A necessary condition and mandatory component of research activities is reflection. Currently, reflection is interpreted, on the one hand, as a process of comprehending something through study and comparison, on the other hand, as a principle of human thinking, directing it to comprehend and realize its own forms and prerequisites, thanks to which the appropriation of what is known becomes possible. The rational meaning of reflection in social cognition is also associated with the awareness of the hidden, implicit prerequisites of scientific knowledge.

Synthesizing various approaches to understanding reflection, it can be argued that in social cognition it is aimed, on the one hand, at a scientist’s understanding of his own research actions (internal reflection), on the other hand, at understanding the research actions of other scientists, representing a kind of reflection on reflection (external reflection). Internal reflection is associated with the formation of conscious constructive attitudes of a scientist in scientific research. Internal reflection, being a manifestation of a rational character cognitive activity, is associated with identifying the conditions for posing a scientific problem, understanding it, determining the purpose and objectives of the research, choosing its methodological foundations, and searching for methods for solving specific research problems. In this regard, internal reflection is inalienable from the practical scientific problem situation within which it arises (Fig. 1.1).

External reflection in social cognition is work with existing research practices associated with the production of new scientific knowledge. External reflection acts as a condition and means of critical analysis of research activities in social sciences Oh. This idea of ​​external reflection turns out to be associated with the image of specialized conceptual activity for the study of research practices from the standpoint of a certain ideal of research activity accepted in the scientific community. It follows that if internal reflection is an indicator of the scientific nature of social research, then external reflection is an indicator of the level of development of social sciences. In other words, the development of social sciences until a certain time may not involve external reflection. The need for it especially increases during a period of crisis.

Rice. 1.1.

social sciences or in a situation of intense competition between their research paradigms.

The importance of reflection in the social sciences is due to the fact that cognitive activity in them, as a rule, is formed on the basis of culturally and historically emerged and already proven scientific traditions, requirements, skills, techniques and methods scientific research. At the same time, it is constantly associated with the formulation of new problems, the search for new ways and means of studying social reality, with the development of more advanced means of scientific social research, and the formation of new ideas even in cases where a solution to the problem seemed to have already been found. Therefore, reflection in social research is an activity of a methodological nature, and cognitive activity in the social sciences undergoes constant changes, thanks to the innovative focus of their methodological searches.

The cognitive effectiveness of external and internal reflection in the social sciences depends on the level of development of methodological consciousness in them. Methodological consciousness in the social sciences constitutes the intellectual sphere in which the ways, means and forms of scientific knowledge production and its optimal organization are comprehended. Methodological consciousness is an ideal design of a scientist’s real research actions and a system of ideas formed on its basis about the cognitive strategy of social research, methods of its implementation and rational requirements for the final scientific result.

Methodological consciousness in the social sciences contains many interconnected heterogeneous components that ensure its cognitive effectiveness in particular cognitive situations. Two levels of methodological consciousness can be distinguished. First - experienced level - constitutes a set of substantive elements that were developed primarily by means of scientific intuition in the process of scientific research activities and comprehension of their results, enshrined in the form of the scientist’s direct methodological experience. The conceptual coherence of these elements is low and is based primarily on operational concepts. Second level of methodological consciousness covers many theoretically substantive elements that were developed during the development of the results professional activities, represented by methodological research in the social sciences. In methodological consciousness, they are fixed in mental structures, apperceptive forms, conceptual structures and theoretical models that generalize the experience of social research as a whole.

The mode of methodological consciousness is methodological knowledge, the referent of which is the practically identified and discretely recorded components of scientific research activity and the logic of its deployment. Methodological knowledge has a differentiated nature, determined by the fundamental ideas, principles and categories with the help of which it is systematized. As a result, theoretical systems of various conceptual content are constructed, which have a significant impact on the formation of styles of scientific thinking in the social sciences.

In real research practice, the methodological consciousness of a scientist includes elements formed on the basis, firstly, of the researcher’s personal cognitive experience; secondly, the group experience he has acquired, which was acquired as a result of the cognitive activity of the scientific community to which the scientist belongs; thirdly, the accumulated experience of social cognition, enshrined in paradigms scientific activity, tested by scientific practice and enshrined in certain models of social research.

In the process of social cognition, methodological consciousness, orienting and organizing scientific research activities, performs a design function, anticipating the upcoming cognitive actions of the researcher and deploying a system of cognitive operations aimed at interacting with the subject of research and resulting in scientific knowledge. The function of a scientist’s methodological consciousness is to control research activities from the standpoint of compliance of these activities with methodological standards accepted in the scientific community, as well as the authenticity of cognitive tools and their appropriateness.

Methodological knowledge is the result of a special methodological study. Its problems and focus largely depend on the understanding of the nature of methodological activity in the social sciences, i.e. those fundamental grounds that make it possible to distinguish it as a specific direction of scientific research. These foundations, which give the purposeful nature of methodological activity in the social sciences, are not in the activity itself, but in the sphere of ideas about its subject. It should be noted that understanding the nature of methodological activity in the social sciences is largely complicated by the fact that in scientific literature there are different interpretations of the concept itself methodology and, accordingly, different ideas about what the methodology of social sciences and the methodology of social research are.

Reflection is a quality inherent only to man, as a higher being, making him different from other living organisms. Philosophers, psychologists, and teachers are interested in this concept; they actively study this phenomenon, its significance for the human personality, and also look for ways to develop this quality in the individual independently.

The concept of reflection comes from the Latin reflecto, which means turning back, thinking. Such a phenomenon as reflection has many definitions, each of which is unique.

Reflection is a person’s ability to direct his own thoughts to his consciousness, the products of his behavioral activity, accumulated knowledge and skills, as well as to actions that have already been committed or are planned to be committed in the future. Simply put, reflection is the ability to look inside one’s own subconscious and evaluate one’s own patterns of behavior, emotional response to others, and decision-making. To reflect means to focus on one’s own “I” and comprehend its content.

Reflexivity is the ability of an individual to go beyond one’s own “I”, reflect, engage in introspection and draw appropriate conclusions from these reflections. Comparing one’s personality with others is the ability to critically and adequately look at oneself through someone else’s eyes, as if from the outside.

Now it becomes clear what reflection is, why it is needed and what can be achieved by developing this quality in oneself. Furious pace modern life leaves a person little time to think about his actions and understand his own inner world. Meanwhile, the ability to conduct introspection and reflect on one’s own mistakes is extremely important for the development of a full-fledged, self-sufficient personality. In the course of developing reflection skills, a person can learn to realize his uniqueness, difference from the people around him, and form his thoughts, goals and purpose in this world.

Concept in philosophy

Reflection in philosophy is the highest type of phenomenon, which includes reflection on the foundations of human culture and the original design of human existence.

Socrates argued that reflection is the main possible means of self-knowledge and self-improvement of a person; it is the ability to evaluate one’s thoughts and actions critically that distinguishes a person, as a higher being, from all other creatures inhabiting the planet. It is thanks to the ability to reflect that a person has the opportunity to progress, free himself from prejudices, obsessive thoughts, mistakes and misconceptions.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote in his writings that reflection is a quality inherent in to a reasonable person, distinguishing him from an animal and giving him the opportunity not only to know, but also to realize this knowledge.


Ernst Cassirer argued that reflection is given to a person to isolate the most important points among other “garbage” in the depths of the subconscious and sensory phenomena, and to concentrate on the main points.

Psychological concept

Reflection in psychology is a form of self-analysis, and therefore plays a major role in the science of a person’s ability to access his subconscious, analyzing thoughts, actions and goals.

The first who proposed to bring reflection into independent concept, was A. Busemann. Reflection according to Busemann is the transfer of a person’s emotional experiences from outside world to the inner world, that is, inside one’s “I”. In 1920, he began the study of personal reflection, through experiments, through an empirical study of self-consciousness, a group of adolescent people.

The works of L. Rubinstein say that the ability to reflect is a person’s ability to realize the boundaries of his “I”. He argued that without this quality the development of a full-fledged, mature personality is impossible.

A reflexive act is a person’s ability to stop the flow of his own thought processes and switch from automatic thinking to awareness of his mental and spiritual inner world. As a result of such actions, the individual acquires the opportunity not only to think, analyze, reflect, but also to simply live.

What can reflective activity or reflection give a person:

  • assessing one’s own thoughts, as if from the outside, for their consistency, logic, and validity;
  • clearing your own consciousness of useless and unnecessary thoughts;
  • transformation hidden possibilities into obvious and fruitful ones, for deep self-knowledge;
  • assessing your own behavior patterns in various situations;
  • choosing a clear life position instead of indecision and hesitation.

Thus, through the presence of such a quality as reflection, a person can grow in understanding of his own “I”, master self-control and move towards dramatic changes.

A person with a low ability to reflect every day commits a number of the same erroneous actions automatically. R. Einstein believed that doing the same erroneous actions every day and at the same time expecting different results is the path to madness. After all, without the ability to analyze one’s own personality (reflection), disruptions in thought processes will accumulate over time and grow, like a snowball.

Role in psychological practice

A psychologist who uses the method of reflection while working with a patient helps him look into the depths of his consciousness and explore his inner “I”. If the work is carried out methodically and successfully, a person learns to have the ability to analyze his own thoughts, actions and goals, and begins to better understand himself. Using the reflexive method (reflection), the psychologist directs the patient to make the only correct decision, in thinking and searching for a way out of the problem situation, using an orientation inside his own personality.

Analyzing a specific situation from which a person is looking for a way out, the psychologist helps him in understanding the following points:

  • what exactly are the sensations and emotional experiences is experienced by the patient at this stage;
  • what place in the subconscious does he consider weak and vulnerable, that is, affected by the external situation;
  • how to use the difficulties brought by a problematic situation and turn them in the other direction, benefiting from it for yourself.

The essence of a psychologist’s work with the reflexive method (reflection) is determined by directing the patient to independently search for answers to complex questions and ways out of problematic situations.

There are several parts of one’s own “I” that the patient begins to realize with the help of a psychologist:

In their work, psychologists use three methods (varieties) of reflexivity:

  1. Situational. Allows the individual to penetrate deeply into the root of the situation and critically evaluate all possible nuances of what is happening.
  2. Sanogenic reflection. Allows you to regulate your own manifestations of emotions, blocking difficult, unnecessary experiences and thoughts in your mind.
  3. Retrospective. Allows a person to look back, analyze mistakes made in the past, and gain new useful experience.

Psychologists working with the reflective method (reflection) argue that this best way creating harmony in the consciousness of the individual and self-improvement. With the help of reflection, a person learns to “collect” vague and incomprehensible thoughts in the depths of the subconscious, transforming them into successful ideas that help achieve success and well-being.

Reflection gives a person the opportunity not only to know his inner world, but also to see from the outside how others perceive him, and also to recognize his ideal self (the way a person dreams of becoming).

Types of reflection

Traditionally in psychology, reflection is divided into several types:

  1. Communicative – acts as a mechanism for cognition of surrounding people, and the objects of this type of reflection are the actions, behavioral patterns and reactions of another person. The reasons for actions taken give insight into the inner world of strangers.
  2. Personal. The object of knowledge is the personality of the person himself, his own behavior, actions, attitude towards people around him and himself are assessed.
  3. Intellectual - develops in the course of solving problems of various directions. With the help of this type of reflection, a person learns to return again and again to the conditions of the task, looking for best options its resolutions, more suitable and rational.

Other researchers identify several more types of reflection: philosophical, psychological, social and scientific. Reflection in philosophy and psychology were discussed above. We need to talk in more detail about the following two types of reflection:

Reflection should not be confused with self-awareness, although the concepts are very similar. Self-awareness is an individual’s understanding of his actions, thoughts and feelings, coming through culture, feeling own body, through the rules and norms of behavior formed by society, as well as through communication and interaction in the social environment (with surrounding people). That is, life itself teaches a person to exercise self-control, evaluate his actions, their consistency and logic, and also take responsibility for his actions.

How to develop quality in yourself

To master reflection skills (and almost anyone can do this), you can use the following methods:

  • analyze completed actions, especially after making important decisions;
  • try to give yourself an adequate assessment;
  • think and evaluate your own actions through the eyes of other people, drawing adequate conclusions from this and gaining valuable life experience;
  • You need to end your working day by mentally analyzing all the episodes, including those that brought satisfaction. It is better to evaluate unsuccessful episodes with your eyes stranger;
  • regularly check whether the opinion about a person formed in the mind coincides with what actually exists;
  • communicate more with those people who have an opposite point of view on things, this will make it possible to activate the ability to develop reflection through understanding the other person.

By developing reflexive skills (reflection), every person, after six months, will be able to notice changes in himself - to see the ability to understand not only himself, but also those around him, to predict the actions and thoughts of strangers. It will bring large mass positive energy, because nothing contributes more to the development of a harmonious and self-sufficient personality than the ability to understand oneself and others, as well as control what is happening through communication and self-improvement.

Reflection is understood as a skill that allows you not only to control the direction of attention, but also to be aware of your own thoughts, sensations and general state. Thanks to reflection, a person has the opportunity to observe himself from the outside and see himself through the eyes of the people who surround him. Reflection in psychology implies any efforts of the individual aimed at self-analysis. They can manifest themselves in assessing their actions, thoughts and current events. The depth of reflection will depend on how educated a person is and how to control himself.

Psychological content

Reflection in psychology occupies an important place in the integral structure of personality, as evidenced by a wide range of features and its versatility. Similar processes occur in almost every area of ​​psychological activity.

Reflection in thinking is proof that a person can control his thoughts and actions, and his mental activity is productive.

Philosophical aspect

Many philosophers are confident that reflection in psychology is one of the sources of knowledge. Its subject becomes the thought itself. For the mechanism to work effectively, objectification must be present. It is necessary to compare the results with the methods and process of reflective representation.

The role of this phenomenon

Reflection is necessary so that a person has the opportunity to establish and regulate adequate requirements for himself, which are based on criteria established from the outside and the specifics of the object itself. The concept of reflection in psychology makes it possible to perform introspection, introspection and self-reflection.

Types of reflection

Due to the fact that experts cannot come to a unified approach to studying this phenomenon, there are several types and classifications:

  • Cooperative. In this case, reflection is understood as the “liberation” of the subject and his “exit” to a new position in relation to past activities. The emphasis is on results, rather than on the procedural subtleties of the mechanism.
  • Communicative. Reflection is the most important component of the harmonious development of communication and interpersonal perception. This indicator is most often used to resolve issues that are related to problems of perception and empathy in communication between people. The functions of the phenomenon in this case are as follows: regulatory, cognitive and developmental. They are expressed in a change in ideas about the object to ones that are more adequate in a given situation.
  • Personal. Gives you the opportunity to study your own actions, analyze images and inner “I”. It is used in cases where there is self-disintegration of the personality, correction of self-awareness and the construction of a new “I” are required.
  • Intelligent. The object is knowledge related to a certain subject and ways of interacting with it. This type of reflection is used in engineering and
  • Existential. The object is the deep meanings of the individual.
  • Sanogenic. The main function is considered to be the regulation of emotional states and the reduction of suffering and anxiety.
  • Reflection refers to a complex system of relationships that arise in the process of interaction between individuals.

Forms of the phenomenon

It is customary to consider reflection in three main forms, which differ depending on the functions that are performed:

  • Situational. It ensures the subject’s involvement in what is happening and encourages him to analyze and comprehend “here and now.”
  • Retrospective. Used to evaluate actions and events that have already occurred. This form is necessary for structuring and better assimilation of experience, awareness of one’s own mistakes and weaknesses. By using retrospective reflection, you can identify the reasons for your failures and defeats.
  • Promising. Used to think about future activities, it involves planning and identifying constructive ways of influencing.

Why reflection is useful

Experts are confident that it is reflection in psychology that is considered the generator of new ideas. It allows you to build a realistic picture and process the information received. As a result of self-analysis, a person changes and improves himself. The reflexive mechanism allows you to transform implicit thoughts into explicit ones and gain deeper knowledge.

This phenomenon concerns all spheres of human life, including professional. The concept of reflection in psychology is necessary in order to learn to take control of your own life and not go with the flow. People who are not familiar with this phenomenon do not know how to organize their actions and clearly understand where they need to move next.

It is very important not to confuse reflection with self-awareness. It implies self-orientation. Reflection focuses attention on what has already happened. It is necessary for every person, especially those people who are engaged in intellectual work and have interpersonal contact and group relationships.

How to train and develop reflection

It has long been no secret that reflection, which helps to develop it, is very important; it must be done regularly, only then will it bring results. This will help change better side and learn to adequately perceive your own actions and thoughts.

  • Action analysis. After making decisions or difficult situations, you need to think about your actions and look at yourself from the outside. It is necessary to think that perhaps there was another way out, more successful under the circumstances. You also need to analyze what conclusions can be drawn and what mistakes should not be repeated next time. This will help you understand what reflection is in psychology. The examples may be different, but the purpose of the exercises is the same: to realize the fact of your own uniqueness and be able to control your actions.
  • Assessment of the past day. A person should make it a habit at the end of each day to analyze all events and mentally “run through” the episodes that occurred in his memory. You should concentrate on those that cause a feeling of dissatisfaction. It is worth looking at them through the eyes of a disinterested observer, perhaps this will help identify your own shortcomings.
  • Communication with people. Social reflection in psychology, it means communicating with people and constantly improving one’s own. Periodically, it is necessary to compare the opinion about a person that has developed with reality. For open people this will not be a problem, but a closed person will have to work more on himself.

It is worth expanding your circle of acquaintances and communicating with people who have a separate and radically different point of view. Attempts to understand such a person force reflection to become more active. This makes the mind more flexible and the vision broader. As a result of this exercise, a person will learn to make balanced and informed decisions, as well as see different ways to solve a problem.

Social reflection in psychology is a rather powerful weapon that helps to better understand oneself and other people. Over time, the ability to predict other people's thoughts and predict actions appears.

Signs of reflection

Psychologists identify several fundamental signs of such a phenomenon as reflection:

  • Depth. It is characterized by the degree of penetration into the inner world of a person, which already contains the worlds of other people.
  • Vastness. This metric reflects the number of people whose worlds are being considered.

What processes is reflection associated with?

The ability to regulate, control and manage your thinking is impossible without processes such as assessment.

With the help of analysis, you can break all the information into blocks and structure it. No less important is the identification of the main thing and the establishment of relationships with the secondary. Synthesis helps to combine all the elements and get a whole new object. Evaluation provides an opportunity to determine the importance of the material and the goal itself. The criteria may vary and are determined depending on the current situation.

Types of hearing

Not every person knows what the main meaning is and what this definition contains. Reflection in psychology is the ability to manage oneself. Listening can help develop this skill:

  • consists of active silence. The technique involves encouraging phrases and gestures, as well as those that will encourage the person to open up.
  • Reflective listening is feedback with the one who speaks. This can be achieved using the following techniques: clarification, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings and summarizing.

UDC 316.61

Boldyreva I. N. Social Reflection - the Basis of Personality’s Socialization Mechanism

Abstract ♦ The article is devoted to the socio-philosophical study of the socialization of the individual through the mechanism of reflection, which is implemented in the system of social relations and regulates social processes.

According to the author, social reflection is the basis for a person’s manifestation of independence and activity in the process of acquiring knowledge and experience in relationships with other subjects. The article shows that reflection makes it possible to create conditions for the development of the subject, including the socialization of the individual. Reflection is an essential basis, without which any socio-humanitarian knowledge cannot be understood and analyzed.

Keywords: socialization, social reflection, mechanism of socialization, creativity personality, development of the subject.

Abstract♦ The article discusses the social philosophical research into socialization of the personality through the reflection mechanism which is implemented in the system of social relations and regulates social processes.

According to the author, the social reflection is the basis for the manifestation of personal independence and activity while acquiring knowledge and life experience in relationships with other subjects. The article shows that reflection allows to create conditions for the development of the subject, including the socialization of the individual. Reflection is an essential foundation, without which it is impossible to understand and analyze any social and humanities knowledge.

Keywords: socialization, social reflection, socialization mechanism, creative potential of the personality, development of the subject.

The study of the phenomenon of socialization is carried out by socio-humanitarian sciences: sociology, philosophy, psychology, pedagogy and others. Personality socialization is one of the main categories of social cognition, the relevance of which becomes even more significant over time. Within the framework of philosophy, the problem of socialization is defined at the intersection of the philosophy of childhood and the philosophy of culture. By the end of the 20th century. The definition of socialization has extended to adulthood, as well as old age, because the problem of including these age stages into society can be conflicting and carries many contradictions. By the middle of the 20th century. this problem has turned into an independent interdisciplinary area of ​​research, where the leading mechanism is social reflection.

A person is formed as a personality and subject of activity in the process of socialization. Since man is a social creature, from birth he is already surrounded by his own kind and included in social connections. A person gains initial communication experience in his family even before he begins to speak. It is in the family that the basic principles of a person’s personality are laid. Subsequently, as an element of society, a person constantly receives subjective experience, which becomes an inseparable component of his personality. Mastering this experience is individual: the assessment of identical social situations can be ambiguous. Individuals derive different social experiences from identical circumstances, which manifests itself in another process - individualization. By individualization we mean the process of development of a specific personality.

When considering the problem of personality development, the correlation between individualization and socialization of a person causes controversy. Some researchers believe that individualization of a person is a negative feature that must be compensated for by the process of socialization, while others argue that socialization makes it difficult to reveal a person’s creative potential. We share the following point of view of the Russian psychologist and public figure A. A. Rean: “Socialization is not the antithesis of individualization, the process of socialization does not lead to the leveling of a person’s personality and individuality. Rather, on the contrary, in the process of socialization and social adaptation a person acquires his individuality, but most often in a complex and contradictory way. <…>…the assimilation of social experience, which underlies the process of socialization, also becomes a source of individualization of the personality, which not only subjectively learns this experience, but also actively recycles it" (Rean, 2013: 15; emphasis in italics and bold by the author. - I.B.).

In our opinion, socialization is the process of an individual’s assimilation of social norms, knowledge, and values ​​accepted in a given society through upbringing and education.

Let us note that for social philosophy, the socialization of the individual is a significant problem of interaction between the individual and society. The socio-philosophical aspect of the study of socialization involves its comparison with the social whole, clarifying the main content. A person is realized as a social subject in interaction with other subjects through the process of socialization.

Simultaneously with socialization, the process of assimilation of cultural elements by a person occurs. If socialization is the acquisition of social experience, then enculturation is “the process of an individual’s assimilation of universal human culture and historically established methods of action,” which reflect the spiritual and material results of human functioning in different eras (see: Maklakov, 2003: 485–486).

Let us note that socialization is a multifunctional process, and inculturation is a culturally distinctive process. Consequently, there is no identity between these concepts. Often we observe a lag of one process from another. Thus, successful socialization does not always indicate the necessary level of enculturation, and the successful assimilation of a culture by a person does not mean the presence of a certain social experience.

As E. A. Martynova writes, socio-humanitarian sciences study socialization as the process of the next generation mastering the experience of the spiritual and material culture of their nation (Martynova, 2010). Also, socialization refers to the inclusion of the next generation in social communications. Socialization occurs throughout almost the entire life of an individual, but the highest level of socialization proper refers to the period of childhood and adolescence. It is interesting that the process of socialization occurs continuously and does not end even in adulthood. Personal socialization refers to a procedure with an uncertain end, although with a clearly defined goal. Therefore, socialization is never complete, but it is never complete. The subject is a member of his community, actively socializing through activities. The social life of individuals and groups occurs within the boundaries of a particular society, which both creates eventuality for their interrelation and limits them.

Socialization is a process, the influence of which is experienced by the individual and the subjects socializing him. In addition, a person does not passively reproduce what society dictates to him. He always has a choice, showing his creative reflexive potential, influences the spheres of social life through activity.

The evolution of man as a social subject is a complex process and has its own specificity in different time periods, but there is also general characteristics. The content of socialization is determined, on the one hand, by the totality of social influences realized through certain reflexive mechanisms, and on the other hand, by the individual’s attitude to all this.

The mechanism of socialization is reflexively connected with internal dialogue, in which a person analyzes, calculates, and comes to an adequate decision. This is the basis for social adjustment of understanding, that is, a person’s awareness of the ways in which he interacts with others. The sociocultural meanings of reality, changed under the influence of a reflexive analysis of social patterns, make it possible to outline new guidelines for the formation of oneself as an individual (Topolskaya, 2014).

Socialization of the subject occurs both with the help of the above mechanisms and with the help of specific means.

Cognition, communication, and activity in general ensure the gradual initialization of the subject to numerous types of relationships in different spheres of his life. This consolidates the strategy and tactics of a person’s behavior in society, and also shows his attitude towards other people.

The social evolution of the individual serves as a means and at the same time is the result of socialization. The purpose of socialization is determined by its significance for the reproduction of the subject of the socio-historical process, in maintaining the sustainable existence of society as an integral system by adapting the individual to the social environment.

Social experience is transmitted through education and training, socializing the subject and fitting him into the structure of society. K. V. Sergeev wrote about what knowledge a subject needs and what abilities should be revealed in him as a result of socialization. He noted that a special type of socializing knowledge is knowledge about the interactions of the individual, the universe and society, knowledge about the tools of reflection, which allows both to understand other people’s experience and to be able to interpret non-standard life situations. It is this type of reflection that makes it possible to carry out social innovations and theoretically work out one’s own line of behavior in certain social connections and relationships (Sergeev, 2003).

We can conclude that reflection is a process through which any development occurs: systems of thinking, activity, personality and its interaction with society. As a consequence of this, new research models of social space are emerging (Shchedrovitsky, 2005).

Thus, social reflection represents the basis for a mechanism that promotes the manifestation of independence and activity in a person in the process of mastering knowledge, in mastering the experience of activity, in relationships with other subjects. Social reflection encourages a person to self-realization, to the desire to make free choice, to comprehend the values ​​and norms of society. It is the basis that creates the conditions through which any development of the subject occurs, including the socialization of the individual.

REFERENCES

Maklakov, A. G. (2003) General psychology: textbook for universities. St. Petersburg : Peter. 592 pp.

Martynova, E. A. (2010) Philosophy in the system of humanitarian knowledge // Humanities and education. No. 2 (2). pp. 60–62.

Rean, A. A. (2013) Personality psychology. St. Petersburg : Peter. 288 p. (Series “Masters of Psychology”).

Sergeev, K. V. (2003) “Peripheral knowledge” in the discourse of creativity: social media interesting // POLIS. Political studies. No. 1. pp. 50–62.

Topolskaya, E. A. (2014) Stages of development of socio-cultural reflection // Education and Society. No. 1 (84). pp. 60–67.

Reflection has always attracted the attention of thinkers since the times of ancient philosophy, in particular Aristotle defined reflection as “ thinking-oriented thinking" This phenomenon of human consciousness is studied from various angles by philosophy, psychology, logic, pedagogy, etc.

Reflection(from Late Lat. reflexio- turning back) is one of the types of acts of human consciousness, namely an act of consciousness directed towards one’s knowledge.

Reflection is also often associated with introspection. One of the founders of the method of introspection, the English philosopher J. Locke believed that there are two sources of all human knowledge: the first is objects of the external world; the second is the activity of one's own mind.

People direct their external senses to objects in the external world and, as a result, receive impressions (or ideas) about external things. The activity of the mind, to which Locke included thinking, doubt, faith, reasoning, knowledge, desires, is cognized with the help of a special internal feeling - reflection. Reflection, according to Locke, is “the observation to which the mind subjects its activities.” He pointed to the possibility of “doubling” the psyche, distinguishing two levels in it: the first - perception, thoughts, desires; the second is observation or contemplation of the structures of the first level. In this regard, introspection is often understood as a method of studying the properties and laws of consciousness using reflexive observation. In other words, any reflection that is aimed at studying the patterns inherent in the psyche of each person is introspection, and in turn, individual introspection, which does not have such a goal, is only reflection.

In Russian psychology, almost all authors of existing psychological concepts touched upon the issues of reflection. Currently, traditions of studying reflexive processes in certain areas of psychology are emerging. To reveal the psychological content of various phenomena, reflection is considered within the framework of research approaches:

  • Awareness (Vygotsky L.S., Gutkina N.I., Leontyev A.N., Pushkin V.N., Semenov I.N., Smirnova E.V., Sopikov A.P., Stepanov S.Yu., etc.) ;
  • Thoughts (Alekseev N.G., Brushlinsky A.V., Davydov V.V., Zak A.Z., Zaretsky V.K., Kulyutkin Yu.N., Rubinshtein S.L., Semenov I.N., Stepanov S.Y. . etc.);
  • Creativity (Ponomarev Ya.A., Gadzhiev Ch.M., Stepanov S.Yu., Semenov I.N., etc.),
  • Communications (Andreeva G.M., Bodalev A.A., Kondratieva S., etc.);
  • personality (Abulkhanova-Slavskaya K.A., Antsyferova L.I., Vygotsky L.S., Zeigarnik B.V., Kholmogorova A.B., etc.).

L.S. Vygotsky, for example, believed that “new types of connections and correlations of functions presuppose as their basis reflection, reflection of one’s own processes in consciousness.”

The psychological concept in which reflection plays a leading role in human self-determination is the subject-activity approach of S.L. Rubinstein He emphasized that “the emergence of consciousness is associated with the separation from life and direct experience of reflection on the world around us and on yourself."

With the concepts " reflection" And " self-awareness» S.L. Rubinstein connected the definition of personality. Giving various definitions of personality, he pointed out: “Personality in its real existence, in its self-consciousness is what a person, realizing himself as a subject, calls his “I.” “I” is the personality as a whole, in the unity of all aspects of existence, reflected in self-consciousness... As we see, a person is not born as a personality; he becomes a person. Therefore, in order to understand the path of his development, a person must consider it in a certain aspect: what was I? - what did I do? - who have I become? All three positions of “I”, which are at the center of understanding S.L.’s personality. Rubinstein are undoubtedly reflexive. In this concept, reflection not only has the functions of analyzing what was, but also represents the reconstruction and design of one’s “I”, life path and ultimately - human life.

According to Ya.A. Ponomarev, reflection is one of the main characteristics of creativity. A person becomes an object of control for himself, from which it follows that reflection, like a “mirror” reflecting all the changes occurring in him, becomes the main means of self-development, a condition and method of personal growth.

Among modern developers of the theory of reflexive activity, it should be noted A.V. Karpova, I.N. Semenov and S.Yu. Stepanova.

In the approach of A.V. Karpov’s reflexivity acts as a meta-ability that is part of the cognitive substructure of the psyche, performing a regulatory function for the entire system, and reflexive processes as “ third order processes"(considering cognitive, emotional, volitional, motivational processes of the first order, and synthetic and regulatory processes of the second order). In his concept, reflection is the highest degree of integration process; it is at the same time a way and a mechanism for the mental system to go beyond its own limits, which determines the plasticity and adaptability of the individual.

A.V. Karpov writes:

“The ability to reflect can be understood as the ability to reconstruct and analyze what is understood in in a broad sense a plan for constructing one’s own or someone else’s thoughts; as the ability to highlight its composition and structure in this regard, and then objectify them, work them out in accordance with the goals set.”

In this approach, reflection is a synthetic mental reality, which is simultaneously a process, a property and a state. Regarding this, A.V. Karpov notes:

“Reflection is at the same time a property uniquely inherent only to a person, and a state of awareness of something, and the process of representing one’s own content to the psyche.”

Reflection functions

Reflection performs certain functions. Availability:

  • allows a person to consciously plan, regulate and control his thinking (connection with self-regulation of thinking);
  • allows you to evaluate not only the truth of thoughts, but also their logical correctness;
  • reflection allows you to find answers to problems that cannot be solved without its use.

In the works of A.V. Karpova, I.N. Semenov and S.Yu. Stepanov describes quite a few types of reflection.

S.Yu. Stepanov and I.N. Semenov is distinguished by the following types reflections and areas of its scientific research:

  • Cooperative reflection is directly related to management psychology, pedagogy, design, and sports. Psychological knowledge of this type of reflection ensures, in particular, the design of collective activity and cooperation of joint actions of subjects of activity. At the same time, reflection is considered as the “release” of the subject from the process of activity, his “exit” to an external, new position both in relation to previous, already completed activities, and in relation to the future, projected activity in order to ensure mutual understanding and consistency of actions in conditions joint activities. With this approach, the emphasis is placed on the results of reflection, and not on the procedural moments of the manifestation of this mechanism;
  • Communicative reflection - is considered in socio-psychological and engineering-psychological studies in connection with the problems of social perception and empathy in communication. It acts as the most important component of developed communication and interpersonal perception, which is characterized by A.A. Bodalev as a specific quality of cognition of a person by a person.

Communication aspect reflection has a number of functions:

  • cognitive;
  • regulatory;
  • development function.

These functions are expressed in a change in ideas about another subject to ones that are more adequate for a given situation; they are actualized when there is a contradiction between ideas about another subject of communication and his newly revealed individual psychological traits.

Personal reflection examines the subject’s own actions, images of his own “I” as an individual. It is analyzed in general and pathopsychology in connection with the problems of development, decay and correction of the individual’s self-awareness and the mechanisms of constructing the subject’s self-image.

Several stand out stages of personal reflection:

  • experiencing a dead end and understanding a task or situation as unsolvable;
  • testing personal stereotypes (patterns of action) and discrediting them;
  • rethinking personal stereotypes, problem-conflict situations and oneself in it anew.

The process of rethinking is expressed, firstly, in a change in the subject’s attitude towards himself, towards his own “I” and is realized in the form of appropriate actions, and, secondly, in a change in the subject’s attitude towards his knowledge and skills. At the same time, the experience of conflict is not suppressed, but intensifies and leads to the mobilization of the resources of the “I” to achieve a solution to the problem.

At a glance Yu.M. Orlova, the personal type of reflection has the function of self-determination of the individual. Personal growth, the development of individuality, as a superpersonal formation, occurs precisely in the process of awareness of meaning, which is realized in a specific segment of the life process. The process of self-knowledge, in the form of comprehension of one’s self-concept, including the reproduction and comprehension of what we do, why we do it, how we do it and how we treated others, and how they treated us and why, through reflection leads to the justification of the personal right to changing a given model of behavior or activity, taking into account the characteristics of the situation.

Intelligent reflection - its subject is knowledge about the object and ways of acting with it. Intellectual reflection is considered primarily in connection with the problems of organizing cognitive processes of information processing and developing learning tools for solving standard problems.

Recently, in addition to these four aspects of reflection, the following have been distinguished:

  • existential;
  • cultural;
  • sanogenic.

Object of study existential reflections are the deep, existential meanings of the individual.

Reflection resulting from exposure emotiogenic situations leading to the experience of fear of failure, feelings of guilt, shame, resentment, etc., leading to a decrease in suffering from negative emotions, determined by Yu.M. Orlov as sanogenic. Its main function is to regulate human emotional states.

N.I. Gutkina during experimental study identifies the following types of reflection:

  • Logical- reflection in the field of thinking, the subject of which is the content of the individual’s activity.
  • Personal- reflection in the area of ​​the affective-need sphere, is associated with the processes of development of self-awareness.
  • Interpersonal- reflection in relation to another person, aimed at studying interpersonal communication.

Domestic scientists S.V. Kondratyeva, B.P. Kovalev distinguishes the following types of reflection: in the processes of pedagogical communication:

  • Social-perceptual reflection, the subject of which is the rethinking, re-checking by the teacher of his own ideas and opinions that he formed about students in the process of communicating with them.
  • Communicative reflection - consists in the subject’s awareness of how he is perceived, evaluated, and treated by others (“I am through the eyes of others”).
  • Personal reflection - understanding one’s own consciousness and one’s actions, self-knowledge.

E.V. Lushpayeva describes her type as “reflection in communication", which represents " complex system reflexive relationships that arise and develop in the process of interpersonal interaction.”

  • personal-communicative reflection (reflection of “I”);
  • social-perceptual (reflection of the other “I”);
  • reflection of the situation or reflection of the interaction.

The most common ways of reflection are expressions of confidence, assumptions, doubts, and questions. At the same time, all types of reflection are activated under the condition of creating an attitude to observe and analyze one’s own cognition, behavior and understanding of this behavior by others.

Levels of reflection. A.V. Karpov identified different levels of reflection depending on the degree of complexity of the reflected content:

  • Level 1 - includes a person’s reflexive assessment of the current situation, assessment of his thoughts and feelings in this situation, as well as assessment of behavior in the situation of another person;
  • Level 2 involves the subject constructing a judgment regarding what another person felt in the same situation, what he thought about the situation and about the subject himself;
  • Level 3 involves imagining another person's thoughts about how he is perceived by the subject, as well as imagining how another person perceives the subject's opinion of himself;
  • The 4th level contains the idea of ​​another person’s perception of the subject’s opinion about another person’s thoughts about the subject’s behavior in a given situation.

Forms of reflection

Reflection on the subject’s own activity is considered in three main forms depending on the functions it performs in time: situational, retrospective and prospective reflection.

Situational reflection appears in the form of “motivations” and “self-assessments” and ensures the subject’s direct involvement in the situation, comprehension of its elements, analysis of what is happening in at the moment, i.e. reflection is carried out “here and now”. The subject's ability to correlate his own actions with the objective situation, coordinate, and control elements of activity in accordance with changing conditions is considered.

Retrospective reflection serves to analyze and evaluate activities already performed, events that took place in the past. Reflective work is aimed at a more complete awareness, understanding and structuring of the experience gained in the past; the prerequisites, motives, conditions, stages and results of activity or its individual stages are affected. This form can serve to identify possible mistakes and search for the reasons for your own failures and successes.

Promising reflection includes thinking about the upcoming activity, an idea of ​​the progress of the activity, planning, choosing the most effective ways, designed for the future.

The subject of activity can be represented either by an individual or by a group.

Based on this, I.S. Ladenko describes intrasubjective and intersubjective forms of reflection.

In within subject forms distinguish:

  • corrective;
  • electoral;
  • complementary.

Corrective reflection acts as a means of adapting the chosen method to specific conditions.

Through electoral reflection involves choosing one, two or more ways to solve a problem.

By using complementary reflection makes the chosen method more complex by adding new elements to it.

Intersubjective forms presented:

  • cooperative;
  • adversarial;
  • counteracting reflection.

Cooperative reflection ensures the unification of two or more subjects to achieve a common goal.

Adversarial reflection serves the self-organization of subjects in conditions of their competition or rivalry.

Opposing reflection is a means of struggle between two or more subjects for dominance or conquest of something.

Academician M.K. Tutushkina reveals the meaning of the concept of reflection, based on the nature of its functions - constructive And control. From the position of the constructive function, reflection is the process of searching and establishing mental connections between the existing situation and the worldview of the individual in a given area; activation of reflection to include it in the processes of self-regulation in activity, communication and behavior. From the perspective of the control function, reflection is the process of establishing, checking and using connections between the existing situation and the worldview of the individual in a given area; a mechanism for reflecting or using the results of reflection for self-control in activity or communication.

Based on the works of B.A. Zeigarnik, I.N. Semenova, S.Yu. Stepanova, the author identifies three forms of reflection, differing by object of work:

  • reflection in the field of self-awareness;
  • reflection of the course of action;
  • reflection of professional activity, and the first two forms are the basis for the development and formation of the third form.

Reflection in the field of self-awareness- this is a form of reflection that directly affects the formation of a person’s sensitive ability. It differs in three levels:

  1. the first level is associated with reflection and subsequent independent construction of personal meanings;
  2. the second level is associated with awareness of oneself as an independent person, different from others;
  3. the third level involves awareness of oneself as a subject of communication; the possibilities and results of one’s own influence on others are analyzed.

Reflection course of action- this is an analysis of the technologies that a person uses to achieve certain goals. Mode of action reflection is responsible for correct use those principles of action with which a person is already familiar. This analysis is reflection (in its pure form) as it is presented in classical psychology when, immediately after any action, the reflector analyzes the action pattern, own feelings, results and draws conclusions about excellence and shortcomings.