The concept of activity, its structure. Library complex

Activity- this is a specifically human activity, regulated by consciousness, generated by needs and aimed at knowledge and transformation outside world and the man himself.

The main feature of activity is that its content is not determined entirely by the need that gave rise to it. Need as a motive (motivation) gives impetus to activity, but the very forms and content of activity determined by public goals, requirements and experience.

Distinguish three main activities: play, learning and work. Purpose games is the “activity” itself, and not its results. Human activity aimed at acquiring knowledge, skills and abilities is called teaching.

is an activity whose purpose is the production of socially necessary products.

Characteristics of activities Activity is understood as a specifically human way of actively relating to the world - a process during which a person creatively transforms the world

, turning oneself into an active subject, and the phenomena being mastered into an object of one’s activity. Under subject here we mean the source of activity, actor

. Since it is, as a rule, a person who exhibits activity, most often it is he who is called the subject. Object

call the passive, passive, inert side of the relationship, on which activity is carried out. The object of activity can be a natural material or object (land in agricultural activities), another person (a student as an object of learning) or the subject himself (in the case of self-education, sports training).

To understand an activity, several important characteristics need to be taken into account. Man and activity are inextricably linked.

Activity is an indispensable condition of human life: it created man himself, preserved him in history and predetermined the progressive development of culture. Consequently, a person does not exist outside of activity. The opposite is also true: there is no activity without a person. Only man is capable of labor, spiritual and other transformative activities. Animals adapt to natural conditions. A person is capable of actively changing these conditions. For example, he is not limited to collecting plants for food, but grows them in the course of agricultural activities.

Activity acts as a creative, constructive activity: Man, in the process of his activity, goes beyond the boundaries of natural possibilities, creating something new that did not previously exist in nature.

Thus, in the process of activity, a person creatively transforms reality, himself and his social connections.

The essence of the activity is revealed in more detail during its structural analysis.

Basic forms of human activity

Human activity is carried out in (industrial, domestic, natural environment).

Activity- active interaction of a person with the environment, the result of which should be its usefulness, requiring from a person high mobility of nervous processes, fast and accurate movements, increased activity of perception, emotional stability.

The study of a person in the process is carried out by ergonomics, the purpose of which is to optimize work activity on the basis of rational consideration of human capabilities.

The whole variety of forms of human activity can be divided into two main groups according to the nature of the functions performed by a person - physical and mental labor.

Physical work

Physical work requires significant muscle activity, is characterized by a load on the musculoskeletal system and functional systems of the body (cardiovascular, respiratory, neuromuscular, etc.), and also requires increased energy costs from 17 to 25 mJ (4,000-6,000 kcal) and higher per day.

Brainwork

Brainwork(intellectual activity) is work that combines work related to the reception and processing of information, requiring intense attention, memory, and activation of thinking processes. Daily energy consumption during mental work is 10-11.7 mJ (2,000-2,400 kcal).

Structure of human activity

The structure of an activity is usually represented in a linear form, with each component following the other in time.

Need → Motive→ Goal→ Means→ Action→ Result

Let's consider all components of the activity one by one.

Need for action

Need- this is need, dissatisfaction, a feeling of lack of something necessary for normal existence. In order for a person to begin to act, it is necessary to understand this need and its nature.

The most developed classification belongs to the American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and is known as the pyramid of needs (Fig. 2.2).

Maslow divided needs into primary, or innate, and secondary, or acquired. These in turn include the needs:

• physiological - in food, water, air, clothing, warmth, sleep, cleanliness, shelter, physical rest, etc.;
• existential- safety and security, inviolability of personal property, guaranteed employment, confidence in tomorrow etc.;
• social - the desire to belong and be involved in any social group, team, etc. The values ​​of affection, friendship, love are based on these needs;
• prestigious - based on the desire for respect, recognition by others of personal achievements, on the values ​​of self-affirmation and leadership;
• spiritual - focused on self-expression, self-actualization, creative development and use of one’s skills, abilities and knowledge.
• The hierarchy of needs has been changed many times and supplemented by various psychologists. Maslow himself, in the later stages of his research, added three additional groups of needs:
• educational- in knowledge, skill, understanding, research. This includes the desire to discover new things, curiosity, the desire for self-knowledge;
• aesthetic- desire for harmony, order, beauty;
• transcending- a selfless desire to help others in spiritual self-improvement, in their desire for self-expression.

According to Maslow, in order to satisfy higher, spiritual needs, it is necessary to first satisfy those needs that occupy a place in the pyramid below them. If the needs of any level are fully satisfied, a person has a natural need to satisfy the needs of a higher level.

Motives for activity

Motive - a need-based conscious motivation that justifies and justifies an activity. A need will become a motive if it is perceived not just as a need, but as a guide to action.

In the process of motive formation, not only needs, but also other motives are involved. As a rule, needs are mediated by interests, traditions, beliefs, social attitudes, etc.

Interest is a specific reason for action that determines. Although all people have the same needs, different social groups have their own interests. For example, the interests of workers and factory owners, men and women, youth and pensioners are different. So, innovations are more important for pensioners, traditions are more important for pensioners; Entrepreneurs' interests are rather material, while artists' interests are spiritual. Each person also has his own personal interests, based on individual inclinations and likes (people listen to different music, play different sports, etc.).

Traditions represent social and cultural heritage passed down from generation to generation. We can talk about religious, professional, corporate, national (for example, French or Russian) traditions, etc. For the sake of some traditions (for example, military ones), a person can limit his primary needs (by replacing safety and security with activities in high-risk conditions).

Beliefs- strong, principled views on the world, based on a person’s ideological ideals and implying a person’s willingness to give up a number of needs (for example, comfort and money) for the sake of what he considers right (for the sake of preserving honor and dignity).

Settings- a person’s predominant orientation towards certain institutions of society, which overlap with needs. For example, a person may be focused on religious values, or material enrichment, or public opinion. Accordingly, he will act differently in each case.

In complex activities, it is usually possible to identify not one motive, but several. In this case, the main motive is identified, which is considered the driving one.

Objectives of activity

Target - This is a conscious idea of ​​the result of an activity, an anticipation of the future. Any activity involves goal setting, i.e. ability to independently set goals. Animals, unlike humans, cannot set goals themselves: their program of activity is predetermined and expressed in instincts. A person is able to form his own programs, creating something that has never existed in nature. Since there is no goal-setting in the activity of animals, it is not an activity. Moreover, if an animal never imagines the results of its activity in advance, then a person, starting an activity, keeps in his mind the image of the expected object: before creating something in reality, he creates it in his mind.

However, the goal can be complex and sometimes requires a series of intermediate steps to achieve it. For example, to plant a tree, you need to purchase a seedling, find a suitable place, take a shovel, dig a hole, place the seedling in it, water it, etc. Ideas about intermediate results are called objectives. Thus, the goal is divided into specific tasks: if all these tasks are solved, then the overall goal will be achieved.

Tools used in activities

Facilities - these are techniques, methods of action, objects, etc. used in the course of activity. For example, to learn social studies, you need lectures, textbooks, and assignments. To be a good specialist, you need to get professional education, have work experience, constantly practice in their activities, etc.

The means must correspond to the ends in two senses. First, the means must be proportionate to the ends. In other words, they cannot be insufficient (otherwise the activity will be fruitless) or excessive (otherwise energy and resources will be wasted). For example, you cannot build a house if there are not enough materials for it; It also makes no sense to buy materials several times more than are needed for its construction.

Secondly, the means must be moral: immoral means cannot be justified by the nobility of the end. If goals are immoral, then all activities are immoral (in this regard, the hero of F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “The Brothers Karamazov” Ivan asked whether the kingdom of world harmony is worth one tear of a tortured child).

Action

Action - an element of activity that has a relatively independent and conscious task. An activity consists of individual actions. For example, teaching activities consist of preparing and delivering lectures, conducting seminars, preparing assignments, etc.

The German sociologist Max Weber (1865-1920) identified the following types of social actions:

• purposeful - actions aimed at achieving a reasonable goal. At the same time, a person clearly calculates all the means and possible obstacles (a general planning a battle; a businessman organizing an enterprise; a teacher preparing a lecture);
• value-rational- actions based on beliefs, principles, moral and aesthetic values(for example, a prisoner’s refusal to transfer valuable information to the enemy, saving a drowning man at the risk of his own life);
• affective - actions committed under the influence of strong feelings - hatred, fear (for example, flight from an enemy or spontaneous aggression);
• traditional- actions based on habit, often being an automatic reaction developed on the basis of customs, beliefs, patterns, etc. (for example, following certain rituals in a wedding ceremony).

The basis of activity is the actions of the first two types, since only they have a conscious goal and are creative in nature. Affects and traditional actions are only capable of exerting some influence on the course of activity as auxiliary elements.

Special forms of action are: actions - actions that have a value-rational, moral significance, and actions are actions that have high positive social significance. For example, helping a person is an act, winning an important battle is an act. Drinking a glass of water is an ordinary action that is neither an act nor an act. The word "act" is often used in jurisprudence to denote an action or omission that violates legal norms. For example, in legislation “a crime is an unlawful, socially dangerous, guilty act.”

Result of activity

Result- this is the final result, the state in which the need is satisfied (in whole or in part). For example, the result of study can be knowledge, skills and abilities, the result of scientific activity can be ideas and inventions. The result of the activity itself can be, since in the course of the activity it develops and changes.

An activity is a system consisting of individual components. There are such components of activity as actions, operations, goals, motives, etc. Each of these components is presented at a certain level of activity.

1. The purpose of activity is twofold: it is both an objective (reflected) phenomenon and its reflection - a mental phenomenon. But the goal of activity as a mental phenomenon is an objective goal processed by the individual, taking into account the determining role of needs. At the same time, the determining role of needs is manifested in the process of developing motives, when choosing ways to achieve an already set goal. A goal as a mental phenomenon is a pre-conscious and planned result of human activity.

If any specific activity is taken as a whole, then the goal of the activity is one of its substructures. Other substructures of this activity are its motives as incentives for action, methods of its implementation and results as its outcome. If we're talking about about mental activity, then its elements will be the mental phenomena included in it, and in particular those with the help of which this activity is performed. If we mean physical activity (the initial form of which is physical labor), then physiological phenomena, and above all movements, are added to mental phenomena as elements of activity. The concept of “working movement” as a physiological one should not be confused with the psychological concept of “action”. Consequently, the structure of any activity can be put into the following general scheme: goal - motive - method - result. The motives of activity and the needs of the individual are in dialectical unity as one of the manifestations of the unity of consciousness and activity. As was said, a need is a personal manifestation of an individual’s attitude as an attribute of his consciousness. Persistent needs (from vague inclinations to conscious active beliefs) are properties of the personality - forms of its orientation. But these same relationships, needs and properties of orientation, being included in the structure of activity, become its motives.

2. Motive is a mental phenomenon that becomes an incentive for a certain activity. After all, “motif” in French means “motivation.” Mental processes, states, and personality traits can act as motives. The former are spoken of as unstable, situational, and sometimes even random motives. The second and especially the third are persistent motives, the last of which are at the same time properties of the substructure of personality orientation. They can be simple or complex in structure, including in their structure the properties of the personality of its lower levels.

Motives and abilities are two mental phenomena and, accordingly, two psychological concepts, included both in the concept of personality and in the concept of activity. If a motive is a personal motivation for a certain activity, then an ability is a personal possibility of the level of quality of this activity. Therefore, motives, like abilities, can be either potential, not yet included in the structure of the activity actually performed, or actual - included in it. Depending on their persistence, it is necessary to distinguish between the motives of activity and the motives of individual actions. Sometimes they may coincide, but not always.

3. Action is an element of activity that achieves a specific, conscious goal that cannot be broken down into simpler ones. One can immediately define a skill as an action that is automated in the process of its formation and becomes an operation as a component of a more complex skill.

An action has its own psychological dynamic structure, which includes: the goal that gave rise to its need, the desire to achieve it, interest, the experience of difficulty or, on the contrary, ease, and the corresponding varying degrees of volitional tension, and the mental acts on the basis of which this action is performed .

In a person, external conditions influencing him determine his activity, mediated by his internal conditions. A person's conscious activity is the result of external conditions, mediated by internal conditions and being a person. In the life activity of man as an organism, this pattern is common to animals. The mental activity of animals is also mediated by internal conditions, which are the individual psychological characteristics of a given individual.

The unity of activity and personality is most clearly manifested in three groups of mental phenomena - abilities, skills and actions.

Skill is the ability to perform certain activities or actions in new conditions, formed on the basis of previously acquired knowledge and skills. In skills, skills as learned actions have become properties of the individual and her abilities for new actions. On the basis of knowledge, skills are developed, and on their basis, in turn, skills.

Skills are partially automated actions that are developed through practice. Skills are necessary in any job and human activity. Each profession requires certain skills that make it possible to act quickly and confidently and achieve best results with minimal energy consumption.

Automated actions are those that, as a result of many repetitions, cease to be conscious of us. We write without thinking about how to write this or that letter. But there was a time when each of us learned to write, carefully deducing each element of the letter.

Useful automation of a skill should not be confused with automatisms in work activities that are not controlled by consciousness. Even a highly automated work skill remains under the control of consciousness and is part of conscious activity. By combining with other actions during the exercise, a highly automated skill can cease to be an independent action and becomes a way to perform a more complex action. The psychological criterion for the transition of a skill into a method of performing a more complex skill is the cessation of awareness of the previously recognized elementary goal and its subordination to the awareness of a more general goal, now becoming elementary.

The formation of skills is associated with the formation of plastic skills, although it is not limited to this. It is prerequisite and the most important task of developing mastery. The psychological basis of skills is an understanding of the relationship between the purpose of a given work activity, the conditions and methods of its implementation. Skill is closely related to creative thinking, as it relies not only on skills, but also on knowledge.

The professional skills acquired by a person not only determine the quality of his work activity and enrich his experience, but also become the qualities of his personality, his skill, and he himself becomes a craftsman. This reveals the unity of human activity and personality.

The unity of activity and personality is manifested even more clearly in actions. An act is an action that is perceived by the acting person as an act that expresses her certain attitude (towards other people, to herself or to work, etc.).

The highest level of personality structure—its direction—is manifested in an action. Just as activity is made up of actions, moral activity is made up of actions. The latter is often called “behavior.” Behavior is the external expression of activity, taken into account without its subjective component. Therefore, the term “behavior” can be applied not only to humans, but also to animals and even robots.

4. An operation is one of the components of an activity, determined by the conditions for performing the action. An operation is a way of performing an action. The same operation can be included in the structure of different actions. For example, you can memorize poetry in preparation for a literature lesson (when performing an educational action) or to train your memory (when performing a mnemonic action). In the same way, the same action can be performed by different operations: often, to prepare for a responsible speech, the speaker uses the method of memorizing the text, but sometimes he uses mnemonic means - the placement method, the method of keywords, etc. Operations are formed in two ways: with the help of imitation and by automating actions. Unlike actions, operations are little conscious.

The level of psychophysiological foundations of activity is formed by the peculiarities of the course of various mental processes, the specifics of systemic psychophysiology, etc.

The level structure of activity ensures the polysemy of the subject’s interaction with the world. In the process of this interaction, the formation of a mental image occurs, the implementation and change of the person’s mediated relationships with the objective world

Joint activity is also internally heterogeneous and is divided into subtypes: for example, directly joint - “activity together” and indirectly joint - “activity nearby”.

More traditional is, apparently, the classification of activities according to their subject area, i.e., according to professional affiliation. As a result, all those professions that exist today are highlighted, as well as specializations within these professions. Thus, there is a classification developed by E. A. Klimov, which distinguishes five main types professional activity: “man – technology”, “man – man”, “man – nature”, “man – sign”, “man – artistic image”.

4. Activities are also usually divided into executive and managerial (organizational). The first is characterized by the fact that the subject of labor directly influences his object, although he is in contact with other subjects. The second (managerial) usually does not provide for such direct influence. It, however, necessarily presupposes the organization by one subject of the activities of other people, as well as a hierarchy of their subordination.

5. In practical terms, it is important to divide activities into direct and indirect. In the first case, a person directly influences the object and just as directly receives information from it. In the second case, information about the subject of work is transmitted to a person through intermediary links: in the form of tables on the screen or in any other symbolic form. This is, for example, operator-type activities

(according to Andreeva). Specific content of various forms joint activities is a certain ratio of individual “contributions” made by participants. Thus, one of the schemes suggests identifying three possible forms, or models: 1) when each participant does his part of the overall work independently of the others - “joint-individual activity” (for example, some production teams, where each member has his own task); 2) when a common task is performed sequentially by each participant - “joint-sequential activity” (example - conveyor); 3) when there is simultaneous interaction of each participant with all the others - “joint-interacting activity” (example - sports teams, research teams or design bureaus) (Umaisky, 1980. P. 131

forms of joint activity: people not only communicate in the process of performing various functions, but they always communicate in some activity, “about” it. Thus, an active person always communicates: his activities inevitably intersect with the activities of other people. But it is precisely this intersection of activities that creates certain relationships of an active person not only to the subject of his activity, but also to other people. It is communication that forms a community of individuals performing joint activities.

Sometimes activity and communication are considered not as parallel existing interconnected processes, but as two sides of a person’s social existence; his way of life Lomov, 1976. P. 130. In other cases, communication is understood as a certain aspect of activity: it is included in any activity, is its element, while the activity itself can be considered as a condition of communication Leontyev, 1975. P. 289. Communication can be interpreted as special kind activities. Within this point of view, two of its varieties are distinguished: in one of them, communication is understood as a communicative activity, or a communication activity that occurs independently at a certain stage of ontogenesis, for example, among preschoolers Lisina, 1996. In the other, communication in in general terms is understood as one of the types of activity (meaning, first of all, speech activity).

In our opinion, it is advisable to have the broadest understanding of the connection between activity and communication, when communication is considered both as an aspect of joint activity (since activity itself is not only work, but also communication in the labor process), and as its unique derivative.

In real practical activities For a person, the main question is not so much how the subject communicates, but rather what he communicates about. People communicate not only about the activities with which they are associated.

Through communication, activities are organized and enriched. Building a plan for joint activities requires each participant to have an optimal understanding of its goals, objectives, and capabilities of each participant. The inclusion of communication in this process allows for “coordination” or “mismatch” of the activities of individual participants Leontiev, 1997. P. 63. Activities through communication are not just organized, but actually enriched, new connections and relationships between people arise in it.

18) Definition of the concept of “conflict”.

“Conflict,” like many other concepts, has several interpretations. So in the broad sense of the word, conflict is a clash of sides, opinions, forces. However, according to E. A. Zamedlina, with such an approach we can assume that conflicts are also possible in inanimate nature. “The concepts of “conflict” and “contradiction” are actually becoming comparable in scope” E. A. Zamedlina. Conflictology. M - RIOR, 2005, p. 4..

Based on this, there is a need to identify a narrower definition of conflict, applicable only to living beings, including humans. Melnikova N.A. defines conflict as “an open clash opposing positions, interests, views, opinions of the subjects of interaction” N. A. Melnikova. Social psychology cheat sheet. M - Allele-2000, 2005, p. 27. In this case, the subject of conflict interaction can be an individual person, people or groups of people.

Hence, Zamedlina proposes to narrow the broad understanding of conflict and consider that conflicts can only arise through social interaction. The essence of the conflict lies not so much in the emergence of a contradiction, a clash of interests, but in the method of resolving the created contradiction, in the opposition of subjects social interaction generally.

Based on all of the above, a complete definition of this concept can be considered: “conflict is the most acute way of resolving significant contradictions that arise in the process of assistance, which consists in the opposition of the subjects of the conflict and is usually accompanied by negative emotions” E. A. Zamedlina. Conflictology.

Conflicts manifest themselves in communication, behavior, and activity. These are the so-called spheres of counteraction of the subjects of the conflict. Therefore, it is obvious that conflicts are studied not only by social psychology, but also by such sciences as military sciences, history, pedagogy, political science, law, psychology, sociobiology, sociology, philosophy, economics, etc.

(see the rest in conflictology)

19) In any conflict, the main participants are people. They may act as private, official or legal entities and also join groups. Depending on the main participants, the following types of conflicts are distinguished:

* intrapersonal - an acute negative experience caused by a protracted struggle between the structures of the individual’s inner world, reflecting contradictory connections with social environment and delayed decision making;

* interpersonal -- occurs between two (or more) individuals. In this case, there is a confrontation regarding the needs, motives, goals, values ​​and/or attitudes of different people;

* personal-group - often occurs when an individual’s behavior does not correspond to group norms and expectations;

* intergroup. In this case, a clash may arise between behavioral stereotypes, norms, goals and/or values ​​of different groups.

According to the degree of participation in the conflict (from direct opposition to indirect influence on its course), the following are distinguished:

* the main participants in the conflict (or warring parties) are entities that directly carry out active (offensive or defensive) actions against each other;

* support groups - forces that, through active actions or their presence, can radically influence the course and outcome of the conflict;

* other participants are subjects who have an occasional influence on the course and results of the conflict (for example, instigators, mediators, i.e. mediators and judges, conflict organizers).

4. The subject of the conflict is an objectively existing or imaginary problem that serves as a source of discord between the parties. This is the main contradiction, because of which and for the sake of which the parties enter into confrontation.

The object of the conflict is a material, social or spiritual value that lies at the intersection of the mutual interests of the parties, the possession or use of which both opponents strive for.

The nature of any disagreement is significantly determined by the external environment in which the conflict arises. The most important conditions for the conflict:

* spatiotemporal (the place where the contradiction unfolds and the time during which it must be resolved);

* socio-psychological (climate in the conflicting group, type and level of interaction (communication), degree of confrontation and state of the conflict participants)

* social (involvement in conflicting interests of different social groups: gender, family, professional, ethnic and national).

Usually in conflict analysis there are four main categories: conflict structure, its dynamics, functions and typology.

Let's look briefly at each of them.

There are different understandings of the structure of conflict. Thus, the following concepts are distinguished: parties (participants) to the conflict, conditions for its occurrence, images of the situation, possible actions of the participants, outcomes of conflict actions.

There are several components in the psychological structure of conflicts.

1. Cognitive components. Mutual perception of the characteristics of each of the conflicting parties; intellectual abilities of information processing and decision making; the degree of involvement of the individual in a conflict situation at various stages of its development; level of self-control of conflict participants; experience working with people and professional preparedness; self-awareness, self-understanding and objectivity in assessing one’s capabilities.

2. The emotional components of a conflict represent the totality of the experiences of its participants.

3. Volitional components manifest themselves as a set of efforts aimed at overcoming disagreements and other difficulties arising as a result of confrontation between the parties, and at achieving the goals pursued by the parties to the conflict.

4. The motivational components of the conflict form its core and characterize the essence of the discrepancy between the positions of the participants in the confrontation.

In addition, the structure of the conflict also includes the subject of the conflict, which is understood as everything about which the confrontation arose. The subject of the conflict is characterized by the following features.

Firstly, it can be both material and psychological.

Secondly, it is always quite significant for the participants in the confrontation, although this significance may be purely situational.

Thirdly, from a practical point of view, overcoming significant difficulties in determining the subject in a real conflict is usually justified and compensated by the ability to relatively accurately predict the behavior of the opposing side, since the subject of the conflict is one of the factors determining this behavior.

Dynamics of conflict. In the general scheme of conflict dynamics, seven stages of its development are distinguished:

1) pre-conflict stage;

2) the stage associated with the emergence of an objective conflict situation;

3) intellectual stage of development;

4) critical stage of development;

5) a decrease in tension in opposition;

6) comparison of official and unofficial assessments of behavior;

7) resolution of the conflict or withdrawal of one of the parties from it.

Functions of conflict. Usually there are two functions of conflicts: destructive and constructive. When defining functions real conflict a specific approach is necessary, since the same conflict can be destructive in one respect and constructive in another, play a negative role at one stage of development, in some specific circumstances, and a positive one at another stage, in another situation.

A constructive conflict occurs when opponents do not go beyond ethical standards, business relationships and reasonable arguments. The resolution of such a conflict leads to the development of relationships between people and the development of the group (in accordance with one of the laws of dialectics, which states that the struggle of opposites is the source of development).

A destructive conflict arises in two cases: when one of the parties stubbornly and rigidly insists on its position and does not want to take into account the interests of the other party; when one of the opponents resorts to morally condemnable methods of struggle, seeks to psychologically suppress the partner, discrediting and humiliating him.

Causes of constructive conflicts:

Unfavorable working conditions;

Imperfect remuneration system;

Disadvantages in work organization;

Irrhythmic work;

Overtime work;

Omissions in technology (especially those from which the employee’s earnings suffer, and through no fault of his);

Inconsistency of rights and responsibilities;

Lack of clarity in the distribution of responsibilities, in particular, ineffective, too vague or outdated job descriptions;

Low level of labor and executive discipline;

Conflict-prone (i.e., conducive to conflicts) organizational structures.

A positive resolution of a constructive conflict is, first of all, the elimination of shortcomings and the reasons that led to it. And since these reasons are objective, reflecting the imperfection of management organizations, eliminating them means improving the organization itself.

Destructive conflicts are most often generated by subjective reasons, which include incorrect actions of the manager and subordinates, as well as the psychological incompatibility of individuals.

Through activities, during which the impact on nature, things and other people is carried out, a real connection is established between a person and the world around him. By realizing and revealing his internal properties in activity, a person acts in relation to things as a subject, and in relation to people – as a person. Experiencing, in turn, their reciprocal influences, he thus discovers the true, objective, essential properties of people, things, nature and society. Things appear before him as objects, and people as individuals.

Each specific activity has its own individual structure, clarifying general structure, inherent in any activity, which includes: a common goal, motives (as incentives) and results of activity. In addition, the general structure of activities includes individual actions(including skills) and mental acts included in them. Any activity, from preparing for it to achieving a goal, is carried out as a result of many interrelated actions.

Action -This is a relatively complete element of activity, in the process of which a specific, not decomposed into simpler, conscious goal is achieved.

Action has a psychological structure similar to activity: goal - motive - method - result. Depending on the mental acts that dominate the methods of action, actions are distinguished between sensory, motor, volitional, mental, mnestic (i.e., memory actions). The last two are combined under the term “mental actions.”

Sensory actions – these are actions to reflect an object, for example, determining the size of an object, location and movement in space, its state. Sensory actions also include assessing a person’s mood by his facial expressions.

Motor actions – These are actions aimed at changing the position of an object in space by moving it (with hands, feet) or directly using tools (switching speed when driving a car). Motor and sensory actions are most often combined in work activity into a sensorimotor action, but for learning purposes (in particular, exercises) they are distinguished as individual species actions. Sensorimotor action aimed at changing the state or properties of objects in the external world, called subject. Any objective action consists of certain movements connected in space and time. It is important to note that performing an objective action consists of carrying out certain a system of movements that depends on the purpose of the action, the properties of the object to which this action is directed, and the conditions of the action. Skiing, for example, requires a different movement pattern than walking, and driving a nail into a ceiling – a different system of movements than driving a nail into the floor.

The purpose of the actions seems to be the same in these examples, but the objects of the actions are different. The difference in objects determines the different structure of muscle activity. The execution of the movement is continuously monitored and adjusted by comparing its results with the final goal of the action. Movement control is carried out according to the principle feedback, the channel of which is the sense organs, and the sources of information – certain perceived signs of objects and movements that play the role of action guidelines.

Human activity is inextricably linked external (physical) And internal (mental) sides. Outer side – movements with which a person influences the outside world, – is determined and regulated by internal (mental) activity: motivational, cognitive, volitional. On the other hand, all this internal (mental) activity is directed and controlled by external activity, which reveals the properties of things and processes, carries out their purposeful transformations, reveals the degree of adequacy (compliance) of mental models, as well as the degree of coincidence of the obtained results of actions with the expected ones.

Two types of processes play an important role in this: interiorization and exteriorization.

Interiorization –This is the process of transition from external, material action to internal, ideal action. Thanks to interiorization, the human psyche acquires the ability to operate with images of objects that are currently absent from its field of vision. A person goes beyond the boundaries of a given moment, freely, “in the mind,” moves into the past and future, in time and space. The main instrument of this transition is the word, and the means of transition – speech action. The word highlights and consolidates the essential properties of things and ways of handling information developed by the practice of mankind. These stable properties and patterns, identified in social experience and recorded in public consciousness with the help of words in the form of knowledge, becoming the property of a person, thanks to training, they allow him to anticipate changes in an object under the influence of certain influences on it, i.e. design changes according to specific impacts. The impacts themselves are also designed in accordance with the purpose and material on which they will be carried out. In the public consciousness, sensory guidelines for certain influences are also fixed. These are not all the qualities of an object, but only those that reflect stable, natural relationships between objects and between phenomena. Therefore, they are informative milestones in activity and are used when operating with a dynamic model of the future result of an action, activity, i.e. appropriate purpose.

Exteriorization –This is the process of transforming internal mental action into external.The processes of internalization and exteriorization are inextricably linked in activity, since its external (physical) and internal (mental) sides are interconnected.

Main activities

There are many types of human activities, but among their diversity there are the most important ones that ensure the existence of a person and his formation as an individual. These main activities include: communication, play, learning and work.

A game – This a type of animal behavior and human activity, the goal of which is the “activity” itself, and not the practical results that are achieved with its help. IN this definition It is no coincidence that animal behavior is included. Play behavior is observed in many species of young animals. This is all kinds of fuss, imitation of fights, running around, etc. Some animals also play with things. So, a kitten lies in wait for a rolling ball and rushes at it, a puppy drags it across the floor and tears apart a found rag.

The behavior of young animals during play can be considered, first of all, as the realization of the body’s need for activity and discharge of accumulated energy. If an animal is deprived of play partners for some time, then its excitability and play activity then sharply increase, i.e. it is as if the corresponding energy is accumulated. This phenomenon is called "game hunger."

The connection between gaming activity and the body’s energy metabolism explains the emergence of urges to play. But how and where do forms of play behavior come from? Observations on various types animals show that the sources of actions performed by young animals are the same as in adult animals: species instincts, imitation, learning. If in adult animals these actions serve to satisfy certain real biological needs (for food, protection from enemies, orientation in the environment, etc.), then in babies the same actions are performed for the sake of the “activity” itself and are divorced from their real biological goals . In games, young animals not only receive energy release, but also practice forms of adaptive behavior to changing environmental conditions.

Research shows that for a child, play also serves as a form of realization of his activity, a form of life activity. However, the child’s play actions from the very beginning develop on the basis of human ways of using things and human forms. practical behavior, acquired in communication with adults and under the guidance of the latter. The game causes children to pay increased attention to individual objects and helps them master the meaning of words. When a game becomes a plot game, the child uses it to master actions in relation to things, and then in relation to other roles as bearers of certain requirements (rules).

Distributing roles in the game, addressing each other in accordance with accepted roles (doctor – sick, teacher – student, boss – subordinate, etc.), children master social behavior, coordination of actions, subordinate to the requirements of the team. They develop certain ideas about social roles, and various feelings arise associated with experiencing role actions. Thanks to this, knowledge about the properties of objects and their purpose, about the relationships between people, about their advantages and disadvantages is expanded. The game develops a person’s moral qualities because it reflects public relations, and therefore each participant in the game is psychologically formed as an individual. This is most typical for childhood and adolescence. But adult games (for example, sports) also actively influence the development of consciousness. In addition, there are educational games (business, role-playing), which Lately are becoming increasingly widespread in the learning process, since they allow us to partially combine the qualities of gaming and educational activities.

Teaching – This activity, the immediate purpose of which is the acquisition by a person of certain knowledge, skills and abilities. Knowledge – This is information about the significant properties of the world, necessary for the successful organization of certain types of theoretical or practical activities. Skills – These are actions that, being formed as a result of exercise, are characterized by a high degree of mastery and the absence of element-by-element conscious regulation and control. Skills – these are ways of performing actions provided by a set of acquired knowledge and skills in changing conditions.

Teaching – this is the main way of developing a person as a conscious personality based on his assimilation of the theoretical and practical experience of mankind. In teaching, everything is subordinated to the development of personality. This is a special activity where the goals, content, principles, methods and organizational forms of educational work are deliberately established, which the best way must ensure the formation of knowledge, skills, abilities and abilities of students. This is its main difference from play and work that pursue other goals.

Communication

Communication, or as it has often been defined recently – communication, is an extremely broad and capacious concept. Communication has many faces: it has many forms and types. Initially communication defined as interaction of two or more people, consisting in the exchange of cognitive and emotional-evaluative information.

The importance of communication for humanity is invaluable. Through communication, each of us assimilates universal human experience, historically established social norms, values, knowledge and ways of acting. It is believed that, along with other types of activity (behavior and activity), communication is the most important factor human mental development. By communicating, people are formed as individuals; in communication they become individuals. In its most general form, communication can also be defined as the universal reality in which people exist. Its special variety has recently become Internet. The subjects of communication are people. The person transmitting information is called communicator, receiving – recipient.

Communication functions

As we said above, communication is multifunctional in its meaning for a person, therefore there are several classifications of its functions. The most general one assumes the presence of two types of communication functions: social(organization of joint activities, management of behavior and activities, both other people and one’s own) and psychological(satisfying the need for communication, providing psychological comfort, self-affirmation function).

Psychologists often highlight five the most important communication functions , each of which carries its own psychological load. The first function is "pragmatic": Through communication, people connect with each other for joint activities. The famous biblical story about the construction of the Tower of Babel is considered the most striking example of the devastating consequences for human activity that a violation of this function has. The second function of communication is organizing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. The central place here belongs to evaluating other people and establishing emotional relationships with them: either positive or negative. Emotional interpersonal relationships permeate our entire lives, leaving their mark on behavior and activities from the business to the intimate-personal sphere. The third can be called formative function. Here communication acts as the most important condition for the formation and change of a person’s mental appearance. This function is most significant for the development of the child. It is communication with an adult that determines the child’s behavior, activities and attitude towards the world and himself. In the course of communication with an adult, the child’s actions external to him are transformed into internal mental functions and processes, and independent voluntary external activities(L. Vygotsky, P. Galperin). The fourth function is confirming. Its essence lies in the fact that in the process of communicating with other people a person gets the opportunity to know, approve and “confirm” himself. Wanting to establish himself in his existence and his value, a person most often looks for a foothold in another person, through communication with other people he gets to know himself, establishes himself in own opinion about yourself and your capabilities. The fifth function of communication is intrapersonal. It represents a universal way of thinking of a person through internal or external speech (it is built like a dialogue) the latter communicates with himself.

Components of communication

In any communication, one can distinguish its purpose, content and means.

Goals Human communication can be very diverse and represent a means of satisfying human needs - from social, cultural to cognitive and aesthetic. Any purpose of communication answers the question: why do we enter into communication?

Communication means represent methods of encoding, processing and decoding information that is transmitted in the process of communication from one person to another. Our senses, sound speech, as well as other sign systems, such as writing, technical means of recording and storing information can act as means of communication.

Communication structure

Following the domestic psychologist Galina Mikhailovna Andreeva(b. 1924) we can talk about three interrelated aspects of communication: communicative, interactive and perceptual.

The communicative side of communication(or communication in the narrow sense of the word) consists of the exchange of information between individuals. During the communication process, there is not just a movement of information, but a mutual transfer of encoded information between two or more individuals - the subjects of communication. But this is not just an exchange of information. In this case, people not only exchange meanings, but strive to develop a common meaning, which is only possible if the information is not only accepted, but also comprehended. Communicative interaction is possible only when the person sending information (communicator) and the person receiving it (recipient) have a similar system for encoding and decoding information, i.e. they speak the same “language.” If this condition is violated, communication barriers arise, the causes of which can be social or psychological in nature.

The interactive side of communication consists of organizing interaction between communicating individuals. There are two types of interaction – cooperation and competition. The first means coordinating the forces of the participants. It is a necessary element of joint activity, generated by the very nature of human activity. Competition is the opposite type of interaction between people. One of the most striking forms of its manifestation may be conflict.

Perceptual side of communication means the process of perception and cognition by communication partners of each other and the establishment on this basis of mutual understanding between them.

Schematically, this structure of communication can be represented as follows:

No less important for the successful completion of the communication process is the choice of an appropriate sign system for transmitting information. Usually there are verbal and non-verbal communication. Verbal (verbal) communication It is considered universal among people, since when transmitting information through speech, the meaning of the information is practically not lost. It is least susceptible to personal distortions, but it also has its own characteristics, which will be discussed in the corresponding section of the textbook (see chapter “Language and Speech”). Nonverbal communication provides a wealth of information for those communicating (primarily in understanding the personality and intentions of communication partners), but it is subject to many distortions and is difficult to manage on a conscious level. In addition, for the successful use of nonverbal means of communication, the skill of using them in a particular culture is very important. TO non-verbal means communication includes facial expressions, postures, movements, gestures, tempo and timbre of voice, laughter, coughing, etc.

Types of communication

Scientists distinguish different types of communication depending on its content, goals and means.

By goals communication can be biological (necessary for the maintenance, preservation and development of the organism) and social. In the latter case, communication pursues the goals of expanding and strengthening interpersonal contacts, establishing and developing interpersonal relationships, and personal growth of the individual.

By means communication is divided into direct (carried out with the help of natural organs given to a person - arms, head, torso, vocal cords, etc.) and indirect (associated with the use special means). Communication can also be direct (involves personal contacts and direct perception of each other by communicating people in the very act of communication) and indirect (carried out through intermediaries, which can be both other people and technical means).

Communication difficulties

Difficult communication is frustrated, ineffective communication. Psychologists G. Gibsch and M. Forverg identified six types of communication difficulties:

1) situational, arising in communication due to different understanding of the situation by the participants in communication;

2) semantic ones, arising due to misunderstanding by one person of another due to the lack of the necessary context, when any statement is perceived without a semantic connection with the previous message;

3) motivational, appearing either as a result of concealment by the communicator true motives communication, or when the recipient’s motives are unclear to the communicator himself;

4) barriers of ideas about the other: the communicator does not have an accurate idea of ​​​​his partner, mistakenly assesses his cultural level, needs, interests, etc.;

5) arising in the absence of feedback (i.e. the communicator does not know how his message was received, what impact it has on the communication partner);

6) pragmatic, arising as a result of various pragmatic relations between the system of communication signs and their consumers: a) caused by differences in socio-cultural attitudes or positions of participants in communication; b) caused by the communicators belonging to different social and demographic groups; c) due to any conceptual barriers.

Difficulties have their own specifics communication among people in adolescence and adolescence. They have different difficulties in communicating horizontally (“student-student”) and vertically (“adult – teenager, young man”). Horizontal difficulties are associated with an insufficiently developed ability to interact and solve educational and work problems together; with the inability to manage one’s behavior, as well as the displacement of motives for communication by other motives and goals. Difficulties in vertical communication are based on different visions of the causes of the difficulty business communication and the different significance of the reasons causing these difficulties. For example, teenagers believe that the main difficulty in communicating with adults arises from the fact that the latter do not understand their inner world and, moreover, continue to treat them like children. Objective difficulties may include insufficient knowledge by each party of communication of the subculture of the other communicant: from the world of music and dance to language and value systems.

One of the ways to overcome difficulties in communication between people of any age and status can be considered such a personal property (quality) as tolerance. Tolerance understood as patience, endurance of the individual to the behavior of the communication partner. It underlies mutual trust and understanding, helps prevent conflicts and overcome their adverse consequences, promotes the manifestation of goodwill, which, in turn, allows subjects of communication to exchange spiritual potentials and contributes to their formation as individuals.

Creation

The pinnacle of human activity is creativity - the main reserve for improving any human activity and the development of the individual himself. The term "creativity" has several meanings. Usually under creativity refers to the activity of creating new and original products of social significance. Such products may be new technology, tools, scientific ideas, new methods of work, works of art, etc.

Unlike ordinary activities, in creativity a person strives for a goal, the path to achieving which is unknown to him. To do this, he solves several sequential problems, most often using numerous trials, of which only one or several lead to solving the problem (it’s not for nothing that they talk about the “pangs of creativity”). Moreover, you often have to overcome the usual ways of solving close or similar problems. It is still little known what mechanisms underlie creative processes, thanks to which a person manages to go beyond the usual and successfully realize new idea, the idea is at this very moment. Apparently, the main one among these mechanisms is inspiration - a kind of rise in a person’s spiritual powers. It is “objectively expressed in increased... creative productivity, and subjectively experienced as a special readiness, internal “mobilization” to create creative products.” At the same time, there is an exceptional concentration of attention on the object of creativity, activation of observation and thinking. It is characteristic that these processes occur against the background of emotional upsurge, the experience of such states as enthusiasm, cheerfulness, etc. Sometimes even such a state arises as hyperaxiomatization, those. increased appreciation for a successful find.

Other mechanisms of creativity, not yet sufficiently known to science, function in the sphere of the subconscious. New solutions often come to a person’s mind unexpectedly, like an “insight” (insight), after many hours and even days, months of some vague and inexpressible difficult state of health. Some researchers considered this circumstance to be an indicator that a discovery or invention was a happy accident, that the person who made the discovery simply happened to be in the right place in the world. right time. However, numerous scientific experiments and observations show that the mentioned insight, as a rule, appears after some time has passed from the beginning of the search for a solution. Therefore, the decision itself should be considered as a result of the activity of the subconscious, i.e. hidden mental work. In this regard, researchers have established the presence of three mandatory stages creative process.

1. Awareness of the problem . Often, the rise to this level is associated with an emotional reaction (surprise, difficulty), which acts as a stimulus for a careful consideration of the situation. This stage ends with asking a question.

2. Hypothesis development . This stage contains the actual process of creativity, a breakthrough from the unknown to the known. The result of this stage is the development of a working concept.

3. Idea testing . The essence of creativity is not in adapting to existing and habitual conditions, but in their transformation, a new, unexpected look at familiar circumstances. As a rule, true creativity involves the synthesis of knowledge from various fields of practice and science. Therefore, the most important for a successful breakthrough into the unknown are the following phases of work:

· rejection of the only solution;

· the ability to disconnect from the existing system of knowledge, conscious displacement of known connections of being;

· inclusion of intuition in the chain of logical reasoning.

Research by psychologists has established that in addition to creativity There are some personality traits that definitely contribute to creativity. These are, first of all, receptivity to new ideas, creative courage, curiosity, the ability to be surprised, overcome stereotypes, and a penchant for games.

Self-test questions

1. What is the specificity of human behavior?

2. What is the difference between play and study? What is business game?

3. Can a person exist and develop without communicating with other people? Give reasons for your answer.

4. How does creativity differ from other types of human activity?

a) main:

1. Andreeva G. M. Social Psychology. – M., Aspect Press, 1996.

3. Communication and optimization of joint activities / Ed. G.M. Andreeva and Ya.M. Janoušek. – M.:, 1987.

b) additional:

1. Astakhov A.I. Education through creativity. – M., 1986

2. Gibsch G., Forverg M. Introduction to Marxist social psychology. – M., 1972.

3. Levitov N.D. About mental states. – M.: Pedagogy, 1964. – 234 p.

4. Lomov B.F. Communication and social regulation of individual behavior // Psychological problems of social regulation of behavior. – M., 1976.

Activity is a specifically human activity regulated by consciousness, generated by needs and aimed at cognition and transformation of the external world and the person himself, bearing public character, largely determined by the goals and requirements of society.
Stand out:
1. Game activity;
A game is a type of unproductive activity where the motive lies not in its result, but in the process itself.
2. Educational activities;
Teaching is an activity whose purpose is to acquire knowledge, skills and abilities by a person. Learning can be either organized in special institutions or unorganized and carried out spontaneously, together with other types of activities.
3. Labor activity;
Labor occupies a special place in the system of human life. Labor is an activity aimed at transforming material and intangible objects and adapting them to meet human needs.Play and learning are only preparation for work and originated from work, since it is work that is the decisive condition for the formation of personality, its abilities, mental and moral qualities, and its consciousness. In work, those personal qualities of a person develop that are certainly and constantly manifested by him in the process. Labor develops physical strength: the ability to withstand heavy physical loads, muscle strength, endurance, agility, and mobility.
By the nature of the main efforts expended labor activity can be divided into several types:
- physical work;
- intellectual work;
- spiritual work.

Activity structure:
The structure of an activity is usually represented in a linear form, with each component following the other in time. Need → Motive→ Goal→ Means→ Action→ Result
1. subjects of activity may be:
-Human
-a group of people
-organizations
-government bodies
2. objects of activity can be:
-nature and natural materials
-items (things)
-phenomena,
-processes
-people, groups of people, etc.
-spheres or areas of people's lives
-the internal state of a person
3. the motive for activity can be:
-needs
-social attitudes
-beliefs
-interests
- drives and emotions
-ideals
4. the goal of the activity is the formation of a conscious image of the anticipated result towards which the activity is aimed.
5. means of activity can be:
-material and spiritual tools (objects, phenomena, processes), i.e. everything that, thanks to its properties, serves as an instrument of action.
6. process of activity – actions aimed at achieving the set goal.
7. result of activity - the result (product) that the subject strived for.

Activity- this is the process of a person’s active relationship to reality, during which the subject achieves previously set goals, meets various needs and masters social experience.

Activity structure:

1) Subject - the one who carries out the activity (person, group of people, organization, government body);

2) The object is what it is aimed at (natural materials, various objects, spheres or areas of people’s lives);

3) Motives - those internal forces that are associated with the needs of the individual and encourage him to perform certain activities;

4) Goals are the most significant objects, phenomena, tasks and objects for a person, the achievement and possession of which constitute the essence of his activity. The goal of an activity is an ideal representation of its future result;

5) Methods and techniques (actions) - relatively complete elements of activity aimed at achieving intermediate goals, subordinated to a common motive.

Every activity includes internal and external components. Initially, objective actions are performed and only then, as experience accumulates, a person acquires the ability to perform the same actions in the mind. The transfer of external action to the internal plane is called interiorization. The implementation of mental action externally, in the form of actions with objects, is called exteriorization. Activities are carried out in the form of a system of actions.

Action- the main structural unit of activity, which is defined as a process aimed at achieving a goal. There are practical (objective) and mental actions.

Skills and abilities as structural elements of activity:

1) Human knowledge about the world appears initially in the form of images, sensations and perceptions. Processing of sensory data about consciousness leads to the formation of ideas and concepts. Actions with objects give a person knowledge both about their properties and about the possibilities of handling them;

2) A skill is a stereotyped way of performing individual actions - operations, formed as a result of their repeated repetition and characterized by the collapse (reduction) of its conscious control. Skills are formed through exercise, i.e. purposeful and systematic repetition of actions. To maintain a skill, it should be used systematically, otherwise deautomation occurs, i.e. weakening or almost complete destruction of developed automatisms;

3) Skill is a method of performing actions mastered by the subject, provided by the totality of acquired knowledge and skills. Skills are formed as a result of the coordination of skills, their integration into systems through actions that are under conscious control. Skills are based on active intellectual activity and necessarily include thinking processes. Conscious intellectual control is the main thing that distinguishes skills from skills.

Types of human activity, their classification:

1) Game is a form of human activity in conditional situations, aimed at recreating and assimilating social experience, fixed in socially fixed ways of carrying out objective actions;

2) Teaching is a type of activity whose purpose is to acquire knowledge, skills and abilities by a person. The main goal of the study is preparation for future independent work;

3) Labor is an activity aimed at creating a socially useful product that satisfies the material or spiritual needs of people.