People are part of society and inevitably function in it throughout life.
Therefore, the psychology of interpersonal relationships is designed to answer questions about this relationship, as well as to put new ones that require solutions and determine the effective interaction of people with each other.
Concept
In short, interpersonal relationships - interaction carried out by means of verbal and / or non-verbal communication, the purpose of which is to establish psychological contact and certain relations between the parties.
The word “relationship” places an emphasis on the emotional component, when both parties, communicating with each other, are concerned about the preservation of the existing relationship, which means they realize the need for emotional input.
Kinds
Interpersonal relationships occur in a particular environment, which determines their character. Thus, stand out:
- Production relations that we encounter in professional fields between employees (horizontal relations) and between subordinates and superiors (vertical relations) of one organization.
- Economic - develop around issues of distribution of benefits. The person acts as either the seller or the buyer.
- Household - what we meet with, going beyond the limits of the working space. Most often these are everyday issues related to housekeeping or solving everyday problems.
- Moral - a more complex type of relationship, since there are no clear answers to the questions and, as a rule, people's behavior is governed by internal principles, conscience and principles.
- Legal - are under a legal framework and focused on the protection of human rights and freedoms.
- Religious - formed on the basis of people's belief in the existence of the irrational. This belief determines the existence of a person, is recognized as the meaning of his life.
- Political - concentrate around questions of power, are connected with hierarchy.
- Aesthetic - aimed at the joint comprehension of the beautiful, the development of spirituality and the enrichment of the inner world.
As the basis of interpersonal relationships always lie emotionsthen we can highlight:
- positive interpersonal relationships (love, intimacy, friendship);
- negative interpersonal relations (negativism, hostility towards others, hatred, aggression);
- neutral interpersonal relations (alienation, indifference, conformism (or the desire to accept the position of the majority, selfishness).
In more detail about some of these types will be described below in connection with the consideration of questions about the formation of relationships, their styles and forms.
The basics
The basis of interpersonal relationships is considered to be communication.
In the course of a communicative act, we form an opinion about our partner, through communication we keep in touch with him and through his own resolve difficulties.
With a different person individual either competing or cooperating. These two opposite types of interaction determine the behavior of the interlocutors, their goals.
At the same time, they should not be considered as an analogue of bad and good. There are always positive sides to competition that may be more beneficial under certain conditions than cooperation.
Forms and styles
What could be interpersonal relationships? Interpersonal relationships can be:
- modal and dictating;
- formal and informal;
- personal and business;
- emotional and rational;
- parity and subordinate.
Exists many classifications of interpersonal relationshipsone of which divides them into two groups depending on the goals and motives underlying the communicative act. On the one hand, you can enter into communication for the sake of the communication process itself.
Simply put, this is a situation where we want to talk with a pleasant interlocutor, discuss the latest news or just talk about something else. This is the so-called modal communication.
If we set ourselves the goal of transmitting specific information, motivating a person to do something, resolving problems that have arisen in the course of carrying out an activity, we must say about dictatingwhose motives lie outside communication.
Also isolated formal and informal interpersonal relationships. The first are formed on the basis of official documents and are regulated by law.
If the interests of one party are violated by the other, then sanctions are possible, which are also provided for by regulatory documents.
In informal relationships, the emotional component prevails. There is no legal basis, the parties themselves choose the type of behavior and vary it depending on the reaction of another person.
The following classification comes down to personal and business relationships. When we interact with a person both in the professional sphere and outside it, we can notice that he makes a completely different impression at work and during a conversation after it.
The fact is that personal relationships can form our sympathy for the interlocutor, we are impressed with his views, words, appearance. But as a specialist, he is able to cause us frustration, or we may not work together with him as a colleague.
It is important to distinguish between selected styles of communication and not to try to judge the person through the combination of personal and business.
Emotional relationship bring feelings and experiences, and not only positive ones. If we quarrel with friends, this also applies to this type of relationship.
Building them is the choice of the person, he decides with whom his communication will be extremely emotional, and whom he considers only from the point of view of rational benefit.
Accordingly, as opposed to emotional, there are rational relationships, which are reduced to practical use.
A person is inclined to strive for equal positions with the interlocutor in communication - this is considered a guarantee of mutual understanding and a successful outcome of communication. In that case, we are talking about parity relationship.
But sometimes a hierarchy is built up in contacts: no working team could function effectively if they did not have a boss with a wider scope of authority.
Here comes into force subordinate communication Subordination in this situation is one of the necessary conditions for the preservation of relations and the elimination of the risk of their transition to other forms.
Structure
The unit of interpersonal communication is interconnection of peopleinvolved in the act of communication.
Not the person entering into this act, so the individual behavior undergoes changes when we begin to interact with someone. We focus on the reactions of our interlocutor and are able to vary their manifestations depending on the situation.
Interpersonal relationships consist of three components: cognitive (knowing what we like or dislike), affective (emotional experiences), behavioral (specific actions through which we build relationships).
Signs of
Signs of interpersonal relationships:
- duration of existence;
- dynamism, that is, the possibility of development, the transition from one level to another;
- feeling as a structural unit;
- the degree of disclosure of feelings and experiences.
Theory
To determine the content of interpersonal relationships, You need to consider the following parameters:
- distance between partners (referring to psychological - that you can afford with this person, in what style of communication);
- relationship assessment (positive, negative, neutral);
- partner positioning (presence or absence of hierarchy depends on this parameter);
- degree of acquaintance.
Levels and development plan
With every person we meet on our way, we enter into one or another type of relationship.
The choice of this type depends on the first impression: we, focusing on it, can feel antipathy towards a person only on the basis of his appearance. This is a kind of filter, which is not all.
Among levels interpersonal relationships can be distinguished:
- Acquaintance. The most common and most energy-intensive. Here it is enough just greetings or visual contact, there is no need to make an emotional contribution or in a special way to maintain relationships.
- Friendship built on the basis of mutual sympathy, mutual desire to communicate more often and at the same time receive positive emotions.
- Companionship they are based on joint activities, common goals and a common desired result.
- friendship - already a much more complex type of relationship. It can only continue if both parties do something to support it, are willing to sacrifice time and sometimes even their desires for the other. Friendship can be accompanied by conflicts, but those who value it will always find an effective way to solve a difficult situation.
- Love arises in relation to exceptional people and is capable of exerting the strongest influence on us, both positive and negative. Love can be for one person the most powerful motivator, and for another - a disorienting force.
One level may gradually move into another, and may remain unchanged for a long time.
With some people, for example, it is enough just to get acquainted, we don't want to let them get closer while others swiftly pass the whole staircase and become the closest and loved ones.
Empathy as a basis
The foundation of successful interpersonal relationships is empathy - empathy, the ability to understand the feelings of another person, "hear" his heart and soul.
Empathy can manifest itself in different ways: from affirmative nods with the head to the words “I understand you so well”, “It seems to me that I have experienced something similar.”
She allows her companion feel that you care.
Often empathy is needed in order to support a person in a difficult moment, to make him understand that he is not alone.
She is also lifeline in conflictwhen we just need to distract from our own motives and interests and remember that our opponent also feels something, perhaps even more negative and intense than ourselves.
Communication problems and culture
Difficulties in interpersonal relationships have a negative impact not only on the interaction of partners, but also on the identity of each of them.
Main problems can be described as:
- The language barrierwhich is not always formed in situations of interlocutors use of different languages. When people of different social or intellectual levels talk, this difficulty also makes itself felt.
- The influence of stereotypes. They interfere with the deep development of the communicative act, promote the use of ready-made thinking patterns, and labeling. Stereotypes about the interlocutor provoke an incorrectly chosen style of communication and, as a result, conflicts.
- Insubordination. Keeping distance is one of the most important rules of communication. By this we first of all express our respect for the interlocutor and demonstrate the inviolability of his personal boundaries. If we allow ourselves to be too familiar with the leadership, the interaction may come to a standstill even because the second side will not understand how to respond to your maneuvers.
- The manifestation of aggression. Its sources can be very different, but the most popular is the lack of understanding of each other by people. Different interpretation of the objectives, the use of incomprehensible terminology makes communication difficult and can provoke aggressive manifestations as a defense against all foreign and unknown.
To avoid these difficulties, it is necessary to maintain a culture of interpersonal relationships: respect the partner's opinion, be able to listen and hear, develop their communicative competence, and see in another an individual worthy of a unique approach.
Features of relations in the group
The most common interpersonal relationships are those in which groups and teams participate. Features of interpersonal relationships in groups and groups:
- Preschoolers. Until the child went to school, parents and relatives are significant others for him. Through them he learns the basic skills, norms and rules, forms his attitude to what is happening. It is important to bear in mind that children are subject to all the reactions of their elders, and these interpersonal relationships are important for them both in terms of receiving emotions and knowing what is going on around them.
- Teenagers. Interpersonal relationships and their construction become the leading activity in adolescence. With their help, a young man forms an idea of himself, finds friends and love. The importance of this sphere for a teenager determines his particular susceptibility to it. A teenager can be very upset if he is unable to communicate with his peers, who here, compared to the previous stage, become a more authoritative link than relatives.
- Family. The family as a small group has its own characteristics, and here first of all it is necessary to take into account the diversity of interpersonal relations: the spouse - spouse, the parents - the child. Difficulties in one subgroup affect another: if the parents quarrel among themselves, the child feels it either indirectly or directly because of the negative manifestations of the mother or father in his direction.
In this issue, the topic of constructive conflict resolution is especially actualized.
Diagnostic techniques
Techniques research and psychodiagnostics interpersonal relationships:
- monitoring group interaction;
- sociometry, designed to identify popular and unpopular group members;
- diagnostics of the style of conflict behavior;
- the study of personality traits that influence the construction of interpersonal relationships (California Psychological Questionnaire of Personality (CP) and T. Liri Method).
Interpersonal relationships - complex phenomenonA detailed analysis of which opens up new horizons and perspectives in his research.
Despite the fact that each of us interacts in everyday life, we cannot call this problem solved. We are able to formulate questions provoked by everyday practice and personal experience.
About interpersonal relationships in this video:
