Articles on psychology Social psychology Mental contagion - Gustave Le Bon
A person cannot fully exist outside of society. In practice, the social way of life is a characteristic feature of humanity at any time period. Joining a crowd gives an individual a feeling of security and confidence. Of course, any society has its own relationships based on different forms of psychological influence. Mental contamination is one of them.
The main mechanisms of this mental influence are defined as suggestion, persuasion, infection, imitation. It is on them that the structure of relations in society is built.
Concept of mental infection
Mental contagion is one of the main methods of integration and management of human group activity. This phenomenon goes back to the very origins of society, right up to the primitive communal system. In other words, mental infection is considered primary among mass mechanisms of influence. In addition to its ancient origin, infection is characterized by a multifaceted manifestation. Let's take a closer look at this phenomenon.
The basic definition of psychological contamination interprets it as the unconscious exposure of an individual to various mental influences. At the same time, the transmission of behavioral and psychological factors occurs at the emotional, subconscious level, and not at the conscious level of the individual.
In fact, one can consider mental infection as one of the methods of public indoctrination. One of the striking examples of mental infection is the action of such concepts and processes as prestige, advertising, norms of behavior, etc. Being in society, a person involuntarily submits to these manifestations of mental infection on a subconscious level.
In professional sociology, mental contagion is a set of processes of transferring the emotional mood of one individual along a chain to another (other) individual at a deep mental level of contact. In this case, a huge role is played by the charge, the degree of emotional mood of the source of influence: the brighter and deeper they are, the more effective and efficient the process of mental infection itself.
This is contagion in psychology. Infection
The Encyclopedia of Sociology gives the following definition of mental infection.
Mental contagion is a collective name for a number of events and phenomena of an individual mental and socio-psychological order in the behavior of people, the prerequisites for which are the mechanisms of suggestion and imitation. The determining factor for mental infection is the clear dominance of the emotional component of its implementation and manifestation. Mental contamination is closely connected with such a phenomenon as “fashion”, as well as with precedents for such phenomena as collective phobias (fears) of various types. The first attempt at a strictly sociological explanation of the phenomena of mental infection was carried out by G. Le Bon in his project for reconstructing the behavior of human “crowds” Sociology: Encyclopedia / Comp. A.A.Gritsanov, V.L.Abushenko, G.M.Evelkin, G.N.Sokolova, O.V.Tereshchenko. - Mn.: Book House, 2003.. According to Andreeva, infection has long been studied as a special method of influence that in a certain way integrates large masses of people, especially in connection with the emergence of such phenomena as religious ecstasies, mass psychoses, etc. The phenomenon of infection was known, apparently, at the earliest stages of human history and had diverse manifestations: massive outbreaks of various mental states that arise during ritual dances, sports excitement, situations of panic, etc.
Contagion can be defined as the unconscious, involuntary exposure of an individual to certain mental states. It manifests itself not through more or less conscious acceptance of some information or patterns of behavior, but through the transmission of a certain emotional state, or “mental mood” Parygin B.D. Fundamentals of socio-psychological theory. M.: Nauka, 1971, p. 10.. Since this emotional state occurs in the mass, a mechanism of multiple mutual reinforcement of the emotional effects of communicating people operates. The individual here does not experience organized deliberate pressure, but simply unconsciously assimilates patterns of someone’s behavior, only by obeying him. Many researchers have noted the presence of a special “contagion reaction” that occurs especially in large open audiences, when the emotional state is intensified through repeated reflection according to the usual chain reaction models. The effect takes place primarily in a disorganized community, most often in a crowd, which acts as a kind of accelerator that “accelerates” a certain emotional state of Andreeva G.M. Social Psychology. M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1988, p. 165..
The main characteristic signs of mental infection
Summarizing the above and other numerous established facts, we can say that the mechanism of mental infection is characterized by the following components:
- There is a direct dependence of the degree of influence on the quality and quantity of the action catalyst.
- The presence of a chain reaction effect of the process and mutual reinforcement (increase) of its magnitude. An example is infection with enthusiasm in any field of activity.
- The versatility of the manifestation of the process of mental infection.
- The dependence of the depth of mental infection on the level of development of the individual and society as a whole.
I would like to note the last point. The following pattern is observed - the higher the level of development of society and the individual in particular, the more difficult they are to be influenced in the form of mental infection and suggestion. In other words, their intelligence calls into question all behavioral factors emanating and imposed from the outside.
Infection belongs to a special method of psychological influence on a person in the process of communication and interaction, which is carried out not through consciousness and intellect, but through the emotional sphere of a person. It is one of the oldest methods of integrating group activities and is characterized by spontaneity, since it occurs primarily in situations of significant crowds of people - in stadiums, concert halls, carnivals, rallies, etc.
The sources of infection go back to ancient times, and its manifestations are extremely numerous: these are infectious ritual dances, initiations, and mass psychoses that cover a large number of people, and sports excitement or religious ecstasy, etc.
Under the conditions of mental infection, the process of transferring an emotional state from one person to another occurs primarily at an unconscious level. The point is that the sphere of consciousness during emotional contagion sharply narrows, criticality towards events and information coming from various sources is almost absent.
The psychology of contagion is characterized as an unconscious, involuntary tendency of a person to certain mental states.
In
social psychology, contagion is the process of transferring an emotional state from one individual to another at the level of mental contact.
Infection occurs through the transmission of a mental mood endowed with a large emotional charge. Researchers argue that infections are both a product of the influence on others of the great energy of the mental state of an individual or group, and a person’s ability to perceive, empathize with this state, and participate. The effectiveness of the power of mental infection lies in a direct dependence on the depth and brightness of emotional excitement coming from the communicator.
At the same time, the psychological readiness of the recipient for an emotional response to the corresponding influence is also significant. A strong catalyst for emotional arousal are explosive forms of expression of emotions generated by the positive or negative emotional state of people, in particular contagious laughter, crying, etc.
Research into the nature of mental contagion points to the fact of the presence of communicative contact between individuals that interact as the main catalyst for this phenomenon. Those. direct communication is an important feature of infection, and the strength of the increase in tension, which forms the mental background of infection, is directly dependent on the size of the audience and the degree of emotional stress of the communicator. As a result, some people become very quickly imbued with the mental state and emotional impact of others.
The mechanism of socio-psychological infection comes down to the effect of multiple mutual reinforcement of emotional impacts due to the fact that they seem to be reflected from many other individuals. The presence of a chain reaction of infection is observed in large open audiences, in an unorganized community, in a crowd.
Of course, the degree of infection of people or groups also depends on the general level of development of individuals, their mental state, age, emotional state, and, in general, on the level of development of their self-awareness.
In this regard, the well-known statement of researchers is that the higher the level of development of society, the more critical is the attitude of people towards certain forces that prompt them to certain actions or experiences. And so the effect of infection mechanisms becomes weaker. Still, the problem of infection does exist; moreover, it has not been sufficiently studied and, of course, requires detailed study, both at the theoretical and applied levels.
The constructive effect of contagion manifests itself in further strengthening group cohesion, and is also used as a means of compensating for insufficient organizational cohesion of the group. Thus, the contagion of enthusiasm can be observed in professional activities, i.e., if people are united by a common cause, then the successes of some infect others, causing the latter to become interested in the common activity.
The main characteristics of suggestion are considered to be a significant decrease in a person’s criticality towards the information that comes to him, the individual’s lack of desire to check its reliability, and unlimited trust in its sources. It is this trust that is the basis for the effectiveness of suggestion.
The source of suggestion can be a person, both an acquaintance and a complete stranger, as well as the media: press, television, radio, video, advertising, etc. Suggestion acts on the consciousness and subconscious of a person and that is why it can be a dangerous tool for manipulating human behavior .
So,
suggestion or suggestion (from the Latin Suggestio) is a process of influence on the mental sphere of a person, associated with a decrease in consciousness and criticality in the perception and implementation of external information, with a lack of desire to understand, analyze and evaluate it, with trust in the source of information.
As we see, the content of influence is directed not at the individual’s logic, his ability to think, analyze, evaluate, but at his readiness to receive instructions, orders, advice and act in the right direction. In this case, of course, the individual characteristics of the person on whom this kind of influence is directed are of great importance: his ability to think critically, make decisions independently, have strong convictions, his gender, age, emotional state, degree of suggestibility, etc.
A significant factor influencing the effectiveness of suggestion is the authority of the source of influence, his skills, status, volitional qualities, and preliminary installation. The effectiveness of suggestion is influenced by confident manners, a categorical tone, and the expressive intonation of the suggestor.
The effectiveness of suggestion is also determined by the relationship that develops between the suggestor (the one who suggests) and the sugerend (the one to whom the suggestion is directed). We are talking about trust, authority, dependence, etc. An indicator of the effect of suggestion is also the way the message is constructed, i.e. the level of argumentation and the nature of the combination of logical and emotional components are taken into account.
In social psychology, suggestion is considered primarily in two planes: as a spontaneous component of everyday communication and as a specially organized type of communicative influence, which is used in the media, fashion, advertising, etc.
An attempt to analyze suggestion from a socio-psychological point of view was made by B. Porshnev. Through the prism of the mechanisms of suggestion (suggestion) and counter-suggestion (countersuggestion), the scientist explains the development of the individual and humanity as a whole.
Thus, the author identifies suggestion with trust in the information conveyed by the communicator with the compliance of a particular person to external circumstances, with a person’s dependence on the coercive power of collective actions and ideas, with a means of group integration, and the preservation of established customs.
Countersugestion , on the contrary, is associated with distrust of information, disobedience to the prevailing state of affairs, it determines the birth of inner peace, individual independence, and is a tool for bringing about changes in society.
The unity of action of the mechanisms of suggestion and countersuggestion, according to the researcher, is a necessary moment in human development. Agreeing with B. Porshnev about the legitimacy, significance and value in the genesis of the historical process of his proposed concept of the interaction of suggestion and counter-suggestion, B. Parigin argues with the author on the question of the nature and essence of the phenomenon of suggestion itself.
In particular, the researcher does not fully agree with B. Porshnev, who considers suggestion as a variety or one of the types of infection, along with imitation. B. Parigin argues that although there are many similarities between infection and suggestion (they are methods of group integration, ways of uniting a community into one by creating a common mental state, which then develop into joint group and mass activity; these two phenomena have a large degree of mutual influence Each other).
However, one should not conclude that suggestion is only a type of infection for the following reasons:
- Unlike infection, which is a way for people to simultaneously empathize with a general mental state, suggestion not only does not provide for, but also does not presuppose the mental state of identical empathy for identical emotions and ideas by both participants in this process, i.e. inducer and recipient;
- The art of suggestion lies in the fact that it is somewhat one-sided, i.e. the one who inspires must infect others, to a certain extent, of course, infecting himself, but at the same time remain at a sufficiently high level of control at all times so as not to become completely infected himself;
- if infection as a process of interaction may not be personalized, which is the result of a spontaneous, spontaneous tonization of the mental state of a group or mass of people as a result of simple mental contact, then suggestion is a process of unilateral active and personalized influence of one individual on another or a group of people;
- if infection, which, in addition to speech influence, is often carried out non-verbally (dancing, music, games), then the suggestion is predominantly (with the exception of certain cases of hypnosis and telepathic communication) verbal in nature.
Based on the content and final result of the influence, suggestion is distinguished as positive and negative, ethical and unethical. Suggestion as a positive, moral factor is used in many areas of social relations. It is used as a method of activating group activities - production, educational, etc.
There are wide possibilities for using suggestion, in particular hypnosis, for medical purposes and in psychotherapy. At the same time, suggestion can also have a negative impact, which occurs when it becomes an instrument of deliberate and irresponsible manipulation of the consciousness of an individual or group of people.
Suggestion can be carried out in the form of heterosuggestion (influence from the outside) and autosuggestion (self-suggestion). Self-hypnosis belongs to conscious self-regulation, instilling in oneself certain ideas, feelings, emotions, that is, a person himself creates a model of a state or action and introduces them into his psyche by, firstly, identifying a shortcoming that the individual wants to get rid of, and, secondly, secondly, the development of a formula and technique of self-hypnosis.
There are direct and indirect, intentional and unintentional suggestions.
Direct suggestion involves a call to certain actions, which is transmitted by the suggestor as an order, instruction, order, prohibition. Under conditions of indirect suggestion, the content of information is presented by the communicator in a hidden, disguised form. Deliberate suggestion is a purposeful and consciously organized psychological influence, which is characterized by the fact that the suggestor knows why he is carrying out the influence, to whom he is trying to inspire the planned, and according to this he selects methods of influence.
Unintentional suggestion does not set itself a special task, but through its words and actions, the suggestor evokes exactly the state that would encourage the corresponding action. In this case, the superend during suggestion can be in an active state, in a state of natural sleep, in a state of hypnosis and in a post-hypnotic state (suggestion is implemented after leaving hypnosis).
Suggestion is one of the forms of influence
One of the frequently observed forms of mental infection is suggestion, or suggestion - from the Greek word “suggestio” (suggestion, hint, addition). Or rather, not even a form, but a prerequisite for the development of mental infection.
Suggestion is defined as a mental influence on an individual, accompanied by suppression of his level of development: criticism of sources of information, ability to analyze and conscious activity.
The essence of this influence is that the influence is aimed precisely at his readiness for certain actions, behavioral factors, while simultaneously suppressing logic and thinking abilities. In other words, suggestion is one of the most powerful forms of influence, along with hypnosis and zombification. Suggestion differs from mental infection precisely in that the source of suggestion is located at a level above the suggested, thereby controlling the situation in the relationship. Which ultimately often becomes one of the root causes of mental infection.
The result of suggestion primarily depends on both sides of the influence: the suggestor (source) and the suggestor (recipient). Their level of development, as well as their ability to build relationships, directly influence the resulting effect of suggestion as a method of psychological infection.
Persuasion in psychology. Analysis of definitions of the concept of persuasion in psychology
The concept of persuasion in social psychology is given the following definitions:
1. Belief is a person’s system of ideological knowledge that has passed through his mind, feeling and will.
2. Conviction is a set of diverse influences on a person with the aim of developing socially necessary qualities in him.
3. Persuasion is the motivation of a person to perform a certain activity. To persuade means to motivate people by word, deed, example and purposeful organization of the social sphere.
4. Conviction is a personal formation that represents a person’s attitude to reality and is characterized by the unity of cognitive and need-personal components. The qualities of persuasion depend on the method of assimilation of certain knowledge and opinions and evaluations.
5. Persuasion is an influence on the consciousness, feelings, will of people through communication, explanation and proof of the importance of a particular position, view, action or their inadmissibility in order to force the listener to change existing views, attitudes, positions, attitudes and assessments or to share thoughts or speaker's representations.
Persuasion is the main, most universal method of leadership and education. The mechanism of persuasion is based on the activation of human mental activity, on appealing to the rational side of consciousness. It is assumed that the person being persuaded must make a conscious choice of ways and means to achieve the goal, i.e. To convince, you need to attract the attention of the target, present and explain new information, and make impressive arguments.
To convince someone of something means to achieve a state where the person being convinced, as a result of logical reasoning and inference, agrees with a certain point of view and is ready to defend it or act in accordance with it.
The main means of persuasion are a graphic sign, an image, the timbre of speech, a gesture, facial expressions, emotional and volitional states, the rhythm of speech and actions, the light and color of a visual aid, the results of work, the status and authority of the persuader. It should be added that not all people are equally willing to accept the point of view of the influencer. Most often, only information that is consistent with existing attitudes is perceived.
In this case, the concept that we will consider in this work is most fully reflected in the fifth definition; it is complemented by the third and fourth definitions. At the same time, we understand, of course, the dialectical relationship and unity of all these aspects of belief.
