PERSONALITY STRUCTURE
Social structure of personality
When studying the social behavior of an individual, sociologists have to
face a number of complex theoretical problems, without solutions of which
it is impossible to construct a concept of personality that meets scientific criteria And
needs of modern practice. Such problems include
social structure personality.
The structure of any complex phenomena, and these certainly include
human personality, represents a collection, hierarchy and
a certain interaction of various elements. Any structure has
certain stability and at the same time subject to various changes
Progress and regression - right up to collapse, which is characterized by the concept
destruction. Destructive phenomena in the personality structure lead to different
a kind of deviation called deviant behavior.
To a first approximation, personality can be considered as structural
the value of biogenic, psychogenic and sociogenic components, which gives
grounds for distinguishing biological, psychological and social
personality structures studied respectively by biology, psychology and
sociology The biological structure of personality cannot, of course, not
be taken into account by sociology, not only in terms of the deformation of this structure,
because it disrupts normal interactions between people.
A sick or disabled person cannot perform all the functions that
are inherent in a healthy person. Psychological is more related to social
personality structure, including a set of emotions, experiences, volitional
aspirations, memory, abilities, etc. It is important here not only different
kind of deviation, but also the normal mental field that accompanies
individual activity. But the sociological structure of personality is not limited to
a set of mental, essentially subjective qualities.
Consequently, when determining the social structure of an individual, it is impossible
reduce the matter only to the subjective side. After all, the main thing in a person is his
social quality.
The sociological structure of personality includes a set of objective and
subjective properties of the individual that arise and function in the process of his
various activities, under the influence of those communities and associations in
which the person enters. Hence the most important characteristic of social
personality structure is its activity as independence and as
interaction with other people, which is fixed by the concept of the subject
activities. Analysis of the structure of personality without analysis of the forms of its activity
impossible.
Freud's theory identifies three parts in the mental structure of personality: Id
(“It”), Ego (“I”) and Superego (“super-I”)
The id (“It”) is a source of energy aimed at obtaining pleasure.
When energy is released, tension is relieved and the person experiences
the feeling of pleasure "It" motivates us to have sex, as well as to carry out
body functions such as eating and eliminating natural
needs.
The ego (“I”) controls a person’s behavior, to some extent resembling
a traffic light that helps a person navigate the world around him. Ego
is guided mainly by the principle of reality. Ego regulates choice
a suitable object to overcome the tension associated with the Id.
For example, when the Id is hungry, the Ego forbids us to eat
car tires or poisonous berries; satisfying our urge
delayed until suitable food has been selected.
The superego is an idealized parent, it implements
moral or evaluative function. The superego regulates behavior and
strives to improve it in accordance with the standards of the parents, and
in the future, and society as a whole.
These three components actively influence the formation of personality
child. Children should follow the reality principle by waiting until
the right time and place will present itself to give in to the pressure of the id. They should
also obey the moral demands made by parents and
own emerging superego. The ego is responsible for actions
rewarded or punished by the Superego, in connection with this the person experiences
feeling of pride or guilt.
In addition, if we consider the personality as a system, we can distinguish
it has two main subsystems, or two worlds of personality:
One is the inner world of consciousness, hidden from others and often incomprehensible
and unconsciously “living” for the personality itself;
The second is active, open to people, allowing them not only
observe the external manifestations of personality, but also penetrate into its inner
life, to guess what passions and their struggles take over
human.
Internal and outer worlds are closely related to each other. However, in every
In a particular case, this relationship turns out to be ambiguous. One of its poles
is the correspondence, the “coincidence” of acts of consciousness and behavior, to others
On the contrary, their complete inconsistency with each other, opposition.
For sociology, the most significant is the understanding of transition,
transformation in the personality structure of a fact, a moment, a situation of activity. This
the process covers both types of personal structures, and it is precisely this
Let's begin to consider the inner world of a person. There are both needs and
interests, and goals, and motives, and expectations, and value orientations, and
installations and dispositions. Thanks to their relationship there are
intrapersonal motivational and dispositional mechanisms.
The motivational mechanism includes the interaction of needs,
value orientations and interests, the end result of which is their
transformation into a personality goal. Needs appear (in relation to
personality) as the initial drivers of its activity, reflecting objective
conditions of human existence, being one of the most important forms of communication
individuals with the outside world. This connection can manifest itself in the form
natural (need for food, clothing, shelter, etc.) and social (need
V various forms activities, communication). At the same time, there is a sharp line between
they are not, since the need for clothing, housing, and even food is acquired
social "shell". This is especially true during times of crisis.
development of society
Being conscious, needs turn into interests of the individual.
reflects a person’s attitude to the conditions of life and activity, which determines
the direction of his actions. In fact, it is the interests that largely
to a large extent determine the motives of an individual’s behavior. They turn out to be in charge
reasons for actions. “The closest consideration of history,” Hegel wrote, “
convinces us that people's actions stem from their needs, their
passions, their interests... and only they play the main role."
An important element of the internal structure of a personality and a regulator of its behavior
Value orientations. They reflect the personality's focus on
certain values and interests, preferential attitude towards certain
of them. Therefore, value orientations, as well as needs and interests,
are one of the main factors regulating the motivation of activity.
It is in value orientations, as something concrete and definite,
individual interests may manifest themselves.
Needs and interests, reflected in the minds of people, refracted through
value orientations lead to the formation of specific internal
incentives for action, which are usually called motives of activity. So
a motivation mechanism is created, which involves implementation in
purposeful activity of the individual. The meaning of this activity is
achieving a specific goal that crowns “the efforts of this mechanism.”
Another “intrapersonal” mechanism is associated with “dispositional”
personality structure. A personality's disposition is its predisposition to
certain behavior in specific conditions, the opportunity to make a choice
activities. In a sense, dispositions are the antecedents of behavior.
personality orientation. The mechanism itself includes the interaction of motives and
stimuli leading to the emergence of personality attitudes. The result of this
interaction turns out to be the emergence of dispositions.
What do these elements of personality structure mean? Under the motives
It is customary to understand, as already noted just above, internal direct
incentives for activity that reflect a person’s desire
satisfy your needs and interests. In contrast to motives, incentives
act as external incentives for activity. They are usually understood as
numerous factors economic, social, political and other
character acting in the structure of the individual’s environment. Settings are general
orientation, focus of consciousness on a particular phenomenon (process)
reality. Social attitudes are one of the most important
regulators of the social behavior of the individual, expressing it
predisposition, readiness to act in a certain way in
in relation to a given object. Attitudes characterize the individual’s attitude towards
environment, other people. Therefore, installations in times precede
activities, they reflect “a focus on one or another vector”
behavior. In Western sociology, attitudes are usually called “attitudes” (with
the times of W. Thomas and F. Znaniecki, who introduced this term into a broad
scientific circulation and have done a lot to study it: In accordance with
developed by V.A. Yadov’s dispositional theory of social self-regulation
Personal behavior there are three levels of dispositions. The highest level
formation of a person’s concept of life and its implementation in value
orientations. In other words, at this level, dispositions regulate the general
the direction of behavior of the interests of the individual. At the average level
self-regulation is carried out in the form of the formation of a generalized attitude
individuals to social objects. As for the lower level, here also
formation of attitudes occurs, but more specific, situational ones
plan associated with self-regulation of behavior in very specific,
directly under these conditions. Externally observable actions of people
leave the second aspect of activity - behavioral, in which they find
direct concrete reflection of value orientations, attitudes,
personality dispositions. Naturally, the question arises about the structure of such an externally
observed activity. Note that sometimes the structure of activities
identified with the structure of the observed activity. This approach, according to
case, they contrast the structures of consciousness and behavior of the individual, without referring
first to the structure of activity.
The structure of activity is determined by objective necessity
performing certain actions for reproduction, functioning and
personality development. It is determined (at the level of a specific individual) by its
demographic, social, professional status, place,
occupied in the system of public relations and relations. With structure in mind
in its “external” expression, we note that it can also act as
a unique typology of personal activity.
In socio-philosophical terms and at the level of general sociological
theories, depending on the nature of the individual’s relationship to the world around him,
activities are divided into material and spiritual, theoretical and
practical. It is in these forms that the individual masters
the surrounding world. Another classification of activities could be
considered in connection with the relationship of the individual to the objective course of history
process, while progressive and reactionary, revolutionary and
counter-revolutionary activities. Criterion for obtaining a new result
is the basis for highlighting the creative or reproducing
(reproductive) activity. Personal activity can also be
innovative and routine.
Of course, the named forms and types of individual activity can be
studied not only within the framework of general sociological theory, but also translated into
the language of empirical sociological research. However, due to sufficient
general this is not easy to do.
On the other hand, there are structures of activity that are studied primarily
at the level of special sociological theories and empirical research
Here, first of all, it is necessary to note the structure, the basis of which
is the differentiation of activities in certain areas. It could be
activities economic, political, social, as well as
production and labor, household, educational.
It is clear that there are options for structuring an individual’s activity
multitude. It is determined by the wealth of human life. All
these forms and types of activities determined by the system of public
relationships, inner world personality and way of behavior characterize it
lifestyle. It seems that in the process of sociological research
personality, lifestyle turns out to be a central concept, a unique
dominant and at the same time the connecting link between her inner world,
state of consciousness and the method and nature of behavior in which
the external side of the activity is revealed.
Concluding the consideration of the mechanisms and structures of personality, we present a diagram,
in which they are reflected. Like any graphic image, it
conditional, but its advantage is that with the help of the scheme you can get
a visual representation of the issues raised above.
PERSONALITY THEORY
Theory is the mechanism by which disparate results
empirical studies, often perceived out of touch with each other and
used in different contexts, form a single system.
Theories focus attention on specific problems that are not easily
notice with a shallow approach to phenomena, but which can serve
basis for the explanation and interpretation of these phenomena.
The theory has great value V practical activities, will give
it is more effective. Theory is a carrier of knowledge, reasoning and
a system of certain conclusions, which is extremely necessary in the life of an individual and
society.
A distinction is often made between the history of a theory and a methodically developed theory.
The first reveals an independent thought about society, belonging to individual
persons (Hobbes, Kant), schools or periods. The second, as a rule, represents
yourself modern direction thoughts about society. Many thinkers who
were often mistaken for historians of thought, bearing in mind the significance of their work,
were in fact truly original scientists, both in their own way
aspiration and way of thinking. Moreover, much in modern thought
called theory, is not sufficiently methodologically developed for social
science; often they come together to share common reasoning, approaches and propaganda
ideological preferences. Ultimately, many directions leaving
roots in the history of thought, have survived as components of modern
theories, which are their followers. Therefore, we can say that
“history” and “theory” in sociology dissolve into each other,
As far as sociological theory is concerned, this is not the result of a simple
replenishment of knowledge, i.e. replacing old knowledge with new knowledge in the light of more
valid or exact knowledge. Rather, it is the result of a multifaceted
increase in knowledge, complication and enrichment of more or less mature
directions of theoretical analysis of personality and society
Personality is, as it were, a combination of civil,
political, professional and other qualities. From how high
a person has social needs, it depends on how he organizes
process own life and how it fits into interests and life
society. This problem of mutual influence of social conditions (connections,
social and government institutions, social communities) and activities
person is central problem sociology. An attempt at a solution
herd problems formation of various social concepts (theories)
personality (from the second half of the 20th century): theory of the mirror self by C. Cooley,
role theory of R. Lipton, T. Parsons, status theory, behavioral (
behavioral) theory of J. Watson, psychobiological theory of 3. Freud,
reference group theory, attitude theory, etc.
What is characteristic of all these theories is that they all recognize human
personality by specific education, a set of qualities, directly
derived from social factors(ratio of biological and social
in man).
This work will examine 3 sociological theories of personality:
role, status and behavioral.
Role theory of personality
IN scientific literature the opinion has been established that special
The sociological theory of personality is the role concept of personality.
The concept of “social role” was developed at the beginning of the 20th century in the works of E.
Durkheim, M. Weber, later - T. Parsons, T. Shibutani, R. Lipton and
others. In our country, the role concept was developed by I. Kon and V.A.
Yalov. This concept is widely used in concepts that
identify life situations with the game, and human activity is reduced to
playing certain standard roles in standard life
situations. The facts of adaptation are well described by these concepts.
person to certain conditions.
Studying human behavior, followers of role theory widely
use the situation of an actor and a role or two actors. At the same time, often
refer to the words of Shakespeare's play "As You Like It":
The whole world is a theater
There are women, men - all actors.
They have exits, exits,
And everyone plays more than one role.
Seven acts in that play.
Baby, schoolboy, youth, lover,
Soldier, judge, old man.
Each role requires a certain behavior from the actor, therefore, this
behavior may or may not be as expected. Can
to say that a social role is a mask in which a person is exposed,
getting into people.
T. Shibutani distinguishes 2 types of roles - conventional and interpersonal
A conventional role is a prescribed pattern of behavior that is expected
and is required of a person in a given situation.
Interpersonal roles are defined by how people interact with each other.
Conflicts and contradictions between people are often the result
misunderstanding each other's roles. Overcoming them requires awareness
the mutual rights and duties of people towards each other, or
connecting one's role with the role of another person, the ability to place oneself on
its place, without which the socialization of the individual is impossible.
In accordance with this idea, T. Shibutani introduces 2 concepts: “playing
roles" and "role acceptance". Playing a role is the organization of behavior in
in accordance with group norms, and accepting a role is a requirement for
the actor so that he always imagines himself in the place of another
person so that he strives to imagine what it would look like from the point
another person's view. For example, lecturer and audience, boss and
subordinate, doctor and patient, seller and buyer. Human ability
to understand life different from his life is one of the indicators of his social
maturity, which is especially important for children and youth.
Some roles, and most of them, are personally insignificant for
person, for example, pedestrian, patient, customer, etc. Their absence or
a person perceives the presence imperceptibly, without putting a piece of his soul into them and
of his Self. On the contrary, other roles, and they are a minority, primarily those who
associated with the main status, perceived as part of the self. Their loss can
experienced as an internal tragedy.
The structure of a social role usually includes 4 elements:
1. Description of the type of behavior corresponding to this role.
2. Instructions (requirements) associated with this behavior. Human
occupies a certain position or position in society, and with it
necessarily associated with a set of rights and responsibilities (the position of the teacher and
student, father and son). Based on this, society can be represented as
a system of interacting positions and positions, and the position as structurally
formalized unit of society. Role in this interpretation means
a set of actions that a subject performs to implement
the position he occupies (position requirements). The position is not only related to
a system of actions, but also a system of expectations. From the person occupying that
or another position, others are waiting for appropriate actions. And the man himself
expects a certain attitude towards himself.
3. Assessing the performance of the assigned role. A person is required to have certain
actions, and he himself evaluates himself depending on what role
plays and what role he would like to play on the “stage” called life.
4. Sanctions, i.e. social consequences of this or that action within the framework
requirements of the social system.
Such sanctions can be moral, implemented directly
social group through its behavior (contempt), or legal,
political, environmental, etc., implemented through activities
specific social institutions. The purpose of a sanction is to encourage a person to
a certain type of behavior.
T. Parsons was the first to attempt to systematize roles
Any of the roles is described by 5 main characteristics:
1) emotional - some roles require emotional restraint, others -
looseness;
2) the method of obtaining - some roles are prescribed, others are won;
3) scale - some roles are formulated and strictly limited, others -
4) formalization - some roles represent action in a strictly
established rules, others - arbitrary;
5) motivation - some are aimed at personal profit, others at the common good and
I.S. Kon identifies 3 understandings of the role: in everyday consciousness, where “to be in
role" means pretending, playing, aware of the artificiality of one's own
behavior; V social psychology, which uses this concept for
“descriptions of repeated, standardized forms of behavior”, and finally, in
sociology, in which the concept of social role denotes an impersonal
social function and norm, the fulfillment of which is mandatory for those who
takes this position.
Indeed, there is always something given in human behavior,
standardized. A person who is aware of himself “in a role” becomes not only
an actor, but also a spectator of his own actions. This contributes to his behavior
elements of alienation. He acts as if he is not himself
himself, but someone else, and this gives rise to internal tension in him,
a feeling of unnaturalness of his behavior (even if those around him do not
see). I.S. Kon notes that before reacting to an external symbol,
a person must coordinate his reaction with the logic of the role he has assumed.
I.S. Kohn comes to the conclusion that the process of personality formation means
her adaptation to various social roles and drawing up your role
systems where a person identifies himself with different roles. With some -
personally significant - more, with others - secondary - less. However
Absolutization of the meaning of a social role can lead to recognition
alienation of the individual, because if the individual is prescribed an entire role outlined
line of behavior, then she, first of all, should adapt to this
line, which leads to a limitation of the creative activity of the individual, giving rise to
conformism. If the degree of identification of an individual with a role is high, then they
can grow together, and the role can become an integral part of the personality. If not,
then the role becomes completely alien to the individual, which often happens.
Status theory of personality
When analyzing an individual and his place in society, the concept is often used
"social status". If this concept is correlated with a social role, then
the latter can be seen as a function of social status.
However. The “social role” of the individual in unity with his “social
position" expresses the concept with the greatest completeness and volume
"social status of the individual." It successfully combines both functional
and the evaluative side, shows: what a person can do, what he does,
what are the results of her actions and how are they assessed by other people,
society.
Social status is the relative position (position) of an individual
or groups in a social system. Depending on whether a person occupies
this position due to inherited characteristics (race, social status)
or thanks to one’s own efforts (education, merits), differ
respectively, “prescribed” and “achieved” statuses.
Concept social status characterizes the place of the individual in the system
public relations, her activities in the main areas of life and, finally,
assessment of an individual’s activities by society, expressed in
certain quantitative and qualitative indicators (wages,
prizes, awards, titles, privileges), as well as self-esteem.
Social status in the meaning of the norm and social ideal has
great potential opportunities in solving socialization problems
personality, since the orientation towards achieving a higher social
status stimulates social activity. If your own social
status is misunderstood by a person, then he is guided by other people’s models
behavior. In this regard, we can consider two extremes in personality assessment
their social status. Low status self-esteem is associated with weak
resistance to external influence. Such people are not confident in themselves, more often
subject to pessimistic moods. High self-esteem is often associated with
activity, enterprise, self-confidence, vitality
optimism. Based on this, it makes sense to introduce the concept of status
self-esteem as an essential personality trait, irreducible to individual functions
and human actions.
Socially defined human activity; social
statuses and social roles performed; expectations and status relations and
roles, norms and values that guide him in the process of his
activities; the system of laws it uses; body of knowledge
allowing them to fulfill their assumed roles and more or less freely
navigate the world around you; level of education and special
preparation; socio-psychological characteristics, activity and degree
independence in decision making - all this forms social qualities
personality.
Behavioral theory of personality
Human behavior is a collection of actions and other
social actions of the individual that have motives; reaction to her social
status. The uniqueness of a person’s behavior depends on the nature of his
relationships with the social community to which he belongs.
An integral element of personal behavior is communication.
Social activity is made up of a system of behavior manifestation
personality, within which expedient change is carried out and
transformation of its social sphere.
Personality undertakes social action when it is violated
balance between consumers and social environment. Of course
determination of social activity and social behavior of the individual
the objective conditions of her life appear, giving rise to objective
needs and interests.
Needs express a person’s dependence on the outside world, on
social environment. There are 2 types of needs: natural and social.
1) Natural - these are the needs of man as a biological being
(need for clothing, drink, food, etc.).
2) Social are products public life level of personality development
(needs for spiritual culture, communication, labor activity And
Needs characterize living conditions
Dissatisfaction with living conditions determines human activity,
who strives to change the conditions of life using what he has
possibilities. Here the interest of the individual is also manifested, which consists of
the following elements:
1. a person’s position in society;
3. ways and means of using existing social relations
(institutions) to meet emerging needs.
Interest is realized due to the individual’s awareness of his needs
and possible ways to satisfy them in accordance with the position of the individual in
society. The needs and interests of the individual are the objective basis of his
activities and behavior. In order for a person to take specific
actions, he must realize the needs and interests, making them internal
incentives. However, awareness of the needs and interests
personality is never absolutely adequate to their objective
Motives are specific internal incentives to action that
directly, situationally determine people's behavior. Motives - reflections
in the consciousness of people of their objective goods and desires, conditions of activity,
internal motivations for the activity of individuals. They are different from external
motives - incentives that are the result of influence on a person
external objective conditions. An incentive can turn into a motive for activity
person if it becomes subjectively significant for her. There are motives
material and spiritual, and also depending on significance - dominant
and background. The most common motives are material
interest, desire to make a career, desire for self-realization
self in creativity, a sense of duty, fear of punishment, etc.
Motives determine a person’s development of activity goals, in
resulting in a transfer of interests through activities,
based on value orientations. This concept was introduced in the 20s by U.
Thomas (American sociologist), and F. Znaniecki (Polish sociologist).
Value orientations act as social attitudes of the individual,
regulate her behavior. They reflect the fundamental interests of the individual and
determine the strategic direction of its activities. They appear
How life position the individual, his worldview, moral principles.
Holistic orientations are formed when an individual assimilates social experience,
his mastery of social, political, moral, aesthetic ideals
and the immutable regulatory requirements imposed on him as a member
social community.
When studying the social behavior of an individual, sociologists have to face a number of complex theoretical problems, without solving which it is impossible to construct a concept of personality that meets scientific criteria and the needs of modern practice. Such problems include the social structure of the individual.
The structure of any complex phenomena, and the human personality certainly belongs to them, is a collection, hierarchy and a certain interaction of various elements. Any structure has a certain stability and at the same time is subject to various changes - progress and regression - up to collapse, which is characterized by the concept of destruction. Destructive phenomena in the personality structure lead to various kinds of deviations, called deviant behavior.
To a first approximation, personality can be considered as the structural value of biogenic, psychogenic and sociogenic components, which gives grounds for identifying the biological, psychological and social structures of personality, studied respectively by biology, psychology and sociology. The biological structure of personality cannot, of course, be taken into account by sociology, not only in terms of deformation of this structure, since this disrupts normal interactions between people. A sick or crippled person cannot perform all the functions that are inherent in a healthy person. The psychological structure of the individual, including the totality of emotions, experiences, volitional aspirations, memory, abilities, etc., is more related to the social. What is important here is not only various types of deviations, but also the normal mental field that accompanies the individual’s activity. But the sociological structure of personality is not reduced to a set of mental, essentially subjective, qualities.
Consequently, when determining the social structure of an individual, the matter cannot be reduced only to the subjective side. After all, the main thing in a person is his social quality.
The sociological structure of the individual includes a set of objective and subjective properties of the individual that arise and function in the process of his various activities, under the influence of those communities and associations to which the person belongs. Hence, the most important characteristic of the social structure of a person is his activity as independence and as interaction with other people, which is fixed by the concept of the subject of activity. An analysis of the structure of a personality without an analysis of the forms of its activity is impossible.
Freud's theory identifies three parts in the mental structure of personality: Id ("It"), Ego ("I") and Superego ("super-ego")
The id (“It”) is a source of energy aimed at obtaining pleasure. When energy is released, tension is relieved and the person experiences a feeling of pleasure. “It” encourages us to have sex, as well as carry out body functions such as eating and going to the body.
The ego (“I”) controls a person’s behavior, to some extent resembling a traffic light that helps a person navigate the world around him. The ego is guided primarily by the reality principle. The ego regulates the selection of an appropriate object to overcome the tension associated with the id. For example, when the Id is hungry, the Ego forbids us to eat car tires or poisonous berries; the satisfaction of our impulse is postponed until the moment of choosing suitable food.
The superego is an idealized parent; it performs a moral or evaluative function. The superego regulates behavior and strives to improve it in accordance with the standards of parents, and subsequently society as a whole.
These three components actively influence the formation of the child’s personality. Children must follow the reality principle, waiting until the right time and place presents itself to give in to the pressure of the id. They must also submit to the moral demands made by their parents and their own emerging superego. The ego is responsible for actions that are rewarded or punished by the superego, in connection with which the person experiences a feeling of pride or guilt.
In addition, if we consider personality as a system, then we can distinguish two main subsystems, or two worlds of personality:
one is the inner, world of consciousness, hidden from others and often incomprehensible and unconsciously “living” for the individual himself;
the second is active, open to people, allowing them not only to observe external manifestations of personality, but also to penetrate into it inner life, to guess what passions and their struggles take possession of a person.
The inner and outer worlds are closely connected. However, in each specific case this relationship turns out to be ambiguous. One of its poles is the correspondence, the “coincidence” of acts of consciousness and behavior, while the other is the opposite, their complete inconsistency with each other, opposition.
For sociology, the most significant is the understanding of the transition, the transformation of a fact, a moment, a situation of activity in the structure of the personality. This process covers both types of personality structures, and it is this process that should be considered the “core” of personality as a system.
Let's begin to consider the inner world of a person. Here are needs, interests, goals, motives, expectations, value orientations, attitudes, and dispositions. Thanks to their relationship, intrapersonal motivational and dispositional mechanisms exist.
The motivational mechanism includes the interaction of needs, value orientations and interests, the end result of which is their transformation into the goal of the individual. Needs act (in relation to the individual) as the initial drivers of his activity, reflecting the objective conditions of human existence, being one of the most important forms of communication between the individual and the outside world. This connection can manifest itself in the form of natural (the need for food, clothing, shelter, etc.) and social (the need for various forms of activity, communication). At the same time, there is no sharp line between them, since the need for clothing, housing, and even food acquires a social “shell.” This is especially typical for periods of crisis development of society.
Being conscious, needs turn into the interests of the individual. They reflect a person’s attitude to the conditions of life and activity, which determines the direction of his actions. In fact, it is interests that largely determine the motives of an individual’s behavior. They turn out to be the main causes of action. “A closer examination of history,” Hegel wrote, “convinces us that people’s actions arise from their needs, their passions, their interests... and only they play the main role.”
An important element of the internal structure of a person and a regulator of his behavior is value orientations. They reflect the individual’s orientation towards certain values and interests, and a preferential attitude towards one or another of them. Therefore, value orientations, as well as needs and interests, are one of the main factors regulating the motivation of activity. It is in value orientations, as in something concrete and definite, that the interests of an individual can manifest themselves.
Needs and interests, reflected in people’s minds and refracted through value orientations, lead to the formation of specific internal motivators of action, which are usually called motives of activity. This creates a mechanism of motivation, which involves implementation in the purposeful activity of the individual. The meaning of this activity is to achieve a specific goal that crowns “the efforts of this mechanism.”
Another “intrapersonal” mechanism is associated with the “dispositional” structure of personality. The disposition of a person is his predisposition to certain behavior in specific conditions, the ability to make a choice of activities. In a certain sense, disposition is the personality orientation that precedes behavior. The mechanism itself includes the interaction of motives and incentives leading to the emergence of personality attitudes. The result of this interaction is the emergence of dispositions.
What do these elements of personality structure mean? By motives we usually understand, as noted above, internal direct incentives to activity, which reflect a person’s desire to satisfy his needs and interests. In contrast to motives, incentives act as external incentives to activity. They usually mean numerous factors of an economic, social, political and other nature operating in the structure of an individual’s environment. Attitudes are a general orientation, the focus of consciousness on a particular phenomenon (process) of reality. Social attitudes are one of the most important regulators of an individual’s social behavior, expressing his predisposition and readiness to act in a certain way in relation to a given object. Attitudes characterize the individual’s attitude towards the environment and other people. Therefore, attitudes precede activity in time; they reflect “targeting one or another vector” of behavior. In Western sociology, attitudes are usually called “attitudes” (since the times of W. Thomas and F. Znaniecki, who introduced this term into wide scientific circulation and did a lot to study it: In accordance with the dispositional theory of self-regulation of social behavior of an individual developed by V.A. Yadov There are three levels of dispositions: The highest is the level of formation of the individual’s concept of life and its implementation in value orientations. In other words, at this level, dispositions regulate the general direction of the behavior of the individual’s interests. At the middle level, self-regulation is carried out in the form of the formation of a generalized attitude of the individual toward social objects. As for the lower level, the formation of attitudes also occurs here, but of a more specific, situational nature, associated with the self-regulation of behavior in completely specific, directly given conditions, the externally observable actions of people leave the second aspect of activity - behavioral, in which value orientations are directly and concretely reflected. , attitudes, personality dispositions. Naturally, the question arises about the structure of such externally observable activity. Note that sometimes the structure of activity is identified with the structure of observed activity. This approach is, to say the least, inaccurate. But you can understand its authors, because they in this case contrast the structures of consciousness and behavior of the individual, without relating the former to the structure of activity.
The structure of activity is determined by the objective need to perform certain actions for the reproduction, functioning and development of the individual. It is determined (at the level of a specific individual) by its demographic, social, professional position, place occupied in the system of social connections and relationships. Bearing in mind the structure in its “external” expression, we note that it can also act as a unique typology of individual activity.
In socio-philosophical terms and at the level of general sociological theory, depending on the nature of the individual’s relationship to the world around him, activity is divided into material and spiritual, theoretical and practical. It is in these forms that the individual masters the surrounding world. Another classification of activity can be considered in connection with the attitude of the individual to the objective course historical process, while progressive and reactionary, revolutionary and counter-revolutionary activities are distinguished. The criterion for obtaining a new result is the basis for identifying creative or reproducing (reproductive) activity. An individual’s activities can also be innovative and routine.
Of course, these forms and types of personality activity can be studied not only within the framework of general sociological theory, but also translated into the language of empirical sociological research. However, due to its rather general nature, this is not easy to do.
On the other hand, there are structures of activity that are studied primarily at the level of special sociological theories and empirical research. Here, first of all, it is necessary to note the structure, the basis of which is the differentiation of activity in certain areas. This can be economic, political, social, as well as production and labor, household, and educational activities.
It is clear that there are many options for structuring an individual’s activity. It is determined by the wealth of human life. All these forms and activities, determined by the system of social relations, the inner world of the individual and the way of behavior, characterize his way of life. It seems that in the process of sociological research of a person, the way of life turns out to be a central concept, a kind of dominant and at the same time a connecting link between its inner world, state of consciousness and the method and nature of behavior in which the external side of activity is revealed.
Concluding our consideration of the mechanisms and structures of personality, we present a diagram in which they are reflected. Like any graphic image, it is conventional, but its advantage is that with the help of a diagram you can get a visual representation of the issues raised above.
When studying the social behavior of an individual, sociologists have to face a number of complex theoretical problems, without solving which it is impossible to construct a concept of personality that meets scientific criteria and the needs of modern practice. Such problems include the social structure of the individual. Structural analysis of personality is one of the main tasks of both sociology and social psychology. As part of the latter, it was done great job on the study of the socio-psychological structure of personality, based on significant empirical material. The structure of complex phenomena, and the human personality certainly belongs to them, is a collection, a hierarchy and a certain interaction of various elements. Any structure has a certain stability and at the same time is subject to various changes - progressive and regressive - up to decay, which is characterized by the concept of destruction. Destructive phenomena in the personality structure lead to various kinds of deviations, called deviant behavior (this will be discussed in another section of the manual). To a first approximation, personality can be considered as a structural integrity of biogenic, psychogenic and sociogenic components, which gives rise to the identification of biological, psychological and social structures of personality, studied, respectively, by biology, psychology and sociology. The biological structure of personality, of course, cannot but be taken into account by sociology, but only in the aspect of deformation of this structure, since this disrupts normal interactions between people. A sick or disabled person cannot do all the things social functions that a healthy person performs. More related to the social structure of an individual is its psychological structure, which includes the totality of emotions, experiences of the individual, its volitional aspirations, memory, abilities, etc. Here, not only various kinds of deviations are important, but also the normal mental field of activity of the individual. But the social structure of the individual is not reduced to a set of mental, essentially subjective, qualities. Consequently, when determining the social structure of an individual, the matter cannot be reduced only to the subjective side. After all, the main thing in a person is his social quality. The social structure of a person includes a set of objective and subjective social properties of an individual, formed and functioning in the process of his various activities, under the influence of those communities and associations of which he is a member. Hence, the most important characteristic of a person’s social structure is his activity, understood as self-activity and as interaction with other people, which is captured by the concept of “subject of activity.” An analysis of the structure of a personality without an analysis of the forms of its activity is impossible.
Elements of the social structure of personality. Based on what has been said in the social structure of personality, we can distinguish the following elements:
1) a way of realizing social qualities in activities, manifested in lifestyle and such types of activities as labor, socio-political, cultural-cognitive, family and everyday life. At the same time, work should be considered as a central, essential link in the structure of the personality, determining all its elements;
2) objective social needs of the individual. The individual is an organic part of society, therefore its structure is based on social needs. In other words, the structure of personality is determined by those objective laws that determine the development of man as a social being. A person may or may not be aware of these needs, but this does not make them cease to exist and determine his behavior;
3) ability to creative activity, knowledge, skills. It is creative abilities that distinguish a mature personality from an individual who is at the stage of formation as a personality (some remain at this stage all their lives). Moreover, creative abilities may not necessarily manifest themselves in such areas of activity that by their nature require creative personalities(sciences, arts), but also in those that, at first glance, cannot be called creative, for example, routine work in labor sphere, and yet creativity is manifested in it and various devices, machines and mechanisms are created that facilitate people’s work, making it interesting and effective. In short, creativity is the main distinguishing feature a person as an individual;
4) the degree of mastery of the cultural values of society, i.e. spiritual world personality. A.N. Leontiev wrote that the main issue in the formation of personality is the transformation of motives (drives) into something stable that characterizes the personality. He identified three parameters in the structure of personality: “...the breadth of a person’s connections with the world, the degree of hierarchization and their general structure.”
5) moral norms and principles that guide a person. And finally, beliefs are the deepest principles that determine main line human behavior. Beliefs are associated with a person’s awareness of his objective (existing independently of consciousness) needs, which constitute, as it were, the core of the personality structure. All these structural elements to one degree or another are inherent in every personality. Each person participates in the life of society in one way or another, has knowledge, and is guided by something. The social structure of an individual is constantly changing, since his social environment is constantly changing ("close" - relatives, friends, acquaintances, etc. and "distant" - society as a whole). The person receives new information, new knowledge. This knowledge turns into beliefs. In turn, beliefs determine the nature of a person’s actions. Hence, socialization can be understood as a change in the social structure of an individual in accordance with the requirements of society.
Personality can be viewed as the integrity of biological, psychological and social components.
1. Biological component - what is transmitted at the biological level, human physiological parameters (healthy/unhealthy)
2. Psychological component - a set of emotions, experiences, volitional aspirations, memory, abilities, etc.
3. Social component - a set of subjective and objective properties of an individual that arise and function in the process of their various activities. Hence, the most important characteristic of the social structure of a person is his activity as independence and as interaction with other people.
All of these structural elements are found in every personality, although to varying degrees. Each person, one way or another, participates in the life of society, has knowledge, and is guided by something. Therefore, the social structure of the individual is constantly changing. The individual receives new information, new knowledge. This knowledge, under certain conditions, turns into beliefs, and they, in turn, determine the nature of a person’s actions.
The structure of any complex phenomena, and these certainly include
human personality is a totality, hierarchy and
a certain interaction of various elements. Any structure has
certain stability and at the same time subject to various changes
- progress and regression - up to collapse, which is characterized by the concept
destruction. Destructive phenomena in the personality structure lead to different
a kind of deviation called deviant behavior.
The sociological structure of personality includes a set of objective and
subjective properties of the individual that arise and function in the process of his
various activities, under the influence of those communities and associations in
which the person enters. Hence the most important characteristic of social
personality structure is its activity as independence and as
interaction with other people, which is fixed by the concept of the subject
activities. Analysis of the structure of personality without analysis of the forms of its activity
impossible.
Value orientations act as social attitudes of the individual,
regulate her behavior. They reflect the fundamental interests of the individual and
determine the strategic direction of its activities. They appear
as an individual’s life position, his worldview, moral principles.
Holistic orientations are formed when an individual assimilates social experience,
his mastery of social, political, moral, aesthetic ideals
and the immutable regulatory requirements imposed on him as a member
social community.
22) Socialization of personality: concept, forms and institutions.
It is known that a baby enters the world as biological organism and his main concern at that moment is his own physical comfort. After some time, the child becomes a human being with a complex of attitudes and values, with likes and dislikes, with goals and intentions, patterns of behavior, as well as with a unique individual vision of the world. Man achieves this state through a process we call socialization. During this process, the individual becomes a human person.
Socialization- this is the process of assimilation by an individual of patterns of behavior, social norms and the values necessary for its successful functioning in a given society.
Socialization - specific trait human society. Animals have only its simplest form - learning. There are widely known cases where human cubs were raised by animals. When such children were found, it turned out that the “jungle children” did not know how to think, speak and participate in social interaction. Having returned to society, they were able to learn only the most basic skills, master orally, consisting of 30 words. But this would not have happened if it were not for the genetic inheritance, biological predisposition human race to learning. The “isolants” never learned to be friends, to smile, to think abstractly, or to have a conversation.
This is a complex process of formation of a personality, its life position based on the influence (impact) on a person of the system of training, education and upbringing, including family, media, literature, art. The process of socialization covers all spheres of human (personal) life – from infant games to work and rest in adulthood and old age.
Socialization represents the contradictory unity of two defining trends:
· Unification, which manifests itself in the individual’s desire to be like everyone else, in mastering generally accepted abilities of communication and activity, stereotypes mass consciousness, And
· Individualization, which is expressed in the desire to form one’s “I”, to develop original ways communication and activity.
The socialization process is taking place stages, which, as a rule, correlate with the main life cycles: childhood, youth, maturity, old age. Within the approximate framework of these cycles, a person gains political, economic and social independence. Within the same framework, the process of personality formation simultaneously takes place. In the initial stage of socialization (childhood, adolescence) we are dealing with an individual who gradually becomes aware of his social “I”; in the third and fourth stages, with the successful completion of the socialization process, with a personality.
Personality can be viewed as the integrity of biological, psychological and social components.
1. Biological component - what is transmitted at the biological level, physiological parameters of a person (health / unhealthy)
2. Psychological component -
a set of emotions, experiences, volitional aspirations, memory, abilities, etc.
3. Social component -
a set of subjective and objective properties of an individual that arise and function in the process of their various activities. Hence, the most important characteristic of the social structure of a person is his activity as independence and as interaction with other people. All of these structural elements are found in every personality, although to varying degrees. Each person, one way or another, participates in the life of society, has knowledge, and is guided by something. Therefore, the social structure of the individual is constantly changing. The individual receives new information, new knowledge. This knowledge, under certain conditions, turns into beliefs, and they, in turn, determine the nature of a person’s actions.
The structure of any complex phenomena, and the human personality certainly belongs to them, is a collection, a hierarchy and a certain interaction of various elements. Any structure has a certain stability and at the same time is subject to various changes - progress and regression - up to collapse, which is characterized by the concept of destruction. Destructive phenomena in the personality structure lead to various deviations, called deviant behavior.
The sociological structure of the individual includes a set of objective and subjective properties of the individual that arise and function in the process of his various activities, under the influence of those communities and associations to which the person belongs. Hence, the most important characteristic of the social structure of a person is his activity as independence and as interaction with other people, which is fixed by the concept of the subject of activity. An analysis of the structure of a personality without an analysis of the forms of its activity is impossible.
Value orientations act as social attitudes of an individual and regulate his behavior. They reflect the fundamental interests of the individual and determine the strategic direction of its activities. They manifest themselves as the individual’s life position, his worldview, and moral principles. Holistic orientations are formed when an individual assimilates social experience, masters social, political, moral, aesthetic ideals and immutable normative requirements imposed on him as a member of a social community.