Communicative negativism. Not allowing is the best, but sometimes difficult way out. How to measure the pulse on the neck

Negativism Counteracting or oppositional behavior or attitude. Active or command negativism, expressed in the commission of actions opposite to those required or expected; passive negativism refers to a pathological inability to respond positively to requests or stimuli, including active muscular resistance; internal negativism, according to Bleuler (1857-1939), is behavior in which physiological needs, such as eating and expelling, are not obeyed. Negativism can occur in catatonic states, in organic diseases of the brain, and in some forms of mental retardation.

Brief explanatory psychological and psychiatric dictionary. Ed. igisheva. 2008 .

Negativism

(from lat. negatio - denial) - unmotivated subject, manifested in actions deliberately contrary to the requirements and expectations of other individuals or social groups. N. as a situational or as a personality trait (with the exception of clinical cases of senseless resistance) is due to the subject's need for self-affirmation, to protect his "", and is also a consequence of the formed egoism of the subject and his alienation (see) from the needs and interests of other people. The psychological basis of N. is the setting of the subject for disagreement, the denial of certain requirements, forms of appeals, and the expectations of members of one or another social group, to protest against this group and the rejection of a particular person as such. N.'s reactions are most expressed at children in the periods age crises. They find their expression in demonstrative behavior, stubbornness, conflict. Psychocorrective methods of working with such children make it possible to eliminate N. as a form of behavior.


Brief psychological dictionary. - Rostov-on-Don: PHOENIX. L.A. Karpenko, A.V. Petrovsky, M. G. Yaroshevsky. 1998 .

Negativism

Unmotivated behavior manifested in actions that are intentionally opposed to the requirements and expectations of other individuals or social groups. Unwillingness to be influenced by other people, caused not by the logic of performing one's own tasks, but by a negative attitude towards them. It is due to the action of psychological protection in response to influences that contradict the meanings of the internal subject.

Most often manifested in children regarding the requirements of adults, which do not take into account their internal needs, primarily related to the formation of self-awareness. It can be expressed both in the refusal to fulfill the requirements, and in the performance of actions opposite to those required.

Excluding clinical cases of senseless resistance, negativism as a situational reaction or personality trait is due to the subject's need for self-affirmation, to protect his Self, and is also a consequence of the formed egoism of the subject and his alienation from the needs and interests of other people.

The psychological basis of negativism is the setting of the subject for disagreement, the denial of certain requirements, forms of communication, the expectations of members of a particular social group, for a protest against this group and the rejection of a particular person as such. The reactions of negativism are most pronounced in children during periods of age-related crises. They are expressed in demonstrative behavior, stubbornness and conflict. Psychocorrectional work with such children makes it possible to eliminate negativism as a form of behavior.


Dictionary of practical psychologist. - M.: AST, Harvest. S. Yu. Golovin. 1998 .

Negativism Etymology.

Comes from lat. negatio - negation.

Category.

Personal reaction.

Specificity.

Unwillingness to be influenced by other people, associated with a negative attitude towards them, and not with the logic of implementing one's own tasks. Negativism is driven by action psychological protection in response to influences that contradict the inner meanings of the subject. Most often manifested in children in relation to the requirements of adults, which do not take into account their internal needs, primarily related to the formation of self-awareness. Negativism can be expressed both in the refusal to fulfill the demands made, and in the performance of actions opposite to those required.


Psychological Dictionary. THEM. Kondakov. 2000 .

NEGATIVISM

(English) negativism; from lat. negatio- negation) - devoid of reasonable grounds, the resistance of the subject to the influences exerted on him. The concept of N. was originally used only in relation to pathological phenomena that occur in certain forms of mental illness. In mentally ill patients, N. can manifest itself not only in relation to the influences of other people, but also in connection with the action of internal impulses (delays in speech, movements, and some physiological functions).

At present, this concept has acquired a broader meaning: it is used in pedagogy and psychology to refer to any seemingly unmotivated resistance to someone else's influence. N. arises as a protective reaction to influences that conflict with needs subject. In these cases, refusal to fulfill the requirement is a way out of conflict and release from its traumatic influence. Most often, N. occurs in children in relation to the requirements of adults, presented without taking into account the needs of children. N. increases in conditions fatigue or overexcitation n. With. (cm. ).

There are 2 forms of N.: passive, which is expressed in the refusal to comply with the requirements, and active, in which actions opposite to those required are performed. N. m. b. episodic, situational, but under certain conditions it can gain a foothold and become a stable feature character.

Added ed.: There is also a quite reasonable and motivated N. philosophical- teachings that are based on negative principles (eg agnosticism, skepticism, atheism).


Big psychological dictionary. - M.: Prime-EVROZNAK. Ed. B.G. Meshcheryakova, acad. V.P. Zinchenko. 2003 .

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

See what "negativism" is in other dictionaries:

    NEGATIVISM- in medicine, a symptom of a mental disorder in which patients senselessly resist external influences, refuse to fulfill any requests (passive negativism) or do the opposite (active negativism) ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    Negativism- (from lat. negatio negation) unwillingness to be influenced by other people, due not to the logic of the implementation of one's own tasks, but to a negative attitude towards them. Negativism is due to the action of psychological defense in response to influences, ... ... Psychological Dictionary

    NEGATIVISM- [Dictionary foreign words Russian language

    negativism- disorder Dictionary of Russian synonyms. negativism n., number of synonyms: 3 ratio (30) ... Synonym dictionary

    NEGATIVISM- NEGATIVISM, husband. (book). Negative, negative attitude to reality. | adj. negative, oh, oh. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

    NEGATIVISM- (from lat. negativus negative) eng. negativism; German Negativismus. 1. The desire to counteract any external influence is characteristic of childhood and non-comfort misism. 2. A symptom of some psychopaths, diseases, with rum patients ... ... Encyclopedia of Sociology

    NEGATIVISM- NEGATIVISM, negative attitude towards influences environment, one of the main symptoms of catatonia (see), often also found in other forms of schizophrenia (see), and sometimes in the picture of other psychoses (progressive ... ... Big Medical Encyclopedia

    Negativism- manifestation of an unreasonable negative attitude to any outside influence in the form of refusal, resistance, opposition. * * * the psychological mechanism of a person's steady effort to resist the attempts of other people to direct or control ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

    negativism- a; m. 1. Med. Senseless resistance on the part of the patient to any external influence, which is a symptom of certain mental illnesses. 2. Psychology. The desire to act contrary to others, observed in children and adolescents. Children's n… encyclopedic Dictionary

A previously quite obedient baby suddenly begins to arrange "scene", stomp his feet in an attempt to achieve what he wants. Sometimes the intensity of the crisis period is so high that parents reach for valerian to calm their shattered nerves.

Meanwhile, psychologists are convinced that the crisis of three years is an obligatory stage in the life of every child, when he is separated from an adult and realizes himself as an independent unit. Therefore, you should not be scared and, moreover, prevent growing up, but help the baby survive this period with maximum benefit should definitely.

What is a three-year-old crisis?

Wise nature does not tolerate static and unchanging phenomena, which is why literally everything that surrounds us is in constant development and movement.

This rule can also be attributed to the child's psyche, which changes and becomes more complicated over time.

Periodically, in the process of mental development, crisis stages occur, which are characterized by the rapid accumulation of knowledge, skills and the transition to a higher level.

But first of all, the crisis of three years is a breakdown and restructuring social relations. The question of why it occurs and what it is needed for is quite natural. Let's try to answer a little allegorically.

Baby in the family loving parents growing like a baby bird in a shell. The world understandable, in the "shell" is very comfortable and calm. However, such protection is not eternal, and there comes a certain period when it cracks.

The shell breaks, and the child realizes a curious thought: he can perform some actions himself and is able to do even without the help of his beloved mother. That is, the baby begins to perceive himself as an autonomous person who has desires and some opportunities.

The American scientist Eric Erickson argued that the crisis of three years contributes to the formation of strong-willed qualities and independence in the child.

But, despite the desire to become more independent, the kids are not yet competent enough, so in many situations you simply cannot do without the help of adults. Thus, there is a contradiction between "I want" ("I myself") and "I can".

It is interesting that the main negative is directed at the closest people and, first of all, at the mother. With other adults and peers, the baby can behave absolutely smoothly. Consequently, it is the relatives who are responsible for the optimal way out of the baby from the crisis.

This stage of personality formation is only conventionally referred to as the “crisis of three years”. The first symptoms of disobedience are sometimes noted as early as 18 to 20 months, but they reach their greatest intensity in the period from 2.5 to 3.5 years.

The duration of this phenomenon is also conditional and usually only a few months. However, in the event of an unfavorable development of events, the crisis may drag on for a couple of years.

Psycho severity emotional reactions, however, as well as the duration of the period, depends on such characteristics as:

  • children's temperament (in choleric people, the signs appear brighter);
  • style of parenting (authoritarian parents exacerbate manifestations of children's negativism);
  • features of the relationship between mother and child (the closer the relationship, the easier it is to overcome the negative aspects).

Indirect conditions can also affect the intensity of emotional reactions. For example, it will be more difficult for a child to survive a crisis if the peak of the phenomenon falls on adaptation to kindergarten or the appearance of a younger brother or sister in the family.

7 main signs of the phenomenon

Psychology characterizes the crisis of 3 years as a seven-star symptom. These distinctive qualities help to accurately determine that the child has entered the time of independence from adults, and his emotionality is not the result of being spoiled or ordinary harmfulness.

This manifestation must be distinguished from elementary childish disobedience, which happens at any age. The behavior of a naughty child is due to his desires, which do not coincide with parental requirements.

Sometimes the crisis period proceeds quite smoothly, without obvious symptoms and is characterized only by the appearance of certain personality neoplasms, including:

  • the child's awareness of his "I";
  • talking about yourself in the first person;
  • the emergence of self-esteem;
  • the emergence of strong-willed qualities and perseverance.

As already noted, the crisis will proceed much milder if parents take into account the age and individual characteristics of the baby when choosing the best educational measures.

In general, three-year-olds have some common behavioral traits that are worth mentioning in more detail in order to take them into account when communicating with a baby:

  1. Children are trying to achieve the end result of their actions. For a three-year-old child, it is important to complete the task, whether it is painting or washing dishes, so failure often does not stop him, but only stimulates him.
  2. The baby loves to show the result to adults. That is why parents need to give positive assessments of the results of children's activities, because a negative or indifferent attitude can lead to a negative self-perception in children.
  3. The emerging self-esteem makes the child touchy, depending on the opinions of others, and even boastful. Therefore, parents' inattention to children's experiences can become a source of negative self-determination.

Thus, the appearance of one's own "I", the ability to achieve one's own and dependence on the assessments of loved ones become the main results of the crisis of the age of three and mark the transition of the child to next stage childhood - preschool.

The crisis of 3 years of age is not a reason to panic and consider your child bad and uncontrollable. All children go through this period, but it is in your power to make its course as painless and fruitful as possible for the baby. To do this, you just need to respect him as a person.

Negativism - a state of rejection, rejection, a negative attitude towards the world, towards life, towards a specific person, is a typical sign of a destructive position. It can manifest itself as a character trait or a situational reaction. The term is used in psychiatry and psychology. In psychiatry, it is described in connection with the development of catatonic stupor and catatonic excitation. In addition, in combination with other manifestations, it is a sign of schizophrenia, including catatonic.

In psychology, this concept is used as a characteristic of the manifestation of age crises. Most often it is observed in children of three years and adolescents. The opposite of this state are: cooperation, support, understanding. The well-known psychotherapist Z. Freud explained this phenomenon as a variant of a primitive psychological defense.

The concept of non-conformity (disagreement) has some similarities with the concept of negativism, which means an active rejection of generally accepted norms, established order, values, traditions, laws. The opposite state is conformism, in which a person is guided by the setting "to be like everyone else." AT Everyday life usually, non-conformists experience pressure and aggressive behavior from the conformists, who represent the "silent majority".

From the point of view of science, both conformity and nonconformism are elements of childish, immature behavior. Mature behavior is characterized by independence. More adult manifestations of behavior are love and care, when a person regards his freedom not as something that you can not do something, but, on the contrary, you can do something worthy.

Negativism can manifest itself in the perception of life, when a person sees a continuous negative in life. Such a mood is called a negative worldview - when a person perceives the world in dark and gloomy colors, he notices only the bad in everything.

Negativism, as a character trait, can be formed under the influence of various factors. The most common are the influence of hormonal background and genetic predisposition. At the same time, experts consider it necessary to take into account a number of the following psychological factors:

  • helplessness;
  • lack of strength and skills to overcome life's difficulties;
  • self-affirmation;
  • expression of revenge and hostility;
  • lack of attention.

signs

A person can determine the presence of this condition in himself by the presence of the following symptoms:

  • thoughts about the imperfection of the world;
  • propensity to experience;
  • hostile attitude towards people with a positive worldview;
  • ingratitude;
  • the habit of living the problem, instead of looking for a way to solve it;
  • motivation through negative information;
  • focusing on the negative.

Psychological research has identified several factors on which negative motivation is based, among them:

  • fear of running into trouble;
  • guilt;
  • fear of losing what is available;
  • dissatisfaction with their results;
  • lack of personal life;
  • the desire to prove something to others.

When communicating with a person who has signs of this condition, one should be careful not to openly indicate to him the presence of this pathology, since they may have a defense reaction, which will further strengthen their negative perception.

At the same time, each person is able to independently analyze his condition and prevent himself from “falling into negativism”.

Types of negativism

Negative perception can manifest itself both in an active form and in a passive one. Active negativism is characterized by open rejection of requests, such people do the opposite, no matter what they are asked for. It is typical for children of three years. Speech negativism is quite common at this time.

Little stubborn people refuse to comply with any requests from adults and do the opposite. In adults this species pathology manifests itself in schizophrenia, so patients are asked to turn their faces, they turn away in the opposite direction.

At the same time, negativism must be distinguished from stubbornness, since stubbornness has some reasons, and negativism is unmotivated resistance.

Passive negativism is characterized by a complete disregard for demands and requests. It is usually present in catatonic schizophrenia. When trying to change the position of the patient's body, he encounters strong resistance, which occurs as a result of increased muscle tone.

In addition, behavioral, communicative and deep negativism are distinguished. Behavioral is characterized by a refusal to comply with requests or by acting in defiance. Communicative or superficial is manifested in the outward manifestation of rejection of someone's position, however, with regard to a specific case, such people are quite constructive, sociable and positive.

Deep negativism is an internal rejection of requirements without external manifestations, which is characterized by the fact that no matter how a person behaves externally, he has a negative prejudice inside

Negativism and age

Children's negativism first manifests itself in children of three years. It was during this period that one of the age crises falls, which was called "I myself." Three-year-old children for the first time begin to fight for their independence, they strive to prove their maturity. The age of three is characterized by such signs as whims, active rejection parental assistance. Children often object to any proposal. In children of three years, a manifestation of negativism is the desire to take revenge. Gradually, with the correct reaction of adults, children's negativism in a preschooler disappears.

A frequent manifestation of such a condition in a preschooler is mutism - speech negativism, which is characterized by the rejection of verbal communication. In this case, attention should be paid to the development of the child in order to exclude the presence serious problems health, both mental and physical. Speech negativism is a frequent manifestation of the crisis of three years. Rarely, but the manifestation of such a condition at the age of 7 is possible.

Children's negativism may indicate the presence of mental pathology or personality problems. Protracted negativism in a preschooler requires correction and special attention adults. Reactions of protest behavior are characteristic of adolescence. It was at this time that negativism in children becomes the cause of frequent conflicts at school and at home. Teenage negativism has a brighter color and manifests itself at the age of 15-16 years. Gradually, as they grow older, these manifestations disappear with the competent approach of parents. In some cases, behavior modification is required. To this end, the parents of a rebellious child can seek the help of a psychologist.

Currently, experts note a shift in the boundaries of age-related crises among the younger generations. In this regard, the phenomena of negativism become typical for young people aged 20-22, which undoubtedly leaves an imprint on their socialization. Negativism can also manifest itself at a more mature age, and in older people during an exacerbation of personal failures. In addition, it is found in dementia and progressive paralysis.

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Negativism (from Latin negatio - negation) as a personality trait - a tendency to think negatively on the basis of prejudice, negative prejudice, seeing only shortcomings in people; to show negative attitudes of the subconscious, an unfriendly attitude.

Man is a programmable being. In our " software» Dozens of negative attitudes have been involved since childhood. These gifts from the "nursery" make us see "random features" in the world around us: shortcomings, failures, sorrows, threats and dangers. The world has become a big "badass" for us. When adults told us all sorts of nonsense, but they themselves thought differently, we wrote down precisely this “different” into the subconscious. The most popular adult phrases:

"Don't spin!", "Don't run!", "Don't jump!", "Don't stand!" have created a negative “Don’t do” attitude in us. Therefore, in adult life, we are characterized by timidity, self-doubt, lack of initiative, lack of independence, dependence on the opinions of others and anxiety. When they told us: “You are bad, offend your mother, I will leave you for another child!”, “I don’t need such a girl. I'll give you to the policeman or the gypsies," we signed up with the installation "Don't live!" Children's programming backfired for us with guilt, fears, feelings of loneliness, sleep disturbance and alienation from parents. “Remember, child,” parents assured us, “everyone around is deceivers, rely only on yourself! You can't trust anyone but mom and dad." As a result, the “Don’t believe!” attitude settled in the subconscious, and with it communication difficulties, suspicion, fears, a feeling of loneliness and anxiety. “Woe is mine, get out of sight, stand in a corner!” parents said. We walked into a corner and took with us anger, aggressiveness, secrecy, distrust, guilt, low self-esteem, hostility towards others, alienation and conflicts with parents.

Assimilated at an unconscious level, negative attitudes poison our lives: lack of money, stagnation in a career, personal life is not going well. Once it has arisen, the attitude does not disappear and manifests itself through our behavior, feelings and emotions. The antidote to a negative attitude can only be a counter-attitude. But first you need to find your negative attitudes. Do you know the riddle: “A hundred clothes and all without fasteners?” There can be even more negative attitudes: you remove the top sheet, and under it there are many more of his fellows. Negative attitudes can only be revealed through self-care and self-observation. Step by step and get to the stalk. You can detect negative attitudes in the following ways: visualization and analysis of your environment.

Visualization. Identify the areas of life that cause you concern (for example: health, money, relationships) and choose one so as not to get lost in the subconscious. For example, you have chosen health. Say to yourself, "I'm perfectly healthy," and start writing down every thought that comes up or refutes this statement. For example: they will be drafted into the army, my heart beats like a mouse tail, my liver is enlarged, I myself do not believe in my health, I have many hereditary diseases, etc. Write, write, until all doubts are exhausted. Next, imagine another situation about money or relationships and write again.

Analyze your surroundings. Tell me who your friend is and I'll tell you who you are. This truth applies entirely to our environment. Show me your surroundings and I'll tell you who you are. We are reflected in our surroundings as in a mirror. Write down what opinions and beliefs they have on certain issues. It is likely that you have similar settings with them.

Negative attitudes are characterized by rigid and peremptory language constructions. For example: “it is impossible, it is necessary, it must, everything, always, never”, etc. Having identified and realized negative attitudes, we proceed to the next step. Starting from the negative attitude, we will compose a new thought that could replace this attitude. The thought should be positive and at the level of ability “I can”. For example, we have identified the following negative attitudes towards money: money can only be earned through hard work; to do business, one must be able to walk over corpses; money spoils a person; in this world everything is already divided; it is impossible to earn money by honest labor; ashamed to take a lot of money from people; money brings bad luck; money always passes by me; money is dirt; you need to live within your means; ashamed to be rich when there are so many poor people around; rich are all thieves; You were born poor, you will die poor; it is better not to spend money, but to save it for a rainy day; the minimum is enough for me; life is an alternation of black and white stripes, after a white stripe there will definitely be a black one; I am poor but proud.

So, we change the negative attitude “Money can only be earned by hard work.” This is undeniably a delusion. Millionaires don't plow like a horse. They devote a lot of time to their work and at the same time enjoy it. If you are doing what you love, work brings joy. Go to work happy and come back happy. If you are tired and irritated by work, you need to change it. There is a joke: "If vodka interferes with work, quit work." Favorite work does not tire. Money is the result of your love union with work. Therefore, our positive attitude will look like this: “I am a money magnet. I enjoy the very process of labor and get good money for it.

Or another example: “It is better not to spend money, but to save it for a rainy day.” What a person thinks about, happens to him. You think about a black day, it will inevitably come. A decent person should have everything in order. Of course, it is necessary to save money, but for some specific purposes (car, apartment, house, vacation). We formulate a new positive attitude something like this: “Everything is fine in my life. I live in expectation of all the best and allow only money, health and prosperity into my life. For faster fixation in the subconscious mind of new installations, write them down on an mp3 player, pronouncing each installation 10 times. Use a computer or digital voice recorder to record. Next, transfer these recordings to an mp3 player and play the recordings while traveling or while doing household chores every day. By listening to a recording of new attitudes several times a day, you will pass the protective block of the subconscious and quickly replace your negative attitudes with positive ones.

An excellent technique for working with negative attitudes was suggested by Joe Vitale. The technique is called Ho'oponopono. Ho'oponopono means "to do right" or "to correct a mistake". According to ancient Hawaiian beliefs, mistakes are caused by thoughts that trigger painful memories. Ho'oponopono offers a method to release the energy of these painful thoughts or mistakes that lead to imbalance in the body and disease. The essence of the technique is that you need to pay attention to any problem (for example, to that negative attitude that you wrote out on paper) and then say the following phrases to yourself: 1) « I'm really sorry» (This means that you are sorry that you created this problem, and you accept full responsibility for the problem). 2) "Please forgive"(You ask for forgiveness for creating a problem or obstacle). 3) "Thanks"(You thank your subconscious mind for releasing the problem.) four) « I love you"(You send love to former problem, which is already fading and ceases to be a problem). Despite the simplicity of the technique and the strangeness of these phrases, they really work. The meaning of these actions is to cleanse your inner space. You will soon see the results of your work with negative attitudes and wonder: “How could I believe in such a thing?”

A person is obliged to control the “talk of the mind”, excluding depressing thoughts from his mental circulation and replacing them with optimistic, positive constructions. A bad thought has come, you must immediately replace it with a positive thought. The mind cannot hold two thoughts in the mind at once. The principle of opposite thinking is simple, but extremely effective.

Negativity has many manifestations. For example, behavioral negativism is associated with the attitude to do everything the other way around, in defiance, across, in spite, in defiance of someone. Whatever you ask him for, you will definitely get a refusal. Communicative negativism is manifested in communication: a person constantly bickers, objects, accuses, makes excuses and swears. In life, negativism tends to see problems rather than opportunities, flaws rather than virtues, mistakes rather than successes. It has the “consciousness of a fly”, which, heading towards the honey, suddenly notices some kind of disgrace below. We need to figure out what kind of stool is there. She goes there, settles down, has "children" and spends her whole life in the garbage, never getting to the honey.

Negativism is “submissive to all ages”, but it is more typical for children during age crises, adolescents and for the elderly (old) people. In addition, it is exacerbated during periods of personal failure. The reasons for negativism can be both genetic circumstances and hormonal background. Regarding the reasons of psychological nature: first of all, this is the lack of knowledge on how to manage the problem. Not small role plays the desire for self-affirmation, lack of attention, attracting attention, manifestation of hostility and revenge.

Prejudice plays an important role in the formation of negativism. Prejudice is a negative attitude of antipathy towards other people or a preconceived opinion about a group and its individual representatives. Literally, prejudice is an opinion that precedes reason, assimilated uncritically, without reflection. These are "cockroaches" in our head. It is pointless to deny your prejudices. Living in society, any person inevitably becomes a taxi for prejudice, like a stray dog ​​for fleas. W. Fields was the only person free from prejudices. He himself openly declared this: “I am free from prejudice. I hate everyone equally." Prejudices got into our subconscious by "airborne" way from my mother's and grandmother's teachings, from the moral teachings of teachers, from the atmosphere of our environment.

In the classic book The Nature of Prejudice, the American psychologist Gordon Allport recounts this dialogue: “Mr. X: The whole problem with Jews is that they only care about members of their own group. Mr Y: However, according to the report of the Local Voluntary Donations Fund, they donate more (in proportion to their number) to the needs local government than non-Jews. Mr. X: This only proves that it is important for them to buy themselves popularity and finally get into all the affairs of Christians. They think of nothing else but money! That is why there are so many Jews among bankers. Mr. Y: But in a recent study it is said that the percentage of Jews in the banking business is insignificant - it is much less than the percentage of non-Jews! Mr. H: What I'm telling you is, they don't want to go into a respectable business, if they do anything, it's just making money in the movie business or running nightclubs." “This dialogue illustrates the insidious nature of prejudice much better than mountains of evidence would,” comments another well-known American psychologist, Elliot Aranson, in his book The Social Animal: “What, in essence, does Mr. X say? “Don’t fool me with facts, everything is clear to me anyway!” He does not even try to dispute the data Mr. Y tells him, but is busy either successfully twisting the facts so as to make them support his hatred of the Jews, or discarding them unabashedly and proceeding to attack new field. A deeply prejudiced person has a strong immunity to information that is at odds with his cherished stereotypes ... " A striking example how stereotypes become prejudice.

The very word "prejudices" says that other people's judgments penetrate our heads, bypassing the mind. We take them on faith without verification. It is curious that two hundred years ago our ancestors used "prejudice" instead of the word "prejudice". And then people understood that certain judgments penetrate the head before reasoning. A. Pushkin in "Gypsies" writes: "What did I leave? Treason excitement, Prejudice sentence, Crowds insane persecution Or a brilliant disgrace. Or in "Eugene Onegin": "... Destroy prejudices, Which did not exist and do not exist in a girl at thirteen!"

Why do prejudices easily bypass the filters of our consciousness? Prejudice in its essence is a bad, incorrect generalization, a standard of attitude towards phenomena, objects and living beings. Prejudices are born on the ruins of obsolete truths. The mind of most people is lazy and inert, half asleep. Why waste brain energy on clarifying your ideas? Since folk wisdom says, then let's take it into account on faith. It is not royal business to deal with every little thing. For example, in order not to jinx your luck, you need to knock on wood. According to Christian traditions, one must cross oneself, and not knock on wood like pagans. They believed that unclean spirits lived in the trees, and they needed to knock to drive them away.

In addition, people have always compared their tribe, nation with others. Naturally, in their favor. The customs of foreigners, their appearance ridiculed and generalized. You can't travel the whole world. That's why common man had to take many statements on faith. The smell of Negroes has been described many times in American literature of earlier times. Consider, for example, Faulkner. An acquaintance of a taxi driver from Toronto claimed that the smell of a Negro was sweet and rotten, not nastier than that of other whites, but specific. In turn, the smell of whites does not caress the smell of blacks. Senegal believes that a white man, along with monkeys, dogs and cats, smells like urine. The mother inspires the child: “If you don’t go to wash, you will smell like urine, like white.” Prejudices provide representatives of one nation with the opportunity to understand each other and feel their commonality: “You look at a Russian person with a sharp eye ... He will look at you with a sharp eye .... And everything is clear. And no words are needed. That's what you can't do with a foreigner."

In addition to mental laziness and national snobbery, fear is the cause of prejudice. Why, barely feeling the birth of a new life, future mom begins to sincerely believe the mass of prejudices? Because the fear of the unknown for the next nine months is crushing. Involuntarily, you will believe that “You can’t tell anyone about pregnancy. Only for the baby’s dad!”, “Toxicosis will be a must!”, “Wait, the quirks will begin! You will eat chalk », « You can’t tell anyone the expected date of birth and keep a pregnancy calendar”, “A pregnant woman can’t buy things for the baby in advance, you can’t knit and do needlework, you can’t dye your hair and nails, cut your hair.”

Prejudice can also be caused by simple ignorance. In the film “White Sun of the Desert”, Comrade Sukhov, having organized the first hostel for liberated women of the East from Abdullah’s harem, wrote a revolutionary slogan on a piece of kumach: “Down with prejudice! A woman, she is also a person. However, for many years this man was considered an unclean creature, supported by dark forces. This prejudice was associated with what today is called " critical days". In the ideas of our ancestors, without the help of the devil, a person could not bleed with impunity and not die from blood loss. Therefore, until now, women in critical days forbidden to go to church.

The structure of social prejudice includes emotions and feelings (what a person feels), a stereotype, that is, a generalized image or picture of the world in a person’s head (what a person knows) and a person’s real actions in relation to a group or group representative (what a person does). What does the person feel? Hatred, disgust and a feeling of disgust. His knowledge is reduced to baseless hostile ideas about the social group. It is characterized by negative behavior directed at members of a social group due to membership in it. In the confrontation with prejudices, contacts between groups, awareness and recognition of prejudices are effective.

Petr Kovalev

The concept of "negativism" refers to a specific form of human behavior when, for no apparent reason, he demonstrates resistance in response to any external factors impact. In psychology, such a term is used as a designation of the inconsistency of the subject, acting contrary to the expectations of others, even contrary to personal gain.

In a broad sense of the word, negativism refers to a person's negative perception of his environment as a whole. What it is, and in what cases this designation is used, we will describe in more detail below.

Specific behavior and the main reasons for its manifestation

Negativism as a form of human behavior can be a character trait or a situational quality. It can manifest itself in the form of defiantly expressed dissatisfaction, in a tendency to negative thinking and statements, in seeing only their shortcomings in others, in an unfriendly mood.

If we assume that a person is a programmable being, then it becomes clear what is the factor that provokes negativism. From the moment of birth and throughout childhood, the individual receives from the outside a lot of various installations. Thus, his consciousness is formed and certain reactions are developed.

It is worth noting that in all such a “set of attitudes” there are always negative prerequisites that are developed in a child when he is told something with which he does not agree. It is this disagreement that is laid in a distant "box" of the subconscious and can manifest itself over time in the form of such complexes or specific character traits as:

  • Timidity.
  • Lack of self-esteem.
  • Feelings of guilt or loneliness.
  • Inability to be independent.
  • Too much suspicion.
  • Stealth and many others.

Examples of phrases that predispose to the development of negativism that a child can hear in childhood can be: “don’t turn around”, “don’t climb”, “don’t shout”, “don’t do this”, “don’t trust anyone”, etc. It would seem that the harmless words that parents operate in order to protect and protect their child from mistakes are assimilated by him on an unconscious level and in the future simply begin to poison his life.

The most dangerous thing is that having arisen once, a negative attitude does not disappear. It begins to manifest itself in almost everything through emotions, feelings or behavior.

Forms of behavioral activity

The term "negativism" is often used in pedagogy. It is used in relation to children who are characterized by an oppositional manner of activity in relations with older people and those who should be authority for them (parents, grandparents, educators, teachers, teachers).

AT In psychology, in connection with the concept of negativism, two main forms of the subject's behavioral activity are considered:

1. Active negativism - a form of behavior of an individual, in which he sharply and rather zealously expresses his resistance in response to any attempts of external influence on him. Subtypes of this form of negativism are physiological (a person's protest is expressed in refusal to eat, unwillingness to do or say anything) and paradoxical (intentional desire to do something the other way around) manifestations.

2. Passive negativism - a form of behavior, expressed in the absolute disregard of requests or demands by the individual. The child in living conditions this form manifests itself in the form of a refusal to do what is asked, even if the denial goes against his own desires. For example, when a child is offered to eat, but he stubbornly refuses.

The negativism observed in children deserves special attention. This is due to the fact that the child often uses this form of resistance, opposing it to an imaginary or really existing negative attitude towards him on the part of adults. In such situations, negative attitudes acquire a permanent character and manifest themselves in the form of whims, aggression, isolation, rudeness, etc.

The reasons for the negativism manifested in children include, first of all, the dissatisfaction of certain of their needs and desires. Expressing his need for approval or communication and not receiving a response, the child is immersed in his experiences. As a result, psychological irritation begins to develop, against the background of which negativism manifests itself.

As the child grows older, he will become aware of the nature of his experiences, and this, in turn, will allow negative emotions much more often. Prolonged blocking and ignoring the needs of the child by adults and parents can lead to the fact that denial becomes a permanent feature of his character.

Cause and effect

Such situations in psychology are considered as difficult, but not critical. Timely professional techniques will help to identify, eliminate and prevent negative trends in the behavior of the subject.

At the same time, one should not think that negativism is a trait characteristic only of children. Negativism often manifests itself in adolescents, adults and even the elderly. The reasons for the manifestation of negative attitudes in response to external stimuli can be changes in the social life of the individual, psychological trauma, stressful situations and periods of crisis. However, in any of the cases, the main reason for the expressed negativism is the defects of upbringing and the attitude to life that was formed under certain conditions.

To determine the formed negative attitudes and prevent their development in the future, it is necessary to conduct a psychological diagnosis of a potential patient. Further work is to be done to eliminate or mitigate negative manifestations in the subject. First, the initial problem that provoked the development of a negative attitude is eradicated.

In addition, pressure on the individual is excluded so that he can “unblock” and assess the real situation. Adults will be helped by self-knowledge, when, in the course of working with a psychologist, a person plunges into his own memories and can find the cause of his dissatisfaction in order to eliminate the consequences.

Although negativism is a fairly common phenomenon for modern man, it can be easily corrected. With a timely appeal to a specialist for help, a person will be able to get rid of denial and stop seeing only negative in the environment. Author: Elena Suvorova

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