How society influences the formation of personality. Herd instinct in everyday life. The influence of society on personal development

Man is a herd animal. He is unable to survive alone, his body is not designed for implementation of complete self-sufficiency and effective protection from external factors. Therefore, wanting to lead a normal, comfortable life, he is forced to look for ways to interact with other members of society. How does society influence its habits and character?

A long time ago

In ancient times, the human tribe was no different from a pack of animals. It also had leaders who led the rest, and outcasts who had a different appearance or character. The latter were treated in every possible way, humiliated, and bypassed during the division of booty and trophies. Of course, no one wanted to be on the list of expulsions, so everyone tried to be similar to each other, the same. This applied to both behavior and clothing or primitive jewelry-amulets.

Over time, this identification of “friend or foe” turned into a fashion, different for countries, classes, and religions. With the help of clothing, belonging to a profession, faith, political party, social movement. By changing clothes, you could become invisible in the camp of an enemy or competitor and learn about his plans.

The same applied to behavior. Peculiar greetings and addresses, various curtsies and expressive movements remarkably helped to recognize the origin of a person Defined system rituals are still inherent in every religion. And their non-compliance causes complaints from fellow tribesmen.

Modern society

Despite the general democratization, the growth of tolerance, the blurring of boundaries between peoples, society still requires a person to remain within the framework of a certain average picture of behavior. Of course, today you will no longer be burned at the stake for wearing an unusual outfit, but for failure to comply with the notorious dress code at work, you may be deprived of a bonus or given a reprimand. In this way, a certain control is carried out, an indication of the acceptable boundaries of individuality.

However, even today there are structures that require complete identity from their members. We are, of course, talking about the army and other special services. Working in them means almost complete renunciation of one’s self, strict compliance with requirements and adherence to rules governing speech, behavior and appearance.

We should not forget about countries professing Islam. They still adhere to certain rules when selecting clothes for women. A demonstrative refusal of them can bring serious problems and troubles.

In contrast to them Western countries moving away from the concept of “fashion”. Status clothing is practically not in demand there. Moreover, they blur the lines not only between classes and age groups, but also between genders. Comfortable unisex is gaining more and more fans, taking the concepts of “masculinity” and “femininity” into the past.

Psychological explanation

So, to this day, every person experiences a certain influence of the society in which he lives. In order not to be criticized and ostracized, he is forced to comply with the requirements of society. This forces him to hide some part of his individuality, adapting to the image that the majority wants to see. In return for such efforts on himself, he receives good attitude surrounding people, a certain portion of “affection” from them.

Refusal of such compromises leads to a wave of criticism aimed at returning the “lost sheep” to the fold. To listen to it or not is a decision that everyone makes independently. However, it is impossible to achieve success by giving up a full life in society in order to demonstrate your individuality. Therefore, a person striving for well-being will definitely find a way out and become more flexible in order to meet his own interests.

Most likely, a strong person will take into account only the criticism that comes from those whose lives are affected by his actions. Since the dissatisfaction of these people can result in certain troubles for her, she will adjust her behavior until an option is found that suits everyone. In this case, human egoism will be balanced by reasonable altruism.

Man is a creature with an animal essence and at the same time endowed with reason. This duality sometimes tears him apart, but it also helps him survive among his own kind. He manages to do this by finding a compromise between the desire to be himself, a bright individuality, and the requirements of the pack-society. This precarious balance is easily caught by those who listen to criticism, but only change external behavior, while remaining a whole person inside. Such flexibility turns out to be the key to success and universal respect.

IMPACT OF SOCIETY ON INDIVIDUALS AND INDIVIDUALS ON SOCIETY

Each person is connected to society by many threads. The material conditions of his life depend entirely on the level of development of the productive forces of society achieved in a given era. His spiritual interests, way of thinking, moral principles - all this is the result of social influence, everything bears the imprint of existing social orders and traditions (national or universal), formed by a long series of generations.

“If man is by nature a social being,” wrote K. Marx, “then he, therefore, can only develop his true nature in society, and the strength of his nature must be judged not by the strength of individual individuals, but by the strength of the entire society.” " The idea of the social origin of man and his unity with society is deeply expressed here. Man cannot express himself except through social activities. Moreover, his very essence is determined primarily by how fully he participates in the life of society, how deeply he is captured by the movement of history. V. Belinsky vividly said about this: “A living person carries the life of society in his spirit, in his heart, in his blood: he suffers from its ailments, suffers from its sufferings, blooms from its health, blissful from its happiness.”

Bearing in mind the social essence of a person, his relationship with society, we use the concept of personality.

Society in general and directly in particular surrounding a person the social environment has a decisive influence on the formation of his personality. But one cannot help but see feedback. Society is ultimately made up of many individuals. Every thing must be made by someone, every idea must mature in someone's head, every word must be spoken by someone. Social wealth and culture are created by the combined labor of individual people. The intensity and completeness of the life of society, the rate of its growth depend, on the one hand, on social order, and on the other hand, on the creative energy of its members, on the degree of development and application of their abilities to business, on their attitude to work and other moral qualities.

Thus, the relationship “personality - society” represents an interacting system, and the nature of the interaction here is exceptionally complex. Throughout the development of human civilization, this relationship has been the focus of philosophy and ethics, that is, the doctrine of morality, and has served as the subject of political discussions and one of the eternal themes of literature and art. The wide range of ethical views is closed by two extreme opinions: those who advocate the liberation of the individual from all responsibility to society, and those who advocate the complete subordination of the individual to society. Regardless of what political content is put into these demands, they are inhumane.

A person lives and develops in a society that determines his actions and aspirations. But often contradictions arise between the individual and the group within which he is forced to exist, which are very difficult to resolve. Is it possible to be a full-fledged part of society without losing your own individuality? Is it worth submitting to what others consider correct and the only possible? Is it possible to find inner harmony within the narrow framework of rules and conditions dictated by society? To answer these questions, many famous authors discussed how the problem of interaction between man and society is solved. In this collection, we have listed the most striking arguments from the literature illustrating the influence of the team on the individual.

In the drama A.N. Ostrovsky’s “The Thunderstorm”, the isolated city of Kalinov, closed in its limitations, lives according to patriarchal orders, many of which are quite dilapidated and outdated. However, the way of life and morals that prevail here exclude freedom of choice, forcing every resident to follow laws based on fear and deception. Katerina becomes the rebellious hero in the play, ready to fight with age-old inertia in order to win her right to love and freedom. In order to get rid of internal disharmony and find hope for happiness, she challenges conventions and Domostroevsky traditions. However, the heroine is not able to resist tyranny alone. Refusing to live in captivity, she chooses to die. In this case, the team, fearing change, brought the freedom-loving individual to the point of rebellion and despair.
Society dictates to a person rules of behavior and life attitudes, in which everyone needs to build their own model of behavior. But meeting narrow social standards for a freedom-loving and thinking person becomes an impossible task. In Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, society has long lost its originality and identity. This is a world of mechanical everyday life, entertainment and television series. In it, people live according to clearly established guidelines that exclude the possibility of abandoning the stereotype. Guy Montag is a fireman. His duties include conducting searches and burning books that catch his eye. But very soon he realizes that his life is a cold, mediocre existence, subject to absurd laws, devoid of thought and warmth. Montag enters into a struggle with his past existence, rebelling against the equalizing laws of the world, which he no longer wants to obey. Thus, an authoritarian society “squeezes out” disobedient members.
In the novel by I.S. Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons" the rebel hero - Evgeny Bazarov turns out to be alone in his loyalty to the ideas of nihilism. His harsh judgments and philosophy of universal denial frighten and irritate the older generation, brought up on traditional ideas about morality, culture and ethical standards. Bazarov is confident that outdated values, firmly entrenched in the consciousness and life of the generation of “fathers,” must be eradicated. He feels his inconsistency with the society in which he is forced to exist. Attempts at an unequal struggle doom the hero to loneliness and misunderstanding. The depth and originality of Bazarov’s personality do not correspond to the society of established age-old traditions, which he is trying to overthrow. In this example, the influence of society is expressed by the individual in the denial of social traditions and patterns, as such.
Contrast is a favorite technique of authors who want to show a sharp edge in a work. social conflict or a problem that is relevant to the reader. The confrontation between man and society is one of the cross-cutting themes of L.N.’s epic novel. Tolstoy's "War and Peace", which is considered one of the most ambitious books in the entire history of literature. The writer creates picturesque and largely ironic images of visitors to Anna Pavlovna Scherer's salon. High society in St. Petersburg is constrained by the framework of accepted behavior. Their dialogues, reasoning and thoughts are subject to habit, which has made them prim, vain and devoid of individuality. Serious socially significant topics are raised in the salon, which are twisted, distorted and simplified, turning into vulgar conversations and gossip about what is fashionable to discuss. Even patriotism for Anna Pavlovna lies only in the fact that she refuses on principle to speak French. For heroes who know the value of thought and words, staying in such living rooms turns into torture. So, society forces Bolkonsky to flee away from peaceful life and look for his place in the war. But the influence of society affected the goals that the hero initially set: he wanted glory at the cost of blood. This desire was skillfully imposed on him in idle chatter about the genius of Napoleon, who was extolled at court.
In A. Solzhenitsyn’s story “Matrenin’s Dvor,” the author depicts the life and customs of a patriarchal village, where everyone lives within the boundaries of an artificially created cozy little world, subordinated to personal interests and selfishness. And only a simple village woman, Matryona, devotes her entire life to serving and helping people, and suffering and numerous losses do not embitter her soul. She is not rich at all: she lovingly waters flowers in tubs, grows potatoes, takes care of a lame cat, and, of course, helps her neighbors who take advantage of her selflessness. With the death of the heroine, everything she created with such diligence collapses: her fellow villagers greedily discuss her life, divide her property, and take her belongings to pieces. Everyone cannot resist their primitive assessment: they laugh at Matryona, condemn her for her openness and sincerity. The world in which Matryona saw so much warmth and love turns out to be cruel and unfair towards her. But the heroine did not succumb to the corrupting influence of village morals and retained her individuality.
Is the price for human happiness high? Can it be measured by earthly goods and wealth? What is truly significant and valuable in life? In the story by I.A. Bunin's "Mr. from San Francisco" none of the characters asks such questions, because, in essence, the answer to each of them is obvious: the more money, the happier the person. The ship "Atlantis", on which the heroes travel, is a society of cynical, successful and, of course, rich people. At the center of the story is the image of a wealthy gentleman traveling with his family, who has devoted his life to savings, which allow him to acquire all the pleasures that money can buy. However, it turns out that there are things in the world that are not subject to purchase and sale relations. In the face of death, the master finds himself defenseless, abandoned to the mercy of fate, unnecessary at the merry festival of human vanity. The death of a hero, until recently respected by everyone, is perceived as an annoying nuisance. Society, of which just recently the gentleman considered himself a full member, renounces him. And the same ending awaits every person who has turned into a faceless “master” to please the collective, which turns its members into universal copies of each other.
“...People are like people. They love money, but that’s always been the case…” Woland says thoughtfully in M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita.” Indeed, no matter how long the human race has existed, its weaknesses are always the same: the thirst for money and recognition. The society on the pages of the novel is colorful in its primitiveness: members of the MASSOLIT writers' association engage in aimless graphomania, write mediocre poetry and dream of “sabbaticals.” And the spectators of the Variety Theater in a mad rush rush onto the stage in an attempt to catch the chervonets falling from the ceiling. All of them are mediocre and petty in their existence, subordinated to insignificant, material goals. This is the eternal mercantile essence of human nature, which is not subject to time and history. This society crushed all Muscovites under itself, and those who did not succeed were erased from life with the help of critics Latunsky and the like. Vulgar, philistine, false values were spread through the same MASSOLIT at the price of “perch a la naturel” and captured the minds of people, making them uniform and faceless.
Society can destroy a person. Can a person, challenging society, win? Hardly. In A. Kuprin’s story “Olesya,” the heroine is brought up far from a peasant village. She is not familiar with the life and customs of the people living there; their traditions and views are alien to her, just as prejudices are alien to her. She is free in her actions and decisions. Her love for a random guest, Ivan Timofeevich, is a simple and strong feeling that cannot be blocked in her natural world, living according to the law of nature. However, under the weight of superstitious prejudices and the unjustified anger of the peasants who do not accept the girl, the heroine is forced to surrender to circumstances and reject her lover.
In the comedy A.S. Griboyedov’s “Woe from Wit”, the society in which Chatsky finds himself hardly values the dignity of the individual, measuring each and every one solely by the size of their wallet. There are no ideas of nobility and duty here, there are only brilliant prospects and high positions. In the center of such a society, Alexander Chatsky turns out to be superfluous, ridiculed, because he pursues other goals, does not pursue rank and wealth. He challenges Famus society, despises Molchalin, who is ready to commit deception and hypocrisy for his own benefit. Chatsky refuses to accept life as others see it, remaining true to himself. He is incapable of lying and will pretend where it is necessary to tell the truth. Chatsky acutely feels the ugliness and limitations of people who until recently were dear to him, so he leaves Famusov’s house. Thus, the influence of society did not affect the hero; he managed to resist and save his personality from moral decline.
What makes a person give up his ideals, simplify his life to primitive joys and pleasures? Main character story by A.P. Chekhov's "Ionych" Dmitry Startsev, under the influence of society, which has defined the circle of his communication and interests, turns from a good-natured, active, sensitive person into a slow-moving, selfish, limited man in the street, whom his acquaintances at home call "Ionych". The narrow framework of the environment in which the hero is forced to live, his spiritual weakness and reluctance to act make him a shell character, a man without a name. He is forced to accept the purposelessness of his existence and live according to the conditions of that world, with which he did not find the strength to fight.

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The influence of society on personal development

Kvarchia Amir Rudolfovich– student of the Department of Industrial and Civil Engineering of Don State Technical University.

Annotation: This article reveals the concept of personality. The influence of society on a person is covered. The aspects of life that it regulates are given.

Keywords: Personality, life, influence, behavior, success.

When a baby is born, it already acquires the status of an individual. He also has his own individuality, but he becomes an individual only under the influence of society. Let's consider what role it plays in the development of a person's personality.

Personality is a phenomenon of the cultural revolution. The assumption that society has big influence on her, there is a place to be. Society, in a broad sense, is a part of the material world separated from nature, but closely connected with it, which includes individuals and the ways in which people interact. In a narrow sense, society is an association of people connected by a common social sign and general activities, relations in which are regulated by formal or informal social institutions.

A person spends his entire life in society. If this is a baby, then his first society is the parents who surround him and raise him. For a schoolchild, the circle of friends is already expanding. In addition to parents, communication groups such as classmates, friends, and peers appear. And with each period of a person’s life, the circle expands more and more.

Each society makes its contribution to the development of the individual.

A teacher at school, a deskmate, a teammate in the football section, a coach, and the list goes on and on. Every word can influence a person and change his attitude towards something. This is how consciousness and worldview are formed. Of course, not every opinion changes the idea of the world. Each word is interpreted by a person and goes through a series of internal mental filters, similar to the production of any product in a factory, and as a result, after going through a lot of mental processing, an established opinion emerges.

The individual is socialized. And the people who influence a person, whom we listed a little higher, are called agents of socialization.

The creator of the theory of psychoanalysis, Freud, believed that in anthropo-sociogenesis - the process of the emergence and development of man and society - main reason is biological. In his opinion, it is rooted in the decisive influence on a person of the unconscious principle, which lies in his psyche, instincts inherited from his ancestors. In turn, society, in order to protect against unwanted animal instincts, tries to create counterbalances, for example, in the form of moral norms and culture.

And yet, Freud believed, these unconscious biological instincts, primarily sexual, play a decisive role in human behavior.

Personality formation is a very complex and multifaceted process. It is influenced by many factors.

Social environment is main factor which influences personality, its development, formation individual qualities. Socialization begins in childhood, when approximately 70% of the human personality is formed.

Nowadays, society is a kind of cultural area, falling into which, the individual is attacked by opinions and assessments. There are many people who seek to impose their interests and their attitude towards something. Of course, you need to be able to resist this and, as mentioned above, build an internal system of mental “filters.”

Thus, we have examined how society influences personality and its development. In turn, the manifestation of personality also does not pass without leaving a trace on the person’s environment.

Bibliography

1. Fedoseenkov A.V. Social marginality: existential aspect: abstract. dis. Ph.D. Philosopher Sci. Rostov na/D., 1998. 24 p.
2. Bortsov Yu.S., Veselaya T.V., Drach G.V., Zaprudsky Yu.G., Konovalov V.N., Korolev V.K., Korotets I.D., Lubsky A.V., Fomina S.I., Fedoseenkov A.V., Chichina E.A., Shtompel L.A., Shtompel O.M. Man and society (cultural studies). – Dictionary-reference book / Rostov-on-Don, 1996.
Andreeva I.L. " Social Psychology"M., 1994
V.A. Goryanin “Psychology of Communication”, Academy, 2002.

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