Everyone knows that there are basic needs of the body that ensure its normal functioning. These include the need for water, food, sleep and safety. However, many people forget about maintaining the mental health of their body, in particular about communicating with other people. Researchers have proven that if a person is completely isolated from the outside world, his mental health can deteriorate significantly. Therefore, a person cannot remain alone for a long time, much less without communication.
Communication: goals, functions, types and levels of communication
Communication is a complex process of interaction between people, consisting of the exchange of information, as well as the perception and understanding of each other by partners. The subjects of communication are living beings, people
The content of communication is information that is transmitted from one living being to another in inter-individual contacts. This may be information about the internal (emotional, etc.) state of the subject, about the situation in the external environment, etc.
The purpose of communication is what a person does for this type of activity. The goals of communication reflect the needs of joint activities of people. Business communication almost always involves some result - a change in the behavior and activities of other people. According to goals, communication is divided into biological and social .
Biological is communication necessary for the maintenance, preservation and development of the organism.
Social communication pursues the goals of expanding and strengthening interpersonal contacts, establishing and developing interpersonal relationships, and personal growth of the individual.
Types of communication:
1) Business communication is usually included as a private moment in any joint productive activity of people and serves as a means of improving the quality of this activity.
2) Personal communication , on the contrary, is focused mainly around psychological problems of an internal nature, those interests and needs that deeply and intimately affect a person’s personality; searching for the meaning of life, determining one’s attitude towards a significant person, towards what is happening around, resolving any internal conflict.
3) Instrumental - communication that is not an end in itself, is not stimulated by an independent need, but pursues some other goal other than obtaining satisfaction from the act of communication itself.
4) Target is communication, which in itself serves as a means of satisfying a specific need, in this case, the need for communication.
1. In terms of content it can be:
1.1 Material (exchange of objects and products of activity)
1.2 Cognitive (knowledge sharing)
1.3 Conditional (exchange of mental or physiological states)
1.4 Motivational (exchange of motivations, goals, interests, motives, needs)
1.5 Activity (exchange of actions, operations, abilities, skills)
2. According to goals, communication is divided into:
2.1 Biological (necessary for the maintenance, preservation and development of the organism)
2.2 Social (pursues the goals of expanding and strengthening interpersonal contacts, establishing and developing interpersonal relationships, personal growth of the individual)
3. By means of communication can be:
3.1 Direct (Carried out with the help of natural organs given to a living being - arms, head, torso, vocal cords, etc.)
3.2 Indirect (related to the use of special means and tools)
3.3 Direct (involves personal contacts and direct perception of communicating people by each other in the very act of communication)
3.4 Indirect (carried out through intermediaries, who may be other people).
Levels of communication:
Communication as interaction presupposes that people establish contact with each other, exchange certain information in order to build joint activities and cooperation. For communication as interaction to occur smoothly, it must consist of the following stages:
1. Establishing contact (acquaintance). Involves understanding another person, introducing oneself to another person.
2. Orientation in a communication situation, understanding what is happening, pausing.
3. Discussion of the problem of interest.
4. Solving the problem.
5. Ending the contact (exiting it).
Communication functions:
1) the instrumental function characterizes communication as a social mechanism for managing and transmitting information necessary to perform an action;
2) the integrative function reveals communication as a means of uniting people;
3) self-expression - the function defines communication as a form of mutual understanding of the psychological context;
4) the translation function acts as a function of transferring specific methods of activity, assessments, etc.
Means of communication are ways of transmitting information that is transmitted in the process of communication from one being to another. verbal (communication is carried out through speech) non-verbal (gestures, facial expressions, postures, eye contact, timbre of voice, tone, touching, hugs, kisses, etc.)
Communication structure
Communication as the exchange of information (communicative side of communication).
The communication process itself is understood as a process of information exchange, i.e. During joint activities, people exchange different ideas, interests, moods, and feelings with each other.
From the point of view of information theory, only the formal side of the matter is fixed: how information is transmitted, while in the conditions of human communication information is not only transmitted, but also formed, clarified, and developed.
Specifics of information exchange , where it takes place in the case of communication between two people:
1. In the communication process, there is an active exchange of information . Here the importance of information plays a special role, because people not only communicate, but also strive to develop a common meaning. The essence of the communication process is not just mutual information, but joint comprehension of the subject.
2. The exchange of information comes down to the fact that, through a system of signs, partners can influence each other; therefore, the exchange of information involves influencing the partner’s behavior,
those.
the sign changes the states of the participants in the communication process. When exchanging information, the very type of relationship that has developed between the participants in the communication changes
.
3. Communicative influence as a result of information exchange is possible only when “everyone speaks the same language”
since any exchange of information is possible only on the condition that the signs and, most importantly, the meanings assigned to them are known to all participants in the communicative process. Only the adoption of a unified system of meanings ensures that partners can understand each other. Thought is never equal to the direct meaning of words
4. In the conditions of human communication, completely specific communication barriers can arise. They may arise due to a lack of understanding of the communication situation, caused not simply by the different languages spoken by the participants in the communicative process, but by deeper differences that exist between the partners. These can be social, political, religious, professional differences, which give rise to different attitudes, worldviews, and worldviews. Such barriers arise due to partners belonging to different social groups. Communication in this case demonstrates its characteristic that it is only a side of communication.
Perceptual side of communication
The perceptual side of communication means the process of mutual perception and cognition of communication partners and the establishment of mutual understanding on this basis. A person enters into communication as an individual and is perceived by his communication partner as an individual as well. In the course of cognition, several processes are simultaneously carried out : an emotional assessment of another, an attempt to understand his actions, building a strategy for changing his behavior, building a strategy for one’s own behavior. Thus, the success of organizing coordinated actions with him depends on the degree of accuracy of “deciphering” and understanding the external pattern of another person’s behavior. Identification —likening oneself to a communication partner—is one of the easiest ways to understand another person. Here, the assumption about the internal state of the interlocutor is based on an attempt to put oneself in his place. Empathy is the desire to emotionally understand and emotionally respond to the experiences of the interlocutor. This does not mean at all that the person thereby fully approves of the partner’s line of behavior and supports it. He understands and accepts her, but he can structure his behavior differently. Reflection is defined in communication processes as knowledge and understanding of how another person knows and understands me. In communication, this looks like a kind of double process of mirror reflections of each other, consistent mutual reflection. True mutual understanding and personal development depend on this. A person becomes for himself what he is through what he is for others. The effects of interpersonal perception depend on the characteristics of both the subject and the object of perception. Each of the participants, assessing the other, strives to build a certain system of interpretation of behavior and its causes. In everyday life, people usually know little about the real reasons for the behavior of others. Then, in conditions of a lack of information, they begin to attribute to each other reasons and patterns of behavior that in reality do not exist. Attribution is made either on the basis of the similarity of behavior with some pattern that took place in past experience, or on the basis of an analysis of one’s own motives assumed in a similar situation. The halo effect is the attribution of qualities to a perceived person based on the image that previously formed about him from various sources of information. This pre-existing image acts as a “halo” that prevents one from seeing the actual features and manifestations of the object of perception. The halo effect also manifests itself when forming a first impression of a person, when the first favorable impression leads to a positive assessment of the person’s still unknown qualities, and vice versa, a general unfavorable impression contributes to the predominance of negative assessments.
The interactive side of communication The interactive side of communication lies in the interaction of those communicating, i.e. exchange in the process of communication not only in words, but also in actions and deeds. This is no longer just communication, but joint activity aimed at realizing common goals for the group, and the mutual influence of people in contact on each other. Two types of interaction: cooperation and competition.
Cooperation
is the main type of interaction in which the unification and summation of the efforts of participants occurs. In general, it is characterized by mutual understanding between people. Mutual understanding depends on knowledge of oneself and communication partners, adequate self-esteem and assessment of others, the ability to regulate one’s internal mental state, which contributes to establishing relationships with other people. It is also important to emphasize
that
for truly friendly relationships it is necessary that the partners be at approximately the same level of development with a relatively equal set of advantages and disadvantages; this is a subconscious human need. There are three types of entering into contact interaction (Ershov P.M., 1972): “extension from above”, “extension on equal terms” and “extension from below”. An extension from above is a “technique” for dominating a partner. In its classic version, a certain distance is imposed in communication with him, characterized by an upright posture, a hard, unblinking gaze or a complete lack of visual communication, slow speech with pauses. Extension on equal terms - characterized by muscular and mental looseness. At the same time, the volume and pace of their speech are balanced, there is a smile on their face, attention turns into a soft exchange of glances, the partners are located at a comfortable distance. The extension from below is characterized by a low posture, a bent torso, eye movements up and down or from left to right (running gaze), a fast pace of speech, and giving the initiative to the partner. To strengthen the cohesion of the group and enhance mutual sympathy, it is necessary to place its members in such conditions that they more often provide various services to each other, while showing attention and kindness. Competition is rivalry, competition between participants in an interactive group, which can, under certain conditions, lead to an atmosphere of mistrust, suspicion, alienation and even social conflict. Competitive relations also arise within any cooperation. In any team or organization, something new and advanced defends its right to exist in the fight against the old, conservative. Therefore, various conflicts and contradictions in groups should not always be considered communication defects. In many cases, they are a kind of insurance, a guarantee against stagnation.
Features of communication
Functions of communication in psychology and their brief description
After the term “communication” has become clear, what it is and what it is needed for, it’s time to study its features. They will help you build proper communication:
- For quality communication, the presence of two active individuals is necessary.
- During a conversation, it is necessary to have mutual influence on each other, both emotional and physiological.
- Partners must have a single or similar information exchange system.
- When communicating, there must be room for communication barriers to arise.
Basic Rules
In addition to these norms, there are social rules that can improve communication between people.
