Applied psychology and its tasks

Applied psychology is a term that unites branches and sections of psychology focused on solving various practical problems. Applied psychology includes engineering, economic, educational psychology, psychology of family and everyday life, psychology of sports, labor, management; military, space, medical psychology, etc.

Definition 1

Applied science, therefore, is a vast, extensive network of psychological disciplines and industries.

Features of applied psychology

In applied psychology of the 21st century there are three branches:

Test diagnostics. Diagnostics, as a research method, originated in 1884. F. Galton, the creator of the method, organized the measurement of physiological parameters of volunteers by passing a series of measurements - tests.
Psychology of work. Studies of working conditions began in the 20th century, in light industrial factories. Leading researchers were E. Claparède, G. Hall, G. Munstenberg.
Clinical psychology. Originated at the beginning of the 20th century. The scientific basis for the new industry was developed by L. Witmer and E. Kraepelin.

The application of this section of social sciences is diverse: solving diverse problems, improving approaches to the development of individual spheres of human activity. Typical tasks include:

diagnostics using tests;
studying the needs of social groups;
counseling, therapy;
forecasting options for the development of society;
development of reforms and social projects.

Forms of application of the industry include interpretation and intervention. The first deals with the analysis and characterization of factors, the second reveals the characteristics of psychological behavior, from education to direct assistance.

The main task

A person, constantly being in society and interacting with other people, needs psychological support. Experts say that such assistance is not inferior to the social and economic needs of a person in terms of relevance. Subjectively, the level of psychological support is considered by a person as a criterion for determining the quality of life.

The main sector in society is people. Its development has a direct impact on progress in other spheres of society. The highest goal of society is the development of human creative potential. From this point of view, applied psychology is aimed at solving the following specific problems:

Providing psychological assistance in crisis situations.
Recommendations for further independent growth.
Psychological support at certain stages of life or social path.
Identifying problematic aspects in the psyche and helping to overcome them.
Development of psychological culture of the broad masses.
Improving work systems in these areas.
Improving the professional skills of the specialist himself.

These and other important tasks require diverse activities in areas that will be discussed below.

Sections of science

The definition of a scientific field includes three related fields:

Clinical. She studies disorders: the history of development, forms and types of diseases, diagnostic and therapeutic methods, and preventive measures.
Organizational. Explores the professional characteristics of individual fields: medical, military, engineering, production.
Social. Studies the field of advertising and media. Affects the economy, leisure, ecology, culture.

The sections are closely intertwined and use the same information base, but their development is uneven.

Directions

The famous psychotherapist Carl Jung believed that a psychologist for a patient is like someone who leads him along an unknown route, relying entirely on his professionalism. For these purposes, he carries out extensive work of a diagnostic, analytical and therapeutic nature. All these areas are closely interconnected. The main ones are:

Prevention. Work at this stage is aimed at preventing disorientation in educational institutions and in the team. In this aspect, applied psychology and pedagogy must work together. The essence of the activity comes down to creating a favorable psychological climate, uniting group members and relieving psychological stress.
Diagnostics involves collecting information about the object or group being studied and drawing up a psychological picture.
Correction is a set of influences on certain areas of the object’s psyche.
In applied tasks of psychology, the priority is counseling, the purpose of which is to develop a person’s skills for orientation in problem situations.
Psychotherapy, the purpose of which is to provide medication and correctional assistance in the presence of significant psychological problems.

Application organization

The organizational design of labor complexes is expressed in the following provisions:

Design is the basis of management. The key to the existence and development of a company is a project - a combination of ways to achieve a goal, methods for solving management problems, and means of labor optimization.
A project includes a goal. A goal is understood as a given general view of a developed company or a series of actions that should lead to its achievement.
Design is implemented jointly. For the correct implementation of the project, it is necessary to include all management segments at different levels. The more efficiently the subjects at lower levels work, the higher the overall performance.
Among the projects, typical ones stand out. These include projects that are implemented in various fields of activity. First of all, these are projects aimed at improving social working conditions, realizing staff capabilities, and meeting needs. In the 20th century, the priority of design was technical capabilities; modern science is engaged in adapting a technical system to a social one.

The basis of the project management scheme is the type of subordinate. D. McGregor identifies two leading types: X and Y.

Type X subordinate needs constant external supervision from the manager. He does not show initiative, is devoid of ambition and ambition. He works not because he strives for self-realization, but in order to avoid sanctions (fines and dismissal) and receive a reward (bonus). Therefore, the manager’s task is to direct and control the work process.

The Type U subordinate sees work as an opportunity for creative and personal fulfillment. He is ready to work independently, be creative, and strives to solve complex problems. Interest in the results of work does not allow him to work irresponsibly. The main task of a manager is to create an opportunity for his subordinate to realize his creative potential.

In Japan, which is focused on corporate work, there is a third type of subordinate - Kommersant. It is based on the high loyalty of employees to the company. Workers of this type tend to perceive work as the only and necessary opportunity for self-realization. Working for the benefit of society becomes the highest value for them, and being an employee of a certain company becomes a source of pride.

Educational psychology as an applied direction of the scientific field

Definition 4

Educational psychology is one of the applied areas of scientific knowledge. The focus of her attention is on the aspects, mechanisms and patterns of training and education of the individual. The sections of this scientific direction include the psychology of teaching, upbringing, teacher psychology, psychology of the educational process with children with special needs, with abnormal children.

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Within the framework of educational psychology, issues of managing the educational process, the processes of knowledge acquisition, the formation of key competencies, methods of implementing intellectual activity, and the formation of students’ thinking are considered. This scientific direction reveals the features and patterns of relationships between participants in the educational process with each other, explores the individual psychological characteristics of students, etc.

Development of science

A study of the ways of development of science shows that among the forms of applied psychology, clinical psychology receives the greatest development. In the 21st century, according to US and European studies, more than 40% of specialists are engaged in the clinical sector. The second most popular area of activity is private consulting. Its pace of development suggests an imminent change in leadership positions and the introduction of private psychology into everyday practice.

Such indicators are associated with the relevance of requests - the psychological field of activity has become in demand under the influence of social changes. This is partly due to the political course aimed at meeting the individual needs of members of society, but to a greater extent - with the dissemination of information, and the subsequent increase in self-requests.

Task levels

Each science develops in two directions: enrichment of the theoretical part with new discoveries and practical application, from which each user benefits. Psychology in this regard takes a leading position, since its aspects directly affect every person: problems in relationships with other people, reactions to certain situations, personal failures of a person, etc.

If a person can obtain a certain part of knowledge on his own, then for a deeper and more detailed analysis a specialist with extensive knowledge will be required. Based on these features, the principles of practical psychology are identified.

Practice questions are an individual challenge that arises when a person visits a specialist and shares their problem.
Applied problems are relevant for the full functioning of individual societies. For example, when drawing up training programs, introducing recommendations and training programs.
Research activities are aimed at developing a methodological basis for the work of specialists in the field of psychology.

In economics and business

If we consider the psychological component of economics and business, then numerous commercial trainings and coaching sessions aimed at setting a person up for success immediately come to mind. Everyone knows that motivation is the engine of any process. An entire industry of methodological training has been built around it. But the applied aspect of psychology in the field of economics and business is much deeper:

Adaptation of personnel to new working conditions.
Helping a specific person when economic conditions change.
Assistance in creating an effective management structure at the enterprise.
Training managers in effective ways of communication both with clients and in relation to subordinates.
Conflict resolution skills.
Applied social psychology in commercial and social advertising.

The mysticism of modern science

In the 20th century, physics conducted the famous 2-slit experiment. It needs to be explained a little. Physicists are funny guys and love to double-check everything and question everything around them.

Once they decided to test the theory that electrons are particles. They took a conditional barrier, something like a rectangular piece of plywood with 2 holes in the middle, and began to “shoot” electrons right between them, like grains of sand.

The interesting thing is that they expected to get the image as with a normal flashlight through 2 holes, that is, to get 2 illuminated points behind this plywood.

And we got something mystical! It turned out that the electron behaves like a wave! “On the wall” behind the “plywood” there was a whole set of illuminated places, and not 2 spots.

Naturally, the first thoughts were that this was a revolution, it was impossible, it was the same as if a person began to fly with the help of his hands. The experiment was made public and it was repeated, but this time, a counter was placed at the holes in the plywood to understand what was happening in this microcosm and how the electrons flew through to form such a picture. The result raised even more questions! They got the usual normal illuminated place, 2 spots behind the plywood. Trolling physicists. They again removed the observer - the counter and began to monitor what was happening. And, lo and behold! The electron again behaved like a wave.

This experiment showed that if we observe reality, we change it! If we look blankly at a flower, then we influence it. And without our gaze, he would have lived differently. Remember that when there is no observer, the electron behaves like a wave, and when there is, it trolls and becomes a particle. A wave, in this context, represents a set of probabilities.

That is, where the electron would fly in theory. For example, you are walking in the park, you 100% change his reality with just your presence and observation, but you are not there, and he will behave in the “most likely” way. If there is a 10% chance that it will rain, then it will stay that way. If you are in the park, the probability will change! This physical experiment proved that this is what happens in the quantum world.

What is even more strange and even frightening is that the world is real only when something acts on it, otherwise, it develops many realities in parallel, with varying degrees of probability, but you begin to influence it and it chooses the most likely reality.

A few years ago, a somewhat mystical experiment was also carried out, only this time not at the level of electrons, but on something that can be touched with your hands - on an aluminum plate that was securely fastened. We won’t go into detail, but the point is that after each measurement of its location, it changed! Not only did it change, but this record also changed the temperature.

This knowledge of physics begins to penetrate into practical psychology. She's finally starting to have some tangible evidence.

Nowadays, the concepts and methods of social psychology are of great practical importance. The need for social and psychological research in modern society arises in many areas of public life: in the sphere of economic relations, in the media, politics, and the service sector. In recent years, a psychologist can be found in an advertising agency, a bank, the headquarters of a political party, or a state committee. Practical socio-psychological centers and firms are appearing.

Specialists in pedagogy, law, and medicine also turn to social psychology. There are great opportunities for using applied psychology in the media: print, television, radio. Work in this area may concern problems of the effectiveness of perception of certain messages, the impression that a person makes.

Social psychology in various applied issues is becoming one of the most popular branches of modern psychology. Over the last quarter of the 20th century, for example, the number of periodicals on social psychology more than doubled (Myers). Various possibilities for using practical social psychology in modern conditions were found by employees of the Department of Social Psychology at Moscow University (Zhukov, Petrovskaya, Solovyova et al., 1999).

Famous Russian psychologist B.D. Parygin identifies the following areas of practical application of social psychology as a science: economics, law, politics, everyday life, science, art, religion, philosophy. Currently, such areas of applied social psychology as the psychology of production, management, trade and advertising, political psychology, and the psychology of religion are being developed in our country and abroad.

Industrial production

was one of the main customers for applied socio-psychological research. Although the problems of production management can be attributed to the general problems of management psychology, the social psychology of an industrial enterprise still has its own range of issues, primarily the problems of forming production teams.

The psychological climate can be revealed by identifying at least three series of relationships:

1. vertical relationships between team members (management, perception of the leader by the team and, conversely, the degree of participation in management, satisfaction with the degree);

2. horizontal relationships between team members (team cohesion, the nature of interpersonal relationships, types and methods of conflict resolution);

3. attitude towards work (job satisfaction, team performance, etc.) (Rusalinova, 1977).

Since the manifestations of the psychological climate are diverse both in the behavior of people and in the various systems of their relationships, there is and cannot be any single methodology for studying the psychological climate. Almost all known social psychology techniques are used in this case. In each specific situation, a social psychologist creatively approaches the compilation of a set of techniques. He can combine observation techniques, interviews, sociometry, polar profiles, various methods of diagnosing a group, special techniques for establishing a leadership style, etc. The professional training of a psychologist working at an industrial enterprise is different in that he is able to determine the necessary set of methodological research tools.

In the field of horizontal relations, there is usually a study of the nature of business relationships between team members (demandingness, mutual assistance, competition, forms and methods of organizing joint activities), as well as interpersonal relationships (traditionally, the system of positive and negative emotional connections, the psychological status of each team member, system of assessments and self-assessments of group members).

A unique cross-cutting topic in applied research is the problem of management.

Social psychology has its own rather clearly defined aspect here (Sventsitsky, 1986). One of the important parts of it is the question of the psychological qualities necessary for a leader.

The task of a psychologist working in the field of management is not just to conduct applied research on the proposed topics, but also a kind of propaganda of socio-psychological knowledge in order to formulate his problems. The point of this activity should be to explain to the customer what social psychology is able to offer him and so that these proposals are based on the actual capabilities of science. It is here that he must prove the necessity, possibility, and validity of a certain set of problems. Professional training obliges him to take an active position, based both on an understanding of the real problems of management and on a clear understanding of the possibilities of social psychology.

An independent set of problems in connection with management psychology is represented by a relatively new area of social psychology, called “organizational development.” This problem did not initially arise in the depths of social psychology; the most prominent sociologists and social psychologists took part in its creation: A. Maslow, F. Herzberg, K. Argyris, etc. Research in the field of organizational development began with advanced training of management personnel. During the course of this work, it became clear that it was not possible to provide higher qualifications to employees in isolation. The environment in which organizations operate has become so complex that the organization is forced to constantly adapt to changing conditions. But this means that the personnel training system must take into account changes in the organization, and take it into account in such a way as to create the best conditions for self-actualization of employees, without which it is impossible to increase the efficiency of the organization. On this basis, the concept of organizational development was born.

In the broadest sense of the word, organizational development means the creation of a special culture for the use of various technologies to improve the behavior of individuals and groups in an organization, especially with regard to decision making, conflict resolution, and the development of a communication network. In a narrower sense, organizational development involves ensuring conditions under which the organization becomes a self-renewing system, changing depending on changes in its goals, when a mechanism for continuous improvement of the structure has been developed taking into account the requirements of the organization’s growth and increasing its efficiency.

Along with this, the organizational development program also includes extensive work with personnel.

The psychologist is faced with the task of ensuring three types of changes: 1) “change” of people, which implies a change in the style of their behavior in accordance with new conditions in the organization, their qualifications, value orientations, etc.; 2) changes in management technologies, which includes improving methods of decision-making, team formation, etc.; 3) changing the structure of the organization itself, which involves changing its goals for better adaptation to changes in the external environment, improving the communication system, etc.

Media system

and propaganda cannot develop without relying on scientific research, including research by social psychologists, therefore the problems of social psychological research in this area are being developed quite actively. There are also successful examples of applying the results of these studies and applying their recommendations in practice (Bogomolova, ).

All components of the five-member formula that reveals the structure of the communication process are objects of applied research: communicator, message, audience, channel, effectiveness. In each of the groups of studies devoted to the study of a separate component, the most important and interesting topics were identified.

In general, the situation that has developed in the field of applied research in the sphere of mass communication and propaganda cannot be considered satisfactory: the importance of such research is recognized by both specialists and clients, especially in modern conditions, when the role of the media is increasing many times over. Social and psychological research in the field of mass communication is closely related to research in the field of advertising (Zazikin, 1992; Shirkov, 1994). Their revival in recent years is also noticeable in connection with new demands from practice. The forms of activity of a psychologist here are very diverse, and this work is relatively well supported by a fairly strong tradition of studying advertising in world social psychology.

In researching school problems,

traditionally carried out within the framework of pedagogy and educational psychology, social psychology is increasingly intruding. The whole range of problems of this discipline is presented in the field of education: communication, team functioning, intergroup relations, and socialization issues.

As in many other countries, the main tasks of the psychological service at school are assistance in ensuring the development of a healthy personality, correction of various kinds of difficulties in its development, problems of vocational guidance and much more. Naturally, school workers themselves, parents, and psychologists of various specializations, primarily in the field of developmental and educational psychology, take part in solving all these problems.

However, among the many problems and tasks that the psychological service at school has to solve, a block of socio-psychological problems itself emerges clearly. In the field of psychological education of teachers and parents, a social psychologist concentrates his attention on problems of communication, people’s perception of each other, problems of youth and intra-family conflicts, and the specifics of socialization for children of different sexes. In general, the need for psychological education as a type of activity of a practicing psychologist is most obvious in school; There are at least three types of groups that are completely different in nature: teachers, students and parents. Their interaction is especially complex, and a lack of psychological knowledge in any one of the groups can easily deregulate the entire interaction (Dubovskaya, Tikhomandritskaya, 1994).

In the field of prevention, the emphasis on social and psychological problems is intended to identify causes of dysfunctional behavior that are rooted in the family environment, peer groups, or arise as a result of the student’s difficulties in communicating with classmates. In this case, consulting work should be preceded by a study of the situation, and it can be carried out using socio-psychological methods. In particular, it would be necessary to highlight such issues as turning points in the socialization process (searches and crises of identity), the specifics of intergroup interaction at school (images of teacher and student, their formation; the relationship between the model of interaction in the team of school teachers and in class groups, etc. .).

One of the relatively new areas of application of social psychology is the field of scientific activity.

In the complex system of modern science, the organization and management of research constantly requires solving issues related to the psychological mechanisms and patterns of this system. The importance of collective forms of activity is increasing, and this largely breaks the stable stereotype of scientific creativity as the creativity of individual outstanding individuals, since the production of knowledge is the result of the work of many people at research “factories.” In accordance with this, the type of the initial social cell for the production of scientific knowledge changes significantly: if previously such a cell was a scientific school, now it is, rather, a research team. In such a team, extremely high integration of its members arises, and collective products of scientific creativity are increasingly born: group projects, group decisions, group expertise, etc. A small group becomes the subject of research work. The main problem facing here is identifying the specifics of this type of activity as “collective scientific activity.” For traditional psychology, this type of activity contains an obvious contradiction: this activity is both joint and creative, while in traditional psychology creative (and, accordingly, scientific) activity has always been considered as individual. The approach to solving these issues is contained in the “program-role approach” to the study of science, developed in domestic social psychology by M.G. Yaroshevsky. One of the main ideas of this concept is that in any scientific team the main scientific roles are identified: “generator”, “critic”, “erudite”, etc. A role profile is drawn for each employee, which is very specific, i.e. Each employee's contribution to the overall activity differs significantly from the contribution of each other.

Applied research and practical work of a social psychologist in the field of politics

- a relatively new field of activity in our country, although in general such experience in world social psychology has long been accumulated. The first works belonging to G. Lasswell date back to the 30s. A special branch of social psychological science is designated - “political psychology”, in the fundamental works of which a range of practical applications have been identified (M. Herman, I. Janis, W. Stone, P. Schaffner). The list of policy problems in the analysis of which there is a place for social psychology is obvious: these are the psychological factors in making political decisions, the psychological conditions for their perception; the role of personal characteristics and image of a politician; political socialization and much more. However, these problems are largely developed as theoretical.

It is important to be aware of the specific difficulties that face a psychologist working, for example, as a consultant to a major political figure (Gozman, 1994). Firstly, this is a combination of two qualities in politics: the ability (in particular, financial) to invite a psychologist and the desire to do this (i.e., understanding the importance of such work). Secondly, there is the issue of time for research and consultation, and access to data: policy decisions often have to be made in a short time frame, and some of the data is secret. Thirdly, a psychologist giving personal recommendations to a politician must, to one degree or another, share his concept, his views, i.e. The problem arises of correlating the professional and civic position of a psychologist. Fourthly, it is necessary to overcome the negative attitude towards psychological services in politics, which sometimes occurs among the public (“a politician should not live by tips”, etc.).

Nevertheless, awareness of the need for psychological support is gradually spreading among politicians. In our society, this awareness came along with radical transformations in various spheres of social life, with changes in economic and political structures, with the emergence of completely new relationships, including in the political sphere, for example, during election campaigns. Therefore, the problems and methods of work of a psychologist in this area are gradually emerging.

Generalizations of the first experiments of this kind made it possible to identify the following directions (Gozman, 1994).

1. Participation in the development and adoption of decisions (taking into account the factor of perception of these decisions by citizens).

2. The second direction of practical activity of a psychologist (as well as a sociologist) is a systematic analysis of the dynamics of public opinion. Here we are not talking about the attitude towards each specific decision, but about the general representation in the mass consciousness of certain political, economic and social realities.

3. The third direction is direct consultation of political figures before their public speeches. The work that is performed in this case is similar to the work in advertising: it is designated as creating an image, i.e. a certain image.

4. The fourth area of work is the creation of psychological portraits of opponents, and in a broader sense, psychological support for various types of negotiations.

These are the main modern directions in the practical application of social psychology.

Family psychology

The family is the unit of society. In psychology and the psychological sciences, many problems are considered in close connection with the client's family atmosphere. Applied branches of psychology help in solving the following problems:

Educational assistance in raising children.
Diagnosis of family relationships, correction of behavior of family members.
Regulation of marital relations.
Help in overcoming suicidal tendencies.
Help in developing skills to independently overcome crisis situations.
Formation of a positive attitude towards life.

In other words, theoretical and applied psychology in family matters is used to form harmonious relationships between all family members, maintaining the boundaries of everyone’s personal space.