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Sanguine Person

p Sanguine Person, an individual possessing one of the four basic temperaments and characterised by high mental activeness, energy, work capacity, agility, diverse and abundant mimicry, and quick speech. S. P. seeks frequent changes of impressions, readily responds to all events, and is a good mixer. S. P. is characterised by quickly developing and changing emotions; also, he gets over his failures relatively easily and quickly. The famed Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov believed that, in S. P., excitative and inhibitory processes are quite intense, balanced, and mobile. Under unfavourable conditions and negative educational influences, mobility in S. P. may result in lack of concentration, unjustified haste, and superficiality.

Scale, an instrument for measuring permanent properties of an object, consisting of a numerical system in which relations between various properties of objects are expressed by the properties of numerical series. In psychology and sociology, various S’s are used to study characteristics of socio-psychological phenomena. Initially, four types of numerical systems were distinguished to determine four respective levels (or scales) of measurement, namely, the nominal S., the ordinal S., the interval S., and the proportional S. These are distinguished basing on mathematical transformations allowed by each S. The difference in the^^1^^ measurement levels of some quality may be illustrated by the following simple example. If people were to be divided solely into those satisfied and dissatisfied with their work, one would obtain a nominal S. of job satisfaction. If one can also establish the magnitude of satisfaction, one would construct an ordinal S. Again, if one establishes the extent to which, and by how many times, some people are more satisfied than others, one could obtain interval and proportional S’s of job satisfaction. S’s are distinguished not only by their mathematical properties, but also by the methods used in collecting data. Each S. uses strictly specified methods of data analysis. Depending on the type of problems to be solved by scaling, one would construct either rating scales or attitude scales. In sociological and psychological research, each S. (irrespective of the measurement level) has a special name associated with the property of an object under study.

Scaling

Scaling, a method for simulating real processes by means of numerical systems. In social sciences, e. g. anthropology, sociology, and psychology S. is a major method of mathematical analysis of a given phenomenon, and also a way to organise empirical data obtained through observation, study of documents, questionnaires, experiments, and testing. Most social and psychological objects cannot be measured with regard to exact place and time, and, consequently, cannot be measured directly. This gives rise to the question concerning the specifics 274 of a numerical system that could Correlate with such empirical data. In effect, various S. methods represents special techniques for transforming qualitative characteristics into a given quantitative variable. The general S. process consists in constructing a scale in accordance with certain rules, and involves two stages. At the initial stage of data gathering, whose methods would essentially affect the resultant type of socio-psychological information, one would create an empirical system involving the objects under study and specify their interrelations. At the subsequent stage of data analysis, upon whose methods the volume of information would depend, the investigator would construct a numerical system simulating the relationships of the empirical system of objects; occasionally, this stage is also called the selection and implementation of the S. method. S. methods are used to solve two types of problems: (a) quantitative representation of objects in their totality using their averaged group score; and (b) quantitative representation of the inner qualities of individuals by establishing their attitude to some socio-psychological phenomenon. In the first case, this is done by means of rating scales, and in the second— attitude scales.

School, Scientific

School, Scientific, in psychology, a form of organisation of joint scientific activities which unite the processes of cognition and transmission of accumulated knowledge. A S., S. implies:
(1) a research and educational school that trains future scientists and scholars;
(2) a research collective, a group of scientists who jointly elaborate under the supervision of a leader (head of school) the research programme he has devised; (3) orientation in science arising on the basis of a definite tradition encompassing numerous scientists and research groups. A S.,S. has played an important role in developing psychology from ancient times, when psychological knowledge developed within philosophical and natural-science doctrines (schools of the Ancient Orient, for example, and also the Ancient Greek schools of Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Socrates, and Plato, and those of the Stoics, Skeptics, Sophists, etc.). The trend of development was from schools that stored non-personified knowledge, like in the Ancient Orient, to schools which were prototypes of research groups, like Aristotle’s school. In medieval, usually scholastic schools, development of psychological knowledge was chiefly reproductive, and sometimes also reactionary. The role of a S., S. significantly grew in importance in modern times, owing to rapid scientific progress and to the fact that it became a profession, and that scientific activity was no longer individual, but collective. S., S. became the main organisation in which psychology transformed from a branch of philosophical knowledge into an independent discipline. Wilhelm Wundt’s school, which was both scientific and educational in nature, played an 275 important role in this. In fact, it trained the first generation of researchers who subsequently set up laboratories for experimental psychological research in various countries. Having rejected the eclectic nature of Wundt’s conception, most of these researchers (Oswald Kulpe, Stanley Hall, James Cattell, Vladimir Bekhterev, Hugo Miinsterberg, and others), advanced new research programmes and created their own S. S. At the same time, Edward Titchener in the USA (see Structural Psychology) and Georgi Chelpanov in Russia continued to follow Wundt’s orientation. Chelpanov organised a big research and educational school for teaching experimental methods to young scientists (Pavel Blonsky, Konstantin Kornilov, Sergei Kravkov, Nikolai Rybnikov, Pyotr Shevaryov, and others), who subsequently criticised the subjective method (see Introspection) and adopted the Marxist approach to consciousness and significantly contributed to the development of Soviet psychology. The development of psychology in the 20th century is connected with specifically oriented schools which determined the structure of presentday psychology, . for example, structuralism (see Structural Psychology), functionalism (see Functional Psychology), behaviourism, neobehaviourism, Gestaltism (see Gestalt Psychology), Freudianism, and Neo-Freudianism. In Soviet psychology, whose common philosophical foundation is dialectical and historical materialism, an important role belongs to the schools of Mikhail Basov, Lev Vygotsky, Sergei Rubinstein, Alexei N. Leontyev, Alexander Luria, Boris Ananyev, Boris Teplov, Dmitri Uznadze, and others.

Second Signalling System

Second Signalling System, see Signalling Systems.

Self

Self, the result of man’s awareness of himself as a separate object in the environment, enabling him to regard himself the subject of his physical and mental states, actions and processes, and emotionally experience his own integrity and identity with himself in relation to his past, present and future. S. forms in the course of activities and communication (1). By changing the surrounding world in the course of his objectrelated activity, and in interacting with other people, the subject separates his S. from the non-S. to emotionally experience his non-identity with other objects. S. is evaluated by the subject in the Self concept to form the nucleus of human personality.

Self-account

Self-account, see Self-Observation.

Self-actualisation

Self-actualisation, human desire to maximally reveal and develop one’s personal potentials. In some trends of contemporary Western psychology, S. is assigned the role of the principal motivating factor in opposition to behaviourism and Freudianism, which regard personal behaviour to be propelled by biological forces and allegedly designed to discharge the tension these forces create and to adapt the 276 individual to the environment. However, the concept of S. failed to receive adequate interpretation in Western psychology, since the latter considers the individual to be capable of S. only when he is free of all social demands. In reality, true S. implies the existence of favourable sociohistorical conditions.

Self-appraisal

Self-appraisal, assessment by an individual of his own self and his prospects, qualities and position among other people. S. is an important regulator of personal behaviour. An individual’s relations with other people, his criticism and exactingness towards himself, and his attitude to his own successes and failures would depend on S. In this way, S. affects man’s efficiency and further development of his personality. S. is closely connected with the level of aspirations, i. e. with the difficulty of the goals the individual has set for himself. When a person’s claims and his actual potencies do not coincide, this leads to wrong self-appraisal and resultant inadequate behaviour characterised by frustrations, increased anxiety, etc. S. manifests itself objectively in how an individual assesses the possibilities and results of other people’s activity, whether he depreciates them in case of exaggerated S. In their works, Soviet psychologists have shown the influence of S. on human cognitive activity (perception, representation, solution of intellectual tasks) and its place in interpersonal relations. They have also determined procedures for forming an adequate S. and, in case of deformed S., techniques for transforming it through education.

Self-awareness

Self-awareness, see Self Concept.

Self-comfort

Self-comfort, a sensation of physiological and psychological comfort S. may be denned both as a general characteristic (feeling good or bad, vigour, indisposition, etc.) and as more specific emotional experiences pertaining to funcitons of organs, and systems (a feeling of discomfort in different parts of the body, difficulty to perform certain motor and cognitive acts, etc.). Characteristic symptoms of changes in S. are clearly seen in different individual states, e. g. in fatigue, tension, and stress. That is why S. characteristics are traditionally used as the basic group of symptoms in subjective assessment of an individual’s psychic state.

Self Concept

Self Concept, a relatively stable and more or less conscious phenomenon, emotionally experienced as a unique system of the individual’s ideas about himself, basing on which he interacts with other people and develops an attitude towards himself. S.C. is an integral image of one’s self, albeit not devoid of inner contradictions. It is an attitude towards himself involving the cognitive aspect, which is the individual’s image of his own qualities, abilities, appearance, social significance, etc. (self-consciousness); the emotional aspect, which involves self-respect, self-love, self-depreciation, etc.; and the evaluative-volitional aspect, which shows in the desire to play up one’s 277 self-appraisal, to win other people’s respect. S.C.—the cause and effect of social interaction—is determined by social experience, and its components are as follows: the real self (the idea about oneself in the present time), the ideal self (what the subject thinks he should be proceeding from moral principles); the dynamic self (what the subject intends to be), and the imagined self (what the subject would wish to be if that were possible). S.C. is an important structural element in the psychological image of a given personality, an ideal image, conceived by the individual in himself, as if in some other person, in the course of communication (1) and activities. Being in the end caused by a broad socio-cultural background, S.C. arises in social exchange, in the course of which the subject looks at another person as if in a looking" glass to thereby smooth out, specify and correct the images of his own self.

Self-control

Self-control, rational reflexion and assessment by an individual of his own actions on the basis of personally significant motives and attitudes, involving comparison, analysis and correction of the relationships between the goals, means and consequences of actions. The form, type and concrete content of S. are determined by the object, conditions and types of actions, and also by the degree of the subject’s awareness of them. The individual’s ability for systematic S. is, among other factors, indicative of his willpower (see Will).

Self-determination of Personality

Self-determination of Personality, a conscious act of identifying and asserting one’s own stand in problem situations. Collectivist self- determination and professional self-determination are specific forms of S. of P.

Self-education

Self-education, control by the subject of his own activity in order to change his own personality in conformity with his consciously set goals and established ideals and beliefs. S. implies a definite level of personality development and of self-consciousness, and also the individual’s ability to analyse by consciously comparing his own actions with those of other people; S. also assumes a stable attitude towards perpetual self-perfection. The individual’s attitude to his potential abilities, correct self-appraisal, and the ability to see his shortcomings characterise his maturity, and turn into premises for organising S. When the ideals, norms and principles of Communist ethics become major components in the individual’s consciousness, the latter’s desire to follow them would acquire profound personalised meaning and they become constant incentives for continued socially valuable development of the individual, prompting him to further S. S. involves the use of such techniques as self-commitment (voluntary setting oneself goals and tasks for self-perfection; decision to cultivate certain qualities); self-account (retrospection of one’s past over a definite period of time); comprehension and assessment of one’s own activity and behaviour (by revealing the causes of one’s own successes and failures); 278 and self-control (systematic fixation of one’s state and behaviour so as to prevent undesirable consequences).

Self-observation

Self-observation, observation by an individual of the inner side of his own mental life, a process that permits him to fixate its manifestations ( emotional experiences, thoughts, feelings, etc.). S. arises in the course of communication (1) with other people and assimilation of social experience and means for its comprehension. S. plays an important role in forming the individual’s self-awareness and selfcontrol. In modern psychology, the results of S. are not taken on trust; they are factors which require scientific explanation. The results of S. may be recorded in various documents, e.g. letters, autobiographies, questionnaires, etc. S. should not be confounded with the subjective method of introspection (see Introspective Psychology). In some cases, the result of S. is self-account, i.e. description by an individual of himself in a totality of his own mental and personal manifestations. Sometimes, self-account is characterised by systematic mistakes, the most important one being that, in giving self-account, a significant number of subjects are apt to present themselves in a maximally favourable light.

Self-perception

Self-perception, see Perception, Interpersonal.

Self-possession

Self-possession, man’s ability to act in action-disorganising situations affecting the emotional sphere. S. is indicative of consciously volitional organisation of the mental processes that regulate such activity, a d also of the individual’s emotional and social maturity.

Self-regulation

Self-regulation, purposeful functioning of living systems with different levels of organisation and complexity. Mental S. is a level of regulation of the activeness of these systems, showing the specifics of the psychic means of reflecting and modelling reality, including the reflexions of the subject. Mental S. is achieved as a unity of its energy, dynamics, and semantic aspects. Despite its diverse manifestations, S. has the following structure: the individual’s goal of voluntary activity, model of significant conditions of activity, programme of executive actions proper, system of success criteria, information on actually achieved results, estimate of conformity of actual results to success criteria, and decisions about the need and nature of activity corrections. S. is a closed regulation contour involving an informative process whose agents are various mental forms of the reflection of reality. Depending on the types and conditions of activity, S. may be actualised by various psychic means, e.g. sensory images, ideas, concepts, etc. The goal accepted by the individual does not unambiguously determine the conditions needed to devise a programme of actions; with similar models of meaningful conditions of activity, different methods may be used to attain the same result. The general regularities of S. are actualised in 279 individual forms which depend on concrete conditions, and also on neural activity characteristics, the individual’s personal traits and habits, formed in the course of education.

Self-suggestion (autosuggestion)

Self-suggestion (autosuggestion), suggestion addressed to oneself, a process in which the subject and the object of the suggestive effect coincide. S. leads to a higher level of self- regulation, enabling the individual to evoke in himself various sensations and perceptions, and to control his attention, memory, and emotional and somatic reactions. Voluntary S. is achieved through verbal self- instructions or by mentally reproducing certain situations unambiguously associated with the required change in one’s mental or physical state (see Autogenic Training). Effective voluntary S. is promoted by mental relaxation and powerful imagination. Involuntary S. is characterised by the individual’s uncritical attitude towards his own ideas, concepts, and assessments; by the absence of doubt in their correctness and authenticity; and by decreased control functions of consciousness. This sometimes causes rigidity (lack of flexibility) of mental activity. S. may manifest itself in disturbed functioning of various body systems owing to subjective anticipation of a given disorder, and due to the belief that it will certainly occur, or has already occurred (see latrogenic Illness). An opposite phenomenon is observed in the placebo effect. S. may also be used as a method of self-control in psychotherapy, sport, and pedagogy.

Sensation

Sensation, reflection of the properties of objects in the objective world, occurring when the latter directly affect the receptors. According to the dialectical-materialist theory of reflection, "sensation is indeed the direct connection between consciousness and the external world; it is the transformation of the energy of external excitation into the fact of consciousness" (V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 14, p. 51). Within the framework of Ivan Sechenov’s and Ivan Pavlov’s reflex conception, studies were made to show that, in regard to its physiological mechanisms, S. is an integral reflex which combines, through linking input and output, the peripheral and central sections of the analyser. At present, the problems involved in S. are being subjected to intensive study in the psychophysics of sensory processes and various branches of physiology. The diversity of S’s reflects the qualitative diversity of the surrounding world. In distinguishing the reflection of quality as the principal element of S., Lenin wrote: "The very first and most familiar to us is sensation, and in it there is inevitably also quality..." (V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 38, p. 317). S’s may be classified basing on a variety of principles. A widespread method is to distinguish S’s by modality, when distinction is made between visual, auditional, tactile, and other S’s. Within individual modalities, a more detailed classification is possible (e.g. into spatial and visual colour S’s). To some extent, this classification 280 is made difficult by the existence of intermodal S’s or synaesthesias. Charles Sherrington, a British physiologist, distinguished three main classes of S’s: (1) exteroceptive, i.e. those occurring under the action of external irritants on receptors situated on the body surface; (2) proprioceptive ( kinesthetic), which reflect the motion and relative position of body parts due to the work of receptors situated in the muscles, tendons, and articular bursae; and (3) interoceptive (organic), which signal by means of specialised receptors the occurrence of metabolic processes in the organism’s internal medium. In turn, exteroceptive S’s have two subclasses, namely, distal (visual and auditional) and proximal (tactile and gustatory). Olfactory S’s occupy an intermediate position between these subclasses. Yet, this classification fails to take account of the certain dependence of the function of S’s upon the morphological localisation of receptors. For instance, visual S’s may fulfil an important proprioceptive function. According to concepts developed by Soviet psychologists, S. occurs in phylogenesis on the basis of elementary irritability as sensibility to irritants that have no direct ecological significance and thus reflects an objective relationship between biotic and abiotic environmental factors. Unlike animal S’s, man’s S’s are conditioned by his practical activities, by the entire history of social development. Numerous facts indicating the possibility of restructuring sensibility under the influence of specific labour activity speak in favour of the historical approach to S. as a product of world history. The same may be said about the dependence of the perception of the individual properties of objects upon socially developed systems of sensory qualities, such as the system of phonemes in the vernacular, the scale of musical sounds, or the scale of basic hues in the spectrum.

Sensation Threshold

Sensation Threshold, intensity of the irritant causing or changing a sensation. The minimal irritant intensity necessary to cause a sensation is called the lower absolute S. T. The irritant intensity at which sensation either disappears, or changes in quality, e.g. transforms into pain, like with increased sound volume or light brightness, is termed the upper absolute S.T. A minimal increment in irritant intensity accompanied by a barely perceptible sensation change is called differential S.T. Measurements of absolute and differential S.T’s have now resulted in the idea that a more or less broad "threshold zone" exists, and that inside that zone the probability of a response would vary from 0 to 1. The values of all separated types of S.T. would change in the course of adjustment and be subject to the effects of many factors, ranging from spatial and temporal characteristics of irritation to individual features in the observer’s functional state. S.T. is inversely proportional to the intensity of the corresponding form of sensibility.

Sense of Humour

Sense of Humour, in common language, man’s ability to note and emotionally respond to the comic sides of events. 281 S. of H. is inseparably associated with the subjects’s ability to reveal contradictions in surrounding reality, e.g. to note and, sometimes, exaggerate the contrast of positive and negative traits in a person, somebody’s affectation of importance accompanied by contrasting behaviour, and so on. In this case, the subject maintains a friendly attitude towards the object of humour, whom he subjects to a kind of emotional criticism. S. of H. implies the presence in the subject of a positive ideal, without which it degenarates into a negative trait, e.g. vulgarity, cynicism, etc. One can judge about the presence or absence of S. of H. by how a person takes jokes, anecdotes, friendly jests, and caricatures, and by whether he sees the comic side of a situation and by whether he can laugh not only at others, but also when he himself is made fun of. Lack of or underdeveloped S. of H. is indicative of the individual’s declined emotional level and insufficient intellectual development.

Sense Organs

Sense Organs, nerve systems serving as receivers of signals that inform of changes in the subject’s environment (exteroception) and body ( interoception) (see Sensation). It is customary to distinguish five external sense faculties, viz. vision, hearing, smell, taste, and tactile sensitivity. In reality, there are many more senses (for instance, an effect on the skin alone causes sensations of pressure, pain, cold, heat, etc.). S.O. consist of receptors, nerve conductors, and nerve centres. Every S.O. produces only its inherent sensation (see Specific Energies Doctrine). The specialised S.O. of humans and higher animals have resulted from the evolution of simple and non- differentiated S.O. of lower animals. Throughout that evolution, S.O. and the effector (primarily the muscularlocomotor) system essentially corresponded: S.O. ensure the delivery of precisely the information needed for organising the activities of the effector system. The work of S.O. is included in the subject’s activity; it provides the latter with the necessary information and, at the same time, is subordinate to that activity: from the abundance of signals affecting the subject, the S.O. distinguish those that are needed to carry on current activity. The selection of certain signals from a general flow depends on their significance for the subject (see Personalised Meaning) and on his expectations (see Probability Forecasting). This ensures active nature of perception.

Sensibilisation

Sensibilisation, a irritant-induced increase in the sensibility of neural centres. In case of sensory irritants, S. is usually concealed by the accompanying process of sensorial adjustment. The correlation of S. and adjustment may be estimated by parallel measurement of sensibility to electrical and sensorial irritants. For instance, when exposing an eye to light, one would see that decreased sensibility to light (adjustment) is accompanied by increased sensibility to electricity (S.). An inverse relationship would develop in the dark. The 282 direct method of measuring S. is stimulation by electricity of the analyser neural elements situated above the receptors.

Sensibility

Sensibility, (1) general ability for sensation. S. appears in phylogenesis, when living organisms begin to respond to environmental factors that act as signals in relation to stimuli with direct biological significance; (2) In differential psychology and characterology, S. is increased disposition to affective responses. (3) In psychophysics, S. is a magnitude inversely proportional to the sensation threshold. There are, correspondingly, absolute and differential S’s. The classification of types of S. coincides with the existing classifications of sensations. For instance, we distinguish types of S. by the thoroughness degree of a sensory analysis. Depending on the nature of the stimulus, one may speak of S. to mechanical, optical, chemical, temperature and other stimuli. S. of an organism may be assessed not only by sensations, but also by changes in various psychophysiological processes. This generally results in slightly different indices. For example, visual S. determined by changed response in integral brain rhythms proves higher than S. estimated on the basis of the subject’s oral account. In recent years, psychophysics has developed thanks to the use of new theoretical concepts, such as the theory of signal detection, more generaljsed definitions of S. which are not dependent on the concept of sensation threshold.

Sensitiveness

Sensitiveness, a human property manifesting itself in elevated sensibility of a given individual to events that involve him personally. This is usually accompanied by increased worry; fear of new situations, people, various tests, and so on. Sensitive people are timid, shy, and impressionable, and tend to experience durable emotions about past or future events; they also show an inferiority complex’, tend to develop increased moral exactingness towards themselves and a low level of aspirations (see Accentuation of Character). With age, S. may smooth out, for instance, due to a newly developed ability to cope with situations that cause anxiety, an ability that develops in the course of education and self-education. S. may be caused by both organic factors (heredity, brain lesion, etc.) and social ones, e.g. emotional rejection in family. Maximally pronounced S. represents a form of psychopathy.

Sensory Deprivation

Sensory Deprivation, prolonged and more or less complete deprivation of man of sensory stimulation for experimental purposes. The subject is placed in a sound-proof and completely dark room, or in a bathtub filled with water (34.5°C) where he cannot move. This causes a strong need for sensations. Suggestibility increases, and concentration and normal trend of thought are impaired. Depressive states and hallucinations sometimes also develop. It is to be noted that very similar changes are observed in protracted social isolation; these cases have been described 283 by people who experienced shipwrecks, by polar explorers, etc.

Sensualism (in psychology)

Sensualism (in psychology), a theory which postulates that sensory impressions constitute the foundation of psychological activity. In the ancient world, representatives of several philosophical schools (the Cyrenaics, Epicureans and, in a more moderate form, the Stoics) adhered to this doctrine. In insisting that extra-sensory cognition is impossible, the Stoics suggested that the intellect be regarded a tabula rasa, on which experience imprints its characters. They also maintained that there is nothing in the intellect that would not be initially present in the senses. Later, these views were popularised by supporters of S. in the Rennaissance and Modern Era (John Locke and Etienne Condillac) in their dispute with adherents of rationalism, who tried to prove that cognition contains a substance basically undeducible from sensations. Philosophically, S. is not a homogeneous trend, and involves long-time controversies between idealist and materialist views of sensation. The former deny that sensation is caused by external objects, and the latter interpret sensory impressions as the effect of external irritants on the sense organs. S. influenced the development of associative psychology (see Associationism), in which in line with philosophical differences, the association of elementary sensations that engender complex psychological products was understood to be either the property of the mind (George Berkeley, David Hume, James Mill, and John Stuart Mill), or a derivative of the system of material interaction of the body “machine” with the environment (David Hartley and Julien La Mettrie). S. had a strong influence on early experimental studies in psychology, since experimenters thought that their task was to reveal the primary sensory elements (sensations), which they would use to build the entire complex architectonics of mental life. The further development of experimental psychology showed that the real structure of human consciousness is much more complicated; that intellectual acts cannot be regarded as associations of sensations; that the intellect contains a substance unreducible to sensory images; and that S. is totally unable to explain the motivation of behaviour and the role of action in building these images. Dialectical materialism laid bare the theoretical limitations of S. caused by its contemplative nature and lack of understanding of the historical nature of human cognition and the qualitative uniqueness of thinking as the supreme form of reflection of reality and social practice.

Sentiments

Sentiments, a principal and relatively stable form of attitudinal response towards objects and phenomena. Unlike situational emotions and affects, which reflect the subjective meaning of things in concrete conditions, S. single out phenomena with a stable motivational (see Motivation) significance. In revealing to the individual the objects that meet his needs, and in prompting him to activity designed 284 to satisfy them, S. represent concrete subjective forms in which those needs exist. The forming of S. is a requisite for man’s development as a personality. Knowledge of motives, ideals, and norms of behaviour would in itself be insufficient for a man to be guided thereby; only when associated with stable S. this knowledge would turn into real incentives to activity. Man’s S. are socially and historically conditioned as man’s personality itself, the latter changing in the course of social development. In ontogenesis, S. appear later than situational emotions; they form with the development of individual consciousness under the educational influence of the family, school, the arts, and other social institutions. The primary objects of S. are phenomena and conditions upon which the course of events, meaningful to the individual and, hence, perceived emotionally, would depend. Arising from a generalised emotional experience, S. become the leading factors in man’s emotional sphere and, in their turn, start determining the dynamics and substance of situational emotions. For instance, depending on the circumstances, a S. of love for a cherished person gives rise to anxiety for him, sorrow in separation, joy at seeing him, anger when -he fails to justify one’s expectations, and so on. Such situational emotions specify the content of S. in relation to existing conditions and prompt the subject in question to act in line with his S. Occasionally, S. and concomitant emotions may cause controversial attitudes towards the object (see Ambivalence of Sentiments). As the personality is being moulded, S. become organised in a hierarchic system wherein some become the leading ones, while others remain potential, unrealised tendencies. The content of dominant S. is a major factor in personality orientation. The most common classification of S. singles out certain subtypes for the respective spheres of activity in which they are manifested. Higher S. comprising the whole thesaurus of man’s emotional relationships to social reality constitute a separate group. Moral S. include everything that determines man’s attitudes towards social institutions, the state, classes, political parties, other person, and himself. Cognitive activity engenders in man intellectual S. involving both the very process of acquisition of knowledge and its result. The highest among intellectual S. is the generalised S. of love for truth. Practical S. associated with activity, viz. labour, studies, and sports, hold an important place among higher S. which also include aesthetic S. implying conscious or unconscious (see The Unconscious) capacity to be guided by notions of beauty in perceiving the surrounding world. Intellectual, practical, and aesthetic S. arise in unity with moral S. and the latter amplify them. Depending on the degree to which the content of S. is objectively generalised, the latter are classified into concrete (for instance, S. towards a child or some work of art), generalised (S. towards children or music in general), and abstract (S. of justice or of tragedy). The absence of a 285 detailed classification of S. is due to their great variety and historical variability.

Sequence Effect

Sequence Effect, a phenomenon showing how end items of a series, i.e., those located at either extremity of a material, are remembered better then those in the middle. S.E. was established by the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus and subsequently confirmed by many other psychologists. S.E. appears both in direct and delayed reproduction. According to the French psychologist Marcel Foucault, S.E. results from interaction of internal inhibition processes that simultaneously act in learning and in delaying the latter (see Inhibition Proactive; Inhibition Retroactive.) In contemporary investigations, S.E. is studied as the primacy effect and recency effect.

Set, Theory of

Set, Theory of, a general psychological system of ideas which distinguishes the principle of set (attitude) as the central explanatory notion. S.,T. was developed by the Soviet psychologist Dmitri Uznadze and his school (Alexander Prangishvili, Vladimir Norakidze, and others). The category of set was suggested by Uznadze to overcome the postulate of immediacy, the methodological premise in traditional psychology, primarily in the introspective psychology of consciousness and behaviourism. Having overcome the methodological limitations of these approaches, Uznadze developed the view that set is an "integral modification of the subject", his readiness to perceive future events, and to perform specifically directed actions being the foundation of his purposeful selective activity. Set arises in an “encounter” of two factors, viz. the need for and situation of its possible satisfaction, designed to determine the trend of any manifestation in the subject’s psyche and behaviour. When impulsive behaviour encounters some obstacle, it is interrupted and replaced by a machanism of objectivation typical solely of human consciousness, due to which the individual distinguishes himself from the environment and starts regarding the world as something existing objectively and independently of himself. Sets regulate a wide range of conscious and unconscious forms of human mental activity. For experimental studies of set, a method of fixation was suggested, and its different varieties are applied in analysing the development of psyche in phylogenesis and ontogenesis; cognitive processes; personality; and interpersonal relations. Special attention is given to the study from S.,T. positions of unconscious mental phenomena, whose interpretation cardinally differs from that of the unconscious in Freud’s psychoanalysis. A promising trend in S.,T. development is the theory of levels of mental activeness (Shota Nadirashvili). S.,T. is a concrete scientific methodology for various special branches of psychology ( medical, developmental, engineering, social, etc.).

Shame

Shame, an emotion arising from 286 awareness by an individual of real or imaginary incompatibility of his actions or certain individual manifestations with the norms and moral requirements of a given society shared by himself. S. may be due to one’s own behaviour or to manifestation of personal traits by other people, as a rule, either one’s close relatives or friends (S. for another person). S. is experienced as dissatisfaction with oneself, as condemnation or accusation of oneself. The desire to avoid such experience is a powerful behavioural motive for self- perfection, acquisition of knowledge and skills, and development of abilities. Different people have different S. thresholds conditioned by their value orientations, personality orientations and sensitivity for other people’s relevant opinions » and assessments. By focussing the subject’s attention on his own actions and qualities, S. helps develop self-consciousness, self-control, and self-criticism, and is considered to be the most reflexive (see Reflexion) emotion. By enhancing the subject’s sensitivity to other people’s assessments, S. takes part in regulating communication (1) (to either facilitate or complicate interpersonal contacts). S. is a fully socially-conditioned emotion that forms in ontogenesis in the course of conscious assimilation of ethical norms and rules of behaviour in a given social system.

Sign

Sign, an object (phenomenon) representing another object, phenomena, process. The science of S.—semiotics— which emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is connected with the names of Charles Pierce, Charles Morris, Ferdinand de Saussure, Gottlob Frege, Rudolf Carnap and others, and is triditionally subdivided into pragmatics (concerned with the relation of S’s to man), semantics ( concerned with the relation of S’s to meanings) and syntax (concerned with the relation of S’s to S’s at an abstract level). It is directly relevant to logic, linguistics, cultural analysis, sociology, etc. Psychological analysis of S. is customarily assigned to pragmatics. Psychologists study the S’s of communication (1), above all the natural S’s (as distinct from artificial ones—mathematic, astronomic, etc.), including language. They single out several types of S’s. According to Ferdinand de Saussure, a Swiss linguist, S. is an entity with its own structure composed of the signifying and the signified, the link between which is established by society and does not depend on the “substance” and form of S. and the object. Different theories of psychology offer varying interpretations of S.: S. as a stimulus in the “stimulus-reaction” pattern among the behaviourists; S. as a symbol, a vehicle of unconscious drives in psychoanalysis; S. as a signal, a vehicle of social relationships in symbolic interactionism. S. plays a particularly great conceptual and functional role in cognitive psychology in connection with its initial computer metaphor, i.e. an analogy between the structure of man’s psyche and informational- logical computers intended to receive, 287 store, process, retrieve and transmit S. information. The notion of S. in Soviet psychology plays an important role in the cultural-historical theory of the mental development.

Signal

Signal, a process or phenomenon (external or internal; of which an individual is aware or unaware) that carries a message about some event to orient living organism accordingly (see Irritants). In conformity with the nature of analysers and other perceptual systems, psychologists distinguish optical, acoustic, tactile, thermal, electro-magnetic, chemical, biorhythmical, and other signals. The concept of S. is widely used in psychophysiology and neuropsychology (see Signalling Systems); in psychophysics and in engineering and general psychology when studying perceptual (see Perception) processes; and in social psychology when studying communication (2) processes.

Signalling Systems

Signalling Systems—the first and the second signal systems (1st S.S. and 2nd S.S.)—ways for regulating the behaviour of living creatures in the environment, whose properties are perceived by the brain either in the form of signals or directly intercepted by the sense organs as sensations of colour, sound, odour, etc. (1st S.S.), or are represented in the sign system of a given language (2nd S.S.). The term was introduced by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov to characterise distinctions between the signal activity of the animal and human brain, and to reveal specifically human types of higher nervous activity. In man, relative prevalence of the 1st S.S. results in an artistic type of personality, and the prevalence of the 2nd S.S.—in an intellectual type. The 2nd S.S. arises in the historical development of society as an " emergency addition" that introduces a new principle in the work of the central nervous system, since it allows reflecting the world in a general ( conceptual) form in the processes of work and speech. The 2nd S.S. interacts with the 1st S.S. to form a qualitatively new entity. By orienting towards speech, Ivan Pavlov started to transform the signal concept into the sign notion, a meaningful unit of human intellectual activity (the word generalises, abstracts, etc.). This concept was further developed by Leon Orbeli, in whose theory signs were a form of vehicles of cultural meanings, encompassing, along with speech, other types of semiotic relations (musical sounds, drawings, expressive movements, and so on).

Significant Other

Significant Other, a human being who is an authority for the given subject of communication and activity (see Referentiality). The concept was introduced by the American researcher Harry Sullivan.

Situation

Situation, a system of external (in relation to the subject) conditions inducing and mediating his activity. The quality of "being external" in relation to the subject signifies: spatially, perceived external location with regard to the subject; temporally, autecedence 288 to the subject’s action; and, functionally, independence from the subject of corresponding conditions at the moment of action. S. elements may also include the subject’s own states at the preceding moment, if they condition his subsequent behaviour. Complete description of S. implies identification of requirements imposed upon the individual from outside, and/or worked out by the individual himself as initial requirements (see Problem Situation). Implementation of S. requirements creates premises for transforming or overcoming a given S. The subject can go beyond the bounds of a given S. (see Activeness, Situationally Independent), depending on the extent to which he (if the given S. is significant for him) starts developing and implementing new demands towards himself that would exceed the initial ones.

Skill

Skill, an action formed by repetition and characterised by a high degree of performance and performed more or less automatically. There are perceptive, intellectual, and motor S’s. Perceptive S. is automatised sensual reflection of the properties and characteristics of a familiar object which has been repeatedly perceived earlier. Intellectual S. is an automatised technique or method for solving a problem encountered previously. Motor S. is an automatised action formed as a result of repeated transformations of the object. Motor S’s include perceptive and intellectual S’s and are regulated thereby through automatised reflection of the object and of the conditions and sequence in which an action aimed at transforming real objects is performed. Also to be distinguished are basic automatised S’s formed without the persons’s awareness, and secondary automatised S’s formed when the person is aware of the action components involved. When necessary, secondary S’s are more easily subjected to conscious control and more rapidly improved and restructured. S’s are also characterised by varying degrees of generalisation: the wider the class of objects in relation to which a S. may be applied, the more generalised and labile it is. The skill-forming process involves determination of its components and such mastering of an operation that would permit to attain the best results through perfection and consolidation of intercomponent links, their automatisation and high level of readiness for the given action for subsequent reproduction. The following factors affect the formation of S’s: (a) motivation, ability to learn, the process of learning, exercising, and reinforcement; (b) for understanding the content of an operation—the subject’s level of development, presence of knowledge and capilities, method of explaining the operation’s essence (direct communication, indirect guidance, etc.), and feedback; and (c) for mastering an operation—completeness of the comprehension of its essence, gradual nature of transition (magnitude of jumps) from one level of performance to another for specific indicators (automatisation, interiorisation, speed, etc.), and so on. Various 289 combinations of the above-mentioned factors create different pictures of the skillforming process: rapid progress in the beginning and a slow-down at the end, or vice versa; mixed variants are also possible. The theory of skill-forming mechanisms, the essential factors and conditions without which skills cannot be formed, are a particular case in the theory of learning in general.

Sleep

Sleep, a periodic functional state of man and higher animals, characterised by specific changes in the vegetative and motor systems, by absence of purposeful activity and sensory interaction with the environment. In S., man is characterised by the inhibition of conscious mental activity. S, represents a combination of two basic alternating phases called “slow” S. and “rapid” (or “paradoxical”) S., whose physiological characteristics are largely opposite. Both phases have a complex multilevel structure, which ensures the development of active brain processes characteristic of each phase. “Slow” sleep is noted for tonic ( stable) changes in vegetative and motor indices, muscular tension decreases, and respiration and the cardiac rhythm slow down. During “rapid” S., the electroencephalogram records rapid low-amplitude oscillations, similar to those in the initial stage of S., or even wakefulness. Also, physical changes are observed in the form of rapid eye movements, twitching of facial muscles and extremities, disturbed breathing and heart rate, and hypertension. When awakening from "slow" S., the subject does not remember seeing dreams. “Slow” S. may involve somnambulism, talking in sleep, and nightmares in children, who do not remember them after waking up. After “rapid” sleep, 75-90 per cent of the individuals report eerie dreams. The phases of “slow” and “rapid” sleep form 60-90 min cycles which repeat 4-5 times in natural night S. In normal individuals, about 20 per cent of the entire period is taken by “rapid” S. Towards the morning, “rapid” S. phases become longer, and “slow” S. phases shorter. After S. deprivation, first “slow” S. is restored, and then “rapid” S.

Social Desirability

Social Desirability, a factor that distorts self-accounts (for instance, replies to questions in personality inventaries) by increasing the frequency of self-accounts that appear more attractive and socially acceptable to the subjects, since they present the latter in a favourable light. Psychologists should account for the influence of S.D. in developing all questionnaires, tests and scales that use self-accounts. There are several ways of reducing their influence, such- as by including alternative items in a questionnaire, equal in S.D. Besides, special methods have been developed for measuring the subject’s propensity to give socially desirable answers.

Social Facilitation

Social Facilitation, a manifestation of interpersonal relations in groups through facilitation of personal interaction in the presence of other people, removal of psychological barriers, and 290 enhancement of individual activity and performance. S.F. was experimentally studied by Walter Moede.

Social Perception

Social Perception, perception, comprehension and assessment by individuals of social objects, such as other people, themselves, social groups, etc. The term S.P. was introduced in 1947 by the US psychologist Jerome Bruner, initially to designate the fact that perception is socially conditioned and depends not only on the characteristics of the stimulus, i.e. the object, but also on the subject’s past experience, goals, and intentions, and on the significance of the situation in question. Later, psychologists began to regard S.P. as integral perception by the subject not only of material objects, but of so-called social objects, e.g. other people, groups, classes, nationalities, social situations, etc. They established that perception of social objects is distinguished by a number of specific features that qualitatively differentiate it from perception of inanimate objects. Firstly, unlike inanimate objects, social objects (individuals, groups, etc.) are neither passive, nor indifferent to the perceiving subject. By influencing the subject of perception, the perceived subject seeks to make a favourable impression about himself. Secondly, the attention of the subject of S.P. is focused primarily on semantic and evaluative interpretations of the perception object, the causal ones inclusive (see Causal Attribution), rather than on the reflective aspects of the image. Thirdly, perception of social objects is characterised by greater fusion of cognitive and emotional (affective) components, and by greater dependence on the motivational-semantic structure of the perceiving subject’s activity. Hence, in social psychology, the term “perception” is interpreted in a broader sense than in general psychology. Structurally, any perceptual act would involve a subject and object of perception, its process and result. In general psychology accent is made on the study of the processes and mechanisms of the arisal of sensory images, whereas in social psychology the study of S.P. started with attempts to specify the characteristics of the subject and object of perception, and also of the role of S.P. in controlling the behaviour and activities of a given individual and social group (see Cognitive Balance, Theories of). Initially (in the 1950s), psychologists distinguished three classes of social objects, viz., another individual, group, and social community. The individual was regarded as the subject of perception. Later publications (in the 1970s) considered not only the individual, but also the group as the subjects of perception. Depending on the correlation of the subject and object of perception, researchers distinguished three relatively independent classes of S.P. processes, viz., interpersonal perception (see Perception, Interpersonal), self-perception, and intergroup perception (see Perception, Intergroup). In Soviet social psychology, first studies in S.P. were devoted to perception and assessment of man by man (Alexei Bodalev, 1965). Introduction of the principle of activity into 291 S.P. studies made it possible to identify the social group as the subject of activity, and on this ground as the subject of perception (Galina Andreyeva, 1977). Eight S.P. variants were distinguished, viz., perception by group members of one another and members of another group; perception of oneself, one’s own group, and an “out” group; perception by a group of its own member and a member of another group; perception by a given group of another group (or groups). Thus, the "group context" (affiliation to one’s own or “out” group) was introduced into S.P. studies to account for the principle of dependency of interpersonal relations on group activities. This helped to start examining the specifics of perceptual processes during joint activities in groups with different development levels. These investigations concern the forming of norms and standards of S.P.; the structural typology of interpersonal and intergroup perception; the perception of an individual’s status within a group; accuracy and adequateness of people’s perception of one another; the regularities and effects of inter-group perception; and so on (see Primacy Effect; Novelty Effect; and Halo Effect).

Social Psychology

Social Psychology, a branch of psychology which studies the laws governing men’s behaviour and activity caused by the involvement of individuals in social groups, and also the psychological characteristics of such groups. For a long period, socio-psychological views were developed within the fr. amework of various philosophical doctrines. Some S.P. elements developed in psychology and sociology, and also in anthropology, ethnography, criminology, and linguistics. Initial attempts to create independent socio- psychological concepts, namely, “peoples’ psychology" (Moritz Lazarus, Heymann Steinthai, and Wilhelm Wundt), "mass psychology" (Gustave Le Bon), and the theory of "social instincts" ( William McDougall), date back to the second half of the 19th century. The year 1908 is believed to have started S.P., for that was the time when the term first appeared in the titles of different works. After the First World War, a number of socio- psychological problems were studied in industry, army, propaganda, etc. in the United States and other capitalist countries. At the same time, general methodological principles were developed for organising S.P. as an experimental science. Yet, S.P. (primarily in the United States), in which laboratory experimentation played the leading role, put too much accent on the small group (see Group, Small), and this led to underestimation of the theoretical and ideological aspects of S.P., disregard of real social problems, and loss of the "social context". Works by Marx, Engels, and Lenin contain basic tenets of Marxist S.P. concerning the nature of social relations and the correlation of individual and social consciousness. •The inclusion of these principles in actual investigation practice helped develop Soviet S.P., and this was largely due to successes in general psychology which allowed Soviet S.P. to rely on such dialectico-materialist 292 principles as that of unity of consciousness and activity, etc. Today, we can speak of the existence of a system of Marxist socio-psychological knowledge. As a science, S.P. involves the following basic areas: principles of human communication (1) and interaction (for instance, the role of communication within the system of social and interpersonal relations); psychological characteristics of social groups, both large (classes and nations) and small (for studying such phenomena as cohesion, leadership, group decision- making, etc.); the psychology of personality (which, among other things, studies social attitudes, socialisation, etc.); and practical applications of S.P. In Soviet S.P., all these problems are examined on the basis of the principle of activity (see Activity Approach). Socio-psychological phenomena are studied in real social groups united by joint activities, provided these activities condition the entire system of intragroup processes. This makes it possible to see each group as a unit within a totality of social relations, and to reveal the mechanisms of group development that transform a diffuse group (see Group, Diffuse) into a collective. S.P. based on such methodological principles can fulfil its main practical task, i.e. help optimise management of social processes in developed socialist society. The need to organise a psychological service in the Soviet Union, which could help solve applied S.P. problems in the economy, education, mass media, sport, everyday and family life, is also becoming increasingly urgent.

Social Psychotherapy

Social Psychotherapy, an anti-humane system of methods developed in capitalist countries to influence social behaviour. S.P. equalises crime, mental diseases, and actions against reactionary policies of bourgeois governments, regarding all these phenomena as the result of mental disorders. It views methods of psychotherapy as adequate ways of correcting all forms of deviations. A most striking example of S.P. is modification of behaviour practiced in the United States and Britain. Some American psychiatrists and psychologists believe that various forms of S.P., ranging from the use of psychopharmacological agents (see Psychopharmacology), hypnosis and electric shock to forced confinement and brainsurgery, should be compulsory and applied as government authorities see fit so as to ensure consensus in capitalist society.

Socialisation

Socialisation, a historically conditioned process and result of assimilation, and active reproduction by an individual of social experience in activity and communication y). S. may take place both during education, i.e. in purposeful formation of a given personality, and in the context of a spontaneous impact of various, sometimes opposite factors of social life on a developing personality. Education is the determining factor in S. In socialist society, education and S. are aimed at all-round development of an individual. S. implies multifacious learning by man of his social environment and assimilation of habits and skills for 293 individual and collective work. It also involves socio-psychological mechanisms that serve to bring human culture within the reach of an individual. Corresponding processes and mechanisms have been studied most exhaustively in developmental and pedagogic psychology. In Western psychology, the problems of S. are chiefly studied within the framework of psychoanalysis and interactionism. Psychoanalysts understand S. as the entrance of an individual, who is allegedly a priori asocial or anti-social, into a social milieu and his adjustment to that milieu. Interactionists treat S. as the result of interpersonal interaction which leads to accord via mutually conforming behaviour (see Conformity). Soviet psychologists characterise S. as an increased sphere of activity and communication of an individual caused by learning and education, and as the process of moulding his personality, including his self-consciousness and an active social stand. Soviet psychology assigns a special role in S. to development of individual contacts with other people and to joint and socially useful human activities. In the course of S., the individual acquires not only new experience, but also the opportunity (and capability) to become a full-fledged personality and to influence other people.

Socialisation, Political

Socialisation, Political, socialisation as political development of an individual. In Western psychology, the essentially common feature of various interpretations of S.P. is that they regard an individual as a passive object of ideological and political influences aimed at moulding individuals who perceive the political system of capitalist society in a docile and uncritical way. Soviet psychology regards individual’s political development as a process of active assimilation by him of the ideological and political values and norms of society, and the forming of those values and norms into a conscious system of socio-political attitudes that determine his behaviour and attitude towards the existing socio-political system.

Sociogenesis (in psychology)

Sociogenesis (in psychology), the origin and development of higher mental functions, personality, and interpersonal relations, conditioned by the specifics of socialisation in different socioeconomic formations. The regularities of S. are the subject-matter of historical psychology which studies the psychological features of cognition, perception, personality structure, assimilation of customs and rites in various epochs, etc. S. is also the subjectmatter of ethnopsychology. S. was studied from the idealistic viewpoint by Wilhelm Wundt, who analysed the psychology of peoples by the method of studying the products of man’s thinking embodied in various forms of its history. Nor did the study of S. by psychoanalysts (Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Erich Fromm) and by the school of French sociologists (Emile Durkheim, Lucien Levy-Bruhl, and others) allow to reveal its real mechanisms, since they were either described as those inherent in the development of individual mind, or 294 reduced to intellectual communication between people. In using a different methodology for studying S., Marxist-oriented psychology interprets it as a process caused by work activity within a specific socio-economic formation. This made it possible to reveal changes that occur in psyche during transition from anthropogenesis to S. (Boris Porshenev’s “ palaeopsychology”); the regularities of S. and higher mental functions in their general, historical development; and the structural specifics of consciousness in various socio-economic formations. The study of S. is a direct actualisation of the principle of historicism in modern psychology.

Sociogram

Sociogram, a special scheme that shows the pattern of interpersonal relations in a group revealed by special sociometric techniques (see Sociometry). S.’s have several versions. One is a target S., which represents several concentric circles (normally equal to three, four or maximal number of choices made by the group members), inside which, in accord with the number of obtained choices, the names of the group members are joined by arrows which indicate the direction and nature of the choices; this is done with the aid of conventional symbols. Another variant is a group S., which is a relatively arbitrary plane scheme showing groups of individuals who had mutually chosen each other and the associations between those groups. The distance between the groups corresponds to the nature of choices among their members. The third type is an individual S., in which a randomly or purposefully selected group member is depicted in the system of all his associations revealed during the investigation.

Sociometry

Sociometry, a trend in social psychology in the United States and Western Europe. The set of measurement procedures developed within the framework of S. is based on various techniques for studying social relationships within groups. As a theory, S. appeared in connection with the ideas of Jacob Moreno, who claimed that all problems of social relations could be solved by relocating people so that those who take mutual liking would be neighbours. Accordingly, he distinguished a macrostructure and microstructure. The former represents disposition of people in space in various forms of joint activities, and the second characterises their emotional and psychological relationships. Moreno claimed that the latter are allegedly caused by a certain unconscious innate force, “tele”, which attracts people to each other. He thought that to attain " social harmony" it would be sufficient for people to make these structures balanced so they could settle according to their mutual likings. Moreno tried to apply his theory to social processes via a Utopian "sociometric revolution". S. combined in itself the features of idealism and mechanicism and hence could not be a scientifically sound foundation for solving problems of interpersonal relations, let alone develop and perfect social relationships.

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Socio-Psychological Competence

Socio-Psychological Competence, an individual’s ability to effectively interact with people surrounding him in a system of interpersonal relations. S.- P.C. includes the ability to find one’s bearings in social situations; to correctly define the personal features and emotional states of other people; and to select adequate means for treating those people and for actualising those means in the course of interaction. The ability to put himself in another person’s place (see Reflexion; Empathy) plays a particularly important role. S.-P.C. develops while the individual learns how to communicate with and participate in other people’s joint activities.

Socio-Psychological Training

Socio-Psychological Training, a branch of applied social psychology that represents a set of group methods for developing skills for self-knowledge, communication (1) and interaction within a group. The basic means of S.-P.T. are group discussions and role games in various modifications and combinations (see T-Group; Psychotherapy, Group). S.-P.T. is applied to form and improve general communicative training of an individual (e.g. for persons experiencing trouble due to communicative barriers) and to develop specific communicative skills in people whose professions involve numerous contacts with other people (e.g. managers, teachers, medical personnel, sport coaches, etc.). West European and US psychologists exaggerate the role of S.-P.T., which they allege to be the basic way of individual perfection for radically changing society and a panacea for solving all social problems (see Humanistic Psychology). In the West, S.-P.T. is generally aimed exclusively at developing the individual, at realising his strictly personal needs, at forming intimate relationships with other people, irrespective of the activity that actually links them. The problem of fostering communication and interaction skills within a group can only be truly solved by analysing meaningful joint activities, rather than “free” communication outside those activities. In this connection, group work therapy, and the forms of group labour education which were theoretically substantiated by Anton Makarenko, Vassili Sukhomlinsky and other Soviet educators, are more promising than T-groups. To develop personality harmoniously, an individual must take active part in the activities of a collective. In developed socialist society, S.-P.T. is used among other psychological methods designed to improve man’s individual properties in communication and collective activity.

Solution (in psychology)

Solution (in psychology), the forming of mental operations that reduce the initial uncertainty of problem situation. Solving is usually divided into stages of search, decision and realisation. The specification of S. would depend on the level of research ( systemic, functional, personal, or vocational), field of research (cognitive, creative, operational, managerial), and the psychological mechanisms of S. (volitional, intellectual, emotional, probabilistic, etc.). In literature on 296 engineering psychology, the notion S. is sometimes identified with decisionmaking. Important tasks of psychology are discovery, quantitative assessment, analysis and optimisation of the psychological factors of problem solving so as to enhance the efficiency and quality of production.

Somnambulism

Somnambulism, a form of complex outwardly purposeful, but unconscious behaviour in transition from sleep to hypnotic-like state (see Hypnosis). Its commonly used synonym, lunacy, originates from prescientific ideas about the effect of the Moon on man during sleep. As a rule, S. episodes start 1-1.5 hours after the subject had dozed off in “slow” sleep. In S., the subject gets out of bed and performs several stereotype and coordinated movements with his eyes open. His actions may be of antisocial nature. During S., the pupils are narrowed and gaze fixed, and the electroencephalogram records a quietly awakened state (alpha rhythm), which, however, is not suppressed by external irritants and persists when the eyes are open. This distinguishes this condition from the usual relaxed awakened state. There is no spontaneous transition from S. to wakefulness: the S. episode usually ends with a return to normal physiological sleep. On waking up in the morning, the subject does not remember what happened to him at night.

Soul

Soul, a concept whose expression historically altered views of mans psyche; in religion, idealistic philosophy and psychology S. is a non-material entity that is independent of the body. The appearance of the concept "S." can be traced to animistic ideas of primitive man who provided a primitivematerialistic interpretation of sleep, fainting, death, etc. Dreams were regarded as impressions of S. departing from the body during sleep and existing independently. The concept "S." was further developed within the context of the history of psychology and was expressed in the dispute between idealistic and materialistic theories of psyche. In Antiquity it was already known that the brain was the S. organ (Alcmaeon), while S. itself was believed to be a type of "one of the elements: fire (Heraclitus, Democritus), the air (Anaximenus), or a combination of the four elements ( Empedocles). Aristotle was the first to propose that S. was a “form” of the living body and distinguished three types of S.; nutritive (vegetative) S., sensory (animal) S., and rational (specifically human) S. In the Middle Ages this theory was transformed into an idealistic theory (Thomas of Aquino). In modern times Descartes identified S. with consciousness as the subject’s reflection. In empirical psychology the concept of S. was replaced by the concept of emotional phenomena. In philosophical and psychological literature the term "S." is used extremedy rarely, as a synonym for “psyche”. In everyday usage the term "S." usually corresponds to the notions “psyche”, "inner world", "emotional experience", “consciousness”.

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Space Psychology

Space Psychology, a branch of psychology that investigates the psychological aspects of the work of cosmonauts, the dependence of these aspects on a number of specific factors ( weightlessness, hypodynamia, relative sensory deprivation, and others), as well as the ways and means of the purposeful organisation of the cosmonauts’ psychological activity during preparation for and in the course of spaceflights. S.P. is the extension of that branch of aviation psychology, which, owing to the extreme conditions of the cosmonauts’ activity and complexity of tasks fulfilled by them, has additionally assimilated many other branches of psychological science: engineering, medical, social, and pedagogic psychology. At the present time the basic areas of S.P. have been formed, which it is expedient to examine in connection with the stages of preparation for and realisation of spaceflights. The preparatory stage comprises a number of problems associated with the psychological selection of cosmonauts, taking into consideration their individual characteristics during the period of professional training, and the psychological aspects of acquiring special operational skiUs and psychological preparation for action of spaceflight factors, as well as for the special conditions of functioning. Long-duration orbital flights require the drawing up of a system of psychological service for a cosmonaut’s routine activity. This includes the psychological substantiation of rational schedule of work and rest at different flight stages, systematic control and forecasting of the crew’s psychic states. An important measure during the flight is psychological support, including the timely correction of patterns of activity, as well as diverse influences aimed at regulating the functional state of crew members. In the post-flight period issues of the psychological service embrace a host of problems linked with the cosmonauts’ readaptation to earth conditions and the elaboration of methods of facilitating this process. With the development of S.P., engineering S.P. becomes a very broad area, ensuring the stages of planning, design and construction of manned spaceships corresponding to human specifics and characteristics, i.e. to people who will be living and working in and operating these spaceships. An additional problem of engineering S.P. is the development of special training equipment and simulators which would model most closely the field conditions and factors of spaceflights.

Special Psychology

Special Psychology, a branch of psychology that studies individuals characterised by deviation from normal mental development owing to innate or acquired defects in the forming and functioning of the nervous system, e.g. the psychology of the blind ( typhlopsychology), deaf (surdopsychology), mentally retarded ( oligophrenopsychology); and the psychology of children with temporary retardation of mental development, speech defects, and so on. Like special pedagogy ( typhlopedagogy, surdopedagogy, oligophrenopedagogy, etc.), S.P. is part of an integral 298 scientific discipline called defectology, which studies the developmental specifics of children with physical and mental defects, and also the regularities inherent in their education and training. In the USSR, S.P. developed in connection with the activities of Lev Vygotsky, Tatyana Vlassova, Yuri Kulagin, Vladimir Lubovsky, Alexander Meshcheryakov, and Ivan Sokolyansky. An initial defect, e.g. deafness, was found to cause secondary changes in mental development, and changes in the individual’s world outlook, system of relationships with other people, thinking, perception, and so on. Data obtained by S.P. underlie the elaboration of education and training programmes for persons with anomalous mental development, and also the provision of vocational guidance and selection.

Specialisation of Conditioned Reflex

Specialisation of Conditioned Reflex, a process wherein initial generalisation and subsequent repetition of a conditioned reaction causes the latter to become contingent with a strictly specific signal and to actualise only in the required form. The neurophysiological mechanism of S. of C.R. is in localisation of activity in the brain structures that secure the given reaction (see Conditioned Reflex).

Specific Energies Doctrine

Specific Energies Doctrine, the idea that the quality of a sensation depends on which sense organ is stimulated. The same external factor acting on different sense organs would cause different sensations. For instance, when applied to the eye, electric shock would cause a visual sensation; when applied to the ear, an acoustic sensation, and so on. At the same time, a sensation characteristic of a given organ may be caused by many different effects. For example, a visual sensation would arise when the eye is stimulated with light, mechanical shock, or electric current. Johannes Miiller, a German physiologist, interpreted these phenomena as law-governed. However, from correctly noted facts, he inferred agnostically that sensations allegedly do not provide us with correct ideas about the environment. In reality, adequacy of sensation to actual stimulation is ensured because the sense organs are formed so as to admit only specific types of external signals to definite nerve endings.

Speech

Speech, a language-mediated form of human communication (1) which developed in the course of human activity involving material transformation of the surrounding world. S. includes generation and perception of messages with the purpose of communication or (in specific cases) control and regulation of one’s own activity (see Speech, Inner; Speech, Egocentric). Psychology is chiefly concerned with the place of S. within the system of human higher mental functions, the correlation of S. with thinking, consciousness, memory, emotions, etc. The specifics of S. which reflect the structure of personality and activity are particularly important. Most Soviet psychologists regard S. as vocal activity which exists either in the form 299 of an integral act (if the activity in question is specifically motivated and not actualised by other forms of activity), or in the form of vocal acts involved in activity other than speech. The structure of any vocal activity or vocal act basically coincides with that of any action, i.e. involves the phases of orientation, planning (in the form of "inner programming"), actualisation, and control. S. may be active, constructed anew, and reactive, i.e. representing a concatenation of dynamic speech patterns. In spontaneous oral S. (see Speech, Oral), conscious choice and assessment of the lingual means used therein are reduced to a minimum, whereas in written S. (see Speech, Written) and in rehearsed oral S. they play a significant part. Various forms of S. are constructed by specific regularities. For example, oral S. permits significant deviation from the grammar of a given language; again, logical and, moreover, artistic speech is a special item in itself. S. is studied not only by the psychology of S., but also by psycholinguistics, the physiology of S., linguistics, semiotics, and other branches of knowledge.

Speech, Dactylologic

Speech, Dactylologic, reproduction of words by dactyl letters, i.e. by configurations of finger and their. movements. S., D. is used in Soviet pedagogy as an aid for teaching verbal speech to the deaf, and also in personal communication (1) among the deaf, and between people with normal hearing and the deaf.

Speech, Egocentric

Speech, Egocentric, speech addressed to oneself, one that controls child practical activity. As the Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky showed in his polemic with the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (who later agreed), S., E. originates from external ( communicative) speech, and is the product of its partial interiorisation. Thus, S.,E. is a kind of transitional stage from external to inner speech (see Speech, Inner). The notion S.,E. is also used in pathopsychology when describing various syndromes.

Speech, Gesture

Speech, Gesture, a way of personal communication (1) among the deaf by means of a system of gestures characterised by peculiar lexical and grammatical regularities, ruled by pronouncedly specific gestures, the basic semantic units of S.,G., and also by the functional role of gestures (their use in informal communication). Formal communication (at meetings, in interpreting lectures, etc.) involves modelling S.,G., in which gestures are consistently used to reproduce words. Modelling S.,G. uses elements of dactylologic speech (see Speech, Dactylologic) to designate endings, suffixes, etc. S.,G. is also used as an aid (in addition to verbal speech) in teaching and educating children with defective hearing.

Speech, Inner

Speech, Inner, various types of the use of language (linguistic meanings, to be more precise) outside the process of actual communication (2). Psychologists distinguish three basic types of S.,I.: (a) inner articulation, or "speech to oneself", which retains the   300 structure of external speech but is devoid of phonation, i.e. articulation of sounds, and typical of solving mental problems in difficult situations; (b) S.,I. proper, when it is a means of thinking; it makes use of specific units (a code of images and schemes, an object code, object meanings) and has a specific structure, distinct from that of external speech; (c) inner programming, i.e. the act of forming and securing in specific units a project (type, programme) of speech utterance, a whole text, and its contextual parts (A. N. Sokolov, N.I. Zhinkin, and others). In ontogenesis, S.,I. forms in the process of interiorisation of external speech.

Speech, Oral

Speech, Oral, verbal communication (1) involving linguistic means perceived by hearing. S.,O. is characterised by the fact that the individual components of a given oral communication are produced and perceived successively. S.,O. production comprises elements of orienting, simultaneous planning (programming), lingual actualisation and control; in this case, planning is performed along two parallel lines and concerns the contextual and motor-articulatory aspects of S.,O.

Speech, Written

Speech, Written, verbal communication (1) by means of written texts, which may either be delayed (like a letter, for instance) or direct (like in exchange of notes at a meeting). S.,W. is distinguished from oral speech (see Speech, Oral) not only in that it uses graphic symbols, but also with regard to grammar (chiefly syntactically) and style, as seen in the syntactical structures and specific functional styles typical of S.,W. The latter is characterised by highly complex composition and structure, which require special training; hence the specific task of teaching S.,W. at school. Inasmuch as S.,W. may be percieved either at once, or in big pieces, its perception largely differs from that of oral speech.

Statistical Methods (in psychology)

Statistical Methods (in psychology), = certain methods of applied mathematical statistics used in psychology chiefly to process experimental results. S.M. are mainly designed to render the inferences of psychological studies even more authentic by using probability logic and probability models. The history of statistics in psychology shows many examples of positive mutual influences. For instance, the idea of regression and correlation analysis, so important for contemporary science, resulted from Francis Gallon’s attempts to examine the regularities whereby children inherit their parents’ psychological and physical features. To study intellectual abilities, several versions of factor analysis were developed. A number of statistical methods were worked out to check the quality of psychological tests and to be used in vocational selection (see Psychological Selection). The following trends are now apparent in the use of S.M. in psychology: (1) descriptive statistics involving data grouping, tabulation, graphical presentation and quantitative description; (2) theory of statistic inference, used in psychological studies to forecast sampling results; and (3) theory of 301 experiment planning, which serves to reveal and check causal relationships between variables.

Status (in social psychology)

Status (in social psychology), the subject’s position in a system of interpersonal relations that determines his rights, duties, and privileges. In different groups, the same individual may have a different S. The substantial discrepancies in the S’s, which the individual acquires in groups with different levels of group development, content of activity and communication (1), often cause frustrations, conflicts, etc. S. is experimentally revealed by referentometry (see Referentometric Method). Prestige and authority, both specific measures of the individual’s personal services recognised by society, are important characteristics of S.

Stepwise Forming of Mental Actions, Concept of

Stepwise Forming of Mental Actions, Concept of, a theory of complex multiform changes caused by the forming of new actions, images and concepts in man. It was advanced by Soviet psychologist Pyotr Galperin. The concept includes six steps. The first involves the forming of a motivational (see Motivation) basis of action (when the subject develops an attitude towards the goals and tasks of the impending action, and towards the subjectmatter to be learned). The second step involves the making by an individual of a scheme of the orientating foundation of an action (by distinguishing systems of reference points and indicators that must be taken inlo consideralion in performing Ihe action). As the action is mastered, the scheme would be continually verified and specified. The third step involves the forming of an action in material (materialised) form, when the subject performs the required actions relying on outwardly imagined action patterns specifically on the scheme of the orienting foundation of an action. The fourth step involves "loud socialised speech", when repeated reinforcement of some action by continuously correct solutions of diverse problems makes unnecessary to use the orienting scheme; its content is reflected in speech which is the support of the developing action. The fifth step (the forming of an action in “soliloquy”) involves gradual disappearance of the outward, sonic aspect of speech. At the final, sixth step, the speech process “leaves” consciousness where only the final result remains, viz., the objeclive content of a given action (see Interiorisation). At each step, the action is performed first in a developed form to subsequently become gradually reduced or compressed. Empirical forming of a new action (or concept) may take place with omission of some of the above-mentioned stages. However, only thorough knowledge of the S.F. of M.A., system would make it possible to decode the mechanisms of each specific case and explain the concrete dynamics of action formation. Galperin termed special organisation of S.F. of M.A., for obtaining an action with definite preset indices of generalisation, reason, conscience, criticalily, etc, as planned stepwise forming of mental actions. In this case, stepwise changes would be planned and rigidly 302 controlled by the experimenter. This would make it possible to establish distinct correlations between experimental training effects, the content of human activity for mastering a new action, and characteristics of the obtained effect. Planned stepwise forming of mental actions would, in this case, become a method of psychological investigation, a variety of the experimental-genetic method (see Methods of Psychogenetics). Practical application of S.F. of M.A., C. in general and special training is designed to enhance the quality of the forming actions and concepts in trainees while reducing their training time.

Stereotype, Social

Stereotype, Social, a simplified, schematised, and often distorted representation, characteristic of commonplace consciousness, of some social object (a group or person belonging to the given social^ unit, etc.). S.,S. secures certain, sometimes unimportant but relatively stable features of a given social object (see Stereotyping). The term S.,S. was introduced by Walter Lippmann. It differs from other forms of knowledge in that the information upon which it is based correlates not with a corresponding object, but with other pieces of knowledge, which may prove false. The existence and spread of S.,S. are promoted by certain events in interpersonal communication and social perception, such as social attitudes, the halo effect, the primacy effect and the novelty effect. S.,S. formation is a common bourgeois propaganda technique for manipulating mass consciousness, justifying race discrimination, etc. (see Psychology of Propaganda).

Stereotypes of Perception

Stereotypes of Perception, see Stereotype, Social.

Stereotyping

Stereotyping, the perception, classification and assessment of social objects (events) on the basis of specific notions (see Stereotype, Social). S. is a major characteristic of intergroup and interpersonal perception and reflects the schematised nature and effective tinge generally inherent in those forms of social perception (see Perception, Social). From the psychological viewpoint, S. is the attribution of similar characteristics to all members of a given social group or community without sufficient awareness of their possible distinctions. Basing on elementary general psychological mechanisms, associated with data processing, S. boils down to a complex socio-psychological phenomenon which performs several functions, the most important of which are maintenance of individual and group identification, justification of possible negative attitudes towards other groups, and so on.

Stevens’ Law

Stevens’ Law, a formula established by the US scientist Stanley Stevens and linking intensity of sensation to a specific degree of the physical intensity of the irritant. Psychophysiological evidence is used to substantiate S.L. As a rule, however, the results of psychophysical measurements show highly strong individual variability, which makes it difficult to unambiguously prove the advantage of the 303 S.L.-revealed power dependence upon Fechner’s Law (see Weber-Fechner Law).

Stimulus

Stimulus, an influence that causes changes in the individual’s mental states (in the form of reactions). In physiology and psychophysiology, the term "S." is identical to irritation. In behaviourism, the relations between S. and reaction were understood mechanistically: S. included chiefly environmental changes (external effects), and reactions—the organism’s locomotor reactions. In reality, S. in psychology is inducement, whose effect is conditioned by man’s psyche, views, sentiments, moods, interests, aspirations, etc. S. is not identical to motive, albeit in some cases it may turn into a motive.

Strength of Nervous System

Strength of Nervous System, a property of the nervous system that pertains to the work capacity of brain cortex cells, i.e. their ability to endure, without being inhibited (see Inhibition) either very intense or protracted (though not intense) excitation. S. of N.S. was identified and studied in Ivan Pavlov’s laboratories, where it served as a basic parameter for classifying types of higher nervous activity. According to Boris Teplov and Vladimir Nebylitsyn, S. of N.S. is also characterised by sensibility of analysers: a weaker nervous system is also more sensitive, i.e. capable of responding to stimuli of lower intensity than a strong nervous system. The advantage of a weak nervous system is precisely in this. This approach is valuable because it excludes the previously existing estimative attitude towards the properties of the nervous system, whereby one pole was ascribed positive characteristics, and the other negative ones. Thus, each pole is recognised to have both positive and negative (from the biological viewpoint) aspects.

Stress

Stress, a term used to designate a wide range of man’s states arising in response to various extreme effects (stress factors). The notion ’S.’ originated in physiology to designate non-specific body responses ("general adaptation syndrome") to any unfavourable effect (Hans Selye). Later, the concept of S. was used to describe individual states in extreme conditions at the physiological, psychological and behavioural levels. Depending on the stress factor and the nature of its effect, various types of S. are commonly classified as physiological and psychological S’s. The latter are subdivided into informational and emotional S’s. Informational S. occurs in situations involving informational overloads, when a person fails to cope with the problem, or is slow in making correct decisions when his responsibility for the results is high. Emotional S. appears in situations involving threat, danger, offence, etc. In this case, various forms of emotional S. (impulsive, inhibitory, generalised) lead to changes in mental processes, emotional shifts, transformed motivational structure of activity, and impaired motor and verbal behaviour. S. may have both positive and negative (distress) impacts on activity, up to its total disorganisation. Hence, 304 optimisation of any activity should include a set of measures for preventing the causes of S.

Stress Factor

Stress Factor, a factor causing a state of stress. Two classes of S.F’s are to be distinguished: (1) physiological S.F’s, which involve excess physical loads, high and low temperatures, pain stimuli, difficult respiration, etc., and (2) psychological S.F’s, which act by signalling, say, threat, danger, offence, informational overload, etc.

Structural Psychology

Structural Psychology, a trend which regarded elements of consciousness and their structural interrelations, revealed by specially trained introspection ( selfobservation), as the subject-matter of psychology. S.P. originated in the early 20th century, and dates back to Wilhelm Wundt. However, it acquired the status of a special school owing to the US psychologist Edward Titchener and his followers, who distinguished three categories of elements in the structure of consciousness: sensation (as the simplest process possessing quality, intensity, distinctness, and duration), image, and sentiment (in its elementary form). They denied the objective nature of perception, and ascribed it to a "stimulus mistake", i.e. to the substitution by the subject of sensations he really experienced for knowledge about the external irritants that had caused them. S.P. was criticised by Gestalt psychology and functional psychology but this criticism changed nothing in the then commonly idealistic interpretation of consciousness, likewise accepted by the above- mentioned schools.

Structure

Structure, the totality of stable links between numerous components of a given object, ensuring its integrity and self-identity. The idea of S. implies that the object be considered as a system (see Systems Principle). The configuration and nature of links within a system are, in fact, its S., which remains unaltered with changes (within certain limits) in the system, e.g. when changing its elemental composition. A systems-structural analysis of social processes, which constitutes the methodological foundation of the present-day humanities, was originally introduced in the 19th century, and relevant examples are found in the works of Marx and Engels on historical materialism and political economy. In the 20th century, systemsstructural analysis spread to linguistics, the study of culture, ethnography, sociology and other social sciences. In psychology, the principle of S. dates back to Christian von Ehrenfels, who described perceptual S’s (see Perception; Perceptual Actions), which relate to the perceived object as a whole, and cannot be explained by combinations of its elements. These investigations were directly developed in Gestalt psychology. In Soviet psychology, the S. principle is associated with the Marxist understanding of object-related activity.. The S. principle is characterised byHhe following: interpretation of S. as formations which cannot be divided into separate elements and which are steadily reproduced in the course of continually changing (in time) mental processes (in this sense, S’s may be 305 regarded as the psychic bedrock underlying all psychoological processes); interpretation of man’s mental S’s as socially conditioned; recognition of the presence of numerous levels of psychic S’s bound by hierarchic connections. Transition from a deepseated to a higher S. is characterised by transformations of S’s. Deepseated S’s. may remain buried in consciousness.

Style of Leadership (Style of Management)

Style of Leadership (Style of Management), a system of ways typically used by a leader (manager) to influence his subordinates. Kurt Lewin distinguished three S’s of L.: authoritarian (involving rigid methods of administration, suppression of all initiative and ban on discussion of future decisions, etc.); democratic ( collegiality, encouragement of initiative, etc.); and anarchic (refusal to administer, self-withdrawal from leadership; etc.). Their descriptive versions may be: directive, collegial, liberal, etc. Soviet social psychology has shown that S. of L. is the requisite and consequence of the level of group development. It also depends on the joint activities underlying interpersonal relations in a group. Typical of groups with a high level of development is a collectivist S. of L. (management), assuming the leader’s responsibility before the collective and the latter’s conscious subordination to him, full power and independence of the work collective, adequate responsibility, and the combination of maximum centralisation and maximum democratism. Corporations practice authoritarian S. of L., viz. bureaucratic centralism inherent, for instance, in capitalist society, especially under fascist and semifascist dictatorships, and characterised by maximum centralisation and minimum democratism. Anarchic S. of L. is also possible in social associations (see also Leadership), when the social value of factors conditioning the relations among group members is low.

Subconsciousness

Subconsciousness, see The Unconscious.

Subject

Subject, an individual or group as a source of knowledge and transformation of reality; an agent of active-, ness (see Activity). All idealist philosophies see the source of S.’s activity in the S. himself. However, dialectical materialism, the philosophical foundation of,- scientific psychology, regards S. as a product of historical development, and links his activity with the specifics of man’s activity designed to transform the material world. Real, practical changes in the object during that activity are, in fact, the criterion of the adequacy, correspondence of reality to the images arising in S., which allow him to regulate his own activity.

Subjective Semantic Space

Subjective Semantic Space, a model of the categorial (see Categorisation) structure of individual consciousness, on the basis of which objects, concepts, etc. are classified by analysing their meanings. By arranging certain meanings in the semantic space, one 306 can analyse them to determine their similarity or distinction. Mathematically, S.S.S. is expressed by coordinate axes and points, and by measuring the distance between them. The construction of S.S.S. as an investigation method and a model of categorial structures has come to be widely used in the psychology of memory (semantic models of long-term memory), the psychology of thinking., and the theory of decision-making, This method is also used in the psychology of differential distinctions, and in examining the cognitive aspects of consciousness and individual selfawareness.

Sublimation (in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis)

Sublimation (in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis), a mechanism of psychological defence (see Defence, Psychological) that alleviates tension in conflicts by transforming instinctive forms of psyche into those more acceptable to the individual and society. According to Freud, a particular instance of S. is the shift of libido to creative activity; S. may also be achieved by jokes, show of wit, and other actions that instantly cause discharge of tension in forms approved by society. These ideas about S. reflect a biological interpretation of psyche, generally inherent in Freudianism. Beyond its psychoanalytical interpretation, the term "S." is used to designate a shift of individual activity to a higher level.

Subsensory Perception

Subsensory Perception, a form of direct mental reflection of reality caused by irritants whose impact on individual activity the subject cannot explain to himself; a manifestation of the unconscious. In determining sensation thresholds, physiologists and psychologists (Ivan Sechenov and Gustav Fechner) discovered facts showing that behaviour is influenced by unrealised stimuli; contemporary psychology has suggested the notions “pre-attention” (Ulric Neisser) and "subsensory area" (Grigori Gershuni) be used to designate those facts. Being associated with data processing beyond volitionally controlled activity, pre-attention processes ensure an adaptive reaction to certain, still obscure, situational changes. The zone of irritants (inaudible sounds, invisible light signals, etc.) that cause involuntary, objectively recorded reaction, and can be realised when they are turned into signals, was called the subsensory area. The study of preattention processes and subsensory irritants makes it possible to reveal reserve potentials in human sense organs.

Suggestion

Suggestion, a process in which a person’s mental sphere is influenced, owing to declined consciousness and criticality in perceiving and actualising the suggested material, and to the absence of a purposeful active comprehension of that material, developed logical analysis, and of proper assessment of the material as related to the past experience and the present state of the subject {Konstaatin Platonov, Vladimir Myasishchev et al.). Subsequently, the content of the 307 consciousness received through S. would be of obsessive nature; the subject will comprehend and correct it with difficulty, since it represents a totality of "suggested attitudes" (Dmitri Uznadze). S. is a component of normal human communication (1), but may also be a specially organised type of communication (2) that implies uncritical perception of the suggested information and is counter to the subject’s beliefs (Boris Parygin, Yuri Sherkovin). S. is realised in the form of heterosuggestion ( outside action) and self-suggestion. The object of heterosuggestion may be both an individual person or a group, social stratum, etc. (the phenomenon of mass S); the source of suggestion (“suggestor”) may be an individual, a group, or the mass media. Group S. is a factor inducing conformity. Self-suggestion means that the suggestor and the suggerend are combined in one person. S. is achieved verbally (by words or intonation) and non-verbally (mimicry, gestures, other person’s actions, or the environment). As for implementation techniques, S. is classified into direct ( imperative) and indirect forms, and also into intentional and unintentional forms. Direct intentional S. consists in the suggestor’s using special "verbal formulae", which are introduced into the suggerend’s mental sphere to become active elements of his consciousness and behaviour. The content of indirect S. is included in the transmitted information in a concealed form and characterised by unconscious, unnoticeable, and involuntary assimilation. Indirect S. may be both intentional and unintentional. By the criterion of the suggerend’s state, the following types of S. are distinguished. S. in a wakeful state (see Wakefulness), S. in hypnosis, S. in natural sleep, and post-hypnotic S. The degree of effective S. would depend on (1) the suggestor’s qualities (his social status, charm, and volitional, intellectual superiority and greater strength of character); (2) the suggerend’s traits (degree of suggestibility); (3) relations between them (trust, authority, dependence); (4) the manner in which S. is made (level of reasoning, way of combining logical and emotional components, reinforcement, and other effects). The impact of certain mass communication media, advertisements, vogue, customs, and faith in something is partially based on S.S. is widely used in medicine to correct the patient’s psychological and somatic state ( psychotherapy). In pedagogy attempts are being made to use ,S. in the course of teaching (so-called suggestopedia) (G. Lozanov). In experimental psychology, S. is sometimes used as a technique for directly changing the individual’s emotional state, motivation, and attitudes.

The Superconscious

The Superconscious, a level of individual mental activity in solving creative tasks, uncontrollable by individual conscious volition. An idea about the specifics of this level was advanced by Konstantin Stanislavsky, Soviet theatrical theoretician and pedagogue, who designated it by the 308 term “superconscience”, implying the highest stage of the creative process as distinguished from both its conscious (see Conscience) and unconscious components. Subsequently, Pavel Simonov interpreted superconscience as the creative intuition mechanism responsible for a recombination of former impressions whose correspondence with reality has been re- established. With regard to processes of individual scientific creative activity, the S. is represented in their regulation of the categorial apparatus of cognition, not realised by the scientist himself, who is engrossed in the subject of research, but whose structure and developmental requirements are reflected in his hypotheses and individual decisions (Mikhail Yaroshevsky). Hence, to “decode” the S., a categorial analysis is needed. The notion of the S. allows to delineate two forms of unawared mental activity, one depending on the information already imprinted in the brain ( determination by the past), i.e. the unconscious, and the other aimed at creating what had never occurred in individual and collective experience ( determination by the required future), the S. This creation would occur in the process of the person’s interaction with the world of cultural values, which the person not only assimilates, but also creates to reflect the mature trends of that world’s objective development. This interaction results in artistic images, scientific discoveries, and other creative products, in which, in addition to what comes out in the mind of the individual subject who had engendered them, there is also the objectively significant content imprinted in the mind owing to the work of thought at the level of the S., not represented in the individual’s reflexion (i.e. not realised by him).

Superego

Superego, see Freudianism.

Supervalent Ideas

Supervalent Ideas, concepts, ideas or conclusions engendered in man’s consciousness by actual situations and acquiring extraordinary (even pathological) significance for him. Unlike raving, which is incorrect and inadequate judgement of reality, S.I’s have certain (though more frequently insignificant) real ground. Yet, as in case with raving, a person with S.I’s cannot be dissuaded, for he lacks critical attitude towards those ideas. Running into indisputable evidence that deflate his S.I’s, the individual uses unconscious defence mechanisms (see Defence, Psychological) without revealing S.I’s in his behaviour. However, in a situation that reinforces S.I’s, the latter arise with renewed intensity, especially if the individual is straightforward, overconfident, and authoritarian. S.I’s are also seen in the bahaviour of epileptoid and organic psychopaths and in persons with organic brain lesions, epilepsy, and certain forms of schizophrenia.

Surdopsychology

Surdopsychology, a branch of special psychology that examines the mental development of the deaf and people hard of hearing and the possibility to correct audition by training and education. S. studies ways for 309 preventing mutism in people with hearing defects that exclude normal oral communication (1); reveals their cognitive specifics; clarifies the compensatory possibilities of visual perception, vibrational sensations, etc. in case of impaired acoustic perception; and examines the specific features of thinking, memory and other mental processes that form when acoustic sensations are either absent or underdeveloped. In organising the education of children who are either deaf or hard of hearing, and also their vocational training and specialised employment, one must essentially account for available surdopsychological evidence.

Survey

Survey, a method of socio- psychological research through questionnaires. In social sciences (demography, sociology, psychology), S’s are conducted for the purpose of establishing biographic data, opinions, value orientations, social attitudes, and personality characteristics of respondents. Depending on the character of required information and methods of obtaining it, various types of surveys are employed: overall (census), random ( encompassing a certain age group, work collective, etc.); verbal (interview) and written (questionnaire); individual and group; personal or mediated (by phone, or by post). To conduct a survey of any type, two problems require prior solution: (1) volume and degree of sample homogeneity, for the survey loses either its relevance if confined to a narrow circle of persons, or reliability (see Reliability of a Test), if the subjects constituting the sample are widely heterogeneous as to the parameters under study; (2) representativeness of the selection, i.e. possibility of extrapolating the conclusions obtained in the study of the sample to the entire group.

Symbol

Symbol, an image representing other (generally highly multiform) images, meanings, and relationships. S. is related to the notion of sign; however, the two should be distinguished. For the sign (particularly in formal logical systems), polyvalence is a negative characteristic since the more univalent a sign, the more constructive its use. Conversely, the more polyvalent a S., the richer its content. S. is a major category in the arts, philosophy, and psychology. In general psychology, the category of S. was developed in detail in psychoanalysis and inter-actionism. Traditional psychoanalysis interprets S’s as unconscious images, mainly sexual in origin, which condition the structure and functioning of human mental processes. Psychoanalysts suggested an interpretation of several S’s (fire, flight, elevation, etc.) observed in dreams. Later, psychoanalysis shifted its attention to "analysing and interpreting S’s of social and historical origin. For instance, the depth psychology of Carl Yung distinguished the "collective unconscious" ( reflection of the experience of past generations) as being embodied in archetypes—universal human prehistoric images. Archetypes are inaccessible to direct observation; they are revealed only indirectly, via their projection onto outside objects, which manifests 310 itself in symbolics common to all mankind, viz. myths, religious beliefs, dreams, and works of art. Psychoanalysts proposed an interpretation of a number of S’s that embody archetypes (Mother Earth, hero, wise old man, and so on). Ethnopsychologists, ethnographers, culturologists, and specialists in the psychology of the arts made numerous observations and experimental studies concerning the meaning of S’s. Marxist philosophy recognises the important role of S’s in the functioning of human mind. However, it rejects the indeterministic, idealistic interpretation proposed, say, by psychoanalysts and interactionists. Though not ignoring the facts that they study, Soviet psychology nonetheless rejects their interpretations of S’s, which they consider to be detached from the structure of socio- economic relationships existing in society. From the Marxist viewpoint, a true analysis of S. system would be only possible after S’s were shown to originate from a social system and, in the final account, through a number of mediatory elements, from material production.

Sympathy

Sympathy, a stable approving attitude of one person towards other people, groups or social phenomena that takes the form of affability, goodwill, and admiration and stimulates communication, reciprocal attention, and mutual help. S. normally arises on the basis of common views, values, interests, and moral ideals. It may also come from a selective positive response to attractive appearance, behaviour, and traits (see Attraction). In the process of its development, S. may become so strong as to turn into either passionate infatuation or strong affection; it may also end up in cooling and disillusionment and turn into antipathy. In interpersonal relations, S. is a factor of human integration and maintenance of psychological comfort.

Synaesthesia

Synaesthesia, a condition in which an irritant acting on a given sense organ would, irrespective of the subject’s will, cause not only a sensation specific to that sense organ, but also an additional subjective sensation characteristic of another modality. The most widespread S. is so-called colour hearing, in which the sound, apart from acoustic sensation, causes a colour sensation. Colour hearing was observed in the Russian composers Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Skryabin. In many people, the yelloworange colour evokes a sensation of warmth, and the bluish-green colour that of cold. S. appears to represent an essentially intensified interaction of analysers. Peculiar S. forms (for example, visualisation of what one hears) are observed in pathology.

Syncretism (in psychology)

Syncretism (in psychology), integrity of mental functions in early stages of child development. S. is seen in the tendency of child thinking to correlate heterogeneous phenomena without sufficient ground. Some investigators (Edouarde Claparede, and others) noted the syncretic nature of child perception, which manifests itself in an integral sensory image of a given 311 object, and also in that the child fails to distinguish and correlate its inner associations and components. Jean Piaget assigned S. to the basic characteristics of child thinking, maintaining that a child’s inability to think logically is explained by the tendency to substitute synthesis for a mere addition. In taking the association of impressions for association of things, the child would unconsciously and randomly (often in the form of a game or word manipulation) transpose the meaning of a word to a series of only outwardly associated phenomena or objects. According to the Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky, S. is highly important for developing child thinking. By selecting, in the course of practice, syncretic associations corresponding to reality, the child would recreate for himself the true meaning of words.

Syndrome

Syndrome, a specific combination of features (symptoms) with mechanisms of common origin. The term "S." is used in pathopsychology to signify a definite combination of symptoms of a particular disease. Recently, S. has come to be broadly interpreted in characterising manifestations of nervous system properties and combinations of definite symptoms that reveal accentuated traits of character (see Accentuation of Character).

Synthesis

Synthesis, the process of practical or mental reconstruction of a whole from its parts, or of combining various elements or incorporation of various elements and aspects of an object into a single whole, both processes being involved in body-environment interactions. S. is an essential stage of cognition inseparably associated with analysis, both supplementing each another. As an intellectual operation inherent in humans, S., like analysis, historically develops in the course of work.

Systems Principle (in psychology)

Systems Principle (in psychology), a methodological approach to the analysis of psychological phenomena, in which a given phenomenon is regarded as a system that is unreducible to the sum of its elements and has a structure. The properties of an element are determined by its place within the structure. S.P. involves applying general S.P. to some particular field S.P. ideas were developed by Gestalt psychologists (see Gestalt). Psychoanalysts associated S.P. with analysis of affective processes: they regarded so-called complexes as the basic factors of human mentality. In connection with the principle of development, S.P. was implemented in Jean Piaget’s theory of operational intellect (see Geneva School of Genetic Psychology). In neo-Freudianism, and also in symbolic interactionism, the system of social, sign-mediated interaction with its intrinsic structure is regarded as primary and determinant in relation to individual psyche. Soviet philosophers and psychologists ( Vsevolod Kuzmin, Boris Lomov, Erik Yudin, and others), proceeding from the Marxist methodology, regard psychological systems as purposeful and socially conditioned. In the course of individual development, these systems 312 pass consecutive stages of structural complication, differentiation, and transformation. The only genetic foundation for the development of psychological systems is joint (social) object-related human activity, including communication (1).

Systems-Structural Analysis

Systems-Structural Analysis, see Structure.