Definition of the concept
Psychologists and philosophers identify two aspects of the psyche that make a person human.
This is consciousness and self-awareness. Consciousness is understood as the highest degree of reflection of reality and control of life.
With the help of consciousness, a person controls his mental functions, forms a model of the external world, cognizes and evaluates everything that happens to him and around him.
The most important element of consciousness is self-awareness . It means the individual’s understanding of himself as an object of the world, the formation of an image of his “I”, ideas about himself.
Consciousness and self-awareness are functions that humanity acquired and developed in itself in the process of evolutionary development.
The first signs appear in infancy, when the child distinguishes sensations from different objects and processes that happen to him.
to clearly understand himself at 2-3 years old; at the age of seven, children develop self-esteem.
The most rapid and rapid development of consciousness and self-awareness occurs in adolescence , when a person is actively searching for himself, his style, and determining his place in life. During this same period, moral principles were formed.
Thus, the following forms are distinguished in consciousness:
- self-awareness,
- rationality, the relationship of oneself and one’s concepts with the world,
- reason, thinking consciousness,
- spirituality, the highest degree of consciousness.
There are many theories about consciousness . For example, Freud believed that every event and human experience is determined by the conscious and unconscious.
In the area of the unconscious there is the sexual and aggressive side of the personality, as well as those events that the individual has deliberately repressed from his memory and mind. When the unconscious tries to “break through” into consciousness, a person experiences a feeling of anxiety.
From the point of view of idealism, consciousness is always primary. The world cannot exist outside of human perception.
Materialism considers consciousness to be a property of highly organized matter. It not only reflects the existing reality, but also controls it.
Functionalism defines consciousness as a function, that is, a person, being in a conscious state, performs certain functions. Artificial intelligence is built on this .
Functions of consciousness
Acting as the most important component of personality, consciousness successfully performs a number of functions, including the following:
- cognitive – thanks to consciousness, a person forms a system of knowledge;
- goal-setting - the individual is aware of his needs, carries out goal setting, planning strategies to achieve his goals;
- value-oriented – a person analyzes, evaluates phenomena and processes of reality, and formulates his attitude towards them;
- managerial - the individual exercises control over his own behavior, the implementation of his own behavioral patterns in accordance with the set goals, formulated strategies for achieving them;
- communicative – consciousness exists and is transmitted in a symbolic form, and is closely related to the communicative activity of the individual;
- reflexive – thanks to consciousness, a person exercises self-control, self-awareness, self-regulation, which provides opportunities for personal development.
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Structure
What is included in the structure of consciousness? In psychology, important structural components of consciousness are identified:
- being,
- reflection,
- self-awareness.
It performs the following functions:
- Reflection . This includes an individual's ability to perceive, perceive, remember and store information.
- Reflection . This is an opportunity to realize oneself as an object of the world, to understand one’s “I”.
- Transformation . A person is able to set goals and achieve them.
- Creative . With the help of the mind, a person shows imagination and creativity.
- Grade . This includes emotions.
- Communication . A person conveys his knowledge with the help of certain signs. That is, consciousness cannot exist without communication.
- Time formation .
This is a holistic picture of the world, containing memories of the past, understanding of the present and future. This property is the main difference between humans and animals.
Conscious and unconscious actions
Consciousness does not exclude unconscious activity. If at first we analyze our actions, evaluate them, reflect on the situation or a question that is new to us. All this is recognized without human intervention in psychological activity. However, the process of fulfilling and achieving the set goal is automated.
Unconscious actions include walking, singing, speaking, reading, counting, and writing. To achieve automation, a person actively manages these processes and works hard on them. Moreover, such unconscious repetition of habitual actions can in an instant go from automated to controlled and controlled. In an unconscious state, a person is not able to objectively assess the situation, he does not control it and does not own this problem, he needs help, his behavior is disrupted and there is no ability to keep track of time.
A clear manifestation of unconscious activity is sleep. During this complex process, countless reactions occur in the brain. GNI is inhibited, and thanks to dreams, psychological exhaustion is prevented.
Dreams are one of the forms of consciousness, which is characterized by the presence of ideas. One of the scientists emphasized that dreams are an amazing combination of past experiences. What we see in a dream has already happened in life. Some absurd pictures that may appear before our eyes are based on experiences that have already occurred, which enter into reactions and various connections in a certain part of the brain.
When we wake up, we move from an unconscious state to a conscious state. Therefore, life is a unity and harmonious combination of subconscious life and conscious life.
Consciousness is especially necessary in such situations:
In solving complex and conflict situations. Make a decision if necessary. At the moment of psychological or mental threat. As necessary to overcome psychological or mental resistance.
Marketers especially often take advantage of a person's ability to act unconsciously. These people purposefully use a person’s tendency not to catch some information, but immediately put it into the subconscious. As a result, when a person sees similar information again, it seems familiar to him and, accordingly, necessary. So, without realizing it at all, we purchase goods that we do not need at all.
Scientists have realized that it is possible to easily control a person’s psyche by providing him with information at a certain moment. So this knowledge bypasses consciousness and is immediately deposited in the subconscious. This theory is called the 25th frame.
The ability of the brain to quickly perceive new information without the participation of consciousness and remember it well is used not only for the selfish purposes of marketers. There are a number of methods for learning a foreign language. One of the most effective is to use the 25th frame. The training lasts 45 minutes, which are divided into three parts. During the first, you are offered to view pictures with written foreign words, which change 25 frames per second.
Then, for the next 15 minutes, review the same words, but listen to the pronunciation. This lesson proceeds at a normal pace. The last 15 minutes are practice and you need to make an effort to get the right words out of your subconscious. Thanks to this technique, a person is able to memorize 7,000 new foreign words in just an hour, and these words remain in memory, although you may not use the language you are learning. Compared to the traditional way of teaching and learning a foreign language, you will have to put in a year and a half of effort.
Stages and functions of self-awareness
Self-awareness is an individual’s perception of himself, understanding of his differences from others, awareness of his needs, emotions, feelings, experiences.
Self-awareness performs the following functions:
- Distinguishing yourself from others, accepting your individuality.
- Maintaining consistency of actions and behavior, responsibility for one’s actions.
- Motivation for a specific activity.
- Formation of a model of relationships with others.
- The ability to develop personality traits, control emotions and feelings.
In its development, self-awareness goes through the following stages :
- Natural . The child learns to distinguish and perceive sensations and the effects of external factors on him with the help of sensorimotor intelligence.
- Social .
A person perceives himself, evaluates and compares with others. At this stage, self-respect and will appear. - Personal . The individual understands the reasons for his actions and evaluates the possibilities for further development.
Thus, the psychological structure of self-awareness consists of the following components :
- self-knowledge,
- self-control and self-regulation,
- self-esteem,
- self-acceptance,
- self-respect.
Stages of development:
- Awareness of identity, differentiation of oneself. Develops by 12 months of the baby’s life.
- Understanding oneself as a subject of society and activity. Appears at 2-3 years of age.
- Acceptance of individual mental characteristics. Formed in teenagers.
- Formation of moral and ethical principles. Begins to develop in adolescence.
How to master the conscious and subconscious
Due to the flow of information that hits a person, it is recommended to be extremely careful. Since the subconscious is intertwined with self-consciousness, it is necessary to begin to improve in various areas, but especially in art. This way you will be able to use your mind to a greater extent.
Be positive and visualize success. In this case, you will definitely be able to achieve your goal. Watch what you read or watch before bed. If you want to remember information that is useful for yourself or learn new foreign words, then repeat them before going to bed. For an hour at night, the brain will process the acquired knowledge and put it into the subconscious.
The more a person delves into the work of the brain and consciousness, the more difficult it is for him and the further he goes from the truth. Only a person is capable of knowing himself and exploring his own brain with the help of his brain. This dignity must be appreciated, used as much as possible with mental abilities, developed and controlled by the flow of information introduced into us.
Personality structure in sociology. Intrapersonal mechanisms
Psychological concepts.
Freud: id, ego, superego.
Jung: ego, personal and collective unconscious, attitudes, functions, self (core).
Horney: the basis is the needs (neurotic) of love, trust, etc.
And Maslow: personality structure depending on basic needs.
Sociological concepts. From the point of view of the human “I”.
C. Cooley. – the “mirror self” theory.
D.Mead. “I” consists of two parts: I-myself and I-me.
Domestic sociology.
I.Kon. Personality is viewed through the concept of social position, social role, social values, and orientation.
Zborovsky, Orlov . Systematic approach to the analysis of personality structure. Personality is a system consisting of certain elements that are interconnected with each other. They are trying to identify the core of the personality.
The personality structure has two subsystems:
1.world of consciousness – internal. world of personality.
2. The activity, behavioral subsystem is open to people.
Each of the subsystems is structured, all elements are interconnected. The core is the connection between the internal and external world of the individual. But it is not clear what is considered the core of personality. It should be at the junction of internal and external. The core of personality is the individual’s way of life - connections, relationships, transitions within. the world of personality, the world of consciousness into the external world - the world of behavior and activity. Lifestyle is a way of activity of an individual, determined by a combination of external and internal factors of existence and life of the individual.
Intrapersonal mechanisms:
Subsystem of consciousness:
· motivational mechanisms . They include the interaction of needs, motives, value orientations, the final result is their transformation into the goal of the individual’s activity. Needs are the initial drivers of a person’s activity. They reflect the objective conditions of the individual’s existence and are the most important form of communication between the individual and the environment. The need remains unconscious, at the level of the unconscious. Interests are conscious needs that determine cognitive drive. Value orientations are a focus on certain values, a person’s preferred attitude towards certain values. The value orientations of an individual exist in a certain social context. Associated with any social group. Motives for activity are specific internal drivers of activity that arise from the interaction of needs, values and interests. As a result, the goal of the activity is formed - a conscious image of the desired result and means of achievement. The nature of the goal is objective-subjective.
· Personal dispositions – a person’s predisposition to certain behavior in specific conditions, the ability to make a choice in specific conditions. They include the interaction of motives and incentives, leading to the emergence of personality attitudes. Stimulus is an external stimulant for activity (ec., gender, etc.). The action of the individual’s environment in the interaction of motives and incentives forms the personality’s attitude - general orientations, the focus of consciousness on any phenomena of reality. It expresses a person’s readiness to act in a certain way in relation to an object. This is the attitude of the individual to the environment and people.
· Memory mechanism . Memory is the main body of knowledge and information that was learned in the process of its socialization.
Levada distinguishes two levels in the memory structure:
1. deep – all the information that has been accumulated by humanity and that has been mastered by the individual.
2. operational – all information involved at a given moment in time by a person
Intrapersonal mechanisms of the individual, their interaction determines the lifestyle of the individual, the interaction of its mechanisms, the behavior of people, and the real life activity of the individual.
