General description and classification of roles in the context of the concept of social group

2.Means of influence of the psychologist on the group

The psychologist’s means of influence are divided into: non-verbal (facial expressions, pantomime, gestures, intonation, etc.) and verbal. Verbal means of influence include: - structuring the course of the lesson. These are all statements that determine the course of the program (“What would you like to talk about today?”, “The topic of today’s conversation is such and such...”). — Collection of information about subjective modality. — Interpretation as the most common and ambiguous method of verbal influence. These can be techniques for reflecting the client’s emotions, confronting him, or actual interpretation as setting hypotheses about the causes and consequences of client behavior. - Persuasion and persuasion. - Provision of information. - Setting tasks - stimulating group members to a certain type of activity. In difficult situations, the psychologist’s statements determine the relationships in the group. For example:

An aggressive client in a group—discussion of his problem or situation.
A client seeking dominance and competition with the psychologist. The technique used here is alternately ignoring non-corrective statements, the client’s behavior and unexpectedly discussing them.
Presence of passive clients. Such clients are mostly silent and their silence can be used as a way to demonstrate their own activity, the desire to help realize their responsibility for the course of group processes.
The client's reluctance to talk about himself. Stimulation of group discussion of the goals and objectives of group psychocorrection and protective attitudes.

General description and classification of roles in the context of the concept of social group

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In psychological science, the concept of a social role inherently reflects the totality of demands that society places on an individual.

Let us first consider the essence of the concept “role” . The term "role" comes from early French theater, in which a role was a roll of paper that held the actor's part. Social psychology typically relates this understanding to a pattern of behavior that encapsulates the distinct rights, obligations, and responsibilities expected of an individual that he or she is taught and encouraged to exercise in a particular social setting. Roles have all sorts of comprehensive manifestations. They are short-term (the status of the winner in the game), uncertain in terms of time specifics (the status of a child, a parent, a spouse), and virtually permanent (the status of a man, a woman, a black person). This concept is used in certain special ways, the use of which is unique in its intersection with the meaning of the concept of role (the concept of status, stereotype). [3]

Role performance is the actual behavior of a person with a certain status. What is relevant here is the discrepancy between the supposed norm of ideal characteristics of actions and the actual actions of people. In addition, the rights and responsibilities associated with their roles are exercised differently.

Role set. One status can have a number of roles associated with it, forming a role set.

Roles carry out the function of norms that define responsibilities - the mutual requirements of individuals. We can say that the rights of one role are the responsibilities of another.

Role conflict occurs when people are faced with dual demands resulting from the synchronous possession of two or more statuses.

Role tension means a situation in which the first role exposes the individual to dual demands, as a result of which it becomes difficult for the person to fulfill this role. Similar difficulties are encountered by managers, doctors, and parents. There are few clearly defined or acceptable responses to dilemmas that arise from these contradictions in expectations.

Now let's move directly to the definition of the concept “social role” . The Dictionary of Psychological Terms interprets the concept of social role as “a set of normatively approved forms of behavior that are expected from a person occupying a certain position in the system of social or interpersonal relations. The characteristics of the role also include goals, beliefs and feelings, social attitudes, values that are expected or attributed to a person occupying a certain position in society (for example, the role of a leader, subordinate, father, mother, etc.).” [3]

Another dictionary definition interprets a social role - socially as the behavior of an individual, structured as a norm. In this case, a person occupies an established group position (organization, society). Roles are also rights and responsibilities. A role is defined as a form of behavior that is expected of an individual in various settings due to his membership in groups and positions in society. Roles can also be prescribed, mastered, performed, violated, accepted, rejected. Role types according to the following principles: gender, age, family, service, professional environment, gaming sphere, etc. Often the roles of various subjects are characterized by close interconnection, as well as coordination (an example is paired tandem interactions: father-son, teacher-student, seller-customer, doctor-patient, priest-parishioner); these roles are called reciprocal.” [3.7]

The concept of role contains specific content in the studies of ethnography (customs, rituals), ergonomics, sociology, sociology and psychology, etc. However, in various areas of social life and activity areas, roles, as a rule, are explicitly formulated in instructions for the position, rules for the use of something (for example, the commandments of religion) [9, P. 429]

One of the first attempts to classify roles belongs to the classic of psychological science T. Parsons . He believed that every role must be described by a system of five core characteristics :

· emotional (some roles require emotional restraint, others - looseness);

· the method of obtaining (some roles are prescribed, others are won);

scale (some roles are formulated and strictly limited, others are blurred);

formalization (action in strictly established rules or spontaneous);

· motivation (for personal profit, the common good, etc.).

Each role is characterized by a different set of these five properties.

There is a division into two main groups of role orientation in order to create an adequately functioning social group:

· target roles (allow you to select group tasks and perform them);

· supporting roles (imply behavior that contributes to the maintenance and activation of the life and activities of the group).

M. Meskon classifies the following categories of target and supporting roles:

Target Roles:

·Initiation of activities. Proposing solutions, new ideas, new formulations of problems, new approaches to solving them, or new organization of material.

·Search for information. Search for clarification of a submitted offer, additional information or facts

·Collecting opinions. A request addressed to group members to express their attitude to the issues being discussed, clarify their values or ideas.

·Provision of information. Provide facts or generalizations to the group, apply your personal experience to solve group problems or to illustrate any points.

·Expressing opinions. Expressing opinions or beliefs related to a particular event is necessary with its assessment.

· Elaboration. Interpret, give examples, formulate a thought, try to predict the further fate of the proposal if it is accepted.

·Coordination. Explain ideological relationships, strive to summarize proposals, try to integrate the activities of all subgroups or group members.

·Generalization. List proposals again after the end of the discussion.

Supporting roles:

·Encouragement. Be friendly, sincere, responsive towards others.

·Ensuring participation. Strive to create an environment in which each group member has the opportunity to make suggestions.

·Establishment of criteria. Determine the criteria that should guide the group when choosing substantive or procedural points, or evaluating the group's decision. Remind the group to avoid decisions that are not coordinated with group criteria.

·Executiveness. Follow the decisions of the group, being thoughtful about the ideas of other participants who create an audience during group debates.

· Expressing the feelings of the group. The task is to generalize what is formed as a feeling of the group. Describe group members' reactions to ideas and solutions to problems.

In R. Schindler we see the following description of group roles:

· Alpha - a leader who encourages the group to take action, draws up a program, directs, gives it confidence and determination;

· Beta is an expert who has specialized knowledge, skills or abilities that the group always needs or values highly. The expert analyzes and analyzes the situation from different angles. His behavior is characterized by rationality, self-criticism, neutrality and indifference.

· Gamma are predominantly passive and adaptable group members who strive to maintain their own anonymity. Most of them are identified with alpha.

· Omega is the most lagging member of the group due to inability, some difference from the rest of the members, or fear.

· Psi is an antagonist, an oppositionist who actively opposes the leader.

Research by M. Belbin indicates that to create a truly effective group, it is necessary to have eight roles, such as:

· Chairman. This is the person who leads the team and coordinates its actions. The chairman may lack creativity and talent. His main features are discipline, determination, and balance. This is someone who knows how to listen and speak well, his judgments about people and things are particularly correct, and is not devoid of understanding the needs of other people.

· Organizer. These are proactive, excitable, mobile and the most influential people in the group. In the absence of the chairman, they usually take over the role, although they are not ideal candidates for this. Their strength lies in their drive and passion to achieve their goals. At the same time, they may have hypersensitivity, irritability and lack of patience. The main segment of the territory of responsibility in a group is encouraging other group members to take action.

· “Think Tank” – generator of ideas. This type is characterized by aspiration into itself, but intellectually they have a significant influence on other participants. It is a living source of original ideas and proposals, with a unique power of imagination. They are inattentive to details, they are sensitive to criticism, silent, and reserved.

· Controller-critic. They are smart and have an analytical mind. They tend to be meticulous in their analysis of ideas and have the ability to see weaknesses in arguments. They are not sociable, secretive regarding information, and stay away from the team. The purpose of joining the group is the quality control process.

· New employee pool researcher . These people are popular team members, extroverted, outgoing, and risk-takers. They bring new contacts, ideas, and improvements to the group.

· Workaholic - is a practical organizer of all company activities. He turns ideas into doable tasks.

· Team coordinator. They unite the whole team, support others, are excellent listeners, similar to a certain instrument for harmonizing the atmosphere. They do not strive for competition. This type of people are people whom you don’t notice when they are there, and who are missing when they are not around.

· Determinator-terminator. Without it, it is unlikely that the work will be completed on time. They check details, worry about schedules, and annoy others with the need to get something done urgently. Their persistent, systematic work is very important, but not always popular.

It is important to note that too many people in one role indicate an imbalance, and when the number of roles is too small, tasks will not be completed. In a small team, therefore, one person will have to perform more than one role. A complete set of roles is important when there are rapid changes in the workforce, technology, product or market. More stable groups can get by without a full set of roles.

After a general definition of the concept of role and its status in the social structure, as well as consideration of existing classifications of social roles, it is advisable to analyze the social role as a functional unit of the group.

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Roles of the psychologist

S. Kratochvil (1978) identified five main roles of a group leader: 1. The leader - a psychologist openly demonstrates his power, exerting constant influence on group members. He encourages them, protects them, supports them, criticizes them, etc. customers depend heavily on it. This type of leader is found in the school of transactional analysis. 2. Analyst - in a psychoanalytic school. Supervisor d.b. at the disposal of clients for the transfer of infantile feelings towards his father and mother onto him. He behaves indifferently, and when the group clarifies what is interesting to him, he begins to interpret the associations. 3. Commentator. The psychologist does not lead the group and does not direct its activities. He sometimes summarizes and comments on everything that happened in the group - this is a mirror of the group process. A summary without expressing your feelings. 4. Expert - advises what should be done, although he himself does not actively participate in the work of the group. He coordinates the discussion. The expert does not impose his own opinion, but does not refuse to assist. 5. Authentic personality. The leader behaves like one of the group members and expresses his true feelings. He is a role model and shares his problems. There are limitations to authenticity: - Associated with the personal, negative qualities of the leader. — Restrictions related to the goals of the group. Excessive activity can lead to a focus on the psychologist’s personal problems. - Related to the immediate needs of the group (if the whole group feels antipathy towards the deviant, the psychologist should help him).

Objectives of psychology as a science. The role of psychology in modern society.

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Objectives of psychology as a science. The role of psychology in modern society.

Psychology (Greek psyche - soul, logos - teaching, word) is the science of the laws of generation and functioning of the mental reflection of objective reality in the process of human activity and animal behavior.

Psychology, as a science, is a system of theoretical, methodological and experimental means of cognition and research of mental phenomena, their precise substantive definition, registration, analysis, ensuring the continuity of its results.

Modern scientific psychology, like any other systematic activity, represents a certain stage in the consistent development of human knowledge. The result of this development is socio-historical experience accumulated in the process of people communicating with each other within the framework of this activity and existing in the form of concepts of norms and patterns of action.

The object of psychology research and the object of application of psychological knowledge is man. The object of knowledge and application of knowledge of general psychology is a healthy person. The object of clinical psychology research and the application of its knowledge is a sick person.

The subject of the study of general psychology is the essence and patterns of the emergence, development and manifestation of the human and animal psyche.

The tasks of psychology mainly boil down to the following:

* learn to understand the essence of mental phenomena and their patterns;

* learn to manage them;

* use the acquired knowledge in order to increase the efficiency of those branches of practice at the intersection of which already established sciences and industries lie;

* be the theoretical basis for the practice of psychological services.

By studying the patterns of mental phenomena, psychologists reveal the essence of the process of reflecting the objective world in the human brain, find out how human actions are regulated, how mental activity develops and the mental properties of the individual are formed. Since the psyche and consciousness of a person is a reflection of objective reality, the study of psychological laws means, first of all, the establishment of the dependence of mental phenomena on the objective conditions of human life and activity. But since any human activity is always naturally conditioned not only by the objective conditions of human life and activity, but also sometimes by subjective ones (attitudes, attitudes of a person, his personal experience, expressed in the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for this activity), then psychology is faced with the task identifying the features of the implementation of activities and its effectiveness, depending on the relationship between objective conditions and subjective aspects.

Thus, by establishing the laws of cognitive processes (sensations, perceptions, thinking, imagination, memory), psychology contributes to the scientific construction of the learning process, creating the opportunity to correctly determine the content of educational material necessary for the assimilation of certain knowledge, skills and abilities. By identifying the patterns of personality formation, psychology assists pedagogy in the correct construction of the educational process.

The wide range of problems that psychologists are engaged in solving determines, on the one hand, the need for relationships between psychology and other sciences involved in solving complex problems, and on the other hand, the identification within psychological science itself of special branches involved in solving psychological problems in one or another area of society .

The structure of the modern science of psychology, the connection between psychology and other sciences.

Psychology is a field of scientific knowledge that studies the features and patterns of the emergence, formation and development (changes) of mental processes of mental states and mental states of humans, as well as the psyche of animals.

Modern psychology is in a state of continuous and rapid development, which is typical for a young science. New industries and directions are emerging in its structure. Currently there are more than forty of them. Thus, modern psychology is a branched system of scientific disciplines. General psychology occupies a central place in it. General psychology represents the foundation of all psychological knowledge; it studies the general laws of the organization and functioning of the psyche, develops the methodology and theory of psychology. General psychology is connected with other branches of psychology, since, on the one hand, all branches of psychology in their development are based on the general theory of psychology, on the other hand, knowledge and facts obtained in applied fields enrich the general theory of psychology. Philosophy. The greatest philosopher of antiquity, Aristotle, is considered the founder of psychology. Philosophy is a system of views on the world and man; Psychology is the study of man. Therefore, until recently, psychology was studied in philosophy departments of universities, and some sections (in particular, general psychology, where definitions of the basic concepts of science are given) are closely intertwined with philosophy. However, psychology cannot be the “handmaiden of philosophy,” as was the case in the Soviet Union, where Marxist-Leninist philosophy strictly determined the fundamentals. postulates of psychology. These are two independent sciences that can mutually enrich and complement each other. At the intersection of philosophy and psychology there is such a branch of the latter as general psychology.

Natural science is closely related to psychology. The development of theoretical and practical psychology in recent years would have been impossible without advances in biology, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and medicine. Thanks to these sciences, psychologists better understand the structure and functioning of the human brain, which is the material basis of the psyche. Psychophysiology is located at the intersection of physiology and psychology. Sociology as an independent science is closely related to social psychology, which is the bridge that connects the thoughts, feelings and attitudes of individuals with the phenomena of mass consciousness. The connection between psychology and sociology is provided by social psychology.

Technical sciences are also related to psychology, since they often have the problem of “docking” complex technical systems and humans.

These issues are dealt with by engineering psychology and occupational psychology.

Story. Modern man is a product of historical development, during which the interaction of biological and mental factors took place! starting from the biological process of natural selection to the mental processes of speech, thinking and work. Historical psychology studies changes in the psyche of people in the process of historical development and the role of the psychological qualities of historical figures on the course of history.

Medicine helps psychology better understand the possible mechanisms of mental disorders in people and find ways to treat it (psychocorrection and psychotherapy). At the intersection of medicine and psychology there are such branches of psychology as medical psychology and psychotherapy.

Pedagogy provides psychology with information about the main directions and patterns of training and education of people, which makes it possible to develop recommendations for the psychological support of these processes. The connection between these related sciences is provided by educational psychology and developmental psychology.

The role of communication in modern society. Basic concepts of communication psychology. Conditions necessary for the communication process to occur.

Activity and communication constitute two aspects of a person’s social existence, his way of life. Communication in psychology is understood both as a process of interaction and as a process of information exchange, people’s relationships with each other, mutual influence on each other, empathy and mutual understanding. In short, communication is a way of human existence, revealed in the relationships of subjects. This is a subject-subject relationship. The diversity of these relationships form a unique structure of communication. The structure of communication appears to be a set of functions that are realized by people in their relationships with each other. In psychology, it is customary to distinguish several such functions.

1. The communicative function of communication, or communication, consisting of the exchange of information between people;

2. Interactive function – consisting in organizing interaction and exchange of actions;

3. Perceptual function – which consists in the communication partners’ perception of each other and the establishment of mutual understanding on this basis.

All designated functions are manifested in conditions of direct contact between people.

Character typologies.

Attempts to construct a typology of characters have been made repeatedly throughout the history of psychology. One of the most famous and early of them was the one that was proposed by the German psychiatrist and psychologist E. Kretschmer at the beginning of our century. Somewhat later, a similar attempt was made by his American colleague W. Sheldon, and today by E. Fromm, K. Leonhard, A.E. Lichko and a number of other scientists.

All typologies of human characters were based on a number of general ideas. The main ones are the following:

1. A person’s character is formed quite early in ontogenesis and throughout the rest of his life it manifests itself as more or less stable.

2. Those combinations of personality traits that make up a person’s character are not random. They form clearly distinguishable types that make it possible to identify and build a typology of characters.

3. Most people, in accordance with this typology, can be divided into groups.

E. Kretschmer identified and described the three most common types of human body structure or constitution: asthenic, athletic and picnic. He associated each of them with a special type of character (later it turned out that the author did not have the proper scientific basis for this).

1. The asthenic type, according to Kretschmer, is characterized by a small body thickness in profile with average or above average height. An asthenic person is usually a thin and thin person, who, because of his thinness, seems somewhat taller than he actually is. An asthenic person has thin skin of the face and body, narrow shoulders, thin arms, an elongated and flat chest with underdeveloped muscles and weak fat accumulations. This is basically the characteristic of asthenic men. Women of this type, in addition, are often short.

2. The athletic type is characterized by a highly developed skeleton and muscles. Such a person is usually of medium or tall height, with broad shoulders and a powerful chest. He has a dense, high head.

3. The picnic type is characterized by highly developed internal body cavities (head, chest, abdomen), a tendency to obesity with underdeveloped muscles and the musculoskeletal system. Such a person is of average height with a short neck sitting between the shoulders.

The type of body structure, as was shown by Kretschmer and partly confirmed by the latest research in the field of psychogenetics, in a certain way correlates with a tendency to mental illness. For example, manic-depressive psychosis most often affects people with extremely pronounced picnic features. Asthenics and athletes are more prone to schizophrenic diseases.[2]

Although Kretschmer's typology was constructed speculatively, it contained a number of vitally true observations. Subsequently, it was indeed discovered that people with a certain type of body structure are prone to diseases that are accompanied by accentuations of the corresponding character traits. Later character classifiers were based mainly on the description of these accentuations. One of them belongs to the famous Russian psychiatrist A.E. Lichko. This classification is based on observations of adolescents.

Accentuation of character, according to Lichko, is an excessive strengthening of individual character traits, in which deviations in human psychology and behavior that do not go beyond the norm are observed, bordering on pathology. Such accentuations as temporary mental states are most often observed in adolescence and early adolescence. The author of the classification explains this factor as follows: “under the influence of psychogenic factors addressing the “place of least resistance,” temporary adaptation disorders and deviations in behavior may occur.” As a child grows up, the characteristics of his character that manifest themselves in childhood remain quite pronounced and lose their sharpness, but with age they can again clearly appear (especially if a disease occurs).

The classification of character accentuations in adolescents, which Lichko proposed, is as follows:

1. Hyperthymic type. Teenagers of this type are distinguished by their mobility, sociability, and a penchant for mischief. They always make a lot of noise in the events happening around them. They love troubled companies of peers. Despite good general abilities, they show restlessness, lack of discipline, and study unevenly. Their mood is always good and upbeat. They often have conflicts with adults - parents and teachers. Such teenagers have many different hobbies, but these hobbies are usually superficial and quickly spent. Teenagers of the hypertensive type often overestimate their abilities, are too self-confident, strive to show off, boast, and impress others.

2. Cycloid type. Characterized by increased irritability and a tendency to apathy. Teenagers of this type prefer to be at home alone instead of going somewhere with their peers. They have a hard time with even minor troubles and react extremely irritably to comments. Their mood periodically changes from elated to depressed (hence the name of this type) with periods of approximately two to three weeks.

3. Labile type. This type is extremely changeable in mood, and it is often unpredictable. The reasons for an unexpected change in mood may turn out to be the most insignificant, for example, someone accidentally defensively speaking, someone’s unfriendly look. All of them are “capable of sinking into despondency and a gloomy mood in the absence of any serious troubles or failures.” The behavior of these teenagers largely depends on their momentary mood. Such teenagers, being in a depressed mood, are in dire need of help and support from those who can improve their mood, who can distract, cheer up and entertain. They understand and feel the attitude of the people around them well.

4. Asthenoneurotic type. This type is characterized by increased suspiciousness and capriciousness, fatigue and irritability. Fatigue is especially common when performing difficult mental work.

5. Sensitive type. He is characterized by increased sensitivity to everything. These teenagers do not like large companies, gambling and active mischievous games. They are usually shy and timid in front of strangers, which is why they often give the impression of reticence. They are obedient and show great affection for their parents. In adolescence, such adolescents may experience difficulties in communicating with peers, as well as an “inferiority complex.” At the same time, these same teenagers develop a sense of duty quite early. They are picky in their choice of friends, show great affection for friendship, and adore friends who are older than them.

6. Psychasthenic type. Such adolescents are characterized by accelerated and early intellectual development, a tendency to think and reason, to self-analysis and assessments of the behavior of other people. Such teenagers, however, are often strong only in words and not in deeds. Their self-confidence is combined with indecision.

7. Schizoid type. Its most significant feature is isolation. These teenagers are not very drawn to their peers; they prefer to be alone, in the company of adults. “Mental loneliness does not even burden the schizoid teenager, who lives in his own world, with his interests, which are unusual for children of this age.” Such teenagers often demonstrate outward indifference to other people and lack of interest in them. They do not understand well the conditions of other people, their experiences, and do not know how to sympathize. Their inner world is often filled with various fantasies and special hobbies. In the external manifestation of their feelings, they are quite restrained and are not always understandable to others, especially to their peers, who, as a rule, do not like them very much.

8. Epileptoid type. These teenagers often cry and harass others, especially in early childhood. Such children love to torture animals, beat and tease the younger and weaker, and mock the helpless and unable to fight back. In a children's company, they claim not just leadership, but the role of ruler. In the group of children they control, such teenagers establish their own strict, almost terroristic orders, and their personal power in such groups rests mainly on the voluntary obedience of other children or on fear. In conditions of a strict disciplinary regime, they often feel at their best, they know how to please their superiors, achieve certain advantages, take possession of positions that give ... power, and establish dictatorship over others.”

9. Hysterical type. The main feature of this type is egocentrism, a thirst for constant attention to one’s own person. Adolescents of this type have a tendency towards theatricality, posing, and panache. Such children can hardly bear it. when their comrade is praised in their presence, when others are given more attention than themselves. “The desire to attract attention, to listen to admiration and praise becomes an urgent need for them.” Such teenagers are characterized by claims to an exclusive position among their peers, and in order to influence others and attract attention to themselves, they often act in groups as instigators and ringleaders. At the same time, being unable to act as real leaders and organizers of the cause, or to gain informal authority, they often and quickly fail.

10. Unstable type. He is sometimes mischaracterized as weak-willed and going with the flow. Adolescents of this type show an increased tendency and craving for entertainment, indiscriminately, as well as for idleness and idleness. They do not have any serious interests, including professional ones, and they hardly think about their future.

11. Conformal type. This type demonstrates thoughtless, uncritical, and often opportunistic submission to any authority, to the majority in the group. such teenagers are usually prone to moralizing and conservatism, and their main life credo is “to be like everyone else.” This is a type of opportunist who, for the sake of his own interests, is ready to betray a comrade, to leave him in difficult times, but no matter what he does, he will always find an excuse for his action, and often more than one.

Accentuation of character when exposed to unfavorable conditions can lead to pathological disorders and changes in personality behavior, to psychopathy.

Psychopathy (from the Greek psyche - soul and pathos - “disease”) is a pathology of character in which the subject has an almost irreversible expression of properties that prevent his adequate adaptation in the social environment. Unlike accentuations, psychopathy is permanent, manifests itself in all situations and interferes with the social adaptation of the individual. The reactions of a person with sharpened character traits, compared to the reactions of a psychopath, are more closely related to psychotraumatic factors, while maintaining a certain self-control. There are no limits for a psychopath.

When they talk about the presence of a certain character in someone, they thereby indicate a certain one-sidedness of his mental organization, a certain disharmony of the psyche. In fact, about a normal “ideal” person it is impossible to say what kind of character he has, because all his behavior is a simple reaction to external influences.

It should be noted that the boundaries between individual psychopathy are vague and unclear. The identified forms of psychopathy are for the most part an artificial product of schematic processing of what is observed in reality. At the same time, the behavior of psychopaths of the same type can be different: one paranoid person can be a universally recognized scientist, another can be mentally ill, etc. Based on the fact that, in a mild form, certain psychopathic features are inherent in all normal people, it is clear that the more sharply an individuality is expressed, the brighter the psychopathic features characteristic of it become. This is probably why among highly gifted people, with a richly developed emotional life and easily excitable imagination, there is a significant number of undoubted psychopaths.