Personality theories in foreign psychology.

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 Topic: Personality theories in foreign psychology.

 

1. Personality problem in the school of associative psychology.

2. The personality problem in the Gestalt school of psychology.

3. In the school of behaviorism scharacter problem.

In the science of world psychology, various theories have been created about the maturity of a person, his development, and researchers take different positions in the study of the human personality and have a unique approach to clarifying the essence of the problem. These theories include biogenetic, sociogenetic, psychogenetic, cognitivist, psychoanalytic, behaviorist. We will touch on the views of the principles of personality development by the theories listed below and some of their representatives.

On the basis of the biogenetic theory, the biological maturation of a person is considered as the main factor, and the development of the remaining processes acquires a voluntary character, and only a mutual connection with them is recognized. According to this theory, the main goal of development is focused on biological determinants (determinants) and socio-psychological characteristics are derived from their essence.

The process of development itself is first interpreted and interpreted as a universal stage of biological maturation.

The biogenetic law was discovered by F. Muller and E. Haeckel. Biogenetic law played a certain historical role in promoting the theory of organ development and in the fight against anti-Darwinists. However, he made serious mistakes in explaining the relationship between the individual and historical development of the body. In particular, according to the biogenetic law, the individual development of a person's psychology (ontogeny) briefly repeats the main stages of the historical development of the entire human race (phylogeny).

According to the German psychologist W. Stern, a baby (a newborn child) is not yet a human being, but only a mammal, after six months of age, it is only equal to monkeys in terms of mental development, and at the age of two it becomes an ordinary person, at the age of five it is primitive reaches the level of people in a herd state, goes through a primitive period starting from school age, reaches the mind of medieval people at the age of junior school, and only in the mature period (16-18 years old) does it reach the cultural level of modern people.

American psychologist S. Hall, one of the major representatives of biogenetic theory, called it the main law of psychological development. calculates the "cone of recapitulation" (brief recapitulation of the phylogeny). According to him, individual progress in ontogeny repeats important stages of phylogeny. According to the scientist's interpretation, infancy is nothing more than a return to the stage of development characteristic of animals. And the period of childhood corresponds exactly to the period of hunting and fishing, which were the main occupations of ancient people. Between the ages of 8 and 12, the period of growth is adolescence, which coincides with the peak of maturity at the end of savagery and the beginning of civilization. Adolescence, starting from puberty (12-13) and continuing until adulthood (22-25), is equivalent to romance. According to S. Hall's interpretation, these periods consist of "storms and pressures", internal and external disputes (conflict), during which a person develops a "sense of individuality". This theory of the revolution of the personality serves as a source of many critical comments in its time, because the stages of development in the human race do not and cannot exactly repeat the phylogeny.

Another type of biogenetic concept was developed by representatives of German "constitutional psychology" (a theory based on human body structure), E. Krechmer introduced a number of biological factors (for example, the type of body structure, etc.) into the basis of personality (psychology) typology and associated it with the physical type of a person. assumes that there is an integral relationship between the nature of growth. E. Krechmer divides people into two large groups, and one of them belongs to the cycloid category (quickly excitable, very stable in feeling), and at the other end to the schizoid category (humane, difficult to get into relationships, emotional he says that there are special people who have limited sense. He tries to transfer this assumption to the period of personality development, as a result, he concludes that adolescents have cycloid characteristics (hyperexcitability, aggressiveness, affective nature, and early adolescents have schizoid characteristics. But in a person, biologically determined qualities cannot always play a leading and decisive role, because the individual-typological characteristics of a person do not exactly match each other.

Representatives of the biogenetic theory, American psychologists A.Gezell and S.Hall, work closely with the biological model of development, and conclude that in this process cycles of balance, integration and renewal alternate.

In the history of psychology, the most obvious manifestation of biologicalism is expressed in Sigmund Freud's interpretation of personality. According to his teaching, all behavior (behavior) of a person is conditioned by unconscious biological tendencies or instincts, especially first of all, it depends on sexual (sexual) inclination (libido). Such biologizing factors cannot act as a single criterion or unique motivation that determines human behavior.

The opposite of the biogenetic theory is the sociogenetic theory, which is at the opposite pole. According to the sociogenetic approach, changes occurring in a person are explained based on the structure of society, methods of socialization, means of interaction with the people surrounding him. According to the theory of socialization, a person is born as a biological species and becomes a person under the direct influence of social conditions of life.

One of the most important influential theories of Western Europe is the theory of roles. According to the essence of this theory, society offers each of its members a set of stable ways of behavior (behavior) called status (rights)! The special roles that a person must perform in the social environment leave a significant mark on a person's behavior, relationship and communication with others.

Another popular theory in the United States is the theory of individual experience and knowledge acquisition (independent acquisition). According to this theory, a person's life and his attitude to reality are often the result of the acquisition of skills and knowledge, the result of continuous reinforcement of the stimulus. (E. Thorndike, B. Skinner, etc.).

The theory of "spatial necessity field" proposed by K. Levin is of great importance for the science of psychology (in its time). According to the theory of K.Levin, the behavior of an individual is controlled by desire (aspiration), goals (intentions), which act as a psychological force, and they are directed to the scale and base of the space of spatial necessity. .

Each theory analyzed (interpreted) above explains the social behavior (behavior) of a person based on the characteristics of a closed or limited environment for others, where a person has to adapt to this environment regardless of whether he wants to or not. The belief that 'i (skill) is necessary is followed.

It seems to us that in all theories the socio-historical situations and objective conditions of human life are completely ignored.

There is also a psychogenetic approach in psychology, which does not underestimate the value of biogenetic and sociogenetic factors, but considers them to be of primary importance in the development of mental processes. This approach can be analyzed in three independent ways, as each of them differs in its essence, product and process.

Psychodynamics is a theory that analyzes human behavior with the help of irrational (other than mental cognitive processes) components of the psyche, such as emotions, inclinations, etc. One of the major representatives of this theory is the American psychologist E. Erikson. He divides personality development into 8 periods, each of which has its own unique characteristics.

The second period is infancy. During this period, the baby develops a feeling of "trust" in relation to the outside world, which is based on the unconscious. The main reason for this is the target of love, care and passion of parents. If the baby does not have a basis of trust, but instead has a feeling of insecurity in relation to existence, in that case, there is a possibility that adults will experience limitations and despair.

In the second period, i.e. early childhood, a creature develops a sense of semi-independence and personal dignity, or on the contrary, their opposite, shame and doubt. The growth of independence in the child creates a wide opportunity to control his body, and prepares a thorough ground for forming the feelings of order and discipline, responsibility, responsibility, and respect, which will become personal characteristics in the future.

The third period is the so-called play age, and covers children from 5 to 7 years old. In this period, there is a sense of initiative, a desire to implement and do something. If the way to realize the desire is blocked, the child will feel guilty in this situation. At this age, the circle, that is, group play, the processes of communicating with peers become important, as a result, the child can try different roles and develop his imagination. At the same time, the child begins to develop a sense of justice, a desire to understand it.

The fourth period is called the school age, and the main changes in it are characterized by the ability to achieve the desired goal, the sense of achievement and the desire for productivity. Its most important value is efficiency and productivity. The negative aspects (disadvantages) of this age are also noticeable, and among them, the lack of positive qualities, the inability of the mind to cover all aspects of life, the lack of intelligence in solving problems, the lag (slowness) in acquiring knowledge, etc. . At the same time, a person's individual attitude towards work begins to form.

The fifth period - adolescence - is characterized by its unique character, individuality and sharp differences with other people. Also, as a teenager, he has defects (flaws) such as uncertainty, failure to fulfill a certain role, and indecision. The most important feature of this period is the moment when "deferral of role" is considered a change and rises to a certain stage of development. He will expand the scope of his roles in social life, but will not have the opportunity to seriously occupy all of them, although at this time he will be limited to trying himself in adolescent roles. Erikson analyzes in detail the psychological mechanisms of self-awareness in adolescents, in which he explains the manifestation of a new sense of time, psychosexual interest, pathogenic (disease-causing) processes and their various manifestations.

The sixth period - youth is characterized by the emergence of the ability (desire) and need for psychological intimacy with another person (gender). In particular, sexual orientation has a special place in this area. In addition, youth is characterized by such characteristics as loneliness and sociability.

The seventh period is called the period of maturity, and the sense of productivity in all spheres of life and activity (in work, creativity, care, enrichment, transfer of experience, etc.) does. Also, in this period, it is possible that the feeling of stagnation will rule as a defect (illat) in some aspects.

The eighth period, that is, old age, is characterized by feelings of being able to fulfill one's duty as a human being, the comprehensiveness of life, and being satisfied with it. As a negative feature, at this age, it is appropriate to highlight the feelings of despair from life and activities, discouragement from them. Wisdom, purity, and freedom from sins are the most important aspects and generosity of people of this age, therefore, looking at each individual situation from the point of view of personality and generality is considered their highest importance.

E. Shpranger in his work "Psychology of Adolescence" recommends that girls enter from 13 to 19 years old, and boys from 14 to 22 years old. According to E. SHpranger, the main changes that occur during this age period: .

1. a) discovering the personal "I",

2. b) increase in reflection,

3. c) realizing (understanding) one's individuality and recognizing personal characteristics,

4. g) emergence of good life plans,

5. d) the establishment of self-awareness of one's personal life, etc. In his opinion, the essence of the crisis that occurs in 14-17-year-olds consists in giving them the feeling of getting rid of the childish attitude of adults. Another characteristic of 17-21-year-olds is the emergence of a "crisis of disconnection" and a sense of isolation from their peers and society. This situation is caused by historical conditions and factors.

E. Schranger, K. Buhler, A. Maslow and others are considered to be major representatives of the personological theory.

Among the founders of the cognitive direction are J. Piaget, Dzh. Can include Kelly et al.

J. Piaget's theory of intelligence is divided into two important aspects, which includes the theory of intelligence functions and periods of intelligence. The main functions of the intellect include organization (orderliness) and adaptation (adaptation, getting used to), and it is called the functional invariance of the intellect.

The author divides the development of intelligence in a person into the following stages:

1) sensorimotor intelligence (from birth to 2 years),

2) pre-operative thinking period (from 2 to 7 years old),

3) the period of concrete operations (from 7-8 to 11-12 years old),

4) period of formal (official) operations.

A group of psychologists who continued the ideas of J. Piaget can be attached to the cognitive-genetic theory. Representatives of this direction include L. Kolberg, D. Bromley, Dj. Birrer, A. Vallon, G. Grimm and others.

According to French psychologist A. Vallon, personality development is divided into the following stages:

1. G) the period of the fetus in the mother's womb,

2) period of impulsive action - from birth to 6 months,

3) emotional (feeling) period — from 6 months to a year;

4) sensorimotor (coordination of perception and movement) period — from 1 to 3 years,

5) the period of personalism (becoming a person) — from 3 to 5 years old,

6) differentiation period — from 6 to 11 years old,

7) puberty and adolescence — from 12 to 18 years. Another great French psychologist, Zazzo, was educated in his homeland

and, based on the principles of the educational system, approaches this problem in a different way and interprets it in its own way, recommends dividing the growth of a person into the following stages:

1. The first stage is from birth to 3 years of age.

2. The second stage is from 3 to 6 years old.

3. The third stage is from 6 to 9 years old.

4. The fourth stage is from 9 to 12 years old.

5. The fifth stage is from 12 to 15 years old.

6. The sixth stage is from 15 to 18 years old.

As can be seen in the scheme, R. Zazzo's approach to the stages of personality development based on the theory of formation and improvement as an individual led to the limitation of the high point of the stage of personality formation, i.e. socialization. That's why his teaching does not allow us to correctly reflect on the changes, characteristics and laws of human development in ontogeny.

G.Grimm personality development consists of the following stages

recommends that:

1) infancy - from birth to 10 days,

2) infancy — from 10 days to 1 year,

3) early childhood - from 1 to 2 years old,

4) first childhood period - from 3 to 7 years old,

5) second childhood period - from 8 to 12 years old,

6) adolescent boys from 13 to 16 years, 12-

girls up to 15 years old,

7) adolescence period — young men from 17 to 21 years old, 16-

girls (virgins) up to 20 years old,

8) maturity period: first stage — men from 22 to 35 years old, women from 21 to 35 years old, second stage — men from 36 to 60 years old, women from 36 to 55 years old,

9) old age, (period of old age) — men from 61 to 75 years old

s, women from 55 to 75 years old,

10) old age - from 76 to 90 years old (gender difference)

11) long-lived people from the age of 91 to infinity Dj. Birron imagines the development of a person as follows:

1) infancy - from birth to 2 years,

2) preschool period - from 2 to 5 years old,

3) childhood period - from 5 to 12 years old,

4) adolescence period — from 12 to 17 years old,

5) period of early maturity - from 17 to 20 years old.

6) maturity period — from 20 to 50 years old,

7) the end of the maturity period — from 50 to 75 years old,

8) old age from 76 years.

D. Bromley's classification is completely different from others, because in it the development of a person is divided into certain periods and stages: the first period includes the period in the mother's womb (zygote-embryo-fetus-birth), the second period (childhood): a) infancy - from birth to 18 months, b) pre-school stage - from 19 months to 5 years, c) school childhood - from 5 to 11-1.1 years, the third period (adolescence) - 1) early childhood adolescence — from 1 1 to 15 years, 2) adolescence — from 15 to 21 years, the fourth period (maturity) — 1) early maturity — from 21 to 25 years, 2) middle maturity — 25 from age to 40 years, 3) the last stage of maturity — from 40 to 55 years, the fifth period (old age) — 1) retirement stage — from 55 to 65 years, 2) old age stage — from 65 to 75 years. 3) the period of the oldest age - from 76 years to infinity.

Thus, we briefly reviewed the directions and theories of personality development in foreign psychology. From the analysis, it can be seen that among the psychologists of European countries and the United States, one general theory in this field has not yet been developed. The secret is the lack of consensus on the main sources of development, not being based on a clear methodology and scientific platform.