness and sincerity of contacts.

Communication is possible only through iconic systems Distinguish verbal means of communication(oral and written speech) and non-verbal(non-speech) means of communication.

In interpersonal communication, two types of language are usually used: oral And writing.

The advantages of written language become decisive where accuracy and responsibility for every word are necessary. To skillfully use written language, you need to enrich your vocabulary and be demanding about style.

Oral language, which differs in a number of parameters from written language, is independent. It has its own rules and even grammar. Its main superiority over written language lies in its economy, i.e. Fewer words are required to convey a thought orally. Savings are achieved through different word order, skipping ends and other parts of sentences. The disadvantages of oral language are speech errors and polysemy. The advantages of oral language are manifested where it is necessary to educate, influence, inspire, and also in conditions of lack of time to protect one’s honor and dignity.

Communicative competence presupposes:

first, impeccable command of the written language, which is ensured by education;

second - good command of the oral language (in this, people who master both figurative and at the same time complex folk figures of speech achieve greater success);

third - the ability to correctly establish the optimal relationship between oral and written languages ​​separately for each situation.

In the case when communication is carried out using non-verbal means, hand gestures, features of gait, voice, as well as facial expressions (facial expressions), eyes (micromimics), posture, movement of the whole body as a whole (pantomimics), distance, etc. are very important. p. Moreover, facial expressions sometimes speak better than words about your attitude towards your interlocutor. There are known grimaces expressing devotion, goodwill, flattery, contempt, fear, envy, etc.

Nonverbal means of communication are needed, in particular, in order to regulate the flow of the communication process, create psychological contact between partners, express emotions, and reflect the interpretation of the situation.

Nonverbal means of communication, as a rule, cannot independently convey the direct meaning of words, with the exception of some gestures. They are precisely coordinated with each other and with verbal texts. The totality of these means can be compared to a symphony orchestra, and the word - to its soloist. They transmit a large amount of information.

Mismatch of individual non-verbal means significantly complicates interpersonal communication. Unlike speech, nonverbal means of communication are not fully understood by both speakers and listeners. No one can have complete control over all their non-verbal means.

Nonverbal means of communication are divided into three groups:

visual- kinesics (movement of arms, legs, head, torso), direction of gaze and visual contact, eye expression, facial expression, posture (in particular, localization, change of postures relative to verbal text), skin reactions (redness, perspiration), distance (distance to the interlocutor, angle of rotation towards him, personal space), auxiliary means of communication, including body features (gender, age) and means of their transformation (clothing, cosmetics, glasses, jewelry, tattoo, mustache, beard, cigarette, etc. .);

acoustic(sound), related to speech (intonation, volume, timbre, tone, rhythm, pitch, speech pauses and their localization in the text), not related to speech (laughter, crying, coughing, sighs, gnashing of teeth, sniffling etc.);

tactile(related to touch) - physical impact (leading a blind person by the hand, contact dance, etc.), takevika (shaking hands, clapping on the shoulder).

Within communicative aspect of communication psychological interaction of partners is concentrated around the problem contact. This problem should not be reduced only to the skills of communicative behavior and the use of communication means. The main thing in the success of contacts lies in the partners’ perception of each other.

Psychological contact begins with a concrete sensory perception of the external appearance of partners through the senses.

At this moment, mental relationships dominate, permeated with an emotional reaction to each other as a psychophysical reality. Reactions of acceptance and rejection are manifested in facial expressions, gestures, posture, gaze, intonation, which indicate whether we like each other or not. Mutual or unilateral reactions of rejection can be expressed by a glance, withdrawal of the hand when shaking, turning away of the body, fencing gestures, “sour face”, fussiness, running away, etc. And vice versa, we willingly turn to those who smile, look straight and openly, turn around full-face, respond with a cheerful and cheerful intonation, etc.

At the stage of contact, a significant role is played by a person’s external attractiveness, thanks to which a person acquires a special, higher communicative potential. Therefore, people, as a rule, are jealous of their appearance and pay a lot of attention to it.

Subjective assessment of partners based on their appearance occurs on a “like - dislike” scale. If we like a person, then he comes into contact with us more easily; if not, then he has to overcome a negative emotional and aesthetic attitude towards his appearance. On this path, he needs to demonstrate other qualities that are equally valuable for the dignity of his personality. These can be both attractive psychological qualities (intelligence, kindness, responsiveness and many others), as well as business qualities, social status, which are manifested in various forms of non-verbal and verbal behavior. They express all aspects of human attractiveness, which determine the charm of the individual.

Charm- this is something more than physical attractiveness, when a person can be beautiful, but cold. This is not just kindness, which can be intrusive, and not fanatical passion for one’s work, and not an arrogant manifestation of a person’s significant social status. Charm is, rather, a mysterious gift to achieve the psychological disposition of people around you, to be attractive, charming, and evoke an unconscious positive attitude.

Charm comes from a person. It is in sparkling eyes, in a shining smile, in soft gestures and affectionate intonation, in humor and at the same time in the justified expectations of a partner. A charming person says exactly what we want to hear. This is the one who evokes a reciprocal emotional and psychological attitude, which is a prerequisite necessary for feedback.

Reverse communication as a process of mutually directed response actions serves to maintain contact. However, its presence does not always indicate the strength and psychological depth of communication. Thus, in cases of actual communication, feedback is sometimes purely external, demonstrative in nature. The partner agrees with his interlocutor without delving into what he is told. He just demonstrates the process of listening, remaining psychologically indifferent to the content and meaning of the conversation. This indicates a lack or decline of interest in the speaker, his problems, and psychological disconnection. Such contact is not strong.

The disappearance of psychological reciprocity leads to the fact that the speaker begins to lose normal intonation, raise his voice, speed up his speech, show aggressiveness and other violations of communicative behavior.

According to the purpose of the message, information can be divided into informational, regulatory and emotional. If only information about an object is transmitted, then the information has an informational purpose. If communication is designed to motivate a partner to action, then the information acquires a regulatory load. Emotional information is addressed to the feelings and experiences of recipients.

Informational impartiality of messages requires stricter logic, conciseness, lexical accuracy from the point of view of semantic identity, and the greatest unambiguity in the understanding of the message by partners. The stimulating effect of regulatory information is largely related to the motivational interest of recipients in a particular message. The emotionality of information is acquired mainly through the expressive arrangement of the message. Expressive movements and intonation of the participants in communication play a big role in this.

It is known that a message conveyed by a correspondent with a more attractive appearance, professional and age status is perceived with greater confidence than by a person who is closer to the recipient in terms of socio-psychological identity.

Questions about who my interlocutor is, what kind of person he is, what can be expected from him, and many others related to the partner’s personality become the main psychological mysteries for the participants in communication. The cognitive aspect of communication covers not only the knowledge of another person, but also reflexively - self-knowledge. The generalizing effect of these processes is images and ideas about oneself and partners. Such images are formed through a group assessment of the personality and a socio-psychological interpretation of the personality based on its external manifestations.

The meaningful structure of these images corresponds to the diversity of human properties. It necessarily contains components of external appearance. This is not accidental, since a person in the role of a practical psychologist paves the way to the inner world of a partner through behavioral signals about the states and properties of what is perceived. The psychological characteristics of a person are strongly associated with elements of external appearance, for example: “intelligent eyes”, “strong-willed chin”, “kind smile”, etc.

Constitutional signs of external appearance and the peculiarities of its design with clothing and cosmetics play the role of standards and stereotypes for the socio-psychological interpretation of personality.

Another feature of these images is that mutual cognition is aimed primarily at understanding those qualities of the partner that are most significant for the participants in communication at the moment of their interaction. Therefore, the image of a partner does not necessarily highlight the dominant quality of his personality.

Standards and stereotypes of mutual knowledge are formed through communication with a person’s immediate environment in those communities with which he is connected in his life. First of all, this is a family and ethnic group that use cultural and historical patterns of behavior. Together with the latter, the individual assimilates national-ethnic, social-age, emotional-aesthetic, professional and other standards and stereotypes of human knowledge by man.

The practical purpose of mutual representations of partners is that understanding the psychological appearance of an individual is the initial information for determining the tactics of one’s behavior in relation to the participants in the interaction. This means that standards and stereotypes of mutual knowledge perform the function of regulating people’s communication. Positive and negative images of a partner consolidate relationships of the same direction, removing or erecting psychological barriers between them. The discrepancies between mutual ideas and the partners’ self-esteem conceal psychological conflicts of a cognitive nature, which from time to time develop into conflictual relationships between interacting people.

Attraction as an aspect of communication associated with emotions, feelings and mood in personal contacts of partners. They manifest themselves in the expressive movements of the subjects of communication, their actions, deeds, and behavior.

Harmonization and coordination of partners' positions occur through the exchange of views, thoughts, and feelings. Attraction (French) attraction)- attraction, gravitation; mechanism for the formation of attractiveness, affection, sympathy, love. It is associated with empathy (from the Greek. empatheia - empathy).

Mutual desire involves a collision of partners in the process of coordinating positions, as a result of which they come to a relationship of “agreement - disagreement” with each other. If they agree, the partners are involved in joint activities. In this case, roles and functions are distributed between them.

The functions of communication are diverse. They can be identified through a comparative analysis of a person’s communication with different partners, in different conditions, depending on the means used and the influence on the behavior and psyche of the participants in communication.

In the system of relationships between a person and other people, functions such as information and communication, regulatory communication and affective communication are distinguished.

Information and communication function of communication- this is, in essence, the transmission and reception of information as a kind of message. There are two components in it: the text (the content of the message) and the attitude of the person (the communicator) towards it. Changing the share and nature of these components, i.e. text and the attitude of the speaker towards it, can significantly affect the nature of the perception of the message, the degree of its understanding and acceptance, and therefore affect the process of interaction between people.

The information and communication function of communication is well represented in the well-known model of G. Lasswell, where the following links are distinguished as structural units: the communicator (who transmits the message), the content of the message (what is transmitted), the channel (how it is transmitted), the recipient (to whom it is transmitted). The effectiveness of information transfer can be expressed by the degree to which a person understands the transmitted message, its acceptance (rejection), including the novelty and relevance of the information for the recipient.

Regulatory-communicative function communication is aimed at organizing interaction between people, as well as at a person’s correction of his activity or condition. This function is designed to correlate the motives, needs, intentions, goals, objectives, intended methods of activity of the participants in the interaction, adjust the progress of the implementation of planned programs, and regulate activities. Communication here can be aimed at achieving harmony, cohesion, establishing the strong-willed unity of actions of people united both in small contact groups and large communities (for example, well-working teams in production, united military units, etc.).

An indicator of the effectiveness of the implementation of this communication function is the degree of satisfaction with joint activities and communication, on the one hand, and their results, on the other.

Affective-communicative function communication is a process of making changes in the state of people, which is possible with both special (purposeful) and involuntary influence.

In the first case, consciousness and emotions change under the influence of infection (the process of transmission of an emotional state by other people), suggestion or persuasion. A person’s need to change his state under involuntary influence manifests itself in him as a desire to “speak out,” “pour out his soul,” etc. Thanks to communication, a person’s general mood changes, which corresponds to information systems theory. Communication itself can both increase and decrease the degree of psychological stress.

Difficulties communication can be considered from the perspective of various branches of psychology: general, developmental and pedagogical, social, occupational psychology, legal, medical psychology and individual differences.

During communication, certain “barriers” arise, its participants experience various states, each of them manifests certain mental properties of the individual.

Since communication is the interaction of at least two people, difficulties in its flow (meaning subjective) can be generated by one participant or both at once. And their consequence is usually complete or partial failure to achieve goals, contact, dissatisfaction of the motivating motive, or failure to obtain the desired result in the activity that communication served.

COMMUNICATION is the process of exchange between people of certain results of their mental and spiritual activity: acquired information, thoughts, judgments, assessments, feelings, experiences and attitudes.

The concept of communication is also used to characterize the specifics of interaction and communication between representatives of different ethnic communities (see Culture of Communication).

FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION are its systemic properties that determine the specificity of its manifestation. Communication performs six functions: pragmatic, formation and development, confirmation, uniting and separating people, organizing and maintaining interpersonal relationships, intrapersonal.

The pragmatic function of communication reflects its need-motivational reasons and is realized through the interaction of people in the process of joint activity. At the same time, communication itself is often the most important need.

The function of formation and development reflects the ability of communication to influence partners, developing and improving them in all respects. By communicating with other people, a person learns universal human experience, historically established social norms, values, knowledge and methods of activity, and is also formed as a person. In general terms, communication can be defined as a universal reality in which mental processes, states and behavior of a person arise, exist and manifest themselves throughout life.

The affirmation function provides people with the opportunity to know, validate, and validate themselves.

The function of uniting and separating people, on the one hand, by establishing contacts between them, facilitates the transfer of necessary information to each other and sets them up for the implementation of common goals, intentions, tasks, thereby connecting them into a single whole, and on the other hand, it can contribute differentiation and isolation of individuals as a result of communication.

The function of organizing and maintaining interpersonal relationships serves the interests of establishing and maintaining fairly stable and productive connections, contacts and relationships between people in the interests of their joint activities.

The intrapersonal function of communication is realized in a person’s communication with himself (through internal or external speech, completed as a dialogue). Such communication can be considered as a universal way of human thinking.

Phenomenon in social psychology communication is one of the most important, since it gives rise to such phenomena as the exchange of information, people’s perception of each other, management and leadership, cohesion and conflict, sympathy and antipathy, etc.

Domestic psychological science has long-standing traditions regarding the study of the category “communication” and the identification of its specific psychological aspect. First of all, the question of the relationship between communication and activity is fundamental.

Based on the idea of ​​the unity of communication and activity (B. Ananyev, A. Leontiev, S. Rubinstein, etc.), communication is understood as the reality of human relations, which provides for any forms of joint activity of people. That is, any forms of communication that belong to specific forms of joint activity. Moreover, people not only communicate while they perform certain functions, but they always communicate during relevant activities.

G. Andreeva believes that it is advisable to have the broadest understanding of the connection between activity and communication, when communication is considered both as an aspect of joint activity (since activity itself is not only work, but also communication in the process of work), and as its peculiar derivative (from the Latin derivatus - allotted, derivo - I take away, form: derivative from something primary).

In other words, it is advisable to consider communication in two ways: as an aspect of joint activity and as its product (V. Slobodchikov, E. Isaev). At the same time, activity through communication is not only organized, but also enriched, new connections and relationships between people arise in it. According to G. Andreeva, such a broad understanding of the connection between communication and activity corresponds to the understanding of communication itself as an important condition for an individual to appropriate the achievements of the historical development of mankind, be it at the micro level, in the immediate environment, or at the macro level, in the entire system of social connections.

Regarding another position, when the category of “communication” can be considered as independent and reduced to activity (V. Znakovoe, A. Rean, etc.), the process of communication becomes for a person not only a means, but also a goal. This understanding of communication allows us to consider this definition as one that does not necessarily arise from the need for joint activity; it can also act as a self-motivated process. As an example, we have phatic (from the Latin Fatuus - stupid, empty) communication, in the active aspect meaningless, the purpose of which is to maintain the communication process itself.

The idea of ​​autonomy and intrinsic value of communication (A. Rean, J. Kolominsky) is justified, firstly, by the theoretical concept of the structure of fundamental human needs (A. Maslow), in which communication is one of the basic needs (it is necessary in order to share with another person’s grief or joy in order to feel like a person), secondly, from the standpoint of the subject-subject approach to communication (if the activity is associated with the formula “subject - object”, then in communication none of the partners can be considered as an object, because everyone of them is an active subject of this process).

Communication as an independent and activity-based concept can be defined as follows: it is a process of interpersonal interaction generated by a wide range of actual needs of partners, aimed at satisfying these needs and mediated by certain interpersonal relationships.

From all of the above, it is easy to notice that the concept of “communication” is interpreted in the psychological literature in different ways:

as a special type of activity;

as a specific social form of information communication;

as a form of interaction between subjects;

as an independent category reduced to activity;

as a process of interpersonal interaction;

as an exchange of thoughts, feelings and experiences;

as an essential aspect of human activity;

as the reality of human relations, which presupposes any forms of joint activity of people;

as a universal reality of human existence, is generated and supported by various forms of human relations.

Most researchers are inclined to think that human activity in all its modifications and an individual’s communication with other people are closely intertwined in his life and in fact, none of them is possible without the other. It follows from this that any type or form of human activity (play, leadership, education) is manifested through communication and vice versa.

And even communication with oneself (prolonged communication) occurs in such a way that a person mentally continues the conversation with the partner with whom he recently communicated. That is, the individual acts like this: he thinks through the conversation scenario in advance, envisages possible arguments and counterarguments of the participants in communication, tactics of persuasion, possible types of contacts, etc.

A person’s need for communication is determined by the social way of life and the need to interact with other people. Observations of children who spent the first years of their lives among animals and did not have the opportunity to communicate with their own kind indicate numerous disorders in their development, both mental, physical, and social.

Communication, thus, becomes the main condition for human survival and ensures the implementation of the functions of training, education and development of the individual. Studying the behavior of infants, American researchers K. F. Lake-Hobson, B. Robinson and P. Skeen note that in the first weeks of life, children can only exchange gestures, facial expressions, and numerous sounds with adults, which indicates, perhaps, a genetic “programming” "on communication with the environment.

Communication is a multifunctional process. Researchers, highlighting various criteria, present different classifications of communication functions:

1) emotional, informational, socializing, connecting self-knowledge (A.V. Mudrik);

2) establishing communication, instrumental, awareness, self-determination (A. B. Dobrovich);

3) cohesion, instrumental, translational, self-expression (A. A. Brudny);

4) contact, information, incentive, coordination, understanding, emotive, establishing relationships, exerting influence (L. A. Karpenko), etc.

However, it is most relevant to consider communication in a system of relations, which allows us to distinguish three groups of functions:

1) psychological, determining the development of a person as an individual and personality;

2) social, determining the development of society as a social system and the development of groups as constituent units of this system;

3) instrumental, defining connections between a person and the world in the broad sense of the word, between different social groups.

Another option for communication functions

According to its purpose, communication is multifunctional. There are five main Communication functions.

1. The pragmatic function of communication is realized through the interaction of people in the process of joint activity.

2. The formative function of communication is manifested in the process of formation and change in a person’s mental appearance. It is known that at certain stages the development of a child’s behavior, activity and attitude towards the world and himself is mediated by his communication with adults. In the course of development, external forms of interaction between a child and an adult, mediated by communication, are transformed into internal mental functions and processes, as well as into the independent external activity of the child.

3. Confirmation function. In the process of communicating with other people, a person gets the opportunity to know, approve and confirm himself. Wanting to establish himself in his existence and his value, a person seeks a foothold in other people.

4. The function of organizing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. The perception of other people and the maintenance of various relationships with them (from intimate personal to purely business) for any person is invariably associated with evaluating people and the establishment of certain emotional relationships - either positive or negative in their sign. Of course, emotional interpersonal relationships are not the only type of social connection available to modern man, but they permeate the entire system of relationships between people and often leave their mark on business and even role relationships.

5. The intrapersonal function of communication is realized in a person’s communication with himself (through internal or external speech, structured like a dialogue). Such communication can be considered as a universal way of human thinking.

14. The communicative side of communication

When we talk about communication in the narrow sense of the word, we first of all mean the fact that in the course of joint activities people exchange with each other various ideas, ideas, interests, moods, feelings, attitudes, etc.

Firstly, communication cannot be considered only as the sending of information by some transmitting system or as its reception by another system. Each participant in the communicative process also assumes activity in his partner; he cannot consider him as an object. The other participant also appears as a subject, and it follows that when sending him information, it is necessary to focus on him, i.e. analyze his motives, goals, attitudes (except, of course, the analysis of one’s own goals, motives, attitudes), “address” him, in the words of V.N. Myasishcheva. Schematically, communication can be depicted as an intersubjective process (SS). But in this case, it must be assumed that in response to the information sent, new information will be received coming from the other partner.

Therefore, in the communication process there is not a simple movement of information, but at least an active exchange of it. The main “add” in a specifically human exchange of information is that the significance of information plays a special role here for each participant in communication (Andreeva, 1981), because people not only “exchange” meanings, but, as A.N. Leontiev, strive to develop a common meaning (Leontiev, 1972, p. 291). This is only possible if the information is not just accepted, but also understood and meaningful. The essence of the communication process is not just mutual information, but joint comprehension of the subject.

Secondly, the nature of the exchange of information between people, and not cybernetic devices, is determined by the fact that through a system of signs partners can influence each other. The communicative influence that arises here is nothing more than the psychological influence of one communicator on another with the aim of changing his behavior. The effectiveness of communication is measured precisely by how successful this impact is.

Thirdly, communicative influence as a result of the exchange of information is possible only when the person sending the information (communicator) and the person receiving it (recipient) have a single or similar system of codification and decodification. In everyday language, this rule is expressed in the words: “everyone must speak the same language.”

This is especially important because the communicator and the recipient constantly change places in the communication process. Any exchange of information between them is possible only on the condition that the signs and, most importantly, the meanings assigned to them are known to all participants in the communicative process. Only the adoption of a unified system of meanings ensures that partners can understand each other. To describe this situation, social psychology borrows from linguistics the term “thesaurus,” which denotes a common system of meanings accepted by all members of a group. But the whole point is that, even knowing the meanings of the same words, people can understand them differently: social, political, age characteristics can be the reason for this.

Finally, fourthly, in the conditions of human communication, completely specific communication barriers can arise. These can be social, political, religious, professional differences, which not only give rise to different interpretations of the same concepts used in the process of communication, but also generally different attitudes, worldviews, and worldviews. On the other hand, barriers to communication may also be of a more purely psychological nature. They can arise either as a result of the individual psychological characteristics of the communicants (for example, excessive shyness of one of them (Zimbardo, 1993), the secrecy of another, the presence of a trait in someone called “uncommunicativeness”), or due to the special kind of psychological relationships that have developed between the communicants : hostility towards each other, mistrust, etc.

The information itself coming from the communicator can be of two types: motivating and stating. Incentive information is expressed in an order, advice, or request. It is designed to stimulate some action. Stimulation, in turn, can be different. First of all, this can be activation, i.e. motivation to act in a given direction. Further, it can be interdiction, i.e. an incentive that does not allow, on the contrary, certain actions, a prohibition of undesirable activities. Finally, it may be destabilization - a mismatch or disruption of some autonomous forms of behavior or activity.

Ascertaining information appears in the form of a message; it takes place in various educational systems and does not imply a direct change in behavior, although it indirectly contributes to this. The very nature of the message can be different: the degree of objectivity can vary from a deliberately “indifferent” tone of presentation to the inclusion of fairly obvious elements of persuasion in the text of the message. The message option is specified by the communicator, i.e. the person from whom the information comes.

15. Non-verbal communication.

Nonverbal communication (from Latin verbalis - oral and Latin communicatio - to communicate) is behavior that signals the nature of the interaction and the emotional states of communicating individuals. It is an additional source of information to the actual verbal message. The following forms are distinguished:

paralinguistic components, which include non-linguistic sounds (screams, groans, groans) and such features as pitch and intensity of sound, timbre of speech. In addition, hesitations, slips of the tongue, pauses and silence can act as emotional indicators (in particular tension);

facial expressions;

kinesthetic expressions (posture, body movements);

eye movements (frequency and duration of fixation of another person’s eyes);

proxemics (characteristics of interpersonal distance).

Interpersonal space. Sight. Language of poses and gestures.

Nonverbal communication, better known as body language, includes all forms of human self-expression that do not rely on words. Psychologists believe that reading nonverbal signals is the most important condition for effective communication. Why are nonverbal signals so important in communication?

A person perceives about 70% of information through the visual (visual) channel;

Nonverbal signals allow us to understand the true feelings and thoughts of the interlocutor;

Our attitude towards the interlocutor is often formed under the influence of the first impression, and it, in turn, is the result of the influence of non-verbal factors - gait, facial expression, gaze, demeanor, style of clothing, etc.

Nonverbal signals are especially valuable because they are spontaneous, unconscious and, unlike words, always sincere.

The enormous importance of non-verbal signals in business communication is confirmed by experimental studies, which state that words (to which we attach so much importance) reveal only 7% of the meaning, sounds, 38% of the meaning are carried by sounds and intonations, and 55% by postures and gestures.

Nonverbal communication includes five subsystems:

1. Spatial subsystem (interpersonal space).

2. Look.

3. Optical-kinetic subsystem, which includes:

Appearance of the interlocutor,

Facial expressions (facial expression),

Pantomime (postures and gestures).

4. Paralinguistic or near-speech subsystem, including:

Its range

Key,

5. Extralinguistic or extra-speech subsystem, which includes:

Speech rate

Laughter, etc.

16. Perceptual side of communication.

The perceptual side of communication means the process of mutual perception and cognition of communication partners and the establishment of mutual understanding on this basis.

A person enters into communication as a person and is perceived by his communication partner as a person as well. In the course of cognition, several processes are simultaneously carried out: an emotional assessment of another, an attempt to understand his actions, building a strategy for changing his behavior, building a strategy for one’s own behavior. Thus, the success of organizing coordinated actions with him depends on the degree of accuracy of “deciphering” and understanding the external pattern of another person’s behavior. Many people take time to understand that the impression they make on other people may be significantly different from what they expected.

Very often, the perception of a person by a person is denoted by the term “social perception,” introduced by J. Bruner in 1947 during the development of the so-called “New Look” on perception. Later, this term was used to understand the process of perception of all “social objects” (other people, social groups and large social communities), i.e. broader than just a person's perception of a person. When considering communication, it is advisable to talk not about social perception in general, but about interpersonal perception, or interpersonal perception. Moreover, the very use of the term “perception” is also not entirely accurate, since we are talking about a person’s cognition of a person as a whole, including cognitive processes.

Identification - likening oneself to a communication partner, is one of the simplest ways to understand another person. Here, the assumption about the internal state of the interlocutor is based on an attempt to put oneself in his place.

Empathy is another phenomenon, close in content to identification, understood as “feeling”, the ability to recognize the emotions of others and respond to them. What is meant here is not a rational understanding of the problems of another person, but the desire to emotionally understand him and emotionally respond to his experiences.

Reflection is defined in communication processes as knowledge and understanding of how another person knows and understands me. In communication, this looks like a kind of double process of mirror reflections of each other, consistent mutual reflection. True mutual understanding and personal development depend on this. A person becomes for himself what he is through what he is for others.

The effects of interpersonal perception depend on the characteristics of both the subject and the object of perception. Each of the participants, evaluating the other, strives to build a certain system of interpretation of behavior and its causes. In everyday life, people usually know little about the real reasons for the behavior of others. Then, in conditions of a lack of information, they begin to attribute to each other reasons and patterns of behavior that in reality do not exist. Attribution is made either on the basis of the similarity of behavior with some pattern that took place in past experience, or on the basis of an analysis of one’s own motives assumed in a similar situation. One way or another, a whole system of methods for such attribution arises - causal attribution. The role of “first impression”, prejudices and attitudes is significant. The most studied mechanisms of "attribution" are the effects of "halo" ("halo effect"), "primacy and novelty", as well as "stereotyping".

The halo effect is the attribution of qualities to a perceived person based on the image that previously formed about him from various sources of information. This pre-existing image acts as a “halo” that prevents one from seeing the actual features and manifestations of the object of perception.

The effects of “primacy” and “novelty” depend on the order in which information about a person is presented to form an idea about him. When perceiving strangers, the very first known information about him is predominant. On the contrary, in situations of perception of a familiar person, the effect of novelty operates, which consists in the fact that the latter, i.e. newer information about it turns out to be the most significant.

Stereotyping is a certain stable image of an event, phenomenon or person that we use as a kind of “shorthand” when interacting. In a broader sense, all the effects described above can be considered as manifestations of stereotyping. The term “social stereotype” was first introduced by W. Lippmann in 1922 and contained a negative connotation associated with falsity or inaccuracy of perception. In everyday terms, these are all kinds of prejudices and prejudices.

The area of ​​research related to the identification of mechanisms for the formation of various emotional relationships towards a perceived person is called “attraction”. Literally, attraction is attraction, but here it is not just attraction, but the process of forming the attractiveness of a person and the product of this process, i.e. some quality of attitude towards him. Attraction can be considered as a special type of social attitude toward another person, in which the emotional component predominates.

Sex differences in communication. Communication between men is more subordinated to the status hierarchy than communication between women. Moreover, people with lower status benefit more from the use of socially acceptable behaviors than people with high status (Carli L.G., 1989). When communicating with each other, men and women demonstrate more masculine than feminine behavior: they talk more to the point, and disagree with each other more often. Differences in stereotypical behavior are greater when communicating with a communicant of the same gender. Men express more disagreement when interacting with men. Women communicate with women in a more dramatic way than with men. Communicators of both sexes are more persuasive when communicating with women than with men.

17. Implicit theory of personality.

Implicit theory of personality (from English imрlicit - unexpressed and Greek theoria - study) - everyday ideas about the connections between certain qualities of a personality, regarding its structure, and sometimes regarding motives of behavior, authors - J. Bruner and R. Tagiuri (1954 .). The subject of implicit theory can be not only personality, but also other individual processes (memory, intelligence, etc.). It is based on intuition (on a general feeling or idea) and does not have a strict conceptual formalization. At the same time, experiments have shown that, on average, the implicit theory is quite adequate, corresponding to those human properties that are recorded in scientific research. The reasoning is based on a model: if the evaluator is convinced that trait X always occurs together with trait Y, then observing trait X in an individual person, the evaluator automatically attributes trait Y to him. Such arbitrary linking of traits is called “illusory correlation.”

The theory takes on a special role in situations where people communicate in a group. Here these theories collide, influencing the entire system of relationships. A person's perception of a partner's personality, based on false expectations, can lead to a feeling of discomfort and refusal to communicate.

I.t.l. allows you to form a holistic impression of another person based on partial, sometimes fragmentary information about his personal characteristics.

Particular influence on the development of problems of I. t. l. was influenced by J. Kelly's theory of personal constructs (a construct is a way of seeing the world and interpreting its elements characteristic of each individual; the totality of constructs constitutes the degree of cognitive complexity of a person).

ITL - if a person is kind, then he is also generous. Grouping of personality traits.

The function is to quickly form an opinion about a person...

Implicit theory of personality is a specific cognitive system that influences how we perceive other people.

18. Social categories and stereotypes.

Sventsitsky:

When we perceive objects in the surrounding world, we identify them according to certain characteristics. At the same time, based on our experience, we create certain classifications of these objects. Thus, we classify a table as furniture, a cup as tableware, and a cat as a pet. Each category includes objects that have significant common features and properties. Such categorization makes it easier for us to understand the world and gives us the opportunity to successfully act in it. We cannot do without categorization even when it comes to people.

This tendency that we constantly demonstrate is called the process of social categorization. Our attitude towards him and subsequent actions depend on what social category we attribute a person to.

The same person can be classified into different social categories. An example about the ex-president of Chile: about General Pinochet. Some call him a “bloody dictator”, others call him “the creator of the Chilean economic miracle” - people have different attitudes towards him.

This is not to say that such a categorization is always adequate.

We may see someone for the first time, but this is also enough to form a definite opinion about him. Gender, age, race, nationality, elements of the external appearance of the person we perceive - hair length, type of clothing, various jewelry, etc. - all these signs, both individually and taken together, prompt us to attribute it to some category. At the same time, we usually attribute to him certain personal properties, abilities, motives, social values, i.e. the process is being carried out stereotyping. That is, in the end, we evaluate it in that social network. the category to which we believe he belongs. And then we attribute to it all the properties that belong to this category.

The term “stereotype” itself is borrowed from the typographic world. This is the name of a monolithic printing plate used for printing large quantities. This form allows you to save time and effort. The term “stereotype” was introduced into social sciences in 1922 by the American journalist W. Lippman. When we categorize someone, it is easier for us to build our relationships with him.

B. Raven and D. Rubin identify two important functions of stereotypes.

1) through stereotyping we facilitate the perception of complex information. It is easier for us to attribute a character trait to a person (use a stereotype) than to understand him. This is especially important when you need to make a quick decision in a situation of uncertainty.

2) stereotypes lead to an easy form of communication (since many people adhere to the same stereotypes). Stereotypes act as a form of "social shorthand".

Ethnic (or cultural) stereotypes (stereotypes of nations) are widespread (Italians are more emotional and less skilled at work than Northern Europeans - Germans and Scandinavians). + your examples.

Don't forget!! Stereotypes contain a grain of truth. There are rational grounds for the formation of certain stereotypes.

Instead of trying to take into account the full uniqueness of a person, he is perceived only on the basis of a single category to which he belongs. Stereotypes create certain expectations about people's behavior and give us the opportunity to interact on this basis.

Halo effect (halo effect)). (The term “halo” is taken from meteorology. Halos are light circles observed near the Sun or Moon and represent a certain optical phenomenon. In a psychological sense, this term was first used by E. Thorne-dyke in 1920.)

The world around us, as well as the people living in it, are all full of contradictions of one sort or another. A bright, beautiful mushroom sometimes turns out to be poisonous, while a nondescript plant sometimes turns out to be full of healing properties. We fall for this bait. A university teacher who has looked at a student's record book during an exam and found only "A's" in it often gives an "A" himself. So as not to violate statistics. The teacher logically, it seems to him, believes that the student will answer his questions with “excellent”. We can conclude that the teacher was influenced by the halo effect.

The formation of one or another impression of a person can be influenced by the entire appearance + clothing, speech, manners. Experiment: a student went for an interview. When she seemed attractive and/or intelligent, she was ascribed more favorable traits and long-term job prospects.

Lecture:

The blonde is a fool

Politics is dirt

Beauty is narcissism.

A stereotype, on the one hand, simplifies things, and on the other, complicates things. S-p is a “solid typo”, a simplified image of social. object. It develops in conditions of information deficiency, as a result of generalization of personal experience.

A stereotype does not appear out of nowhere.

ThorneDike says: Perceptual bias is when, when assessing personality traits, we are influenced by the general impression.

19. The theory of causal attribution. Fundamental attribution error.

Attribution theory is a description of how we explain the reasons for our behavior and the behavior of other people.

father of attribution - F. Haider

Causal attribution (from the Latin causa - reason and attribuo - I give, I endow) - the subject’s interpretation of the interpersonal perception of the causes and motives of other people’s behavior.

FOA is the tendency to overestimate the importance of internal (dispositional - character) factors in explaining human behavior and to underestimate the role of external (situational) factors.

The role of culture in FOA:

Western culture places particular emphasis on individual freedom and autonomy, and therefore encourages us to exaggerate the role of dispositional (internal) attributions and downplay the influence of the situation;

Collectivist cultures of the East emphasize group membership, interdependence and conformity in relation to group members, and therefore prefer situational rather than personal dispositions.

The study of causal attribution is based on the following provisions:

1) people, getting to know each other, are not limited to receiving externally observable information, but strive to clarify the reasons for behavior and draw conclusions regarding the relevant personal qualities of the subject;

2) since information about a person obtained as a result of observation is most often insufficient for reliable conclusions, the observer finds probable causes of behavior and traits, personality and attributes them to the observed subject;

3) this causal interpretation significantly influences the observer's behavior.

Research on causal attribution, which originally belonged to social psychology, currently covers other areas of psychological science: general, educational, developmental psychology, and sports psychology.

The most significant results of the experimental study of causal attribution are to establish:

1) systematic differences in a person’s explanation of his behavior and the behavior of other people;

2) deviations of the process of causal attribution from logical norms under the influence of subjective (motivational and informational) factors;

3) the stimulating effect exerted on a person’s motivation and activity by explaining the unsuccessful results of this activity by external factors, and the successful ones by internal factors.

Causal attribution is also studied as the phenomenon of assignment or acceptance by group members of personal responsibility for successes and failures in joint activities. It is shown that in groups of the highest level of development (in teams) this phenomenon is adequate to the real contribution of team members to the result of the activity.

Attribution errors

In experiments, it was found that different people demonstrate predominantly completely different types of attribution, that is, different degrees of “correctness” of the attributed reasons. In order to determine the degree of this correctness, three categories are introduced:

similarity, i.e. agreement with the opinions of other people

differences, i.e. differences from the opinions of other people

correspondence, i.e. constancy of the action of the cause in time and space.

Review questions

1. concept of scientific research methodology

2. basic requirements for scientific research in social psychology

3. theory and empirics in socio-psychological research. Types of research

4. social-psychological research program

5. measurement problems in social psychology (validity)

a) scales as ways to measure socio-psychological characteristics

b) reliability and validity of data

c) types of sampling

d) the condition for using tests in social psychology

6. methods of socio-psychological research (survey, observation, document analysis)

7. active methods of socio-psychological influence (socio-psychological training, group discussion, methodological games, socio-psychological counseling)

8. criteria for the effectiveness of applied research

In psychological science, all existing approaches to the study of communication come down to three aspects:

· communicative side (communication as the exchange of information)

· perceptual side (communication as mutual understanding)

· interactive side (communication as interaction)

Communication as an exchange of information. In the course of joint activities, people exchange with each other various ideas, ideas, interests, moods, and feelings. But communication cannot be equated either to the transmission of messages, or even to the exchange of information.

Information during communication is not only transmitted, but also formed, clarified, developed, encoded and decoded. There is a process of developing new information that is common to communicating people and gives rise to their community.

The simplest model of interpersonal communication is a pair of individuals connected with each other and entering into dialogue. To build it, answer the following questions.

Who? (transmits message) – communicator

What? (transmitted) – message (text)

How? (transfer in progress) – channel

To whom? (message sent) – audience (addressee)

With what effect? - efficiency

The transmission of any information is possible through sign systems. In psychology, they study verbal communication (speech is used as a sign system) and non-verbal communication (non-speech sign systems are used).

Speech- this is the most universal means of communication. Speech– the process of human communication with other people through natural language. Different social conditions, different paths of development give rise to different vocabulary, different language structures. Therefore, effective communication requires a common language for those communicating. Factors such as education, general culture and speech culture are also important.

External speech deployed, focused on others.

Inner speech intended for yourself. It is characterized by generality, conciseness, and focus on the meaning of the message.

The most important way of communication as the exchange of information is dialogical speech.

Dialogue presupposes and includes:

· uniqueness and equality of partners,

the difference and originality of their points of view,

· orientation of everyone towards understanding and active interpretation of his point of view by his partner,

· waiting for an answer and anticipating it in one’s own statement;

· complementarity of the positions of the participants in communication (their correlation is the goal of the dialogue).

The lack of internal contact between interlocutors and differences in attitude towards the subject of speech can create difficulties in understanding the true meaning of speech and require a more complete and detailed construction of speech.

In the process of communication, the most common types of dialogues are phatic, informational, discussion and confessional.

Phatic dialogue– exchange of verbal statements only to maintain a conversation.

Information dialogue– exchange of information of various properties.

Discussion dialogue– when different points of view collide. Discussion dialogue accompanies communication in all spheres of life, since interaction with each of them usually requires coordination of the individual efforts of partners, which occurs during the discussion.

Confessional dialogue– the most confidential communication. Intimate communication based on mutual acceptance of individuals, on sharing or common meanings of values ​​and life.

Verbal speech is supplemented by the use of non-verbal (non-verbal) means of communication: kinesics, paralinguistics, proxemics, visual communication. Each form of communication uses its own sign system.

Kinessics (optical-kinetic system of signs) includes the perception of motor skills of various parts of the body (hands - gestures, faces - facial expressions, bodies - pantomime) - reflects the emotional reactions of a person.

Paralinguistic sign system– vocalization of speech (voice quality, range, tonality).

Extralinguistics– pauses in speech, coughing, laughter, crying, rate of speech.

Proxemics– norms of spatial (optimal communication distances: intimate, personal, social, public) and temporal organization of communication (optimal communication time is 30 minutes).

Visual communication– eye contact, previously associated with intimate communication, now the range of such studies has become much wider: signs represented by eye movements (for example, face-to-face communication or shouting in the back) are included in a wider range of communication.

Communication as mutual understanding. During the communication process there must be understanding between the participants in this process. Mutual understanding can have two functions.

1) understanding motives, goals, attitudes of interaction partners;

2) not only understanding, but also acceptance, the division of these goals and attitudes, which allows not only to compose actions, but also to establish a special kind of relationship (closeness, affection), expressed in feelings of friendship, sympathy, love.

Knowing another person involves the simultaneous implementation of several processes: an emotional assessment of the other, an attempt to understand the motives of his actions, a strategy for changing his behavior based on this, building a strategy for one’s own behavior. But these processes involve at least two people, and each of them is an active subject. Comparison of oneself with another is carried out from two sides. Each partner likens himself to the other. This means that when building an interaction strategy, everyone has to take into account not only the needs, motives and attitudes of the other, but also how this other understands the needs, motives and attitudes of his interlocutor, i.e. the perception of a person by a person presupposes identification.

Identification is likening oneself to another. One of the simplest ways to understand another person in a real situation is when an assumption about the internal state of a communication partner is based on an attempt to put oneself in his place. Identification acts as one of the mechanisms of cognition and understanding of another person.

The second such mechanism for knowing another is empathy (not a rational understanding of the problems of another person, but rather the desire to respond emotionally to his problems).

Empathy is an emotional understanding of another (the situation of another person is not thought through, but felt).

The mechanism of reflection is also of particular importance for cognition in communication. In social psychology, Reflection is an individual’s awareness of how he is perceived by his communication partner. This is no longer just knowing or understanding another, but also knowing how he understands you, assessing the situation and its prospects.

In the process of human perception and understanding of a person, attitudes play an important role, leading to the emergence of socio-psychological effects: halo effect, novelty (or primacy) effect, stereotyping effect.

Halo effect. Information about a person is “read” in a certain way. It is superimposed on the idea of ​​him that was created in advance. The halo effect is clearly manifested when forming a first impression of a person: a general favorable impression of him leads to positive assessments of his unknown qualities, and a general unfavorable impression contributes to the predominance of negative assessments. The halo effect is most pronounced when the perceiver has minimal information about the object of perception, or when judgments concern moral qualities.

Closely related to the halo effect are the primacy and novelty effects. They relate to the significance of a certain order of presenting information about a person for compiling information about him.

Primacy effect– when perceiving a stranger, the information about him that was presented earlier prevails.

Novelty effect– in situations of perception of a familiar person, new information turns out to be the most significant.

More broadly, all these effects can be considered as a manifestation of a special process that accompanies the perception of a person by a person - phenomenon of stereotyping.

Stereotype- this is some stable image of a phenomenon or person, which is used in communication as a means of “shortening” the recognition process.

Social, professional, and ethnic stereotypes in communication have a specific origin and meaning. They arise in conditions of limited past experience, when drawing conclusions based on limited information.

This leads, firstly, to a certain simplification and reduction of the process of cognition, although it does not contribute to the accuracy of constructing the image of another. Secondly, stereotyping leads to the emergence prejudices, when, based on negative experience, any new perception is colored by hostility. Prejudice can cause serious harm to people's relationships.

Ethnic stereotypes are especially common when, based on limited information about individual representatives of ethnic groups, preconceived conclusions are drawn about the entire group.

Communication as interaction (the interactive side of communication). The interactive side of communication lies in the organization of interaction between communicating individuals, i.e. in the exchange of not only knowledge, ideas, but also actions. The simultaneous participation of people in an activity means that everyone has to make their own special contribution to it.

In order to live, people are forced to interact (i.e. organize joint activities). In psychology, all interactions are divided into two opposing types: cooperation(collaboration) and competition(conflict).

Cooperation promotes the organization of joint activities and achievements.

Conflict is a collision of opposing goals, interests, positions, and views of the subjects of interaction.

Traditionally, conflict has been viewed as a negative type of interaction. Currently, research by psychologists has established the positive aspects of the conflict. For example, 6 types of conflicts characteristic of teaching activities and ways to overcome them are described. Intrapersonal conflicts similar to these arise among a number of specialists in the “person-to-person” professional sphere who intensively interact and come into contact with people.

1. conflicts caused by diversity of professional responsibilities teacher Awareness of the impossibility of completing all of one’s tasks equally well can lead a conscientious teacher to intrapersonal conflict, loss of self-confidence, and disappointment in the profession. Such a conflict is a consequence of poor organization of the teacher’s work; it can be overcome by choosing the main, but real and feasible tasks (with rational means and methods of solution).

2. conflicts arising from different expectations those people who influence the performance of professional duties of a teacher. Employees of public education authorities, school administrators, colleagues, students and parents can challenge the methods, forms of teaching and education, the correctness of grading, etc. A pedagogical position and a high professional culture will help a teacher psychologically competently overcome such conflicts.

3. conflicts arising due to the low prestige of certain subjects of the school curriculum. Music, labor, fine arts, and physical education are considered “minor” subjects. At the same time, the prestige of any school subject ultimately depends on the personality and quality of the teacher’s work.

4. conflicts associated with excessive dependence of teacher behavior on various instructions and plans that leave no room for initiative. At the same time, the activities of the teacher are under the attention and control of the public and government bodies.

5. conflicts based on the contradiction between multifaceted responsibilities and the desire for a professional career. Not many teachers hold the post of school principal and his deputies, having unlimited opportunities for professional growth and personal fulfillment.

6. conflicts caused by divergence of values, which are promoted by the teacher in the school with values ​​that are observed by students outside its walls. It is important for a teacher to be psychologically prepared for manifestations of selfishness, rudeness, and lack of spirituality in society and at school in order to defend his professional position.

The specific content of communication as interaction is the ratio of individual “contributions” to a single process of activity.

Joint-individual activity– when each participant does his part of the overall work independently of each other.

Joint-sequential activity– the common task is performed sequentially by each participant.

Collaborative-interacting activities– when there is simultaneous interaction between each participant and everyone else. The psychological “pattern” of interaction in all these models is different.

Methods of influence in communication . Communication includes three main methods of influence:

1. Infection is an unconscious, involuntary exposure of an individual to certain mental states. (The mechanism of socio-psychological infection comes down to the effect of multiple mutual reinforcement of influences through infection - panic, as the emotional state of a mass of people).

2. Suggestion is the purposeful, unreasoned influence of one person on a group or on another person. (Based on the uncritical perception of a message or information. Unlike infection, which is usually non-verbal in nature, (music, emotions, games, dancing), suggestion is verbal in nature. It is carried out through speech, it has a particularly strong effect on impressionable people who have no life principles and beliefs, insecure people with undeveloped logical thinking.)

3. Imitation – manifests itself in following an example or model (reproduction). It is of particular importance in the process of human mental development.

Social psychology: lecture notes Melnikova Nadezhda Anatolyevna

1. The concept of communication

1. The concept of communication

In all group activities, participants act simultaneously in two capacities: as performers of conventional roles and as unique human individuals.

When conventional roles are played, people act as units of social structure.

There is agreement on the contribution that each role holder must make.

The behavior of each participant is limited by expectations determined by cultural norms.

By engaging in such enterprises, people remain unique living beings.

The reactions of each of them turn out to be dependent on certain qualities of those with whom they come into contact.

The nature of mutual attraction or repulsion is different in each case.

The pattern of interpersonal relationships that develop between people involved in a joint action creates another matrix that places further restrictions on what each person can or cannot do.

Even in the most fleeting interactions, interpersonal reactions occur.

In most of the contacts that occur, such reactions are of little significance and are soon forgotten.

When people continue to communicate with each other, more stable orientations emerge.

The nature of these relationships in each case will depend on the personality traits included in the interaction of individuals.

Since a person expects special attention from his closest friends and is not inclined to expect good treatment from those whom he does not like, each party in the system of interpersonal relations is bound by a number of special rights and responsibilities.

Conventional roles are standardized and impersonal.

But the rights and responsibilities that are established in interpersonal roles depend entirely on the individual characteristics of the participants and their preferences.

Unlike conventional roles, most interpersonal roles are not specifically taught.

Everyone develops their own type of appeal.

Although no systems of interpersonal relationships are exactly alike, there are repeated situations and similar individuals react in the same way to the same type of treatment.

Typical patterns of interpersonal relationships are observed and typical interpersonal roles can be named.

Interpersonal roles that arise when people compete over similar interests include rival, enemy, conspirator, and ally.

In every organized group there is a common understanding of how members are supposed to feel towards each other.

In a family, for example, the relationship between mother and sons is conventionally defined.

People participating in a coordinated action simultaneously interact in the language of two sign systems.

As performers of conventional roles, they use conventional symbols, which are the object of social control.

At the same time, the special personal orientation of each character is manifested in the style of his performance, in what he does when the situation is not sufficiently defined and he has some freedom of choice.

The manifestation of personality traits, in turn, causes responses, often unconscious.

These two forms of interaction imperceptibly transform into one another.

Communication– the process of interrelation and interaction of social subjects (individuals, groups), characterized by the exchange of activities, information, experience, abilities, skills and abilities, as well as the results of activities, which is one of the necessary and universal conditions for the formation and development of society and the individual.

At the social level, communication is a necessary condition for the transmission of social experience and cultural heritage from one generation to another.

In a psychological sense, communication is understood as the process and result of establishing contacts between people or the interaction of subjects through various sign systems.

There are three aspects of communication, such as the transfer of information ( communicative aspect of communication); interaction ( interactive aspect of communication); people's understanding and knowledge of each other ( perceptual aspect of communication).

The key words in understanding the essence of communication are: contact, connection, interaction, exchange, method of unification.

There are different types of communication, which are most often determined by the specifics of feedback.

Communication can be direct and indirect, interpersonal and mass.

Direct communication- this is direct natural communication face to face, when the subjects of interaction are nearby and not only verbal communication occurs, but also communication using non-verbal means.

Direct communication is the most complete type of interaction, because individuals receive maximum information.

Direct communication can be formal And interpersonal.

It can also be carried out between subjects and simultaneously between several subjects in a group.

However, direct communication is only possible for a small group, i.e. one in which all subjects of interaction personally know each other.

Direct face-to-face communication is two-way and characterized by complete and immediate feedback.

Indirect or indirect communication occurs in situations where individuals are separated from each other by time or distance, for example, if subjects talk on the phone or write letters to each other.

A special type of communication is mass communication, defining social communication processes.

Mass communication represents multiple contacts of strangers, as well as communication mediated by various types of media.

Mass communication can be direct and indirect.

Direct mass communication occurs at various rallies, in all large social groups: crowd, public, audience.

Indirect mass communication is most often one-sided in nature and is associated with mass culture and the means of mass communication.

Since many media communicate information to large numbers of people at the same time, feedback is very difficult, but it does exist.

People, under the influence of the content of information transmitted by such sources, form motives and attitudes that subsequently determine their social actions.

Levels of communication are determined by the general culture of interacting subjects, their individual and personal characteristics, characteristics of the situation, social control and many other factors.

The dominant ones are the value orientations of those communicating and their attitude towards each other.

The most primitive level of communication is phatic(from Latin fatuus - “stupid”), involving a simple exchange of remarks to maintain a conversation in conditions where the communicants are not particularly interested in interaction, but are forced to communicate.

Its primitiveness lies not in the fact that the remarks are simple, but in the fact that there is no deep meaning or content behind them.

Sometimes this level is designated as conventional(convention – “agreement”).

The next level of communication is informational.

There is an exchange of information that is interesting to the interlocutors, which is the source of some type of human activity (mental, emotional, behavioral).

The information level of communication is usually stimulating in nature and prevails in conditions of joint activities or when old friends meet.

Personal the level of communication characterizes such interaction in which subjects are capable of the deepest self-disclosure and comprehension of the essence of another person.

The personal, or spiritual, level characterizes only such communication, which is aimed at activating the positive attitude of the subjects of interaction themselves towards themselves, other people and the world around them as a whole.

The functions of communication are determined according to various criteria: emotional, informational, socializing, connecting, self-knowledge ( A. V. Mudrik ); establishment of community, instrumental, awareness, self-determination ( A. B. Dobrovich ); cohesion, instrumental, translational, self-expression ( A. A. Brudny ); contact, information, incentive, coordination, understanding, emotive, establishing relationships, influencing ( L. A. Karpenko ), etc.

If we consider communication in a certain system of relations, we can identify a set of groups of functions.

1. Psychological functions determine the development of man as an individual and personality.

In conditions of communication, many mental processes proceed differently than in conditions of isolated individual activity.

Communication stimulates the development of thought processes (cognitive activity), volitional processes (activity), and emotional processes (efficiency).

2. Social features determine the development of society as a social system and the development of groups as constituent units of this system.

Integration of society is possible only if there is communication in all its types, types and forms.

3. Instrumental functions define numerous connections between man and the world in the broadest sense of the word; between different social groups.

The conceptual idea of ​​such a division of functions lies in the idea of ​​the relationship between man and society and the world in accordance with a simple model of relations: man – activity – society.

This text is an introductory fragment. From the book Psychodiagnostics author Luchinin Alexey Sergeevich

4. Binet-Simon scale. The concept of "mental age". Stanford-Binet scale. The concept of “intellectual quotient” (IQ). Works of V. Stern The first scale (series of tests) of Binet-Simon appeared in 1905. Binet proceeded from the idea that the development of intelligence occurs

From the book Social Psychology: Lecture Notes author

1. The concept of communication In all group actions, participants act simultaneously in two capacities: as performers of conventional roles and as unique human individuals. When conventional roles are played, people act as units of social

From the book Workshop on Observation and Observation author Regush Lyudmila Alexandrovna

3.1. The concept of observation One of the most complete works devoted to observation, “Educating Observation in Schoolchildren,” which laid the foundations for practical work on its development, was written by B. G. Ananyev back in 1940. But, unfortunately, the development of development paths

From the book Social Psychology author Melnikova Nadezhda Anatolyevna

17. Concept and types of communication In all group actions, participants act simultaneously in two capacities: as performers of conventional roles and as unique human individuals. Conventional roles involve the actions of people as a unit of social

author Lisina Maya Ivanovna

CHAPTER 1 The concept of communication The main focus of the book is on presenting the idea we have developed about the emergence of communication with people around us and its development in the next 7 years of a child’s life. But before we begin to consider the genesis of communication,

From the book Formation of a child’s personality in communication author Lisina Maya Ivanovna

Communication functions. The meaning of communication Analysis of the concept of communication and the disclosure of its understanding allows us to approach the definition of its functions and meaning. There are different possibilities for identifying the main functions of communication in human life. So, for example, from our definition it is easy

From the book Formation of a child’s personality in communication author Lisina Maya Ivanovna

The concept of the form of communication Changes in individual aspects that characterize the development of various structural components of communication - needs, motives, operations, etc. - together give rise to integral, holistic formations that represent levels of development

From the book Workshop on Conflict Management author Emelyanov Stanislav Mikhailovich

The concept of effective communication technologies and their main content By effective communication technologies we will understand such methods, techniques and means of communication that fully ensure mutual understanding and mutual empathy of communication partners. For

From the book FORMATION OF PERSONALITY. A VIEW ON PSYCHOTHERAPY by Rogers Carl R.

The concept of congruence Fundamental to many of the provisions that I want to present is the term “congruence” (consistency, correspondence). This concept was developed to describe a group of phenomena that are important in psychotherapy and in all interpersonal

From the book How to Develop Will and Character author Ruvinsky Leonid Izotovich

The concept of will The process of self-education is closely related to will. A sufficient level of will development is a necessary basis and condition for the implementation of a self-education program. Therefore, self-education of the will is not only the goal of developing one of the qualities

From the book Language and the Human Mind author Leontyev Alexey Alekseevich

Word and concept The concepts of dog and shovel are enshrined in certain words - “dog”, “shovel”. But it is not at all necessary, and it would be a very serious mistake, to identify (as is sometimes done) the concept and the meaning of the word. Firstly, the concept may not be expressed

author Prusova N V

1. The concept of work. Pros and cons of the job. The concept of unemployment Work is a materially rewarded human activity aimed at creating certain benefits. The presence or absence of work affects the status characteristics of an individual, the possibility of fulfillment

From the book Labor Psychology author Prusova N V

29. The concept of labor mobility. Types of mobility. The concept of labor physiology. Factors in the working environment Labor mobility refers to a change in professional status and role, which reflects the dynamics of professional growth. Elements of labor

From the book Occupational Psychology: lecture notes author Prusova N V

1. The concept of deviation Deviation is a violation of the norms, values, and cultural traditions of the community in which the individual exists (works). Alcoholism, drug addiction, and theft can be forms of deviation, as long as these phenomena do not cross the line into delinquency -

From the book Organizational Behavior: Cheat Sheet author Author unknown

From the book 50 exercises for developing the ability to live in the present author Levasseur Laurence

5. The joy of intimate communication or communication in a company Thanks to the exercises of the previous sections, you have improved your physical and intellectual abilities, and were also able to take a fresh look at the world, appreciating its beauty. But the environment in which we live is not