Subject and object of social psychology. About the subject, object and tasks of social psychology

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1 . Object and subject of social psychology

It has long been noted that a person behaves differently when he is alone and when he is in the company of other people. The simple presence of another person, even a complete stranger, changes the behavior of any socialized individual. What a person calmly does alone with himself (for example, exposes all parts of his body), he will not allow himself to do in the presence of others. As scientists have established, the “other,” especially the “significant other,” the reference group (i.e., the group with which an individual correlates his ideas, attitudes, values, etc.) has a significant influence on a person’s behavior and can fundamentally change his opinion on a particular issue, make him act in a completely different way, as if he had not experienced such influence.

The influence of “others”, a group, is especially pronounced in the crowd: in long lines, at demonstrations and rallies, during periods of panic, etc. As the French researcher of mass consciousness G. Lebon noted, typical features of human behavior in the masses are the dominance of impulsive instinctive reactions , a sharp predominance of the role of feelings over the intellect. We can say that an intelligent, well-mannered person, being in the crowd, can behave like a simple “bazaar woman”, shouting, swearing and even committing antisocial, illegal acts. Self-esteem, self-control and other restraining psychological mechanisms in mass communities largely cease to operate.

According to scientists, in the conditions of connections, interactions, relationships of people in groups, the phenomenon of the social arises. What is “social”? Social is a set of certain properties and features of relationships that are produced by individuals or communities in the process of establishing connections and interactions between them. The fact is that in the process of interaction people influence each other, thereby contributing to the fact that each of them becomes a bearer and exponent of some social qualities. Social arises when the behavior of even one individual is influenced by another individual or group (community), regardless of whether this individual or community is present. According to M. Weber, a person’s actions become behavior if a person puts meaning into them. Behavior is social when, according to the meaning that the subject gives it, it correlates with the behavior of other individuals.

The French sociologist E. Durkheim identified the social and the collective. He considered the collective as a special qualitative state compared to the individual. In other words, the collective is not a set, not the sum of the individual, but a new specific qualitative state. Durkheim believed that the source of the social is in society, and not in the thinking and behavior of individuals. Society is an autonomous system governed by its own laws, not reducible to the consciousness or action of each individual.

2 . Main types of small groups

Social psychology studies social phenomena and processes, and this brings it closer to sociology. The question naturally arises whether social psychology is not only a part, a specific branch of sociology?

At the same time, social psychology studies the manifestations of the social in the human psyche, in the states, qualities of his consciousness, at the subconscious level, etc. Social psychologists are interested in mental processes occurring in the consciousness and subconscious of people in social interaction. But various aspects of a person’s mental life are the subject of psychology, primarily personality psychology. And then the question naturally arises: isn’t social psychology as a science a part, a section of the science of psychology? What is the relationship between social psychology and general psychology? In order to answer the questions posed, it is necessary, first of all, to find out what is the object and subject of the study of social psychology as a science? Divisions according to the object and subject of research are recognized criteria for the delimitation of sciences in related fields.

The object of a particular science is always a certain sphere of the objective or subjective world. The subject of any science is the result of theoretical abstraction based on a certain explanatory principle, which is proposed by one or another thinker, school, movement. Based on such abstraction, researchers identify those aspects and patterns of development and functioning of the object being studied that are specific to this science. An important factor in the process of theoretical abstraction is the use of specific methods of cognition in a given branch of knowledge. And, undoubtedly, the research tradition, which is formed in the process of formation and development of this branch of knowledge, is of great importance in the formation of the subject of a particular science.

Thus, the object of study of a particular science is a part of objective or subjective reality, which has its own properties, and the subject of science is the result of research activities, including accumulated experience in the study of a given object within the framework of a previous broader science, as well as an explanatory principle that is proposed by one or another thinker, scientific school, movement, and the methods used in a given science to understand its object.

The question of the object and subject of social psychology as a science is debatable and different directions in this science are resolved in different ways. The fundamental problem, the solution of which divides social psychologists, comes down to the answer to the question: who should be considered as the subject of socio-psychological phenomena: an individual or a social community (group).

In American psychology, there has been a strong tradition of considering the individual as the subject of socio-psychological phenomena. In connection with this, the object of social psychology in this direction is interpersonal relationships in small groups. The subject of social psychology in this direction is interpreted as follows: social psychology is a science that studies the behavior of an individual in a group, his attitude to the social environment, his reactions in relation to other individuals in a certain social situation.

American psychologist D. Myers in his textbook gives the following definition of social psychology: “Social psychology is a science that studies how people think about each other, how they influence each other and how they relate to each other.” Social psychology, according to Myers, studies attitudes and beliefs, conformity and independence, love and hate.

The dominant approach in American social psychology to the study of the psychology and behavior of interpersonal relationships is implemented differently in different schools and movements. Social psychologists, based in their research on the methodology of behaviorism, consider human behavior according to the stimulus-response scheme. Based on this premise, according to behaviorist J. Allport, social psychology is a science that studies individual behavior in those areas where behavior is stimulated by other people or is a reaction to this behavior.

According to another author of the famous American textbook T. Shibutani, the subject of social psychology is patterns of behavior that are determined by the fact of people’s participation in social groups. Later, in the section devoted to the history, formation and development of social psychology, it will be shown what differences in the interpretation of the subject of social psychology arise in connection with the methodology on which representatives of certain schools, teachings, and trends are based. Now we wanted to state the fact that with this interpretation of the object and subject of social psychology, this branch of scientific knowledge can be considered as an integral part of general psychology, the difference of which from personality psychology is only that it studies the behavior of the individual in a group, the influence of the social on the psyche person. This approach gives rise to a natural desire to limit the subject of social psychology to the area of interpersonal relationships, dynamic processes in small groups of people who are in direct interaction with each other. This direction in social psychology is called “psychological social psychology.”

“Psychological social psychology” is opposed by another trend - “sociological social psychology”. Proponents of “sociological social psychology” consider not the individual, but communities—large and small social groups—as the primary subject of socio-psychological phenomena. Therefore, without denying the need to study interpersonal relationships in small groups, supporters of the sociological approach to the object and subject of social psychology believe that the primary object of study of social psychology is the mass mental processes inherent in social groups of society. This means that intergroup relations and large social groups (classes, nationalities, nations, etc.) also act as objects in social psychology.

The sociological approach in social psychology directs the researcher to take into account the social context (system of social relations, culture, etc.) in which interactions of individuals and groups occur. According to the prominent French psychologist Moscovici, society contains its own structures that cannot be described in the same terms as personality characteristics. Therefore, social psychology can and should directly connect its theories and research developments with the relationship between the functioning of the psyche and large-scale social processes, events that shape these functions and are themselves shaped by them. Many difficulties in the history of the formation of social psychology as a science, from the point of view of supporters of the sociological approach, stemmed from the fact that researchers tried to study socio-psychological phenomena in isolation from social subjects and therefore did not take into account the specifics of the phenomena themselves, their occurrence, functioning, changes depending on dynamics of changes in subjects. According to the Russian social psychologist A. Uledov, “the state of consciousness of social subjects and their corresponding socio-psychological relationships form the area of reality that social psychology is designed to explore.” The subject of social psychology as a science is the general and specific patterns of the emergence, functioning and development of socio-psychological phenomena.

“Sociological social psychology” was predominantly developed in European and Soviet social psychology in the 70s and 90s (which will be discussed later). Modern Russian social psychology, without abandoning the previous tradition, is trying to find points of convergence with “psychological social psychology.” This is reflected in the understanding of the subject of social psychology. An example of such a compromise is the interpretation of the subject of social psychology by G. M. Andreeva. In her opinion, the subject of social psychology is the study of patterns of behavior and activity of people determined by their inclusion in social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of these groups themselves.” This definition seems to us the most constructive. To a certain extent, it removes the opposition between psychological and sociological approaches to understanding the object and subject of social psychology.

3. Definition of conflict

Anatomy of conflict

The source of activity of any living creature, including humans, is its needs. Needs, causing motivation (“I want!”), encourage a living being to act. One of the forms of activity that ensures the maintenance of vital connections with the outside world and that arise in the process of activity is communication - interaction between subjects in the form of establishing and developing contacts between them. During contacts, interpersonal relationships arise and certain needs are satisfied in one form or another.

Let’s use a brief but most general classification of personal needs and consider them from the point of view of a functional approach: what main function (MF) they perform in a person’s life.

1. Biological needs. This includes physiological needs (satisfying hunger, thirst, sexual desire, etc.) and the need for security (to feel protected, not to feel fear, to be healthy). OP of biological needs - to be alive: to ensure the species and/or individual existence of a person.

In a broad sense, any object can act as one of the subjects of communication, for example, the sea (“Farewell, free elements!”), a dog (“Give me your paw, Jim, for my luck!”) and others. Within the framework of this work, we will not dwell on communication as a form of a person’s relationship with himself, nature, God, etc.

2. Social needs. These include the need to belong to a community (the need to be close to people, to be recognized and accepted by them), the need for respect (competence, achievement of success, recognition, authority) and others. Man as a species is entrenched in a “herd” existence, and thus, the purely biological needs are joined by the requirement not just to “be alive,” but “to be alive in the herd.” The main function of social needs: to belong to a social group, to occupy a certain place in it, to enjoy the attention of others, experiencing a sense of significance in the form of love, authority or power among one’s peers.

3. Higher (ideal, or spiritual) needs. These include cognitive-creative (to know, understand, be able to, explore, create something new), spiritual (knowledge of the meaning of one’s existence and the meaning of life), moral and aesthetic. Higher needs - the realization of one's abilities, the development of one's own personality - most fully contribute to a person's self-actualization.

If the first two types of needs are inherent in almost all biological communities of living nature, then the third type belongs only to representatives of the human community. It is the presence of higher needs (if such a category as needs is taken to analyze the differences between living beings) that is a species characteristic of a person. The presence and implementation of these needs, in our opinion, performs the function of “humanizing” a person. (A very important factor is the form of satisfaction of needs at all levels: they are different both among ethnic groups and among individuals.) We can say that the history of personality development is the history of the development of its needs!

On the scale of human life, communication, that is, interaction with other people, is the main condition for survival, and also ensures the implementation of the functions of training, education and personal development.

The human community by gender and age consists of men, women and children, which allows us to summarize all forms of interpersonal communication in the form of the following table (morphological matrix):

By assigning different social roles to each representative of the community, at the intersection of rows and columns we get all the variety and versatility of interaction options between people: man - man: father - adult son, friend - friend, brother - brother (adults), colleague - colleague, boss - subordinate and others.

Man - woman: boss - subordinate, husband - wife, colleague - colleague, lover - mistress, father - adult daughter, brother - sister and others.

Man - child: father - son (or daughter), teacher - student, coach - student and others.

Woman - woman: boss - subordinate, friend - friend, sister - sister, colleague - colleague, mother - adult daughter and others.

Similarly, options for social-role relationships of woman-child and child-child pairs can be considered.

Since life is a continuous process of communication in social and professional activities and in personal life, in the relations between members of these couples complaints often arise - expressed or hidden dissatisfaction of people with each other, associated, as a rule, with the dissatisfaction of any needs.

In general, the sources of claims (from one of the participants to the other or mutual claims) are contradictions that arise where there are:

mismatch of value orientations according to moral standards, views, beliefs. If there are differences in beliefs and moral incompatibility, claims are inevitable;

mismatch of expectations and positions. Such misunderstanding usually arises between people different in age, professional affiliation, life experience and interests. And the greater these differences, the deeper the misunderstanding between them can become and give rise to mutual hostility;

mismatch of knowledge, skills, abilities, personal qualities. Differences in the level of education lead to the fact that people become uninteresting to each other. There are psychological barriers due to possible individual differences of an intellectual nature (“too smart!”), which can generate hostility and lead to enmity. Such individual personality differences in temperament properties as impulsiveness, hot temper, and character traits such as the desire to dominate, unceremoniousness in handling, etc. generate tension in human relationships;

discrepancies in understanding and interpretation of information. Not all people are naturally endowed with the same ability to understand what is happening to them and around them. What is obvious to one person may be an intractable problem for another. (These issues are discussed in socionics, neurolinguistic programming, psychology of understanding, hermeneutics, etc.);

discrepancies between assessments and self-assessments. In relation to themselves and the situation, for each of the participants they may be adequate, underestimated or overestimated and not coincide;

mismatch of physical, emotional and other states (“fed is not a friend to the hungry”);

mismatch of goals, means, methods of activity. A potentially explosive situation is a situation in which two or more people have contradictory, mutually incompatible motives for behavior. Each of them, pursuing their personal goals, consciously or unconsciously prevents other individuals from achieving their goals;

mismatch of management functions;

mismatch of economic, technological and other processes.

The most acute form of discontent manifests itself as “a process of sharp aggravation of contradiction and struggle between two or more parties - participants in solving a problem that has personal significance for each of its participants.” In psychology, such relationships are defined as a conflict - “a collision of oppositely directed, mutually incompatible tendencies, a single episode in consciousness, in interpersonal interactions or interpersonal relationships of individuals or groups of people, associated with negative experiences.”

What are the sources of contradictions that give rise to conflicts in the process of communication?

From the point of view of the concept of “system,” communication is an association of subjects designed to satisfy one or more types of needs and create interpersonal relationships through their association.

This definition allows us to identify the conditions under which communication will be positive, and the main sources of mutual claims that can develop into a contradiction and end in conflict. This is, first of all, an attitude towards the main function: if all subjects (participants in communication) equally understand and accept the main function, in other words, if their needs coincide, communication, even if there are mutual claims, will be of the nature of cooperation, healthy competition and will lead to positive results. results. Thus, in a successfully operating production team, all employees make their professional and psychological contribution (not always even visible!) to its work. In a close-knit family, all its members support and strengthen each other.

But the attitude towards the main function may not be the same. First of all, because the interests of people are significantly different, and their needs are such that they can often be satisfied only by violating the interests of other people or neglecting them. For example, a boss needs a subordinate to work hard and well for a minimum wage, but the subordinate’s desires are completely opposite... Parents want the child to devote more time to school studies, music and a foreign language, and the child wants to have more time for sports and reading and communication with peers. And so on.

Thus, interpersonal relationships - a new systemic quality that appears in the process of communication - either strengthens the communicating subjects, or causes discontent, disputes, claims and conflict between them.

To analyze a conflict situation and search for a possible effective option for resolving it, we will use the algorithm for analyzing problem situations - ARPS.

In accordance with the ARPS, the analysis begins with the formulation of the main function of the system, its composition and the undesirable NE effect that arises during the operation of the system.

So, the “communication” system to satisfy one or more needs consists of communication participants A and B (with their individual qualities), the purpose of communication (needs) and interpersonal relationships (connections). In the process of communication, an undesirable effect NE1 occurs - a claim by participant A of communication to participant B. NE1 most often occurs when one participant in communication, in the process of some activity, makes new, increased demands on another participant or tries to change something in the existing system of communication, so that she performs additional functions for him.

To satisfy this claim, participant B proposes a means of eliminating the SU - some action leading to the elimination of NE1. (This action may already exist in a given system, but to an insufficient extent, or to carry it out it is necessary to introduce an additional system. As is known, human relations are a complex multifactor system, and a means to solve the problem is not always and is not easy to find.) If the proposed control system satisfies participant A, then the undesirable effect of NE1 is eliminated and the conflict does not arise. If the proposed control system does not satisfy participant A, then a new undesirable effect NE2 arises in the situation.

The relationships between NE1, SU and NE2 are connected by a cause-and-effect relationship:

If you introduce SU, then NE1 is eliminated, but NE2 appears.

If SU is not introduced, then NE2 does not occur, but NE1 remains.

This form of cause-and-effect relationship creates a contradiction - that is, a property of communication between two interacting participants in communication in which a change in the form of communication necessary for participant A causes an unacceptable change in the form of communication for participant B, and vice versa.

The problem statement for conflict prevention can ideally be formulated as follows: without introducing a control system and thereby without creating NE2, eliminate NE1.

Let us define an operational zone - a zone in which the incompatible (in general, opposite) interests of the participants in communication collide. Since the main function of communication is to satisfy needs, it is obvious that the operational zone is the attitude of each of the participants in communication to the content of needs and the form of their satisfaction.

To find an effective solution, it is also important to take into account operational time - the period during which the claim arises and the course of the conflict itself.

The conflict itself, in ARPS terminology, acts as a physical contradiction for a given problem and can be formulated as the presentation by each participant in the course of communication of opposing demands for the same thing:

the object of need (for example, “This land should be mine, not his, so that my capital is further from the border!”);

way of fulfilling the need (for example, “We will relax in the mountains, not at the sea, because I like skiing, and not wallowing in dirty water!”).

Among the reasons, we can name other subjective factors, for example, simply people’s rejection of each other, arising on the basis of the discrepancies discussed above.

The ideal end result is IKR: it is necessary to find in the content of the needs of each participant such resources that will allow obtaining a result of communication that satisfies one of the participants and does not cause a negative state of the other participant. Negotiation experts define it this way: Don’t engage in positional bargaining! Talk about interests, not positions!

The result of resolving a claim (conflict) for each participant can be assessed as follows: victory, compromise or suppression (defeat). To analyze interpersonal relationships and assess the psychological state of each participant, we will draw up a table (morphological matrix) of possible combinations of these results.

Of the nine possible combinations of results for exiting the conflict, only the option of joint cooperation (with mutual acceptance) for a common goal gives each participant a feeling of winning. In all other options, one or both parties feel dissatisfaction, which over time inevitably becomes the cause of new conflicts. This conclusion is confirmed by the entire history of human relations and the manifestation of passions at various levels - state, social, national, personal...

As mentioned above, the main function of the “communication of subjects” system is to satisfy needs. Let us consider the ways in which the system implements its main function at each level of needs and, accordingly, the roots of conflicts.

At the biological level of satisfying needs, complaints arise due to the lack of a sufficient amount of food or its appropriate quality, housing (“one’s own territory”), a desired sexual partner, and so on. Claims also arise due to individual differences between people: preferences for different foods, different leisure options, family planning, etc.

In the human community, biological needs are realized through social forms. Most often, the reason for the intractability of all claims is the lack of financial resources.

At the social level, everything is simply “boiling” from conflict situations, one part of which is rooted in the biological level (material income), and the second part stems from the psychological need to assert oneself - to be significant in society. A complex and extreme manifestation of this tendency is power for the sake of power, that is, the ability to control the destinies of one’s own kind.

When a person realizes his needs in intellectual and creative activities, a product can be created that will provide its creator with social prestige and material wealth. The growth of social prestige of creative activity (smart, talented, etc.), and the material opportunities that provide its results (sculptures, films, inventions, paintings, etc.) often cause envy in other people and also become pretexts for conflicts whose roots go back to the first and second levels.

In the historical development of both humanity and the individual, needs develop in their constant interaction and influence on each other, determining and causing the emergence of reverse influence: not only “bottom-up”, but, from a certain period, “top-down”: so For example, a true religious worldview defines and permeates human life “at all levels.”

Hostility (hostility) between people, once it has already arisen, becomes difficult to eliminate, since the negative emotional experiences associated with it are very stable, arise automatically and are difficult to control by consciousness.

Thus, if the sources of conflicts lie in the biological nature of man, then the ways to resolve conflicts depend entirely on the level of “humanization” of its participants.

need role claim conflict

Bibliography

Andreev V.I. Self-development of a culture of conflict resolution / Reader on social psychology. - M.: International Pedagogical Academy, 1994. P. 76-87.

Cornelius H., Feir S. Introduction to the concept of conflict / Reader on social psychology. - M.: International Pedagogical Academy, 1994. P.54-76.

Maslow A. Motivation and personality. /Personality theories of Western European and American psychology. Samara: Publishing house "BAKHRAH", 1996. - 480 p.

Meerovich M.I. Formulas of the theory of improbability. Technology of creative thinking. Odessa. POLICY. 1993. - 242 p.

Nemov R.S. Psychology. Book 1. Psychology. - Moscow: "Enlightenment", "Vlados". 1995. - 573c.

General psychology. Ed. A.V. Petrovsky. - M.: Education, 1986. - 464 p.

Semichenko V.A. Psychology of communication. Kyiv: "MagistrzhS", 1997. 150 p.

8. Scott D.G. Conflicts and ways to overcome them. - Kyiv: Vneshtorgizdat, 1991. 200 p.

Fischer R., Yuri U. The path to agreement. M.: Nauka, 1992. - 156 p.

Shragina L.I., Meerovich M.I. Fundamentals of a culture of thinking. M.: School technologies. 1997. N5. - 200s.

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Preface

Social psychology is a rather complex and multidisciplinary branch of psychological science. The focus of her attention is almost any area of life and activity of people in society: social communication and relationships between people in society, psychological patterns of social behavior of individuals and motives for uniting them into groups, conflicts and public moods. Social and psychological knowledge is needed by any person, since everyone communicates, interacts with other people, and faces interpersonal problems.

Theoretical knowledge about socio-psychological processes was developed in the classical works of domestic and foreign authors (G. M. Andreeva, A. A. Bodalev, A. L. Zhuravlev, E. S. Kuzmin, B. D. Parygin, D. Myers, T. Shibutani and others). The proposed textbook reflects the results of modern research in the field of social psychology, while the material is adapted for understanding by students.

The textbook consists of four sections: “Introduction to Social Psychology”, “Group as a Social-Psychological Phenomenon”, “Psychology of Communication”, “Phenomena of Personality in Social Psychology”, and fourteen chapters. At the end of each chapter, conclusions are drawn, test questions and a list of references for in-depth study are given. There is a glossary at the end of the textbook.

The application offers workshops on the topics “Team Formation”, “Psychology of Communication”, “Leader”, “The Path to a Successful Career”. The teacher can include the proposed material in the course being studied or use it in psychological and pedagogical practice.

The authors hope for the reader to creatively comprehend the contents of this textbook in order to apply the acquired knowledge for their personal and professional development, and improve the atmosphere of mutual understanding in their immediate environment.

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

OBJECT, SUBJECT, TASKS AND METHODS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

About the subject, object and tasks of social psychology

In 1908, “Introduction to Social Psychology” by the English psychologist W. McDougall and “Social Psychology” by the American sociologist E. Ross were published almost simultaneously. Social psychology as an independent branch of scientific knowledge arose at the end of the 19th century. at the intersection of two sciences – psychology and sociology. The development of society has confronted scientists with various kinds of socio-psychological tasks, the solution of which has become necessary to improve such areas of social life as politics, industrial relations and management, education, etc. But it turned out that the problems posed were very difficult to study only within the framework of the then existing sciences. First of all, the integration of sociology and psychology was necessary, since psychology studies the human psyche, and sociology studies society.

Psychology and sociology, in the figurative expression of G. M. Andreeva, have become “mother” disciplines in relation to social psychology. At the same time, one cannot assume that social psychology is only a part of sociology and psychology. The independence of this branch of scientific knowledge is due to the specifics of the subject of research, which cannot be studied within the framework of any one science.

There are different opinions regarding the specifics of the subject of social psychology. Firstly, social psychology is usually understood as the variety of manifestations of a person’s social psyche: the characteristics of his mental state and behavior in situations of group and mass interaction with other people. Secondly, the term “social psychology” is used to designate a scientific direction that studies the patterns of human mental activity in society, in communication and interaction with other people. We give a definition of this scientific field, the most common in domestic social psychology.

Social Psychology – a science that studies the patterns of behavior and activity of people united in social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of these groups.

Social groups take shape within the framework of a historically defined society as a collection of people connected by a unity of interests, cultural, national values and norms of behavior.

Subject the study of social psychology are certain socio-psychological phenomena, such as:

psychological facts, patterns and mechanisms of communication and interaction between people during joint activities;
manifestation and formation of personality traits in various communities of people;
psychological relationships that are established between people in the process of their interaction;
psychological processes of emergence, functioning and development of various communities of people, etc. socio-psychological processes and phenomena.

Depending on one or another understanding of the subject of social psychology, there are main facilities its study, i.e. carriers of socio-psychological phenomena. These include:

– personality in a group (system of relations);
– interaction in the “person – personality” system (parent – child, manager – performer, doctor – patient, psychologist – client, etc.);
– small group (family, school class, work team, military crew, group of friends, etc.);
– interaction in the “person – group” system (leader – followers, manager – work collective, commander – platoon, student – school class, etc.);
– interaction in the “group-group” system (team competition, group negotiations, intergroup conflicts, etc.);
– a large social group (ethnicity, party, social movement, social class, etc.).

In recent years, many scientists, reflecting on current scientific problems, note that active social transformations in the world require a socio-psychological understanding of social processes from a specialist in any field of psychology. The practice of recent decades has shown how significant a problem is the psychological unpreparedness of people for changes - social, economic, political, ideological.

The well-known domestic social psychologist B. D. Parygin believes that many difficulties in the socio-economic, legal and political reform of society “are explained not only and not so much by the imperfection of certain private social projects, but by their incompatibility with the spiritual, moral, social psychological state of a person." He emphasizes the need to develop and improve spiritual, moral and socio-psychological culture, and civil self-awareness of a person. To successfully solve these problems, you need deep and versatile knowledge in the field of social psychology.

Assessing the prospects for fundamental psychological research, D. I. Feldshtein considers various aspects of the influence of global social changes on humans. A huge amount of information, discrediting of many moral guidelines, manipulation of human consciousness through the media, instability of the ecological, social, political, economic situation - all this changes the consciousness, activity, motivational-need and emotional-volitional sphere of the individual.

D. I. Feldshtein considers one of the most important research tasks to be the study of the problem of human self-determination, as well as his identification with a certain group - a country, an ethnic group, the entire human community. It is necessary to explore little-studied facets of the problem of relationships, especially “vertically”: children - adults, young - elderly. Moreover, it is necessary to consider not just the relationship between adults and children, but specifically their interaction, including mutual influence.

G. M. Andreeva, emphasizing the importance of developing the psychology of social cognition, says: “Is there anything more important for a person in today’s complex world than to know what surrounds him, what experiences this environment causes in him and, finally, how in these conditions must be acted upon." The practical significance of social psychology is predetermined by the importance of the problems it solves related to human life in society.

The tasks of researching social and psychological phenomena are multifaceted, including:

1. Study of the content, forms of manifestation and patterns of functioning of socio-psychological phenomena and processes.
2. Establishing comprehensive connections with representatives of related sciences (sociology, philosophy and other social sciences) in a joint study of socio-psychological phenomena.
3. Forecasting political, economic, national and other processes in the development of states based on taking into account socio-psychological patterns and mechanisms.

Social psychology is designed to deal with issues of concern to a particular community. In some parts of our planet, the most pressing problems are interracial relations and discrimination against women. Others cover issues of intercultural population migration, education reform, labor motivation, environmental awareness, changes in the institution of family and marriage, etc. When studying personality, social psychology simultaneously takes into account the micro- and macro-society in which it is included. Considering social phenomena, it helps to understand the feelings, values, motives of the real people behind them.

Lecture 1

The concept of social psychology. Subject, tasks and structure of social psychology. The place of social psychology in the system of scientific knowledge.

Subject of social psychology.

Social Psychology- a branch of psychological knowledge that studies the patterns of behavior and activity of people determined by the fact of their inclusion in social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of the groups themselves. Social psychology as a branch of psychological science arises at the intersection of general psychology and sociology.

Modern ideas about subject of social psychology are extremely differentiated, that is, different 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 the individual, which manifest themselves as a result of his inclusion in relationships with other people, in various social groups (family, educational and work groups, etc.) and in general in the system of social relations (economic, political , managerial, legal, etc.). The most frequently studied manifestations of personality in groups are: sociability, aggressiveness, compatibility with other people, conflict potential, etc.

2. The phenomenon of 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 entities, different from each other and not reducible to any individual. The greatest interest of social psychologists is in studies of the socio-psychological climate of the group and conflict relations (group states), leadership and group actions (group processes), cohesion, harmony and conflict (group properties), etc.

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

According to Myasishchev, social psychology studies: 1. changes in the mental activity of people in a group under the influence of interaction; 2.features of groups; 3. the mental side of the processes of society.

According to B.D. Parygina, social psychology studies: 1.social psychology of personality; 2. Social psychology of community and communication; 3.social relations; 4.forms of spiritual activity.

G.M. Andreeva writes that the subject of social psychology was determined mainly by three approaches. Supporters of the first approach - sociologists - understood social psychology as a science “about mass phenomena of the psyche” (about social psychology), supporters of the second approach considered the subject of study to be the individual, adherents of the third approach considered social psychology as a science that studies both mass psychological processes and the position of the individual in group.

Integrating different approaches to understanding subject social psychology , we can give the following definition: with social psychology studies psychological phenomena (processes, states and properties) that characterize the individual and group as subjects social interactions.

Depending on one or another understanding of the subject of social psychology, the main objects of its study are identified, that is, the carriers of socio-psychological phenomena. These include: a person in a group (system of relationships), interaction in the “person - personality” system (parent - child, leader - performer, doctor - patient, psychologist - client, etc.), small group (family, school class , work brigade, military crew, group of friends, etc.), interaction in the “person - group” system (leader - followers, leader - work collective, commander - platoon, newcomer - school class, etc.), interaction in the “group-group” system (team competition, group negotiations, intergroup conflicts, etc.), a large social group (ethnicity, party, social movement, social strata, territorial, religious groups, etc.).

Tasks of social psychology .

Currently requests for socially psychological research comes from all areas of social life. Practical needs even outstrip the development of theoretical knowledge. From this position two main tasks social psychologists And: 1. development of practical recommendations obtained in the course of applied research, so necessary for practice; 2. Completing the construction of your own knowledge as an integral system of scientific knowledge with clarification of your subject, development of special theories and special research methodology.

home task, which stands in front social psychology, - to reveal the specific mechanism of weaving the individual into the fabric of social reality.

Several areas of socio-psychological analysis can be distinguished, each of which performs its own tasks:

1. interaction in the I–other system (the study of interpersonal relationships that arise in the process of communication, the study of the mechanisms of cognition and understanding by people of each other, the ways of organizing their common activities, research aimed at identifying the means and possibilities of influence of one person on another);

2. study of the influence of various social conditions on human behavior and personal characteristics. This includes the problem of socialization, social attitudes, social preferences; it examines exactly how the group and society as a whole influence the formation and change of human personality;

3. the influence of the self on social conditions (the study of the socio-psychological history of a person not only from the point of view of those social conditions that determined a person’s capabilities, but also from the active influence of the individual on the social world around him);

4. interaction in the Group-Group system. Social psychology views a group as an integral social system, a living self-organizing and self-developing organism that has certain goals in its activities and has certain unique features. Social psychology studies the mechanisms of intergroup interaction and searches for means and methods of increasing the effectiveness of communication between different social groups.

The structure of modern social psychology, its place in the system of scientific knowledge.

The structure (or structure, composition) 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 parts.

Differentiation of social psychology

The processes of division of social psychology occur for many reasons, but several main directions have already taken shape:

1. Orientation towards various (theoretical, empirical, in particular, experimental and practical) methods of analysis of socio-psychological phenomena gives rise, respectively, to theoretical, empirical (including experimental) and practical social psychology. These interconnected parts implement in different ways the main functions of social psychology as a science: descriptive, explanatory, prognostic and influence function.

2. As a result of the study of various types of human life and his communities, corresponding branches of social psychology have emerged: the psychology of work, communication, social cognition and creativity, and games. In turn, in the social psychology of labor, branches have been formed that study certain types of work activity: management, leadership, entrepreneurship, engineering work, etc.

3. In accordance with the application of socio-psychological knowledge in various spheres of public life, social psychology is traditionally differentiated into the following practical branches: industry, agriculture, trade, education, science, politics, mass communications, sports, art. Currently, the social psychology of economics, advertising, culture, leisure, etc. is being intensively formed.

4. In accordance with the main objects of research, modern social psychology has been differentiated into such sections as:

social psychology of personality,

psychology of interpersonal interaction (communication and relationships),

small group psychology,

psychology of intergroup interaction,

psychology of large social groups and mass phenomena.

In social psychology, a section that could be called “psychology of society” is being formed extremely slowly. At present, in the study of society, social psychology, in comparison with sociology, does not have specificity in the methods of studying it - this is the main circumstance that complicates the formation of such a section in social psychology.

Integration processes in social psychology

The structure of modern social psychology cannot be understood without considering the processes of its integration in the system of other sciences. At a minimum, there are two main contours of integration: external and internal.

External psychological contour of integration refers to its unification with numerous psychological branches, at the junction with which relatively independent sub-branches arose - parts of social psychology. For example: social psychology of personality was formed as a result of the integration of social psychology with personality psychology, and social psychology of work - of social psychology with work psychology, etc. It can be stated that as a result of such integration, by the end of the 90s of the 20th century, about 10 subfields of social psychology.

The process of integration of social psychology with other psychological branches continues intensively: socio-economic, socio-ecological, socio-historical and other sub-branches of social psychology are currently being formed.

Internal socio-psychological circuit of integration refers to the development of social psychology itself and is manifested in the processes of unification of the separating components of social psychology, which appeared as a result of the processes of its differentiation, which were discussed above.

Firstly, internal integration concerns the simultaneous application of theoretical, empirical and practical methods of analysis of socio-psychological phenomena, which inevitably gives rise to complex types of research in social psychology, for example: theoretical-experimental, experimental-applied, etc.

Secondly, it is clearly manifested in the simultaneous study of various interrelated objects of social psychology, for example: an individual and small work groups (teams) in an organization, small groups in large social groups, an individual (for example, a leader) in a large social group (for example, a party 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 people’s life activities and spheres of social life. As a result, many interesting, and most importantly, useful scientific and practical areas have emerged, such as: the psychology of teaching staff management (at the intersection of social psychology of management and education), the social psychology of creativity of engineers, the psychology of research team management, the psychology of social cognition in labor processes and communication.

The place of social psychology: the question of the “boundaries” of social psychology is discussed relatively independently. Here you can highlight the positions:

1) social psychology is a part of sociology;

2) social psychology is a part of psychology;

3) social psychology is a science “at the intersection” of psychology and sociology,

Lecture 2

History of the development of social psychology.

History of Russian social psychology

For a long time there was an opinion that the origins of social psychology go back to Western science. Historical and psychological research has shown that social psychology in our country has a distinctive history. The emergence and development of Western and domestic psychology occurred as if in parallel.

Domestic social psychology arose at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The path of its formation has a number of stages: the emergence of social psychology in the social and natural sciences, the spin-off from parent disciplines (sociology and psychology) and transformation into an independent science, the emergence and development of experimental social psychology.

The history of social psychology in our country has four periods:

I - 60s of the XIX century. - beginning of the 20th century,

II - 20s - first half of the 30s of the XX century;

III - second half of the 30s - first half of the 50s;

IV - second half of the 50s - second half of the 70s of the XX century.

First period (60s of the 19th century - beginning of the 20th centuries)

During this period, the development of Russian social psychology was determined by the peculiarities of the socio-historical development of society, the state and specifics of the development of social and natural sciences, the peculiarities of the development of general psychology, the specifics of scientific traditions, culture, and the mentality of society.

Great influence on development social psychology influenced the process of self-determination of psychology in the system of sciences about nature, society, and man. There was an intense struggle for the status of psychology, and the problem of its subject and research methods was discussed. The cardinal question was about who and how to develop psychology.

The main empirical source of social psychology was outside psychology. Knowledge about individual behavior in a group and group processes was accumulated in military and legal practice, in medicine, in the study of national behavioral characteristics, and in the study of beliefs and customs.

Social-psychological ideas during this period were successfully developed by representatives of the social sciences, primarily sociologists. The most developed socio-psychological concept is contained in the works of N.K. Mikhailovsky. In his opinion, the socio-psychological factor plays a decisive role in the course of the historical process. The laws operating in social life must be sought in social psychology. Mikhailovsky is responsible for the development of the psychology of mass social movements, one of the varieties of which are revolutionary movements. The active forces of social development are heroes and the crowd. Complex psychological processes arise during their interaction. The crowd in the concept of N.K. Mikhailovsky acts as an independent socio-psychological phenomenon. The leader controls the crowd. It is put forward by a specific crowd at certain moments of the historical process. It accumulates scattered feelings, instincts, and thoughts that function in a crowd. The relationship between the hero and the crowd is determined by the nature of a given historical moment, a given system, the personal properties of the hero, and the mental mood of the crowd. Socio-psychological problems were especially clearly manifested in N. K. Mikhailovsky’s scientific ideas about the psychological characteristics of a leader, a hero, the psychology of a crowd, and the mechanisms of interaction between people in a crowd. Exploring the problem of communication between the hero and the crowd, interpersonal communication of people in the crowd, he identifies suggestion, imitation, infection, and opposition as communication mechanisms. The main one is the imitation of people in the crowd. The basis of imitation is hypnotism. The final conclusion of N.K. Mikhailovsky is that the psychological factors in the development of society are imitation, public mood and social behavior.

V. M. Bekhterev occupies a special place in the pre-revolutionary history of the development of Russian social psychology. He began his studies in social psychology at the end of the 19th century. In 1908, the text of his speech at the ceremonial assembly meeting of the St. Petersburg Military Medical Academy was published. This speech was devoted to the role of suggestion in public life. His work “Personality and the Conditions of Its Development” (1905) is socio-psychological. In the special socio-psychological work “The subject and tasks of social psychology as an objective science" (1911) contains a detailed presentation of his views on the essence of socio-psychological phenomena, on subject of social psychology , methods this branch of knowledge. Ten years later, V. M. Bekhterev published his fundamental work “Collective Reflexology” (1921), which can be considered as the first textbook on social psychology in Russia. The principles of reflexological explanation of the essence of individual psychology were extended to the understanding of collective psychology.

Bekhterev's main merit lies in the fact that he developed a system of socio-psychological knowledge. The subject of social psychology is the study of the psychological activity of meetings and gatherings made up of a mass of individuals manifesting their neuropsychic activity as a whole. V. M. Bekhterev identifies the system-forming features of a team: a commonality of interests and tasks that encourage the team to unite their actions. The organic inclusion of the individual in the community, in the activity, led V. M. Bekhterev to understand the collective as a collective personality. As social and psychological phenomena, V. M. Bekhterev identifies interaction, relationships, communication, collective hereditary reflexes, collective mood, collective concentration and observation, collective creativity, coordinated collective actions. The factors that unite people in a team are: mechanisms of mutual suggestion, mutual imitation, mutual induction. A special place as a unifying factor belongs to language. V. M. Bekhterev’s position that the team as an integral unity is a developing entity seems important.

V. M. Bekhterev considered the question of the methods of this new branch of science. The works of V. M. Bekhterev contain a description of a large amount of empirical material obtained through the use of objective observation, questionnaires, and surveys. An experiment conducted by V. M. Bekhterev together with M. V. Lange showed how socio-psychological phenomena - communication, joint activity - influence the formation of processes of perception, ideas, and memory. The work of M.V. Lange and V.M. Bekhterev (1925) laid the foundation for experimental social psychology in Russia. These studies served as the source of a special direction in Russian psychology - the study of the role of communication in the formation of mental processes.

Second period (20s - first half of the 30s of the XX century)

After the October Revolution of 1917, especially after the end of the civil war, during the recovery period, interest in social psychology. The period of the 20-30s for social psychology in Russia was fruitful. Its characteristic feature was the search for its own path in the development of world socio-psychological thought.

The content of the search for one’s path was the creation of a direction of Marxist psychology. The implementation of this goal was controversial. The construction of Marxist social psychology was based on a solid materialist tradition in Russian philosophy. A special place in the period of the 20-30s was occupied by the works of N. I. Bukharin and G. V. Plekhanov. The latter has a special place. Plekhanov's works, published before the revolution, became part of the arsenal of psychological science (G.V. Plekhanov, 1957). These works were in demand by social psychologists and were used by them for a Marxist understanding of socio-psychological phenomena.

A special place in discussions on the issue of restructuring psychology on the basis of Marxism was occupied by G. I. Chelpanov (G. I. Chelpanov, 1924). He argued for the need for independent existence of social psychology along with individual, experimental psychology. Social psychology studies socially determined mental phenomena. It is closely related to ideology. Its connection with Marxism is organic and natural. Specifically Marxist social psychology is social psychology that studies the genesis of ideological forms using a special Marxist method, which consists in studying the origin of these forms depending on changes in the social economy (G. I. Chelpanov, 1924).

One of the main directions in social psychology of the 20-30s was the study of the problem of groups. The question of the nature of collectives was discussed. Three points of view were expressed. From the perspective of the first, a collective is nothing more than a mechanical aggregate, a simple sum of the individuals that make it up. Representatives of the second argued that the behavior of an individual is fatally predetermined by the general tasks and structure of the team. The middle position between these extreme positions was occupied by representatives of the third point of view, according to which individual behavior in a team changes, at the same time, the team as a whole is characterized by an independent creative nature of behavior. Many social psychologists participated in the detailed development of the theory of groups, their classification, the study of different groups, and the problems of their development (B.V. Belyaev (1921), L. Byzov (1924), L.N. Voitolovsky (1924), A.S. Zatuzhny (1930), M. A. Reisner (1925), G. A. Fortunatov (1925), etc. During this period, the foundation was essentially laid for subsequent research into the psychology of groups and collectives in domestic science,

In the scientific and organizational development of social psychology in Russia, the First All-Union Congress on the Study of Human Behavior, held in 1930, was of great importance. Personality problems and problems of social psychology and collective behavior were identified as one of three priority areas of discussion. The main socio-psychological phenomenon has become collectivism, which manifests itself differently in different conditions and in different associations. Theoretical, methodological, and specific tasks for studying the collective were reflected in a special resolution of the congress. The beginning of the 30s was the peak of the development of socio-psychological research in applied fields, especially in pedology and psychotechnics.

Third period (second half of the 30s - second half of the 50s of the XX century)

In the second half of the 1930s the situation changed dramatically. The isolation of Russian science from Western psychology began. Translations of works by Western authors ceased to be published. Ideological control over science has increased within the country. This fettered creative initiative and gave rise to a fear of exploring socially pressing issues. The number of studies in social psychology has sharply decreased, and books on this discipline have almost ceased to be published. There came a break in the development of Russian social psychology. In addition to the general political situation, the reasons for this break were the following:

Theoretical justification for the uselessness of social psychology. In psychology, there is a widespread view that, since all mental phenomena are socially determined, there is no need to specifically distinguish social-psychological phenomena and the science that studies them. One of the reasons for the break in the history of social psychology was the practical lack of demand for research results. Studying the opinions, moods of people, and the psychological atmosphere in society was of no use to anyone, moreover, it was extremely dangerous.

The break period, which began in the second half of the 30s, lasted until the second half of the 50s. But even at this time there was a complete absence of socio-psychological research. The development of the theory and methodology of general psychology created the theoretical foundation of social psychology (B. G. Ananyev, L. S. Vygotsky, A. N. Leontiev, S. L. Rubinstein, etc.) In this regard, ideas about socio-historical determination of mental phenomena, development of the principle of unity of consciousness and activity and the principle of development.

The main source and scope of social psychology during this period were educational research and teaching practice.

The central theme of this period was the psychology of the collective. The views of A. S. Makarenko determined the shape of social psychology. He entered the history of social psychology primarily as a researcher of the team and the education of the individual in the team (A. S. Makarenko, 1956). A. S. Makarenko owns one of the definitions of the collective, which was the starting point for the development of socio-psychological problems in subsequent decades. A team, according to A. S. Makarenko, is a purposeful complex of individuals, organized and possessing governing bodies. It is a contact aggregate based on the socialist principle of unification. A collective is a social organism. The main features of a team are: the presence of common goals serving the benefit of society; joint activities aimed at achieving these goals; a certain structure; the presence in it of bodies coordinating the activities of the team and representing its interests. The team is part of society, organically connected with other groups. Makarenko gave a new classification of groups. He identified two types: 1) primary collective: its members are in a permanent friendly, everyday and ideological association (team, school class, family); 2) secondary collective - a broader association.

A. S. Makarenko raised the question of the need for a holistic study of personality. The main theoretical and practical task is the study of the individual in a team.

The main problems in the study of personality were the relationship of the individual in the team, the identification of promising lines in its development, and the formation of character. In this regard, the purpose of human upbringing is the formation of the projected qualities of the individual, the lines of his development. For a complete study of personality, it is necessary to study; well-being of a person in a team; the nature of collective connections and reactions: discipline, readiness for action and inhibition; ability of tact and orientation; integrity; emotional and perspective aspiration. The study of the motivational sphere of the individual is essential.

Fourth period (second half of the 50s - first half of the 70s of the XX century)

During this period a special social and the intellectual situation in our country. The “warming” of the general atmosphere, the weakening of administration in science, the reduction of ideological control, and a certain democratization in all spheres of life led to a revival of the creative activity of scientists.

For social psychology what was important was that interest in the person increased, they stood up tasks formation of a comprehensively developed personality, its active life position. The situation in the social sciences has changed. Concrete sociological research began to be conducted intensively. An important circumstance was changes in psychological science. Psychology in the 50s defended its right to independent existence in heated discussions with physiologists. In general psychology, social psychology has received reliable support. The period of revival of social psychology in our country has begun.

With certain justification, this period can be called a recovery period. Social psychology emerged as an independent science. The criteria for this independence were: awareness by representatives of this science of the level of its development, the state of its research, characterization of the place of this science in the system of other sciences; defining the subject and objects of her research; highlighting and defining main categories and concepts; formulation of laws and patterns; institutionalization of science; training of specialists. Formal criteria include publication of special works, articles, organization of discussions at congresses, conferences, and symposiums. All these criteria were met by the state of social psychology in our country.

The final stage in the history of domestic social psychology was marked by the development of its main problems. In the field of methodology of social psychology, the concepts of G. M. Andreeva (1980), B. D. Parygin (1971), E. V. Shorokhova (1975) were fruitful. K. K. Platonov (1975), A. V. Petrovsky (1982), L. I. Umansky (1980) made a great contribution to the study of team problems. Research in the social psychology of personality is associated with the names of L. I. Bozhovich (1968), K. K. Platonov (!965), V. A. Yadov (1975). The works of L. P. Bueva (1978) and E. S. Kuzmin (1967) are devoted to the study of problems of activity. The study of the social psychology of communication was carried out by A. A. Bodalev (1965), L. P. Bueva (1978), A. A. Leontyev (1975), B. F. Lomov (1975), B. D. Parygin (1971).

In the 70s, the organizational development of social psychology was completed. It was institutionalized as an independent science. In 1962, the country's first laboratory of social psychology was organized at Leningrad State University; in 1968 - the first department of social psychology at the same university; in 1972 - a similar department at Moscow State University. In 1966, with the introduction of academic degrees in psychology, social psychology acquired the status of a qualifying scientific discipline. Systematic training of specialists in social psychology began. Groups are organized in scientific institutions; in 1972, the country's first sector of social psychology was created at the Institute of Psychology of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Articles, monographs, and collections are published. Problems of social psychology are discussed at congresses, conferences, symposiums, and meetings.

3. Object and subject of social psychology.

Social psychology is a science that studies the mechanisms and patterns of behavior and activity of people, determined by their inclusion in social groups and communities, as well as the psychological characteristics of these groups and communities

Subject and object of social psychology. Three main approaches have emerged on the subject of social psychology. According to the first of them The subject of social psychology is mass mental phenomena. This approach is being developed by sociologists; it studies: the psychology of classes, large social communities, various aspects of the social psychology of groups (traditions, mores, customs).

According to the second approach, the subject of social psychology is personality. This approach has become widespread among psychologists. Within the framework of this approach, the question of in what context to study personality is discussed. It is possible to analyze a personality from the point of view of its position in the group; consideration of personality in the context of interpersonal relationships or in the communication system.

The third approach represents an attempt to synthesize the first two. Social psychology is considered as a science that studies both mass mental processes and the position of the individual in the group. It should be noted that this understanding of the subject of social psychology is most consistent with the actual practice of research.

Currently, the most generally accepted definition of the subject of social psychology is the following: the study of patterns of behavior and activity of people determined by their inclusion in social groups, as well as the study of the psychological characteristics of these groups themselves.

The object of study of social psychology can be: an individual, a social group (both small, consisting of two or three people, and large, including representatives of the entire ethnic group). In addition, the object of social psychology includes the study of the development processes of the individual and a specific group, the processes of interpersonal and intergroup interaction.

Social psychology is a branch of psychological science that studies the patterns of emergence and functioning of psychological phenomena, the existence of which is determined by the interaction of people in society and their inclusion in various social groups.

The object of social psychology is specific social communities (groups of people) and their individual representatives. Its subject is the patterns of emergence and functioning of socio-psychological phenomena and processes that are the result of the interaction of people as representatives of various social communities.

In large groups – ethnic groups (nations), classes, religious denominations, political and public organizations – specific socio-psychological phenomena operate, which have received the general names “psychology of the nation”, “class psychology”, “religious psychology”, “psychology of politics”. They are distinguished by complex content, ambiguously interpreted by many scientists, and various forms of manifestation. They are studied by the relevant branches of social psychology: ethnic psychology, class psychology, psychology of religion, political psychology.

In small groups functioning mainly of such socio-psychological phenomena as interpersonal relationships, group aspirations, moods, opinions and traditions. It is in small groups that direct and close contacts are made between all the people who make them up. While in large groups such comprehensive contacts between all their members are impossible. The branch of social psychology that studies socio-psychological phenomena and processes in small groups is called small group psychology.

Subject and object of social psychology. About the subject, object and tasks of social psychology

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Preface

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

OBJECT, SUBJECT, TASKS AND METHODS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

About the subject, object and tasks of social psychology