Consciousness in psychology. What is it, functions, properties, altered states, manifestations

Human consciousness is a subjective experience of external reality, which is expressed in self-report of these events. A broader definition of the concept of consciousness is a property of the psyche through which external events are reflected, regardless of the level of implementation (biological, social, sensory or rational). In a narrower sense, this is a function of the brain, characteristic only of people, which, associated with speech, is expressed in the purposeful and generalized reflection of the phenomena of reality, the preliminary construction of actions in the mind and the prediction of results, and manifests itself in the rational management and self-control of actions through reflection.

The concept of human consciousness is the subject of research in many sciences (psychology, philosophy, sociology); scientists are trying to uncover the meaning of the existence and occurrence of such a phenomenon.

Consciousness is a synonym: reason, comprehension, understanding, comprehension, thought, reason, they will be used later in the text.

Definition of the concept of “consciousness” in psychology

Consciousness in psychology is a set of interconnected information reflected in a person’s memory about the surrounding world and human life, which also includes the awareness of the person himself in this world and his attitude towards society, people and the whole world as a whole.

Consciousness is formed in the process of human interaction with the environment, as well as in the process of learning and communicating with people.

The processes of the human body through which consciousness is formed can be called the following processes:

• sensation;
• perception;
• thinking;
• imagination;
• memorization.

If any of the above processes are disrupted, this can lead to various disruptions in the functioning of consciousness and its disorders. A person, unlike an animal, can be aware of himself and also engage in self-knowledge.

Thanks to the presence of his “I” in the consciousness, a person can set goals dictated not only by instincts and physiological needs (as is the case with animals), but also goals formed thanks to individual, abstract thinking based on social, scientific and everyday knowledge.

General concept of consciousness

Consciousness is a multi-level system of human perception and reflection of reality. It is consciousness that helps a person carry out life activities in accordance with the norms accepted in society and see the things around him exactly as they are, for example:

1. A person whose healthy consciousness realizes that he is alone in the room, if a person suffers from mental disorders with distortion of consciousness, it seems to him that there is someone else in the room.
2. A person with a healthy consciousness, looking at a wall, understands that it is not moving, but a person with impaired consciousness sees the movement of static objects.
3. A person with healthy self-awareness is aware that the world around him can hide dangers, but at the same time he understands that he is sure that the whole world is trying to harm him.

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We offer to become the author of the Directory Working Conditions Human consciousness is a reflection of the reality around him. Conscious are those motives, thoughts and actions that are realized and controlled by a person. Unconscious motives of behavior also find their manifestation in human behavior, but it is much more difficult for a person to control and understand them.

Functions of consciousness and properties

Consciousness performs the most important functions in human life. With the help of consciousness and the interaction of its constituent structures, a person analyzes the information received from the outside, evaluates it and processes this information to make all kinds of decisions in the process of life.

Consciousness has the following functions:

• Cognitive (consciousness is capable of not only subjectively reflecting the world around us, but also cognizing it through the analysis of accumulated information and knowledge gained as a result of the life of both an individual and all previous generations).
• Goal-setting (based on the material and spiritual needs of a person, consciousness has the ability to set goals that contribute to the development of the person himself, as well as the transformation of the external world).
• Axiological (a person can evaluate what is happening around him, as well as the activities of other people through the prism of his beliefs and needs that exist in his mind).
• Creative (a person is able not only to understand the world around him, but also to create new material and social benefits that develop and improve his life).
• Reflexive (the ability to analyze oneself and the content of one’s own consciousness).
• Spiritual (formation of the worldview and attitude of the individual to the social sphere of life).

Activity

Consciousness functions in constant activity (even in sleep it continues to work, partially processing information received during the day).

This activity implies not only the physical characteristics of the organism, but also the constant movement of mental, goal-setting activity of consciousness, aimed at achieving certain goals related to human activity, the transformation of his personality and the external world.

Intentionality

The main property of consciousness is its ability to be directed at a specific object in the process of mental activity. Thanks to the constant interaction of a person’s own “I” with individual elements of consciousness, the process of its development and the fulfillment of all existing functions of consciousness occur.

Consciousness as a function of the human brain

Modern science proceeds from the ideas of the biological unity of animals and humans. From this, conclusions are sometimes drawn about the complete analogy of mental processes in humans and animals. But human consciousness arose and developed in close dependence on the formation and development of the human brain, as indicated by the fact that the level of complexity of the organization of the brain depends on the level of the reflexive ability of consciousness.

The main function of the human brain is the storage and processing of information that a person receives in the process of cognitive activity. The human brain is symmetrical (hemispheres), but there is a big difference between the hemispheres in terms of functionality.

The left hemisphere is responsible for all types of language activity (understanding, speech), ensures the processes of speech and writing, reading, performs counting operations, and assigns an object to certain classes.

The right hemisphere controls orientation in one's own body (perception of spatial relationships, correct coordination).

Consciousness not only reflects reality, but also allows us to express certain relationships with it. Therefore, the structure of consciousness includes: memory, emotions, feeling, will, motivation.

Forms and types

Consciousness in psychology is a dual concept that can mean such forms of consciousness as social and individual consciousness.

Social consciousness is the totality of knowledge, ideas and views inherent in a particular society or all of humanity at a certain stage of its development.

Structure of consciousness in psychology

Individual consciousness is the totality of knowledge, ideas and views of an individual.

Both forms of consciousness influence each other throughout their entire existence. As a result of this interaction, the development of both social and individual consciousness of all people occurs.

Depending on the degree of clarity of individual consciousness, several types are distinguished:

• Clear (when a person thinks actively, answers questions clearly and reacts adequately to surrounding events).
• Unclear (when a person shows indifference towards himself, and he answers the questions posed slowly and not always correctly).
• Stupor (if a person cannot independently navigate in space and reacts slowly to external stimuli).
• Dullness (if a person is almost always in hibernation, from which he can only be brought out for a short time).
• Coma (when a person is in deep sleep and does not react to anything).
• Delusion (when a person perceives reality in a distorted form and reacts inadequately to external events).
• Hallucinations (if a person experiences auditory or visual distortions of information perceived from outside).

Origin and essence of consciousness. Reflection and Consciousness

In the history of the development of philosophical knowledge, there are 3 points of view about the origin of consciousness:

1. Religion assumes that consciousness is a manifestation of an immaterial substance, the soul does not depend on the brain and is capable of independent existence, it is immortal and eternal;
2. Idealists believe that consciousness is primary in comparison with matter, it is the independent essence of the original activity;
3. Materialists rely on the idea that consciousness is a subjective image of the objective world.

Dialectical materialism approaches the question of the origin of consciousness historically and asserts that all matter has the property of reflection.

Reflection is the ability of material systems to reproduce in themselves the properties of other material objects that interact with them. This is a property of both living and inanimate nature.

Elementary forms of reflection (do not have activity):

• mechanical
• physical
• Chemical substance

A special type of reflection is biological, which includes several stages: 1) irritability; 2) sensitivity; 3) mental reflection (its most complex form is consciousness).

Irritability is a pre-psychic form of reflection; it is the reaction of living beings to favorable and unfavorable environmental conditions. A higher form of irritability is sensitivity, i.e. the ability to reflect certain properties of things in the form of feelings, and the need for self-preservation arises (a purposeful reaction begins - for example, in plants). Animals develop their abilities, which they already actively use in search of food. This is the basis for the further development of the biological form of reflection, i.e. the origin of the mental form of reflection.

Perceptions and ideas arise as a result of the complication of real forms of behavior, as well as the development of the nervous system and brain structures.

Mental reflection, which originated in vertebrates, is the property of living beings to adequately respond to the materialized environment in order to adapt behavior.

Mental reflection is the systematization of sensations, the ability of living beings to model behavior in order to adapt to the environment. It is also the ability to repeatedly respond to standard and non-standard situations that arise and find the right way out of them.

The highest form of mental reflection (and reflection in general) is consciousness, and according to the materialist concept, consciousness is the ability of highly organized matter (the brain) to reflect matter.

Levels of Consciousness

In the process of human evolution, his consciousness also develops. A person’s attitude towards people and the world around him directly depends on the degree of development of his consciousness. As a result of many years of research into human consciousness, the famous psychologist David Hawkins identified 18 levels at which a person’s consciousness can be located, and each of these levels determines the degree of development of a person’s consciousness.

• Despair and shame (when a person, being a fool and making many mistakes because of this, often becomes depressed and hates everything around him, including himself).
• Feelings of guilt (when a person cannot forgive himself for past negative actions).
• Apathy (when a person loses interest in life, as a result of which he avoids any responsibility and may fall into dependent relationships).
• Grief (if a person falls into a state of constant regret and depression as a result of any failures or losses in life).
• Fear (when a person perceives the surrounding reality as too dangerous, resulting in a suppression of interest in life).
• Desires (if a person considers the meaning of life to be the satisfaction of his passions and excessively strives for material wealth).
• Anger (this state of consciousness arises from dissatisfaction with the desires of the previous level, as a result of which such a person can constantly be irritated and quarrel with others).
• Pride (this state of consciousness occurs when some success is achieved, as a result of which a person excessively increases his self-esteem and begins to divide people into friends and foes, thinking that he is superior to others).
• Courage (when a person has the courage and determination to overcome obstacles on the way to achieve new successes).
• Neutrality (when a person gains moral independence from other people and external circumstances, as a result of which he begins to be loyal to the people and events around him, even if they somehow try to influence him).
• Willingness (when a person’s goal is not material wealth, but the development of internal harmony, will and discipline, as a result of which a person becomes more sincere and friendly).
• Acceptance (a person’s awareness that the source of happiness and love is within himself, as a result of which a person stops demanding or expecting anything from others, and he himself begins to give people positive emotions, and stops judging others).
• Intelligence (when a person begins life primarily with the mind, and emotions take a back seat).
• Love (when a person realizes that love is higher than reason, as a result a person begins to act not from logical reasoning, but from a sincere state of love).
• Joy and unconditional love (when a person's love expands to an all-encompassing love for the world, nature and all people).
• Harmony, bliss (when a person is in a state of unity with the world and the boundaries between subject and object are erased, as a result of which a person feels himself to be one with nature and the universe).
• Awareness of “I” (the level of consciousness at which individual experiences disappear, and a person’s thoughts become transcendental at the level of the universe).
• Complete enlightenment (the highest state of consciousness, when a person’s consciousness completely merges with the divine principle and a person becomes a part of it).

At the highest level of consciousness were figures such as Buddha, Jesus and perhaps some great sages (Advaitas or Vedantas).

Social level

A person, moving to this level, first of all begins to recognize himself as a member of society, that is, a person somehow identifies himself in society, I am a person, I am a citizen, I am a student, I am an accountant, I am a husband or wife. At this level, a person strives to adhere to some general rules in order to achieve a certain social status and significance. At this level, a person strives to negotiate, and not to oppose himself, as at the previous level. At this level, a person usually strives for three things. Achievements. The desire to achieve anything, goals, money, results in sports, in a career. Power. The desire for power, in any of its manifestations, in the country, in the city, at work, in the family. Endorsements The desire to receive approval , praise, veneration, in any endeavor. These three aspirations are usually laid down in childhood, if the child grew up without receiving something.

Development of consciousness

In the process of learning, obtaining new information, as well as as a result of a person’s interaction with other people and society, a transformation of his consciousness occurs. Depending on what information a person chooses and what people he interacts with, this transformation can lead to degradation or, conversely, to the development of consciousness.

As a result of the development of consciousness, a person’s rational behavior increases, and his aspirations are directed toward creation and become more conscious.

The better the consciousness is developed, the higher the quality of life of this person becomes , and his actions and actions are carried out under the influence of a conscious and reasonable choice (the person becomes wiser, more restrained, patient, quick-witted, friendly). The development of consciousness is simply necessary for man, since this is a requirement of evolution, dictated by nature itself.

Mind control

Consciousness in psychology is an intangible part of the human body, with the help of which a person can be controlled. In psychology, there are techniques with which some people can influence the behavior of other people.

With the help of these psychological techniques, using the characteristics of a person’s character, his social and individual needs, there is an impact on the emotional side of a person’s consciousness.

As a result, if a person is not familiar with such methods or if his consciousness is not sufficiently developed, he can be manipulated by other people and encourage him to do certain actions that are beneficial to these people, and not to the person himself.

There are several types of mind control, the main ones being agitation, propaganda and manipulation.

All types of mind control use the following techniques:

Suprasocial level

A person gets there when he begins to think about why he lives and where the society in which he lives is leading him. It is as if he begins to look at himself and at society from the outside, trying to understand the meaning of the existence of himself and this society as a whole. Somewhere at this level of awareness, a person begins to understand that the world is filled with games that people play, but after playing too much they forgot that they are in the game and the game has become their everyday life. Here a person begins to notice and understand the real significance of things, events, views on the world order. It is at this level that a person begins to notice that conflicts between people occur only because people are at different levels of consciousness . It becomes clear to them that if all people were at this level of consciousness or at the next, there would be no conflicts, wars, in principle. A person who has reached a suprasocial level begins to understand the meaninglessness of many of society’s games and stops playing them. Usually society does not understand such people; they seem to them a little out of this world . Often people who reach this level do something significant for people, for society, but they receive recognition, as a rule, after death.

The connection between human consciousness and subconscious

Consciousness in psychology is a complex system that is inextricably linked with the subconscious, which is an automatic performer of certain actions and tasks previously assigned to it with the help of consciousness. The conscious mind can be compared to the captain of a ship, and the subconscious mind to its attendants. Consciousness and subconsciousness cannot exist without each other.

The subconscious develops the skills of the human body, thinking skills, as well as a set of reactions that are automatically triggered under certain external conditions.

Examples of physical skills stored in the subconscious include skills such as a person's ability to walk, hold a spoon correctly, or ride a bicycle. Teaching the subconscious mind skills occurs consciously with the help of consciousness.

Consciousness as the highest form of psyche. Structure of consciousness. Consciousness and unconsciousness

5.1. Consciousness as the highest form of psyche

We have already said more than once that the human psyche is the highest level of evolutionary development of the psyche. Of course, the human psyche has much of what characterizes the psyche of animals. But the most important feature of a person is that he has consciousness. Consciousness is what distinguishes a person from an animal and has a decisive influence on his behavior, activities, and his life in general.

A person is able to realize what is happening around him, and what is happening to himself, what he is doing, i.e.

your behavior. He can, thinking about objects, phenomena, mentally transform them and find solutions to many problems in the internal, intellectual plane, he can think about very abstract, generalized phenomena, far from everyday life. Human consciousness allows him to understand the world more deeply, to understand what cannot be seen from direct observation. It allows you to draw conclusions and conclusions based on a generalization of observed facts.

A special form of consciousness is self-awareness

allows a person to isolate himself, the “I” from the environment, think about himself, his qualities, abilities, relate to himself, worry about himself. A person can try to understand himself, change himself, engage in self-development and self-education.

Why did this ability of man arise, which distinguishes him so much from the entire animal world? In psychology, as in other human sciences, there are two answers to this question, largely depending on the worldview of the scientist. Psychologists who adhere to religious views believe that consciousness and soul are a divine gift to man. Psychologists, guided by natural scientific beliefs, view consciousness as the result of a long evolution of the psyche. The decisive role in the emergence of consciousness is given to the social existence of man, his work, articulate speech, and the socio-historical activity of mankind as a whole. Consciousness is considered as a property of a highly developed, complexly organized brain.

In the process of development of psychological science, these two points of view either peacefully coexisted or sharply opposed each other. The modern period can be seen as an attempt at the mutual penetration of these opposing, even polar, points of view. On the one hand, “natural” psychologists recognize that not everything in the human mind can be explained from a natural scientific perspective. On the other hand, “religious” psychologists agree that the functioning of consciousness is ensured by the activity of the brain.

5.2. Structure of consciousness

Studying the structure of individual consciousness, A.N. Leontyev identified three of its components - the sensory fabric of consciousness, meaning and personal meaning. The sensory fabric of consciousness, according to A.N. Leontiev, “forms a sensory composition of specific images of reality that is actually perceived or emerges in memory. These images differ in their modality, sensory tone, degree of clarity, greater or lesser stability, etc. ...The special function of sensory images of consciousness is that they give reality to the conscious picture of the world that is revealed to the subject. That, in other words, it is precisely thanks to the sensory content of consciousness that the world appears for the subject as existing not in consciousness, but outside

his consciousness - as an objective “field” and the object of his activity”1. Sensory tissue—the experience of a “sense of reality.”

Meanings are the general content of words, diagrams, maps, drawings, etc., which is understandable to all people speaking the same language, belonging to the same culture or similar cultures that have gone through a similar historical path. The meanings generalize, crystallize and thereby preserve for subsequent generations the experience of humanity. By comprehending the world of meanings, a person cognizes this experience, joins it and can contribute to it. Values, wrote A.N. Leontyev, “refract the world in human consciousness... the meanings represent the ideal form of existence of the objective world, its properties, connections and relationships, transformed and folded into the matter of language, revealed by the total social practice”2. The universal language of meaning is the language of art - music, dance, painting, theater, the language of architecture.

Refracted in the sphere of individual consciousness, the meaning acquires a special, unique meaning. For example, all children would like to get straight A's. O has a common meaning for all of them, fixed by social norms. However, for one, this five is an indicator of his knowledge and abilities, for another, it is a symbol of the fact that he is better than others, for a third, it is a way to achieve a promised gift from his parents, etc. The content of meaning that it acquires personally for each person is called personal meaning.

Personal meaning, thus, reflects the subjective significance of certain events, phenomena, actions.

1Leontyev A.N.

Activity. Consciousness. Personality. - M., 1975. - P. 133 -134.

2 Ibid.-S. 140-141.ties of reality to the interests, needs, motives of a person. It “creates partiality in human consciousness.”

Many problems associated with translating one's thoughts into words are precisely related to the difference between personal meaning and meaning. No wonder the poet exclaimed: “Oh, if only you could say it with your soul without a word!”

The discrepancy between personal meanings creates difficulties in understanding. Cases of people misunderstanding each other, arising due to the fact that the same event or phenomenon has a different personal meaning for them, are called “semantic barriers.” This term was introduced by psychologist L.S. Slavina. Studying younger schoolchildren, she looked for the reasons why some children are completely immune to influence from the teacher. It turned out that this is largely due to the fact that the requirement placed on the child has a completely different personal meaning for him than for the teacher. For example, a teacher asks a child a question, trying to understand what he knows or even “pull” him to a better mark, and the student believes that he is picking on him. The teacher gives a mark that seems correct to him, but the student believes that he is being unfairly treated and the mark is too low. Of course, a semantic barrier can arise not only between a teacher and a student, but also between a child and parents, and between adults. The important thing is that with sufficiently frequent repetition of such mutual misunderstanding, the semantic barrier can expand, capturing more and more new areas of relationships, and then any influences coming, for example, from the teacher cease to be perceived. Something arises that in everyday psychology is roughly but accurately described with the words “like peas from the wall.” In the works of L.S. Slavina describes specific ways to prevent and overcome this phenomenon.

All these components together create that complex and amazing reality that is human consciousness.

5.3. Consciousness and unconsciousness

Consciousness must be distinguished from awareness

objects, phenomena. Firstly, at every given moment we realize

1 Ibid.-S. 153.predominantly what is being focused on is revealed. Secondly, in addition to what is realized, consciousness contains something that is not realized, but can be realized with a special task. For example, if a person is literate, then he writes without thinking, automatically. However, if there is difficulty, he can remember the rules and make them conscious. When developing any new skill, mastering any new activity, a certain part is automated and not consciously controlled. But it can always become controlled and conscious again. Interestingly, such awareness often leads to deterioration in performance. For example, there is a well-known fairy tale about a centipede, which was asked how it walks: which legs it moves first, which ones later. The centipede tried to follow her walk and fell. This phenomenon has even been called the “centipede effect.”

Sometimes we act one way or another without thinking. But if we think about it, we can explain the reasons for our behavior.

Phenomena of our psyche that are not currently conscious. are present, but can be realized at any moment, are called preconscious.

„

At the same time, we cannot understand many of our experiences, relationships, feelings or understand them incorrectly. However, they all influence our behavior, our activities, and motivate them. These phenomena are called unconscious.

If the preconscious is what attention is not directed to, then the unconscious is what cannot be realized. This can happen for various reasons.

The Austrian psychiatrist and psychologist who discovered the unconscious 3. Freud believed that experiences and impulses that contradict a person’s self-image, accepted social norms, and values ​​can be unconscious. Awareness of such urges could be traumatic. Therefore, the psyche builds protection, creates a barrier, and turns on psychological defense mechanisms.

According to 3. Freud, consciousness and the unconscious are in constant conflict. The unconscious manifests itself in dreams, slips of the tongue, jokes, seemingly “unmotivated” or falsely motivated actions, etc. Unconscious drives can be a source of tension, strong internal conflicts, and give rise to neuroses, psychoses and serious somatic illnesses, such as ulcers and asthma. In order to get rid of these symptoms, special psychological work is needed.

Modern psychology has shown that the area of ​​the unconscious is not limited to motives unacceptable to human consciousness. It's much wider.

It includes many other mental phenomena. For example, an unconscious attitude, that is, the readiness, predisposition of the subject to act in accordance with the conditions of the situation anticipated by him. An attitude can be created during the process of experience. It can also be developed experimentally. This problem was studied especially intensively by Georgian psychologists led by D.N. Uznadze.

The sphere of the unconscious also includes the perception of signals, the level of which is, as it were, beyond our senses. For example, the technique of “dishonest advertising”, the so-called 36th frame, is known. In this case, an advertisement for a product is included in the film. This frame is not perceived by consciousness, we don’t seem to see it, but the advertising works. Thus, a case is described when such a technique was used to advertise one of the soft drinks. After the film, its sales increased sharply.

: Between consciousness and the unconscious, many areas of modern science believe, there is no insurmountable contradiction or conflict. They are components of the human psyche. A number of formations (for example, personal meanings) equally relate to both consciousness and the unconscious. Therefore, many scientists believe that the unconscious should be considered as part of consciousness.

Questions and tasks

1. How do you understand the statement of the famous Russian psychologist S.L. Rubinstein: “Awareness1 of an experience is always the establishment of its objective relation to the reasons that cause it, to the objects to which it is directed, to the actions by which it can be realized.”

2. Analyze the example below and explain whether students' attitudes toward the task would change and, if so, why.

The students were given a boring, monotonous task. Moreover, it seemed meaningless to them. So it was necessary to carry it out

1Rubinshtein S.L.

Being and consciousness. - M., 1957. - 45.torment. But when they went to practice at school, they had to give the children the same task, explaining that it was interesting and very important for understanding the subject. The grade for the practice largely depended on how they were able to captivate the students.

3. What is the difference between meaning and personal meaning. Give examples.

4. It is known that during a hypnosis session many things can be suggested to a person. However, not all. For example, a truly honest person, even in a state of hypnosis, cannot steal. Why?

5. Explain the results of the experiment.

A group of subjects were shown a picture depicting the street of a holiday village, told that their visual acuity was being studied, and asked to read the inscription on a sign on the gate. In fact, there were no inscriptions - there were only dashes on the tablet. However, more than 80% of subjects read them as “Caution! Angry dog!".

6. How did the effect of the unconscious manifest itself in the results of the experiment?

In the famous experiments of the Georgian psychologist D.N. Uznadze asked the subject several times to compare the weight of two balls. At the same time, a heavier ball was always placed on his right hand, and a lighter one on his left. In the decisive, critical experiment, he was given two balls of equal weight for comparison. However, all subjects continued to believe that the ball on the right hand was heavier. Section P. COGNITIVE PROCESSES

Nature has endowed every person with the ability to understand the world in which he was born:

- the ability to sense and perceive the world around us - people, nature, culture, various objects and phenomena;

- the ability to remember, think, understand;

- the ability to speak and understand the speech of other people, etc.;

- the ability to be attentive.

All these abilities develop and improve not on their own, but in the active cognitive activity of a person.

The mental processes through which a person learns about the world around him, himself and other people are called cognitive processes. These processes include: sensations, perception, attention, memory, thinking and imagination. Cognition is impossible without speech and attention.

How does the subconscious mind work?

The speed of the subconscious is tens of thousands of times faster than the speed of consciousness. The subconscious is closely related to the functionality of our body and directly interacts with all organs of the body (including sensory organs), controlling and changing their state depending on external conditions and circumstances.

For example, the subconscious of a hockey goalkeeper, while the puck is flying towards the goal, in hundredths of a second makes a decision about the necessary change in body position, mobilizes and strains the necessary muscle groups of the goalkeeper in order to successfully protect the goal in this particular situation.

If such a task was entrusted to consciousness, then it would not be able to cope with it, since the speed of decision-making by consciousness is several orders of magnitude lower. Thus, during conscious training, a person’s reactions to certain external events are honed in the subconscious, and when the time comes to use them, the consciousness transfers control to the subconscious and it fulfills its task.

Problems of consciousness in psychology and their analysis

In the process of studying consciousness, scientists have encountered some problems, the main of which are:

• A person understands psychological processes at the level at which he is aware of them.
• It is impossible to localize consciousness in space and time for its study in various areas of psychology.

As a result of the analysis of these problems, the idea of ​​consciousness was changed. Symbolic and objective elements were introduced that describe the structure of consciousness, and consciousness itself received the status of the highest level of self-regulation of human life.

Altered states of consciousness

Human consciousness can be in different states. While awake, a person is fully aware of what is happening, can control and be aware of his actions.

During sleep, consciousness enters another state called an altered state of consciousness. In this state, some functions of the body are switched off, but consciousness continues to work and process previously received information.

In a state of hypnosis or meditation, consciousness also enters an altered state. In these cases, immediately before the transition to such a state, you can set some task for consciousness, and consciousness will perform it during this state.

Conscious and unconscious actions

Conscious actions of a person are actions that a person carries out with the help of consciousness. Such actions include conscious actions and actions in the everyday or social environment, mental activity during the day or in the learning process, and communication with people.

Unconscious actions are actions performed with the help of the subconscious mind. These actions include all motor functions of the body, reflex actions and various skills. Unconscious actions, for example, include such actions as walking, running, playing musical instruments, writing and speaking.

Consciousness and self-awareness

Consciousness is a reflection of the external world (both everyday and social spheres). The main part of consciousness is self-awareness, which allows a person to be aware of himself in this world, his thoughts, actions, and also carries the function of a person’s relationship to the outside world, people, and also to himself.

Self-awareness, or a person’s own “I,” based on information from consciousness, forms its own worldview, sets goals in the process of life activity and directs the development of consciousness in the direction it needs.

Forms of consciousness

There is individual and social consciousness. The first, individual, is the consciousness of each individual about his individuality of being, through his social being. It is an element of social consciousness. Consequently, secondly, the concept of social consciousness is the generalized individual consciousness of various individuals. This generalization occurs historically, over a long period of time. Therefore, it is also considered group.

In group consciousness, it is necessary to consider two features - this is the social contact of people as an important factor and the common strength of these people when combining their individual forces.

Each collective constitutes a group of different individuals, however, not every group of individuals will be a collective. Based on this, the manifestation of collective consciousness will always be group, and group consciousness will not always be collective. Collective intelligence is, firstly, a manifestation of social consciousness as a social idea, and secondly, this idea determines the activities of individuals in this collective.

Individual awareness of typical individuals always determines group awareness. But only what is typical for a certain group, which is suitable in terms of frequency of manifestation, strength of expression at any time, that is, what is ahead, directs the development of this group.

Collective and group forms of consciousness are dependent on social consciousness and are determined by the relationships between group members. Thus, those mental phenomena that are characteristic of the communication process represent different phenomena in group consciousness.

The latter, in turn, is divided into several forms of consciousness. The most specific are mass phenomena; they constitute public moods and create a group psychological climate. These moods are mostly caused by interpersonal relationships. If the group has good, warm and trusting relationships, then the psychological climate will be favorable and it will be easier for such a group to solve problems. But if a person is introduced into such a team, dissipating hostility between group members, naturally, the psychological climate will deteriorate, and labor efficiency will begin to decline. Also, the mass mood in the group can be affected by didactogenies - these are changes in mood that reach a painful state and are caused by rude behavior and the influence of the leader.

Another form of group consciousness is panic. Panic is a manifestation of fear, a state of passion that captures an entire group and, under the influence of mutual imitation, intensifies even more.

Fashion is a form of group consciousness when people begin to imitate each other, follow public opinion and rely on information from the media regarding what they should wear, dress, put on shoes, and what music to listen to.

Collective thinking is also a form of group consciousness; it reinforces the focus of each member in solving the team’s task, makes it possible to think through it and illuminate it from different angles, and also promotes initiative. Collective thinking adds criticality to decisions, and this contributes to the development of self-criticism in each member of the group, enriches the knowledge and experience of some by acquiring knowledge from others, creates a positive emotional tone, creates situations of competition, increasing efficiency, and reduces the time for solving the task. Solving one task contributes to the emergence of new ones and thus stimulates the development and progression of the group; collective thinking moves the team forward.

The form of social consciousness is divided into several types: religion, science, law, morality, ideology and art. Forms such as religion, law, morality and art, as social phenomena, are relatively independent and are studied by different sciences. Moral and aesthetic consciousness have a connection that can be observed every day, for example, moral actions are often characterized as beautiful, and vice versa, immoral actions are called disgusting or ugly.

Religious art through church painting and music is used to deepen religious feelings and, in general, the religious consciousness of each individual and entire groups. In small groups, religious awareness is a phenomenon from religious psychology, which includes the religious worldview of the individual and groups.

The philosophical type of consciousness is a theoretical worldview, knowledge about the laws of nature, man and society; it highlights methods of their knowledge. Displays existence in a conceptual form, performs epistemological and ideological functions.

The scientific nature of consciousness is a rational, systematized reflection of the world around us through the application of scientific theories, arguments and facts, and is reflected in the minds of people in the categories of laws and theories. It allows a person to think in categories, to apply various principles of cognition in order to make new discoveries. The application of scientific consciousness can be seen in all possible spheres of human existence.

Morality, as a form of awareness, has emerged and changed, as well as the moral psychology of a group, which generalizes the socially beneficial experience of communication in groups and in appropriate conditions.

Morality of consciousness is based on the category of morality, it is the most ancient form of social consciousness, and it also passes through all areas of human activity (profession, everyday life, family). It is reflected in the categories by which a person thinks and is guided: good, evil, conscience, dignity and others. Morality is determined by the outlook of specific societies and classes. Moral norms reflect universal, that is, independent of social class, moral values: humanism, honor, responsibility, compassion, collectivism, gratitude, generosity.

The political nature of consciousness began to emerge with the formation of the state, classes and the sphere of politics. It reflects the interactions of classes and social groups, the place and their role in state power, the relations between nations and states, oriented by economic motives. It integrates all forms of social consciousness. It is influenced by various spheres: religion, science, law, but the political remains the leading one. It is also an element of the functioning of the country's political system. It has two levels: the everyday practical level and the ideological-theoretical level. At the everyday theoretical level, experience and tradition, the emotional and the rational, experience and traditions are interconnected; it appears spontaneously, from the activities and life experiences of people. It is also unstable because it exists under the influence and dependence of living conditions, people's emotions and constantly changing experiences.

The use of everyday consciousness is important because it is characterized by the integrity of life understanding, and with creative processing it is the basis of theoretical consciousness. Theoretical political consciousness is characterized by a completeness and depth of reflection of political reality, characterized by the ability to predict and systematize views. It can develop a political program based on the economic and social spheres. Such a political ideology is capable of actively influencing the level of public consciousness. Only specially trained people who work on understanding the laws of social life and engage in “political creativity” work on the creation of ideology. A well-formed ideology can influence the consciousness of society as a whole, since it is not just a system of beliefs, but a well-structured propaganda that permeates all layers and spheres of society, which uses state power and uses the media, science, culture, and religion.

Legal consciousness has a very strong connection with the political, since it contains political as well as economic interests of various social groups. It affects various spheres of social life, in which it performs the following functions: regulatory, cognitive and evaluative.

Also legal, it has a historical nature, and its development occurs depending on economic and political circumstances and living conditions, it arises along with the first manifestations of the political organization of society, law and class division and reflects the relationships of people, organizations, government bodies that are bound by rights and obligations, their guarantor is the law.

Economic awareness reflects knowledge and theories of economic activities and social needs. It is formed under the influence of historical conditions and is determined by the need to understand economic and social changes. It also aims to improve economic reality.

Ecological aspects of human consciousness perform social functions. First of all, cognitive and educational functions. It is interconnected with other forms of consciousness: moral, aesthetic and legal. The state of ecology requires a person to have an aesthetic and moral attitude towards the surrounding nature; otherwise, a person succumbs to the influence of legal consciousness in order to pay for the damage caused to nature.

Environmental awareness consists of a humane attitude towards nature, a person’s awareness of himself as a part of this nature. The criterion for this is the spiritual need for careful attitude and desire to preserve the beauty of nature.

How to control consciousness and subconscious?

In order to learn to control your consciousness and subconscious, you must first develop willpower and learn patience.

You can change the patterns of actions and experiences programmed in the subconscious to certain external events by consciously reprogramming these patterns through meditation or by constantly repeating a new patterned action on these events.

Consciousness in psychology and other sciences has not yet been fully studied, and there are many unresolved questions in this area. But psychology is rapidly moving forward and perhaps it will help in the near future to reveal the secrets of this part of the universe.