Psychology of mental states. Mental states of a person Examples of mental states

In the modern world, much attention is paid to the problem psychological states. Psychological state is a specific structural organization of all mental components a person has, determined by a given situation and the anticipation of the results of actions, their assessment from the standpoint of personal orientations and attitudes, goals and motives of all activities. Psychological states are multidimensional; they act both as a system for organizing mental processes, all human activities at any given moment in time, and as human relationships. They always present an assessment of the situation and the person’s needs. There is an idea of ​​states as the background against which a person’s mental and practical activity takes place.

Psychological states can be endogenous and reactive, or psychogenic. In the occurrence of endogenous conditions, organism factors play a major role. Relationships don't matter. Psychogenic states arise due to circumstances of great importance associated with significant relationships: failure, loss of reputation, collapse, catastrophe, loss of a dear person. Psychological states have a complex composition. They include time parameters (duration), emotional, and other components.

2.1 State structure

The system-forming factor for states can be considered an actual need that initiates a particular psychological state. If environmental conditions contribute to the quick and easy satisfaction of a need, then this contributes to the emergence of a positive state - joy, inspiration, delight, etc., and if the probability of satisfaction is low or absent at all, then the state will be negative in emotional sign. It is during the initial period of state formation that the strongest emotions arise - as subjective reactions of a person expressing his attitude to the process of realizing an urgent need. An important role in the nature of the new steady state is played by the “goal-setting block,” which determines both the likelihood of need satisfaction and the nature of future actions. Depending on the information stored in memory, the psychological component of the state is formed, which includes emotions, expectations, attitudes, feelings and perceptions. The last component is very important for understanding the nature of the state, since it is through it that a person perceives the world and evaluates it. After installing the appropriate filters, objective characteristics outside world They can already have a much weaker impact on consciousness, and the main role is played by attitudes, beliefs and ideas. For example, in a state of love, the object of affection seems ideal and devoid of flaws, and in a state of anger, the other person is perceived in an exclusively black color, and logical arguments have very little effect on these states. If a social object is involved in the fulfillment of a need, then emotions are usually called feelings. If in emotions the main role is played by the subject of perception, then in feelings both subject and object are closely intertwined, and with strong feelings, the second person can occupy an even greater place in consciousness than the individual himself (feelings of jealousy, revenge, love). After performing certain actions with external objects or social facilities a person comes to some result. This result either allows you to realize the need that caused this state (and then it disappears), or the result turns out to be negative. In this case, a new state arises - frustration, aggression, irritation, etc., in which a person receives new resources, and therefore new chances to satisfy this need. If the result continues to be negative, then psychological defense mechanisms are activated, reducing the tension of mental states and reducing the likelihood of chronic stress.

2.2. Classification of conditions

The difficulty in classifying mental states is that they often overlap or even coincide with each other so closely that it is quite difficult to “separate” them - for example, a state of some tension often appears against the background of states of fatigue, monotony, aggression and a number of other states. However, there are many options for their classifications. Most often they are divided into emotional, cognitive, motivational, and volitional.

Other classes of conditions have been described and continue to be studied: functional, psychophysiological, asthenic, borderline, crisis, hypnotic and other conditions. For example Yu.V. Shcherbatykh offers his classification of mental states, consisting of seven constant and one situational component

From the point of view of temporary organization, fleeting (unstable), long-term and chronic conditions can be distinguished. The latter include, for example, the state of chronic fatigue, chronic stress, which is most often associated with the influence of everyday stress.

Let us briefly describe some of these conditions. The state of active wakefulness (I degree of neuropsychic stress) is characterized by the performance of voluntary actions that have no emotional significance, against the background of a low level of motivation. In essence, this is a state of peace, non-involvement in complex activities to achieve a goal.

Psycho-emotional stress (II degree of neuropsychic stress) appears when the level of motivation increases, a significant goal and essential information appear; The complexity and efficiency of the activity increases, but the person copes with the task. An example would be performing everyday professional work under normal conditions. This condition is called “operational stress” in a number of classifications. In this condition, the level of activation of the nervous system increases, which is accompanied by an intensification of the activity of the hormonal system, an increase in the level of activity of internal organs and systems (cardiovascular, respiratory, etc.). Significant positive changes in mental activity are observed: the volume and stability of attention increases, the ability to concentrate on the task at hand increases, distractibility of attention decreases and switchability of attention increases, and the productivity of logical thinking increases. In the psychomotor sphere, there is an increase in the accuracy and speed of movements. Thus, the state of neuropsychic stress of the second degree (psycho-emotional stress) is characterized by an increase in the quality and efficiency of activity.

A state of psycho-emotional tension (or a state of neuropsychic tension of the third degree) appears when the situation becomes personally significant, with a sharp increase in motivation, an increase in the degree of responsibility (for example, the situation of an exam, public speaking, complex surgical operation). In this condition, there is a sharp increase in the activity of hormonal systems, especially the adrenal glands, which is accompanied by significant changes in the activity of internal organs and systems.

2.2.1 Stress

To modern man life is much more hectic than his ancestors. A sharp expansion in the volume of information gives him the opportunity to know more, and, consequently, have more reasons and reasons for worry and anxiety. An increase in the level of general anxiety among a fairly large category of people, which is stimulated by local wars, an increase in the number of disasters, man-made and natural, in which a lot of people receive physical and mental injuries or simply die. No one is immune from falling into such situations. It is natural for humans to fear death, physical and mental injury. But under normal conditions, this fear is suppressed and is not realized. When a person finds himself in a dangerous situation or becomes an eyewitness to it (even indirectly, by watching TV or reading a newspaper), the suppressed feeling of fear reaches a conscious level, significantly increasing the level of general anxiety. Frequent conflicts (at work and at home) and great internal tension can cause complex mental and physiological changes in the human body, strong emotional stress - lead to a state of stress. Stress is a state of mental tension that arises in the process of activity in the most complex and difficult conditions. Life sometimes becomes a harsh and merciless school for a person. The difficulties that arise along our path (from a minor problem to a tragic situation) cause in us emotional reactions of a negative type, accompanied by a whole range of physiological and psychological changes.

Psycho-emotional stress appears when performing overwhelming work in conditions of threat to life or prestige, lack of information or time. With psycho-emotional stress, the body’s resistance decreases (the body’s stability, immunity to any external factors), somatovegetative changes appear (increased blood pressure) and experiences of somatic discomfort (heart pain, etc.). Disorganization of mental activity occurs. Prolonged or frequently repeated stress leads to psychosomatic illnesses. At the same time, a person can withstand even long-term and strong stressors if he has adequate strategies for behavior in a stressful situation.

In fact, psycho-emotional tension, psycho-emotional tension and psycho-emotional stress represent different levels of manifestation of stress reactions.

Stress is a nonspecific response of the body to any demand presented to it. In its physiological essence, stress is understood as an adaptation process, the purpose of which is to preserve the morphofunctional unity of the body and provide optimal opportunities to meet existing needs.

Analysis of psychological stress requires taking into account factors such as the significance of the situation for the subject, intellectual processes, and personal characteristics. Therefore, during psychological stress, reactions are individual and not always predictable. “...The decisive factor that determines the mechanisms of formation of mental states, reflecting the process of adaptation to difficult conditions in a person, is not so much the objective essence of the “danger”, “complexity”, “difficulty” of the situation, but rather its subjective, personal assessment by the person” (Nemchin ).

Any normal human activity can cause significant stress without causing harm to the body. Moreover, moderate stress (states of neuropsychic tension of levels I, II and partly III) mobilize the body’s defenses and, as has been shown in a number of studies, have a training effect, transferring the body to a new level of adaptation. Harmful is distress, or harmful stress, in Selye's terminology. The state of psycho-emotional tension, psycho-emotional stress, frustration, affect can be classified as distress states.

2.2.2 Frustration

Frustration is a mental state that occurs when a person, on the way to achieving a goal, encounters obstacles that are actually insurmountable or are perceived by him as insurmountable. In situations of frustration, there is a sharp increase in the activation of subcortical formations, and severe emotional discomfort occurs. With high tolerance (stability) towards frustrators, a person’s behavior remains within the adaptive norm, the person demonstrates constructive behavior that resolves the situation. With low tolerance, various forms of unconstructive behavior may appear. The most common reaction is aggression, which has different directions. Aggression directed at external objects: verbal rebuff, accusations, insults, physical attacks on the person who caused frustration. Self-directed aggression: self-blame, self-flagellation, guilt. There may be a shift of aggression towards other persons or inanimate objects, then the person “takes out his anger” on innocent family members or breaks dishes.

2.2.3. Affect

Affects are rapidly and violently occurring emotional processes of an explosive nature that provide release in actions that are not subject to volitional control. Affect is characterized by an ultra-high level of activation, changes in internal organs, altered state of consciousness, its narrowing, concentration of attention on any one object, decrease in the volume of attention. Thinking changes, it is difficult for a person to foresee the results of his actions, expedient behavior becomes impossible. Mental processes not related to affect are inhibited. The most important indicators of affect are a violation of voluntary actions; a person is not aware of his actions, which manifests itself either in strong and erratic motor activity, or in tense stiffness of movements and speech (“numb with horror,” “frozen in surprise”).

The characteristics of mental tension and tone discussed above do not determine the modality of the emotional state. At the same time, among all mental states it is impossible to find a single one in which emotions do not matter. In many cases, it is not difficult to classify emotional states as pleasant or unpleasant, but quite often the mental state is a complex unity of opposing experiences (laughter through tears, joy and sadness existing simultaneously, etc.).

Positive and negative emotional states of a person. Positively colored emotional states include pleasure, a state of comfort, joy, happiness, and euphoria. They are characterized by a smile on the face, pleasure in communicating with other people, a feeling of acceptance by others, self-confidence and calmness, and a feeling of ability to cope with life's problems.

A positively colored emotional state affects the course of almost all mental processes and human behavior. It is known that success in solving an intellectual test has a positive effect on the success of solving subsequent tasks, while failure has a negative effect. Many experiments have shown that happy people show greater willingness to help others. Many studies show that people who are in a good mood tend to evaluate their surroundings more positively.

Negatively colored emotional states are characterized in a completely different way, which include states of sadness, melancholy, anxiety, depression, fear, and panic. The most studied states are anxiety, depression, fear, horror, and panic.

The state of anxiety occurs in situations of uncertainty, when the nature or timing of the threat cannot be predicted. An alarm is a signal of danger that has not yet been realized. The state of anxiety is experienced as a feeling of diffuse apprehension, as vague anxiety - “free-floating anxiety.” Anxiety changes the nature of behavior, leads to increased behavioral activity, encourages more intense and targeted efforts, and thereby performs an adaptive function.

When studying anxiety, anxiety is distinguished as a personality trait that determines readiness for anxious reactions, manifested in uncertainty in the future, and actual anxiety, which is part of the structure of the mental state at a given specific moment (Spielberger, Khanin). Berezin, based on experimental studies and clinical observations, develops the idea of ​​the existence of an alarming series. This series includes

1. Feeling of internal tension.

2. Hyperesthetic reactions. As anxiety increases, many events in the external environment become significant for the subject, and this, in turn, further intensifies anxiety).

3. Anxiety itself is characterized by the appearance of a feeling of an uncertain threat, an unclear danger. A sign of anxiety is the inability to determine the nature of the threat and predict the time of its occurrence.

4. Fear. The lack of awareness of the causes of anxiety and the lack of its connection with the object make it impossible to organize activities to eliminate or prevent the threat. As a result, the vague threat begins to become more specific, and anxiety shifts to specific objects that begin to be regarded as threatening, although this may not be true. Such concrete anxiety represents fear.

5. The feeling of the inevitability of an impending catastrophe, the increase in the intensity of anxiety leads the subject to the idea of ​​​​the impossibility of avoiding the threat. And this causes a need for motor discharge, which manifests itself in the next sixth phenomenon - anxious-fearful arousal, at this stage the disorganization of behavior reaches its maximum, the possibility of purposeful activity disappears.

All these phenomena manifest themselves differently depending on the stability of the mental state.

Very often, volitional activity decreases: a person feels unable to do anything, it is difficult for him to force himself to overcome this state. Most often used to overcome fear the following techniques: a person tries to continue his work, displacing fear from consciousness; finds relief in tears, in listening to his favorite music, in smoking. And only a few try to “calmly understand the cause of fear.”

Depression is a temporary, permanent or periodically manifested state of melancholy and mental depression. It is characterized by a decrease in neuropsychic tone, caused by a negative perception of reality and oneself. Depressive states usually arise in situations of loss: the death of loved ones, the breakdown of friendships or love relationships. A depressive state is accompanied by psychophysiological disorders (loss of energy, muscle weakness), a feeling of emptiness and meaninglessness, guilt, loneliness, and helplessness. The depressive state is characterized by a gloomy assessment of the past and present, and pessimism in assessing the future.

The classification of psychological states also includes somatopsychic states (hunger, thirst, sexual arousal) and mental states that arise during work activity (states of fatigue, overwork, monotony, states of inspiration and elation, concentration and distraction, as well as boredom and apathy).

Chapter 3 Security

The absence of danger, or more precisely “a state in which there is no danger to anyone or anything” is defined in dictionaries by the concept of safety. However, experience shows that ensuring complete absence danger is impossible. In this regard, a definition is often used that indicates safety as reliable protection from dangers and threats. This definition emphasizes the acceptability (and inevitability) of dangers and threats of a certain level, while, as if by itself, it implies the need to protect the object. But under conditions of acceptability of the initial dangers, protection may not be required. Therefore, the following formulation seems most acceptable: Security is a state of absence various kinds dangers and threats that can cause unacceptable harm (damage) to vital human interests. Security is a fundamental human need.

3.1. Human safety. Ways to ensure safety.

Any animal reacts to a threat to its life with protective actions. Human actions, thanks to his mind, differ from the instinctive actions of animals in foreseeing the development of events, assessing the consequences of his actions, analyzing the causes of dangers, choosing the most effective option actions. A person not only intelligently defends himself in an already existing situation (protection), not only, foreseeing dangers, tries to avoid them, but, having established the causes of dangers, with his life activity he transforms the environment in order to eliminate these causes (prevention). By environment we mean all its components – natural, social, man-made. It is transformative life activity that allows a person to fully use the mind to increase his security.

The security of a person, ensured by his life activity, can be measured by the level of security. Integrally, it is characterized by life expectancy.

Preserving life for as long as possible is undoubtedly one of the main goals of life, despite the fact that philosophers are still arguing about the meaning and purposes of life. It is no coincidence that safety is one of the fundamental needs of a person, and scientists call the preservation of life and health the first and main vital interest of an individual. The original life expectancy of individuals of each type of living organism, established by nature, is shortened due to the realization of dangers from environment. That is why real life expectancy, undoubtedly, being dependent on the natural species value, but different from it, characterizes the level of safety.

We can talk about individual and community-wide levels of security. In general, when talking about life expectancy, you need to keep in mind three different indicators:

· biological life expectancy determined by nature for humans as a species;

· individual life expectancy related to a specific person (with its characteristics);

· average life expectancy in a given community.

Biological life expectancy serves as a baseline indicator. For nature (for the biosphere), which created man and provided for this duration, the reproduction of the human race is important. A person must grow to adulthood and produce offspring, and then raise their offspring to adulthood. After this, nature does not need this individual, since the reproduction of the family will be carried out by his descendants. A significant portion of people do not live to reach their biological limit. Their individual life expectancy is shortened by insecurity, which depends, first of all, on their own behavior in everyday life and in emerging dangerous situations. One constantly builds his actions taking into account their consequences for his safety, the other mindlessly follows his momentary desires and desire for pleasure, without caring about safety. A person who neglects the principles of a healthy lifestyle, who cannot foresee, avoid dangers, and, if necessary, act rationally, cannot hope for a long life.

However, the security of an individual depends not only on his personal behavior, but also on the number and strength of threats formed by the environment (natural, social, man-made). And the state of the environment is largely determined by the results of the transformative life activity of society. The level of security achieved by the transformative life activity of a given community to ensure the protection of its members from various types of threats is characterized by the average life expectancy in the community. This value is obtained by averaging the real life expectancy of individuals in the community. The level of security of communities with the progress of civilization is still constantly growing. To the ordinary resident of ancient Egypt, average duration life in which she was 22 years old, it was difficult to survive for more than 40-45 years, despite the most “safe” behavior for those times (this did not apply to the priests, who were in special conditions and therefore had the opportunity to live to the biological limit). The Roman who lived later lived longer because he washed himself in a bathhouse built for this purpose, and drank water from the water supply, unlike the Egyptian, who both bathed and drank from the same Nile. In the most harmoniously developed countries today, average life expectancy has reached 80 years (Scandinavia, Japan). Apparently, this is already the same biological threshold, a practically achievable limit for increasing life expectancy.

Thus, the level of personal security, measured by individual life expectancy, depends not only on its behavior, but also on the level of security of society. The behavior of a particular individual only allows her to realize (or not realize) the level of security achieved by society. The increase in security levels of both the individual and society was the result of transformative life activities.

Conclusion

Continuous human interaction with living and inanimate nature is realized through flows of masses of substances, energy and information. In cases where these flows exceed the maximum permissible levels of their values, they acquire the ability to cause damage to human health, harm nature, destroy material values ​​and become dangerous to the world around them. Sources of danger are of natural, anthropogenic or technogenic origin. The world of dangers reached its highest development at the beginning of the 21st century. The continuously increasing deterioration of health and death of people from exposure to hazards objectively requires the state and society to take extensive measures using a scientific approach in solving problems of human life safety. Achieving an acceptable level of safety in the “man-environment” system is inextricably linked with the need for an in-depth analysis of the reasons for the increase in the number and level of existing hazards; studying the causes of forced loss of health and death; development and widespread use of preventive protective measures at work and at home. The state's information activities in the field of forecasting environmental hazards are called upon to play an important role in preserving the health and lives of people in the present and future. The competence of people in the world of dangers and methods of protection against them is a necessary condition for achieving the safety of human life at all stages of his life. Psychological states are the most important component of the human psyche. Relatively simple psychological states underlie the entire diversity of mental states, both normally and in pathology. By their origin, psychological states are mental processes in time. States, as formations of a higher level, control the processes of lower levels. The main mechanisms of self-regulation of the psyche are emotions, will, emotional and volitional functions. The direct mechanism of regulation is all forms of attention - as a process, state and personality trait. It is necessary to reduce the negative impact of unfavorable conditions on human activity and strive to ensure that a person’s emotional state is positively colored.

Bibliography:

1. Life safety. Textbook for universities (S.V. Belov and others. Under the general editorship of S.V. Belov) 3rd ed. M, Higher School. 2003

2. Rusak ON et al., Life safety. Textbook 3rd ed. St. Petersburg Publishing House "Fallow deer" 2005

3. Ushakov et al. Life safety. Textbook for universities. M. MSTU. 2006

4. Ilyin E. P. Psychophysiology of human states. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2005.

5. Belov S.V. “Life Safety”, M., 2004.

Related information.

The place and role of mental states in the structure of mental phenomena

Mental states belong to the main categories of mental phenomena, along with mental processes and mental properties.

Deals with the study of mental states psychology of conditions– a relatively new branch of psychological science that studies the nature, mechanisms, and patterns of the flow of mental states, conscious or unconscious of the individual in the process of activity, communication, and behavior. State psychology as a scientific branch allows us to consider mental, functional and emotional states not by themselves, but in close connection with mental processes and personality traits.

According to the parameters “situational - long-term” and “variability

– constancy” mental states are between mental processes and stable personality and character traits. Mental states, due to their greater constancy and duration, serve as a background for mental processes that are more changeable. Personality properties change even more slowly than states. Consequently, in terms of time parameters, states occupy an intermediate position between processes and personality traits.

Mental processes under certain conditions can be perceived as a mental state. Thus, a short-term, rapidly changing attitude is a process of attention that can be consolidated, turning into an attitude as a state that persists for a long time. The attitude, becoming a personality trait, turns into direction. The formation of stable personality traits occurs through repetition and consolidation of temporary states. For example, the development of will occurs through the repetition and consolidation of volitional states; frequently repeated anxiety, as a rule, leads to the appearance

the corresponding property of anxiety, a repeatedly experienced state of determination - to the formation of determination as a character trait, etc. This mechanism is the basis for the emergence and formation of personality traits.

Concept and general characteristics of mental state

The mental state is the general functional level of mental activity, the background against which mental processes develop. N.D. Levitov defined mental condition as a holistic characteristic of mental activity over a certain period of time, showing the uniqueness of the course of mental processes depending on the reflected objects and phenomena of reality, the previous state and mental properties of the individual.

The key words of this definition are “holistic”, “time period”, “originality”, “mental processes”.

Any mental state is a holistic phenomenon that consists of many elements (motives, emotional reactions, volitional acts, cognitions, behavioral manifestations, etc.), but they do not exist on their own, but in integration and interconnection, i.e. form an integral structure.

Mental states have a beginning and an end, they change. Indeed, no object can remain in the same state indefinitely; it will invariably transform into another. Variability, periodicity, change in time– important characteristics of states.

Each mental state is unique because it is caused and accompanied by specific sensations, processes of perception of memory, thinking, imagination, certain volitional activity, and characteristic emotional experiences. In addition, the uniqueness of mental states is determined by the individual psychological characteristics of a person, determined by his past experience, ideas about the future, and depends on the situation in which the person

hits, etc. In this case, it is necessary to distinguish between the categories “state” and “personality trait”. The mental state does not always correspond to a person’s character traits. Thus, a state of anxiety can be experienced by a person in certain conditions (situational), but anxiety may not be a characteristic personality trait of this person.

Mental states are inextricably linked with mental processes. The mental process can be accompanied by various mental states that replace each other. For example, a long process of solving a complex problem can cause states that replace each other: curiosity, inspiration, fatigue, indignation and, finally, joy in case of the correct solution. Without mental processes there cannot be mental states. Mental states determine the uniqueness of mental processes.

Thus, mental condition- this is a temporary reflection by a person of a situation, a holistic phenomenon that is characterized by the originality of mental activity, is inextricably linked with mental processes and personality traits, manifests itself in the unity of experience and behavior and has time boundaries.

Mental states have a structure that includes four levels. The lowest one is physiological level includes neurophysiological characteristics, morphological and biochemical changes. Second level - psychophysiological- contains vegetative reactions, changes in psychomotor, sensory. Higher – psychological– characterizes changes in a person’s mental functions and mood. The highest level is social - psychological- contains characteristics of behavior, activities and attitudes of a person in a particular state. Stress, for example, at the physiological level is characterized by biochemical changes (an increase in the concentration of adrenaline, steroid hormones in the blood), at the psychophysiological level there is a feeling of tension, at the psychological level -

attention disorder, in socio-psychological terms - changes in behavior under stress (inhibited or excited).

Mental states are characterized by the following main

properties:

Activity – the dominance of individual components of the holistic state and their influence on the effectiveness of mental activity;

- reproducibility in similar situations (type conditioned reflex) and the ability, subject to special significance and repetition, to transform into stable personality characteristics;

Controllability – personal regulation of states in the form of self-organization, self-government, self-regulation;

Autonomy - differentiation of a mental state from other mental phenomena, as well as a certain intermediate position of states between processes and properties;

Efficiency – organization of mental processes and personality traits to achieve the goals of the activity, ensuring results;

Observability – the ability to study mental states and their specificity using various empirical methods.

IN mental activity states perform certain

The function of adaptation, ensuring the interaction of the subject with the living environment (internal and external), maintaining a balance between constantly changing external conditions and the internal resources of a person.

The function of regulation of mental processes and mental properties, organization of human activity and behavior. Mental states define the range, boundaries, level and possibilities of manifestations of other mental phenomena (processes and properties). They reflect formed personality traits, properties, character accentuations, and their transformations. They coordinate the needs and aspirations of the individual with his capabilities and

resources. The regulatory function also consists in ensuring behavior and activities that are adequate for the current situation.

Function of mediation. Mental states are the link connecting mental processes and personality traits to ensure an adequate response.

Differentiation function. Mental states are associated with mental processes and properties in varying degrees, some are associated with states more, others less.

Integration function. Mental states combine mental processes and properties. Through the repetition of mental states, an integral hierarchical set of mental processes and properties is formed, formed and consolidated psychological structure(“structure”) of the personality, self-regulation is being mastered. All this ensures the continuity of holistic mental activity, its effectiveness and productivity in different areas of life.

The function of the development of mental properties and processes in the course of changing life activities. Thanks to this function, the psychological organization of the individual comes into line with the requirements of the professional nature of the activity.

There are many different mental states. There is no exhaustive universal classification of mental states, since most conditions cannot be classified into one type or another; they can be included in different subsections of the classification. The assignment of a mental state to one or another type is carried out according to the principle of dominance of one or another component in the structure of consciousness.

By degree duration states are distinguished between long-term (lasting years, months), short-term (weeks, days), short-term (hours, minutes).

By degree prevalence they distinguish states that are closed within the system (general and local), expressed externally (bright and latent), according to the location of the system in space (natural-biological or social).

According to the degree of tension, states are distinguished by the general tone (high or low), and by the tension of various components (the same or different).

By degree adequacy of the situation states are distinguished between adequate and inadequate.

By degree adequacy to moral standards distinguish between correct and incorrect states.

According to the degree of awareness of the situation and time, conscious and unconscious are distinguished.

Depending on the level of mental activity is distinguished

equilibrium and nonequilibrium mental states.
			table 2
	(V.A. Ganzen, V.N. Yurchenko, 1991; A.O. Prokhorov, 1998)
Level of mental activity		States of mental activity
States	increased	Happiness, delight, ecstasy, anxiety, fear, anger, rage, horror, panic,
mental	activity	admiration, passion, hatred, distress, inspiration,
(nonequilibrium states)		mobilization, indignation, etc.
States		Calm, sympathy, compassion, empathy, willingness, struggle
(optimal) mental		motives, concentration, insight, interest,
activity	(equilibrium	doubt, surprise, reflection, puzzlement, etc.
state)
States	reduced	Dreams, depression, sadness, sadness, melancholy, grief, boredom, suffering,
mental	activity	fatigue, exhaustion, monotony, prostration, absent-mindedness,
(nonequilibrium states)		relaxation, crisis state, etc.

Equilibrium states - states of average or optimal mental activity, are the basis for adequate, predictable behavior. Such states include a state of calm, concentration, interest, etc. Disequilibrium states are unstable states with a higher or lower level of activity that occur when the balance between the body and the environment is disturbed. IN

As a result, mental activity either increases (joy, delight, fear) or decreases (sadness, fatigue). Disequilibrium states are the cause of irrational, inadequate, aggressive, and sometimes tragic behavior.

V.A. Ganzen and V.D. Yurchenko proposed a classification of states, compiled on the basis of an analysis of 187 word terms, as a result of which three groups of states were identified (Table 3):

1. Volitional states are described in the categories of “tension-resolution”. They include practical states of a person (at various stages of work) and motivational states, reflecting the degree of satisfaction of needs.

2. Affective states reflect the categories “pleasure and displeasure.” They are divided into humanitarian and emotional.

3. States consciousness-attention, core features of “sonactivation”. The states of this group are background and create the conditions for the entire mental life of a person.

Until now, there is no single and complete classification of conditions, so we will briefly describe those that are most often found in the psychological literature and are most important for the practical activities of a psychologist.

First of all, we need to talk about functional states. Functional status defined as background activity

The nervous system is a characteristic of the functioning of the brain. An example of a functional state is hypnosis, i.e. state of suggestion. Functional state is a necessary component of any type of activity and behavior. In labor psychology, functional states are studied from the point of view of the effectiveness of human activity.

Table 3

Classification of human mental states (V.A. Ganzen, V.D. Yurchenko)

Mental conditions

	Volitional states				Affective states			States of consciousness
Praxic		Motivational		Humanization		Emotional
		organic		state		state		States of attention
positive	negative		approximately	positive	negative	positive	negative
		Hypoxia
	Prostration		Sensory	Sympathy	Antipathy	Ataraxia	Excitement	Absent-mindedness
(inspiration)	Overwork		deprivation	Synthonia	Asynthonia
Inspiration	Fatigue					calm)		(concentration)
	Monotony	Sexual	Interest		Hatred			Hyperprosexia
Mobilization	Satiation	voltage	Curiosity	Delight	Disturbance	Pleasure		(increased
Working in	Fatigue		Astonishment				Suffering	attention)
Readiness			Doubt				Indignation
(installation)			Puzzled
Activation

A.B. Leonova, S.B. Velichkovskaya distinguishes a group of conditions as a separate category reduced performance(SSRs). It consists of four main types of conditions:

fatigue is a state of exhaustion in the course of the main processes that implement activities, developing as a result of prolonged and intense exposure to workloads, with a dominant motivation to complete work and rest;

mental satiety– a state of rejection of too simple and subjectively uninteresting or little meaningful activity, which manifests itself in an expressed desire to stop working (refusal of activity) or to add variety to a given stereotype of performance;

tension/stress– a state of increased mobilization of personal resources in response to an increase in the complexity or subjective significance of an activity with the dominance of motivation to overcome difficulties, productive or destructive (motives of psychological defense or self-preservation) forms;

monotony is a state of reduced conscious control over the performance of an activity that occurs in situations of monotonous (“conveyor”) work with frequent repetition of stereotypical actions and an impoverished external environment, accompanied by feelings of boredom/drowsiness and a dominant motivation to change activities. Subjectively, it is experienced as a feeling of apathy, boredom, lethargy and drowsiness (drowsiness). Among the mental manifestations, there is a dulling of the acuity of perception, a weakening of the ability to switch attention, a decrease in vigilance, an overestimation of time intervals (time lasts a long time), etc. At the psychophysiological level, a decrease is recorded muscle tone, decreased excitability and sensitivity of analyzers. Monotony, as noted by A.I. Fukin, reduces the level of efficiency and interferes with labor productivity.

Particular attention in the psychological literature is paid to stress.

Stress (as defined by L.V. Kulikova, O.A. Mikhailova) –

a mental state of intense stress that occurs under the influence of extreme or particularly strong external influences, requiring activation of adaptive resources and protective properties of the psyche and body . The leading psychological characteristic of stress is tension. The most common manifestations include the following:

– feeling of loss of control over oneself;

– disorganization of activities (absent-mindedness, making wrong decisions, fussiness);

– lethargy, apathy, increased fatigue;

– sleep disorder (long fall asleep, early awakening). Other symptoms of stress:

– irritability, decreased mood (pictiness, unreasonable criticism);

– increased appetite or lack thereof;

– increasing the amount of alcohol consumed;

– increased consumption of psychoactive drugs (sedatives, stimulants);

– sexual function disorder;

– unfavorable physical condition ( headache, heartburn, increased blood pressure).

G. Selye considered stress as a nonspecific response of the body to any demand presented to it. From the point of view of the stress reaction, it does not matter whether the situation in which a person finds himself is pleasant or unpleasant.

Stress manifestations are found in all areas of the psyche. In the emotional sense – a feeling of anxiety, experiencing the significance of the current situation. In cognitive – perception of threat, danger, situation of uncertainty. In motivational – mobilization of forces or, conversely,

surrender. In the behavioral aspect - a change in activity, the usual pace of activity, the appearance of “stiffness” in movement.

Work and work activity are often associated with stress. Most common reasons are the influence of the environment (noise, pollution, heat, cold, etc.); loads: physical (muscular), informational (excessive amount of information that needs to be processed and remembered), emotional (loads exceeding the level of saturation that is comfortable for the individual); monotony; significant changes at work, conflicts in the work environment; situations of uncertainty, situations of specific threat.

There are short-term and long-term stress. Short-term stress is accompanied by vivid manifestations of symptoms, rapid consumption of “superficial” adaptation reserves and, along with this, the beginning of the mobilization of “deep” ones. Stress that is not very significant in its strength helps to mobilize the nervous system and increases the overall tone of a person. With prolonged stress, there is a gradual mobilization and consumption of both “superficial” and “deep” adaptation reserves. Symptoms long-term stress reminiscent of initial general symptoms somatic and sometimes mental painful conditions. Such stress can turn into illness. The cause of long-term stress can be repeated extreme factors.

There is a group of work-related stresses. Work stress – occurs due to reasons related to work (working conditions, place of work). Professional stress– arises due to the stressful nature of the profession, regardless of the place of work. Organizational stress– arises as a result of the negative impact on the subject of the characteristics of the organization in which he works (unfavorable psychological climate, inept management, irrational distribution job responsibilities, Badly

organized information flows, uncertainty of the organization’s goals and development prospects, etc.).

How is a separate group identified? emotional states – mental states that have a pronounced subjective coloring; they are experiences from joy to suffering.

Emotional states, as V.S. writes. Agavelyan, can be good and bad (for example, mood), useful and harmful (experience of pain), positive and negative (joy, fear), can be sthenic, asthenic and ambivalent.

Thenic states are stimulants and inspirers to activity; they have a mobilizing effect on a person (he prepares for possible actions, for example, to flee in case of danger, force of impact in case of aggression). Asthenic states relax, disorganize, induce depression, aggression, panic, fear, paralyze the will, and distort activity. Ambivalent states (for example, the experience of fear and joy) are the least studied; it is believed that they can be stable.

Mood is considered as a long-term, stable mental state of moderate or weak intensity, manifested as the general emotional background of a person’s mental life (elated, depressed, etc.), or as a clearly identifiable state (boredom, sadness, melancholy, fear, or, conversely, enthusiasm, joy, jubilation, delight, etc.). Mood is manifested in a person’s activity, in his general vitality, psychological mood and is associated with the general state of affairs, life plans, interests, health, well-being, and the degree of satisfaction of basic life needs.

One of the types of emotional states is frustration - a mental state that arises as a result of the opposition of any factors that block the satisfaction of a person’s needs, preventing the fulfillment of his intentions and actions. In other words,

Frustration is caused by objectively insurmountable (or subjectively understood) difficulties that arise on the way to achieving a desired goal or solving a problem. As a result, a conflict arises between an urgently significant need and the impossibility of its implementation, followed by a breakdown in the desired behavior.

The state of frustration is characterized by acute negative experiences: disappointment, irritation, anxiety, despair, “feeling of deprivation.” A strong experience of frustration can lead to disorganization of a person’s consciousness, activity and behavior.

Frustration can be caused by objective and subjective reasons. Objective reasons may be dissatisfaction with one’s own professional work, its content and results, when a person realizes that he has not realized most of his capabilities. Subjective factors appear when life stereotypes change, when the usual order of satisfying needs is disrupted. Many events in life (change of place of residence, conscription into the army, wedding, travel, etc.) can become frustrating if as a result there is a violation of previously established habitual connections and forms of behavior.

States of severe frustration can be caused by intrapersonal conflicts. All intrapersonal conflicts V.N. Pankratov divides into four types:

1. Conflict of the “desired-desired” type, when it is necessary to choose one of equally desirable possibilities.

2. Conflict of the “undesirable-undesirable” type, caused by the need to choose between two equally undesirable possibilities.

3. A conflict of the “desired-unwanted” type usually represents a situation in which an individual’s desire for some goal

holds back fear or other negative aspects associated with the realization of what is desired.

4. “Double” conflict arises when two tendencies exist simultaneously: attraction and avoidance. It occurs in situations where one of the possible courses of action represents a desired path to an undesirable outcome, and the other is an undesirable path to desired result. As a result, both lines of behavior can be assessed as either equally attractive or equally unfavorable.

The action of frustrators does not always cause frustration. In these cases, we are talking about a state of tolerance - patience, endurance, the absence of difficult experiences and sharp reactions, despite the presence of frustrators. There are different forms of tolerance. The healthiest and most desirable mental state should be considered one that is characterized, despite the presence of frustrators, by calmness, prudence, and a willingness to use what happened as a life lesson, but without much self-complaint, which would mean not tolerance, but frustration. Tolerance can be expressed, however, not only in calm state, but also in a certain tension, effort, and restraint of unwanted impulsive reactions. According to N.D. Levitov, there is tolerance of the type of flaunting with emphasized indifference, which in some cases masks carefully hidden anger or despondency. Tolerance (in a broad sense, resistance to stress) can be cultivated. Human mental health actually means conscious and effective management of one’s behavior in extreme conditions.

Fear is a condition that occurs in a situation of real or imaginary danger to a person’s life and is accompanied by the experience of fear, anxiety, as well as the person’s desire to avoid or eliminate the corresponding threat.

There are different types of fears. A well-known classification of fears proposed by B.D. Karvasarsky: fear of space(claustrophobia - fear of enclosed spaces, agoraphobia - fear of open spaces, fear of depth, fear of water); social phobias associated with public life (fear of blushing in the presence of people, fear of public speaking, fear of not being able to perform any action in the presence of strangers); nosophobia, fears of contracting any disease (always present in society, but especially aggravated during epidemics); thanatophobia, fear of death; sexual fears; fear of harming yourself or loved ones; “contrasting” phobias (for example, a well-bred person’s fear of loudly uttering obscene words or doing something obscene in society); phobophobia (fear of being afraid of something).

There is a division of fears into constructive - representing natural defense mechanism, helping to better adapt to extreme situations, and pathological - inadequate to the stimulus in terms of intensity or duration of the condition, often leading to a situation of mental illness.

Panic is a manifestation of fear of a real or imaginary threat, a state of periodic fear, horror, growing in the process of mutual infection by them. Panic is a form of crowd control, but panic can also manifest itself at the individual level.

Panic, from the point of view of V.A. Molyako can be classified by scale, depth of coverage, duration, etc. By scale, individual, group and mass panic are distinguished. In the case of group and mass panic, the number of people it captures is different: group - from two or three to several tens and hundreds of people (if they are scattered), and mass - thousands or much more more people. In addition, panic should be considered mass when in a limited, enclosed space (on a ship,

in a building, etc.) it covers the majority of people, regardless of their total number.

Under the depth of coverage, a distinction is made between mild, moderate and complete panic. You can experience mild panic when transport is delayed, when you are in a hurry, or when there is a sudden but not very strong signal (sound, flash, etc.). At the same time, the person maintains almost complete self-control and criticality. Medium panic is characterized by a significant distortion of conscious assessments of what is happening, a decrease in criticality, an increase in fear, and exposure to external influences, for example, buying goods in stores while rumors circulate in society about rising prices, the disappearance of goods for sale, etc. Moderate panic often occurs during military training operations, minor transport accidents, or a fire (if it is close but not directly threatening). Complete panic - panic with loss of consciousness, affective, characterized by complete insanity - occurs when there is a feeling of great, mortal danger (explicit or imaginary). In this state, a person completely loses conscious control over his behavior: he can run anywhere (sometimes right into the source of danger), rush about senselessly, perform a variety of chaotic actions, actions that absolutely exclude their assessment, rationality and ethics. Classic examples of panic are on the Titanic, as well as during wars, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires in large buildings, etc.

The duration of panic can be short-term, from a second to several minutes (panic on a bus that lost control for seconds); quite long, from tens of minutes to several hours (panic during earthquakes, short-lived and not very strong); prolonged, from several days to several weeks (panic after the Chernobyl explosion, during long combat operations).

Affect is a very strong and relatively short-term state, accompanied by explosive emotions, arising in dramatically changed

important life circumstances or in critical conditions when a person is unable to find a way out of dangerous, most often unexpected situations. Affect can be either negative, causing negative emotions (aggression, anger, etc.), or positive, causing positive emotions (delight, ecstasy, etc.). Negative affect can arise due to repeated repetition of traumatic events, creating in a person an impression of hopelessness. The state of affect is characterized by a narrowing of consciousness, in which the subject’s attention is completely absorbed by circumstances and the actions imposed by them. Disturbances of consciousness, as V.K. writes. Vilyunas, can lead to a noticeable dulling of sensitivity to pain, to the inability to regulate and manage one’s behavior, to imagine the consequences of actions taken, to the inability to subsequently remember individual episodes of one’s behavior and the development of events.

A special category, according to P.V. Yanshin, make up emotional states of the group, which consist of the state of all its members, taking into account the influence of intragroup processes. The emotional state of a group is a characteristic of intragroup relationships, the socio-psychological climate of the group, the emotional unity of the group, group cohesion and other socio-psychological phenomena.

Emotional states depend on many factors, both external and internal. The following factors are distinguished: changes occurring in the surrounding nature, in society, in the person himself (in his body); the influence of individual characteristics of a person; the influence of previous emotional states; influence of another person; information content.

A special mental condition is depression. This is a mental state of strong emotional depression, despondency, accompanied by

a sharp decrease in a person’s internal (mental) and external (behavioral) activity. In a state of depression, a person feels powerless and helpless to do anything in order to get out of this state (current situation). Depression can be understood as a normal condition that is relatively short-lived and common in many people. It can be called for various reasons: life’s troubles, fatigue, illness, etc. If in a person’s condition the symptoms indicated above manifest themselves most clearly and are long-lasting, taking a chronic form, then such depression is already understood as a neuropsychic disorder.

altered states of consciousness(ISS), little studied by modern science. ASCs arise when the personality of a person in a normal state of consciousness is exposed to various factors: stressful, affectogenic situations; sensory deprivation or prolonged isolation; intoxication; changes in breathing; acute mental illness; in cognitive-conflict situations containing paradoxical sayings and instructions that are not feasible in the logic of the usual state of consciousness; in hypnosis and meditation, etc. V.V. Kucherenko, V.F. Petrenko, A.V. Rossokhin is classified as a hypnotic ASC,

trance, meditative states.

A common phenomenon of ASC is loss of the sense of personality boundaries, impaired perception of the body, its proportions, as well as impaired perception of time. Subjectively, it can speed up, slow down, and effects of moving into the past and future can occur.

According to the classification proposed by S. Kardash, ASCs are divided into expanded (RSS) and narrowed (SSS). RSS is accompanied by an expansion of the field of conscious attention. These include the state of hyper-waking and insight, transpersonal experiences.

A characteristic of CVS is a narrowing of the visual field, the so-called tunnel vision.

The main way to organize effective and optimal human life is the regulation of mental states, which can be carried out different methods(in ways). G.Sh. Gabdreeva identifies three groups of methods for regulating mental states: methods of direct regulation, methods of indirect influence and methods of self-management of mental states.

1. Direct regulation methods mental states:

– Use of pharmacological agents, so-called psychotropic drugs. They are used to correct the emotional states of healthy people, but their use leads to undesirable consequences: addiction to the drug, disruption of adequate human emotional reactions, excessive agitation or drowsiness. With long-term use, changes in personality structure are likely.

– Functional music. Music itself does not carry specific information, but its influence on emotional sphere huge, which gives reason to use music as remedy. It has been experimentally established that music can influence the cardiovascular, respiratory, and nervous systems; it increases the sensitivity of peripheral vision, changes muscle tone, a person’s mood, and increases his performance.

– Reading fiction.Bibliotherapy is a method of psychotherapy proposed by V.M. Bekhterev. Research by I.P. Pavlova, K.I. Platonov showed the enormous impact of spoken and read words on a person. While reading, a person is drawn into the world created by the writer, becomes, as it were, a participant in events, rejoices, worries, admires, laughs, thinks, worries, forgetting about his own difficulties and sorrows.

2. Methods of indirect influence for mental state:

– Occupational therapy. Work is a source of positive emotions, creates a cheerful mood, keeps a person in good shape, strengthens will, character, develops moral qualities, distracts from obsessive thoughts, sensations. Labor is the main condition for human longevity.

– Imitation games(role-playing, business). They allow you to change the structure of your personality by forming certain character traits. The participant is asked to play the role of the kind of person he would like to be (a shy person becomes more sociable, an insecure person becomes more confident, etc.). “Game” behavior gradually becomes more and more prolonged, is transferred to ordinary spheres of communication and activity, and turns into habitual and natural human behavior.

3. Methods of self-management of mental state.These methods are based on suggestion and self-hypnosis. Suggestion - mental influence, which is carried out with a reduced degree of awareness and criticality using speech and non-speech means and is characterized by little argumentation. Suggestion becomes an internal attitude that directs, regulates and stimulates the mental and physical activity. The specific method of influence is self-hypnosis or autosuggestion (self-explanation, self-persuasion, self-command, etc.). A person’s ability to self-influence was substantiated in the study of the brain and its activity. Through self-hypnosis and suggestion, you can achieve objectively recorded changes in the body (the composition of the blood changes, etc.). With significant training, you can learn to control many functions of your body. The principle of self-hypnosis underlies many methods of regulating states (E.S. Zharikov, 1990):

– Autogenic training– training conducted by the person himself. The method was developed by I. Schultz. Modifications of the method are used in clinical and sports psychology, in the psychology of extreme situations, in pedagogy and other areas.

– Total Rationalization Method an upcoming event that causes excitement, fear, anxiety, etc. It consists of repeatedly comprehending the event with such a degree of detail that the uncertainty of the situation is reduced, this creates a feeling of familiarity of the future situation and actions in future conditions.

– Ultimate Mental Amplification Methodpossibility of failure.

Strengthening a negative experience (fear, anxiety) to the maximum possible extent, as a result of which it disappears, and in a real situation the person does not experience negative emotions.

- Sense of humor . It is an emotional reaction that turns a potentially negative emotion into its opposite, a source of positive emotion. The function of humor is also to provide satisfactory well-being in an unsatisfactory situation. The ability to see the funny in something that at first glance is not funny is a powerful means of maintaining the psyche in a balanced state, regardless of the difficulties that a person has to endure.

– Objectification of stress. The essence of the method is the ability to distinguish failures from catastrophes, turmoil from misfortune, personal failure from the collapse of all life plans, etc. This is the ability to objectively evaluate what in the first expression seems catastrophic.

– Re-evaluating what you couldn't achieve. This is a way to downplay the significance of the loss by reducing the value of what the person strived for. Small losses are easier to bear than large ones. Often this mechanism works automatically, but sometimes it is necessary to teach a person to reduce the value of the loss to tolerable.

Questions and tasks for self-test

1. What is a mental state?

2. How do the concepts of “mental processes”, “mental states” and “mental properties” relate?

3. What are the differences between mental states and mental

properties?

4. What types of psychological states do you know?

5. What are the functions of mental states? Give examples of manifestations of the adaptation function.

6. What types of mental states do you know?

7. What is the difference between the concepts of “stress” and “frustration”?

8. What is the structure of the mental state?

9. What methods of regulating mental states do you know?

10. Which ones do you use in your life? What is their effectiveness?

Main literature

1. Maklakov, A. G. General psychology [Text]: textbook for students. universities and students of psychology courses. disciplines / A. G. Maklakov. – St. Petersburg. : Peter, 2010. – 583 p.

2. Psychology [Text]: textbook. in the discipline “Psychology” of the cycle “General professional disciplines” for students. higher textbook institutions, educational according to ped. specialist. / ed. B.A. Sosnovsky. – M.: Yurayt, 2010. – 660 p.

3. Psychology [Text]: textbook. for humanities universities / ed. V. N. Druzhinina. – 2nd ed. – St. Petersburg. : Peter, 2009. – 656 p.

additional literature

1. Kitaev-Smyk, L. A. Psychology of stress [Text] / L. A. Kitaev-Smyk. – M.:

Science, 1983. – 367 p.

2. Kulikov, L. V. Psychology of mood [Text] / L. V. Kulikov. – St. Petersburg: Publishing house St. Petersburg. University, 1997. – 228 p.

3. Kucherenko, V.V. Altered states of consciousness: psychological analysis [Text] / V.V. Kucherenko, V.F. Petrenko, A.V. Rossokhin // Questions of psychology. – 1998.

– No. 3. – P. 70-78.

4. Levitov, N. D. About mental states of a person [Text] / N. D. Levitov.

– M.: Education, 1964. – 344 p.

5. Levitov, N. D. Frustration as one of the types of mental states [Text] / N. D. Levitov // Questions of psychology. – 1967. – No. 6. – S. 118-129.

6. Leonova, A. B. Differential diagnosis states of reduced performance [Text] / A. B. Leonova, S. B. Velichkovskaya // Psychology of mental states: collection. articles / ed. prof. A. O. Prokhorova. – Kazan: Publishing house "Center for Information Technologies", 2002. - Issue. 4. – pp. 326-342.

7. Molyako, V. A. Features of the manifestation of panic in conditions of environmental disaster (using the example of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster) [Text] / V. A. Molyako // Psychological Journal. – 1992. – T. 13. – No. 2. – S. 66-74.

8. Prokhorov, A. O. Mental states and their manifestations in the educational process [Text] / A. O. Prokhorov. – Kazan: Kazan University Publishing House, 1991. – 168 p.

9. Psychology of states [Text]: reader; comp. T. N. Vasilyeva, G. Sh. Gabdreeva, A. O. Prokhorov / ed. prof. A. O. Prokhorova. – M.: PER SE; St. Petersburg : Rech, 2004. – 608 p.

10. Selye, G. What is stress? [Text] / G. Selye // Stress of life: collection. –

St. Petersburg : Leila LLP, 1994. – pp. 329-333.

11. Fukin, A. I. Monotony and its dynamics among conveyor production workers [Text] / A. I. Fukin // Psychology of mental states: collection. articles / ed. prof. A. O. Prokhorova. – Kazan: Kazan University Publishing House, 1999. – Issue. 2. – pp. 292-305.

12. Chesnokova, I. I. The problem of self-awareness in psychology [Text] / I. I. Chesnokova // Personality psychology and lifestyle / resp. ed. E. V. Shorokhova. – M.:

Science, 1987. – 219 p.

13. Shcherbatykh, Yu. V. Psychology of fear [Text]: popular encyclopedia / Yu. V. Shcherbatykh. – M.: Publishing house EKSMO-Press, 2000. – 416 p.

Mental states are a holistic characteristic of mental activity over a certain period of time, determined:

1. previous, present and expected situations;
2. a set of updated personality properties
3. previous psychosomatic condition;
4. needs, aspirations and desires;
5. capabilities (manifested abilities and hidden potential);
6. objective impact and subjective perception of the situation.

The problem of mental states was first raised in domestic psychology N.D. Levitov (On the mental states of man. M., 1964.)

Examples of mental states: aggressiveness, apathy, excitement, excitement, cheerfulness, fatigue, interest, patience, drowsiness, laziness, satisfaction, suffering, responsibility (duty), trust, conscientiousness, empathy (compassion), openness, revelation.

Characteristics of mental states:

1. Emotional (modal);
2. Activation (reflect the intensity of mental processes);
3. Tonic (strength resource);
4. Tension (degree of tension);
5. Temporary (duration, stability: from a second to several years);
6. Polarity (favorable - unfavorable; positive - negative).

Classification of mental states:
1) Neutral (calmness, indifference, confidence);
2) Activation (excitement - apathy);
3) Tonic: (a) emotional (affect, panic, mood, stress, depression, happiness, etc.), (b) functional (optimal and unfavorable), (c) psychophysiological (sleep, wakefulness, pain, hypnosis);

Pain- a mental state that arises as a result of super-strong or destructive effects on the body when its existence or integrity is threatened. Wakefulness is a behavioral manifestation of the activity of the nervous system or the functional state of a person in the context of the implementation of a particular activity. Sleep is a periodic functional state with suppression of conscious mental activity. Hypnosis is a special psychophysiological state that occurs under the influence of directed psychological influence (hypnotic suggestion). A significant increase in susceptibility to suggestion is combined in hypnosis with sharp decline sensitivity to the action of other factors.

4) tension (tension, relaxation - tightness). Occurs under increased load, when going beyond the comfort zone; with an obstacle to meeting needs, with physical and mental trauma, anxiety, deprivation of conditions.

Functions of mental states:

1. Integrative (integrate processes and personality traits to ensure the flow of activity);
2. Adaptive (establishing correspondence between the actualized needs of a person and his capabilities and resources, taking into account specific conditions of existence, characteristics of activity and behavior.;
3. Informational;
4. Energy;
5. Estimated;
6. Anticipating;
7. Tuning;
8. Encouraging;
9. Balancing.

Continuity of states- absence of pronounced transitions from one state to another.

Functional states determine the effectiveness of human activity.

Optimal functional states: optimal performance, readiness for action, operational tension. High and stable productivity, work is done easily and quickly without stress, attention is focused, mental and motor functions are activated; interest in business and determination.

Unfavorable functional conditions: deterioration in performance indicators or dangerous overexertion of human strength. Kinds:
Fatigue natural exhaustion of strength as a result of intense long-term work, a signal of the need for rest. Physical, mental, sensory, motor, postural, etc. Physiological discomfort, irritability, apathy, deterioration of attention, desire to rest. Cycles: compensated - uncompensated - failure state; acute - chronic fatigue.

Monotony- due to monotonous work, stereotypical actions, and substantive poverty of tasks. Contribute to: lack of variety in the environment, monotonous noise, dim lighting. Tone and activation decrease - drowsiness, apathy, boredom. Automatisms arise. Result: injuries, accidents, accidents. Or a state of satiety arises - an active emotional rejection of boring work, which is discharged in an affective form.

Stress- the body works in excess of costs. Physiological stress causes physical influences: loud noise, high temperature, bright flashes of light, vibration, etc.

Among the factors that determine the development and occurrence of conditions, there are five groups of phenomena that determine their occurrence and development:

• motivation is what an activity is performed for. The more intense and significant the motives, the higher the level of functional state. The qualitative originality of the functional state in which specific activities will be implemented depends on the direction and intensity of motives;
• the content of work, the nature of the task, the degree of complexity impose requirements for the formation of a certain functional state, determine the level of activation;
• magnitude of sensory load. Sensory load includes not only factors directly related to the activity, but also the environment. It can vary from sensory satiety to sensory deprivation;
• the original background level, i.e. the trace from previous activity;
• individual characteristics of the subject, such as strength, balance, lability of nervous processes.

Determine the specificity and development of functional states. In particular, monotonous work has different effects on individuals with different strengths of the nervous system.

Regulation and self-regulation of mental and functional states. Diagnosis of mental and functional states. Ensuring optimal performance.

The basis of the program we developed (see Zotkin N.V. Ensuring optimal performance as a way to increase the mental well-being of the individual // Health psychology: psychological well-being of the individual: Materials of the interuniversity scientific and practical conference. M.: Publishing house URAO, 2005. P. 81-84.) were allocated by S.A. Shapkin and L.G. Wild phenomena of activity, functional state and personality of the subject, which can act as structural components adaptation and mental well-being of the individual. The first, activation component, is associated with organic and functional costs; the basis of the second, cognitive component is made up of changes in cognitive systems of activity; the third, emotional component, is determined by the dynamics of emotional experiences; the fourth consists of motivational-volitional processes that ensure the coordination of all other components.

The selection of methods was based on the conclusion that optimal performance depends on high motivation, adaptability and the ability to withstand emotional (psychological) and physical stress. Methods were selected from a large number described in the literature according to the criteria of effectiveness, ease of implementation and minimum execution time. The assessment of eligibility was also based on data from the literature (mainly the authors' claims of experimental or empirical support for their effectiveness).

The Optimal Performance Program includes the following techniques.

To activate the intellectual (cognitive) sphere, the method of “Intellectual self-regulation” by S.E. is used. Zlochevsky. Before going to bed, the results of the day's intellectual and practical work are summarized and the content, volume and order of work for the next day are planned (completion time 1-2 minutes).

For activation at the physical and physiological level, the methods of “Restoring working muscle tone” by F. Perls and breathing exercises(execution time from 1 to 5 minutes).

Instructions are given in accordance with original text F. Perls: “Yawning and stretching restore working muscle tone. To see yawning and stretching in its most beneficial form, watch your cat as she wakes up from the midday heat. She stretches her back, stretches her paws as far as possible, frees her lower jaw, and at the same time fills herself with air all the time. Having filled to its maximum volume, it allows itself to “deflate” like a balloon - and is ready for new things. Develop the habit of yawning and stretching whenever possible. Take a cat as an example. Start yawning, let your lower jaw drop as if it were completely falling. Take in air as if you need to fill not only your lungs, but your whole body. Give your arms freedom, open your elbows, and move your shoulders back as far as possible. At the peak of tension and inhalation, release yourself and allow all the tension you have created to relax.”

A breathing “invigorating” exercise - repeat a slow inhalation and a sharp exhalation several times every hour - and a “restorative” exercise: inhale on a count of six, hold your breath on a count of six, exhale on a count of six (the counting time gradually lengthens with subsequent executions).

To activate the emotional sphere and general physical tone breaks in work are arranged using cheerful, active music with a favorite melody, played by audio equipment or mentally, with mandatory distraction from work (time from 2 to 5 minutes).

An addition to this technique was preliminary (3-5 minute) relaxation with the instructions: “Look just above the horizon, immerse yourself and relax; relax your muscles and give freedom to your thoughts.”

To activate the emotional and motivational sphere, exercises from the happiness training of R. Davidson and R. Holden were used. The first is to smile at yourself in the mirror for 1-2 minutes before work (with cheerfulness) and after work (with satisfaction); the smile should be genuine, when the eyes light up and a surge of happiness is felt (preferably). Second, share good news with colleagues and others every day - at least 10 minutes a day in total. Third, plan and give yourself a small holiday or pleasure every day, regardless of whether it is deserved or not. A list of pleasures consisting of 25 points is first written, which becomes the basis for actions in the third exercise.

The program is used in combination with all the mentioned methods and takes about 30-40 minutes a day spent on yourself.

To prevent the emergence of motivation for reluctance to complete the program (due to limited time or due to the desire to not fulfill requirements that are of little importance to them), participants were asked not to do exercises, but to develop habits. In this case, the emphasis shifted from obligatory conscious efforts to complete tasks to ordinary automatic (weakly conscious) actions. This allows participants to bypass their own resistance associated with a negative attitude towards ought. The program is intended for self-development and implementation with daily monitoring (self-control) for two to three weeks. A necessary means of control and self-control is the (reflective) subjective report of the subjects on the results of mastering the program. Such a report simultaneously has a self-hypnosis effect for the participants, enhancing a positive attitude towards the completed tasks of the program.

Concept of mental state

Mental phenomena are grouped into three categories:

1. mental processes– these are mental phenomena that provide a person’s primary reflection and awareness of the influences of the surrounding reality;
2. mental properties– these are the most stable and constantly manifested personality traits, ensuring a certain level of behavior and activity, typical for it;
3. mental states- this is a certain level of performance and quality of functioning of the human psyche, characteristic of him at each moment in time.

The former are relatively short in duration and very dynamic in their variability, the latter remain constant over many years and are less changeable. The stability and variability of both depends on many factors.

State is an abstract term denoting a set of stable values ​​of variable parameters of an object at some point in time. A process can be represented as a sequence of transitions of an object from state to state. Thus, the process describes the dynamics of the object, and the state records a certain phase of the process, during which a number of essential parameters of the object remain unchanged.

Here are examples of conditions in various areas:

• human body positions: lying, sitting, standing, walking, running;
• mental state: sleep, wakefulness;
• state of aggregation of a physical substance: solid (crystalline, glassy, ​​rigid, flexible), liquid (viscous, liquid), gas, plasma.

The term “state” is widely used in combination with specific mental phenomena and characterizes a phenomenon at a given time under such and such conditions. As a rule, to assess the state of a mental phenomenon, several indicators of this phenomenon are used. Thus, in relation to a specific mental quality, the term “state” is used as an integral indicator, a characteristic of the manifestation of this quality.

The term “mental state” is used to characterize (i.e. highlight the most pronounced) manifestations of a person’s mental sphere: state of excitation and inhibition; various gradations of the state of wakefulness; state of clarity or confusion; states of elation or depression, fatigue, apathy, concentration, pleasure, displeasure, irritability, fear, etc.

Vivid examples mental states can be cited from the area of ​​emotional life. Moods, emotions, affects, aspirations and passions are often called emotional states, which uniquely color the entire human psyche for a certain time. Emotional states include joy, sadness, melancholy, anxiety, fear, horror, anger, anger, rage, irritation, fun, sadness, happiness, euphoria, ecstasy, pleasure, etc.

Language has also recorded a number of other mental states. These include, for example, states of curiosity, interest, concentration, distraction, puzzlement, doubt, thoughtfulness, etc. These states are closest to human cognitive activity; they are often called intellectual states.

Spiritual states usually include inspiration, elation, depression, prostration, boredom, apathy, etc.

Communicative states include panic, conflict, cohesion, publicity, loneliness, closedness, hostility, isolation, etc.

Social-emotional states: feelings of shame, guilt, resentment, conscience, duty, patriotism, jealousy, envy, love, sympathy, antipathy, etc.

Tonic states (increased or decreased tone): wakefulness, sleep, drowsiness, satiety, fatigue, disgust, overwork, etc.

If you take volitional sphere, then there are states of decisiveness and indecision, activity and passivity, “struggle of motives.”

The state of the mental sphere is not just a characteristic: the reaction to a particular stimulus and his behavior depend on the state in which a person is.

The positions of specialists on the problem of mental states and the corresponding definitions can be reduced to one of three directions.

Within the first direction, mental state is considered as a set of indicators of a person’s mental sphere that characterize a person at a given moment in time. So, N.D. Levitov defines mental state as follows: “This is a holistic characteristic of mental activity over a certain period of time, showing the uniqueness of the course of mental processes depending on the reflected objects and phenomena of activity, the previous state and mental properties of the individual.” Justifying this interpretation of the mental state, he touches on the issue of the term “state”, identifying four meanings of this term: 1) the temporary position in which someone, something is; 2) rank; 3) the presence of something (for example, a property qualification); 4) readiness for action. And as the author notes: “Undoubtedly, only the first meaning is adequate to the mental state.” Thus, a mental state is a temporary (at some period of time) characteristic of mental activity (mental functioning).

Within this direction, there are other definitions of mental state, but the main thing in them is one: the state is revealed as some integral characteristic of the psyche at a specific (current) moment in time. It should be noted that this interpretation of mental state is the most common in psychological literature. Such descriptive definitions do not clarify the issue of the mechanisms of the condition.

Within the second direction, the mental state is considered as the background against which mental activity unfolds, the level and direction of the mental activity of the individual. The phenomenon of mental state is derived from the concept of tone - “the level of activity and passivity of neuropsychic activity.” The mental equivalent of tone is considered the mental state as the general background of all mental activity. This approach is associated with ideas about the functioning of the brain, the integral manifestation of which is the level of activation of the central nervous system. This is an objective component of the mental state. The second component is the attitude of the subject (subjective assessment of the significance of the situation or object to which a person’s consciousness is directed), expressed in the person’s experiences associated with objects or features of activity. Numerous applied studies have shown a close functional connection between the subjective significance of the situation, the level of activation, the speed, accuracy and stability of mental processes and the severity of the manifestation of mental properties. It has been established that the content side of the situation selectively influences both mental processes and mental properties. With this approach, the mental state provides the structural and functional organization of those components of the psyche that, at a given moment in the development of the situation, perform the function of active interaction between a person and the external environment. S.L. adhered to a similar interpretation of the mental state. Rubinstein, V.D. Nebylitsyn, T.A. Nemchin et al.

Between N.D. Levitov and V.N. Myasishchev sparked a discussion: is a mental state only a characteristic of the course of mental processes or a functional level that predetermines the characteristics of the course of mental processes? It should be recognized that, despite the disagreements in the interpretation of the mental state between scientists, they were the first in Russian psychology to formulate and lay the theoretical foundation for the problem of mental states.

Within the third direction, mental state is considered as a systemic reaction of the human psyche to changes in conditions. Using the principles of the theory of functional systems, this approach is most fully and consistently presented by E.P. Ilyin. The life activity of a living organism is based on mechanisms of adaptation, purposefulness and self-preservation. If a mental state is an integral component of human life, then its definition should reflect the patterns of implementation of these mechanisms. In the broadest sense, the human condition is understood as “the reaction of functional systems to external and internal influences, aimed at obtaining a useful result.” By reaction we mean any response of excitable systems to external and internal stimuli. A useful result is expressed in the combination of two goals: biological - preserving the integrity of the body and ensuring life activity in given conditions; social – achieving the goal of the activity. First of all, we are talking about the biological expediency of the occurrence of a particular state, but in specific situations a person can arbitrarily direct the reaction of the functional system in the direction necessary to achieve the result of the activity, sometimes even to the detriment of health. It is specially emphasized that the state as a reaction is a causally determined phenomenon, the reaction is not individual systems or an organ, but the personality as a whole, with the inclusion of both physiological and mental levels of control and regulation in the response. E.P. Ilyin gives the following definition of a mental state: “this is a holistic reaction of the individual to external and internal stimuli, aimed at achieving a useful result.” At the same time, the psychological side of the state is highlighted - experiences and feelings, and the physiological side - change physiological functions. Changes in physiological functions depend entirely on the level of activation at a given moment and are manifested in the degree of mobilization of functional capabilities. Thus, we can conclude that mental state as a result of a holistic adaptive reaction of the individual in response to changes in external and internal conditions, aimed at achieving a useful result, manifests itself in experiences and the degree of mobilization of functional capabilities. This understanding of the mental state reveals the substantive side of this phenomenon, giving an idea of ​​the principles of its determination.

In psychology, there are four levels of organization of the functioning of the human somatics and psyche: biochemical; physiological; mental; social psychological. Each previous level is a structural basis for the next. The functions of each level of regulation are determined: biochemical – energy support of life (homeostasis processes); physiological – maintaining a constant internal environment (level constancy of physiological processes); mental – regulation of behavior (processes mental reflection); socio-psychological – activity management (processes of social adaptation). The level of mental regulation, performing the function of subjective reflection, unites all levels of functioning into a single whole, being a kind of system-forming factor. Adaptation to changing external or internal conditions begins with reflection processes and triggers the biochemical level of regulation, which is the trigger for the level of physiological regulation, ensuring the functioning of the neurophysiology of mental processes. This is the inner ring of regulation. The level of mental regulation also triggers the level of socio-psychological control - this is the outer ring of adaptation to conditions.

Changes in internal conditions occur under the influence of external conditions, current functional capabilities and the totality of a person’s psychological characteristics. External conditions, according to the principle of determinism, are refracted through individual and personal characteristics, determining the individuality of the tentatively gnostic process (analysis of the situation), which ends with an assessment of the difficulty of the situation. An assessment of the difficulty of a situation is understood as a subjective assessment of the probability of achieving a goal, in other words, the “confidence of uncertainty” in achieving a goal. Assessing the difficulty in accordance with the actualization of a specific motive in a given situation triggers mechanisms of adaptation to the situation and changing conditions (so, when the situation is constant, current functional capabilities change over time). The result of such an adaptive reaction of the individual is the criteria for satisfactory achievement of the goal, a certain level of activation and experience. The consequence of such an adaptive reaction is the specific characteristics of the course of mental processes and the severity of the manifestation of the mental properties of the individual.

The question arises: which of the above approaches to understanding the mental state corresponds to the essence of the phenomenon? And the answer should be – all three. The mental state as an adaptive reaction consists in changing the level of activity of the nervous system and experiences, and this is the background that predetermines the characteristics of the course of mental processes and the severity of the manifestation of mental properties. The result of such an adaptive reaction is a characteristic of a person’s mental sphere under given conditions at a particular time.

The term “state” in scientific use has two meanings – a characteristic and an integral property of a phenomenon. In relation to the subject of psychological science, one should also distinguish two meanings of the term “state” in relation to a person.

First. State as a characteristic is the state of the object of study - attention, psychomotor skills, consciousness, etc., including the psyche as a whole - the state of the psyche. Mental state – situational integral, complex, holistic, etc. characteristics of the human mental sphere. And this term is widely used in psychiatry.

Within the second meaning, a mental state as an integral, attributable property of the human psyche is a form of existence of the psyche that functionally connects the other two categories of mental phenomena - mental processes and mental properties. Features of the functioning of the psyche at a particular moment in time are a consequence of the mental state. Specific manifestations of a person’s mental sphere are characteristics of his mental state. It is in the mental state that the dialectic of variability and stability, objectivity and subjectivity, involuntary and arbitrary, past and future is manifested.

Thus, the mental state (state of the subject) determines the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of mental processes, the severity of the manifestation of mental properties, subjective manifestations of the state - feelings, experiences, mood. The integral characteristic of a person’s mental sphere at a particular moment in time is the state of the psyche (state of the object). That is, a state as a category is the cause of the specific functioning of the mental sphere, and a state as a characteristic is a consequence of the functioning of the human psyche.

Classification of mental states

The scientific study of any phenomenon begins with a description of its specific manifestations and generalization of such data, i.e. classifications. The need to classify the phenomenon being studied is a kind of ordering of the various facts of the manifestation of the phenomenon being studied, on the basis of which it becomes possible to identify the general provisions of its existence - structure, functions, component composition. Only on the basis of identifying general provisions can the problem of the principles and mechanisms of the occurrence of mental states be solved. The idea of ​​the mechanism of existence of the phenomenon provides a methodological basis for its experimental study. We will sequentially consider the issues of classification, structure and functions of the mental state.

N.D. Levitov notes that any sign can be used as the basis for the classification of mental states. At the same time, he notes that there are no “pure” states; we can talk about the predominance of one or another mental phenomenon in the state. However, it is not always possible to determine the dominance of one component. Mono-states and poly-states are distinguished: the first are characterized by one or two manifestations of the psyche that are dominant at the moment - affective states (fear, anger, envy), intellectual (doubts, thoughtfulness); the latter are characterized by complex multicomponent content (responsibility, fatigue).

Mental states are distinguished by duration: operational, lasting seconds minutes; current - hours days and long-term - weeks, months and even years.

Mental states of normal and pathological are distinguished. The first are characterized by unity, balance, subordination, repeatability of structural characteristics, adequacy of mental reflection and regulation. Such states are considered harmonic. Violations in the listed characteristics lead to disruption of the function of reflection and regulation, inharmonious functioning of the psyche and, as a result, provoke the development of pathological mental states. Borderline mental states are also distinguished: neuroses, psychopathy.

From the point of view of influence on the results of activity, mental states are also divided into two groups - positive and negative.

Typical positive mental states of a person can be divided into states related to everyday life and states related to the leading type of human activity (for an adult, this is training or professional activity).

Typically positive states of everyday life are joy, happiness, love and many other states that have a strong positive connotation. In educational or professional activities, these are interest (in the subject being studied or the subject of work activity), creative inspiration, determination, etc. The state of interest creates motivation for the successful implementation of activities, which, in turn, leads to working on the subject with maximum activity, full dedication of strength, knowledge, full disclosure of abilities. The state of creative inspiration is a complex complex of intellectual and emotional components. It enhances concentration on the subject of activity, increases the activity of the subject, sharpens perception, enhances imagination, and stimulates productive (creative) thinking. Decisiveness in this context is understood as a state of readiness to make a decision and carry it out. But this is in no way haste or thoughtlessness, but, on the contrary, balance, readiness to mobilize higher mental functions, actualize life and professional experience.

Typically negative mental states include both states that are polar to typically positive ones (grief, hatred, indecision) and special forms of states. The latter include stress, frustration, and tension.

Under stress refers to the reaction to any extreme negative impact. Strictly speaking, stress can be not only negative, but also positive - a state caused by a powerful positive impact is similar in its manifestations to negative stress.

Frustration– a condition close to stress, but this is a milder and more specific form of it. The specificity of frustration lies in the fact that it is a reaction only to a special kind of situation. In general, we can say that these are situations of “deceived expectations” (hence the name). Frustration is the experience of negative emotional states when, on the way to satisfying a need, the subject encounters unexpected obstacles that can be more or less eliminated.

Mental tension– another typically negative condition. It arises as a reaction to a personally difficult situation. Such situations can be caused by each individually or by a combination of the following factors.

A number of classifications of mental states are based on identifying: levels of activation of the reticular formation; levels of mental activity of consciousness. It has been shown that the intensity of functioning of the reticular formation is closely related to the level of consciousness and productivity of activity. According to the indicators of consciousness activity, the following are distinguished: a state of altered consciousness; state of increased mental activity; state of average (optimal) mental activity; states of decreased mental activity; states of transition from activity (wakefulness) to sleep; sleep with dreams (waking sleep); deep sleep (slow sleep); loss of consciousness. Based on the identified levels of consciousness, qualitative classifications of mental states are proposed.

At the level of optimal mental activity, full consciousness is observed, characterized by concentrated, selective, easily switching attention and high productivity of mnemonic processes. When deviating from this level in one direction or another, consciousness is limited due to narrowing of attention and deterioration of mnemonic functions, and the principle of harmonious functioning of the psyche is violated. Pathological conditions do not have a level of average activity; all mental disorders occur, as a rule, against the background of a significant deviation of activity from the individually optimal level towards a decrease or increase. Altered states of consciousness are also characterized by a significant deviation from the individual optimum level of activity and arise when the individual is exposed to various factors: stressful; affectogenic; neurotic and psychotic diseases; hypnotic; meditation.

Based on the idea of ​​the level of mental activity, states are divided into relatively equilibrium (stable), having an average (optimal) level of mental activity, and nonequilibrium (unstable) states, characterized by a correspondingly higher or lower level of activity relative to the average level. The former are manifested in predictable behavior, high productivity, and comfortable experiences. The latter arise in special conditions of life (in critical, complex and difficult periods and situations), sometimes causing the development of borderline and pathological conditions.

According to the predominance (severity) of one of the characteristics of a mental state, it is proposed to divide states into classes: a class of states distinguished by activation characteristics - excitement, inspiration, active state, state of lethargy, apathy; class of states distinguished by tonic characteristics - wakefulness, fatigue, sleep, terminal state; a class of states distinguished by tension characteristics - a state of contemplation, monotony, stress, frustration, pre-launch fever; a class of states distinguished by emotional characteristics - euphoria, satisfaction, anxiety, fear, panic; the class of states according to the level of activity is the state of mobilization - insufficient, adequate, excessive; class of depressive states; class of asthenic conditions.

As you can see, all classifications are based on certain manifestations of a person’s mental state. Summarizing the provisions of different classifications, we highlight the main thing:

• level of nervous system activation
• level of consciousness activity
• predominant response to a situation
• stability instability of states
• short duration of states
• positive negative influence on the activity of states
• normality and pathological conditions.

Since the mental state is considered an integral mental phenomenon, moreover, it is singled out as a category of mental phenomena, it is necessary to resolve questions about its structural and functional (systemic) organization. These are questions of theory and methodology of the problem of mental states. Conceptual approaches to both understanding and diagnosing mental states largely depend on the solution to these issues. An analysis of literary sources indicates a fairly diverse interpretation of the structure and functions of the mental state.

According to some researchers, the structure of a mental state includes the purpose of an activity, the characteristics of a person’s orientation, a person’s assessment of a given situation, anticipation of the result of an activity, general tension, a general functional level, the ratio of dominant and inhibited mental components and their organization in a given structure. It is noted that the same structure of the mental state may change depending on the situation. The structure of mental states also includes affective, cognitive, volitional and mnemonic components, motivational, emotional, and activation processes. Such examples can be continued further. The above statements give reason to conclude that the structure of an integral system phenomenon can change in the process of functioning, and also that the structure is a set of components or processes of a system phenomenon.

If we turn to the provisions of systems theory and regulation theory, then the structural basis of a self-governing system is understood as the energy and information components that ensure life activity biological system . In classical reliability theory, as well as in engineering psychological theories of human operator reliability the structural basis is understood as that elemental composition without which the existence of an object or human activity under given conditions is fundamentally impossible, i.e. this is what is necessary for the existence of an object, including the ability for a human operator to perform activities. PC. Anokhin has repeatedly emphasized that the goal of a functional system at a specific point in time can change the qualitative originality of the connection (i.e., information interaction) between structural elements and this can lead to a change in the functions of structural elements in a given situation, but the structure of the system remains unchanged.

This position, in fact, is expressed by many researchers who address the problem of mental states. The mental state includes indicators of mental processes, physiological reactions, experiences and behavior. The inseparability of experiences and physiological changes in the body is emphasized. The psychological and physiological aspects of the mental state are considered components of the same phenomenon. Let us cite the statements of the authors, whose positions allow us to formulate the main provisions of the structure of the mental state.

E.P. Ilyin, defining the state as a systemic reaction, includes in the structure three levels of regulation, which form functional system: mental – experiences; physiological - somatics and autonomics and third - human behavior. The state as a holistic reaction of the individual in a specific situation is associated with the formation of a certain functional system, including experiences, humoral regulation from the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems and motor levels.

T.A. Nemchin distinguishes two blocks in the structure of the mental state – informational and energy. Information about the disposition of the individual and the parameters of the expected (needed) result stimulates brain structures that trigger activation processes of somatic regulation and provide the energetic basis for adaptation and adaptation to the situation.

V.A. Hansen identifies three structural elements in the description of a mental state - level, subjectivity, objectivity and degree of generalization. The first element of the structure implies levels of organization of the functioning of the human somatics and psyche: physiological (includes neurophysiological, morphological and biochemical changes, shifts in physiological functions); psychophysiological (these are vegetative reactions, changes in psychomotor and sensory skills); psychological (features of mental functions and mood); social psychological (characteristics of behavior, activity, attitude and consciousness are considered here). The second element of the structure reveals the presence of subjective and objective sides of the mental state: subjective - experiences, objective - everything that is recorded by the researcher. The third element is formed by three groups of characteristics - general, special and individual manifestations of personality in a specific situation.

A.O. Prokhorov raises the question of differences in the structural and functional organization of short-term and long-term mental states, but “the complexes of energy components allow us to talk about a single energy-informational structure of states.” The fundamental difference lies in the level of the energy component of the state. In the case of short-term states - high energy potential and maintenance of high activity and efficiency of all subsystems of the integral human organization when carrying out purposeful activities. In long-term conditions, there is a low level of the energy component, which is characterized by complexes of passivity, heaviness, intense emotions, and a low level of mental activity.

Thus, energy and information components should be distinguished as the basic basis of the structure of a mental state. The information component is the processes of subjective reflection of reality. The energy component is a combination of biochemical and physiological processes in the body. The process of the individual’s adaptive reaction to changes in external or internal conditions consists in the functional interaction of the levels of functioning of the somatics and psyche of a person - biochemical, physiological, mental, social psychological, the functional interaction of which constitutes the structure of the mental state. Let us recall the position of V.N. Myasishchev. The level of activation of the central nervous system, the consequence of which is the “level of activity and passivity of neuropsychic activity,” is an objective component of the mental state. The second component is the attitude of the subject, expressed in a person’s experiences associated with objects or features of the situation.

Issues of structure and function are closely interrelated. This is the basis for organizing the functioning of any holistic phenomenon. The psychological literature gives an extremely wide list of functions of the mental state and raises the question of the “multifunctionality of the mental state.” Different authors call the following functions: regulation or regulatory; integration of mental processes and psychological properties; differentiation of mental states; reflection and organization of mental processes and the formation of personality traits; replacing lack of information; organizing and disorganizing; orientation in the environment; assessing the degree of coincidence between the obtained result and the purpose of the activity; coordination of needs and aspirations with the capabilities and resources of the individual; balancing a person with the external environment and, as V.A. writes. Hansen, “etc.” Indeed, the list goes on.

From the above list you can do one thing important conclusion. The role and significance of the mental state in the functioning of the somatics and psyche, behavior, activity and vital activity of a person is extremely great. Let us turn to the provisions of systems theory. The psyche as a whole is a functional system. If in such a system categories of mental phenomena are distinguished, then they are considered structural elements of the system. In this case, each category must perform its own functions that are not reducible to the functions of other categories.

Without going into an analysis of which of the listed functions can be performed by one of the three categories of mental phenomena, let’s try to answer the question: which function cannot be performed by mental processes and mental properties? And such a function turns out to be “balancing” a person with a constantly changing external environment. It should be noted that a number of authors, when raising the question of the functions of the mental state, highlight the main one, and it is the balancing function that is called this. The function of balancing is to actively organize the process of human interaction with specific objective conditions. Balance is the preservation of the nature of the dynamics and interaction of the subsystems of the psyche and soma in the time intervals between two successive changes in the environment that are significant for the subject. The balance of the subject with the social and subject environment ensures the adequacy of regulatory processes. And further, the authors conclude that, depending on the situation and personal meaning, the balancing function can be realized in the integration or disintegration of the psyche and somatics, activation or inhibition of mental activity, development or self-preservation.

The main principle of the existence of living organisms is the principle of self-preservation, which consists in preserving oneself as a whole, as a representative of the species in development (the principle of activity). The main mechanism is to minimize energy costs for equilibrium interaction with the surrounding reality. At each moment of time, energy expenditure is the implementation of a certain degree of functionality. It turns out that, depending on the degree of realization of functional capabilities, the balancing function is realized in the adequacy of adaptation (integration), inadequacy (disintegration), an increase or decrease in mental activity, etc.

In conclusion, we provide a definition of a mental state as a category of mental phenomena. Mental state is the result of a holistic adaptive reaction of the individual in response to changes in external and internal conditions, aimed at achieving a useful result, manifested in experiences and the degree of mobilization of a person’s functional capabilities.

Mental state and activity

Applied aspects of the problem of mental states include research, psychological support and support of human activity. The main research task is to assess the mental state, how and in what way the mental state “connects” the mental processes and mental properties of a person in achieving the set goal of the activity.

Based on their influence on the results of activities, mental states are divided into two groups – positive and negative. The first are associated with the processes of mobilization, the second - the demobilization of human functional capabilities. As already stated, the components of a mental state are the level of activation of the nervous system and experience. The level of activation is characterized, on the one hand, by the ratio of excitation and inhibition processes in the cerebral cortex, on the other, by functional asymmetry, inequality of activation of the left (activity or productive activation) and right (emotional activation) hemispheres. An integral manifestation of experiences in situations of activity is a feeling of confidence and uncertainty in achieving the set goal. At the same time, each person has his own individual set of experiences that accompany success or hinder the achievement of a goal.

Each of us is characterized by our own “background” level of activation, the registration of which is also not an easy matter. A person should be in comfortable conditions, rested and not burdened with any worries, i.e. in a situation where there is no need to adapt to it. Experts call this state a state of relaxation. In a specific situation, the level of activation differs from the background level. This is predetermined by the significance of the situation (motivational factor) and the assessment of the difficulty of achieving the goal (cognitive-emotional factor). Research shows that in significant situations of activity there is always a predominance of emotional activation - right-sided asymmetry, which up to a certain limit helps to increase the effectiveness of activity, but when this limit is exceeded, it inhibits productive activation and leads to a decrease in performance. In sports practice, pre-start states are divided into three categories (in occupational psychology, these same categories are considered as pre-work states):

1. state of mobilization readiness – the mental state is adequate to the situation in terms of the level of activation and the athlete’s experiences are concentrated on the process of performing the activity;
2. state of pre-race fever - the mental state is characterized by excessive excitement and a significant excess of emotional activation, experiences are characterized by chaos, the athlete cannot concentrate on one thing, various extraneous thoughts come;
3. state of pre-launch apathy - a mental state is characterized by a level of activation significantly lower than the state of mobilization readiness (as a rule, this is associated with the process of overexcitation and the activation of the mechanism of extreme inhibition, but cases of functional exhaustion are also possible), experiences are most often associated with loss of interest and desire for what -either do.

It should be added that the described states are characteristic not only of pre-work situations; these same states are also observed during the performance of activities. The development of a particular condition depends on a person’s personal characteristics, but is largely determined by the ability to manage one’s emotions. Even the founder of the modern Olympic movement, Pierre de Coubertin, wrote “in the struggle of equals, the psyche wins.” When selected for extreme activities great importance has emotional stability, and in the process of professional training - the formation of mental self-regulation skills.

Mental states that arise in the process of activity are called states mental tension. Any deviation from the state of relaxation requires additional energy expenditure and tension in the human mental sphere. There are two categories of states of mental tension - compensated and uncompensated. Both are characterized by the expenditure of functional resources in the process of performing activities. But the former differ from the latter in that after completing the activity, a restoration of “mental freshness” is observed. At the same time, there is a category of types of production activities in which psychological fatigue accumulates, for example, air traffic controllers, sports coaches, etc. Such types of activities are associated with the development of mental satiety and (or) mental burnout, and can lead to somatic and mental disorders. This process can develop, accumulate over years, or may be associated with a specific situation. The author of this section knows enough cases of both conditions. For example, mental burnout: a rescuer from the Ministry of Emergency Situations has been “in the situation of rescuing a person from a rubble” for almost six months; The outstanding track and field athlete V. Borzov, who won three Olympic gold medals for the first time in the world, could not see elements of sports paraphernalia for a year and a half. In both cases, this again caused them to experience “that” situation. An example of mental satiety: a successful businessman who works 12–16 hours a week, seven days a week, complains of loss of interest, the inability to quickly resolve emerging issues, but not so long ago it was interesting, and everything was done by itself; In sports, very often monotonous training work leads to this condition. In such cases, while maintaining the skills of performing the activity, there is a decrease in the ability to concentrate on the situation and a loss of professionally important qualities.

Today, within the framework of psychological support and psychological support activities, issues of diagnosing mental states, determining optimal individual “working” states, and preventing the development of unfavorable mental states are resolved.

Emotional sphere of personality

Before considering emotions, we should dwell on the concepts of reflex and instinct. A reflex is the simplest form of behavior and is directly related to a stimulus. Some reflexes die off as the nervous system matures, while others serve a person throughout his life. A reflex is an automatic response to a stimulus without prior cognitive (consciousness-related) evaluation. Psychologists believe that a person has a relatively small number of reflexes.

A more complex form of behavior is instincts. They are generated by hormonal processes in the body and are a standard reaction with which the body responds to a certain stimulus. A reflex reaction is always carried out entirely to its logical conclusion, and the sequence of instinctive actions can be interrupted and changed. It must be assumed that some kind of cognitive evaluation is involved in instinctive behavior.

Instincts are especially developed in animals, to a lesser extent in humans. Most psychologists today are inclined to believe that humans do not have instincts similar to those characteristic of animals.

One of the famous psychologists at the beginning of the last century (1908, Magdgal) believed that instincts are also inherent in humans, but in a slightly different understanding of the process: every animal instinct in human behavior corresponds to a certain emotion that carries an instinct-like incentive charge. The conclusion follows from his theory: the role of reflexes and instincts in the life of animals is similar to the role of emotions in human life. But emotions at the same time do not directly determine human behavior. They are just a factor influencing his behavioral tendencies.

Human behavior is determined not only by the action of elementary needs, called physiological drives (hunger, thirst, sexual desire, the desire to avoid pain). In favorable environmental conditions, which today concern more than 2/3 of individuals in industrialized countries, when satisfying these needs is not overwhelming work, drives do not manifest themselves as motives. Today, such concepts as value, purpose, courage, devotion, empathy, altruism, honor, pity, pride, conscience, sympathy, compassion and love have been included in human everyday life. These are universal values ​​and they are based on emotions. They are values ​​because we are not indifferent to them. In order to appreciate something, you need to relate to it emotionally: love, joy, interest or pride.

In psychology, emotional processes are understood as processes that have both mental and physiological components, which stand out from other psychophysiological processes in that they reflect the meaning of something for the subject, and regulate his behavior, thinking and even perception in a manner appropriate to this meaning. Therefore, the most essential characteristic of emotions is their subjectivity. In consciousness, emotional processes are represented in the form of various experiences. For example, fear. In addition to the obvious mental component, it also has a pronounced physiological component (increased adrenaline secretion, sweating, slowdown of digestive processes). Fear reflects the real or imaginary danger of something for the subject, and also prepares the body for activities aimed at avoiding danger (sensations become heightened, blood flow to the muscles increases). At the same time, for example, stress, which is also a psychophysiological process, appears under any influence, regardless of its significance for the subject, and therefore does not relate to emotional processes.

In humans, emotions give rise to experiences of pleasure, displeasure, fear, timidity, and the like, which play the role of orienting subjective signals. A way to assess the presence of subjective experiences (since they are subjective) in animals by scientific methods has not yet been found. In this context, it is important to understand that emotion itself can, but does not have to, give rise to such an experience, and comes down precisely to the process of internal regulation of activity.

The word “emotion” itself comes from the Latin “emovere”, which means to excite, excite, shock. Emotions are closely related to needs, since, as a rule, when needs are satisfied, a person experiences positive emotions and, conversely, when it is impossible to get what he wants, negative emotions.

Research convincingly proves that fundamental emotions are provided by innate neural programs, and a person, growing up, learns to manage innate emotionality, transforming it.

For many years, scientists contrasted emotions and processes associated with the knowledge of the surrounding reality, considering emotions to be a phenomenon inherited from our distant animal ancestors. Today it is generally accepted that the structure of emotions includes not only a subjective component, i.e. a reflection of a person’s state, but also a cognitive component - a reflection of objects and phenomena that have a certain meaning for the needs, goals and motives of a person experiencing emotions. This implies a double conditionality of emotions - on the one hand, by the needs of a person, which determine his attitude towards the object of emotions, and on the other, by his ability to reflect and understand certain properties of this object.

A fundamental principle of human behavior is that emotions energize and organize thinking and activity, but not haphazardly: a specific emotion motivates a person to a specific activity. Emotions influence our perception, what and how we see and hear.

Each emotion is unique in its sources, experiences, external manifestations and methods of regulation. From our experience we know how rich the repertoire of human emotions is. It includes a whole palette of different emotional phenomena. It can be said that man is the most emotional of living beings; he has highly differentiated means of external expression of emotions and a wide variety of internal experiences.

There are many classifications of emotions. The most obvious division of emotions into positive and negative. Using the criterion of mobilizing the body's resources, sthenic and asthenic emotions are distinguished (from the Greek “stenos” - strength). Thenic emotions increase activity, causing a surge of energy and uplift, while asthenic emotions act in the opposite way. According to needs, lower emotions associated with the satisfaction of organic needs, the so-called general sensations (hunger, thirst, etc.), are distinguished from higher emotions (feelings), socially conditioned, associated with social relations.

Based on the strength and duration of manifestations, several types of emotions are distinguished: affects, passions, emotions themselves, moods, feelings and stress.

Affect- the most powerful emotional reaction that completely captures the human psyche. Usually occurs in extreme conditions when a person cannot cope with the situation. Distinctive features affect are situational, generalized, short duration and high intensity. The whole body is mobilized, movements are impulsive. Affect is practically uncontrollable and is not subject to volitional control.

Emotions in the narrow sense are situational in nature, expressing an evaluative attitude towards emerging or possible situations. Emotions themselves can be weakly manifested in external behavior; if a person skillfully hides his emotions, then it is generally difficult to guess what he is experiencing.

Feelings– the most stable emotional states. They are substantive in nature. It's always a feeling for something, for someone. They are sometimes called “higher” emotions because they arise when higher-order needs are satisfied.

Passion- this is a strong, persistent, long-lasting feeling that captures a person and owns him. In strength it is close to affect, and in duration - to feelings.

Moods is a state that colors our feelings, our general emotional state, for a significant period of time. Unlike emotions and feelings, mood is not objective, but personal; it is not situational, but extended over time.

Let's give examples.

Emotions: Anxiety, Pain, Fear, Anger, Pride, Sadness, Frustration, Confusion, Schadenfreude, Amazement, Metanoia, Hope, Tension, Uncertainty, Nostalgia, Sadness, Loneliness, Hurt, Despair, Sadness, Joy, Boredom, Happiness, Regret, Longing, Anxiety, Infatuation, Surprise, Satisfaction, Pleasure, Humiliation, Frustration, Euphoria, Enthusiasm

Feelings: Agape (represents a form of selfless love associated with concern for the well-being of others), Ambivalence, Antipathy, Gratitude, Reverence, Guilt, Attraction, Infatuation, Hostility, Resentment, Pity, Envy, Love, Tenderness, Hatred, Rejection, Interest, Contempt, Disdain, Affection, Irritation, Disappointment, Repentance, Jealousy, Sympathy, Sorrow, Storge, Passion, Fear, Shame, Trembling, Philia

Affects: Fear, Panic, Horror, Euphoria, Ecstasy, Rage

Moods: Boredom, Dejection.

Emotions and feelings are included in all mental processes and states of a person. All mental states are caused, maintained and regulated by emotions. Any manifestations of personality activity are accompanied by emotional experiences.

In light of the division of mental phenomena into processes, properties and states, the following division can be used:

• emotions (process)
• feelings (properties)
• mood (state)

In general, due to the lack of a clear understanding of the mechanisms of the flow of emotions, there remains a strong tendency to consider emotions not as a process, but as a state. Conventionally, a single emotional process can be designated by the term “emotional state.” It can last from a few seconds to several hours. In exceptional cases, it may persist longer than the specified period, but in this case it may be evidence of mental disorders.

In addition to changes occurring in the nervous, endocrine and other systems of the body, emotions are expressed in the expressive behavior of a person. Currently, the main experimental study of emotions consists of studying the expressive component of emotions: facial expressions, pantomimes, intonation, etc.

Emotions are manifested in so-called expressive movements (facial expressions - expressive movements of the face; pantomime - expressive movements of the whole body and “vocal facial expressions” - expression of emotions in the intonation and timbre of the voice).

A number of emotional states are clearly differentiated both in terms of external objective signs and in terms of the quality of subjective experiences. General characteristics of emotions formed the basis for the creation of a number of scales of emotional states.

However, the topic of human emotions remains one of the most mysterious areas of psychology. The difficulty of scientific research of emotions is associated with the high level of subjectivity of their manifestations. We can say that emotions are the most psychological of all identified processes.

There is no consensus among scientists dealing with the problem of emotions regarding the question of their role in the implementation of life processes. Even in the times of ancient philosophy, opinions were expressed both about the disturbing, disorganizing influence of emotions on behavior, and about the fact that they represent the most important stimulating and mobilizing effect.

Today it is customary to distinguish several main functions of emotions: adaptive, signaling, evaluative, regulatory and communicative. Emotions reflect the significance and assessment of various situations by a person, so the same stimuli can cause very different reactions in different people. It is in emotional manifestations that depth is expressed inner life person. Personality is largely formed under the influence of lived experiences. Emotional reactions, in turn, are determined by the individual characteristics of a person’s emotional sphere.

Without emotional manifestations it is difficult to imagine any interaction between people, therefore one of the most important is the communicative function of emotions. By expressing his emotions, a person shows his attitude to reality and, above all, to other people. Mimic and pantomimic expressive movements allow a person to convey his experiences to other people, inform them about his attitude towards phenomena, objects, etc. Facial expressions, gestures, postures, expressive sighs, changes in intonation are “language” human feelings, a means of communicating not so much thoughts as emotions.

Psychological studies have shown that a person receives most of the information in the process of communication using non-verbal means of communication. With the help of the verbal (verbal) component, a person transmits a small percentage of information, but the main burden in conveying meaning lies on the so-called “extra-linguistic” means of communication.

For a long time, expressive movements were considered only as an external accompaniment of experience, where the movement itself acted as something accompanying emotional experiences.

One of the earliest approaches to understanding the role of expressive movements was proposed by W. James and K. Lange, who formulated the so-called peripheral theory of emotions. They believed that emotions are caused only by peripheral changes and, in fact, are reduced to them. In their opinion, the expression of emotions is a purely reflexive reaction that causes changes in the body, and only their subsequent awareness constitutes the emotion itself. They reduced emotions exclusively to peripheral reactions and, in connection with this, turned conscious processes of a central nature into a secondary act that follows the emotion, but is not included in it and does not determine it.

However, expressive movements are a component of emotions, the external form of their existence or manifestation. Expressive movement and emotional experience form a unity, interpenetrating each other. Therefore, expressive movements and actions create an image actor, revealing its internal content in external action.

Charles Darwin made an important step in understanding the nature of the expression of emotions by applying biological and social approaches to their study. Charles Darwin's research, systematized in his work “The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals,” led him to the conviction that many manifestations of emotions in gestures and facial expressions are the result of the evolutionary process. He discovered that the muscle movements with which a person expresses his emotions are very similar and originated from similar motor acts of our ancestors - monkeys.

Modern researchers agree with Charles Darwin that facial expressions arose in the evolutionary process and perform an important adaptive function.

Almost from the first minutes of life, the baby shows emotional reactions. The presence of identical emotional expressions in blind and sighted children confirmed the fact of a genetic component in emotional manifestations.

Studies of the behavior of people belonging to different cultures have found that in the sphere of expression of emotions there are both universal types of reactions and specific to individual cultures.

Functions of emotions. In modern psychology, there are several main functions of emotions: signaling, evaluative, adaptive, regulatory, communicative, stabilizing, motivating.

Signaling (information) function of emotions. The emergence of emotions and feelings informs how the process of satisfying the subject's needs is going on.

Evaluative function of emotions. Emotion acts as a generalized assessment of the situation in which the subject finds himself. Emotions and feelings help him navigate the surrounding reality, evaluate objects and phenomena from the point of view of their desirability or undesirability, usefulness or harmfulness.

Adaptive function of emotions. Thanks to a timely emotion, the subject has the opportunity to quickly react to external or internal influences and expediently adapt to the prevailing conditions.

Regulatory function of emotions arises on the basis of the information-signal function. Reflecting and assessing reality, emotions and feelings direct the subject’s behavior in a certain direction and contribute to the manifestation of certain reactions.

Communicative function of emotions indicates that without emotional manifestations it is difficult to imagine any interaction between people. Expressing emotions through feelings, a person shows his attitude to reality and to other people in expressive movements (gestures, facial expressions, pantomime, voice intonation). By demonstrating his experiences, one person influences the emotional sphere of another person, causing him to respond with emotions and feelings.

Stabilizing (protective) function of emotions. Emotions are a regulator of behavior that keeps life processes within the optimal boundaries of satisfying needs and prevents the destructive nature of any factors for the life activity of a given subject.

Motivating function of emotions. Emotions (fear, surprise, anxiety, etc.), informing us about the nature of the influences of the external environment, encourage us to take certain actions.

Recognizing emotions from facial expressions

Full communication between people is impossible without understanding, mutual influence, and mutual evaluation of each other. In any interaction between people, first of all, it is necessary to have a correct understanding of the other person’s reactions, and possession of means that allow one to distinguish between the properties and states of partners.

All human relationships are based on emotions, and emotions are detected by others mainly through external expressions. Facial expression is central to expressive behavior. The face as a channel of nonverbal communication is the leading means of communication, conveying the emotional and meaningful subtext of speech messages; it serves as a regulator of the very procedure of communication between partners

If, in the words of Darwin, “expression is the language of emotion,” then the movement of the facial muscles can be considered the alphabet of this language. V. M. Bekhterev also noted that, unlike pantomimic movements and gestures, facial expressions are always emotional and, first of all, are a reflection of the speaker’s feelings. Many scientists have observed that the complex play of facial muscles expresses the mental state of the subject more eloquently than words.

Interest in studying the face as a source of information about a person arose back in the days of Ancient Greece. This led to the creation of a whole science of the face, called physiognomy. Throughout the history of physiognomy from Aristotle to the present day, people have believed in the existence of a direct relationship between facial features and human character. With the help of various recommendations, everyone tried to penetrate the thoughts of the interlocutor, based on the features of the structure and facial expression.

However, to date, the dependence of a person’s character and his appearance (body structure, face) has not received convincing scientific confirmation. It is generally accepted that the human central nervous system plays a major role in expressive facial expressions. The connection between facial muscle contractions and the appearance of certain facial expressions has been experimentally confirmed. Experiments have shown that artificially induced facial changes after irritation of facial muscles using electrodes are similar to natural reactions that occur during certain emotions. Thus, human facial expressions are considered as a product of nervous activity, as a response to signals from the corresponding parts of the central nervous system. The connection of facial expression with the cerebral cortex allows a person to be aware of and direct his facial reactions, as a result of which human facial expressions have become the most important tool of communication.

The importance of facial activity compared to pantomimic activity in emotional communication increases with phylogenetic and ontogenetic development. In phylogeny, these changes parallel the evolution of facial muscles. Thus, invertebrates and lower vertebrates have no superficial facial muscles at all and their repertoire of emotions is minimal. Further development of facial muscles is observed in vertebrates, reaching a high level of development in higher primates.

Numerous studies have concluded that the neuromuscular mechanisms of the face necessary to perform basic facial expressions form a developmental sequence from higher primates to humans. Indeed, the higher the position of an animal in the evolutionary series, the more emotions it can show. By nature itself, the face has a special role in biocommunication.

It is known that facial expressions and gestures as elements of expressive behavior are one of the first systems acquired in childhood. The appearance of understandable gestures and facial expressions in a child without special training indicates that the ways of expressing emotions are genetically embedded in a person.

Scientists have found that all the facial muscles necessary to express various emotions are formed during the 15-18th week of embryogenesis, and changes in “facial expression” take place starting from the 20th week embryonic development. Thus, both mechanisms by which faces are recognized as important categories of stimuli and themselves express certain emotions are already sufficiently formed by the time a person is born, although, of course, they differ in many ways in their ability to function from the face of an adult. In other words, facial expression of emotion is an important communication system that can function from birth.

Expressive expressions are partly innate and partly developed socially through imitation. One piece of evidence that some expressions of emotion are innate is that young children—blind and sighted—have the same facial expressions. For example, raising the eyebrows in surprise is an instinctive act and is also found in people born blind. However, with age, the facial expressions of sighted people become more expressive, while in those born blind it not only does not improve, but is smoothed out, which indicates its social regulation. Consequently, facial movements not only have a genetic determinant, but also depend on training and upbringing.

The development and improvement of facial expressions goes along with the development of the psyche, starting from infancy, and with the weakening of neuropsychic excitability in old age facial expressions weaken, retaining features that were most often repeated in life and therefore deeply embedded in the external appearance of the face.

Having acquired certain experience in communicating with people from early childhood, each person can, with varying degrees of reliability, determine the emotional states of others by their expressive movements and, above all, by their facial expressions.

It is known that a person can control his expressive movements, therefore, expressions of emotions are used by people in the process of communication, acting as non-verbal communication means. There are large differences between people in the ability to master emotional manifestations (from complete lack of mastery (with mental disorders) to perfection among talented actors).

Throughout life, a person develops a certain system of standards with the help of which he evaluates other people. Recent research in the field of emotion recognition has shown that a person’s ability to understand others is influenced by a number of factors: gender, age, personality, professional characteristics, as well as a person’s belonging to a particular culture.

A number of professions require a person to be able to manage his emotions and adequately determine the expressive movements of the people around him. Understanding other people's reactions and responding appropriately to them in collaborative settings is an integral part of success in many professions. The inability to come to an agreement, to understand another person, to enter into his position can lead to complete professional incompetence. This quality is especially important for people in whose professions communication plays an important role (for example, doctors, especially psychotherapists, managers, teachers, trainers, investigators, diplomats, social workers, managers, etc.). The ability to understand the numerous nuances of emotional manifestations and reproduce them is necessary for people who devote themselves to art (actors, artists, writers). Understanding and the ability to reproduce is the most important stage in training actors in the art of intonation, facial expressions, and gestures, the need for which was spoken by K. S. Stanislavsky.

Current practice psychological preparation of people for various types of activities, their social training, for example, with the help of various training programs, allows them to develop skills of competence in communication, the most important component of which is people’s perception and understanding of each other.

Emotional intellect

The relationship between emotions and cognitive processes has long been of interest to psychologists; many experiments have been devoted to this issue, but this topic still remains the subject of great debate. Points of view vary from the complete reduction of emotions to cognitive processes (S. L. Rubinstein) to the recognition of the secondary nature of emotions in relation to cognition and strict dependence on the cognitive sphere. In addition, there are still traditions of separating emotions from the sphere of cognition, presenting emotions as an independent entity and contrasting emotional and cognitive processes.

According to P.V. Simonov, any emotion is primarily determined by information (cognitive) processes. If at the level of cognition we lack information about the possibility of satisfying a need, we experience negative emotions, and, conversely, the presence of the necessary information even at the level of anticipation gives a positive emotion.

For a long time, intelligence was reduced to a set of cognitive processes, and many people still associate this term only with the characteristics of the sphere of cognition. However, intelligence is a complex psychological concept that primarily emphasizes the integrating function of the psyche. One of the criteria for the development of intelligence is the success of a person’s adaptation to the surrounding reality. It is obvious that knowledge and erudition do not always determine success in life. It is much more important how a person feels in the world around him, how socially competent he is in communicating with people, how he is able to cope with negative emotions and maintain a positive tone in his mood. It was precisely such observations, confirmed by practical research, that led American scientists to introduce the independent psychological concept of “emotional intelligence” (hereinafter referred to as EI) and attempts to develop its measurement and assessment.

The new concept was proposed by P. Salovey (Yale University, USA) and D. Mayer (University of New Hampshire, USA) in the 90s. The most common definition of emotional intelligence includes:

1. Managing your emotions and the feelings of other people (reflexive regulation of emotions). It is emotion regulation, essential for emotional and intellectual development, which helps you remain open to positive and negative feelings; evoke emotions or distance themselves from them depending on the information content or usefulness of each specific emotion; tracking emotions towards oneself and others; managing the emotions of oneself and others, moderating negative emotions and maintaining positive ones without suppressing or exaggerating the information they may be delivering.

2. Understanding and analyzing emotions - the ability to understand complex emotions and emotional transitions, use emotional knowledge. Emotion understanding is the ability to categorize emotions and recognize connections between words and emotions; interpret meanings of emotions related to relationships; understand complex (ambivalent) feelings; be aware of the transitions from one emotion to another.

3. Facilitation of thinking - the ability to evoke a certain emotion and then control it. That is, emotions direct attention to important information; help with reasoning and “memory for feelings.” Changes in mood from optimistic to pessimistic are also influenced by emotions, and different emotional states help in different ways in specific approaches to solving problems.

4. Perception, identification of emotions (own and other people), expression of emotions. Represents the ability to identify emotions based on physical condition, feelings and thoughts; identify other people's emotions through works of art, speech, sounds, appearance and behavior, accurately express the emotions and needs associated with these feelings; differentiate true and false expressions of feelings.

The components of EI are arranged as they develop from easy to more complex (at the bottom - basic, and at the top - higher).

People with high emotional intelligence learn and master most of them faster.

Perceiving, appraising, and expressing emotions is a critical part of emotional intelligence. At this level, the development of EI is determined by how a person is able to identify emotional manifestations in himself and others, as well as through the perception of works of art, has the gift of adequate expression of emotions, is sensitive to manipulation, i.e. able to distinguish true emotions from feigned ones.

Emotional accompaniment of cognition processes describes how emotions influence people’s thinking and assessments of current events. In addition to the direction of information that is significant for a person, at the initial level the ability to anticipate certain emotions develops, and the experience of emotional experiences appears. A person can imagine himself in the place of another, empathize and reproduce similar emotions in himself, thereby regulating his behavior in a given situation. According to the authors, this is the so-called “emotional theater of consciousness,” and the better it is developed in a person, the easier it is for him to choose alternative life approaches. This is followed by the development of the influence of emotions on the general assessment of the life situation. The general emotional mood largely determines the level of tasks that a person sets for himself, and, accordingly, is able to achieve. Emotions determine thought processes; for example, the predominance of deductive or inductive thinking depending on emotional states has been experimentally established. S. L. Rubinstein wrote about this: “...thought sometimes begins to be regulated by the desire to correspond with a subjective feeling, and not with objective reality... Emotional thinking, with a more or less passionate bias, selects arguments in favor of the desired decision.”

Understanding and analyzing emotions; application of emotional knowledge. First, the child learns to identify emotions, he develops concepts that describe certain emotional experiences. Throughout life, a person accumulates emotional knowledge, and his understanding of certain emotions increases. An emotionally mature person can already understand the existence of complex and contradictory experiences due to different circumstances. It is no longer surprising for him that the same feeling (for example, love) can be accompanied by a whole range of very different emotions (jealousy, anger, hatred, tenderness, etc.). At the next level of development of this component of EI, a person already knows and can predict the consequences of certain emotions (for example, that anger can turn into rage or guilt), which turns out to be especially important in interpersonal interaction.

The highest stage of development of EI lies in the conscious regulation of emotions. I.M. Sechenov also wrote that “it’s not a matter of fear, but the ability to manage fear.” A person should be open and tolerant of any emotions, regardless of whether they give him pleasure or not. From an early age, parents teach children to manage emotions, to be able to restrain their emotional manifestations (for example, irritation, tears, laughter, etc.). Children master, to one degree or another, control over emotions and learn to regulate them within socially acceptable norms. An emotionally mature person can direct the energy mobilized even through negative emotions into development that is beneficial to him (for example, getting angry before the start of a sports competition and using this energy to improve his results). Further development allows you to reflexively track emotions not only in yourself, but also in other people. The final part of this component of EI is associated with a high level of mastery of emotions, the ability to survive strong traumatic impacts, and get out of negative emotional states without exaggerating or downplaying the importance of their impact.

Higher feelings

Currently, there is no comprehensive generally accepted classification of feelings due to their enormous diversity and historical variability.

The most common existing classification identifies individual subtypes of feelings in accordance with specific areas of activity and spheres of social phenomena in which they manifest themselves.

A special group consists of the highest feelings, which contain all the richness of a person’s emotional relationship to social reality. Depending on the subject area to which they relate, higher feelings are divided into moral, aesthetic, intellectual and practical. Higher feelings have a number of characteristic features:

• the greater degree of generality that they can achieve in their developed forms;
• higher feelings are always associated with a more or less clear awareness of social norms relating to one or another aspect of reality.

Since the highest feelings reveal to a certain extent the attitude of a person as a whole to the world and to life, they are sometimes called worldview feelings.

Moral, or moral, are the feelings that a person experiences when perceiving the phenomena of reality and comparing these phenomena with the norms and categories of morality developed by society.

The object of moral feelings are social institutions and institutions, the state, human groups and individuals, life events, human relationships, the person himself as the object of his feelings, etc.

The question arises: can a feeling be considered moral only because it is directed at certain social institutions, human groups, and individuals? No, since the emergence of a moral feeling presupposes that a person has internalized moral norms and rules, that they appear in his consciousness as something to which he is obliged and cannot but obey.

Moral feelings include: a sense of duty, humanity, goodwill, love, friendship, sympathy.

Among moral feelings, moral and political feelings are sometimes distinguished separately as a manifestation of emotional attitudes towards various public organizations and institutions, teams, the state as a whole, to the Motherland.

One of the most important features of moral feelings is their effective nature. They act as the motivating forces of many heroic deeds and sublime deeds.

Aesthetic feelings are a person’s emotional attitude to the beautiful or ugly in surrounding phenomena, objects, in people’s lives, in nature and in art.

The basis for the emergence of aesthetic feelings is a person’s ability to perceive the phenomena of the surrounding reality, guided not only by moral norms, but also by the principles of beauty. A person acquired this ability in the process of social development and social practice.

Aesthetic feelings are characterized by great diversity, complexity of the psychological picture, versatility and depth of impact on a person’s personality.

The subject of aesthetic feelings can be various phenomena of reality: human social life, nature, art in the broad sense of the word.

A person experiences especially deep emotions when perceiving the best works of fiction, music, drama, fine art and other forms of art. This is due to the fact that moral, intellectual, and practical feelings are specifically intertwined in these experiences. Aristotle noted the enormous positive impact that the perception of works of art has on a person’s mental and physiological state, calling this phenomenon “purification” (“catharsis”).

In addition to the experience of beauty (or ugliness) in aesthetic feelings, a kind of reconfiguration of the mental and physiological functions of the human body is carried out in accordance with the perceived aesthetic object. As a rule, aesthetic feelings have a sthenic effect on the psyche and activate body functions. This influence is manifested in a kind of excitement when perceiving works of art.

An aesthetic feeling cannot be characterized by any one emotion involved in its manifestation. The complexity and originality of aesthetic experiences lies in the specific and unique combination of emotions that are different in their direction, intensity and meaning. N.V. Gogol characterized his humor as laughter visible to the world through tears invisible to the world.

Although aesthetic feelings are specific, different from moral ones, they are directly related to the latter, often influence their upbringing and formation, and play a role in the social life and activities of people similar to that played by moral feelings.

Intelligent, or cognitive feelings are called experiences that arise in the process of human cognitive activity.

Human knowledge is not a dead, mechanical mirror reflection of reality, but a passionate search for truth. The discovery of new factors and phenomena of reality, their interpretation, reasoning about certain provisions, finding new ways to solve a problem evoke in a person a whole range of experiences: surprise, bewilderment, curiosity, inquisitiveness, conjecture, a feeling of joy and pride about the discovery made, a feeling doubts about the correctness of the decision, etc. All these feelings, depending on the nature and scale of the problem being solved and the degree of its difficulty, can appear in a more or less complex form.

Mental conditions– a psychological category that characterizes the mental activity of an individual over a certain period of time. This is the background against which a person’s mental activity takes place. It reflects the originality of mental processes and the subjective attitude of the individual to the reflected phenomena of reality. Mental states have a beginning and an end and change over time, but they are holistic, relatively constant and stable. K.K. Platonov defines mental states as occupying an intermediate position between mental processes and personality traits.

Mental states include joy, sadness, concentration, boredom, fatigue, tension, apathy, etc. It is often impossible to give an exact definition of the experienced state, since, firstly, mental states are multidimensional and characterize reality from different sides, and secondly, they are continuous, that is, the boundaries of the transition of one state to another are not clearly marked, they are smooth. “Pure” states practically do not exist.

Two groups influence what kind of mental state an individual will experience at a given point in time. factors: environmental factors and individual characteristics of the subject. The first include the characteristics of reflected objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. The second includes the previous states and properties of the individual (features of cognitive activity, needs, desires, aspirations, opportunities, attitudes, self-esteem, values). Mental states are determined by the relationship between these factors.

States arise in the process of activity, depend on it and determine the specificity of experiences. Each mental state is experienced by the individual holistically, as a unity of spiritual, mental and physical (bodily) structures. Changes in mental state affect all these levels.

Mental states are characterized by certain characteristics . Conditions are classified depending on which of these characteristics come to the fore at a given moment in time. Emotional characteristics reflect the dominance of one or another emotion in a given state, their intensity, polarity (the predominance of positive or negative emotions: joy and sadness). The sign of some conditions is not obvious. For example, surprise or concentration cannot be clearly defined as positive or negative. Emotional states are euphoria, joy, satisfaction, sadness, anxiety, fear, panic Activation states show the individual’s involvement in the situation or alienation from it. Increased activation manifests itself in clarity of consciousness, energetic behavior, desire to solve a given task, and overcome difficulties. On the other side of the pole there is a decrease in the intensity and pace of movements, a decline in activity. Activation states include excitement, inspiration, elation, concentration, distraction, boredom, and apathy. Tonic states reflect the tone and energy resources of the body. Tone is felt as the presence or absence of energy, a large or small resource of strength, internal composure or lack of composure, inertia, lethargy. Tonic states - wakefulness, monotony and mental satiety, fatigue and overwork, drowsiness and sleep. Tension(from English tensionЇ voltage) state show the extent to which a person needs to make volitional efforts to choose a particular behavior. The more attractive various objects are for an individual, the more strength he needs to restrain non-priority incentives, the higher the tension. With low tension, a person is liberated, uninhibited, feels inner comfort, with high tension, he is tense, feels internal lack of freedom, and the compulsion of his behavior. Tension states include tension, emotional resolution, frustration, sensory hunger and stressful conditions.

For each state, emotional, activation, tonic and tension characteristics can be recorded. All characteristics are interconnected and in most cases change in concert. For example, in mental states for which positive emotions are typical (state of joy), an increase in activation and tone and a decrease in tension are observed.

Also, mental states can be divided into classes according to which particular sphere of the psyche they characterize most. In this case, cognitive, emotional, motivational and volitional mental states will be distinguished. Sometimes only one type of mental state is considered - emotional states, and the latter are considered a type of emotion. This is not entirely true, since emotional states differ from emotions and emotional reactions in that the former are more stable and less objective (everything is happy, sad). Emotional states, like mental states in general, largely characterize activity and influence it.

Due to the fact that mental states, like other mental phenomena, can be measured using various parameters, many of them cannot be unambiguously classified into one class or another.

2.6.1 EMOTIONAL MENTAL STATES

Depending on the content and dynamics of experiences, emotions are divided into moods, feelings and affects.

Moods. The main features of moods are:

1. Low intensity. If a person experiences a mood of pleasure, then it never reaches any strong manifestation; if this is a sad mood, then it is not clearly expressed and is not based on intense nervous excitement.

2. Significant duration. Moods are always more or less lasting states. Their very name indicates that the corresponding emotions develop slowly and are experienced over a long period. Nobody would call short-term emotional states moods.

3. Ambiguity, "lack of accountability." When we experience a particular mood, we, as a rule, are weakly aware of the reasons that caused it. Often we are in one mood or another, without realizing the sources of this state, without associating it with certain objects, phenomena or events. “A person feels sad when the body is unwell, although he still does not know at all why this happens” (R. Descartes). On the contrary, when the reason for his mood is explained to a person, this mood often quickly passes.

4. A peculiar diffuse character. Moods leave their mark on all thoughts, relationships, and actions of a person at the moment. In one mood, the work performed seems easy, pleasant, the person reacts good-naturedly to the actions of those around him; in a different mood, the same work becomes difficult, unpleasant, and the same actions of other people are perceived as rude and intolerable.

Feelings. Distinctive features of feelings are:

1. Clear intensity. Feelings are stronger emotional experiences than moods. When we say that a person experiences a feeling and not a mood, we indicate first of all an intense, clearly expressed, well-defined emotional experience: a person does not just experience pleasure, but experiences joy; he is not just in a mood in which some vague anxiety is expressed - he experiences fear.

2. Limited duration. Feelings don't last as long as moods. Their duration is limited by the time of direct action of the reasons that cause them, or the memory of the circumstances that caused this feeling. For example, spectators at a stadium experience strong feelings while watching a football match that interests them, but these feelings disappear after the match ends. We can again experience this or that feeling if a thought arises in our memory about the object that caused this feeling at one time.

3. Conscious character. Characteristic feature feelings is that the reasons that caused them are always clear to the person who experiences these feelings. This could be a letter we received, achieving a sports record, successfully completing a job, etc. Feelings are based on complex nervous processes in the higher parts of the cerebral cortex: according to I.P. Pavlova, feelings “are associated with the uppermost section and they are all tied to the second signaling system.” "Unaccountable feeling" is a term that does not correspond psychological characteristics feelings that always appear as conscious experiences. This term can rightfully be applied to moods rather than feelings.

4. Strictly differentiated connection of emotional experience with specific objects, actions, circumstances, those calling him. Feelings do not have the diffuse nature characteristic of moods. We experience a feeling of pleasure when reading this particular book and not another; when playing our favorite sport, we experience satisfaction that does not extend to other types, etc. Feelings are closely related to activity, for example, a feeling of fear causes a desire to run, and a feeling of anger causes a desire to fight. This “objective” nature of feelings is of great importance in their education: feelings develop, become deeper and more perfect as a result of close acquaintance with the objects that cause them, systematic exercise in this type of activity, etc.

Feelings are characterized by the complexity and diversity of emotional experiences. Depending on their content and the reasons that cause them, they are divided into lower and higher.

Lower feelings are associated primarily with biological processes in the body, with the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of natural human needs. An example of lower feelings can be pleasure or pain experienced during thirst, hunger, satiety, satiety, as well as during various types of muscle activity, depending on the degree of muscle tension or muscle fatigue.

Higher feelings are divided into three groups: moral, intellectual and aesthetic.

Moral These are the highest feelings that are experienced by a person in connection with the awareness of the compliance or non-compliance of his behavior with the requirements of public morality.

Intelligent are called feelings associated with human cognitive activity; they arise in the process of learning and scientific work, and creative activity in various forms of art, science and technology.

Aesthetic These are the highest feelings that are evoked in us by the beauty or ugliness of perceived objects, be they natural phenomena, works of art or people, as well as their actions and actions.

Affects. Distinctive features of affects are:

1. Very large, sometimes excessive intensity and violent outward expression emotional experience. Affects are characterized by excessive strength of excitatory and inhibitory processes in the cerebral cortex and, at the same time, increased activity of subcortical centers, the manifestation of deep, instinctive emotional experiences. Rapidly developing excitation in the centers of the cortex associated with these emotional experiences is accompanied by strong inductive inhibition of other areas of the cortex, as a result of which during affect a person may not notice his surroundings, not be aware of ongoing events and his own actions, and is transmitted to the subcortical centers that, being freed at the moment from the restraining and controlling influence of the entire cortex, cause a bright external manifestation of the experienced emotional state.

For example, that a person is in an anxious mood if he is gripped by some as yet unclear and undefined fears. We can say that a person is gripped by a feeling of fear if his condition is already more definite and the cause of which is well known to him. And finally, we can say that a person experiences an affect of horror if his emotional state, which, compared to the previous two, is characterized by extraordinary strength and is violently expressed in external movements and internal physiological processes: from horror a person can run away without looking back or, conversely, to remain in place without being able to move.

2. The short duration of the emotional experience. Being an overly intense process, affect cannot last long and ends very quickly. At the same time, three stages can be noted in its course, characterized by different features.

initial stage affect. In some cases, affect occurs suddenly, in the form of some kind of flash or explosion, and quickly reaches maximum intensity (Fig. 31 A). In other cases, a gradual increase in the intensity of emotional experience is observed: attention is drawn to the objects or circumstances that caused the emotion and is gradually more and more focused on them, excitation increases in some and, accordingly, inhibition in other centers of the cortex, subcortical centers are more and more activated and themselves begin have a strong influence on cortical processes, as a result of which a person loses self-control and, finally, completely surrenders to the strong experience that has gripped him (Fig. 31 b).

Central stage when affect develops to its climax. This stage is characterized by sudden changes and even disruptions in the normal functioning of the entire body. Excitation processes, especially in the subcortical centers, reach their highest strength, deep inhibition covers the most important centers of the cortex, the functions of which are suppressed, and therefore the higher nervous processes associated with the social and moral attitudes of the individual acquired during life experience and upbringing disintegrate, the mechanisms are disrupted the second signaling system and, accordingly, the activity of thinking and speech is disrupted. The ability of voluntary attention decreases, a person significantly