General psychology: Answers to exam papersAnatoly Gennadievich Maklakov, 2012

Dictionary interpretation

First of all, we need to clearly formulate the essence of the behavioral approach, its meaning. So, this term refers to the area in psychology that studies the behavior of people as a species and animals. It is assumed that all actions are based on reflexes, as well as on various reactions to certain factors coming from the environment. An important criterion for an individual’s behavior is his personal history, that is, life experience. It alternates between rewards and punishments, motivation and disappointment - they determine the further reaction to specific events. Often the behavioral approach in psychology is called behaviorism - the term comes from the English word Behavior - “behavior”. It is worth noting that behaviorists - scientists who deal with this area of ​​psychology - understand that a hereditary factor can also influence an individual’s behavior. But at the same time, they place greater “responsibility” for certain actions on the environment.

General psychology: Answers to exam papersAnatoly Gennadievich Maklakov, 2012

5. Behaviorism as one of the directions in psychology

Founder of behaviorism J. Watson

saw the task of psychology in the study of the behavior of a living creature adapting to its environment. Moreover, the first place in conducting research in this direction is given to solving practical problems caused by social and economic development. Therefore, in just one decade, behaviorism spread throughout the world and became one of the most influential areas of psychological science.

The emergence and spread of behaviorism was marked by the fact that completely new facts were introduced into psychology—the facts of behavior, which differ from the facts of consciousness in introspective psychology.

In psychology, behavior is understood as the external manifestations of a person’s mental activity. In this regard, behavior is contrasted with consciousness as a set of internal, subjectively experienced processes, and thus the facts of behavior in behaviorism and the facts of consciousness in introspective psychology are separated according to the method of their identification. Some are identified through external observation, while others are identified through introspection.

Watson believed that the most important thing in a person for the people around him is the actions and behavior of this person. At the same time, he denied the need to study consciousness. Thus, J. Watson separated the mental and its external manifestation - behavior.

According to J. Watson, psychology should become a natural scientific discipline and introduce an objective scientific method. The desire to make psychology an objective and natural scientific discipline led to the rapid development of experimentation based on principles different from introspective methodology, which brought practical results in the form of economic interest in the development of psychological science.

Thus, the main idea of ​​behaviorism was based on the affirmation of the significance of behavior and the complete denial of the existence of consciousness and the need to study it.

From the point of view of J. Watson, behavior is a system of reactions

.
Reaction is another new concept that was introduced into psychology due to the development of behaviorism. Since J. Watson sought to make psychology a natural science, it was necessary to explain the causes of human behavior from a natural science position. For J. Watson, a person’s behavior or action is explained by the presence of some influence on the person. He believed that there is not a single action that does not have a reason behind it in the form of an external agent, or stimulus
.
S - R
(stimulus - response)
appeared For behaviorists, the S - R
became the unit of behavior. Therefore, from the point of view of behaviorism, the main tasks of psychology come down to the following: identifying and describing types of reactions; study of the processes of their formation; studying the laws of their combinations, i.e., the formation of complex reactions. As the general and final tasks of psychology, behaviorists put forward the following two tasks: to come to the point of predicting a person’s behavior (reaction) based on the situation (stimulus) and, conversely, using the nature of the reaction to determine or describe the stimulus that caused it.

The solution to the assigned problems was carried out by behaviorists in two directions: theoretical and experimental. Creating the theoretical basis of behaviorism, J. Watson tried to describe the types of reactions and, first of all, identified innate and acquired reactions. He includes among the innate reactions those behavioral acts that can be observed in newborn children, namely: sneezing, hiccups, sucking, smiling, crying, movements of the torso, limbs, head, etc.

However, if J. Watson had no serious difficulties with the description of innate reactions, since it was enough to observe the behavior of newborn children, then with the description of the laws by which innate reactions are acquired, things were worse. To solve this problem, he needed to start from any of the existing theories, and he turned to the works of I. P. Pavlov and V. M. Bekhterev. Their works contained a description of the mechanisms of the emergence of conditioned, or, as they said at that time, “combined” reflexes. Having familiarized himself with the works of Russian scientists, J. Watson accepts the concept of conditioned reflexes as the natural scientific basis of his psychological theory. He says that all new responses are acquired through conditioning.

All human actions, according to J. Watson, are complex chains, or complexes, of reactions. It should be emphasized that at first glance, J. Watson’s conclusions seem correct and beyond doubt. A certain external influence causes a certain unconditional (innate) response or a complex of unconditional (innate) reactions in a person, but this is only at first glance. However, there are some phenomena that actually cannot be explained using this theory. For example, how do you explain a bear riding a bicycle in a circus? No unconditioned or conditioned stimulus can cause such a reaction or set of reactions, since riding a bicycle cannot be classified as an unconditioned (innate) reaction. An unconditional reaction to light can be blinking, to sound - flinching, to a food stimulus - salivation. But no combination of such unconditioned reactions will lead to the bear riding a bicycle.

End of introductory fragment.

Founders

While studying the history of this area of ​​psychology, at the same time we will get acquainted with its representatives. The behavioral approach began to emerge in the second half of the 19th century, after such areas of science as depth psychology and the law of effect (the latter explains how behavior changes due to reinforcement) became widely known. The “father” of this term and its essence was the American scientist John Brodes Watson. His methodological behaviorism suggested that it is worth paying attention exclusively to signals entering a person’s consciousness from the external environment. At the same time, his thoughts and feelings can be ignored, since they do not affect behavior. Soon this theory began to be challenged by Burres Frederick Skinner, who realized that feelings and thoughts are controlled by the same areas of the brain as external stimuli, therefore, they are also impetuses for certain reactions. His version came to be called radical behaviorism and became more widespread.

It is interesting to know that Watson was supported in his judgments by our scientist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov - we all know about his dogs and their reaction to the “bell”.

Behavior and its aspects

Systemic behavioral psychotherapy is a system of practices that is based on the conceptual model of systemic behavioral psychotherapy and is implemented by the patient under the guidance of a psychotherapist, with his direct participation, as well as independently, to correct maladaptive behavior that leads to a subjective decrease in the quality of life of a person seeking psychotherapeutic help. .

The conceptual model of systemic behavioral psychotherapy is a tool that serves to systematize ideas about mental activity and the methods resulting from these ideas, used to improve the subjective quality of life of a person who seeks psychotherapeutic help.

The concepts of the conceptual model of systemic behavioral psychotherapy are used not for interpretation of reality, but for the purpose of formulating and structuring the structure of practices. In other words, terms and concepts here are not a way of reflecting reality, but are used as a tool for influencing this reality.

Thus, the tasks of the conceptual model of systemic behavioral psychotherapy come down to the following four points:

1. indication of the “point” of application of psychotherapeutic influence;
2. formation of the psychotherapist’s understanding of what and how happens in the process of psychotherapy;
3. determination of a set of measures that provide the necessary psychotherapeutic effect;
4. development of forms of psychotherapeutic work for outpatient clinics and specialized hospitals, which have proven their effectiveness in practice [10].

In the conceptual model of systemic behavioral psychotherapy, the phenomenon of behavior is understood in the form in which it was presented in the works of I.M. Sechenova, I.P. Pavlova, A.A. Ukhtomsky and L.S. Vygotsky [24]. On the one hand, behavior is a single process of mental functioning [5, 18], on the other hand, we should not forget that this process unfolds in different meaningful continuums, however, according to the universal principles of a dynamic stereotype [14] and dominance [19]. These meaningful continuums can be considered as aspects of behavior; the conceptual model of systemic behavioral psychotherapy includes: body behavior, perceptual behavior, apperceptive behavior, verbal behavior, social behavior. According to these five aspects of behavior, the conceptual model of systemic behavioral psychotherapy represents mental mechanisms, the diagnostic capabilities they provide, as well as psychotherapeutic techniques [8].

1. Body behavior. This aspect of behavior is perfectly illustrated by G. Selye’s theory of stress [17], although it is not exhausted by it. From a practical point of view, the following mental mechanisms of this aspect of behavior are most important:

• vegetative reactions, which act both as components of an emotional reaction [20] and as provocateurs of emotional and speech processes [16];
• muscle tension and its correlation with a person’s emotional state [6];
• spontaneity and naturalness of respiratory acts [7].

• Behavior of perception. This aspect of behavior is quite difficult to verify, since it is hidden from the function of introspection, since any introspection already deals with apperceptive formations. From a practical point of view, the most important mental mechanisms are:
• time perception [12];
• perception of space [18];
• inhibition of perception [19].

• significations, i.e. relations between signifieds and signifiers [11]; discursive behavior, where speech processes are determined by the work of unconscious dynamic stereotypes [2];
• inhibitory behavior, which was most accurately defined by A.A. Ukhtomsky: “If we do not master the rudiments of our dominants in time, they will take possession of us. Therefore, if it is necessary to develop productive behavior in a person with a certain direction of action, this is achieved by minute-by-minute, vigilant cultivation of the required dominants” [19], i.e. We are talking about the inhibition of some (maladaptive) dynamic stereotypes and the formation, thanks to this, of others that contribute to human adaptation.

• forecasts;
• requirements;
• explanations.

• the otherness of the subject’s behavior, based on the principle of “Other” [21];
• the identity of the subject of his social role [23];
• hierarchical role relationships [1].

Of course, when interacting with a patient, the psychotherapist deals with his behavior as a holistic and unified process.
However, if this process is not decomposed by the psychotherapist into the appropriate components, then, firstly, this will not ensure the targeting of psychotherapeutic intervention; secondly, it will create difficulties in the diagnostic work of the psychotherapist, which will lead to an inadequate assessment of the patient’s condition and the genesis of his maladjustment; thirdly, it will not allow creating a program of psychotherapeutic work that will provide a full-fledged psychotherapeutic effect covering all levels of the psyche. The conceptual model of systemic behavioral psychotherapy, therefore, does not set itself the goal of creating “psychology for psychotherapy,” but is intended to ensure the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic work, which is achieved:

1. systematic approach;
2. universality of basic concepts;
3. correspondence of the identified aspects of behavior to continuums of behavior;
4. progression of diagnostic work;
5. the quality of the psychotherapeutic techniques used, which is a natural consequence of all the above points.

Literature:

1. Adler A.
   About nervous character. Ed. E.V. Sokolova / Transl. with him. I.V. Stefanovich. - St. Petersburg: University Book, 1997. - 388 p.
2. Bart R.
   Selected works: Semiotics. Poetics: Trans. from French / Comp., total. ed. and entry Art. G.K. Kosikova. - M.: Publishing group "Progress", "Univers", 1994. - 616 p.
3. Buber M.
   Two images of faith: Trans. with him. / Ed. P.S. Gurevich, S.Ya. Levit, S.V. Lezova. - M.: Republic, 1995. - 464 p.
4. Wekker L.M.
   Psyche and reality: a unified theory of mental processes. - M.: Publishing house "Smysl", 1998. - 685 p.
5. Vygotsky L.S.
   Developmental psychology as a cultural phenomenon: Ed. M.G. Yaroshevsky / Intro. Art. M.G. Yaroshevsky. - M.: Publishing house "Institute of Practical Psychology", Voronezh: NPO "MODEK", 1996. - 512 p.
6. James W.
   Psychology / Ed. L.A. Petrovskaya. - M.: Pedagogy, 1991. - 368 p.
7. Kozlov V.V., Bubeev Yu.A.
   Altered states of consciousness: psychology and physiology. - M., 1997. - 198 p.
8. Kurpatov A.V.
   Principles, goals, methods and technology of systemic behavioral psychotherapy. // Modern problems of treatment in psychotherapeutic and psychiatric practice: Collection of articles and theses dedicated to the 150th anniversary of I.P. Pavlova and the 80th anniversary of the Neurosis Clinic named after. Academician I.P. Pavlova. - St. Petersburg: Atlant Publishing House LLC, 1999. pp. 30 - 35.
9. Kurpatov A.V., Alekhin A.N.
   Philosophy of psychology (The beginning of psychosophy. Theoretical foundations of the science of the human soul). - St. Petersburg: "Yuventa", 1999. - 344 p.
10. Kurpatov A.V., Kovpak D.V.
    Systemic behavioral psychotherapy in inpatient treatment conditions. // Mental health. St. Petersburg - 2000: Conference materials, April 20 - 21, 2000 - St. Petersburg: SPbSTU Publishing House, 2000. P. 86 - 89.
11. Lacan J.
    “I” in Freud’s theory and in the technique of psychoanalysis (1954/55). Per. from French / Translation by A. Chernoglazov. - M.: Gnosis Publishing House, Logos Publishing House, 1999. - 184.
12. Merleau-Ponty M.
    Phenomenology of perception: Trans. from French, ed. I.S. Vdovina, S.L. Fokina. - St. Petersburg: “Yuventa”, “Nauka”, 1999. - 607 p.
13. Myasishchev V.N.
    Personality and neuroses. - L.: Leningrad University Publishing House, 1960. - 427 p.
14. Pavlov I.P.
    Complete collection of works. Volume III Twenty years of experience in the objective study of higher nervous activity (behavior) of animals - conditioned reflexes. - M., Leningrad, 1949. - 607 p.
15. Piaget J.
    Speech and thinking of a child / Trans. from French and English; comp., com., ed. translation by V.A. Lukova, Vl.A. Lukova. - M.: Pedagogika-Perss, 1999. - 528 p.
16. Reikovsky Ya.
    Experimental psychology of emotions. - M.: "Progress", 1979. - 392 p.
17. Selye G.
    Stress without distress. / Preface M. Toyama. - Riga: “Vieda”, 1992. - 109 p.
18. Sechenov I.M.
    Psychology of behavior: Ed. M.G. Yaroshevsky / Intro. article. M.G. Yaroshevsky. - M.: Publishing house "Institute of Practical Psychology", Voronezh: NPO "MODEK", 1995. - 320 p.
19. Ukhtomsky A.A.
    Collected works. T. I. The doctrine of the dominant. - L.: Leningrad State University Publishing House, 1950. - 330 p.
20. Shingarov G.Kh.
    Emotions and feelings as forms of reflection of reality. - M.: Publishing house "Nauka", 1971. - 224 p.
21. Eco U.
    “The missing structure. Introduction to semiology". - TK Petropolis LLP, 1998. - 432 p.
22. Ellis A.
    Psychotraining according to the method of Albert Ellis. - St. Petersburg: Peter Kom, 1999. - 288 p.
23. Erickson E.
    Identity: youth and crisis. / Per. from English. General. ed. and preface A.V. Tolstykh. - M.: Progress Publishing Group, 1996. - 344 p.
24. Yaroshevsky M.G.
    Behavioral science: the Russian way. - M.: Publishing house "Institute of Practical Psychology", Voronezh: NPO "MODEK", 1996. - 380 p.

Original publication: Kurpatov A.V. Conceptual model of systemic behavioral psychotherapy: behavior and its aspects. // Clinical Pavlovian readings: Collection of works. First issue. - St. Petersburg: "Petropolis Publishing House", 2000. P. 13 - 16.

Many versions

The original theory of the behavioral approach to the study of the reactions of living beings to certain factors has become a real resonance in the world of psychology. No matter how cheesy it may sound, everyone who was not too lazy was involved in the study of this topic, and therefore the most ridiculous judgments were sometimes put forward. But among them, from time to time, very worthwhile thoughts surfaced, which later turned into full-fledged types of behavioral approach, or variations. Essentially, each of them is telling the truth - it's like comparing the judgment of Watson and Skinner. Therefore, every modern psychologist decides for himself which theory is closer to him and is guided by it. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with each of them in turn.

Radical behaviorism

The second and much more significant theory of the behavioral approach, also proposed by an American named Skinner. Most likely, it became a winner precisely because of its versatility and a kind of “psychological cosmopolitanism.” In other words, Skinner believed that it is worth taking into account not only stimuli from the environment that “affect” a person, but also his feelings and thoughts that overcome him at a particular moment in time. Equally important is experience - both negative and positive. The hereditary factor was also taken into account, because at the genetic level, representatives of certain types of living organisms (including people - here we had to distinguish by race and culture) also have specific beliefs that influence behavior. This behavioral approach has become universal and is probably still the most widespread and correct in psychology.

Behavioral psychotherapy

Behavioral psychotherapy is one of the leading areas of modern psychotherapy, based on the principles of behavioral psychology. It is known that 70% of psychotherapists in the United States use behavioral therapy as their main type of therapy. The term "behavioral psychotherapy " has been used since 1953 . But methods of psychotherapy based on the principles of learning, which can be considered as the predecessors of modern behavioral psychotherapy, appeared in the second decade of the 20th century. They entered the literature under the name of methods of conditioned reflex therapy, which is based on the theory of I.P. Pavlova . Then the theory of instrumental or operant conditioning ( E. Thorndike, B. Skinner ) emphasized the importance of stimuli that were positive or negative in nature (the law of effect) in the emergence and consolidation of behavior. In the 60s, the development of behavioral psychotherapy was influenced by the theory of learning (primarily social) through observation (A. Bandura) . Just observing the model allows one to form new behavioral stereotypes (later this led to the emergence of the concept of self-efficacy). The modern interpretation of the term “behavior,” on which behavioral psychology is based, includes not only externally observable characteristics, but also emotional-subjective, motivational-affective, cognitive and verbal-cognitive manifestations.

Unlike psychoanalysis and the humanistic direction of therapy, behavioral consultants tend to focus not on internal conflicts and motives, but on human behavior visible to an external observer . All mental and emotional disorders, according to supporters of behavioral psychotherapy, arise due to disruptions in the processes of human adaptation to the environment, which, in turn, arise due to incorrect behavioral stereotypes.

The goal of behavioral therapy is to eliminate inappropriate behavior (for example, excessive anxiety) and teach new, adaptive behavior (social interaction skills, conflict resolution, etc.). How to overcome the fear of speaking in front of an audience, improve the behavior of a capricious and aggressive child, wean yourself from overeating, protect yourself in a conflict situation and learn to interact with the opposite sex - typical tasks solved in behavioral counseling. The emphasis of the work is not on self-understanding, but on exercises and practicing certain skills.

Behavioral psychotherapy emphasizes the relationship between behavior and environment . Deviations in normal functioning and the choice of incorrect behavior are most often reinforced by some phenomenon from the external environment. For example, a child is capricious and asks his mother to give him candy. At some point, the mother gets tired of listening to his whims, and she fulfills the child’s request. What happens in this case? She herself reinforces the child’s unwanted behavior. And there are more such examples in our lives than it seems at first glance. In behavioral psychotherapy, the following rules of reinforcement , which can be useful when raising a child, building relationships with loved ones, etc.

1. The reinforcement system should not be inconsistent . You should not reinforce unwanted behavior and then punish it because of it.
2. Reinforcements must be targeted to the subject's needs . People who know how to give gifts and always know what to give to their loved ones invariably have great influence over them.
3. Reinforcement should be timely and mark any slight progress . For example, parents, punishing for poor studies, take away the opportunity to use a computer from their son. After some time, not only twos, but threes and even one four appear in his grades. The parents decide that until there are stable B grades, their son will not see any relief. After some time, the boy's grades become the same. The unsupported effort immediately fades away.
4. Positive reinforcement should take precedence over punishment. The main reason punishments are ineffective is that they do not communicate what needs to be done. It prevents a person from learning what is the best behavior in a given situation.

Methods of behavioral psychotherapy have penetrated into many areas and are used in teaching individual sports, animal training, computer training programs, and parent-child interaction training. For many years, behavioral psychotherapy continues to be one of the most popular and rapidly developing methods of psychotherapy.

Psychological behaviorism

For the first time, under the influence of a scientist named Arthur W. Staats, the behavioral approach becomes not just a theory supported by a small number of experiments, mostly performed on animals, but a half-practical field of knowledge. In terms of theory, Staats developed a kind of time-out system, that is, a break from certain factors/thoughts that could influence human behavior, as well as a system of tokens - rewards. Experiments have already been carried out on humans, mainly on children with mental disorders. This experience allowed us to reach new heights in the field of education, cultural and social development, as well as the prevention of many nervous disorders.

Behaviorism, or behavioral psychology

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Founder John Watson (1878-1958) formulated the credo of behaviorism: “The subject of psychology is behavior.” Hence the name - from English behavior

- behavior (“behaviorism” can be translated as “behavioral psychology”).
Analysis of behavior must be strictly objective in nature and limited to externally observable reactions (everything that cannot be objectively registered cannot be studied, that is, a person’s thoughts and consciousness cannot be studied, they cannot be measured or registered). Everything that happens inside a person is impossible to study, i.e. a person is a “black box”. Only reactions, external actions of a person and those stimuli and situations that determine these reactions can be objectively studied and recorded. And the task of psychology is to determine a probable stimulus based on the reaction, and to predict a certain reaction based on the stimulus. According to behaviorists, concepts such as consciousness and experience cannot be considered scientific, since they are the result of introspection. The main method of behaviorism is observation and experimental study of the body's reactions in response to environmental influences. Behavior was defined as the body's system of reactions in response to stimuli. Stimulus (S) generates response (R)
(SR). Behaviorism made extensive use of animal experiments, the results of which were transferred to explain human behavior.

And a person’s personality, from the point of view of behaviorism, is nothing more than a set of behavioral reactions inherent in a given person. This or that behavioral reaction occurs to a certain stimulus or situation. The “stimulus-response” formula of SR was the leading one in behaviorism. Thorndike's law of effect elaborates: the connection between S and R strengthens if there is reinforcement. Reinforcement can be positive (praise, obtaining the desired result, material reward, etc.) or negative (pain, punishment, failure, critical remark, etc.). Human behavior most often follows from the expectation of positive reinforcement, but sometimes the desire, first of all, to avoid negative reinforcement, i.e. punishment, pain, etc., prevails.

Thus, from the position of behaviorism, personality

-
everything that an individual possesses, and his ability to react (skills, consciously regulated instincts, socialized emotions + the ability of plasticity to form new skills + the ability to retain, maintain skills) to adapt to the environment,
i.e. personality - organized and a relatively stable skill system.
Skills form the basis of relatively stable behavior; skills are adapted to life situations; changing situations lead to the formation of new skills. Personality, as defined by B.F. Skinner, there is a set of behavioral patterns. Different situations cause different reactions. A person's reaction depends solely on previous experience and genetic history.
An indication of the influence of genetic factors confirms that B. Skinner did not simplify the interpretation of behavior and believed that it depended on many hidden factors.

In the concept of behaviorism, a person is understood primarily as a reacting, acting, learning being, programmed for certain reactions, actions, and behavior. By changing incentives and reinforcements, you can program a person to the desired behavior.

In the depths of behaviorism itself, the psychologist Tolman (1948) questioned the SR framework as too simplistic and introduced between these terms an important intermediate variable I - the mental processes of a given individual, depending on his heredity, physiological state, past experience and the nature of the SIR stimulus.

Intermediate variables were understood as internal processes that determine the action of a stimulus, that is, influencing external behavior. Intermediate variables were understood as such formations as goals, intentions, needs, hypotheses, images of situations - cognitive maps.

In Hull's concept, behavior is a reaction to various motivating stimuli - drive.

Drives are impulses to action. Having reached a certain strength, they activate behavior. Behavior is rewarded by weakening incentives. For example: a hungry person, driven by a strong hunger drive, begins to look for a place and a way to satisfy his hunger. If a person succeeds, the behavior is reinforced and learning occurs. Next time the person will use those reactions that in the past allowed him to satisfy the need (reduce the strength of the drive).

When the S-R connection is repeated, an association of the response with the stimulus occurs, which leads to the emergence of a habit. Human personality is considered by Hull as a set of habits, that is, connections between stimuli and reactions. A person from birth has a set of drives (thirst, hunger, pain, orientation reflex). These drives, at a certain intensity, trigger behavior corresponding to them (instrumental). If this behavior occurs under certain conditions, then these conditions may acquire the character of a secondary drive, the presence of which becomes necessary to satisfy the need.

Based on experimental studies and theoretical analysis of animal behavior, Skinner formulates the position of three species

behavior:
unconditionally reflexive, conditioned reflexive
and
operant.
Unconditionally reflexive and conditioned reflexive types of behavior are caused by stimuli (S) and are called respondent behavior.

This is a type S conditioning reaction. They constitute a certain part of the behavioral repertoire, but they alone do not ensure adaptation to the real environment.
In reality, the process of adaptation is built on the basis of active tests -
the animal’s influence on the surrounding world.
Some of them can accidentally lead to a useful result, which is therefore fixed. Such reactions, which are not caused by a stimulus, but are released (“heard”) by the body, some of which turn out to be correct and are reinforced, Skinner called operant. These are reactions of type R. Operant behavior assumes that the organism actively influences the environment, and depending on the consequences of the results of these active actions, they (reactions) are reinforced or rejected.
According to Skinner, it is these reactions that are predominant in the adaptive behavior of an animal: they are a form of voluntary behavior. Skateboarding, playing the piano, and learning to write are all examples of human operant responses that are controlled by the results that follow the corresponding behavior. If the consequences are favorable to the organism, then the likelihood of repetition of the operant response increases.

The key difference between operant conditioning and classical conditioning is that in the case of operant conditioning, a living organism actively influences the environment through its behavior and faces certain consequences. Skinner proposed that behavior is determined not by the stimulus that precedes the response, but by the consequences of the behavior. Skinner believed that an animal or person will tend to reproduce its past behavior if it had pleasant consequences. Therefore, behavior can be managed by positively reinforcing certain ways. Skinner found the following pattern: patterns of behavior that are followed by pleasant consequences in the future are more common.

Developing Skinner's idea, we can assume that behavior that is punished and leads to unpleasant consequences for the individual should disappear. However, Skinner found no evidence to support this conclusion. From his point of view, “punishment is a rather controversial way to wean off unwanted behavior, since behavior that is followed by unpleasant consequences does not disappear anywhere, it only changes in the most unexpected way. In case of a fine, a person is forced to look for other forms of behavior in order to avoid the fine. It often turns out that these new forms are even less desirable than those that caused the punishment.”

The main means of developing new behavior is reinforcement.

Skinner identifies 4 modes of reinforcement: 1. A mode of reinforcement with a constant ratio, when the level of positive reinforcement depends on the number of correctly performed actions (for example, they pay an employee in proportion to the amount of products produced, i.e., the more often the body reacts correctly, the more reinforcements it receives) .

2. Regime of reinforcement with a constant interval, when the body receives reinforcement after a strictly fixed time has passed since the previous reinforcement. (For example, an employee is paid a salary every month, or a student has a session every 4 months, while the speed of response deteriorates immediately after receiving reinforcement - after all, the next salary or session will not be soon).

3. Reinforcement regime with a variable ratio (for example, win-reinforcement in a gambling game can be unpredictable, inconsistent, a person does not know when and what the next reinforcement will be, but every time he hopes to win - such a reinforcement regime has a significant impact on human behavior).

4. Variable interval reinforcement regimen (a person receives reinforcements at indefinite intervals; the student’s knowledge is monitored with the help of “unexpected controls” at random intervals, which encourages a higher level of diligence and responsiveness compared to a constant interval reinforcement regimen). Skinner identified “primary reinforcers” (food, water, physical comfort, sex) and secondary, or conditioned, reinforcers (money, attention, good grades, affection, etc.). Secondary reinforcers are generalized and combined with many primary reinforcers. For example, money is a means of obtaining many pleasures, or an even stronger generalized conditioned reinforcement is social approval - for the sake of social approval from parents and surrounding people, a person strives to behave well, comply with social norms, study well, make a career, look beautiful and etc.

Skinner believed that conditioned reinforcing stimuli are very important in controlling human behavior; he identified positive and negative reinforcements and positive and negative punishments (Table).

Table 1

Skinner fought against the use of punishment to control behavior, because painful punishment causes negative emotional and social side effects (fear, anxiety, antisocial actions, lying, loss of self-esteem and confidence), only temporarily suppresses unwanted behavior, which will reappear where there is no one who can punish if the probability of punishment decreases. Instead of aversive control, Skinner recommends positive reinforcement as the most effective method for eliminating undesirable behavior and encouraging desirable responses. The “successful approximation or behavior shaping technique” involves positively reinforcing the behavior that most closely approximates the desired operant behavior. This is approached step by step, so one reaction is consolidated and then replaced by another, closer to the desired behavior (this is how speech, work skills, etc. are formed).

In order to more effectively manage a person’s behavior, it is necessary to take into account which reinforcement is the most important, significant, and valuable for a person at a given moment (the law of subjective value of reinforcement), and by providing this subjectively valuable reinforcement in the event of a person’s correct behavior or threatening to deprive a person of this subjective value in in the event of his incorrect behavior, it will be possible with a high probability to control his behavior. Skinner formulated the law of operant conditioning: “the behavior of living beings is completely determined by the consequences to which it leads. Depending on whether these consequences are pleasant, indifferent or unpleasant, a living organism will show a tendency to repeat a given behavioral act, not attach any significance to it, or avoid its repetition in the future.” A person is able to foresee the possible consequences of his behavior and avoid those actions and situations that can lead to negative consequences for him. A person subjectively assesses the likelihood of certain consequences occurring; the higher the subjective probability of negative consequences occurring, the more strongly it influences human behavior (the law of subjective assessment of the probability of consequences). Subjective assessment of the probability of the occurrence of one or another: l

consequences after a person’s reactions may not coincide with the objective probability of these consequences, but behavior is influenced by the subjective probability, the way it seems to a person, therefore one of the ways to influence a person’s behavior is “escalating the situation,” “intimidation,” “exaggerating the likelihood of negative consequences " If it seems to a person that the likelihood of negative consequences after any of his reactions is insignificant, then he is ready to “risk” and make this reaction.

F. Allport was the first to extend the principles of behaviorism to the field of social psychology in the United States. According to Allport, social stimuli in the interaction of people are speech, gestures, facial expressions, actions, and somatic reactions. And social reactions include imitation, sympathy, contagious reactions in the crowd, and work done together.

In recent decades, developing the ideas of classical behaviorism, a social-cognitive direction has emerged. Its representatives Albert Bandura and Julian Rotter showed that although human behavior is influenced by the environment, people also play an active role in creating the social environment. People are active participants in the events that affect their lives, and learning occurs not only through direct experience and external reinforcement, external events, but also human behavior can be shaped through observation or based on examples.

Albert Bandura suggested that new behavior can arise not only as a result of spontaneous instrumental activity (as Skinner believed), but also as a result of imitation, as well as as a result of verbal (verbal) instruction. The first form of learning is characteristic of both humans and animals. Learning through verbal instructions is a purely human acquisition, a consequence of the social life of people.

Bandura believed that people copy what they see around them. Behavior from the environment of a child, teenager, or adult acts as a model for imitation and copying. Learning new behavior depends on the behavior of people around a person and on the social environment. At first, a person copies the behavior of his parents, then classmates and teachers, television characters, spouses and TV series characters.

A person’s behavior is influenced by his personality type, his “locus” of control: external or internal, whether he feels like a “pawn” or believes that achieving his goals depends on his own efforts. Externals

They place responsibility for all events that happen to them on other people and external circumstances.
Internals
consider themselves responsible for all the good and bad events in their lives.
Externals are more easily influenced and externally controlled; their behavior is more easily programmed by changing external influences, situations, incentives and reinforcements, since they are initially more dependent on external circumstances. Thus, from the position of behaviorism, a person is a kind of biorobot, whose behavior can be controlled by forming and reinforcing certain reactions (without taking into account the consciousness and opinion of a person) due to external influences: changing incentives, reinforcements, the likelihood of consequences, giving external models of behavior to follow .
Social learning theory shows that reward and punishment are not sufficient to teach new behavior. Learning through imitation, emulation, identification is the most important form of learning. Identification is a process in which a person borrows thoughts, feelings and actions from another person who acts as a model. People can learn by observing, or reading, or hearing about other people's behavior. A person observes what others do, and then repeats these actions - learning through observation or example (A. Bandura).

The mechanisms of imitation and copying in the social environment, on the one hand, maintain constancy, on the other hand, contribute to changes in the environment due to the emergence of new, frequently occurring forms of behavior (fashion phenomenon). Any perceived, accessible and attractive behavior can be copied. Aggressive behavior is copied just as successfully as prosocial behavior.

In his social-cognitive theory, A. Bandura notes that although human behavior is influenced by the external and social environment, it is also partly a product of human activity, that is, people can change the environment with their behavior and can have some influence on their environment and own behavior. A person is able to symbolically imagine and understand the consequences, the outcome of his actions, take the necessary precautions in advance, form images of desired future results and behavioral strategies aimed at achieving the desired results (a person’s ability to self-regulate, to learn through observation and modeling).

People form an image of a certain behavioral response through observing the behavior of a model, and then this encoded information serves as a guide in their actions. The behavior of the model is stored in a person's memory through figurative encoding (mental visual images) and verbal encoding (while observing the model, a person can repeat to himself what she is doing). People can benefit from observing the successes and failures of others as much as from their own direct experience.

The media play a major role in the mechanisms of learning new behavior. Copying mechanisms are used for advertising and commercial purposes, and less often for educational purposes.

People are capable of evaluating their own behavior and rewarding, criticizing, or punishing themselves (Bandura called this process self-reinforcement, that is, people reward themselves with rewards over which they have power whenever they achieve a self-established standard of behavior).

American psychologist Martin Seligman created a very interesting theory, which was called the “learned helplessness theory.” The essence of the theory is that helplessness is caused not by unpleasant events themselves, but by the experience of their uncontrollability. A living being becomes helpless if it gets used to the fact that nothing depends on its behavior in cases where it is impossible to influence the occurrence of unpleasant situations. It was also discovered that a person can learn to be helpless simply by observing the helplessness of others.

Ellen Langer conducted experiments with elderly people in a private hospital and had the opportunity to change something in the lives of these people.

On two different floors, she gave people two almost identical instructions, differing only in the degree of possibility in which older people could change something in the surrounding reality. One instruction gave people a choice and went something like this: “I want you to learn about everything you can do for yourself here in this clinic. You can choose either an omelet or scrambled eggs for breakfast. There will be a movie on Wednesdays or Thursdays, but you need to sign up in advance. In the garden you can choose flowers for your room, you can choose whatever you want, but you must water your flowers yourself.”

The second instruction for residents of another floor sounded slightly different: “I want you to know about the good deeds that we do for you here in our clinic. For breakfast there is an omelet or scrambled eggs. We cook omelettes on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and scrambled eggs on other days. The cinema is on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday for those who live in the left wing, and on Thursday - for those living in the right. Flowers for your rooms grow in the garden. The sister will choose a flower for everyone and will take care of it herself.”

According to these instructions, it turned out that the inhabitants of one of the floors of the nursing home could manage their lives; on the other floor, people received the same thing, but without the opportunity to influence their choice.

Eighteen months later, Ellen Langer returned to the clinic and found that the choice group was more active and happier. The results were obtained using special rating scales. It was also found that fewer people died in this group than in the other. Thus, it can be assumed that the possibility of choice and control over the situation can save lives, but helplessness can kill.

In addition to the learning process, behaviorists also studied the socialization of children, their acquisition of social experience and behavioral norms of the circle to which they belong. George Mead (1863-1931), American scientist, is the author of the concept called social behaviorism. D. Mead believed that a child’s personality is formed in the process of his interaction with others.

When communicating with different people, the child plays different roles. The child’s personality is a combination of the various roles that he tries on. Play is of great importance both in the formation and in the awareness of these roles. Depending on expectations and past experience (observations of parents, acquaintances), children play the same roles in different ways. Of interest are studies of asocial (aggressive) and prosocial (socially acceptable) behavior undertaken by psychologists in this area. D. Dollard developed the theory of frustration. Frustration

- behavioral disorder caused by the inability to cope with difficulties. According to Dollard's theory, inhibiting mild expressions of aggressiveness that are the result of past frustrations can lead to aggressiveness in adulthood.

Behaviorism considers abnormal behavior as a result of learning, i.e. external environmental factors and upbringing cause abnormal behavior. Therefore, mental disorders can be corrected and eliminated in accordance with the general laws identified by behaviorists. Behavioral therapy is aimed at removing inadequate human reactions and forming more adequate behavioral reactions (without delving into the reasons that caused these inadequate reactions, without being interested in the person’s opinions and thoughts).

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From study to application

After Staats demonstrated his experiments to the world, the basics of the behavioral approach immediately became the basis for adjusting the behavior of various groups of individuals. In essence, theory was turned into practice - and nothing more. In the course of such manipulations, a new area of ​​practical knowledge emerged - applied behavior analysis. It is based on the principles of radical behaviorism, with the help of which reactions to certain stimuli in a particular person or group of people are corrected. These are the so-called behavioral approach techniques, of which there are countless. Let's list some of them. So, using radical behaviorism, you can control and change:

• Autism spectrum disorders.
• Conservation of natural resources.
• Physical education and a healthy lifestyle.
• Language learning.
• Medicine.
• Parenting.
• The fight against drugs.
• Attitude towards animals.
• Leadership and management sphere.

In a word, the technique of radical behaviorism can be applied absolutely everywhere, and the influence can be exerted both on a specific individual and on a group of people.

Methodology

This section is also called behavioral therapy and is very often used in practical psychology to correct certain human reactions and habits. The therapy is based on conditioning and learning. By following certain methods of the behavioral approach, you can completely change the map of your own actions and actions, and become a different person. Thanks to these techniques, they get rid of bad habits, acquire new skills and inclinations, and begin to look at the world in a new way and interact with it differently. The methodology was first successfully put into practice by Watson's students at the end of the 19th century. They taught children not to be afraid of animals. The following techniques were involved in this process, which remain relevant to this day.

Learning and Assimilation

An unshakable foundation that allows you to change your behavior as much as possible or get rid of a bad habit. The method is based on a model - it can be an idol, a figurine or symbol, a film, a story, an action or a staged performance. The type of illustrative example is chosen depending on who exactly the psychologist is working with. Let’s say a child starts smoking, but at the same time becomes interested in the work of specific musicians, and they, in turn, support a healthy lifestyle. The psychologist reminds the teenager that even his idols do not do this, and he, imitating the model, weanes himself from the bad habit. Similarly, you can accustom a person to something, for example, to study more or learn a foreign language.

It is important to note that in this work it is necessary to use a reward system. In the standard version, for children these are sweets, for adults - valuable things or money.

User status

User status is another way of behaviorally classifying customers based on how they relate to a product/company.

Below are some of the most common examples:

• Not a user.
• Potential client.
• First time purchase.
• Regular user.
• Defector (former client who switched to a competitor).

We can name a number of other possible statuses, which are classified depending on the specifics of the business.

For example, a company that gives customers a free trial of something might have a user category called "free trial user."

Use the right technology

Finally, without the right technology, it is virtually impossible to segment customers based on behavioral factors.

Advertising platforms like Google adwords or Facebook, as well as marketing automation systems, are all examples of tools you can (and should) use to analyze, segment, and target customers based on their behavior.

However, these tools are only able to identify a subset of the parameters and characteristics described in this article. They do not provide customer data integration and unification, machine learning, or predictive analytics capabilities.

Customer journey analytics is a much more robust approach. Creating a Customer journey map makes it easy to classify customers by behavioral segments, which allows you to determine the optimal interaction strategy for each customer and evaluate the impact of each customer segment on key indicators and efficiency.

All in your hands

Behavioral segmentation is a method of segmenting customers by behavior so you can better understand them and interact more effectively throughout their journey.

By using the ten behavioral segmentation techniques described above, you can improve the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, increase your ROI, increase customer lifetime value, and deepen your knowledge of your customer base. You can do behavioral segmentation yourself or consider the services of a marketing agency.

How do you segment your clients? What behavioral segmentation methods do you use?

Unlearning

A much more stringent method in behavioral therapy, which is based on the explicit avoidance of one or another factor that should be gotten rid of. Using the same system of rewards for positive actions and a system of punishments and fines for negative ones, a person gradually begins to lose the habit of doing what he should not do. The most interesting thing is that the unlearning technique can be effective not only on the mental or psychological level, but also on the physical. A clear example from the first area is alcoholism. When a person begins to drink alcohol, the process should be accompanied by an extremely unpleasant odor that causes vomiting. Gradually, alcohol will begin to be associated with just such negative feelings. An example from physiology is enuresis. A special device is attached to the patient, which reacts to the appearance of urine. At the same moment, the patient awakens and realizes that he is urinating.

Elimination

A very effective method that has become widely known as systematic desensitization. Its essence is that fear or phobia is suppressed by a state of relaxation. Let's say a person is very afraid of heights and, being on the roof of a skyscraper, begins to experience not only conscious anxiety. His body begins to react to fear: muscles contract, pulse quickens, blood pressure rises. So the body and consciousness unite in a state of horror, and the person finds himself completely paralyzed in front of his phobia. If you break this connection, the fear will dry up, and this can be done either by teaching your consciousness not to notice the height (which is almost unrealistic, because it decided to be afraid of this phenomenon), or by relaxing physically. The second option is simpler to implement. Therefore, a person is deliberately placed in the environment where he feels the greatest anxiety, and at the same time, with the help of medications or certain psychological manipulations, his muscular corset is relaxed and his cardiac indicators are reduced. Gradually the fear completely disappears.

Stages of the customer journey

Where is the new or existing customer in their journey?

Segmenting customers by stages of the journey allows you to build communications and personalize the offer, which helps increase conversion at each stage. In addition, you will be able to discover the stages where customers encounter obstacles, which will allow you to identify the biggest ones and find ways to overcome them.

But segmenting customers by stage of their journey is not as simple as it might seem at first glance.

A common misconception is that one look at purchasing behavior or a single interaction with a customer is enough to accurately determine where a customer is currently in the journey.

Example of a misconception: “A customer viewed this content and clicked on an ad, so they are at the ____________ stage.”

In most cases, one or two behavioral points are not enough to accurately determine the current stage of the customer journey. It's important to remember that customers at different stages of the journey interact differently with content that is shown in a particular order on different channels at different times.

The most effective way to accurately determine the current stage of the customer journey is to use all customer behavioral data across channels and touchpoints to build weighted algorithms based on patterns of behavior over time.

By studying behavior using algorithms built from previous purchase experiences, you can see which stage of the journey is most likely for a particular customer at this time.

Also, don't make the mistake of assuming that customers will just naturally move to the next step in their journey over time. The stages of the customer journey, in fact, are located in a more chaotic order than they are usually depicted in diagrams.

If you have an annual Subscription and you assume that the customer has moved from the comparison stage to the decision stage to subscribe for a year, you may be grossly misled when it comes time to upgrade. Again, behavioral data is the only way to know the truth, or at least get as close to it as possible.

Becoming a different person

After reading all of the above, we can conclude that your behavior, your character and habits can be radically changed. Anyone can get rid of the harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol, their fears, illnesses and other things that may bother and cause discomfort. The technique is universal and can be used by both people with certain problems and those who simply want to change something in their lives and become better. The most interesting segment is the application of a behavioral approach to the management of society, organization, finance, etc. In other words, this is the development of leadership qualities, strengthening oneself as an individual.

McGregor's works

The first scientist who managed to introduce behaviorism into the field of management was Douglas McGregor. According to his interpretation, the behavioral approach to leadership is nothing more than a careful study of the habits and actions of a particular “boss” and imitation of them. There are certain specific features in the behavior of each leader that unite this category of people:

• High intelligence.
• Self confidence.
• Certain socioeconomic status.
• Responsibility.
• Communication skills.
• Objectivity.

In all other respects, the qualities of a leader are determined by the organization or group of people that he “possesses.” An equally important factor is the environment - for example, the leader of an agricultural community will know a lot about agriculture, but at the same time will not be able to remember any of the presidents of America, and the leader of a financial organization will be well versed in the economic sphere, in the sociological sphere, in banking, and even in legal, but is unlikely to be able to competently grow watermelon or potatoes. That is, each pot has its own top.

Types of leaders

In the behavioral approach to leadership, McGregor identified two theories - X and Y. They are like two types of leader, and each of the theories is applicable in all spheres of activity: both agricultural and economic.

• Theory X - authoritarianism and despotism. The implication is that people initially do not want to work and are shirking in every possible way. They do not need acts of ambition, but crave security. For such people to work, strict control and a system of punishments and threats are necessary.
• Theory Y - democracy and integration. Labor is the basis of every person’s life, in it he realizes himself. Under favorable conditions, each employee will be able to take on part of the responsibility and independently strive for success. Introducing people to simple and understandable rules and common goals allows each of them to control themselves. As a result, the leader only combines all the achievements of the employees and corrects the blots. The team works holistically, and the result exceeds all expectations.

Features of the development of the behavioral sphere of preschool children with intellectual disabilities

Tatyana Efremova

Features of the development of the behavioral sphere of preschool children with intellectual disabilities

The problem of development of the behavioral sphere of preschool children with intellectual disabilities becomes more relevant and significant from year to year. This is due to the fact that the physical and psychological health of a child is closely related to the characteristics of his behavior . In addition, the social adaptation of children with intellectual disabilities is always determined not only by the depth of mental underdevelopment , but also by the characteristics of the behavioral sphere .

Behavior is considered as an external manifestation of human activity; it is a constantly changing system of interaction between the subject and the world. The formation of the personality of a child with an intellectual disability occurs in the process of accumulating his life experience: interacting with the world around him, socializing in it, the child masters socially acceptable forms of behavior , natural behavior gradually turns into cultural behavior.

It should be remembered that intellectual impairment is a persistent , irreversible impairment of cognitive activity caused by organic damage to the brain. However, A. A. Kataeva, E. A. Strebeleva note that this generalized concept includes phenomena that are very heterogeneous from a clinical point of view. Despite the fact that the leading symptom is diffuse damage to the cerebral cortex, individual (local)

lesions, which leads to a variety
of disorders in the development of mental , especially higher cognitive, processes (perception, memory, verbal-logical thinking, speech, etc.)
and the emotional
sphere (increased excitability or, conversely, inertia, lethargy)
.

A. N. Kosymova points out that in children with intellectual disabilities, the implementation of tasks to educate normative behavior is complicated . The main reasons: severe cerebral insufficiency, retardation in the development of the nervous system , low capabilities for voluntary regulation of activity and behavior . Affective and behavioral are common characteristics of children with intellectual disabilities . In children of this category, activity and orientation are reduced, the system of needs is shifted towards strengthening primitive, physiological needs.

A. A. Kataeva, E. A. Strebeleva indicate that intellectual impairment leads to a violation of the emotional-volitional sphere , which also affects the behavioral sphere . Disturbances in the emotional sphere of preschoolers are accompanied by mental discomfort, fears, and feelings of inferiority. Poverty in the expression of feelings, superficiality , instability of feelings, on the one hand, on the other, acute affectivity, aggressiveness, egoistic tendencies, low communication capabilities and inability to empathy .

In classes, preschoolers with intellectual disabilities are much more often distracted by surrounding objects than their typically developing peers , constantly break the rules in didactic games, switch from one subject to another in free play (depending on what comes to hand, and do not retain the plot games.

Children with intellectual disabilities have poor control of their behavior and lag behind in the level of development of volition . They themselves cannot find means of behavior that would allow them to restrain impulsive movements and manage their own actions. The low level of voluntary regulation in preschoolers with intellectual disabilities is explained by the insufficient development of their self-awareness , the inability to somehow relate to themselves and their actions.

D. N. Isaev describes the following types of psychopathic behavioral disorders in children with intellectual disabilities :

– affectively-excitable type, which is characterized by violent outbursts of anger at insults and upsets, great impatience, mood swings, and a tendency to react in protest;

– asthenic type, characterized by primitive depressive reactions arising from one’s own defect and associated failures and disappointments, infantile reactions of refusal;

– unstable type, manifested by easy subordination, imitation of negative patterns of behavior , dependence on others;

– dysphoric type, characterized by angry tension, gloomy irritability, a tendency to aggression and self-aggression, and destructive actions.

L. B. Baryaeva, O. P. Gavrilushkina, A. P. Zarin, N. D. Sokolova distinguish two groups of behavioral manifestations in preschool children with intellectual disabilities , which are polar in nature: hyperactivity and hypoactivity.

Hyperactive children from an early age are restless, irritable, and capricious. They manifest themselves as extremely noisy and inadequate. The behavior of these children is characterized by impulsiveness, motor restlessness, and extreme instability of voluntary attention. The emotions of these children are unstable, labile, changeable. Increased tearfulness is noted, and some have a tendency to sharp affective outbursts.

Hypoactive children demonstrate a sharply opposite form of behavior . They are extremely slow, need constant stimulation for activity, and are passive in classes. In inert children, sluggish reactions predominate against the general background of behavior . They are involved in any activity only after the teacher repeats the task and additionally “stimulates”

child in the process of completing it. Such passive children in a group are usually disciplined, calm, and efficient. They often react to changed external conditions by withdrawing even more into themselves.

D. N. Isaev considers several groups of children depending on their mental characteristics and behavior :

1. Balanced children. They are characterized by relatively calm and balanced behavior . They are quite active, do not show large deviations in the emotional-volitional sphere , affective reactions are episodic in nature, and there are no persistent manifestations of pathological drives. Their circle of contacts is limited. Positively receptive to pedagogical influence (through persuasion, conversations, reprimands)

. You should not often use praise for this category of children - this can create inflated self-esteem. Praise should be addressed to several children at the same time, which will prevent the emergence of a feeling of superiority over others.

2. Inhibited children. They are not sociable, lack initiative, lack self-confidence, and are not efficient. Lethargic and inactive, often emotionally deprived, indifferent to the world around them; they react poorly to comments. They do not want to take part in games or general activities with children, but, as a rule, they fulfill the requests of adults. They need additional stimulation: more frequent appeals to them, requests, individual developmental tasks taking into account the interests and inclinations of the child, involvement in general games, constant approval and emotional assessment of their successes, even minor ones.

3. Easily excitable children. Show persistent (increased)

affective excitability, disinhibition, mental instability.
Their behavior combines impulsiveness with increased suggestibility and control. The main motives of behavioral reactions are pleasure or imitation, the inability to resist external influence: they easily and thoughtlessly give in to any advice, example, call;
quickly find themselves subordinate to leaders with stronger character; characterized by increased energy; physically tireless, physically active. behavioral reactions of preschoolers with intellectual disabilities based on a variety of psychogenic and traumatic factors. There is no complete list of them due to the individual characteristics of each child and his response to psychogenic influence. Yes, “harmless”

For some, the situation may be
“shocking”
factor, sometimes changing the entire subsequent life of a person, for others.

Thus, the behavioral sphere of preschoolers with intellectual disabilities , which is formed against the backdrop of a complex of consequences of an organic defect, has a number of features : the presence of behavioral stereotypes , the inability to spontaneous and flexible voluntary behavior , the inability to act adequately in accordance with one’s own goals, the inability to assist and constructive cooperation, closedness to new behavioral experiences . The peculiarities of the psychophysical development of mentally retarded children give originality to their behavioral sphere and distort the adequate assimilation and implementation of moral norms and rules of behavior .

Which theory is truer?

There is no and cannot be a correct answer to this question. Both theories are equally correct, and the correctness of one or the other depends on the mentality of people, their abilities and skills, experience and type of activity. In fact, there are still organizations that practice authoritarian leadership systems. Many employees are really simply not accustomed to order and self-control; they refuse to work in every possible way, so for such mistakes they need to be fined and subject to penalties. As a rule, people with a low level of intelligence behave this way, and this phenomenon occurs mostly in underdeveloped countries. A more progressive society most often works according to scheme Y - that is, the boss is part of the team, a connecting link, and not a Cerberus. Each of the employees understands perfectly well that the success of the company will in any case affect his success, so he is not lazy, but works and makes every effort to do this, using creativity and practical skills.