Psychology of social work. Theory and practice. Textbook for universities. Chapter 1. Psychology of social adaptation and personality maladaptation (Team of authors, 2017)

Socio-psychological adaptation

Key words: social psychology, adaptation, socio-psychological adaptation

In social psychology, socio-psychological adaptation is considered as a person’s adaptation to the social environment, interaction with it (D. A. Andreeva, M. Mead, T. Parsons, J. Piaget and others); psychological mechanisms of adaptation are analyzed in the works of B. N. Almazov, S. P. Ivanenkov, A. B. Petrovsky, A. A. Rean and others; adaptation to a higher educational institution is studied by B. G. Ananyev, D. A. Andreeva, T. A. Golubeva and others.

Adaptation is one of the general scientific concepts that arise at the intersections of individual branches of knowledge, and are subsequently extrapolated to various areas of natural and social sciences. Together with philosophical categories, general scientific concepts contribute to the unification of the objects under study into holistic theoretical constructs [2]. V. Berezin considers the adaptation concept to be one of the promising approaches to the complex study of man [1, p.12]. In modern science, the essence of the adaptive processes of the individual has not been finally determined due to the fact that adaptation as a methodological category refers to the fundamental concepts of a complex of branches of knowledge.

Scientists often replace the very understanding of the phenomenon of “adaptation” as the adaptation of self-organizing systems to changing environmental conditions with synonymous words (“acclimatization”, “implantation”, “habituation”, “adjustment”, “entry”, “becoming”, “acceptance” and etc.). This necessitated consideration of the basic general scientific concepts of the essence of the term adaptation.

Researchers of the problem of adaptation A. A. Rean [11, p. 92] and N. A. Sviridov [12, p. 252] note that the question of its study was first raised by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Observing the factors of adaptation of organisms to environmental conditions, he came to the conclusion that there is a universal expediency in their interactions. Initially, the term adaptation was used in biological sciences to describe the phenomenon and mechanisms of individual behavior in the animal world. Further study of the problem of adaptation is associated with the emergence of evolutionary ideas (C. Darwin, J. B. Lamarck).

The introduction of the term “adaptation” into scientific circulation is associated with the name of the German physiologist H. Aubert (1865), who used it to characterize the adaptation of the organs of vision (or hearing) to a stimulus, which is expressed in an increase or decrease in sensitivity [4, p. 19].

Ovchinnikova G.G. identifies the continuous process of adaptation with the concept of life [22, p. 200]. According to Larionova S.A. [5], adaptation represents the process of adapting the body to the external environment or to changes occurring in the body itself. A similar concept is adhered to by G. G. Ovchinnikova, who considers adaptation as a special form of reflection of the external and internal environment [9, p. 58].

Today, the understanding of adaptation to the objective external world and the subjective internal understanding of a person covers knowledge of physiology, psychology, pedagogy, sociology, and philosophy of man in its entirety. Widespread interest in the problem of human adaptation indicates the versatility and universality of the class of adaptive phenomena, therefore this phenomenon is considered by scientists from an interdisciplinary perspective as a multi-level phenomenon of the complex biological, physiological, mental and social nature of adaptation. Adaptation is a complex multifactorial phenomenon that has its own mechanisms and patterns, which are studied by representatives of many branches of science. According to their professional interests, they focus on certain types of adaptation: biological, physiological, mental, psychophysiological, psychological, social, socio-psychological, pedagogical, didactic, professional, etc. When defining the essence of the concept of “adaptation,” researchers proceed from the understanding that it can be considered as a process, state, property or result of an activity that occurs under certain conditions and lasts for a certain period until a dynamic equilibrium is established between systems that adapt [7, pp. 276–283].

Researchers J. Piaget [10], L. Kjell [15], defining the phenomenon of “adaptation”, define the difference between adaptation as a process, and adaptation as its result. According to them, a well-adjusted person is one whose mental balance, productivity and ability to enjoy life are not impaired.

Morodenko E.V. considers the adaptation process as a dynamic process of interaction between the individual and the environment, and the main criterion for a person’s adaptability determines the degree of its integration into the environment itself [5, p. 279].

J. Piaget [10, p. 160] for the first time considered adaptation as a two-way process, as the unity of the processes of active change by a person in the environment and changes in his own inner world, that is, the unity of the processes of assimilation and accommodation. Thus, personality adaptation is considered as the interexistence of two opposing tendencies, each of which performs its own function in relation to human existence. “Just like that,” wrote J. Piaget, “just as there is no assimilation without preliminary or current accommodation, so there is no accommodation without assimilation” [5].

In human adaptation, the leading aspect is its activity, not adaptive, but transformative, active in nature. Taking into account the laws of adaptation and considering it in a broad sense as the production of a social personality, adaptation can be characterized as the active assimilation of the natural, social environment in all the diversity of its spheres.

The development of organizational and pedagogical conditions for adaptation requires clarification of the issue of the “adaptation” phenomenon. During certain periods, adaptation performs the function of protection from an unfamiliar social environment and its role is reduced to the formation of a normative model of behavior in an unfamiliar environment.

Among the scientific works devoted to the problem of adaptation of students to the conditions of a higher educational institution, the achievements of Russian and Ukrainian scientists should be noted. In the 60–70s. XX century Scientists for the first time focused attention on the problems, difficulties, duration of the adaptation process of student youth, stages of its implementation, personal qualities that ensure the most effective and rapid adaptation. In the late 70s - early 80s of the twentieth century. scientists devote research to studying the dynamics of the adaptation process, namely: the presence of a person’s professional orientation; knowledge about the conditions for organizing training; formation of professionally important qualities; level of attitude towards professional activity.

Since the early 90s of the twentieth century, research has been aimed at studying individual-oriented aspects of the process of adaptation to learning conditions. The attention of scientists is drawn to periods of adaptation; research is also aimed at the changes that a person experiences during the adaptation process.

G. Aleksandrov [18] understands adaptation as the process of active adaptation and volitional implementation of learned norms and values in a specific situation [14, p. 4]. The author emphasizes the volitional, conscious process of implementing norms and values, in the absence of which it is not adaptation that occurs, but external adaptation, which leads to conformist behavior, pseudo-adaptation; the individual creates the appearance of accepting norms and values, but in fact yields to group pressure.

M. Bulanova-Toporkova, A. Dukhavneva, L. Stolyarenko consider adaptation in two directions: adaptation of the individual to a new external environment and adaptation as the formation of its new qualities on this basis. Consequently, adaptation is interpreted as a process of bringing the main parameters of social and personal characteristics into a state of dynamic equilibrium with environmental conditions [15, p. 244]. This definition reflects adaptation as a static process. P. Prosetsky defines adaptation as “active creative adaptation.”

Socio-psychological adaptation is the individual’s adaptation to the group and relationships in it, the development of his own style of behavior.

In addition, researchers distinguish between 3 forms of adaptation: formal, social and didactic. Formal adaptation is a cognitive and informational adaptation to a new environment, new requirements and responsibilities. Social adaptation is the process of internal integration (unification) of groups and the integration of these same groups as a whole. Didactic adaptation is the preparation of students for new forms and methods of educational work of an educational institution [2].

So, adaptation has a number of features that must be taken into account when monitoring its progress.

Personal attitudes as a way of psychological adaptation of an individual

In nature, there are two methods of adaptation that ensure the continuous existence of a living organism.

One - with a high degree of reproduction speed with a low protective ability (Extrovert).

The second is to provide the individual with a variety of means of self-preservation at relatively low fertility (Introvert).

Jung defined personal attitudes as a psychological way of adaptation of an individual:

Introversion - the direction of energy movement is towards the inner world - internal reality.
Extraversion - the direction of energy movement is towards the outside world - external reality. Psychic life unfolds outside.

And also 4 functions or types of orientation:

Thinking is the highest level of human knowledge; the process of cognition of the surrounding real world, the basis of which is education and continuous replenishment of the stock of concepts and ideas; includes the derivation of new judgments (implementation of inferences. Thinking allows you to gain knowledge about such objects, properties and relationships of the surrounding world that cannot be directly perceived using the first signal system. The forms and laws of thinking are the subject of consideration of logic, and psychophysiological mechanisms - accordingly , psychology and physiology.Thinking is the process of cognitive cognitive thought, which says that something exists, it is recognized and comprehended.
Sensation is the simplest mental process, which is a mental reflection of individual properties and states of the external environment, the subject of internal or external stimuli and irritants with the participation of the nervous system. Sensations are given by perception using the senses and establishing that something exists, communicating about a specific reality through vision, hearing, taste, skin.
Intuition translated from Latin intuitio - “contemplation”, from the verb intueor - I look closely - a method of solving problems through instantaneous subconscious conclusion, based on imagination, empathy and previous experience, “flair”, insight. Intuition is the perception, with the help of the unconscious, of the meaning of what can be done with it and makes us capable of predicting hidden possibilities.
Feeling is a human emotional process that reflects a subjective evaluative attitude towards real or abstract objects. A feeling is a subjective judgment or assessment of what is happening, what is worth something and tells to what extent certain things are important or not important.

4 functions are not evenly developed in an individual. The leading, primary or dominant function is very well developed, then the rest are subordinate.

“Leading” - is used with the greatest probability, we use it automatically, because is the most natural and brings its own benefits.

“Subordinate” - used extremely rarely, left unattended, underdeveloped. If an individual has developed thinking, then it is poorly developed and appears as an outlier unconscious. The inferior function resists integration (connection) into consciousness and acts slowly.

“The essence of the subordinate function,” writes Jung, “is autonomy: it is independent, it attacks, charms, captivates and spins us so much that we cease to be masters of ourselves and can no longer correctly distinguish between ourselves and others.”

Having established contact with a subordinate function, the individual discovers a new potential for life.

The following formula can be derived:

Sensation is leading = Intuition is auxiliary.

Thinking - leading = Feeling - auxiliary.

The subordinate function is a compensation for the unconscious, therefore the conscious orientation of the thinking type is balanced by the unconscious feeling.

Most of the population are very mistaken and attribute themselves to some kind of constantly dominant existence, and it is they who say about themselves: “I am an introvert, and you are an extrovert, and everyone has been told that.” In fact, the psyche is very smart, and it uses different methods of adaptation in different situations. As for the dominant and subordinate functions, there is a simple way to harmonize the psyche through drawing mandalas, which helps to balance the leading and auxiliary functions of the individual, as well as to obtain valuable material and potential from the unconscious of the individual. Nature has arranged man in such a way that we already have all the answers to our questions, the method is drawing mandalas.

A mandala can be drawn, woven, or laid out using various materials. The main thing is that this is a specialist who can guide you in your analysis. Working with a mandala is deep work; it also suggests the primary sources of problems and situations. In the process of working with the mandala, you will find ways and ways out of this situation. Come and see for yourself.