Socio-psychological phenomena accompany us all our lives. These include perception, imitation, understanding, suggestion, leadership, persuasion, relationships, and more. All this usually manifests itself in the process of communication, which, in turn, is considered to be a central phenomenon in psychology. However, about everything - in order.

Specificity

First of all, it should be noted that socio-psychological phenomena are usually considered at several levels - at the official-formalized, personal-institutional and interpersonal. And in general, all communication, in principle, is perceived as a means of improving the quality of education and work, as a special phenomenon. After all, it is in its process that the psychological and social structure is formed an individual, small groups and whole groups.

So, what is the specificity of the given topic? The fact that all socio-psychological phenomena that seem familiar to us are usually considered from several points of view. To be more precise, they are "laid out" into levels.

In the first, something social only acts as a corrector of biological and natural. On the second, a common human factor is manifested. Differences in age, gender are taken into account, the continuity of generations is taken into account.

And finally, the third level. It, in short, includes economic and political conditions, which are important reasons for the socialization of the individual.

And the central link in all this is the conceptual apparatus. That is, the basic concepts that express the structure of small groups, personality, as well as mass phenomena.

Classification

Psychology and its manifestations depend on many things. From communities, small and large groups in which they arise.

Also on their type. Communities are both organized and unorganized. The phenomena that arise in them are called massive (this will be discussed below), and the behavior is spontaneous.

The class of psychological phenomena is also important. Phenomena can be rationally meaningful (opinion, belief, values), emotionally ordered (mood, social feelings), functioning under certain conditions (for example, in extreme or conflict situations). And of course, they can be both conscious and unconscious.

Public Opinion: Definition

Theoretical knowledge is useful, but it is worthwhile to move on to practice and consider socio-psychological phenomena directly. One of them is a form of mass consciousness. That is, public opinion. It is in it that the attitude of people (sometimes even entire groups) to certain processes is manifested. The definition specifies - what to those that affect their needs or interests. But reality shows that modern people express their opinion in relation to everything, even if it does not concern them.

Description of the phenomenon

Public opinion can be formed in different ways - either consciously or spontaneously. In the second case, judgment is based on certain information that is transmitted from one mouth to another. Take the political arena, for example. It is unlikely that people in modern society all polls are experts in topics related to her. However, most of them are happy to talk about politics, and many of their judgments seem smart. Why? Because the opinion expressed by them is based on the information provided by the media, politicians themselves, and authoritative people. This is at its best. Usually there are still rumors, delusions, gossip, ideologies, beliefs.

In fact, people absorb everything they hear into their consciousness, after which they simply support it with their guesses. And now "their" opinion has been formed.

On a conscious approach

It can be distinguished into a separate short topic... Because the conscious approach is not as “popular” today as the one mentioned above. Because the way of life itself is spontaneous. For an opinion to be conscious, people (all or the majority) must approach the perception of reality subjectively. And this implies the ability to think independently, rarely focusing on something generally accepted and already established in society. Which, again, is not typical for everyone.

Scale

Public opinion has one feature - it has an impact. Even if it happened in a small team.

Example: there is a relatively small business that employs 50 people. As elsewhere, the one who is called an outcast works there. Why was there such an opinion about him? Perhaps he was not as sociable as everyone else, or he was always quiet, did not mind anyone. If normal people work in a team, then this person will not cause any discussion. But it often happens that individuals of this type become "outcasts", "scapegoats" for the dumping of unpleasant work on them. They speculate about their unsociability, weave around intrigue. And so, at one moment such a person acquires the final image invented by his "well-wishers".

And this is just one example. Needless to say about the influence of public opinion, which covers the problems of international life and economic issues.

Types of interactions

Joint activity is also accepted to be perceived as a socio-psychological phenomenon. Why? Because this is a relationship with other people, carried out for a purpose.

It cannot be embodied in reality if nothing connects its participants. Compatibility is available in all cases. Its first version is called psychophysiological. It manifests itself in cases where cooperative activity carried out like people... They are united by a similar character, identical behavioral reactions, similar attitudes, perhaps even a worldview. All this determines the consistency between them. And its presence is necessary to achieve goals.

The second version of compatibility is socio-psychological. It is considered to be the most optimal one. Since it implies a combination in a certain group and a commonality of their attitudes, interests and values.

Cohesion and achievement of results

This is what collaborative activities mean. Cohesion is a process during which a specific connection is formed between people, due to which they are united into a "single organism". Everything, again, is done for the sake of achieving certain goals and results. Each of the group members is interested in this.

It is customary to highlight the levels of cohesion. And on the first one, the development of emotional contacts usually occurs - the manifestation of sympathy and disposition of people for each other, for example. The second level involves the process of convincing each person that his system of values ​​coincides with others. And on the third, the division of the common goal is carried out.

All this affects the formation of the so-called contributing to the maintenance of the general mood, a decent level of performance and well-being.

Phenomena in the masses

Society is. Accordingly, such a concept as the mass psyche relates directly to the topic under discussion. Other terms also follow from it. Mass consciousness, for example. It is one of the most common. Or a mass mood. We have all heard these concepts at least once.

Here, for example, are the massive phenomena of the psyche. This is the name of certain phenomena that arise, exist and develop in fairly large social groups. These are the mass sentiments. It - mental states that reach a large number of people. The prerequisites for their occurrence, usually, are events of a political, social, economic and even spiritual nature. Naturally, most often negative mass sentiments are most pronounced. Which are capable of destroying the socio-political systems that have become established in society and are disgusted with it. The tumultuous events of the nineties showed how influential sentiment can be.

Individuality

It also has a place to be in the topic of social and psychological phenomena. Since they often do not belong to society, but to one and only person. This refers to those phenomena that are due to the characteristics, behavior and actions of a particular person. This can be a social status, the role of a person, her position, values, attitudes. It often happens that because of only one person in a group (in the same work collective), such phenomena occur that without him have no place to be. If, for example, an office is run by an evil boss, who constantly and for any reason breaks down on employees, then every time he is there, most employees will have a tense state. Because everyone will anticipate the "storm" and perceive themselves as a potential victim. And again, this is just one example.

What is the law of imitation?

The answer to this question was given at one time by a French sociologist More precisely, he formulated it.

Tarde argued that imitation is the main driving force of social development - it is imitation. And all the similarities that can only be in our world are due to the usual repetition.

The sociologist singled out the logical laws of imitation - those that are based on the means of propagation of a certain innovation or the calculation of the goal. Innovations were designated as a separate category.

But the most important thing in the law is that imitation goes to the outside from the inside. In other words, the mind is always ahead of the senses. Ideas come before meaning. And the ends come before the means. And of course, the desire to imitate in people causes only the most prestigious. Because hierarchy is important.

Functions of social groups and division into them

It has always been. Socio-psychological groups have existed for as long as humanity. Over time, only their names have changed. But in general, there have always been associations of people with a single social characteristic.

There are various approaches to defining the classification of the functions of such groups. It is customary to single out a few as the main ones.

The first function is socialization. It is believed that a person only in a group can ensure his full existence and survival.

The second function is instrumental. It implies the joint implementation by a group of one or another activity (the interaction was already mentioned above).

The third function is expressive. This includes everything related to psychology. This is mutual approval of people, respect, trust, friendship, feelings, emotions and much more.

And finally, the fourth function is supporting. Its essence lies in the fact that all people strive to unite in difficult situations. These are their social and psychological characteristics. It is easier to cope with something together (both physically and mentally) than alone.

About problems

The topic concerning them should also be noted with attention. concern everyone today.

Take a small group like a family, for example. In our time, not every union ends its existence in a natural way - that is, the departure of one of the spouses to another world. More and more often marriages break up. About 80%, according to statistics! And almost always the reasons are arisen and unresolved psychological problems.

Or, for example, the elderly. They also have a lot of problems of a socio-psychological nature. One of the few is a sharp decline in their status in society. They cease to function as successfully as individuals, which often leads to breakdowns.

And the youth? It seems to many that this is who, and they certainly should not have any problems. But this is nothing more than bias and stereotypes. Search for their place in life, attempts to "join" society and certain collectives, competition in all its manifestations. Yes, all problems are different. But they always accompany us, at any age. And some, perhaps, more often, others less often. Can they be avoided altogether? Yes, absolutely. If you live outside of society. Which, however, is difficult to achieve.

Section # I Introductory

1. The subject of social psychology.

2. The structure of social psychology as a science.

3. Specificity of socio-psychological analysis.

4. Two social psychologies.

Each of us lives in a world inhabited by many other people. Among them there are relatives and friends, friends and acquaintances. There are also quite a few acquaintances. With someone we constantly communicate, work together, study or conduct free time, see others from time to time. However, both those, and others, and the third one way or another affect us, causing certain changes in our consciousness and behavior.

From time immemorial, a person thought about how to better understand other people, influence them, establish certain relationships with them. This was caused by the needs of practice - the search for the best forms of organization and interaction of people in various fields - economic, political, military, educational, medical, etc.

Why do people often agree with the majority opinion? And why is it the other way around, and one person convinces everyone else? How can the actions of several people and even large masses of people be coordinated?

Today, such a branch of scientific knowledge as social psychology is trying to answer all such questions arising from the diverse forms of contacts between people. This is a science that studies the laws of people knowing each other, their relationships and interactions. So, in the center of research attention of a social psychologist are the consequences of various kinds of contacts between people, manifested in the form of thoughts, feelings and actions of individual individuals. These contacts can be direct, as they say, face to face. They are also mediated, for example, through the use of mass communications - press, radio, television, cinema, the Internet, etc. This is how people are influenced not only by certain persons, but also by individual social groups and society as a whole. ...

Contacts between people can be casual and relatively short-lived, for example, a conversation between two fellow travelers in the same compartment of a railway carriage. Conversely, interpersonal contacts can become systematic and long-term. For example, in the family, at work, in the company of friends. In this case, the object of research interest of a social psychologist can be not only small groups of people, but also such communities that include a significant number of people distributed over a large territory. For example, nations, classes, parties, trade unions, large contingents of various enterprises, firms, etc.

It should be noted that certain relationships arise not only between individuals, but also between whole groups, both small and large. Intergroup relationships can be of a different nature - from mutual understanding and cooperation to acute confrontation. The ubiquitous phenomena of globalization, characteristic of the beginning of our century, make exclusively actual problems intercultural communication. Today everyone large quantity representatives of different ethnic groups and cultures face each other directly in the process of carrying out various joint actions. Teaching these people to successfully interact to achieve common goals is also a socio-psychological problem.

Considering the structure of social psychology as a science, the following sections can be distinguished:

· social psychology of personality;

· social psychology of communication and interpersonal interaction;

· social psychology of groups.

Social psychology of personality covers the problems due to the social nature of the individual, its inclusion in various groups and society as a whole. These are, for example, the issues of socialization of the individual, its socio-psychological qualities, the motivation of the individual's behavior, the influence of social norms on this behavior.

Social psychology of communication and interpersonal interaction examines various types and means of communication between people (including mass communications), the mechanisms of these communications, types of human interaction - from cooperation to conflict. Closely related to this issue are issues of social cognition, such as perception, understanding and assessment of each other by people.

Social psychology of groups covers a variety of group phenomena and processes, the structure and dynamics of small and large groups, various stages of their life, as well as intergroup relationships.

As you can see, the scope of the phenomena of social psychology is very wide. Ultimately, however, this science tries to reveal how people influence each other and how they behave in different situations, i.e. various features of social behavior. It is known that a number of other areas of scientific knowledge are also engaged in the study of certain aspects of social behavior of people.

What is the specificity of socio-psychological analysis?

Sociologists, economists, political scientists, and other social scientists use social level of analysis(i.e. one that relates to the characteristics of society as a whole). In doing so, researchers are trying to understand the general types of social behavior. For example, homicide rates, voter behavior, or consumer spending. According to this approach social behavior due to factors such as economic downturn, class conflicts, clashes between rival ethnic groups, crop failure in certain regions, government policy or technological change. The purpose of societal analysis is to identify connections between broad social influences and common types social behavior. In studying urban violence, sociologists are looking for the relationship between the level of violent crime and factors such as poverty, immigration or the industrialization of society.

Individual level analysis is commonly used in personality psychology and clinical psychology. Here the behavior of people is explained based on the unique history of the life of a given person and his psychological characteristics. According to this approach, personality traits and motives can explain why a particular individual behaves in a certain way and why two people may react in completely different ways in the same situation. At the individual level of analysis, there is a tendency to explain violent crimes in terms of the criminal's unique life history and personality traits.

For example, V.L. Vasiliev emphasizes the need to study the so-called marginal individuals, the main characteristic of which is internal social instability. The "marginalized" are distinguished by their inability to fully master cultural traditions and develop appropriate social skills of behavior in the environment in which they find themselves. So, this is a resident of the rural "hinterland", forced to live and work in big city, an adult who has moved to a region where they speak an unfamiliar language and who does not know local customs and traditions. Experiencing high level emotional stress, a "marginal" personality easily comes into conflict with the surrounding social environment (Vasiliev, 2000).

Social psychologists turn to a different level of analysis - interpersonal (interpersonal). Their attention is focused on the current social situation in which the person finds herself. The social situation includes other people in a given environment, their attitudes and behavior, as well as their relationship to a given personality. To understand the causes of violent crime, social psychologists can pose the question as follows: What types of interpersonal situations generate aggressive responses that can lead to an increase in violent behavior? One important socio-psychological explanation is that states of frustration make people angry and thus contribute to the tendency to act aggressively. This is called the frustration-aggression hypothesis. In accordance with it, it is assumed that a person, having encountered an obstacle on the way to achieving the desired goal, experiences frustration and anger and, as a result, is likely to lose his temper. This effect of frustration is one of the explanations for violent crimes at the interpersonal level.

Using the hypothesis of frustration - aggression, it is believed American psychologists can also explain how large-scale economic and societal factors create situations that lead to violence and crime. For example, poor people in overcrowded urban slums are undoubtedly frustrated; they can't get Good work, afford a decent home, provide a safe environment for their children, etc. Frustration over all of these issues can lead to anger, which is sometimes the direct cause of violent crime. The hypothesis of frustration - aggression focuses on the immediate social situation, feelings and thoughts that this situation causes in people with different social characteristics, and the effect of these subjective responses on behavior.

Of course, each of these three approaches (societal, individual, interpersonal) has its own value and is essential if we want to understand as fully as possible complex social behavior. Therefore, there is a significant overlap in the nature of research carried out among these scientific disciplines.

However, at the same time, we must note that it is impossible to draw clear demarcation lines separating social psychology from other sciences. The famous French social psychologist S. Moscovici characterized social psychology as a "bridge" between other branches of knowledge (Moscovici, 1989). He meant that social psychology refers to the discoveries of sociology, anthropology, political science, economics and biology in order to better understand how the individual is included in the larger social system.

Since the beginning of the last century, two main branches of social psychology, psychological and sociological, began to take shape, primarily in the United States. Differences between the issues of these two areas and their theoretical foundations sometimes they look very significant. The American sociologist A.S. Tomars. In one of the colleges he knew, social psychology was taught in a psychology course. Over the years, she was taught both semesters, but with two different teachers. One of them gravitated towards sociology, the other towards individual psychology. The courses of these teachers had almost nothing in common, and as a result, students endured "completely different ideas about the subject read to them, depending on whether they listened to it in the fall or in the spring semester" (Tomars, 1961).

First of all, it is noted that, although both directions of socio-psychological knowledge consider social behavior, they do it from different theoretical positions.

The focus of psychological social psychology is on the individual. In doing so, researchers try to understand and predict social behavior, turning to the analysis of immediate stimuli, psychological states and personality traits. Variations in behavior are assumed to be due to how people interpret social stimuli or their personality differences. Even when studying group dynamics, there is a tendency to explain these processes at the individual level. The main research method here is experiment.

Proponents of sociological social psychology on the contrary, they play down the role individual differences and the effects of direct social incentives on behavior. The focus of this direction is the group or society. At the same time, researchers, in order to understand social behavior, turn to the analysis of societal variables, such as socioeconomic status, social roles and cultural norms. Much attention is paid here to the characteristics of larger social groups than in psychological social psychology. Therefore, social psychologists of the sociological direction are mainly concerned with the explanation of such societal problems as poverty, crime, deviant behavior.

The main research methods here are polls and included observation.

It is generally recognized that both areas of modern social psychology influence each other, mutually enriching.

Similar information.

The subject of social psychology. The main points of view on the object and subject of social psychology: sociological, general psychological, the point of view of B.D. Parygin. Social interaction of people as an object of social psychology. Regularities of socio-psychological phenomena associated with the inclusion of a person in large and small social groups.

Modern ideas about the subject of social psychology are extremely differentiated, that is, they differ from each other, which is typical for most borderline, related branches of science, which include social psychology.

She studies the following phenomena:

1. Psychological processes, states and properties of an individual, which are manifested as a result of his inclusion in relations with other people, in various social groups (family, educational and labor groups, etc.) and in general in the system of social relations (economic, political, managerial, legal, etc.). The most frequently studied personality manifestations in groups are sociability, aggressiveness, compatibility with other people, conflict potential, etc.

2. Phenomenon interaction between people, in particular, the phenomenon of communication, for example, marital, child-parent, pedagogical, managerial, psychotherapeutic and many other types of it. Interaction can be not only interpersonal, but also between an individual and a group, as well as intergroup

3. Psychological processes, states and properties of various social groups, as integral formations, differing from each other, and not reducible to any individual.

4. Mass mental phenomena, such as: crowd behavior, panic, rumors, fashion, mass enthusiasm, jubilation, apathy, fears, etc.

By bringing together different approaches to the understanding of the subject of social psychology, you can give it the following definition:

Social Psychology studies psychological phenomena (processes, states and properties) that characterize an individual and a group as subjects of social interaction.

Item social psychology - mental phenomena that arise in the course of interaction between people in social groups.

Social Psychology Subject: patterns of behavior and activity (social interaction) of people included in various social groups, as well as socio-psychological characteristics of the functioning of these groups and the personality in them.

On the subject social psychology has developed three approaches:

First of them, which received predominant distribution among sociologists, he understood social psychology as the science of "mass phenomena of the psyche." Within the framework of this approach, different researchers have identified different phenomena that fit this definition; sometimes more emphasis was placed on the study of the psychology of classes, other large social communities and, in this regard, on such individual elements, aspects of the social psychology of groups as traditions, customs, customs, etc. In other cases, more attention was paid to the formation of public opinion, such specific mass phenomena like fashion, etc.

Second approach on the contrary, he sees personality as the main subject of research in social psychology. The shades were manifested here only in the context in which the study of personality was supposed. One side, greater emphasis was placed on psychological traits, personality traits, typology of personalities. On the other side, the position of the individual in the group, interpersonal relations, and the entire communication system were highlighted.

Third approach... In a sense, they tried to synthesize the two previous ones with its help. Social psychology was considered here as a science that studies both mass mental processes and the position of an individual in a group. In this case, naturally, the problematics of social psychology seemed to be quite wide, practically the entire range of issues considered in various schools of social psychology was thus included in its subject. Attempts have been made to give a complete outline of the problems under study within the framework of this approach.

The structure of social psychology as a science is determined by the system of its main categories:

· The concept of a social community;

· Features of human behavior in a socially unorganized and socially organized community;

· The concept of a social group, the classification of social groups;

· Social and psychological organization of small groups;

· Modification of individual behavior in a social group;

· Communication as a means of social interaction;

· Interpersonal interaction in the process of communication;

· Psychology of large social groups;

· Psychology of mass communication and mass social phenomena;

· Psychology of social management.

Social psychology methods .

Methods of collecting information:

Observation, reading documents (content analysis), polls (questionnaires, interviews), tests (the most common sociometric test), experiment (laboratory, natural), natural content analysis, factor analysis, sociometry, dummy group method, expert assessment method, etc.

Methods for collecting primary information ... The forms of each of these methods are very diverse. Observation can act, for example, in the form of self-observation or observation from the outside of the actions, behavior and mental state of other people. A variation of the latter is "included" observation, when the researcher himself enters the studied group as one of its members and secretly observes the behavior of other members of the group. According to its object, observation can be directed to the so-called "significant" or "standard" situations.

Observation - the "old" method of social psychology. The main problem is to ensure the fixation of some specific classes of characteristics, so that the "reading" of the observation protocol would be clear to another researcher as well.

Examining documents is of great importance, since using this method it is possible to analyze the products of human activity. Great importance in empirical research has work on the study of documentary material. In the broad sense of the word, a document is not only this or that form of information recorded on paper, but in general all products or traces of human activity, the knowledge of which is essential for understanding the nature and essence of the phenomena under study. A special problem arises in connection with the fact that the document is interpreted by a researcher, a person with his own, inherent in him individual psychological characteristics... The most important role in the study of a document is the ability to understand the text. To overcome the "subjectivity" (interpretation of the document by the researcher), a special technique is introduced, called " content analysis". This is a special method of document analysis, when special "units" are highlighted in the text, and then the frequency of their use is calculated.

Polls- a common technique in socio-psychological research. It can be carried out in the form of an interview, conversation, questionnaire, testing, etc. A specific form of polling is disputes and discussions, public opinion polls by mass media.

Among the types of surveys, interviews and questionnaires are most common in social psychology. The main methodological problems lie in the design of the questionnaire. The first requirement here is the build logic.

Most often, personality tests are used in social psychology, less often group tests.

A test is a special kind of test, during which the subject either performs a specially designed task, or answers questions that differ from the questions of questionnaires or interviews. The questions in the tests are indirect.

The point of post-processing is to use the "key" to correlate the received responses with certain parameters.

Content analysis method there is it makes sense to apply only in cases when the researcher deals with a large amount of information.

Experiment- one of the main research methods in social psychology. There are two main types of experiment: laboratory and natural.

For both types, there are some general rules that express the essence of the method, for example: arbitrary introduction by the experimenter of independent variables and control over them, the requirement to select a control and experimental groups so that the measurement results can be compared with a certain standard.

Information processing methods ... After the necessary empirical material has been collected, the next stage of research begins, which consists in determining the degree of reliability and representativeness of the information received, as well as in its quantitative processing. The required level of reliability is provided both by a combination of a number of methods, for example, a survey or observation with experiment and analysis of objective indicators, and the use of modern computer technology to process a large amount of information received. However, the problem of the accuracy of research in social psychology is not limited to determining the degree of reliability and representativeness of empirical data. No less important condition the accuracy of research is the severity and orderliness of the logical system of science, the scientific validity of its principles, categories and laws.

When the degree of confidence is determined initial data, some kind of dependence, correlation between various elements of the object under study has been established, the task of correlating the previously formulated working hypotheses and models of the structure and mechanisms of the phenomenon under study with the empirical data obtained comes to the fore. At this stage, the system of fundamental theoretical attitudes of the researcher, the depth and consistency of the methodological apparatus of science acquire a decisive importance. In accordance with this, one can speak not only about a set of methods for obtaining, primary, quantitative processing of information, but also about a system of methods for secondary, qualitative processing of empirical data, in order to explain the dependencies established on the basis of analysis of statistical material. (More precisely, here it would be to speak not just about the transition from quantitative to qualitative methods or methods of qualitative analysis, but to methods of analyzing the quality of the phenomenon under study.)

Methods of socio-psychological control(SPK)... Along with methods of influence and research, a special place in the arsenal of means of social psychology is occupied by methods of socio-psychological control. Their specificity lies in the fact that they are applied, as a rule, first, on the basis of the already available primary information about the object of observation; secondly, they go beyond purely research procedures; thirdly, they combine the methods of diagnostics and directed influence into one whole, subordinate to practical tasks.

Methods of socio-psychological control can be both an element of the research process, for example, an experiment, or have an independent meaning. At the same time, the level of control is different. From a simple one-step observation of a particular socio-psychological process to a systematic observation, involving the regular removal of information from an object and measurements of its various parameters. This is, for example, the practice of social and psychological monitoring.

The tasks of social psychology. Such an extensive discussion about the subject of social psychology is the fate of most sciences that arise at the intersection of various disciplines. Likewise, the outcome of the discussions in all these cases does not necessarily lead to the development of a precise definition. However, they are still extremely necessary because, firstly, they help to outline the range of tasks solved by this science, and, secondly, they pose unresolved problems more clearly, forcing along the way to realize their own capabilities and means.

Thus, the discussion about the subject of social psychology cannot be considered completely complete, although the basis of the agreement reached is quite sufficient to conduct research. At the same time, it remains unquestionable that not all the i's have been dotted. As a well-known compromise, the situation has developed that in practice in our country there are now two social psychologies: one, associated mainly with a more "sociological", the other - mainly with a "psychological" problem.

In this sense the situation turned out to be similar to that which has developed in a number of other countries. For example, in the United States, social psychology officially exists "twice": its section is within the American Sociological Association and within the American Psychological Association; textbook prefaces usually indicate whether the author is a sociologist or a psychologist by training. In 1954, in the USA, at the suggestion of the famous social psychologist T. Newcomb, an interesting experiment was carried out at one of the universities: a course in social psychology was taught to half of the students of one course in the first semester by a lecturer-sociologist, the second half in the second semester by a lecturer-psychologist.

After completing courses students were asked to hold a discussion on the problems of social psychology, but it did not work out, since the students were fully confident that they had attended completely different courses in completely different disciplines (see: G. Becker, A. Boskov, 1961). Published in the USA in 1985, the textbook by K. Stefan and V. Stefan is called “Two Social Psychologies”. Of course, this duality causes a number of inconveniences. It can be permissible only at some stage in the development of science, the benefit of discussions about its subject should be, among other things, in contributing to an unambiguous solution of the issue.

The severity of the problems of social psychology is dictated, however, not only by some uncertainty of its position in the system of sciences and not even predominantly by this feature. A very important and essential feature of socio-psychological knowledge is its inclusion (to a greater extent than other areas of psychology) in the social and political problems of society. Of course, this applies especially to such problems of social psychology as the psychological characteristics of large social groups, mass movements, etc.

But studies of small groups, socialization or social attitudes of the individual, traditional for social psychology, are also associated with those specific tasks that are solved by a society of a certain type. In the theoretical part of socio-psychological knowledge is directly influenced by specific social conditions, cultural traditions. In a certain sense of the word, it can be said that social psychology is itself a part of culture. This raises at least two challenges for researchers.

At first, the task of correct attitude to foreign social psychology, primarily to the content of its theoretical concepts, as well as the methods and results of research. As evidenced by numerous Western works, most of the practice-oriented research in social psychology has been evoked by the very specific needs of practice. Consequently, the very orientation of these studies should be carefully studied from the point of view of the tasks set by practice in due time.

Modern Scientific research cannot be carried out without a particular system their financing, and this system itself dictates both the goal and a certain "coloring" of the main direction of work. Therefore, the question of the attitude to the tradition of social psychology of any other country does not have an unambiguous solution: the nihilistic denial of someone else's experience is just as inappropriate here as the simple copying of ideas and research. It is no accident that the concept of "social context" has been introduced in modern social psychology; attachment of research to certain social practices.

Secondly, the task of thoroughly working out the problem of applied research in social psychology. Research carried out directly in various parts of the social organism requires not only high professional skill, but also the civic responsibility of the researcher. The focus of practical recommendations is the area where social psychology directly "invades" public life. Consequently, for a social psychologist, not only the question of professional ethics, but also about the formulation of their social position.

French social psychologist rightly noted that it is society that sets tasks for social psychology, it dictates problems to it (Muscovy, 1984). But this means that a social psychologist must understand these problems of society, be able to sensitively grasp them, be aware to what extent and in what direction he can contribute to solving these problems. “Academism” and “professionalism” in social psychology should organically include a certain social sensitivity, an understanding of the essence of social “engagement” of this scientific discipline.

In modern society, numerous areas of application of social and psychological knowledge are revealed.

Specificity of social psychology, which took shape in our country in specific historical conditions, namely during the period of the existence of the socialist system, naturally gave rise to new problems. Of course, many of the phenomena discovered in traditional social psychology take place in any type of society: interpersonal relations, communication processes, leadership, cohesion - all these are phenomena inherent in any type of social organization. However, in stating this fact, two circumstances must be borne in mind. First, even these phenomena, described in traditional social psychology, sometimes acquire completely different content in different social conditions.

Formally, the processes remain the same.: people communicate with each other, they form certain social attitudes, etc., but what is the content of various forms of their interaction, what kind of attitudes arise in relation to certain social phenomena - all this is determined by the content of specific social relations. Hence, the analysis of all traditional problems acquires new facets. The methodological principle of including a meaningful consideration of social and psychological problems is dictated, among other things, by social needs.

Secondly, a new social reality sometimes gives rise to the need for new accents in the study of problems traditional for a given society. Thus, the period of radical economic and political transformations taking place today in Russia requires special attention, for example, to the problems of ethnic psychology (especially in connection with the exacerbation of interethnic conflicts), the psychology of entrepreneurship (in connection with the formation of new forms of ownership), etc.

The idea that society dictates the problems of social psychology should be complemented by the idea that it is the social psychologist's duty to be able to identify these problems.

Theoretical and practical tasks of social psychology:

1 ... Continuation of in-depth studies of problems related to the subject of social psychology in interaction with other sciences;

2. Substantive revision of social and psychological problems in connection with the changed social conditions in our country;

3 ... Research of new social and psychological phenomena (ethnic, economic, class, political, ideological, etc.);

4 .Social and psychological research of changes in mass consciousness, public sentiment and public opinion;

5 ... Analysis of the growing role of social psychology in the context of reforming society;

6. Interaction of social psychology with applied and practical psychology;

7 ... Ensuring the relationship of domestic social psychology with various areas of foreign social psychology.

The main levels of the methodology of social psychology and their relationship (the doctrine of methods, the set of methods used, the set of principles used in science):

I... General (philosophical) methodology (philosophical principles, requirements arising from philosophical laws and categories);

II. General scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, induction , deduction, abstraction, analogy, observation, experiment, etc.);

III. Special, own methods of social psychology:

1. Methods of influence (social and psychological trainings);

2. Methods of socio-psychological research:

a) Methods of information processing (general scientific methods);

b) methods of collecting information (observation, study of documents, study of performance results, polls, testing, experiment, sociometry, etc.);

IV. Private methods. The relationship of methods of socio-psychological research.

The growing role of the socio-psychological factor in modern social transformations (the formation of public opinion and public sentiment, an explanation of the need to reform various systems and their consequences, ensuring the social orientation of reforms and social protection of the population).

Main categories: social psychology, social consciousness, socio-psychological knowledge, subject and object of social psychology, tasks of social psychology, methodology of social psychology, methods of socio-psychological research.

The main sections of social psychology

According to the views of Russian scientists, in the structure of social psychology as a science, the following can be distinguished main sections.

• 1. Social psychology of personality.
• 2. Social psychology of communication and interpersonal interaction.
• 3. Social psychology of groups.

Social psychology of personality covers the problems determined by the nature of the personality, its inclusion in various groups and society as a whole (issues of socialization of the individual, its socio-psychological qualities, motivation of personality behavior, the influence of social norms on behavior).

Social psychology of communication and interpersonal interaction considers various types and means of communication between people (including mass communications), the mechanisms of these communications, types of human interaction - from cooperation to conflict. Closely related to this issue are the issues of social cognition (perception, understanding and assessment of each other by people).

Social psychology of groups covers a variety of group phenomena and processes, the structure and dynamics of small and large groups, various stages of their life, as well as intergroup relationships.

The structure of modern social psychology: differentiation of social psychology, integration processes in social psychology

According to researchers in the field of socio-psychological knowledge, the structure of social psychology in each historical period of its development is the result of the interaction of two opposite, but closely related processes: a) differentiation, i.e. division, fragmentation of social psychology into its component parts, sections; b) its integration with other and not only psychological branches of science, and the integration of social psychology both as a whole and its individual constituent parts.

Differentiation of Science is a progressive result of its internal formation, which is accomplished objectively, and contributes to the development of science. Differentiation is a criterion for the independence of a scientific discipline, its differentia specifica- an aspect of reality that only this science can investigate, since it has the necessary means for this: theory and method. V historically the differentiation of science occurs as a result of a more or less long-term development. So, over the centuries, psychology developed in the bosom of philosophy, then it emerged as an independent science, and only at the end of the 19th - first half of the 20th century. a period of intensive branching of the psychological sciences began, which continues to this day. "Through differentiation psychological science more and more new aspects of the psyche are singled out, the diversity and multi-quality of its manifestations are revealed. In each separate area of ​​psychological science, such specific data are accumulated that cannot be obtained in other areas ... "

The processes of division of social psychology occur for many reasons, among the main directions are the following.

• 1. The leading orientation towards various methods of analysis of socio-psychological phenomena gives rise to theoretical, empirical(including experimental) and practical social psychology.
• 2. As a result of the study different types the vital activity of a person and his communities, the corresponding branches of social psychology have developed: psychology of work, communication, social cognition and creativity, play. In the social psychology of labor, industries have been formed that study certain types of labor activity: management, leadership, entrepreneurship, engineering labor, and so on.
• 3. In accordance with the application of social and psychological knowledge in various spheres of public life. Social psychology has traditionally been differentiated into its following practical branches: industrial, Agriculture, trade, education, science, politics, mass communications, sports, art. Currently, they are intensively forming social psychology of economics, advertising, culture, leisure and etc.
• 4. In accordance with the main objects of research, modern social psychology was differentiated into sections: social psychology of personality, psychology of interpersonal interaction (communication and relationships), psychology of small groups, psychology of intergroup interaction, psychology of large social groups and mass phenomena.

Today, social psychology is developing extremely slowly such a section that could be called the "psychology of society," another qualitatively specific object of study. At present, in the study of society, social psychology, in comparison with sociology, has no specificity in the methods of its study - this is the main circumstance that complicates the formation of such a section in social psychology.

Integration(from lat. integer- whole) is the consistency, orderliness and stability of the system of internal processes. When considering the processes of integration of social psychology in the system of other sciences, it is important to take into account two main contours of its integration: external and internal.

External psychological contour of integration refers to the unification of social psychology with numerous psychological branches, as a result of which relatively independent sub-branches are formed at the junction - parts of social psychology. For example, social psychology of personality formed as a result of the integration of social psychology with personality psychology, social work psychology- social psychology with labor psychology, developmental social psychology was the result of the integration of social psychology with developmental psychology, etc. As a result of such integration by the end of the 90s. XX century about 10 sub-branches of social psychology have already taken shape. At present, the process of integrating social psychology with other psychological branches continues intensively: socio-economic, socio-ecological, socio-historical and other sub-branches of social psychology are being formed.

Internal socio-psychological contour of integration refers to the development of social psychology itself, manifests itself in the processes of uniting those divided as a result of its differentiation component parts... First, internal integration concerns the simultaneous application of theoretical, empirical and practical methods of analysis of social and psychological phenomena, which inevitably gives rise to complex types of research in social psychology, for example, theoretical and experimental, experimental and applied, etc. Secondly, it is clearly manifested in the simultaneous study of various interrelated objects of social psychology, for example: personality and small work groups (brigades) in an organization, small groups in large social groups, personality (for example, a leader) in a large social group(for example, batches or social movement) etc. Thirdly, the most obvious direction of internal integration is the unification of those parts of social psychology that were differentiated by the types of human activity and spheres of social life. As a result, a lot of interesting and useful scientific and practical directions have arisen, such as: the psychology of leadership of the teaching staff (at the junction of the social psychology of management and education, research is being conducted under the leadership of R. Kh. Shakurov), the social psychology of the creativity of engineers (E.S. Chugunova et al. .), the psychology of leadership of a scientific team (A.G. Allakhverdyan and others), the psychology of social cognition in the processes of labor and communication (O.G. Kukosyan, etc.), etc.

Social psychology as a science studies the characteristics of human behavior among other people in various life situations and in separate historical contexts.

Social psychology as a science includes the social psychology of the individual; social psychology of communication, cognition and mutual influence of people; social psychology of individual groups.

To understand the specifics of social psychology as a science, it is necessary to consider the complex of levels at which the social behavior of people as a whole develops.

Science considers people at the following levels: social, personal and interpersonal. The social level implies the influence of the individual on the person included in them (for example, during migration, in an atmosphere of unemployment, etc.) This level of relations is studied by sociology. The personal level is the influence of the individual and psychological characteristics of a person on his own behavior. It is studied by personality psychology and differential psychology. The interpersonal level belongs to the research and study of social psychology. At each of the levels, an explanation of the phenomena occurring with a person takes place.

Social psychology as a science can be defined as the science of the basic laws of human behavior, which is determined by their presence in society (society). It studies the perception by individuals of the actions and feelings of other people, as well as the influence of groups of people on consciousness, as well as the behavior of individuals.

Until now, disputes about the place occupied by social psychology in the system of other sciences do not stop. Some believe that she is completely social science others see it as completely psychological. On the other hand, researchers disagree on whether social psychology occupies a separate niche in the knowledge system or has common intersecting areas with sociology and psychology. Most researchers share the general opinion that social psychology is an independent branch of psychological science.

Social psychology as a science uses methods empirical research(surveys, document analysis, observation), specialized methods of socio-psychological research (experiments, tests), simulated methods (laboratory reconstruction of realities) and management and educational methods (trainings).

There is no single generally accepted understanding of the subject of the discipline. This can be explained by the complexity of socio-psychological phenomena, actual facts and patterns that she studies. There are two approaches to this issue. The first one understands the subject as mass phenomena of the psyche, the second - individual ones. Recently, a third approach has appeared, combining mass and personal mental processes into a single object. Thus, the subject can be understood as facts, patterns of behavior and activity, as well as communication between people and their mechanisms, which are due to the inclusion of individuals in society.

Separate branches of social psychology are scientific areas related to the study of individual areas of human activity. For example, the discipline sociology and psychology of work studies socio-psychological relations and social processes in the world of work. She uses methods of influencing the psychological and social climate of the team, collects and processes primary information on sociology in order to resolve and prevent labor conflicts in the team.

The discipline studies, diagnoses and predicts a person's professional suitability, explores the role of labor discipline and its significance, labor behavior, motivation and people's attitude to work.