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Man

Man, a creature representing the highest level of life’s development, a subject of socio-historical activity. As a subject and product of labour in society, M..is a system wherein the physical and the mental, the genetically conditioned and the acquired during life, the natural and the social form an inseparable unity. As Marx wrote, "the essence of man is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality it is the ensemble of the social relations." (Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Collected Works, Vol. 5, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1976, p. 4). M. is studied by several sciences, e.g. anthropology, sociology, ethnography, pedagogy, anatomy, physiology, etc. Marxist-Leninist philosophy gives the most generalised and, at the same time, the most concrete historical characteristic of M. Psychological science studies his psyche and its development (see Sociogenesis), his individual psychological features (see Individuality; Personality), the roles he performs in social life, his activities and communication (1). Virtually all psychology is concerned with M. as an individual involved in social relationships, with his development in the course of instruction and education, and with his moulding in activity and communication, primarily in labour.

Management

Management, see Leadership; Leader (Manager).

Manipulation (by Animals)

Manipulation (by Animals), a manifestation of motor activity embracing all forms of active shifting of elements of the environment in space by animals (as counterposed to locomotion— movement in space by animals themselves). With the higher animals M. is achieved primarily with the aid of the mouth and the front limbs ( investigation of items, eating, defence, constructive activity and others). M. arid a manipulatory solution of a task gives 172 an animal the most profound, diverse and significant data on object components of the environment and the processes taking place in it. In the course of evolution the progressive development of M. played a major role in the development of the cognitive abilities in animals and became the basis for forming their intellect. In fossilised primates—the ancestors of man— M., especially of "biologically neutral" objects, was the basis for the emergence of labour activity.

Marginal States

Marginal States, slight, obliterated forms of mental disorders close to the conventional boundary between mental health and pronounced pathology. The scope of these disorders is very wide. There are M.S. in the narrow and broad sense. M.S. in the narrrow sense include psychogenies without acute psychotic disorders (reactive states, neuroses), psychopathy, and mental disorders in extreme conditions. M.S. in the broad sense include slow, sluggish forms of schizophrenia, mild forms of circular psychosis ( cyclothymia), psychosomatic disorders, chronic alcoholism (without pronounced degradation), etc. when patients show no profound psychic changes. Generally, M.S. are characterised by presence of specific psychosocial factors which play a dominant role in their forming and temporarily disrupt the individual’s adaptability and integrated state. People in M.S. require specialised psychotherapeutic and sociopsychological aid both by medical institutions and consulting centres, "confidence phones", etc. oriented to healthy people.

Mass Communication

Mass Communication, systematic dissemination (with the aid of technical means of circulation) of specially prepared socially significant messages among large, anonymous, dispersed audiences with the aim of influencing the attitudes, evaluations, opinions and behaviour of people. M.C. is an important social and political institution of modern society, acting as the subsystem of a more complex system— communication (2) and fulfilling on a wide scale the function of ideological and political influence, support of a social community, its organisation, information, education and entertainment, whose concrete content depends primarily on the distinctive features of a social system. Peculiar to M.C. is the institutionalised character of sources and feedback lag. Complexes of technical equipment which ensure rapid transmission and mass circulation of verbal, pictorial and musical information (the press, radio, television, cinema, audio- and video-recordings), are summated by the term mass communication means. On the sociopsychological plane, M.C. possesses a number of important additional opportunities as compared with more traditional types of communication ( interpersonal and public). Practice has shown that the M.C. effect depends largely on whether the psychological characteristics of the audience are taken into consideration: attention, perception, comprehension, and memorising of the messages. The dependence of the psychological processing of communication on the specifics of M.C. in general and of each concrete means 173 on the organisation of the flow of information, on the specific interests of various groups within the audience; corresponding interference and barriers; ways of overcoming them, etc. are being studied by psychology, sociology and the semiotics of M.C.

Mass Panic

Mass Panic, a form of crowd (mob) behaviour, psychologically characterised by a state of mass fear of real or imaginary danger, a fear that grows in the course of mutual contagion and inhibit the ability to rationally assess the existing situation, mobilise one’s volitional resources (see Will) and organise concerted counteraction. An interacting group of people degenerates more readily into a panicstricken mob with less clear or less subjectively meaningful common goals and with lower group cohesion and lower authority of group leaders. One would distinguish the socio- situational conditions conducive to M.P., those due to a general mental tension causing a state of anxiety and anticipation of calamitors events ( earthquake, war, military coup d’etat, etc.); common psychological factors ( surprise; fear caused by scarcity of evidence about the exact source of danger; time of danger; and ways for countering that danger); and physiological factors (fatigue, hunger, intoxication, etc.). A detailed study of the factors and mechanisms instrumental to M.P. makes it possible to develop specific measures for preventing and halting M.P. which had already started. At the same time, relevant knowledge is widely used by special services in capitalist countries to evoke M.P. among political opponents (to fight against “illegal” meetings, manifestations, etc.), and also in warfare.

Mass Phenomena

Mass Phenomena, coinciding assessments and attitudes, adopted stereotypes and suggested patterns of behaviour, linked with a more or less simultaneous psychic state of people, as a result of communication (2) in large groups (see Group, Large). The multiform types of behaviour of a crowd, mass hysteria and mass panic, rumours, fashions, and also socio- psychological traits of peoples (see Mood, Public), public opinion, etc., are considered M.P. The systematic study of M.P. was begun in the framework of two independent trends in the 19th-century psychology: the psychology of peoples (Moritz Lazarus, Heymann Steinthal, Wilhelm Wundt) and the psychology of the masses (Gustave Le Bon, Gabriel Tarde, Vilfredo Pareto). At the present time M.P. is the subject of investigation of the psychology of large groups, psychology of propaganda, and commercial psychology.

Materialism and Idealism in Psychology

Materialism and Idealism in Psychology, the two basic philosophical orientations, whose struggle has influenced the development of psychological thought throughout its entire history. Materialism proceeds from the principle of the primacy of material existence, and the secondary nature of the spiritual, psychic, which is seen as a derivative of the outside world, independent of the subject and his 174 consciousness. Since in the development of scientific knowledge about psyche a major role is played by the discovery of regularities determined by non-psychological factors, such as the environment and bodily substratum, it is precisely materialism that is a motive force of progress in psychology. In ancient times materialistic ideas were manifested in different teachings on the soul as a part of the elemental force of nature: fire (Heraclitus), air (Anaximenes), atoms (Democritus), and others. Along with the views of philosophers who explained psychological processes materialistically, of great importance were the views of doctors on the dependence of a man’s nature on the mixture of diverse components in the organism (teaching on temperament). Such a naive materialist orientation was unable to help explain a subject’s capacity to grasp non-sensory (abstract) truths, to subordinate deeds to ethic ideals, to make one’s own consciousness the object of analysis. These real properties of man’s psyche were interpreted by idealism (Plato, Plotinus, Augustine) as the by-products of a special immaterial entity—the soul, which rules over everything earthly, material, h an approach linked idealist philosophy very closely with religion. In the New Age the remarkable successes of the materialistically-oriented natural science stimulated the flowering of psychological thought, which elaborated its most important theories in the 17th century: on reflex, on perception as a product of the influence of external objects on the brain, on associations and their organic mechanism, on affects (passions). All these processes were interpreted by Descartes, Hobbes and Spinoza from the materialist point of view. Such an understanding was developed in the 18th century by French (La Mettrie, Helvetius, Diderot, Pierre Cabanis) and English (David Hartley, Joseph Priestley) materialists, in opposition to the views which were advanced by teachings on the primacy of sensations in relation to external objects (George Berkeley, David Hume), on ideas as the primordial acts of the soul (Johann Herbart), and others. In the mid-19th century, a fundamentally new form of materialism, uniting it with dialectics, was developed by Marx and Engels, who elaborated the methodological principles on the basis of which Soviet psychology subsequently emerged. Dialectical materialism rejected diverse theories which ignored the activity of consciousness, man’s ability not only to reflect the world, but also to change it in the process of socio-historical practice. The dialectico-materialist explanation of psychic processes is counterposed to both the idealist and vulgar-materialist, the latter being a variety of reductionism, reducing psychic processes to neural phenomena. At the same time there exists a close tie between the dialectico-materialist approach to psyche and the spontaneous materialism of natural scientists. Thanks to their mid-19th century discoveries, the first important regularities of psyche were experimentally established [Weber-Fechner Law, the laws of the 175 visual perception (Hermann Helmholtz), types of reaction time ( Franciscus Donders), and others], which, along with the discoveries in biology (Charles Darwin) and physiology (Claude Bernard, Ivan Sechenov), led to the drawing up of psychology’s categorial apparatus, which resulted in its becoming an independent science. Since the above-mentioned process took place under the influence of idealist philosophy dominant in the capitalist countries of the West, it got inadequately transformed into conceptions stemming from an introspectionist approach to consciousness (Wilhelm Wundt, Franz Brentano). In Russia, this process followed a different direction in the consistently materialist teaching of Sechenov, who synthesized the achievements of natural studies of psyche in world science. At the turn of the 20th century a crisis developed in psychology, with idealist philosophy having a negative effect (Machism, pragmatism). Subsequently, the chief achievements of psychology were determined by its link with physiology, cybernetics and other sciences, where spontaneous-materialist tendencies are dominant. Soviet psychology consistently realises the philosophico-methodological principles of dialectical materialism.

Meaning

Meaning, a general form of the reflection by a subject of the sociohistorical experience acquired in the process of joint activities and communication (1) and existing as concepts incorporated in the patterns of action, social roles, norms and values. An image of the world, of other people and of the subject himself appears before the subject’s consciousness through a system of M’s. The individual system of M’s, as interiorised (see Interiorisation) standards, conditions the cognitive processes (perception, . thinking, memory, etc.) and the acts of social behaviour. Control over the processes of the subject’s individual activity is carried out through the system of M’s. The bearers of M., along with the structures of the natural language, include such sign systems as diagrams, maps, formulas and blue prints, systems of symbolic images, the “language” of the arts (painting and architecture, dancing and pantomime, etc.). M. reveals itself as the content of signs, images, and actions in a socio-normative sense that is stable for the individuals living in a particular cultural environment. The representation of knowledge in a socionormative form leads to its comprehension. By expressing an individual experience (perception, thinking, emotional experience, etc.) in M. with the aim of communication, the subject thereby comprehends it. M., combined with the personalised meaning and the sensory fabric, forms the structure of individual consciousness (Alexei N. Leontyev). The individual system of M. develops in the course of ontogenesis. Genetically earlier forms of M’s have been singled out, which precede its most developed form—the concept (Lev Vygotsky). In’them, generalisation is at first carried out on the basis of the resemblance of the emotional tone of the objects (see Emotions). 176 These earlier forms also include " everyday concepts" which are generalisation of individual experience and do not enter into the systems relations with other concepts. Generalisations, as a form of M. used by a child, may not coincide with generally accepted concepts. However, it is imperative for social interaction, communication and reciprocal understanding that the individual M’s being formed should coincide, as regards the object, with the socially acceptable forms. On a functional plane, the M. of a word represents the unity of generalisation and communication, of the intellectual and the communicative functions of the subject. M. is a complex, hierarchically structured entity composed of more splintered compounds, sometimes called semas, semantic signs, the "atoms of M", etc. Their identification and the ascertainment of the relations between them, i.e. the semantic analysis of M. is the task of psychosemantics.

Measurement (in psychology)

Measurement (in psychology), the revealing of the quantitative characteristics of psychic phenomena under study. The concept of M. was introduced at the turn of the 20th century as a result of the striving of all experimental sciences to apply mathematical methods. In a broader sense, M. is a particular procedure under which numbers (at least ordinal numbers) are assigned to objects according to established rules. The rules themselves are set with a view to establishing a correlation between certain properties of the numbers and those of the objects. It is the possibility of achieving this correlation that substantiates the importance of M. in psychology. In conducting M., the researcher proceeds from the assumption that everything which exists reveals itself in one way or another, or affects something. The multiplicity of psychic phenomena and factors of development in psychology is commonly called variables since they vary in quantity depending on individuals and time. The general goal of M. is to determine the magnitude of one indicator as compared with other indicators by measuring its “weight”. From the standpoint of the M. theory, it is imperative to discern these aspects: (a) the quantity and range of the variables (the number of correct answers, the range of interests, etc.); (b) the frequency of the manifestation: correspondingly, the more often it manifests itself, the greater is the importance of a particular property; (c) the magnitude and strength of the manifestation. There are two basic trends in M.— psychophysical and psychometric. The first is characterised by attempts to bring into correlation, in experimental conditions, real physical stimuli (objects of different weights, intensity of light, sound, etc.) and the sensations evoked in a person by . these stimuli (see Psychophysics). The psychometric direction is basically connected with the creation and application of psychological tests (see Testing) representing a model situation helping to receive patterns of behaviour and emotions. Like any measuring instrument, the 177 tests must be precise and reliable, valid and adequate. All these properties are appraised using particular mathematical procedures (see also Scale; Scaling).

Medical Psychology

Medical Psychology, a branch of psychology which employs psychological regularities in diagnostics, treatment and disease prevention. M.P. studies the activity of doctors, medical personnel, their attitude to a patient, the psychology of patients and their attitude towards each other, the role of psychological factors in the origin of psychosomatic disorders, iatrogenic illness. M.P. area of research includes correctional work, specifically psychotherapy, psychohygiene, use of the possibilities of psychopharmacology, psychological assessment in the course of the social and labour rehabilitation of patients. M.P. is divided into two main spheres: (1) use of psychology in a mental hospital, where the chief task is to study the influence on a patient’s mind of changes in the structure and functioning of the brain, conditioned by either acquired or inherited pathology, specifically genetic anomalies; (2) use of psychology in a clinic for somatic diseases, where the main problem is the influence of psychic states (factors) on somatic processes. In Soviet psychological science, neuropsychology, pathopsychology, and special psychology have been noticeably developed in the framework of M.P. The elaboration by these M.P. branches of problems of the brain organisation of higher mental functions, the correlation of development and disintegration of psychic activity, etc. laid thefoundation for M.P.’s active participation in solving diagnostical, experimental and rehabilitational problems. The second sphere of M.P. is less developed, which is determined primarily by the insufficient scientific elaboration of questions linked with the nature and mechanisms of interaction of somatic (bodily) and psychic processes. Among the most important is also the problem of studying doctorpatient relations. At present psychologists, physiologists, doctors, biologists and others pool their efforts to work out problems in this sphere of M.P.

Meditation

Meditation, intensive, deep-going reflection, preoccupation with an object, idea, etc., which is achieved by concentrating on one object and elimination of all factors that distract attention, both external (sound, light) and internal (physical, emotional and other tension). M. is a method of psychic training, which acquires diverse forms depending on the cultural-historical environment. The greatest number of indications of M. methods have been preserved in the East—in India, China and the cultures associated with them. The Eastern types of M. (represented by all forms of yoga in India, Taoism in China) presuppose the religiousmystic dissolution of individual consciousness in an impersonal, oceanlike absolute—a situation that is realised by the image of a butterfly burning in a candle flame, or a doll of salt dissolving in sea water. Another religious-mystical direction of M., which 178 was cultivated by Christianity, interpreted it as a merging of two personalities (human and divine). In the 20th century techniques of M. were elaborated in some schools of psychoanalysis, specifically in analytical psychology, and also as a system of psycho-physical training, aiming at a therapeutic effect and not linked with any religious-mystical ideas (Johann Schultz’ autogenic training, a system of “biofeedback”, and others).

Melancholic Person

Melancholic Person, a subject possessing one of four basic types of temperament, characterised by a low level of psychic activity, slow movements, restrained motor action and speech, and easy fatigue. A M. is distinguished by high emotional sensitiveness, depth and stability of emotions with their slight external expression, with negative emotions prevailing. In unfavourable conditions a M. may develop an increased emotional sensitivity, reserve, alienation. Ivan Pavlov considered that with representatives of a melancholic temperament the inhibitive process prevails, accompanied by low excitability and inhibition.

Memorising

Memorising, a general term used to denote the process of keeping material in memory. M. is a vital condition for the subsequent recollection of newlyacquired knowledge. The success of M. is determined first of all by the ability to incorporate new material into the system of meaningful relations. Depending on where M. processes are taking place, distinction is made between voluntary and involuntary M. In the case of involuntary M., a person does not set out with intent to remember some particular material. Here, processes connected with memory carry out operations servicing other actions. As a result, M. is of a relatively spontaneous ’nature and is fulfilled without special voluntary efforts, a preliminary selection of material or the conscious application of any mnemonic methods (see Mnemonics). It should also be mentioned, that in this case M. still depends on the goals and motives of activity. As was shown by the studies of Soviet psychologists (Pyotr Zinchenko, Anatoli Smirnov), involuntary M. is much more successful when memorised material forms part of the goal of the undertaken action. The specifics of the problem being solved also play an important role. An orientation towards semantic relationships leads to a more profound processing of the material and a prolonged involuntary M. Voluntary M. is a specific action whose purpose is to record material exactly for a maximal period with the aim of subsequent reproduction or simple recognition. It indicates a choice of methods and means of M:, thereby influencing its results. A complex mediated structure is typical for this kind of M. The drawing up of a preliminary plan, the identification of semantic reference points, the semantic and spatial grouping of the material, the presentation of the material as a vivid image, and the correlation of the material with accumulated knowledge are among the commonly used methods of voluntary M. Other things being 179 equal, voluntary M. is more productive than involuntary M. and ensures a more systematic character, a conscious assimilation of new knowledge and control over this process (see Learning Ability). Repetition plays an important role among the M. mechanisms. By extending the effective duration of the impact made by information, it serves as a means for the development of the highest socialised forms of memory, above all, voluntary M. At the same time, research indicates that repetition is not an absolute necessity for longterm M. In fact, its role considerably declines when an attempt is made to memorise vitally important material and data carrying a great semantic load.

Memory

Memory, the processes of structuring and storing past experience to make possible its repeated use in activity or its recall to the sphere of consciousness. M. links the subject’s past with his present and future, and is a major cognitive function underlying development and teaching. Studies of M. are of interdisciplinary nature, since it occurs at all levels of life in various forms and includes not only retainment of individual experience, but also mechanisms of transmission of hereditary information. Recently, these studies have expanded owing to the appearance of computer technology for data storing and retrieving. Experimental studies of M. were initially started at the end of the 19th century by Hermann Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist, who used himself as a subject to chart the quantitative laws of memorisation, retention and reproduction of sequences consisting of nonsense,syllables. This approach was subsequently continued in behaviourist studies of verbal learning (see Behaviourism) . M. studies involving complex meaningful material began almost simultaneously. In the early 20th century, the French philosopher Henri Bergson contrasted "M. of the spirit", establishing comprehended single events from the subject’s biography, to “memory-habit”, resulting from mechanical repetition. The role of material organisation in memorising was emphasised by Gestalt psychology. Psychoanalysis attempted to explain forgetting phenomena through “suppression” of unpleasant, traumatic impressions from consciousness. Frederick Bartlett, a British psychologist, showed the complex reconstructive character of the process of recollecting stories and its dependence on cultural norms in a given society. The significance of socio-cultural factors in the development of various forms of human M. was stressed by the French psychologist Pierre Janet and the French sociologist Maurice Halbwachs. Soviet psychologists, basing on the methodology of dialectical materialism, developed a concept of M. as a purposeful action relying on the use of socially developed signs (see Cultural-Historical Theory; Sign). In addition to voluntary memorising, studies were also made of involuntary memo-, rising. For instance, Pyotr Zinchenko and Anatoli Smirnov investigated the dependence of successful memorising upon its position in the structure of 180 activity. In ontogenetic development (see Ontogenesis) there is a change in methods of memorising and the role of distinguishing meaningful, semantic relationships increases. Various types of M., viz., motor, emotional, imaginal and verbal-logical, are sometimes described as stages of such development (Pavel Blonsky, Jerome Bruner, and Jean Piaget). Analysis of M. and perception disorders performed by Alexander Luria, Hans-Lukas Teuber, and Roger Sperry in .the clinic of local brain lesions allowed them to establish that in dextral persons the processes in the left cerebral hemisphere are usually associated with verballogical memorising, and those that take place in the right cerebral hemisphere—with image memorising. Mnemonic events are based on changes in the activity of individual neurons and their populations, and also on more constant changes on the biochemical level (in RNA and DNA molecules). These processes are normally regarded as the substrate of two forms of M., namely shortterm and long-term M. (see Memory, Short-term; Memory, Long-term), this having been confirmed by experimental psychological evidence about the differences in quantity and methods of storing and retrieving data in reproduction. Some analogy between the stages of data processing by humans and .structural blocks of computers (see Modelling) had a noticeable effect in posing the problem of M. However, the functional structure of M. reveals much greater flexibility. For instance, the absence of a firm correlation of long-term memorising with verbal repetition processes in short-term M. is evidenced by data which show the possibility of successful recognition of a huge mass (as many as 1,000 and more slides) of complex object- structured visual material (faces, urban and rural landscapes, etc.). The potentials of image M. are exposed in cases of outstanding memory described in scientific literature, above all those involving so-called "eidetism". In psychological analysis of M., it is impertant to take into account that the latter is an element of the integral structure of human personality. As a person’s motivations and needs develop, his attitude towards his past may change; as a result, the same knowledge may be stored in his M. in different ways.

Memory, Long-Term

Memory, Long-Term, a subsystem of memory ensuring durable (for hours, years, and sometimes decades) retention of knowledge, and also of capabilities and skills, and characterised by a great volume of stored information. The main mechanism of data input and fixation in M.,L.-T. is usually regarded to be repetition, which is achieved at the level of short-term memory (see Memory, Short-Term). Yet, purely mechanical repetition does not lead to stable long-term memorising. Besides, repetition serves as a requisite for fixating data in M.,L.-T. only in case of verbal or readily verbalisable information. Intelligent interpretation of new material, and the establishment of associations between that material and something 181 already known to the subject, are of decisive significance. The external, superficial form of the memorised communication, e.g. the precise sequence of words in a sentence, may be lost, but the meaning is retained for a long time. Given the enormous volume of information stored in memory, one can readily understand that successful search of data is only possible with well structured information. Judging from experimental evidence, several forms of knowledge organisation function simultaneously in M.,L.-T. One of them is organisation of semantic information in hierarchic structures by the principle of distinguishing more abstract, generic notions and more specific ones. Another form of organisation characteristic of commonsensical categories involves the grouping of individual notions around one or several typical representatives of a given category, i.e. prototypes. For example, a “table” may serve better as a prototype of the category “furniture” than a “cabinet” or a “sofa”. Semantic information in M.,L.-T. involves both cognitive and affective elements which reflect different personal attitudes of the subject towards various types of information (see Meaning’, Personalised Meaning). The study of information organisation in M.,L.-T. is an important means for diagnosing cognitive spheres and personality (see Psychodiagnosis; Psychosemantics).

Memory, Sensory

Memory, Sensory, a hypothetical subsystem of memory which ensures retention for a very short period of time (normally, for less than one second) of the products of sensory processing of information arriving in the sense organs. Depending on the types of stimuli, we distinguish ikonic memory (vision), echoic memory (audition) and other forms of M.,S. Presumably, M.,S. retains the physical features of information; this distinguishes it from short-term memory (see Memory, Short-Term) and longterm memory (see Memory, LongTerm) , which are typified by verbalacoustic and semantic coding, respectively (John Atkinson). Yet, this distinction is conventional since preservation of physical (perceptual) features may be long-term, while distinction of semantic characteristics is already possible in relatively early stages of data processing.

Memory, Short-Term

Memory, Short-Term, a subsystem of memory that ensures immediate retention and transformation of data arriving from the sense organs and from long-term memory (see Memory, Long-Term). A requisite for transferring material from sensory memory to M.,S.-T. is said to be in giving that material due attention. Inner speech and frequent repetition usually taking place in the form of inner utterances play a key role in shortterm retention of information. Two types of repetition are distinguished. The first type is of relatively mechanical nature: it involves sound articulation and does not lead to any noticeable transformation of the subjecs-matter. This form of repetition allows to retain information at the 182 level of M.,S.-T., even though it is insufficient to transfer it to long-term memory. Long-term memorising becomes possible only with the second form of repetition accompanied by inclusion of the retained material into a system of associative relationships (for instance, by enlarging information units, i.e. by transition from uncoordinated letters to words, from words to sentences, etc.). Unlike longterm memory, M.,S.-T. can store only a very limited amount of information, not over 7+2 units of material. Contemporary investigations show, however, that limitations in M.,S.-T. are no obstacle to memorising large volumes of comprehended perceptive material, such as landscapes, faces, and works of art. The synonyms for M.,S.-T. are "operational and immediate" memory.

Mental Actions

Mental Actions, human actions ( ranging from mathematical transformations to assessments of other people’s behaviour) performed mentally without relying on external factors, audible speech inclusive. In this respect, M.A. differ from other forms of human actions (e.g. speech, physical actions). M.A. may be aimed at solving both cognitive [mental (see Thinking) and mnemonic (see Memory)] tasks and emotional (see Emotions) tasks. In Soviet psychology, M.A. have been studied with reference to problems of general, developmental and pedagogic psychology (mechanisms of specific mental phenomena, child’s age possibilities, correlation of training and intellectual development, etc.). By controlling the development of M.A. (see Step-wise Forming of Mental Actions, Concept of), the psychologist can to some extent improve the process of training and purposefully influence children’s mental development. In recent years, the results of studies on systematic development of M.A. are being increasingly used in preschool, school, and vocational training, and in institutions of higher learning.

Mental Development

Mental Development, natural change of psychic processes in time, manifested in their quantitative, qualitative and structural transformations. M.D. is characterised by irreversible changes and specific trend (i.e. ability to accumulate and "build up" new changes over the preceding ones), and also by their regularity, e.g. reproducibility of similar changes in individuals of the same species. M.D. is actualised in phylogenesis ’ ( establishment of mental structure in biological evolution of a given species, or in the socio-cultural history of all mankind and its individual ethnic, social, and cultural groups) and in ontogenesis ( forming of psychic structures during the lifetime of an individual organism, human or animal). A special object of investigation is the formation and disintegration of the cerebral organisation of psychic structures (see Neuropsychology). M.D. theories are distinguished by interpretation of mind structure and conditions that determine its transformation. Concrete scientific theories of M.D. originated in the 19th century and were further 183 elaborated in child psychology (see Developmental Psychology), animal psychology, and historical psychology while experiencing the impact of Charles Darwin’s evolutionary teaching (see Functional Psychology, Behaviourism). Attempts to distinguish specifically human, socio-cultural factors of M.D. were made in "volker psychologic" (psychology of peoples) (see Ethnopsychology) of Wilhelm Wundt and in the verstehende ( understanding) psychologie of Wilhelm Dilthey and Eduard Spranger, who, basing on idealistic ideas about the spontaneous activity of spirit, accentuated the dependence of personality on cultural phenomena objectified in symbolic forms (see Sign; Symbol). The then incipient social psychology (Emile Durkheim) explained the development of individual mind as a process of socialisation understood as subordination of individual mind to supraindividual norms fixated in " collective representations". An eclectic approach to M.D. is prevalent in contemporary Western psychology, which lacks a generally accepted theory and methodology. Only two general tenets characteristic of most conceptions may be singled out. To begin with, two groups of factors that determine M.D. . are distinguished, namely, natural capabilities and the ambient environment (most distinctly with William Stern, Karl Biihler, and their followers). Some psychologists (Gordon Allport) include personal activity differing from natural capabilities into a specific group of factors (see "Humanistic Psychology"). With regard to humans, psychologists (Jerome Bruner, George Mead, Jean Piaget, and Carl Yung) usually examine how the individual assimilates social norms and cultures objectified in symbolic forms to note that, under the influence of these forms, the structures of the mind change. Second, these psychologists recognise the presence of certain universal M.D. laws, for instance those that unite the ontogenesis and philogenesis of man’s mind. Under the direct influence of Ernst Haeckel’s biogenetic law, this idea was most clearly stated by Stanley Hall in his theory of recapitulation, according to which ontogenetic development of a child’s mind reproduces the phylogenesis of humankind. In Soviet psychology, Marxist-Leninist dialectics is the general theory of development and the methodological foundation of M.D. theories. In the 1920 and 1930s, problems of M.D. were chiefly studied within the framework of child psychology, and subsequently also on the evidence of animal psychology, pathopsychology, and historical psychology. In this case, M.D. is an objective process of systems nature. Yet to distinguish its individual components (aptitudes and environmental factors), and to elucidate their correlations would still be insufficient to understand the true nature and conditions of M.D. To do that, one would have to regard M.D. as a process of successive human involvement in several practical social activities. Interiorisation of the structures of such activities would determine the forming of multi-level basic structures of psyche.

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Mental Tension

Mental Tension, a psychic state caused by the subject’s anticipation of unfavourable trend of events. M.T. is accompanied by a feeling of general discomfort, anxiety and, sometimes, fear; however, unlike anxiety, it includes a readiness to master the situation and to act within that situation in a definite way. The degree of M.T. is determined by many factors, the most important of which are the power of motivation, the significance of the given situation (see Personalised Meaning), presence of similar emotional experience, rigidity ( inflexibility) of mental functional structures involved in various types of activity. Among the factors that bring about M.T. the most significant ones are frustrations and conflicts in the area of meaningful personal relationships between the individual and his social surrounding. When M.T. cannot be resolved in real acts, it activates the psychological defence mechanism. In some interpretations, M.T. coincides with the notion of psychological stress. Depending on the impact on performance, one would distinguish operational and emotional M.T. Operational M.T., which is based on the prevalence of procedural motives of activity, has a mobilising effect on the individual and helps him to retain a high level of work capacity. The development of states of emotional M.T. is characterised by a pronounced negative emotional tinge of behaviour and by a break in the motivational structure of individual activity, and leads to a decline and disorganisation of its performance.

Method of Foster Children

Method of Foster Children, see Methods of Psychogenetics.

Method of Semantic Differential

Method of Semantic Differential, a method of constructing subjective semantic spaces. Suggested by the US psychologist Charles Osgood in 1952, it is used in studies connected with a person’s perception and behaviour, with an analysis of social attitudes and personalised meanings in psychology and sociology, in the theory of mass communications and advertising, and also in aesthetics. M. of S.D. is a combination of methods of controlled associations and scaling. The measured objects (notions, images, personages, etc.) are assessed by a series of bipolar grade (three-, five-, seven-point) scale, the poles of which are usually given verbally. Along with the verbal, nonverbal semantic differentials have been elaborated, where graphic descriptions, picturesque paintings and photoportraits are used as scale poles.

Method of Semantic Radical

Method of Semantic Radical, one of the objective methods of experimental semantics, elaborated by Alexander Luria and Olga Vinogradova (1959) and consisting in the analysis of meanings by singling out their associative fields. M. of S.R. is a conditionalreflectory technique that uses as a criterion of semantic proximity of the objects the transfer of conditionalreflectory reactions from one object to another which is semantically linked with it. Thus, in presenting a number of notions (for instance, “violin”, “mandolin”) of a definite semantic class (musical instruments), which are 185 accompanied by a negative reinforcement (electric shock), the further presentation of words that are semantically linked with the reinforcement arouse a defence reaction, while those more indirectly linked with the reinforcement (sonata, concert)—an orientating reaction. The semantic range of objects linked with reinforcements is built on the basis of recorded reactions. By the strength and character of the reaction (defense or orientating) one can distinguish the centre and periphery of the semantic range. Generalisation of a conditionalreflectory reaction is normally effected through semantic relations (violin— violoncello), and for the mentally retarded—by phonetic ones (volley— valley). M. of S.R. is valid for the study of unconscious processes in categorisation, for investigating the development of meanings in ontogenesis, when studying the dynamics of the formation of notions, in general psychology, neuropsychology, and pathopsychology.

Method of Twins

Method of Twins, see Methods of Psychogenetics.

Methodology

Methodology, a system of principles and methods of organising and constructing theoretical and practical activity, and also the teaching about this system. M. is realised in the organisation and regulation of all types of human activity, not only scientific but also technical, pedagogical, political, managerial, aesthetic and others. Initially M. was inexplicitly represented in people’s practical relations with the objective world. An important role in its turning into a special sphere of rational cognition was played by training for mental operations (initially included in labour, and then separated from it), for their consistency and selection of the most effective way of achieving a goal. With the progress of production, technology and culture in general, M. becomes an object of philosophical reflexion and establishes itself as a system of socially tested principles and rules of cognition and activity in their correlation with the properties and laws of objective reality. The existing principles of M. turned into diverse forms and norms of logically correct, verifiable methods of obtaining significant results. The progress of M. was determined by the successes of material and spiritual production. Thus, the 18th-century scientific revolution, which was closely linked with the changing nature of people’s production activity, resulted in the creation of a new M., which played an important role also in the origin of constructive approaches to the study of psychic processes in man. It is thanks to this M. that there appeared such subsections of psychology as the teaching on reflexes, on associations, on "passions of the soul" (see Emotions) and others. Subsequently M. was significantly enriched in connection with the general development of social practice and science and found a philosophical generalisation in the M. of dialectical materialism; moreover the dialectical method served not only as a means of theoretical cognition, but also an instrument 186 of the revolutionary transformation of reality. Dialectico-materialist M. adequately expresses the relations between theory and method, as well as the role of practice for cognition. Whereas theory represents the result of the process of cognition, M. determines the methods of accomplishing and constructing this knowledge. Thus, the principle of determinism guides research in elaborating physical, biological, psychological and social theories. In turn, having been verified by social practice, these theories can fulfil a methodological function, i.e. serve as the organising principle of a scientist’s work. Dialectico-materialist M. is general in character, but it is concretised when applied to different spheres of practical and theoretical activity. One such sphere is psyche, the study of which presupposes the elaboration of corresponding methods. Hence dialectico-materialist M., functioning as a general system of explanatory principles and regulators, is used in psychology in accordance with the peculiarity of its object, which requires the elaboration and use of special concrete-scientific M. The present-day conditions characterised by direct interaction of a great number of scientific orientations and disciplines, make it imperative to develop so-called general-scientific methods, which ensure the increment of knowledge in many disciplines. Such are, for instance, the methods of cybernetics, the use of which in psychology enriched the latter with new approaches and solutions. The great variety of methods inevitably creates the problem of selection of the most adequate and prospective of them for solving special research problems. This induces us to examine M. from the viewpoint of its heuristics, i.e. its ability to ensure the appearance of new ideas in concrete problem situations. M. is directly associated with world outlook, for the entire system of its regulators and instructions presuppose the interpretation of both the foundations of research and its results on the basis of world outlook. In psychological studies M. of different orientations is linked with their world outlook. Thus, M. of behaviourism is closely connected with a mechanistic understanding of behaviour, in Freudianism the empiric study of a personality is determined by such world outlook orientations as irrationalism, the counterposing of the personalised meaning of life to its dependence on the social conditions of man’s development, exaggeration of the role of sexuality. M. of Marxistoriented psychology is based on a dialectico-materialist world outlook. The sphere of M. includes an extensive complex of concrete-scientific research methods: observation, experiment, modelling and others, which in turn are divided into a great number of special techniques for gathering scientific data. Different levels of M. (philosophical, general-scientific, concrete-scientific) are interconnected and should be considered as a system. The improvement of M. is closely connected with the progress of scientific, technological, organisational and other forms of activity.

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Methods of Animal Psychology

Methods of Animal Psychology, methods of studying the animal behaviour, including observation and experiment. Observation of the natural behaviour of animals in their habitat is complemented by the study of their attitude to diverse objects, some of which are especially selected by the experimenter, and are sometimes presented to animal subjects in artificially created situations; the forms of manipulation with these objects are analysed. Experiments in animal psychology study the behaviour of animals in the course of resolving different problems. The basic experimental methods are: labyrinth method (finding the way to a goal object that is not directly perceived—fodder, shelter, etc.); roundabout method (finding the way to a goal object by avoiding one or several obstacles); method of simultaneous or consequent choice or differential taming (selecting objects—signals, drawings, etc.—- distinguished by one or several indices that change in a definite way); open field method (giving an animal the opportunity of free choice of way and position in a fenced-off space and, if needed, increasingly complicated structurally with objects, shelters, etc.); problem cage (box) method (finding a possible way out of the cage or entering it by opening more or less complicated locking devices); method of using tools (resolving problems with the aid of extraneous objects, which should be introduced into experimental situations between animals and goal objects— moving the bait closer with poles or ropes, building pyramids from boxes, etc.). These and other methods are used to study the sensory and effectory abilities, orientating-investigatory behaviour, emotions and memory of animals, their ability for learning, generalisation and transfer of individual experience, for intellectual actions and others. Studies in animal psychology are of great importance also for other branches of the psychological science (especially general and child psychology), for philosophy (especially gnoseology), anthropology (pre-history of anthropogenesis), medicine ( modelling on animals the psychopathological states of man, psychopharmacological experiments, etc.), as well as for cattle-breeding, pest control, service dog training, protection of the animal world, domestication of animals, animal farming and fisheries, zoological gardens, and other areas (see Comparative Psychology).

Methods of Personality Study

Methods of Personality Study, the sum total of methods and techniques for studying the psychological manifestations of a personality. According to the form and conditions of its application, M. of P.S. are divided into: experimental and non-experimental (for instance, analysis of biography), laboratory and clinical, direct and indirect, research and assessing (psychodiagnostics). The diiferentiation of M. of P.S. according to content is determined by the principles of interpretation of subject-matter of personality psychology. Depending on the dominant aspect of examination, M. of P.S. are divided into: (1) those studying the personality’s individuality; 188 (2) those studying the personality as the subject of social activity and the system of interpersonal relations;
(3) those studying the personality as an ideal representation in other people. In accordance with the first aspect, subjective and objective orientations are distinguished in the construction of M. of P.S. The subjective orientation is represented by projective (see Tests, Projective) and psychosemantic techniques (see Method of Semantic Differential; Method of Semantic Radical), aimed at characterising individual consciousness. The objective orientation, stemming primarily from the theory of personality traits, is represented by personality inventories, scales of interpersonal perception (see Perception, Interpersonal), techniques of assessing mental development and learning ability of an individual, a series of techniques assessing the psychophysiological characteristics of an individual. A certain unity of subject- and object-oriented research s achieved in the framework of interpretation of an individual’s activity, proceeding from the interconnection of the stable and dynamic qualities in consciousness and activity—genetic methods of studying how the personality is being formed (see Methods of Psychogenetics), methods of studying attitudes and dispositions, situationally independent activity (see Activity, Situationally Independent), level of aspirations, etc.). Soviet psychology has demonstrated that data obtained in the study of personality as an individuality cannot be directly extrapolated to the characteristics of a personality as the subject of interpersonal relations—the individually typical emerges in quite different ways depending on the development level of the social unit in which the individual is integrated. In this connection (second aspect) socio-psychological methods of studying a personality in groups and collectives (sociometry, referentometry, methods of studying role behaviour, and others) are used. In the third aspect of constructing and using M. of P.S. a personality is studied both inside and outside interindividual interaction (ideal continuity of the subject in other people— personalisation), etc. In the framework of the above-mentioned orientation a special principle of studying a personality is formed: the method of reflected subjectivity (analysis of the individual’s personality through its representation in the life activity of other people, their motivations, etc.).

Methods of Psychogenetics

Methods of Psychogenetics, methods making it possible to assess the influence of inborn factors and the environment on the formation of a psychic peculiarity of a person. The most informative is the twins method. It is based on the fact that monozygotic (one-ova) twins have an identical genotype, dizygotic (two-ova) are non-identical; moreover the members of any type of twin pair should have a similar educational environment. Then the greater interpair similarity of monozygotic twins compared to the dizygotic ones will bear out the presence of inherited influences on the changeability of 189 the property under study. A substantial limitation of this method consists in the fact that the similarity of the monozygotic twins’ psychological properties themselves may be of a non-genetic origin. The genealogical method is the study of similarity between relatives in different generations. Required for this is an exact knowledge of the number of properties of direct relatives of the maternal and paternal lines and the study of the widest possible circle of blood relations; data on an adequate number of different families, making it possible to disclose the similarity of family trees, may also be used. This method is applicable primarily in medical genetics and anthropology. However, the similarity of generations according to psychological properties may be explained not only by their genetic transmission, but also by social continuity. The population method makes it possible to study the spread of individual gene or chromosome anomalies in human populations. Analysis of a population’s genetic structure requires a large group of people, which should be representative, i.e. enabling the experimenter to make judgements about the population as a whole. This method is also more informative when studying diverse forms of hereditary pathology. As for the analysis of the inheritability of normal psychological properties, this method, taken in isolation from other psychogenetic methods, fails to provide reliable data, for differences between populations in the distribution. of one or another psychological feature may be due to social causes, customs, etc. The method of foster children is comparison of similarity by some psychological property between a child and its biological parents, on the one hand, and the child and its foster parents, on the other. M. of P. presuppose a specific obligatory statistical processing for each method. The most informative methods of mathematical analysis require the simultaneous use of at least the first two methods (see Psychogenetics).

Microstructural Approach

Microstructural Approach, a theoretical-experimental approach of present-day Soviet psychology. The task of M.A. is to study the coordination of actions and operations, which form the texture (microstructure) of different types of man’s cognitive and executive activity. Much attention is devoted to studying the formation (microgenesis) of perception, memorising, thinking, movements. The experimental methods developed in the framework of M.A. complement the methods of formation of internal psychic actions and an analysis of the macrostructure of activity, making it possible to study the organisation of highly automated mental processes that are hidden from external and internal observation. Relevant studies have resulted in the establishment of regularities of perception and retention of information, processes of task solving and execution of complex movements in a threedimensional environment (Vladimir Zinchenko, Boris Velichkovsky).

Military Psychology

Military Psychology, a branch of psychology that studies the 190 psychological aspects of various military activities with reference to specific socio-historical conditions, level of military technology, and personal and group characteristics, and also the methods involved in combat and political training (Konstantin Platonov). Soviet M.P., which appeared together with the Soviet Army, develops on the methodological basis of MarxismLeninism, serves the interests of the armed defence of socialism, and is historically progressive in nature. Basing on psychological investigations, it works out recommendations for perfecting the theory and practice of screening, selecting, training and educating servicemen, and for improving party-and-political work in the armed forces, psychological training of servicemen, and command of personnel. The respective aspects of M.P. apply to the various arms and services, and its issues are examined from the angle of the Soviet military doctrine and the inferences of social psychology, psychology of labour, engineering psychology, pedagogic psychology, etc.

Mimicry

Mimicry, see Expressive Movements.

Mind

Mind, a generalised characteristic of personal cognitive possibilities, in opposition to sentiments and will. In a narrower sense, M. is the individual psychological characteristic of human intellectual abilities.

Mnemonics (Mnemotechnics)

Mnemonics (Mnemotechnics), a system of different techniques which help memorise and increase the memory span by forming additional associations. One method of M. is the establishment of relations between the memorised objects and their distribution in an imagined, familiar space that is divided according to a definite principle. A pertinent example is memorising the sequence of colours in the spectre with the aid of phrases in which the first letters of the words correspond to the first letters of the names of colours ("Raising Onions in Your Garden by the New Villa"). In Ancient Greece some people used the M. method to acquire the ability quickly to memorise extensive, but often meaningless, material and demonstrated their art to the public. M. methods have only a secondary and auxiliary significance in raising the efficacy of memory, since the chief support of memorising are not artificial, but logically justified, meaningful relations both in what is being memorised ( between its separate parts), and between the memorised material and something already known.

Mobility

Mobility, a primary property of the nervous system constituting in the ability to rapidly respond to environmental changes. M. was characterised and studied by Ivan Pavlov, who suggested the basic techniques for diagnosing M., including those for determining the speed and ease with which nervous processes are replaced by processes with the same or opposite valence, and also the rate at which they occur and terminate.

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Modality

Modality, one of the main properties of sensations, their qualitative characteristics (colour—in sight, tone and timbre—in hearing, character of smell—in smell, etc.). Modal characteristics of sensations, as distinct from their other characteristics (spatial, temporal, intensity), reflect the properties of objective reality in a specifically encoded form (a length of the colour wave is reflected as colour, the frequency of tonal waves— as tone, etc.). The notion of M. along with sensations refers also to other psychic processes, describing the qualitative characteristics of cognitive images of any level and complexity.

Modelling (in psychology)

Modelling (in psychology), the study of psychic processes and states with the aid of their real (physical) or ideal, above all mathematical, models. The “model” is seen as a system of objects or signs, which reproduce some essential properties of the original system. The presence of a partial similarity ratio (homomorphism) makes it possible to use a model as a substitute or representative of the system under study. The model’s relative simplicity makes such an exchange especially graphic. The creation of simplified models of a system is an effective way of verifying the correctness and fullness of theoretical concepts in different branches of knowledge. The first attempts to use M. in psychology are linked with the study of psychophysical relations (see Psychophysics) and memory processes. The systematic. use of M. was characteristic of Gestalt psychology, which attempted to find a physical analogy in the formation of integral structures (Gestalts) in crystal-formation processes, change of the tension of pellicles, etc. The widespread use of this method in psychology began in the 1950s, when the development of cybernetics made M. possible in different areas of the purposeful activity of live creatures. This development was anticipated to a certain extent in the works of Soviet scientists Pytor Anokhin and Nikolai Bernstein, who created models of man’s complex physiological functional systems, which contained all the main components of subsequent cybernetic models of behaviour. In a relatively short period there appeared mathematical models of learning, informational models of memory, perception and attention. M. embraced also the more complex types of intellectual activity, such as playing chess and solving diverse problems (Allen Newell, Herbert Simon). The understanding of psychic processes as analogous with the processes of computer calculations held out especially good prospects. Some authors attempt to find a structural similarity between the organisation of man’s cognitive sphere and the structure of computer chips. This "computer metaphor" is particularly widespread in modern cognitive psychology. Others are attracted not by the computer’s functional architecture, but by its calculation power. In this case M. actually merges with the work being carried out in such branches of cybernetics as artificial intellect and machine sight. Models of psychic and psychophysiological 192 functions represent machine programmes, the concrete realisation of which depends largely on the language chosen for programming. Despite the number of successful examples, the M. of psychic and psychophysiological processes (psycholinguistic models of comprehension, discerning systems, integral robots, etc.), the prevailing opinion is that for the creation of viable psychological theories the use of this method alone is insufficient. As a rule, it is impossible to give an unambiguous description of existing data with the aid of formal models. In order to lessen arbitrariness in interpreting these data, it is necessary to use the results of a qualitative psychological analysis.

Modification of Behaviour

Modification of Behaviour, a method of social behaviour regulation suggested by US psychologists who support behaviourism. It was first used as a clinical method of psychotherapy in treating neuroses, and later came to be used with respect to mentally healthy people with the aim of developing automatic habits ensuring their adjustment to the conditions of life in capitalist society. It is utilised primarily in juvenile correctional institutions and schools and sometimes in management psychology in the USA and Britain, and is used and often misused in prisons (see also Social Psycholology; Corrective Psychology).

Mood

Mood, relatively protracted, stable psychic states of moderate or low intensity, appearing as a positive or negative emotional background of the individual’s mental life. Unlike situational emotions and affects, M. is an emotional response not to the direct consequences of given events, but to their significance for the person in question within the context of his general life plans, interests, and anticipations. In turn, formed M’s can affect direct emotional reactions to occurring events and correspondingly change the subject’s trend of thought, perception (see Social Perception), and behaviour. Depending on the degree of awareness of the factors that have caused a given M., the latter is experienced either as an integral emotional background (“elevated”, “depressed”, and other kinds of M.) or as a distinctly identifiable state (boredom, grief, melancholy, fear or, conversely, enthusiasm, joy, elation, delight, etc.). The ability to control one’s M. and to find and master ways for consciously correcting it (see Self-Regulation), comes out as an important task in education and selfeducation. Causeless changes in M. may be of pathologic origin if they are evoked by such individual properties as hyper worry, emotional instability etc. (see Accentuation of Character, Sentiments).

Mood, Public

Mood, Public, the prevailing feelings and thoughts of various social groups at a definite time period. M.,P. is not only a mass phenomenon in social psychology, it is also a highly significant force compelling people to activity and leaving an imprint in the behaviour of various collectives, groups and social strata, and also classes, 193 nationalities, and even nations. M’s, P. manifest themselves in all spheres of social activity: in production and everyday life, at demonstrations and meetings, in peace and war. A form of M.,P. is a mass mood capable of seizing and uniting highly varied social strata, groups and classes in a single social or political movement. The study of M.,P. is necessary to get an insight into the psychological sources of diverse ideological trends and to understand the socio-psychological mechanisms of mass social movements. M’s,P. are characterised by a definite subject orientation (political, aesthetic, religious, etc.), and also by the character and level of emotional strain (apathy and depression or animation and enthusiasm). In addition to global manifestations or animation and manifestations (mass moods, moods of specific strata, classes, and peoples), M.,P. may also be of local nature, manifesting itself in the socio- psychological climate of the microenvironment (see Climate, Socio- Psychological). M.,P. also reveals itself in the personality’s life activity to a measure in which his or her mood reflects the social circumstances of that activity and manifests his or her attitude to various phenomena and processes that take place in society (e.g. decadent moods in the period of social reaction).

Motivation

p Motivation, a process of inducing the activeness of an organism and determining its orientation. The term "M.", taken in a broad sense, is used in all spheres of psychology studying the causes and mechanisms of the purposeful behaviour of man and animals. Motivating factors may be divided into three relatively independent classes, in accordance with their manifestation and function. In analysing the question why an organism becomes active at all, we analyse the manifestation of needs and instincts as a source of activeness. In studying the question of what an organism’s activeness is directed at, for the sake of what the choice is made of precisely these acts of behaviour, and not others, we above all analyse the manifestation of motives as causes determining the selection of a direction of behaviour. In solving the question of how the regulation pf the dynamics of behaviour is realised, we study the manifestation of emotions, subjective emotional experiences (aspirations, desires, etc.) and attitudes in a subject’s behaviour.

Motive, (1) inducement to activity linked with the satisfaction of a subject’s needs; a set of external and internal conditions, which bring about a subject’s activeness and determine its direction (see Motivation); (2) an object (material or ideal) inducing and determining choice of direction of activity for the sake of which object it is implemented; (3) the cause of which the person is aware, one determining the choice of a person’s actions and deeds. Bourgeois psychology distinguishes a series of specifics of the nature and function of M. in regulating a subject’s behaviour: inducing and directing functions of M. [ psychoanalysis, behaviourism, dynamic 194 psychology, Kurt Lewin’s “field” theory (see Topological Psychology), ethology] , determination of man’s behaviour with unconscious M’s (psychoanalysis), the hierarchy of M’s (psychoanalysis, "humanistic psychology" and others), a striving towards equilibrium and tension as a mechanism of the dynamics of M. A shortcoming of these studies is their isolation from the context of man’s activity and his consciousness. In Soviet psychology the origin of M. is seen as caused by the general mechanism of the realisation of needs in the course of search activity and thereby turning its objects into M., "objects of needs" (Alexei N. Leontyev). Hence the central regularity: the development of M. proceeds through the change and expansion of the sphere of activity which transforms objective reality. In animals the range of objects which serve as M’s are a gift of nature and is strictly limited by the set of instinctive forms of adjustment of each biological type. In man the source of development of M. is the free process of social production of material and spiritual values. Such potential M’s in ontogenesis are objective values, interests and ideals inherent in a given society, which in case of their interiorisation by an individual may acquire the motivational force and become acting M’s. These M’s fulfil the function of meaning formation, i.e. lend a personalised meaning to the reality reflected in individual consciousness. The function of meaning formation is associated with control over the general orientation of an individual’s activity. The control function is carried out not directly by M., but through a mechanism of "emotional correction" of behaviour (Alexei Zaporozhets): emotions evaluate the personalised meaning of the events that are taking place and if this meaning proved groundless M’s change the general orientation of an individual’s activity. The dynamics of M’s in concrete situations is determined by situationally independent activeness (see Activeness, Situationally Independent), which leads to an individual’s posing of superobjectives and the appearance of new M’s of activity. The study of the motivational-semantic sphere constitutes the central problem of the psychology of personality, its historical and ontogenetic development.

Motives, Justification of

Motives, Justification of, a rational explanation by a subject of the causes of activeness by pointing to socially admissible for him and his reference group (see Group, Reference) circumstances which induced him to make a given choice. M.,J. is distinguished from a person’s real behavioural motives as one of the forms of realising these motives. With the aid of M.,J. an individual sometimes justifies his actions and deeds, bringing them into conformity with approved social norms of behaviour in a given situation and his personal norms. M.,J. may sometimes be used consciously by a subject to mask the real motives of his behaviour (see Defence, Psychological) .

Movements, Involuntary

Movements, Involuntary, impulsive or 195 reflex motor acts performed without control of consciousness. M’s,I. may be of an adaptive nature (e.g. blinking, withdrawing one’s hand from a painful irritant) and of a non-adaptive nature (e.g. chaotic movements in case of dulled consciousness) (see Psychoses). M’s,I. may be classified as strictly involuntary and postvoluntary. The former are formed without conscious control (unconditioned-reflex and conditioned-reflex movements; motor skills acquired through trial and error; innate and clinical automatisms, etc.), while the latter are formed as voluntary, but during the subsequent abbreviation of the orientating basis, in the course of the formation of movement, they leave consciousness, becoming automatic, involuntary. M’s,I. may become voluntary only as a result of special training in forming a system of motor orientators (see Movements, Voluntary). Postvoluntary movements can again become voluntary without special training. However, if the system of realised orientators is absent (or extremely reduced), M’s, I. are difficult to correct or change.

Movements, Voluntary

Movements, Voluntary, external and internal bodily acts (processes) consciously regulated by the subject on the basis of his need for reaching the goal represented as the image of the anticipated result. M’s, V. presuppose a conscious orienting towards the goal both by means of speech and representation (imagination). M’s, V. may be performed both by muscles of the body’s external organs, and by the smooth musculature of the visceral organs (for instance, the blood vessels), which are responsible for vegetative functions. Experiments have shown that movements first formed as involuntary, may become voluntary, if the motor orientators are placed on an external plane (for instance, while observing the changing tone of vessels on the scale of a device) with the subsequent transformation of these orientators to the internal plane, to the form of specific motor (kinaesthetic) orientators. Initial forms of M’s, V. can be found in lower animals, the so-called “instrumental” or operant movements in situations when an irritant is absent and the movement, which starts and occurs in its absence, finally allows the animal get hold of the object of its need (the prey).

Muscle Sensation

Muscle Sensation, a complex of sensations that appear due to the work of an organism’s muscle system. The notion ’of M.S. was introduced by Ivan Sechenov, who interpreted it as a special form of cognition of spatiotemporal relations of the environment, and not as a reflection of the condition of the muscle system itself (see Receptor). According to Sechenov, a weak perception of M.S. signals, its “darkness” gave Kant cause to consider space and time a priori forms of contemplation. At the same time thanks to M.S. (which presupposes an organism’s actions) a person learns to compare objects, carry out simple operations of analysis and synthesis, i.e. goes through "an elementary school of object thinking".