11 Psychological mechanisms of regulation of social behavior of an individual


Social regulation of individual behavior.

The social behavior of the individual – a complex social and socio – psychological phenomenon. Its emergence and development is determined by certain factors and is carried out according to certain laws. In relation to social behavior concept of conditionality, the determination is replaced, as a rule, the concept of regulation. The ordinary meaning of the term "regulation" means a regulation, establish that – in accordance with certain rules, the development of which – in order to bring it in, proportioned to establish order. The behavior of the individual is included in the extensive system of social regulation. The functions of social regulation are: formation, evaluation, maintenance, protection and reproduction of the necessary subjects of regulations, rules, mechanisms, means of subsistence and reproduction of the type of interaction, relationships, communication, activity, consciousness and behavior of the person as a member of society. The subjects of the regulation of social behavior of the individual in the broadest sense are the society, small groups and the personality. In a broad sense regulators of individual behavior are the "world of things", "human world" and "the world of ideas." By belonging to the subjects of regulation can be distinguished public (in the broad sense), social, psychological and personal factors of regulation. In addition, the separation can go to the parameter and the objective (external) – subjective (inner).

External factors of regulation of behavior.

Personality is included in the complex system of social relations. All kinds of relationships: production, moral, legal, political, religious, ideological determine the real, objective, proper and dependent relationships of individuals and groups in society. To implement these exist against the various types of regulators. A broad class of external regulators are taking a social phenomenon with the definition of "social", "public". These include: social production; public relations (broader social context of life of the individual); social movements; – Public opinion; social needs; the public interest; social consciousness; social tensions; the socio – economic situation.

Common factors include the determination of universal life, lifestyle, wealth, social context.

In the sphere of the spiritual life of the community controls the behavior of the individual are the morals, ethics, mentality, culture, subculture, the archetype of the ideal, values, education, ideology, media, philosophy, religion. In the sphere of politics – power, bureaucracy, social movements. In the sphere of legal relations – right law.

Of universal controllers are: sign language, symbol, traditions, rituals, customs, habits, prejudices, stereotypes, media, standards, employment, sports, social values, environmental situation, ethnicity, attitudes, life, family

A narrower scope of external regulators up socio – psychological phenomena. First of all such adjustments are: large social groups (ethnic groups, classes, strata, occupation, cohort); small social group (community, group, community, team, organization, opponent circle); group events – socio–psychological climate, collective representations, group opinion, conflict, mood, tension, inter–group and intra–group relations, tradition, group behavior, group cohesion, reference groups, the level of development of the collective.

The general socio – psychological phenomena governing social behavior, are the symbols, traditions, prejudices, fashion, tastes, communication, gossip, advertising, stereotypes.

By the personal component of social – psychological regulators include: social prestige, position, status, authority, belief, attitudes, social desirability.

Universal form of expression of the social factors governing behavior are social norms. Their thorough and analysis contained in the works of M. Bobneva. Social norms are a guiding principle, a rule, a sample taken in the common standards of conduct governing relations between people. Social norms are different in terms of content, in the spheres of action, in the form of authorization, mechanisms for dissemination, socio–psychological mechanisms of action. For example, the rule of law are developed, formulated, approved by special government agencies, established by special legislation, supported by the state. They articulated the always reflected in the verbal constructions, objectified in the vaults of laws, codes, statutes, reflected in the regulations.

In addition to written and unwritten universal norms that allow to evaluate the behavior, regulate it, there are rules, adopted in a particular community. This community can be both formal and informal, sometimes quite narrow in its composition. Often, these rules regulate negative, from the point of view of the majority and the state, asocial behaviors. It – group norms governing the behavior of certain groups and individuals. On this basis, for example, unlawful, criminal behavior belongs to the category of normative behavior, i.e., regulated by certain rules.

Ethical norms – norms of morality and ethics – historically develop, regulate conduct of people, relating it to the absolute principles (good and evil), standards, ideals (justice). The main criterion of morality of certain norms is manifested in them man's relationship to the other person and yourself as a truly human being – the individual. Moral norms – it is, as a rule, unwritten norms of behavior. Moral norms regulate social behavior, group and private. Similar in their psychological content, the method and mechanism of the origin of exposure to ethical standards are the norm religious. From universal moral norms are distinguished religious affiliation, the narrower community that defines the rules and accept them as the establishment and conduct rules (precepts of various religions). These rules vary in their degree of normativity (stiffness) acts of religious norms fixed in the canons of the Church, the scriptures and commandments, in the unwritten rules of relationship to the divine, spiritual values. Sometimes religious norms have a narrow local distribution area (the standards of conduct of certain religious sects and their representatives). Sometimes the rate is valid within the same area ("in every parish its statute"). To the category of absolutely directive existing rules of social behavior of the individual are the rituals. Rituals – is conventional norms of behavior. This "first of all the visible action of the person or persons calling everyone who is present, to pay attention to what – the events or facts, and do not only pay attention, but also to express a certain emotional attitude, promote the public mood. This required some principles: – first, a common convention of the action; in – the second, the social significance of the phenomenon or fact on which the ritual is concentrated; – third, its specific purpose. The ritual is designed to create a unified mental attitude in a group of people to call them to a single active empathy or recognition of the importance of the fact or phenomenon.

Along with the social norms macrogroups, norms of political, legal, ethnic, cultural, moral, ethical, there are numerous groups of rules – as the organized, realistic, formalized in a given society or community structure and nominal, unorganized groups. These rules are not universal, they are derived from social norms, is a private, special and secondary education. This group, socio–psychological norms. They reflect the nature, content and form of the more common forms, as well as the specifics of community nature, group, nature, form, content relationships, interactions, relationships between its members and its particular characteristics, specific conditions and goals.

Group norms of social behavior of the individual can be formalized and formalized. Formalized (decorated shown, fixed, external representation) the nature of the normative regulation of behavior represented in the organization as the main form of social association of people. In it there is a system dependent and due relations. All organizations use a variety of standards: standards, models, templates, patterns, rules, imperatives of behavior, actions, relationships. These rules regulate, authorize, evaluate, urging encourage people to carry out certain actions in the system of interactions and relationships of people in the organization as a holistic social education.

Internal regulators of behavior.

The system of external influences, objectively existing factors of determination of social behavior of the person appears as an object of social regulation. But the most important in the study of social behavior is to understand that the person – it's not only the subject of social behavior, but also the subject of regulation of this behavior. All psychic phenomena appear in his double as they the result of the determination of external influences and determine the behavior and human activities. These two plans are combined in the main mental functions: reflection, relationships, and regulation. The regulatory function of mental behavior and activity is shown with different degrees of severity and intensity in different blocks of psychic phenomena. The largest units: mental processes, mental states and psychological qualities. As part of mental processes as internal controls are the cognitive processes through which a person receives, stores, transforms, it produces the desired behavior for the organization of information.                    A powerful regulator of interaction and mutual influence of people (in joint activities and communication – as a form of social behavior) is an oral and written language (language acts external controller behavior). Inner speech – one of the psychological (intimate) controls personal behavior. As part of the mental processes specific regulatory load are such phenomena as insight, intuition, judgment, reasoning, problem solving. Generalizing cognitive flow regulators is the subjective semantic space.

Mental conditions are an important arsenal of internal controls behavior. These include – affective states, depression, expectations, attitudes, mood, attitude, obsessive–compulsive disorder, anxiety, frustration, alienation, relaxation. Psychological qualities of the person providing the inner subjective regulation of social behavior. These qualities exist in two forms – personal characteristics and socio–psychological qualities of the person. The former include – internal locus of control – internal reasons, the meaning of life, activity, relationship, identity, orientation of the personality, self – identity, needs, reflection, life strategies, life plans. Socio – psychological personality phenomena both internal regulators of behavior include: disposition, achievement motivation, social need, affiliation. attraction, goals, evaluation, position in life, love, hate, doubt, sympathy, satisfaction, responsibility, set, status, fear, shame, expectation, anxiety, attribution. By proper regulatory unit of psychic phenomena is motivational – volitional and requirement of the individual studies (V. Aseev) showed that various features of the motivational system, such as its hierarchical, multi–level nature, bimodal (positive – negative) structure, the unity of actual and potential , procedural and discrete aspects have a specific regulatory effect on the social behavior of the individual. Motivation, motive, motivation exercise trigger regulation of behavior. The main source of motivation are the needs of the person. In the emotional sphere of personality (feelings, emotions, sentiments) made personal attitude to what is happening to the very social behavior, assessment of events, facts, people interaction and relationships.

Volitional processes (desire, desire, conflict of motives, decision making, implementation of volitional action, committing the act) are the final stage of the social regulation of behavior.

The dialectic of internal and external regulation of behavior.

It would be wrong to imagine that the external and internal controls exist situated relatively independently of each other. Here they are not considered separately for reasons of principle, but rather a didactic purpose. In fact, between the objective (external) and subjective (internal) controls there is a constant interdependence. It is important to note two things. In – First, the creator of the predominant number of external controls, including transformed the surrounding reality, is a man with his subjective inner world. Hence, the "human factor" was originally included in the social determinants of individual behavior. In – the second, in the understanding of the dialectic of internal and external regulators clearly realized the dialectical – materialist principle of determinism, formulated by S. Rubinstein.

According to this principle, external causes are refracted through the internal conditions. External regulators act as external causes of social behavior of the individual, and internal controls function as the lens through which the refracted facets effect of these external determinants. Assimilation of human society developed standards most effectively when these standards are included in the complex inner world of the individual as it is an organic component. However, people not only metabolizes externally defined, but also generates personal standards. With their help, he prescribes regulatory asks himself his personal position in the world of social relations and interactions, generates forms of social behavior, which is realized the process of formation, the dynamics of his personality. Personal stern representations relate to a person about himself. Violation of these rules causes a feeling of discomfort, guilt, self – condemnation, loss of self – respect. Develop and follow these norms in the behavior associated with a sense of pride, self – esteem, self – esteem, confidence in the correctness of their actions. The content of the internal world of the person consists of feelings associated with the implementation of the external determinants of adherence to standards, as well as the ratio of external regulators specify the person, their evaluation. As a result of the dialectical interaction of internal and external controls carried out a complex psychological process of development of consciousness, moral beliefs, value orientations of the individual, the development of social skills, the restructuring of the motivational systems, personal meanings and values, attitudes and relations, the formation of the necessary socio – psychological characteristics and special structure personality.

In the dialectic of internal and external determinants of personality is in its unity as an object and subject of social regulation of behavior.

The mechanisms of social regulation of individual behavior.

Personality is sovereign. The question of interfering in her life, about the ethics of the social regulation of behavior, forms of such regulation, and on the borders of permissibility of the objectives, means and methods is of great social importance. This value lies in the fact that the regulation of behavior serves as a mechanism of interaction and relationships of people in all spheres of life. Essentially, we are talking about the essence of the social process, on the management, ordering all the psychological components of this process.

Social control command value lies in the fact that the regulation of the result can be positive, socially significant and negative, contradictory settings, traditions, norms of society. For example, the impact on the person through a group recognized as the most effective way of social identity reconstruction. At the same time, small groups may act not only as agents and intermediaries of macro influences, but also as barriers to noise sources such influences. In adverse social conditions can form groups, asocial in their aspirations, promote the development of "group egoism", contrasting interests of the group and its members to the interests of the community and society as a whole.

Diverse mechanisms of social regulation of individual behavior. They are divided into institutional and non – institutional. The content of the regulation mechanism of action is: the establishment of foreign regulators conduct (norms, rules, patterns, instructions, codes); regulation of behavior; its evaluation; determination of sanctions.

Channels regulation of social behavior of the individual are small groups of people · joint activities, communication, social practice, · media.

Socio – psychological mechanisms of regulation include all levers – suggestion, imitation, reinforcement example, infection; advertising and promotion techniques; methods and means of social technology and social engineering; social planning and social forecasting; mechanisms of management psychology.

The process of regulating the conduct is carried out in the course of active and passive assimilation of norms and rules, exercises, repetitions, socialization and education of the person.

As a result, regulation of the interaction behavior of people, their joint activities, relationships are formed, is in the process of communication. The overall result of the action of social regulation mechanisms can be manipulated person, the modification of individual behavior, social control.

The elements of social control system are:

Technology, which includes technical link – technical equipment, measuring instruments, and so on, all items intended for monitoring purposes; technological link in the narrow sense – a set of instructions, methods of organization of control.

Institutional – separate specialized institutions involved in a particular type of social control (Commission, monitoring committees, administrative staff).

Moral – public opinion and mechanisms of personality in which the standards of conduct group or individual recognized and experienced as their own individual requirements. It defines and private person participating in the implementation of a certain kind of social control through technological, institutional arrangements and public opinion. The personality acts as object and subject of social control.

To understand the regulatory mechanism of social control actions are essential features of the informal no institutionalized control. In this sense the greatest psychological control. The main features of this type of control consists in the fact that its implementation does not require the approval authority. It is not based on a proper position of a man and his moral consciousness. Everyone has a moral consciousness, may be subject to social control, i.e., able to evaluate the actions of others and their own actions. Every act done in the team (. Theft, deceit, betrayal, etc.) is the subject of informal control – criticism, condemnation and contempt. Depending on the degree to which it affects the interests of the community to the person can be applied and institutionalized mechanisms, administrative sanctions (dismissal, prosecute them, and others.).

Scope of informal control is much broader. Under its influence does not just committed actions, deeds, and intention to commit immoral actions and deeds. The most important psychological mechanisms of informal control are the psychological sense of shame, conscience, public opinion. They determine the effectiveness of any external influence on the personality. In them and through their most clearly expressed in the interaction of internal and external controls, the interaction of ethics and social psychology of the individual.

Self – regulation of the social behavior of the individual

The supreme regulator of social behavior is the personality as all mental processes, properties and states. This was discussed above. Furthermore, in the process of self – activated by their specific identity and process properties. These phenomena are primarily motivational processes, consciousness and self–identity. Awareness of external influences allows the individual to use them as criteria, standards, measures the extent of their own behavior. In the process of realization of social impacts a person develops attitudes to themselves and others, evaluates and forms related to their behavior and the behavior of other members of the community and the group to partners in direct, indirect contact and interaction. Knowledge of self and relationship to itself as an object and subject of social impact and social behavior carried out in the consciousness of the individual. Interesting studies conducted self – I. Chesnokova, S. Jacobson, P. Jacobson. The self– consciousness lies the knowledge of the man himself and his relationship to himself: to his needs, impulses, motives, feelings and thoughts. The element of consciousness is self – esteem, which is related to its ability, assessment of the appropriateness of his actions and deeds, their abilities and moral qualities.

In the understanding of consciousness as a regulator of social behavior is necessary to distinguish between different types of social consciousness deterministic: civil, national, social, professional, ethnic. These types of self–advocate for the person as a social – psychological phenomena that govern its behavior.

Public knowledge and attitude of the person to itself is contained in the I – image, self – concept. These constructs include the idea of his or her identity, identity; a certain unity of interests, aptitudes, values orientation; some self–esteem and self–esteem: the experience of himself as the subject of activity. "I – concept" in all of its constituent elements (now I'm perfect I represented by I) regulates the actual, planned, an ideal social behavior of the individual. The most effective personal phenomenon of self–regulation of behavior are moral categories of shame and conscience. In these phenomena manifest a person's ability to evaluate themselves in terms of society. They express a person's ability to be a subject and object of self–esteem, self–ability, public censure or approval. The conscience of man – it is the quality that gives him the opportunity to compare their behavior with the established social moral norms, allows the person to administer "the trial itself" in itself, is an obvious public estimation.

The feeling of shame is different from the conscience that it has a more pronounced external character: a man assesses himself in accordance with the criteria of the people around him. Shame – it is one of the most sophisticated devices that regulate human behavior in the social environment, self–regulation of social behavior of the individual mechanisms. This is one of the most is psychological self–regulation mechanisms. "Shame – Porshnev wrote – robs the person of its social authority, he drew her negativism, puts it to a certain extent outside of the community. Ethical norms of society only become fully human psychology, where the violation of these rules will cause resentment sincere response. Few, if a person is aware of inadmissibility and the punishment for theft. It is necessary that he was invincible shame if it would be called a thief. In turn, the "shame" – powerful means of public education. "

As self – regulation mechanisms, in addition to the action of the moral qualities of the personality are: self – esteem, self – report, self – control, self – hypnosis, self – analysis, self – promotion, sutured psychological catharsis, planning and forecasting their own behavior, the individual life plans, life meaning, internal locus of control, self–determination of the individual. Self – regulation of behavior is formed during the life of the individual, in constant interaction and relationship with the environment, in the process of collaboration and communication with other people. Along with the common areas of the formation and development of personality – training, education, social – historical practice – in the formation of self – regulation mechanisms of social behavior included self – education, self – regulation, self – education, self – improvement, self – determination of the individual, his socialization.

A generalized description of social behavior is that it is – a system of socially determined language and other semiotic – semantic formations action by which a person or social group involved in public relations, interact with the social environment. In the social behavior of human action are included in relation to society, to other people and the world of objects. These activities are regulated by social norms of morality and law. The subject of social behavior and the personality of a social group.

The purpose of the social behavior of the individual is ultimately to transform the surrounding reality, the implementation of social changes in society, social – psychological phenomena in the group, personal transformation of the individual.

The result of social behavior are, in the broadest sense, the formation and development of interactions and personal relationships with other people. To achieve these results, the exclusive role belongs to the communication.

The behavior of the individual is included in the extensive system of social regulation. By belonging to the subjects of the regulation can be identified social, socio – psychological factors or private regulation.

In addition, the separation can go to the parameter and the objective (external) – subjective (inner). In fact, between the objective (external) and subjective (internal) controls there is a constant relationship.

External regulators act as external causes of social behavior of the individual, and internal controls function as the lens through which the refracted facets effect of these external determinants. Mastering human standards developed most effectively when these standards are included in the complex inner world of the individual as it is an organic component. However, people not only metabolizes externally defined, but also generates personal standards.

In the dialectic of internal and external determinants of personality is in its unity as an object and subject of social regulation of behavior. The supreme regulator of social behavior is the personality as all mental processes, properties and states.

Knowledge of self and relationship to itself as an object and subject of social impact and social behavior carried out in the consciousness of the individual.

Control questions

  1. Needs, motivations, interests, values, norms, attitudes and their role in mental regulation of social behavior of the individual.
  2. The concept, structure and function of the social system. The setting of studies in the school D. Uznadze for the study of social attitudes. Methods of measurement of attitudes (attitudes).
  3. The ratio of social attitudes and actual behavior (Lapierre phenomenon).
  4. The concept of V. Yadov the hierarchical structure of personality dispositions.
  5. A. Leontiev of motivational – semantic regulation activities.
  6. The ratio of the concepts social attitude, need, motive, personal meaning.