Individual: Definition. Person, individual, person

The human personality is an object of study of many liberal arts, such as psychology, philosophy, sociology. The concept of "person", "individual", "personality" is often found in both scientific and everyday language. In everyday life, these words are considered synonymous, but in fact, each has its own semantic connotation. Let's try to understand this in more detail.

The concept - a person, an individual, a person

The word "man" sounds when you designate the abilities and traits inherent in everyone. It emphasizes the existence of a special community - a human kind, different from others in its own way of life. It is thanks to him at all stages of his development, everywhere and always retains a certain status.

The definition of "person-individual" denotes the existence of a particular concrete representative of mankind. Who is it? An individual-individual is a unit of the human race, a definite bearer of the psychological and social traits inherent in the entire human community. By them are meant will, reason, own interests and needs. In this sense, the individual is a concrete person.

In this context, biological factors (gender, age, physical characteristics, temperament) are not considered, as well as social differences. But, of course, you can not ignore this data at all. After all, the differences between a child and an adult, a primitive savage and our contemporary are quite obvious.

Thus, the definition of the concept of "individual" includes a set of characteristics and traits, according to which each person is different from the other. This implies differences of completely different levels - from neurophysiological and biochemical to socio-psychological.

And what is a person

The dynamics of human development in different moments (historical and personal) characterize the concept of "personality". The individual at the same time - the starting point of the development of the individual, its initial state. Thus, the personality is the most complete embodiment of all human qualities.

As a social subject, the personality is inherent in autonomy, the desire to some extent to oppose itself to the society and gain independence from society. This presupposes the presence of self-awareness, mental control skills, the ability to analyze and evaluate yourself.

All these qualities form the basis of the life position. This is the basic principle of behavior, based on social and ideological attitudes, values and ideals. The importance of these regulatory factors in life is explained by the theory of self-regulation of human behavior in society.

Fundamentals of personal development

Each author has his own interpretation of personality. But almost any definition of "personality", "individual", "individuality" is based on one of two polar views. One of them says that the personality is formed and subject to further changes depending on the inherent qualities and data, the influence of the social environment is minimized.

Representatives of the opposite position almost completely reject the inherent factor and prefer to view the personality as a product of social development. Perhaps, both points of view are extremes.

The classical definition of personality implies that a person, an individual, a person has specific qualities that are necessary for him as a product of social development. He is expected to enter social relations through communication and conscious activity. According to this approach, the biological organism becomes a person only due to social and cultural experience. And it is allowed to influence the formation of individual traits - the totality of temperament, innate abilities and predispositions.

As we grow up

Consider how a person, an individual, a person is formed. What directly influences the growth process? There are several such prerequisites.

- Biological factor. Human heredity is the same material that will later be formed in the human individual. This factor in itself does not create an individual, because social experience and cultural heritage can not be transmitted with genes. But it needs to be considered as a source of an infinite variety of characters, temperaments, inclinations and the cause of possible social limitations.

- Physical conditions of the environment. Part of the researchers attach great importance to them. But, as is known, there are completely different types of personalities under the same geographical conditions, and similar group characteristics are observed in completely different types.

- Social culture, which forms a certain number of basic types of personality corresponding to it. A certain cultural experience serves the common heritage of mankind.

- Experience, both group and unique (subjective). This is the most important factor of its formation, arising in the process of socialization.

What is the socialization of personality

Set of values, attitudes, likes, dislikes, goals and patterns of behavior, people achieve through the phenomenon of socialization. This is the process of assimilating the individual norms and patterns of behavior of his group, necessary for functioning in society.

Socialization concerns all aspects of upbringing, education and inclusion in culture. It involves everyone with whom an individual encounters in the family, everyday life, kindergarten and school, sees on TV, etc. At the same time, the process of personal formation takes place in three consecutive stages:

1. Children imitate adults and copy their behavior.

2. Children play and try on different roles.

3. In group activities, they begin to understand the expectations that others have on them.

When it happens

Most psychologists believe that the process of socialization is not limited to childhood and lasts a lifetime. Socialization of children lays the foundations of personal values. And as applied to adults, this process involves changing external behavior and acquiring the necessary skills.

According to one theory, in the process of socialization of adults, children's myths become obsolete, for example, about the inviolability of authority or own supervaluation. Gradually, on the basis of the experience gained, that individual is formed, the definition of which is given above.

Communication in the group and the corresponding experience make it possible to adjust the unique internal attitudes of the personality with the general qualities characteristic of its social environment.

How it happens

At the beginning of life a person does not yet realize that he is an individual, and his personality is in an embryonic state. Separation from the physical and social world continues throughout life. Accumulating social experience, he forms the image of his "I" by comparing himself with others.

Proof of the fact that a person is not just an automatically developing set of natural inclinations, the cases of human upbringing in social isolation, for example, in the environment of animals, are known to science. Studies of the psyche of such "Mowgli" showed that they have no idea of their own "I" as a separate entity in a series of similar ones.

Can such an individual be considered a person? The definition of the concept itself runs counter to the data given, so the answer is unambiguously negative.

What is personal experience based on?

The "social mirror" is constantly in front of each of us. In childhood, when assessing one's own abilities, a person is based on the opinion of the closest associates, with age - on the assessments of competent specialists. A mature person understands that he is an individual, and his personality is unique.

Do not underestimate the impact of personal experience. That is why children brought up in one family are very different. They have a similar group experience (but not identical). In addition to the family, children communicate in the external environment and with different people. Even twins with the same set of genes can not always be in absolutely identical conditions, meet with the same people and experience identical emotions.

That is why every personal experience is unique. According to psychoanalysts, certain incidents that have occurred to people may well turn out to be critical, setting the tone for subsequent emotional reactions.

What is the social role

By this concept means the way of human behavior in accordance with the generally accepted norms of interpersonal relations, depending on the existing status in the system. The process of socialization of the individual implies an indispensable condition for the development of social roles as a way of integrating a person into society.

The concept of a social role implies role expectations - what exactly is expected of an individual according to the "rules" of a particular role. Another basic concept here is role behavior. This is all that a person carries out according to his role. The society in this case assumes the control function.

The individual and society are connected by the existence of a variety of institutions - from law enforcement to public opinion. The system of social sanctions is applied to the "disobedient" . The most insignificant of them - condemnation and public reprimand, more severe - measures of forcible restraint.

Individual - definition of social status

By social status is understood the position (rank) of the individual in the structure of the group or the group itself among a number of other entities. The behavior that is expected from the bearer of a certain social status, and is the essence of his social role. Different statuses have children and adults, women and men, military men and civilians. Each person is the bearer of many different statuses, in accordance with which, and builds his behavior in those or other situations.

Through learning roles, cultural norms are learned. Acceptable for one status may become completely unsuitable for another. That is, socialization is the most important process of learning the methods and methods of interaction adopted in society, as a result of which the society gets its own adequate member.

The ability to perform important roles is acquired, begins with childhood. Most of this process occurs on the unconscious level rather painlessly. Children participate in games, help parents, listen to family conversations, read and watch different stories. Their "play" roles help in the future the role of taking on real ones and understanding the reactions of others.

About the prescribed statuses

The society is very complicated, and the coordinated functioning of all its institutions is possible only in the case of strict compliance by people with their own duties, regulated by intragroup relations. The simplest way to achieve this is to classify all the diverse human activity according to the vast number of prescribed roles and to train each individual from an early age to fulfill a certain set of them, "put" according to their status.

Having passed in childhood the primary role-playing training, a person assigns to himself the prescribed roles according to the chosen criterion. Its code name is "the rules of success." The universal basis for the development of such a criterion in society is the sex and age of a person. Other determining factors are nationality, race, religion or class.

Despite the unconscious nature of role-playing, this is a powerful and real factor of socialization. For example, the separate education for many years of boys and girls leads to great differences between them in maturity in terms of abilities, preferences and ways of expressing emotions.

What is the status achieved?

This is a social position, fixed by individual choice and competition. If a part of the status is appointed by a group or a society, while the individual qualities of the individual or his ability are not taken into account, the achieved status is the result of abilities, perseverance, diligence, individuality, and some luck.

In primitive (or traditional) societies, status is almost always prescribed, and the social position directly depends on birth. In modern society, a person has a greater degree of freedom.

Winners are people who show the greatest abilities and flexibility. Those who failed to "find themselves" and adapt to new roles, are uncompetitive.

Than they differ

The attainable and prescribed statuses have a fundamental difference, nevertheless they intersect and interact. The individual is almost impossible to improve or somehow change his own position in a society where most of the statuses are prescribed. Socialization is not related to waiting for a change of status. But if hereditary factors do not play a fundamental role, it is difficult for a person to accept a low status, having the opportunity to show personal abilities

When there is a struggle for status and opportunities are conditionally equal, the reasons for the lack of success are exclusively personal incompetence and lack of abilities. In a society of "equal opportunities" this postulate is absorbed by any individual. The definition of failure as an intrinsic insolvency hurts a person's self-esteem. But even in this case the person finds ways to raise the status, using various privileges and preferential rights.

If the role is the behavior expected from the individual in the case of a particular status, then the role behavior is actual. It is different from what is expected by most characteristics - from role-playing interpretation to possible conflicts with others. That is why there are no two individuals who equally fulfill the same role.