Needs or need is the strongest factor that determines the purposefulness of the activity of any subject, since a person’s personal needs are the main motivation, the driving force that encourages the individual to take specific actions in order to satisfy them.
We can also say that human needs are a specific state of personality, manifested by dependence on opportunities in certain conditions or events.
The activity of the individual finds its manifestation precisely in the satisfaction of emerging needs, which are formed under the influence of the conditions of upbringing and various cultural and spiritual values.
A purely biological point of view considers such a concept as “need” as a specific state of the body, expressing an objective desire for some material or spiritual good. Based on this definition, we can say that needs completely depend on the lifestyle of a particular individual. And also on the sphere of his habitat and the conditions that it sets for him.
Content
- 1 Manifestations
- 2 Appearance
- 3 Relationship with other concepts
- 4 Features of human needs 4.1 Objectification
- 5.1 By sphere
- 6.1 Dialectical materialism
Manifestations
Needs manifest themselves in the form of emotionally charged desires, drives, and aspirations, and their satisfaction in the form of evaluative emotions. Needs are found in the motives that motivate a person to act. Nurturing needs is one of the central tasks of personality formation.
A striking example is thirst - an acute feeling of need for water that occurs when the animal’s body is depleted of it or when the normal concentration of mineral and organic substances in the blood exceeds. The physiological mechanism of this feeling is the effect of increased general and osmotic pressure, a change in the concentration of sodium ions, the drinking center in the brain is excited, causing neurohumoral reactions of conserving water in the body, and the search for water by the individual [1].
Hierarchy of needs – 5 steps
Initially, the psychologist identified 7 levels, examples and their names a little later. A little later, Maslow’s followers narrowed the pyramid to 5 steps of basic human needs. But the basic idea of hierarchy remains the same.
5 levels of Maslow's pyramid
Physiological needs
This is the first level of the pyramid. We cannot live without satisfying our physiological needs. A person needs them to save life. After all, what will happen to him if he doesn’t take care of food or sleep? Let problems begin, the kind that you want or don’t want, but you have to eat and sleep.
Many psychologists argue that until this basic need is satisfied, the human brain cannot think about anything else. But there are exceptions to every rule. I know cases when a person had no time to sleep and eat until he finished his dissertation, being at the finish line.
Need for security
The instinct of self-preservation plays a role here. Even in ancient times, it was important for a person to feel safe, so we build houses, fences, and create personal boundaries. If for some reason we are unable to satisfy it, life goes “awry”. The person becomes suspicious, fear and anxiety appear. They, of course, can appear for other reasons...
Need for love, friendship, belonging
From this stage we begin to talk about human values. It is his environment that defines them. It is important for any person to feel in a group of people similar to him, to be accepted in it and to find among such group members the closest ones who would become friends.
Currently, the family is the only group where a person is accepted unconditionally. Of course, we are talking about a real family, where everyone respects and takes each other into account, where everyone is valuable and needed. In such a family, a person learns what love, a sense of security and acceptance means. The fact has already been scientifically proven: the more healthy love and acceptance a child receives in the family, the better he adapts to society.
Need for recognition, respect
This is the next social need of the individual. Thanks to its satisfaction, a person will gain a position in society, among acquaintances, and will be able to show himself. To do this, he will need adequate self-esteem and certain achievements in his field. Here it is important to “follow your line” and not obey someone else’s opinion. Read here to learn how to remove your addiction from it.
It is difficult for a person to cope with this unmet need. When he is not respected at work, it is time to leave it. How to do it correctly, read this article. If a child is not respected in the family, at a more or less independent age he runs away from it or to nowhere, or for adventure. If the spouse is not heard and respected, sooner or later divorce will occur.
Need for self-realization
At the top of the pyramid is a person’s desire to realize himself. It is also called cognitive need. The basis is the path to knowledge and self-development. This is a person’s desire to learn new things, to discover unknown sides of the world. In children, it is expressed in disassembling toys, understanding the structure of objects and phenomena. Adults realize it through science, religion, and travel.
Such a need cannot be satisfied without internal motivation for change, the beginning of a new life. This is the highest need of a person, which makes him wiser and happier. Maslow argues that not all people can achieve its satisfaction. If a person finds himself in a friendly environment, he has adequate self-esteem, he is not afraid to express himself and develop, then he will be able to realize himself.
It should be noted that the forms of manifestation of these needs manifest themselves differently in each person. For some, it’s enough to be told pleasant words, while others seek recognition on stage. Some people want to gain the respect of the whole country, while others just need handshakes and joy after defending their dissertation.
If we talk about an expanded pyramid with 7 levels, then it represents the following hierarchy of needs:
- Physiological - hunger, thirst, sexual desire, etc.
- Security - to feel protected, not to experience fear of failure.
- Belonging and love – belonging to a community, feeling accepted, loving, accepting love.
- Respect, veneration - achieving success, recognition, approval, competence.
- Cognitive – understanding, skills, knowledge, research.
- Aesthetic – beauty, taste.
- Self-actualization is development, achieving harmony with oneself.
At the top of the pyramid is a person’s ideal sense of harmony with oneself. The essence of this theory is precisely that when all needs are satisfied, a person achieves an ideal feeling.
Drawing of Maslow's 7-level pyramid
Appearance
As some needs are satisfied, a person develops other needs, which suggests that needs are limitless. Needs are associated with a person’s feeling of dissatisfaction when a person lacks what is required. The presence of a need is accompanied by emotions: first, as the need intensifies, negative, and then, if it is satisfied, positive. Needs determine the selectivity of perception of the world, fixing a person’s attention primarily on those objects that can satisfy his needs. Throughout life, a person's needs change and increase.
The presence of unsatisfied needs in a person is associated with tension and discomfort, a discrepancy between the internal (desired) and external (real) [2], which are the stimulants and motivation of human activity. The presence of unmet vital needs can lead to death. A need can be understood as a certain hypothetical variable, which, depending on the circumstances, manifests itself either as a motive or as a trait. In the latter case, the needs are stable and become qualities of a person’s character.
Circles of Intimacy: Friend or Foe
Continuing the theme of psychological boundaries, Marilyn Murray, a famous trauma therapist, in her therapy outlined the concept of “Circles of Intimacy, Responsibility and Influence.”
Before I write about the circles themselves, I suggest doing an exercise. Put numbers on a piece of paper (from 1 to 20, 1 is the first circle and then in ascending order) and write in which circle you, your partner, parents, children, relatives, friends, colleagues, like-minded people, etc. are now. by degree of importance.
Have you written? Now read and analyze.
- Red circle: Me and God. Why is that? If a person places only himself in this circle, this speaks of his pride and self-centeredness. To place only God - to forget about your physical body and devote your life to God - this is only possible in the case of monasticism. Placing someone other than yourself (partner, child) in the first circle means intertwining with that person. Think about who the main person in your life is. And the combination “Me and God” is the most optimal, since you can get close to any other person or even to God only to the extent to which you are close to yourself, to which you know yourself.
- Beige circle: if you are an adult - Partner/Spouse and Children (if they are minors and live with you). If you are a child, then in the second circle are your Parents and siblings. In the second circle are the closest and dearest people who are our family, support and support. Internal conflicts are possible when there are two adults in the second circle (for example, a spouse and mother, or a spouse and an adult child). You have to constantly choose between them.
- Yellow circle: adult Children, minor children if they do not live with you, grandchildren; close Relatives (grandparents, aunts/uncles, nephews) or Friends with whom you are truly close. Close relatives here include those whom you trust well and with whom you feel comfortable. The same applies to friends. These are the people to whom you can open your soul. Many people have many friends and acquaintances, but do not dare to tell them about their lives and feelings. Often people do not have a single friend in circle 3, they only have entertainment buddies, work colleagues. But there is no one to whom this person could open his soul. Such people expect their spouses to be in both circle 2 and circle 3.
- 5. 6. and so on - the rest of the Relatives, Friends, Work Colleagues, etc.
Depending on the frequency with which you come into contact with these people, you place them in the appropriate circle. The composition of the people in these circles often changes, especially when you travel or move from place to place.These circles can also include work, animals, etc.
You yourself are responsible for building your relationships with people according to the circle in which they are located.
A person's ability to influence you, causing either joy or pain, is determined by the circle to which he belongs. The closer the circle is to you, the stronger the influence.
How to analyze which circle (2 or 3) a person belongs to. To do this you need to answer the questions:
- Is your relationship with this person safe?
- Am I ready to remain a vulnerable and vulnerable person next to him?
- Do I trust this person?
- Is this person honest with me?
- Is your relationship with this person one-sided?
- Do we tell each other about our feelings?
- Do we respect each other?
- Do we care about each other?
- Is this relationship good for both?
- Do I enjoy being around this person?
- Is this person happy to be with me?
- Does this person show that he is pleased to see me?
- Can I remain natural around him?
- Does this person encourage me and encourage me to be natural around him?
- Am I happy/relaxed around this person or do I feel tense/anxious?
- Are we interested in each other?
- What is the history of our relationship? Have we shared joy/sadness/interests with each other for a long time?
- What common interests do we have?
- Do we have common values?
- How often do we communicate?
By answering these questions, you can accurately determine which circle a particular relative or friend belongs to. This will help you build boundaries between you.
Connection with other concepts
There is an opinion that this concept, which describes the internal relationship of a subject to other subjects or objects and explains the behavior of living beings, is unnecessary, since the behavior of living beings can be described without using it [3].
Desire (specific need)
- a need that has taken a specific form in accordance with [1]:
- with the cultural level and personality of the individual
- with historical, geographic and other factors of the country or region
Innate drive, primary drive
(a person has from birth) - pain, thirst, hunger, orientation and other stimuli associated with physiological states within the body[1].
The means of satisfying human needs are goods[4].
The degree of satisfaction of certain human needs is well-being
[5].
The set of actions aimed at optimally satisfying the spiritual and material needs of a person constitutes life support
[1].
Everyday life serves to satisfy material needs for food, clothing, housing, and health.
(as a set of connections and relationships)[6].
The primary emotional manifestation of human needs is attraction
[7].
The social process of reduction and/or deprivation of opportunities to satisfy the basic life needs of individuals or groups is deprivation
[8].
Physical activity is also a necessary condition for maintaining a person’s normal functional state[9].
Need
- a state inherent in living organisms, expressing their dependence on the objective conditions of existence and development, which acts as a source of various forms of their activity.
Requirements of plant life forms
minimal - for life and the construction of their bodies, in most cases, they need light, water and a mineral substrate.
Animal needs
more complex. However, in most cases, the biological basis of animal needs can be reduced to the basic instincts of living matter - nutrition, sleep, reproduction, fear (or other feelings that replace it in its absence).
Human needs
represent the most ambiguous category of research and are determined, in addition to the first signaling system common to animals, by the presence of a complex mental organization represented by the second signaling system - thinking and speech.
Psychological test “Circles”: how you live your life
Carl Gustav Jung and modern psychology view the circle as a symbol of the self and the integrity of the psyche. With this test you can determine what kind of relationship you are in with life. How you live your life and how you build boundaries between yourself and what surrounds you.
Just as in psychology the circle denotes an important concept: selfhood, so for Eastern philosophy it is a rather powerful symbol.
Ensō (円相) means “circle” in Japanese, and this word contains deep meaning that has its origins in Zen Buddhism. Ensō is a symbol of enlightenment, infinity and the absolute universe. In Zen philosophy, Ensō (circle) represents EVERYTHING (the universe) and NOTHING (absolute emptiness). Now that we've learned a little about symbolism using the circle example, let's move on to our test.
In the picture, the circle symbol evolves according to different characteristics. Its only identical characteristic is color, so as not to interfere with the choice associated with shapes. The choice should reflect your inner world as much as possible. To take this test, imagine yourself inside a circle.
Which shape do you feel most like? Observe for a few seconds and choose the circle that most attracted your attention and which you feel is part of you.
Circle No. 1: Evolution of the Self
Like the hands of a clock running in a circle and at the end completing its cycle of circulation, this Circle begins with a thin line, clockwise, becomes more and more dense, and at the end its thickness reaches its maximum. It must be emphasized that the Circle does not close, which means continuous evolution and growth. The circle offers no other distractions, as if basing its growth on itself.
What does this all mean? That, first of all, you are a self-centered person. You want to improve, learn, explore the world without getting too involved in this process. You are a rather reserved person, your path is described by the following story: you always preferred to encounter and interact with more mature people because you did not find similarities with your peers. You have always been older than your age. You are a classic representative of people who prefer to solve their problems on their own.
Features of human needs
Since the process of satisfying needs acts as a purposeful activity, needs are a source of individual activity. Realizing the goal subjectively as a need, a person is convinced that satisfying the latter is possible only through achieving the goal. This allows him to correlate his subjective ideas about the need with its objective content, looking for means of mastering the goal as an object.
It is characteristic of man that even those needs that are associated with the tasks of his physical existence are different from the similar needs of animals. Because of this, they are capable of significantly changing depending on the social forms of his life. The development of human needs is realized through the socially determined development of their objects.
Subjectively, needs are represented in the form of emotionally charged desires, drives, and aspirations, and their satisfaction is represented in the form of evaluative emotions. Needs are found in motives, drives, desires, etc. that motivate a person to activity and become a form of manifestation of needs. If in need activity is essentially dependent on its objective-social content, then in motives this dependence manifests itself as the subject’s own activity. Therefore, the system of motives revealed in a person’s behavior is richer in characteristics and more mobile than the need that constitutes its essence. Nurturing needs is one of the central tasks of personality formation.
As a person satisfies some needs, other needs arise, which allows economists to argue that, in general, needs are unlimited.
Needs are associated with a person’s feeling of dissatisfaction, which is caused by a shortage of what is required.
The presence of a need is accompanied by emotions: first, as the need intensifies, negative, and then, if it is satisfied, positive.
Needs determine the selectivity of perception of the world, fixing a person’s attention primarily on those objects that have the ability to satisfy needs. At the physiological level, needs are expressed as stable foci of excitation of the corresponding nerve centers, defined by Academician A. A. Ukhtomsky as dominants. Under appropriate conditions, strong dominants can suppress the functioning of other nerve centers. For example, the phenomenon of dominance itself was discovered during a study of a dog’s motor reflexes to certain stimuli. At some point in time, the animal stopped responding to stimuli and after a few seconds she had an act of defecation. After this, the reflexes were restored. Dominants are lower, corresponding to the lower levels of the hierarchy of needs, and higher. Higher dominants are characterized by a long-term process of their formation.
The number of needs increases in the process of phylogenesis and ontogenesis. Thus, the number of needs increases in the evolutionary series: plants - primitive animals - highly developed animals - humans, as well as in the ontogenetic series: newborn - infant - preschooler - schoolchild - adult.
Various scientists have explained the essence of human needs in different ways:
| Approach (need as...) | The essence of the approach | Author |
| need | The state of an individual in need of living conditions, objects and objects, without which his existence and development are impossible. | S. L. Rubinstein |
| attitude | Need is a system of relations between the subject and the environment | D. A. Leontyev |
| deviation from the level of adaptation | A need is the result of a deviation of external or internal reality from the subject’s established expectations about this reality | D. K. McClelland |
| state | Need is understood as a dynamic state of increased tension that “pushes” a person to certain actions. This tension is “discharged” when the need is satisfied. Thus, in the process of the emergence and satisfaction of needs, a person goes through a series of dynamic states that differ in the level of their tension. | Kurt Lewin |
| behavior program | Needs are the basic behavioral programs through which the functioning (life activity) of the subject is realized. | B. I. Dodonov |
| psychopathy | Need is forced subjective suffering of the psyche, which is the main cause of all neuroses. | V. V. Monastyrsky |
Objectification
When considering the connection between needs and activity, it is necessary to immediately distinguish two stages in the life of each need: the period before the first meeting with an object that satisfies the need, and the period after this meeting.
At the first stage, the need, as a rule, is not revealed to the subject: he may experience a state of some kind of tension, dissatisfaction, but not know what caused it. On the behavioral side, the state of need is expressed in anxiety, searching, and sorting through various objects. During the search, a need usually meets its object, which ends the first stage of the need’s life. The process of “recognition” by a need of its object is called the objectification of the need. By the very act of objectification, the need is transformed - it becomes a definite need for a given object. In its elemental forms, this phenomenon is known as imprinting.
Objectification is a very important event: in this act a motive is born. Motive is defined as an object of need. We can say that through objectification the need receives its concretization. Therefore, the motive is also defined as an objectified need. Following the objectification of activity and the emergence of a motive, the type of behavior changes sharply - it acquires a direction that depends on the motive.
In the process of objectification, important features of needs are revealed:
- initially a very wide range of items that can satisfy a given need;
- quick fixation of a need on the first item that satisfies it
Needs, their types
Needs are subjective phenomena that motivate activity and are a reflection of the body’s need for something; needs characterize the individual’s dependence on specific conditions of existence.
The distribution of needs into two groups is recognized as traditional: by their subject (content) and by origin. By subject, that is, by what they are aimed at, needs can be divided into material and spiritual. In accordance with origin, natural (or biological) needs are distinguished, that is, those that came to a person from his animal ancestors, and cultural needs caused by the cultural living conditions of the individual.
The natural needs of a person include all his vital needs, such as the need to eat, sleep, procreate, etc. If for a long time it is impossible to satisfy the listed needs of the body, a person ceases to exist not only as a person, but also as a living being, an individual , a disruption of the body’s homeostasis and metabolism begins. But at the same time, unlike animals, humans are able to consciously restrain the satisfaction of many needs. It has been scientifically proven that in the complete absence of food a person can live for several tens of days. But on the other hand, all natural human needs are associated with cultural traditions, that is, culture contains the very way to satisfy them (this also does not exist in the world of wild nature).
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Cultural needs include the need for objects of material and spiritual culture. A special group of cultural needs stands out: the need for a cultural character of leisure, work, the need for hobbies, hobbies, etc.
The material (in content) need of the individual is recognized as the need to use the products of material production, tools, etc. For example, the needs for a chair, a computer are material needs, but unlike vital ones, they are not inherent in the body at the biological level. Vital needs can also be considered material, for example, if a person feels a need for food of a certain kind, quality, and strives to enjoy eating, and not just satisfy the need.
The group of spiritual needs consists of cognitive, aesthetic and moral needs (the latter are identified by only a few authors). Satisfaction of cognitive needs is possible in the process of cognition, and the interests of the individual act as a manifestation of these needs. Aesthetic needs are based on the need to perceive works of art, literature, and cinema.
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Moral needs are realized in following norms, principles of morality, and performing moral actions and deeds. At this stage of human development, spiritual needs are associated with the possession of appropriate values (aesthetic, moral, etc.), although the problem of personal values has only recently begun to be actively developed in psychology.
Human needs of different types can act as a source of individual motives and be realized in them.
Classifications of human needs
There are many classifications of needs. There are needs[1]:
- by area of activity: labor needs
- knowledge
- communication
- recreation
- material
- dominant/minor
- sustainable
- natural
- group
By area
Needs are divided according to the nature of the activity (defensive, nutritional, sexual, cognitive, communicative, gaming).
Separation in connection with those goals that are achieved as the need is satisfied
- biological,
- labor,
- knowledge,
- communication,
- recreation;
American psychologist W. Mac Dougall believed that the basis of certain human needs are certain instincts, which manifest themselves through corresponding sensations and motivate a person to certain activities.
| № | Instinct | Its manifestation |
| 1 | Food instinct | Hunger |
| 2 | Self-preservation instinct (fear) | Escape |
| 3 | Herd instinct | Desire for communication |
| 4 | Acquisitive instinct | Greed |
| 5 | Instinct for procreation | Sexual desire |
| 6 | Parental instinct | Tenderness |
| 7 | Instinct to create | Desire for activity |
| 8 | Disgust | Rejection, rejection |
| 9 | Astonishment | Curiosity |
| 10 | Anger | Aggressiveness |
| 11 | Embarrassment | Self-deprecation |
| 12 | Inspiration | Self-affirmation |
The psychological concept of laziness is a manifestation of the need (instinct) to save energy[10].
Guildford's list of motivational factors
- factors corresponding to organic needs: hunger,
- general activity;
- need for comfort, pleasant surroundings,
- ambition,
- need for freedom
- need to be around people
- the need for risk or, conversely, for safety,
According to B.I. Dodonov’s approach to the classification of emotions, we can talk about the following types of needs [11]:
- active (need for accumulation, acquisition),
- altruistic (the need to perform selfless actions),
- hedonic (need for comfort, serenity),
- gloric (the need to recognize one’s own importance),
- Gnostic (need for knowledge),
- communicative (need for communication),
- practical (need for effectiveness of effort),
- fearful (need for competition),
- romantic (need for the unusual, unknown),
- aesthetic (need for beauty).
According to H. Murray, needs are divided primarily into primary needs and secondary needs. There are also differences between explicit and latent needs; These forms of existence of needs are determined by the ways of satisfying them. In terms of functions and forms of manifestation, introverted needs and extroverted needs differ. Needs can be expressed at the action or verbal level; they can be egocentric or sociocentric, and the general list of needs is:
- dominance - the desire to control, influence, direct, convince, hinder, limit;
- aggression - the desire to shame, condemn, mock, humiliate in word or deed;
- search for friendships - desire for friendship, love; good will, sympathy for others; suffering in the absence of friendly relations; the desire to bring people together and remove obstacles;
- rejection of others - the desire to reject attempts at rapprochement;
- autonomy - the desire to free yourself from all restrictions: from guardianship, regime, order, etc.;
- passive obedience - submission to force, acceptance of fate, intrapunitivity, recognition of one's own inferiority;
- need for respect and support;
- the need for achievement is the desire to overcome something, surpass others, do something better, reach the highest level in some activity, be consistent and purposeful;
- the need to be the center of attention;
- the need for play - preference for play over any serious activity, desire for entertainment, love of witticisms; sometimes combined with carelessness, irresponsibility;
- egoism (narcissism) - the desire to put one’s own interests above all else, self-satisfaction, auto-eroticism, painful sensitivity to humiliation, shyness; a tendency towards subjectivity when perceiving the outside world; often merges with the need for aggression or rejection;
- sociality (sociophilia) - oblivion of one's own interests in the name of the group, altruistic orientation, nobility, compliance, concern for others;
- the need to search for a patron - expectation of advice, help; helplessness, seeking consolation, gentle treatment;
- need for assistance;
- the need to avoid punishment - restraining one’s own impulses in order to avoid punishment or condemnation; the need to take into account public opinion;
- the need for self-defense - difficulties in admitting one’s own mistakes, the desire to justify oneself by citing circumstances, to defend one’s rights; refusal to analyze your mistakes;
- the need to overcome defeat, failure - differs from the need to achieve with an emphasis on independence in actions;
- need to avoid danger;
- the need for order - the desire for neatness, orderliness, accuracy, beauty;
- the need for judgment - the desire to pose general questions or answer them; a penchant for abstract formulas, generalizations, a passion for “eternal questions,” etc.[12].
By object
Separation in connection with the object to which the need is directed.
- biological (food, water, air, climatic conditions, etc.),
- material (housing, clothing, vehicles, tools of production, etc.),
- social (communication, social activities, public recognition, etc.),
- spiritual (knowledge, creative activity, creation of beauty, scientific discoveries, etc.),
- ethical,
- aesthetic,
- other;
By functional role
- dominant/minor,
- central/peripheral,
- stable/situational;
By origin
There is a division into two large groups - natural and cultural
. The first of them are programmed at the genetic level, and the second are formed in the process of social life.
By analogy with conditioned and unconditioned reflexes, needs are also divided into:
- congenital;
- simple purchased;
- complex acquired.
Simple acquired needs are understood to be needs formed on the basis of an individual’s own empirical experience (for example, the need of a workaholic for a favorite job), while complex needs are understood to be based on one’s own conclusions and ideas of non-empirical origin (for example, a religious person’s need for confession, based on an externally instilled idea of positive consequences of the ritual, but not on the empirical feeling of guilt and humiliation when performing it).
By subject of needs
- individual,
- group,
- collective,
- public.
Hierarchy of needs
Maslow's pyramid of needs
Human needs form a hierarchical system, where each need has its own level of significance. As they are satisfied, they give way to other needs.
Classification by level of complexity divides needs into biological, social and spiritual.
- Biological ones
include a person’s desire to maintain his existence (the need for food, clothing, sleep, safety, sexual satisfaction, saving energy, etc.). - Social
include a person’s need for communication, popularity, dominance over other people, belonging to a certain group, leadership and recognition. - spiritual
needs are the need to know the world around him and himself, the desire for self-improvement and self-realization, to know the meaning of one’s existence.
Typically, a person simultaneously has more than ten unfulfilled needs at the same time, and his subconscious mind ranks them in order of importance, forming a rather complex hierarchical structure known as Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs. A. Maslow divided needs according to the sequence of their satisfaction, when needs of the highest level appear after the needs of the lower level are satisfied.
- Biological (physiological) needs are determined by the need to maintain life. For normal metabolism, a person needs food, suitable living conditions and the opportunity to rest and sleep. These needs are called vital, since their satisfaction is essential for life.
- The fulfillment of the physiological and psychological need for security and confidence in the future allows one to maintain homeostasis over a long period of time. Sex is necessary for procreation. (The physiological and psychological needs can also include the need for information, since in the absence of nerve signals, nervous tissue degrades, and the psyche of people becomes upset under conditions of sensory deprivation.)
- The need for communication, love and support from others is a psychological and social need, the implementation of which allows people to act in groups (see affiliation).
- The need for recognition and self-affirmation is a social need, the implementation of which allows one to determine one’s place in society.
- The need for self-expression is a creative, constructive need; thanks to its implementation, people create objects of art.
The simplest types of needs are vital needs, which are programmed in the long process of existence, development, evolution (food, drink, air, sleep, sexual desire). Freudianism reduces the needs of high levels to low vital ones.
The need for security is also associated with the need for stability in the existence of the current order of things - confidence in the future, the feeling that nothing threatens you, and old age will be secure.
By type of behavior
F.N. Ilyasov, within the framework of the ethological approach, identifies the main types of behavior (needs) that describe the life activity of higher animals and humans. There are only six of them: 1) food, 2) sexual (sexual-reproductive), 3) status (collective, social), 4) territorial, 5) comfortable, 6) juvenile (play). Within the framework of the ethological approach (that is, giving the “lowest” level of description), it is acceptable to believe that the above six needs are capable of comprehensively describing the functioning of such a complex system as a person. The problem of the hierarchy of needs within the framework of this approach is solved through the problem of the typology of individuals according to the ranking of dominant needs. Even everyday experience tells us that there are subjects with dominance of various types of behavior - sexual, food, status, etc. It is possible to construct a typology based on ranking the importance of needs from the point of view of the subject. This question, of course, requires empirical substantiation, however, it is possible that 2-3 dominant needs can sufficiently fully reflect behavior.
Needs and motives of the individual
Needs and motives play an important role in the structure of personality. Needs are partly given by nature, and partly formed during human life - acquired needs. Motives are completely acquired.
When studying needs and motives, the following questions will be considered:
1. The concept and essence of needs;
2. Theories of needs;
3. The concept and essence of motives;
4. Motivation process;
5. Theories of motivation;
6. Practice motivation.
Need is a person’s internal feeling of lack of something.
A need is something from which a person seeks to free himself or acquire. As long as the need exists, it constantly reminds itself of itself and demands satisfaction. People react to needs differently: satisfy, suppress, ignore.
Needs can be divided into two large groups
: primary and secondary.
Primary are physiological needs
. They are congenital, i.e. genetically determined. These are the needs for breathing, food, water, rest, clothing (warmth), safety, etc.
Secondary are psychological needs
. They appear and are realized with the experience of human life. These are the needs for affection, respect, success, power, etc. Because people have different backgrounds, their secondary needs vary greatly.
To understand the essence of needs, the mechanisms of their emergence and implementation, psychology operates with a number of theories of needs . The main ones are Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory of needs, McClelland’s theory of acquired needs. These theories are discussed above in section 2.4.
A person's needs shape his motives.
Motives are an individual’s internal desire for a specific goal, expressed in activity.
The problem of motivation and motives of behavior is one of the core problems in management psychology. How do motives and goals of individual activity arise? What are they? The answers to these questions contain an understanding of the individual and the possibility of successfully influencing him.
The famous American psychologist Dale Carnegie conveyed one main idea through his books: “The only way to force a person to do something is to make him want it.”
A person's needs and motives are closely related. Needs, mediated in the inner world of the individual, form motives. Motives, in turn, determine human behavior.
The connection between needs, motives and actions is presented in the behavioral motivation model in Figure 3.5.
Figure 3.5 – Behavior motivation model
As a psychological phenomenon, motivation can be considered as an impulse that causes directed activity of the individual.
An important feature of motivation is its positive-negative orientation.
Positive motivation
causes an impulse to directly fulfill the need.
Negative motivation
, on the contrary, acts as a self-prohibition that inhibits the impulse to realize the need.
For example, being near the subject of one’s attraction causes positive motivation in a person. However, in the case of unrequited love, the motivation may be negative.
Motivation can be viewed as a process that consists of five stages
. There is no clear distinction between them; they are interconnected and transform into each other. However, to understand the content and logic of motivation, distinguishing these stages is quite justified.
1. The emergence of a need
. The need manifests itself when a person begins to feel that he is missing something in his life. This phenomenon occurs at a specific time, and it begins to “demand” certain actions from a person. A need encourages an individual to find an opportunity and take some steps to eliminate it (satisfy it).
2. Finding ways to eliminate the need
. Once a need has arisen and creates problems for a person, he is forced to react. He is looking for an opportunity to eliminate the need: satisfy, suppress, ignore. He decides what and how he should do to eliminate the need.
3. Carrying out an action
. At this stage, a person performs actions that, in his opinion, will eliminate the need. Since the work process has an understanding effect on motivation, adjustments to goals can occur at this stage.
4. Receiving rewards
. Having carried out an action, a person either directly receives what he wants (realizes a need), or something that he can exchange for the necessary object. At this stage, it becomes clear to what extent the action taken gave the desired result. Motivation for action is regulated.
5. Eliminate need
. It all depends on the degree to which the need is eliminated and the tension is relieved. A person either continues actions to realize the desire, or realizes a new need.
The formation of a desire for something in a person’s inner world is called motivation . It can be carried out both by external influences and by internal motivations of a person.
The external influence of the subject on the object of motivation is the influence of one person on the motivators of another. Motive is always subjective. From the outside, you can only create motivators that are internally mediated into a motive.
External motivators are divided into: imperative (imperative), advisory (advising), suggestions and manipulation.
Imperative motivators
– these are orders, demands, coercions. These influences are perceived by the individual as a goal set before him without the right to choose. Such influence is usually a manifestation of power in professional activities.
Advisory motivators
– these are requests, suggestions, advice, beliefs. The individual retains the right to choose. In professional activities, consulting influences from the manager are preferable. They raise the subordinate’s self-esteem and create a favorable atmosphere of work relations.
Suggestions
– these are means of psychological influence on the process of motive formation. The influence is carried out through speech and non-speech means of communication. It is distinguished by the persistence of the arguments presented and the uncritical attitude towards them on the part of the addressee. The accepted suggestion becomes an internal attitude of the individual.
There are three forms of suggestion: strong persuasion, pressure and emotional-volitional influence. According to the method of influence, suggestion can be direct (open) and indirect (veiled).
Manipulation
- these are hidden from the addressee’s motivation for a certain attitude or action. In this case, it is achieved that the addressee considers the thoughts that arise to be his own, and not “induced” from the outside. Such thoughts act as motivators and lead to the formation of personal motives.
Management psychology attaches special importance to external motivators, which are attractive objects . Objects and people around a person are capable of inducing him to certain thoughts and actions.
Thus, a beautiful landscape attracts people to take walks, a delicious cake “wants to be eaten,” and an interesting person encourages communication.
There are positive and negative impacts of attractive objects. Some encourage you to strive for them, while others repel you.
In “The Kreutzer Sonata” L.N. Tolstoy vividly described the effect of an attractive object: “It’s amazing how complete the illusion can be that beauty is good. A beautiful woman says stupid things, you listen and don’t hear stupid things, but hear smart things. She says, does nasty things, and you see something cute. When she doesn’t say anything stupid or nasty, but is simply beautiful, then now you are convinced that she is a miracle how good and moral!”
An attractive object, as a method of influencing the consumer, is actively used in marketing and advertising. Beautiful packaging can significantly increase product sales volumes.
Motivation caused by the attractiveness of an object includes such psychological influences as contagion and imitation.
Infection
- This is the transfer of the emotional state of one person to another. This is especially evident in the enthusiasm for work and in the emotional outbursts of spectators at concerts or stadiums.
Imitation
- this is following an example or model. This is the acceptance and reproduction of the external and internal characteristics of other people that are attractive to a given individual. There are different types of imitation: purposeful and involuntary, logical and emotional, internal and external, imitation-fashion and imitation-custom, etc.
Internal influences that cause motivation are goals, ideals, aspirations, and personality orientation. They are based on a person’s worldview, his personal understanding of the meaning of life.
Internal influences are often formed from external influences. If a person mediates external motivators, they turn into internal motives.
You can assess the level of personal needs to achieve success using application test 2.
To understand and explain motives, psychology has a number of theories of motivation .
The main ones are Vroom's expectancy theory, Adams' theory of justice, reinforcement theory, and Porter-Lawler's matching model. The first three theories are discussed in detail in section 2.4. Let's look at the fourth one.
conformity model is a synthesis of expectancy theory and equity theory. In this joint model, the authors use five variables:
effort expended to perform the work
;
– perception of importance
work completed;
- results
from the work performed;
– reward
for the work performed;
– degree of satisfaction
from the work completed.
The compliance model is adequate to the model of behavioral motivation, which is presented above in Figure 3.5.
According to this model, the results achieved depend on the efforts made by a person, his abilities and characteristics, as well as his awareness of his role. The level of effort exerted will be determined by the value of the reward and the degree to which effort and reward match. A person satisfies his needs by rewarding the results achieved.
If an employee believes that his efforts and rewards for them do not correspond to each other, this will be perceived as unfair. The employee will either perform worse or seek fair remuneration.
One of the most important provisions of the model is that productive work leads to personal satisfaction. This is exactly the opposite of what most managers think about this. They believe that satisfaction leads to better performance at work or, to put it another way, that more satisfied workers perform better. Porter and Lawler, on the other hand, believe that a sense of accomplishment leads to satisfaction and increases productivity.
When implementing a practical approach to personal motivation, a number of problems arise. Knowledge of the logic of the motivation process does not provide significant advantages in managing this process. It is necessary not only to understand, but also to be able to practically overcome the problems and complexities of the internal process of forming motives in an employee.
Three factors can be noted
, which complicate and make unclear the process of practical deployment of motivation: secrecy, variability and uniqueness.
Stealth
– this is not the evidence of a person’s motives. One can assume and guess about what motives influence a person’s actions. However, it is almost impossible to “calculate” them explicitly.
Management psychology emphasizes that understanding motives provides the key to knowledge of personality. If a manager understands what motivates his subordinates, he will be able to influence him effectively.
Variability
– this is the dynamism of a person’s motives. The nature of the motivational process depends on what needs initiate it. However, the needs themselves are in a complex, unstable interaction with each other. Often they contradict each other, or, on the contrary, reinforce each other’s actions. In this case, the general vector of motivation can change over time, changing the direction and nature of the action.
Uniqueness
– this is individuality, originality, the dissimilarity of the motives of each person. The inner world of a person is unique. Therefore, the emergence of internal motives and the mediation of external motivators is always individual.
Management psychology attaches particular importance to the practical motivation of human labor . Why do people work? Why do some people do easy work and remain dissatisfied? Why do others get satisfaction from difficult and intense work? What makes you want to work? These and many other questions arise in the process of practical personnel management.
In the domestic economy, very little attention has been paid to this problem for decades. The technocratic approach and administrative style dominated production. The role of workers was relegated to the background. This led to a narrowing of labor motivation, alienation of workers from production, and a drop in labor productivity.
Data from a comparative study on the level of labor motivation in different countries show the following. Work is considered the main task of life: in the USA - 50% of the population, in Sweden - 45%, in Germany - 30%. In the CIS countries this figure does not exceed 10%.
Only by knowing what motivates a person, what motivates him to a certain activity, what motives lie at the basis of his actions and actions, it is possible to create an effective system of labor incentives, which will turn into internal motivation of employees. Managers must know their subordinates and their needs. requests and goals that determine motives. This will ensure successful management of both individual subordinates and entire teams.
In global management practice over the past decades, a number of modern methods of labor motivation . They are discussed in detail in section 2.4.
Motivation is the key to human behavior. There are five psychological rules that will help in the practical management of individual motivation.
1. Positive reinforcement.
This is an encouraging reaction from a manager to the successful actions of a subordinate. Positive reinforcement is more effective and constructive than negative reinforcement; it has a beneficial effect on the psychological climate in the team. Positive reinforcement is especially effective over the long term.
2. Urgency of reinforcement.
Encouragement (reinforcement) must be immediate and specific (linked to action). The shorter the time interval between an action and a public positive reaction to it from management, the greater the effect.
3. Unpredictability of rewards.
If rewards are regular and predictable, employees will get used to them. They begin to be perceived not as encouragement, but as the norm. At the same time, irregular and unexpected rewards stimulate better.
4. Intermediate goals.
The path to your goal can be long and tiring. Therefore, from a psychological point of view, it is advisable to establish stages (intervals) of movement towards the goal, and encourage the implementation of each of them.
5. Feeling of freedom.
An employee should feel freedom in his professional actions. He should be given a production task, and the choice of ways to solve it should be left to him. Excessive control and petty supervision hinder the initiative of employees.
So , a person’s actions are determined by the needs that form the internal motives of his behavior. Knowing the needs and motives of an individual is the key to successfully influencing (managing) him.
The theory and practice of management has modern methods of stimulation and motivation and rules for effective management of individual motivation.
Volitional sphere of personality
Will is an important component in the structure of personality. It refers to those components of the structure that are not given by nature, but are completely formed in the process of human life. Will is considered as a person’s ability to act to achieve a consciously set goal.
As part of the study of the volitional sphere of personality, four questions are considered:
1. Provisions on personal development;
2. Stages of volitional development;
3. Theories of volitional behavior;
4. The mechanism of volitional action.
Psychologists (L. Vygotsky and others) build the process of personality development on three main principles :
about the individual’s activity;
about individual mediation of social relations;
about becoming oneself through others.
The activity of an individual is the process of mental and vital participation of the individual in internal processes and external events. Activity is considered in various types of activities. Particular attention is paid to the internal mental processes of the individual. And the main one of these processes is the development of will
.
Activity can be considered as possible (free) and prescribed (forced). In free activity, its bearer is the individual himself. At the same time, he develops his inner world through the algorithmization of his own behavior, the gradual formation of personal qualities, and the development of self-awareness.
Activity is directed by the individual to certain points. In the initiative of the individual, its orientation, individual activity is realized, not “normalized” by society. This activity is very essential for the development of personality.
The mediation of social relations is the personal perception and appropriation by an individual of the experience of interactions in society. In the course of his life, an individual comes into contact with other people, forming his own style of communication and interaction.
In the course of life in society, a person plays different social roles: son-daughter, schoolchild, student, father-mother, pedestrian, driver, employee, etc. However, in each of his roles he is original and unique.
Creating his personal experience of social relations and the fulfillment of social roles, the individual relies on many personality traits. However, among the most important in this series is the will
. Through it, the individual is built in the mediation of social experience.
Becoming oneself through others lies in the phenomenon of “mirror representation.” It means that the formation of personality occurs through a symmetrical reflection of a person’s personality in the inner world of other people.
Lev Vygotsky presents the role of a mirror reflection of the inner world as follows: “The personality becomes for itself what it is in itself, through what it presents to others.”
Personality can be characterized in two ways:
– through the representation of other people in her inner world;
– as a subject of activity in the life of other people.
Representation
in the inner world of a person, other people depend on his perception of others. Every person’s consciousness and memory contains many images of people he knows. Although all these people are different, the perception of them by a given individual is subjective. A kind and sympathetic person notices more good things in the people around him. Conversely, a bad person sees more negative traits in other people.
As a subject of activity,
Each person evokes certain responses in the thoughts and activities of other people. In other words, the behavior and consciousness of some significantly influences the formation of others. There is an effect of mediation and appropriation by the individual of someone else’s experience. However, the experience of others is perceived by the individual selectively. The only thing that matters is what is perceived by a person as personally significant to him. The rest is virtually unnoticed.
We can talk about personality development in connection with the level of the individual’s volitional environment. In other words, it is advisable to distinguish the volitional development of personality as an independent process.
Psychologists distinguish three successive stages of volitional development:
voluntary behavior;
intellectual activity;
post-voluntary behavior (Figure 3.6).
Figure 3.6 – Stages of volitional development
Voluntary behavior
associated with the realization of natural (physiological) needs - food, sleep, safety, clothing, housing. The individual overcomes the obstacles that arise in the way of satisfying natural needs. In the process of overcoming obstacles, will manifests itself and develops.
Intellectual activity
associated with human mental activity. In the process of mental activity in the inner world of the individual, a struggle of equivalent but oppositely directed affective tendencies occurs.
Affective tendencies in a person’s mental activity are unusual, artificially caused thoughts. The challenge is carried out by a special effort of will.
The individual considers options for action: weighs, evaluates, imagines the consequences. Finally, he makes a decision - adopts a plan of action: creates an intention, sets goals, and determines specific ways to achieve them.
Intellectual activity, as the second stage of volitional development, can be figuratively called “the period of a mnemonic volitional act.” Volitional behavior is carried out through the individual’s conscious regulation of his motivational sphere. As a result, a weaker, but more significant motive for a person receives additional strength through volitional influence.
Post-voluntary behavior
associated with the individual’s mediation of ways to organize actions and volitional efforts. This is the third and final stage of volitional development.
Volitional actions at the third stage have sufficient motivating force to commit an act. Moreover, a volitional act must be performed without the participation of conscious self-regulation, in the subconscious, that is, involuntarily or post-voluntarily.
So, a responsible student goes to class in the morning, even if he hasn’t had enough sleep. At the same time, he does not require any special volitional efforts. He has already developed the attitude that classes are an obligatory element that does not allow doubt. For a careless student, getting up is difficult every time. By the way, later he will be the same irresponsible worker.
Thus, in the development of will there are stages that are realized with increasing intensity. In the inner world of a person, a psychological reality is created, which constitutes his integral essence. It is the content of life, the regulator of individual behavior.
Psychological reality - motivation - acts as the inner essence of a person, through which all external influences are refracted. As a result, the developing motivated sphere of the individual begins to act as a factor in the further general (psychological) development of the individual.
The affective-need sphere of personality develops from simple to complex. Initial immediate (physiological) needs, mediated by socially acquired experience, enter into certain connections in the inner world of the individual. As a result, new personality traits emerge. They are based on both cognitive (knowledge-based) and affective (artificially induced) components. This contributes to the development of such a complex personality trait - the volitional sphere.
Simpler internal qualities require external motivating force for their development. In contrast, the will has its own driving force. The will itself influences the conscious setting of personal goals, the formation of beliefs and moral feelings of the individual, and the creation of conscious needs of the individual. All of these phenomena taken together characterize the personality.
In psychology, two theories of volitional behavior of an individual are considered: the theory of reflexes and the theory of skills and reactions.
Reflex theory divides human behavior into two stages:
instinctive - unconditioned reflexes;
acquired – conditioned reflexes.
The first stage can be carried out with an underdeveloped will. The second stage requires significant volitional development.
The theory of skills and reactions is devoted to the further development of the second stage, i.e. acquired behavior. In it, this theory distinguishes two stages: the acquisition of stable skills and the emergence of intellectual reactions. Skills
arise as conditioned reflexes are reinforced in behavior.
Reactions
can be emotional and intellectual. The first are associated with a sharp increase in emotions in response to external influences or one’s own thoughts. The intensity of reactions depends on the emotional stability of the individual, as well as the significance of the cause of excitement for her.
Intellectual reactions arise as a response to influence in the form of an image or symbol. This is a kind of “short circuit” in the individual’s psyche. This is an explosive reaction, fast and complex. However, its direction is predictable and depends on the values and motives of the individual. And the intensity of the reaction, its effectiveness are associated with the volitional sphere of the individual.
The mechanism of volitional action is associated with overcoming the contradiction between the desire of the individual and his perceived duty. Desire is usually associated with the natural needs of the individual. A person involuntarily strives for the pleasant and useful, and avoids the unpleasant and difficult.
A person’s sense of duty manifests itself at four levels:
– duty to society and country;
– duty to colleagues at work, production team;
– duty to close circle, relatives and friends;
- a person's duty to himself.
Duty is closely related to responsibility. The sense of duty is recognized and mediated in the inner world of the individual. After this, it turns into a conscious necessity. Subsequently, the sense of duty acts as a trigger for volitional action.
In a clash between desire and duty in the inner world of a person, the natural (physiological) advantage is on the side of the former. A person wants to receive what is pleasant and avoid what is unpleasant. However, will is on the side of duty. It reinforces the duty motivators so that they win. As a result, a strong-willed person acts not according to his primary desires, but according to a conscious need.
A person carries out volitional regulation of his behavior on the basis of conscious choice
. An individual is constantly faced with a choice in his thoughts and actions. And the nature of this choice is determined by the will. But is man free in his own will?
Willpower and attention can be measured by the Appendix 3 test.
Free will is awareness of the situation and the need for choice determined by motive. Freedom cannot be independent of motives. The motives for a conscientious citizen and a strong-willed person are duty and responsibility.
In other words, we can say that freedom is a conscious necessity, which is very strong in a strong-willed person.
Thus, the ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus (VI century BC) in his famous aphorisms stated: “What is stronger than anything in the world? - Necessity".
So, psychology builds the process of personality development on three main principles: about the activity of the individual; about individual mediation of social relations; about becoming oneself through others.
The formation of personality is impossible without a developed will. In the volitional development of personality, three successive stages are distinguished: voluntary behavior; intellectual activity; post-voluntary behavior.
The volitional behavior of an individual is explained by two theories: reflexes, skills and reactions.
The mechanism of volitional behavior acts in the direction of overcoming the contradictions between the natural desires of the individual and his perceived duty. A person involuntarily strives for what is pleasant and useful, and avoids the unpleasant, difficult, and painful. A person’s sense of duty manifests itself at four levels: to society; in front of colleagues; in front of loved ones; in front of yourself.
Personal abilities
The topic of abilities is very relevant for management psychology. If a person is assigned work according to his abilities, the benefit is double. First, the job will be done diligently and professionally. Secondly, a person will receive satisfaction from his activities.
As part of the study of the problem of abilities, the following questions will be considered:
1. The concept and essence of abilities;
2. Theories of abilities;
3. Types of abilities;
4. Ability levels;
5. Abilities and skill;
6. Diagnostics of abilities.
The concept of human abilities developed in connection with the general course of development of human thought. It has long been the subject of philosophical consideration. Only in the second half of the 19th century did empirical and then theoretical (psychological) studies of human abilities emerge.
A person’s abilities are not given directly in his introspections and experiences. One can only indirectly conclude about them by correlating the level of mastery of an activity by one person in comparison with other people. In this case, a person’s living conditions and education have a significant impact.
Abilities are human properties on which the success of mastering certain types of activities depends.
A capable person, all other things being equal (preparedness, time, effort), gets maximum results compared to less capable people. The high achievements of a capable person are the results of compliance of the complex of his neuropsychic properties with the requirements of his activity.
Every activity is complex and multifaceted. It places various demands on a person’s mental properties and physical capabilities. If the existing set of personality traits meets these requirements, then the person is able to carry out activities successfully and at a high level. Therefore, the ability cannot be reduced to one property - good color discrimination, sense of proportion, ear for music, etc. Ability is always a synthesis of several innate personality traits.
There are many approaches to understanding the nature and essence of abilities. Four main theories of ability .
1. Theory of heredity.
According to it, the presence of abilities depends entirely on the inherited genetic fund.
Thus, Galton in the 19th century tried to substantiate the heredity of talent by analyzing the biographical data of outstanding figures. Continuing his research, Cotes determined the degree of giftedness by the amount of space allocated to famous people in encyclopedic dictionaries. According to Galton-Cotes, talent is inherited, so representatives of famous families have outstanding abilities.
Life refutes claims about the hereditary predetermination of abilities. Therefore, the following theory of abilities takes a different position.
2. Theory of chance.
She views the emergence of abilities in a competitive person as an element of unpredictability.
An objective analysis of the biographies of outstanding people allowed us to draw three conclusions. First, the overwhelming majority of outstanding people came from families that did not show special talents. The second conclusion is that the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the overwhelming majority of famous people did not show outstanding talents. The third conclusion is that dynastic high abilities are an exception.
Thus, the innate abilities of a particular person are random and unpredictable.
3. Theory of environment and education.
According to this theory, abilities are not given by nature, but are shaped by life experiences. This requires a special environment and targeted education and training.
Thus, Helvetius in the 18th century proclaimed that through special education even genius can be formed. In modern times, the American scientist W. Ashby argues that abilities, and even genius, are determined by acquired qualities. In particular, what program of intellectual activity accompanied a person’s life in childhood and youth, as well as his ability to work.
At first glance, this theory seems to express faith in human capabilities. It does not set boundaries for the development of the human personality. However, this theory faces serious scientific objections.
Life observations and special scientific research indicate that the natural prerequisites for abilities cannot be denied. In a number of activities they are especially important. Therefore, in an unfavorable environment, one person can show greater abilities than another in a favorable environment.
So, the following situation is common. Brothers and sisters raised in the same family and in equal social conditions show sharp differences in abilities. Moreover, they exhibit different rates of development and develop completely different characters.
Psychologists and physiologists note individual characteristics in the anatomical organization of the brain. This is reflected in its functions. In addition, congenital typological features of nervous activity were discovered. This affects the manifestation and development of abilities.
4. Theory of equality.
Its supporters claim that all people are initially equal in their abilities. Discrepancies begin after birth, during life experiences.
However, a number of psychologists and sociologists note not only the fallacy of this theory. It is unfair and unnatural. If people are born different, then their artificial “leveling” is inhumane. Social suppression of a person’s existing abilities (so that he is “like everyone else”) breaks his psyche.
Perceiving all people as equal in ability brings great harm to society. After all, special abilities can serve not only their owner, but also other people. Talented and brilliant people are the wealth and pride of any nation.
In the modern world, the problem of “brain drain” is acute. Economically developed (rich) countries lure talented people from poor and developing countries. These people are provided with good working conditions and a high standard of living. And they leave their homeland forever. But they could do a lot for the development of their country, and not enrich the already rich.
Summarizing the four considered theories of ability, it should be noted that only the second of them is completely correct. One can partially admit that the third is right. Any abilities can be developed, but not formed initially. A person with a healthy psyche contains, at least to a small extent, a wide variety of abilities. This allows you to grow something even from a weak sprout.
For example, you can teach even a person without abilities to play a musical instrument. Of course, this will require a lot of effort. In addition, the level of musical skill will be low. But the person will still play.
Abilities as personality traits can manifest themselves in different areas of their activities. This allows us to talk about different types of abilities .
4
Philosophy
Dialectical materialism
Even the philosophers of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome achieved significant success in understanding human needs. Ancient thinkers recognized needs as the main driving forces of human activity. Democritus, for example, considered need as the main driving force that made the human mind sophisticated and made it possible to acquire language, speech, and the habit of work. Without needs, a person would not be able to come out of a wild state. According to Heraclitus, needs are determined by living conditions. He distinguished that every desire must be reasonable. Moderation in satisfying needs contributes to the development and improvement of a person’s intellectual abilities. Plato divided the needs into primary, forming the “lower soul,” which is like a herd, and secondary, forming the “reasonable, noble” soul, the purpose of which is to lead the first. French materialists of the late 17th century attached great importance to needs as the main sources of human activity. P. Holbach wrote that needs are the driving factor of our passions, will, and mental activity. A person’s needs are continuous, and this circumstance serves as a source of his constant activity. N. G. Chernyshevsky assigned a major role to the needs in understanding human activity. He associated the development of human cognitive abilities with the development of needs. K. Marx emphasizes that “man differs from all other animals in the limitlessness of his needs and their ability to expand.” As an independent scientific problem, the question of needs began to be considered in philosophy, sociology, economics, and psychology in the first quarter of the 20th century. In general, need can be defined as a need, a need for something. It should be emphasized that quite a large number of scientists “consider need as a state of tension.” In life, you can observe how the very appearance of need changes a person’s condition. This (need) state forces him to look for the cause of discomfort, to find out what the person lacks. Thus, need motivates a person to action, to activity, to activity. Currently, there are many different points of view on the essence of need. Most scientists only agree that almost everyone recognizes need as the main driving force of human activity. However, there is neither complete unanimity nor unambiguity in the interpretation of this concept.
“Since childhood, I didn’t like ovals, since childhood I drew an angle...”
Pavel Kogan
The first interlocutor is interested: - Psychogeometry? Is this the science of psycho geometers? The second - irritably: - No! This is the science of psycho geometry!
Question: Which of them is which, from the point of view of psychogeometry?
PSYCHOGEOmetry: EVERYTHING GENIUS IS SIMPLE
- Why did this person act this way and not otherwise? - How can I negotiate with him? - What should I expect from him?
We ask ourselves such questions almost every day, but we can’t always find answers to them. Of course, a lot depends on external circumstances, but in the same situations people often act completely differently. Why? The answer is simple - because they are different! But which ones are different? To answer this question, humanity has created a number of systems that classify people according to various criteria. In scientific language, these systems are called personality typologies.
One of the most successful systems of typology and diagnosis of human personality was proposed by the American psychologist Susan Dellinger.
She called her system “Psychogeometry” because, in accordance with this technique, all people are divided into five groups, each of which is designated by one of five geometric shapes: square, triangle, circle, zigzag, rectangle.
If you want to find out your personality type, then choose from these five figures the one that you like best - the figure in relation to which you can say: “That’s me!” Draw it, and then do the same with the remaining shapes. As a result, you will get your psychological “portrait”.
The first figure is the one that “influences” you the most. The influence of the second, third and fourth is less, but “deeper”. And the fifth shows which qualities are less developed in you, and, accordingly, what type of people will be most difficult for you to communicate with.
CHARACTERISTICS OF STRONG PSYCHOGEOMETRIC TYPES
"SQUARE" - Stability
Life values:
traditions, stability, security, reliability, past.
Roles:
Conservative.
Reliability and support. Pedant. Keeper of traditions. Executor. “Strong” qualities:
organization, discipline, diligence, punctuality, accuracy, cleanliness, law-abidingness, hard work, patience, perseverance, perseverance, true to word, honesty, caution, prudence, rationality, frugality, practicality.
“Weak” qualities:
inertia, inflexibility, inertia, pedantry, dryness, one-sidedness, indecision, stubbornness, conservatism, resistance to new things, fear of risk, poor imagination, isolation, stinginess, pettiness, tendency to bureaucracy.
Appearance: neat, strict, dim, restrained, conservative, “as expected.” Workplace:
every thing is in its place, everything is “parallel and perpendicular.”
Speech:
slow, monotonous, logical, a lot of reliance on authorities and “the way things are done.”
Bodily manifestations:
Tense postures, usually symmetrical.
The gait is slow, ponderous, “solid.” Gesticulation is “not rich”, but accurate. Facial expressions are practically absent - the square is stingy in expressions of feelings. Suitable professions.
Accountant, analyst, deputy director for general or economic issues, local police inspector, leader in a bureaucratic organization, “tough” secretary.
How to communicate with a square.
Listen to the square to the end, under no circumstances interrupt if you are not his boss. To be in the eyes of the square more competent, more status than him. Know all instructions, laws, precedents. It is best to justify your position with facts and figures; It's very good to use tables. Give compliments - frank enough for the square to understand them (he is a little slow-witted), but neat, without familiarity and risky passages. Introduce innovations in small portions. Refrain from emotional displays.
TRIANGLE - Determination
Life values:
power, leadership, career, status, victory, future.
Roles:
Leader.
Punchy. Warrior. Prophet. Hero. “Strong” qualities:
rationality, efficiency, leadership qualities, energy, charisma, high performance, initiative, courage, determination, independence of judgment.
“Weak” qualities:
authority, self-confidence, selfishness, categoricalness, harshness, causticity, intolerance of dissent, peremptory (“either my way or not at all”), inhumanity (“will walk over corpses”).
Appearance:
depending on the circumstances: if necessary for business, then he is dressed flashily and “status”; if not, then he tends to dress comfortably.
Workplace:
everything is highly functional, a lot of office equipment - if funds allow, then expensive, but at the same time reliable and convenient.
Speech:
fast, clear, precise, concise, everything is “to the point”, often “in a raised voice” and using slang and other “informal” vocabulary.
Bodily manifestations:
Free “wide” poses.
Fast, energetic gait. Confident gestures, often similar to blows. The facial expressions are expressive, but not rich. Suitable professions.
Managers in hierarchical organizations, including senior ones, project leaders, surgeons, “star” psychotherapists, especially hypnotists.
How to communicate with a triangle.
Speak only to the point, clearly, confidently, but without “assaults.” Agree, write down the agreement, remember that the triangle interprets all controversial issues in its favor. Motivate with benefits. You can show your power, but at the same time you should be prepared for a “test of strength.” Be prepared on the part of the triangle for blackmail, for deception “for the sake of the interests of the business,” for appropriation of common results.
CIRCLE - Peacefulness
Life values:
communication, comfort, general well-being, helping people.
Roles:
Peacemaker.
Darling. Keeper of comfort. Homebody. “Strong” qualities:
goodwill, gentleness, delicacy, non-conflict, tolerance, sociability, kindness.
“Weak” qualities:
passivity, conformism, susceptibility to influence, tendency to compromise, sloppiness, disorganization, unpunctuality, indecisiveness, dependence on the opinions of others.
Appearance:
often careless, unfashionable, baggy, the main thing is to be comfortable;
soft fabrics and styles predominate in clothing. Workplace:
a cozy mess, sweet pies mixed with business papers, a lot of old things that “would be a pity to throw away.”
Speech:
unhurried, peaceful, often inconsistent or “not to the point”, quite emotional, compliments and enthusiastic assessments are often used.
Bodily manifestations:
relaxed posture, smile, head nods in agreement, “assent”, soft gait, facial expressions are quite rich, but mostly peaceful.
Suitable professions.
“Soft” secretary, HR manager, teacher, therapist, family psychologist, priest.
How to communicate with the circle.
Gently but persistently return to the essence of the matter, while under no circumstances shouting or swearing. Be prepared for the fact that the circle will promise but not deliver (it’s easier for them to agree with you, and then “somehow everything will work out”).
ZIGZAG - Unpredictability
Life values:
creativity, novelty, risk, speed, self-expression.
Roles:
Lover of shocking.
Artist. Extreme. Extremist. Windy type. Heartbreaker. “Strong” qualities:
spontaneity, creativity, pressure, wit, easy-going.
“Weak” qualities:
uncontrollability, fickleness, unpredictability, lack of restraint, eccentricity, excitability, individualism, unreliability, recklessness and recklessness.
Appearance:
extravagant, demonstrative, fashionable, often sloppy, a tendency towards eclecticism, towards combining “incongruous” things.
Workplace:
a fantastic mess combined with garish decorative design.
Speech:
bright, fast, galloping, figurative, associative, fiery, lots of jokes and witticisms.
Bodily manifestations:
frequently changing poses, various movements, animated gestures, rapid, sometimes loose gait, rich lively facial expressions, mannerisms.
Suitable professions.
Creative, artist, freelance artist, insurance agent or “percentage” seller.
How to communicate with a zigzag.
Motto: “Firmness, goodwill, endless patience.” It is almost impossible to influence the zigzag. Sometimes the trick “by contradiction” works - offer something to the zigzag so that he wants to do the opposite. The main thing in this case is to quickly agree with him. You can attract a zigzag to your side by admiring his ideas, but this still won’t last long. You should always be prepared for sudden changes in decisions and topics of conversation.
RECTANGLE - Instability
Life values:
depending on external circumstances.
Roles:
Weasel.
Indecisive. Scapegoat. Jonah. Bungler. “Strong” qualities:
gullibility, openness, sensitivity, curiosity, readiness for change, high learning ability, “childishness,” unambitiousness.
“Weak” qualities:
naivety, spinelessness, uncertainty, indecisiveness, unreliability, mental instability, “problematic.”
Appearance:
often inadequate to the situation, but at the same time not extravagant, like a zigzag, but largely dependent on “what was found in the wardrobe.”
Workplace:
a mixture of order and disorder.
Speech:
uncertain, unclear, confused, with long pauses, sudden incomprehensible fluctuations in volume, speed and pitch, “beeping” and “mocking”, answering a question with a question.
Bodily manifestations:
strange, stiff postures, clumsy, sudden movements, uncertain gestures, jerky or shuffling gait, running or glassy eyes.
Suitable professions.
Since a rectangle is a transitional, often “crisis” figure, it is best to send it on vacation or study for a while.
The ideal activity for a rectangle is to study or relax. A rectangle can be a good expert or consultant, but only in those matters where he is a recognized authority. How to communicate with a rectangle.
Understand what role he is currently performing in. Switch it to a state convenient for you. Constantly support and guide with your attention and influence.
RELATIONSHIPS OF SOME FIGURES
"Square - Square."
It is possible, but only if the worldviews of both partners completely coincide: rules, traditions, habits.
"Triangle - Triangle."
Only if it benefits both of them. And only until one triangle crushed the second. In most cases, triangles are “friends” according to the “two bears in one den” principle.
"Circle - Circle."
Everything is nice, but boring and unproductive. Besides, it's such a mess!
"Zigzag - Zigzag."
If you hit resonance, if the direction of the “throw” coincides, then the results are fantastic. But usually this doesn't last long. In all other cases, it is a battle for life and death. After which one zigzag lies dead, and the other is tired.
"Rectangle - Rectangle."
Only under the supervision of a strong figure (square or triangle).
“Square – Circle”, “Triangle – Circle”.
Eternal claims and grievances.
"Square - Zigzag".
Only for the purpose of self-development of both of them. And preferably under the guidance of a mature triangle.
"Square - Triangle".
Nice "Western" couple (house). The triangle sets the direction, the square provides the rear. A typical example is the “boss secretary”.
"Circle - Zigzag".
A good “oriental” pair (yin-yang). The zigzag gives the circle newness and impressions. Circle – provides zigzag warmth and comfort. A typical example is “an artist and his faithful wife.”
"Rectangle - Triangle", "Rectangle - Square".
Possible, but labor-intensive. Although very useful for a rectangle.
P.S. The article uses a number of developments from the Center for Humanistic Technologies “Man”.
ALL ARTICLES "PSYCHOLOGY"
Notes
- ↑ 123456
Need // glossary.ru - according to Helvetius
- Hynd R.
(English) Animal behavior. - M.: Mir, 1975. - paragraph 8.1
Berridge Kent C.
Motivation concepts in behavioral neuroscience. Physiology & Behavior 81 (2004) 179–209.- Hynd R.
- Benefits
- Welfare
- Life
- Attraction
- Deprivation
- Human physiology. / Ed. V. M. Pokrovsky, G. F. Korotko. - M.: Medicine, 2007. - (Series: Educational literature for students of medical universities) - ISBN 5-225-04729-7
- Vorobyova V.V., Yakimanskaya I.S.
Psychology of laziness: problem statement. - V. I. Ginetsinsky.
Propaedeutic course of general psychology (Tutorial). - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg State University Publishing House, 1997. - ISBN 5-288-01848-0 - A. Sleptsova.
Psychodiagnostics of personnel. — ISBN 5-222-16897-2
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