What is intrapersonal conflict. What is intrapersonal conflict? Who conflicts within the personality
A person does not need a state of balance, but rather a struggle for some goal worthy of him. Viktor Frankl
If we consider the positive consequences of intrapersonal conflict (see the previous article), we can distinguish the following:
1) conflicts contribute resource mobilization personality to overcome the existing obstacles to its development;
2) conflicts help self-knowledge of the personality and the development of its adequate;
3) intrapersonal conflict tempers and strengthens the human psyche;
4) the conflict is a means and a way of self-development and self-actualization of the personality;
5) overcoming conflicts give the person a sense of the fullness of life, make it internally richer, brighter and more complete.
There are universal, or general social, conditions and ways to prevent intrapersonal conflicts:
Know yourself. The next step is talent identification and strengths of his personality. Analyze when, under what circumstances and how did you manage to overcome yourself, your inertia and achieve success?
Identification of our mistakes and shortcomings, those obstacles in ourselves that hinder the disclosure of our abilities. To do this, you can use the analysis of the following constraining factors:
- We shift responsibility to others instead of bearing it ourselves.
- We trust others more than ourselves, because we ourselves do not know what is important for us.
- Hypocrisy out of courtesy and for any reason leads to the degradation of our feelings.
- We lack the willingness to defend our right to happiness and fulfillment.
- We allow ourselves to drown out the power that gives us independence, fantasy.
- Inability to turn to the important and with a light heart to refuse everything insignificant, secondary.
Formulate meaningful life values. Use your positive life experience.
Be confident in yourself. A person who is not confident in his abilities, at the same time always feels restless. Sooner or later, he will face an intrapersonal conflict, because uncertainty gives rise to doubt, which is adjacent to fear. Therefore, before you take on any serious business, check if you have the following typical manifestations of self-doubt:
- fear of trying - inaction, unwillingness to achieve one's own out of fear of being defeated, "losing one's face."
- fussiness - fear of not keeping up with others, anxiety, causing discomfort, anxiety and fear.
- envy and self-humiliation - constant comparison of oneself with others, dissatisfaction with oneself, self-humiliation and humiliation of others.
- bravado and lies - the desire to make an impression better than it actually is, “splurge”.
- conformism - opportunism, the desire to be “like everyone else”, “keep a low profile”, not take risks.
If you have at least some of these qualities, you need to take steps to get rid of them. In this case, you can use the following recommendations:
- A self-confident person does not seek to assert himself at the expense of others, humiliating others. He tries to become better than he himself is, and not to become better than others always and in everything, as a neurotic does.
- Do not succumb to the pressure of behavioral stereotypes, do not hold back your activity.
- Think “your” head, although, of course, you should not neglect good advice and others.
- Know that you have many abilities and forces sufficient to fulfill the tasks that you have set for yourself. There are abilities. about which a person does not even suspect, and which are found only in a concrete experience of life.
- Trust yourself more, do not destroy your own “I”, constantly and in everything listening to the opinions of others.
- Do not forget, there is nothing worse for you than to give up on yourself, to live someone else's life, other people's ideas and meanings. You are you and no one else will ever replace you. Drop the “I am who you want me to be” mindset and be guided by the principle “I am who I am”. This realization of your self-worth alone will strengthen your self-confidence.
Strive for moral self-education and self-affirmation.
In addition to the above methods of preventing intrapersonal conflicts, modern conflictology highlights others. Here are some of the most significant.
- Do not strive to “embrace the immensity”, do not take on all things at once. Know how to prioritize all your motives and needs and focus on fulfilling them first.
- Do not accumulate problems. In the end, the situation will reach a level where you can no longer cope with their solution, which will lead to an intrapersonal conflict.
The resolution (or overcoming) of an intrapersonal conflict is the removal of the internal tension of the personality, overcoming the contradictions between the various elements of its internal structure and achieving a state of internal balance, stability and harmony.
The resolution of the conflict is positive and leads to the development of the personality, to its self-improvement.
First of all, it should be noted that any intrapersonal conflict is always individual, personal character. Therefore, its resolution depends on such personality factors as age, gender, character, temperament, social status, values, etc. This determines that universal ways there is no resolution of intrapersonal conflicts that is equally suitable for all people and situations.
However, despite the need individual approach to overcome intrapersonal conflicts, it is possible to formulate the most general and typical principles and ways to resolve them, which, taking into account individual specifics, can be used by everyone. So, if you find yourself in a situation of intrapersonal conflict, then it is recommended to do the following:
1 Assess the situation appropriately. Take it under control, try to identify those contradictions that caused the conflict and caused a feeling, fear or anger.
2 Understand the existential meaning of the conflict. Analyze the degree of its importance for you, evaluate its consequences in terms of its place and role in your life. It may turn out that the cause that caused the conflict should immediately be relegated to the background in your value system or completely forgotten.
3 Locate the cause of the conflict. Reveal its very essence, discarding all minor points and accompanying circumstances.
4 Show courage in the analysis of the reasons of the intrapersonal conflict. Know how to face the truth, even if it is not very pleasant for you. Throw away all extenuating circumstances and ruthlessly consider the cause of your anxiety.
5 “Blow off steam”. Release pent-up anger, emotions, or anxiety. For this you can use like physical exercise as well as creative pursuits. Go to the cinema, theater, take your favorite book.
6 Resort to relaxation training. Today there are many publications on specific techniques and mechanisms of relaxation, meditation, choose the most suitable for you personally.
7 Change the conditions and / or style of your work. This should be done in the event that an intrapersonal conflict arises constantly due to unfavorable conditions of activity.
8 Know how to forgive. And not only others, but also yourself. In the end, all people are “not without sin” and we are no exception.
9 Cry for health. The American biochemist W. Frey, who was specially engaged in the study of tears, found that in the case when they are caused negative emotions, they contain a substance that acts like morphine and has calming properties. According to him, tears are defensive reaction to stress. Crying with tears serves as a signal for the brain to weaken emotional stress. But apart from scientific research almost everyone on own experience knows that tears bring emotional release and relief, the strength to move on and achieve success.
(According to the materials of the book “Conflictology”, author-compiler Burtovaya E.V.)
How to resolve internal conflict?
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Quarrel, swearing, scandal, boycott - the first thing that often comes to mind at the mention of the word conflict. Something unpleasant, spoiling the relationship. Often this word is used in a political context: armed conflict. And it is associated with something dangerous, disturbing.
If we consider this concept impartially, without a negative connotation, we can say that conflict is a violation of balance. This is a kind of situation that is knocked out of the usual scheme of existence. If the balance is disturbed, there is a need to return it, to organize life in line with the usual scheme.
That is, a conflict is a situation that occurred as a result of an unpredictable event. This description can be applied to all conflicts in principle, whether it be a conflict between organism and environment, between man and man, between man and society, or between man and the elements.
There are numerous classifications of conflicts. A whole section of psychology deals with the study of this phenomenon and is called "conflictology". Within the framework of this article, I propose to consider conflicts in terms of their course and divide them into external and internal.
External conflicts- organism-environment conflicts. They occur at the border-contact of a person with the outside world. The balance in human-environment interaction is disturbed. This group includes all conflicts that arise between a person and something or someone external.
Internal conflicts(in psychology they are often called intrapersonal) - nothing more than a collision of our internal phenomena.
For example, the belief that one must always be polite and the desire to respond with rudeness to rudeness. By remaining polite, a person feeds his belief that he did the right thing. But he feels dissatisfaction from the fact that he did not express his true attitude, did not defend himself. In this case, he can conduct an internal dialogue for a long time in order to calm down and prove to himself that he did the right thing.
The problem lies in the fact that repeated repetition of such situations leads to a persistent feeling of dissatisfaction, and sometimes even depression.
Often rules, norms and beliefs learned from childhood collide with each other, and the desires that a person has in the current period.
Right Girls and boys brought up good mothers and dads are often quite vulnerable as adults. They were instilled with good manners, but they were not taught to listen to themselves and their desires, to defend boundaries and defend themselves.
Nurtured by caring parents who protected them from all the cruelty and ugliness of the world, in adulthood they become best case weirdos in rose-colored glasses. Trusting and naive.
They are the easiest to offend and deceive.
And it is precisely in them that internal conflicts are the most, since upbringing dictates that it is necessary to behave well, and reality shows that this is not always necessary. And here you can often see incongruity - the discrepancy between external manifestations and internal needs. And this is nothing but a lie.
Lie to myself: I want one thing, but I do another. Self-deception leads to deception of others. This is how an internal conflict develops into an external one. The interlocutor on a non-verbal level feels deceit, a catch, a lie. And does not believe in the answer.
Often internal conflict is not recognized. A person experiences discomfort, but does not understand what he is connected with. The psyche is in tension, it is necessary to reduce anxiety, but the "owner" has powerful psychological defenses that prevent awareness.
And then the bodily symptom appears. This is what is called psychosomatics. All diseases from nerves is a well-known phrase. And it has a theoretical basis.
Unconscious problems are looking for a way out. Not finding a way out into consciousness, they manifest themselves at the bodily level. Due to problems in the psycho, the soma (body) reacts. Here comes the psychosomatic ailment, which include gastritis, psoriasis, eczema, stomach ulcers and other sores.
Example from practice:
Diana, 21 years old. Married, child, 1.5 years. She lives in the same apartment with her husband, mother-in-law and two sisters of her husband. She suffers from chronic nasal congestion, which is why she is forced to constantly use vasoconstrictor drops. Experiencing severe discomfort.
In the process of therapy, it turns out that for the first time she encountered this problem during pregnancy, on which she attributed the onset of the symptom. After childbirth, the symptom did not go away. It turns out that for the first time the symptom was discovered after Diana moved into an apartment with her husband and his relatives.
In the process of work, strong feelings for her husband's relatives “emerge”. Diana describes her condition: I am suffocating in this house, I don’t have enough space, I don’t have my own space, everything that is there is alien and wild to me. Then, during the experiment, a phrase is formulated: I do not want to breathe the same air with them.
Realizing this moment, Diana felt a strong relief. Gradually, the symptom subsided as we began to work on becoming aware of her boundaries, needs, and ways to make our life around her husband's relatives more comfortable.
Approximately six months later, a significant case occurred with Diana. She went to the country with her parents. The situation was tense, since Diana's relationship with her mother is rather difficult. On the territory of her parents, she is forced to constantly follow the rules and do only what her mother wants from her.
After spending the whole day at the dacha, Diana returns home by car through the rapeseed fields. Gradually, she begins to feel worse and worse: her eyes water, her nose runs, her temperature rises. An hour later, once at home, Diana feels completely ill. She is sure that she is experiencing an acute attack of an allergy to rapeseed.
But what really happened? A typical situation of "suffocation", the imposition of someone else's will, violation of boundaries causes strong resistance. Feelings towards "violators" are forbidden, as they can lead to strong affect and scandal. The psyche crushes their awareness and subsequent manifestation of feelings. Unconscious phenomena emerge along a familiar route - through a bodily symptom. Again stuffy nose, snot, etc.
In further therapy, an eco-friendly way for Diana to defend her boundaries was developed, and the symptom left her forever.
Here we see an intrapersonal conflict between the need to declare one's desires, to defend one's own boundaries, and the inability to talk about it due to the prohibition on expressing negativity and disagreement with relatives (both one's own and her husband's relatives).
As a child, the client had a traumatic experience in a family where an overbearing mother did not take into account the needs and desires of children and constantly punished for disobedience. Therefore, any disagreement with the opinion of family members was imprinted in the psyche of Diana, as fraught with punishment.
The danger of psychosomatic symptoms is that, if ignored, they pass completely into the body (soma) and become chronic, becoming a real disease requiring medical intervention.
It is also necessary to mention that the model of behavior learned in childhood does not always correspond to the tasks of the modern world. Our parents lived at a time when the world around was somewhat different.
Accordingly, we were brought up to live in a society that no longer exists. Therefore, it is sometimes worth revising your attitudes, rules and principles and checking them for compliance with reality.
Clear, rigid (sedentary, settled) attitudes and rules create obstacles for creative adaptation to interaction with the outside world. Therefore, it is important to try, test new ways of behavior that go beyond the usual in order to feel the fullness of life and breathe deeply!
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Some people are faced with a serious psychological problem, because of which there is a big dispute within the personality. In other words, intrapersonal conflict is the contradictions that cover the individual. He is in great doubt, cannot accept only decision, since two opposite points of view have the same "weight". It is worth noting that this psychological problem can lead to both serious personal growth, if a person connects all his resources and mobilizes, so to big problems.
How does it happen in life? For example, a person finds himself in a difficult situation, and cannot make the final choice between real feelings and a marriage of convenience. Cannot make the final choice between work and family. There are a lot of such situations, but if you “plunge into them with your head” and give them great importance, there is a risk to come to an intrapersonal conflict. Due to the lack of harmony between the outside world and one's own Self, there is also a risk of developing more serious psychological abnormalities. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze approaches to understanding intrapersonal conflict.
The basis and features of intrapersonal conflict
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As mentioned above, the basis of intrapersonal conflict is, first of all, the disagreements experienced within the individual. This conflict flares up inside a person, and he, as a rule, does not take it out. the world. The individual finds himself in a situation where he needs to rethink his values and, if this can be done, acquires new ones. useful qualities and vision of the world. However, in reality, it is not always possible to cope with the situation, which leads to even greater isolation and asociality. Features of intrapersonal conflict are such that they cause stress, frustration and anxiety.
Anxiety manifests itself even before a certain situation unfolds. It, in turn, is divided into situational and personal. Situational anxiety develops due to external circumstances, but if a person does not have time to cope with it, it immediately turns into a personal one. Remember how in childhood we were scolded for deuces and threatened with punishment. When the baby receives a negative assessment, situational anxiety occurs (external circumstances have formed in a bad way), after which he remembers his parents and the intended consequences. Thus, internal anxiety begins to manifest itself. At these moments, internal dialogues begin that can develop into something more, for example, into intrapersonal conflicts or frustration.
Frustration is a state in which a person experiences great frustration. It occurs in cases where there is no way to solve a complex problem for subjective or objective reasons. The same child cannot avoid scandal at home, this leads him to oppression and frustration. In adults, this condition occurs most often when setting a goal and the impossibility of achieving it. When an individual throws all his strength and resources into solving a problem, but it turns out to be unsolvable at a given time. As a result, a person experiences great disappointment, impotence, and his desires do not coincide with his capabilities.
Further, if the individual fails to cope with the developing internal negativity, stress may set in, which covers even more topics related to life in general and one's position in it. Let's get back to goal setting. Suppose an individual has set a goal to earn much more money, and as usual, he overestimated his capabilities. However, he wants to have an expensive car, new housing and beautiful things. As a result, there is a mobilization of all forces and after some time he realizes that nothing can be achieved, he abandons his idea. A small conflict flares up within the personality, a person begins to blame himself, and then the whole world around him for injustice. You can often find statements that life is unpleasant, only lucky bad people, around deceit and corruption. Although most often these problems do not directly affect the individual and have only a minor impact on his life.
What is intrapersonal conflict?
To finally understand the concept of intrapersonal conflict, imagine a state of complete doubt. It is so strong, and two opposing opinions are so reasonable, that you find yourself in a kind of stupor. And if we add to this the insolubility of the problem on our own and the impossibility of help from the outside world, a person is even more immersed in an intrapersonal conflict. Interestingly, the confrontation develops according to several scenarios.
- Latency. In such a state, a person does not even notice that he is in a confrontational state. As a rule, he has a lot to do, he is in a fuss, because of which there is no opportunity to be alone with himself. Under the guise of vigorous activity or euphoria, the plight of the individual is hidden;
- Unusual structure. In this state, intrapersonal conflict is not based on other subjects;
- Specificity. A person, among other things, experiences stress, fear, depression.
A well-known psychologist in the Western world, Sigmund Freud, believed that the essence of human nature lies in a constant mental contradiction. This tension is often associated with the foundations of social culture and the desire of the individual. A small example is the rules of conduct. For example, we are told: “You need to be quiet in the library.” But maybe we want to talk to someone interesting topic in full voice or even stand in the middle of the room on your head. There are a huge number of such situations and most of them are small, which we can handle.
The German psychologist Levin believed that a strong intrapersonal conflict develops when two opposing opinions of the same size collide inside a person. And the greater their significance and vital importance, the greater the risk of developing a confrontation within oneself. Rogers also made an interesting point. How often do we set ourselves ideals that are impossible to achieve. Moreover, sometimes our judgments are so subjective that we ourselves deny the possibility of achievement. As a result, the understanding of the ideal Self that we strive for, and the real discrepancy leads to big problems and impotence.
Varieties and types
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If we talk about the main types of intrapersonal conflicts, then it is worth understanding that we are dealing with a subjective opinion. As a result, there are no exact concepts, as the authors look at the problem differently. However, the basis is there. As a rule, intrapersonal conflicts flare up in the social-consumer and value-motivational spheres.
Value-motivational sphere:
- Moral. When a person does not find a balance between his preferences and morality. Between personal installation and duty to society;
- Motivation. It often develops in situations where, in order to achieve a goal, you need to sacrifice your safety and comfort. As a result, the question arises between calmness and the desire to possess something.
- Adaptation. Conflict arises when it is difficult for a person to adapt to a new reality. For example, a change of circle of friends or a new place of work;
- Unfulfillment. The desired does not coincide with the actual;
- Inadequate self-esteem. Sometimes a person underestimates his abilities too much or, on the contrary, overestimates them, as a result of which intrapersonal conflicts with reality arise.
Classification of intrapersonal conflicts in the social consumer sphere:
- Conflict of social norms. Often a person denies social foundations, since they do not coincide with the inner vision;
- Conflict of needs. Often, due to a limited budget, we cannot choose the right product and whims win. As a result, there are many loans, the meaning of life is lost, there is no joy from owning;
- Conflict between social norm and need.
There are also types of intrapersonal conflicts. Levin (a German psychologist) proposed 4 main types: frustrating, vital, equivalent and ambivalent.
- The ambivalent type of confrontation develops in those cases when the result or some actions are equally repulsive and seductive. There is a contradiction;
- Equivalent. When an individual is given the goal of completing several tasks of equal importance. To get out of the conflict, you need to find a compromise;
- The frustrating type develops when a person forbids himself to perform some actions, as they diverge from generally accepted moral principles and society;
- Vital. When a person has to make decisions that he does not like, but they are necessary.
We can distinguish the main forms of manifestation of intrapersonal conflicts:
- Euphoria - unjustified joy, tears are often interspersed with laughter;
- Neurasthenia - migraine, insomnia, high depression, low performance;
- Projection - criticism, negativity in relationships with people;
- Regression - primitivism in behavior, denial of responsibility.
- Nomadism - a constant desire for change;
- Rationalism is self-justification.
Causes
As a rule, the causes of intrapersonal conflict, its appearance and development, are due to three main factors:
- External, due to the behavior of the individual within a particular group;
- Internal, hidden in the contradictions of the personality itself;
- External, due to the status as a whole within society.
When a person is faced with external factors due to confrontation with society as a whole, they are usually based on personal status. That is, a person does not like his position in society or how he is treated.
Intrapersonal conflicts within a certain group may be different, however, there is a common basis - the inability to satisfy their needs. For example:
- The absence of the desired object. I want a cup of coffee, but they don't sell that kind in this city, and so on;
- physical barriers. A person is in a closed room, cannot get out on his own;
- social circumstances;
- biological barriers.
However, it cannot be said that one of the causes is separate from the other. In fact, everything is very interconnected and one reason smoothly flows into another. For example, development internal conflict most often due to confrontation with a particular group or society as a whole. Just like that, contradictions (from the void) cannot appear. It should not be forgotten that the basis of the confrontation is based on two opposing opinions, which should be of great importance. Otherwise, this will not be a problem for the individual, and he will miss them by introspection.
It is important that the opinions are of equal strength, otherwise the individual will simply choose the strongest one. When they are of the same size, confrontation arises, stormy dialogues develop inside. What are the contradictions based on?
- confrontation social roles. Modern world requires a person to perform many tasks, and time, as a rule, is not enough. For example, an adult is tasked with picking up a child from kindergarten and fulfill an urgent work order;
- Confrontation between ordinary need and social norm. As you know, the human stomach works and sometimes it needs to remove gases. But what to do when there is a meeting or you are in a decent society;
- The contradiction of religion and social values. A striking example- hostilities. A true Christian observes the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”, but when something threatens his family or homeland, a big dilemma also arises;
- Mismatch between interests, needs and motives. In other words, a person himself does not understand what he needs from life in general.
Often an intrapersonal conflict develops due to working relationships within the enterprise, since most of the time a person has to work and is in the conditions that are created external environment. If a person could choose where and how to work, many problems simply would not arise. The main reasons for the development of conflict within a particular group:
- The struggle of values between their views on life, foundations and professional tasks. For example, if a person is pure in heart, used to speaking honestly, it will be difficult or even impossible for him to engage in advertising and sales;
- Great responsibility and excessive tasks that are not commensurate with the possibility of a person.
- Striving for creativity and routine work at the enterprise;
- Two incompatible tasks;
- Strict work requirements and bad conditions labor;
- Poor mechanism for achieving the goal, vagueness, ambiguity and at the same time a specific task.
- Morality and profit.
Forms and methods of solving the problem
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To analyze the forms of manifestation and ways to resolve intrapersonal conflicts is an important task for each person. We have already talked about forms, now we can move on to the topic of resolving the situation. The bottom line is that if a person does not find a positive solution for himself, this will lead to a protracted confrontation and, as a result, to a suicidal situation, nervous breakdown or the development of psychological disorders. That is why it is important to know how to act in the current conditions. Moreover, if you calmly figure it out, it is not so difficult.
In order for the resolution of intrapersonal conflict to occur as quickly as possible, it is worth paying attention to the following points:
- Care. Try to let go of a difficult situation and switch to another topic. Sometimes the problem can not be solved with the existing skills and capabilities. Therefore, it is worth reconciling;
- Compromise. If there is a choice, try to come to a compromise and immediately take action;
- Sublimation. In cases where you can not solve the problem, switch to another type of activity that brings pleasure. For example, a hobby, sports or creativity, where you can achieve results. Later you will return to the unresolved problem with renewed vigor. In some cases, this works as a warning of the development of intrapersonal conflicts;
- Reorientation. Change your attitude towards a person or object;
- Idealization. If the reality is very bad, turn on the music and try to dream. Break away from reality. Watch a comedy or movie that you enjoy the most;
- Correction. Try to be objective about your Self;
- Crowding out. If desires are unrealistic, try to suppress them or push them away for a long time, switching to more achievable ones.
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Interestingly, the consequences of intrapersonal conflict are of the same "nature" as the confrontation itself. That is, it can have both a positive effect on a person and a negative one. In any case, the result will depend only on the individual.
Negative Consequences
- A dead end in personal development, degradation is possible;
- A constant state of stress, anxiety, suspiciousness, dependence on the opinions of other people and circumstances;
- Disorganization in physiological and psychological terms;
- Decreased activity;
- The manifestation of polar qualities is humility or aggressiveness. Inferiority, uncertainty in their actions often develop, the meaning of life is lost.
In society, behavior manifests itself as follows:
- Inappropriate reaction to other people;
- Isolation from other members of the group;
- Blaming others for your failures.
If a person does not resolve the causes of an intrapersonal conflict in time, there is a risk of developing psychological deviations of a neurotic nature. That is why it is important to contact psychologists at any age if you are unable to solve the situation.
Positive Consequences
- Will and character are tempered in struggle. People who often overcome themselves become strong, able to manage an internal resource;
- Self-improvement, self-development and self-assertion;
- Develops intrapersonal intelligence;
- The human psyche is more resistant to the influence of external stimuli. After several victories, a person is no longer afraid to accept the challenge and boldly goes into the fight, improving his Self.
As you can see, problems like these challenge us, but they have hidden growth potential. If you gather your courage or turn to the help of specialists, they will help you eliminate the causes of intrapersonal conflict and make you stronger.
Man is a complex being that needs to be studied. Scientists not only pay attention to studying the human body, but also understand the importance of the inner psychological world. A person may be in conflict with himself. The article considers the concept, its types, causes of appearance, methods of resolution and consequences.
What is intrapersonal conflict?
In the life of every person there are intrapersonal conflicts. What it is? This is a contradiction within oneself, which is based on equivalent and at the same time opposite needs, desires, interests.
It is very easy to get confused in your own desires. On the one hand, a person may want to take revenge, on the other hand, he understands that his actions will harm his peaceful existence. On the one hand, a person wants to be rich, on the other hand, he is afraid of being bad in the eyes of others.
When a person faces a choice where one should choose something that is equivalent in importance to another, but opposite to it, then he enters into an intrapersonal conflict.
Developments can go in one of two directions:
- A person will rapidly begin to develop if he mobilizes his own potential and begins to solve his problem.
- A person will find himself in a "dead end", where he will drive himself, because he will not be able to make a choice and will not begin to act.
It is quite normal for a person to have a struggle within himself. Everyone lives in a world where there is so much truth. From childhood, everyone is taught that there can be only one truth, and everything else is a lie. A person gets used to living one-sidedly. However, he is not a "blind kitten", he sees that there are many realities in which people live.
Morality and desires, beliefs and actions, public opinion and one's own needs often come into conflict. So, a person may want to be a pianist, and his parents, whom he loves very much, want him to be an accountant. In such a situation, often a person chooses the “parental” path, and not his own, which leads to an unhappy life.
The concept of intrapersonal conflict
The concept of intrapersonal conflict is a confrontation that occurs within a person between two motives that are equivalent and opposite in direction. All this is accompanied by various experiences (fear, depression, disorientation), in which a person may not notice or deny them, replacing his state with active activity.
Quite a lot of psychologists have studied this topic in order to understand the motives and mechanisms for the development of intrapersonal conflict. It all started with Z. Freud, who defined this concept as a struggle between instinctive desires and sociocultural foundations, between the conscious and the subconscious.
Other concepts of intrapersonal conflict are:
- The clash between the real "I" and the ideal self-image.
- The struggle between equivalent values, among which the highest is self-realization.
- The crisis of transition to a new state, when the old struggles with the new and is rejected.
Psychologists believe that intrapersonal conflict is quite normal condition for man, who by nature is a contradictory being. Everyone has periods in his life when he inevitably faces what he already has, and what he can have if he loses what he has.
The result of permission is the transition of a person to new level where he uses old experience and develops a new one. However, people often give up development in order to preserve what they already have. This is called degradation. This can also be a way out of the situation if a person sees something in the “new life” that can significantly worsen his integrity, safety, and independence.
Causes of intrapersonal conflict
There are many reasons for the development of intrapersonal conflict. Three main reasons are:
- Causes that lurk in the contradictions of personality.
- Causes associated with the status of the individual in society.
- Causes related to the status of an individual in a particular social group.
These reasons are interrelated. Often, internal conflicts arise against the background of the emergence of external factors, as well as vice versa. The more reasonable, understanding and complex in structure a person is, the more he is prone to internal conflicts, since he will strive to combine the incompatible.
Here are the contradictions on the basis of which intrapersonal conflicts arise:
- Between social norms and needs.
- Confrontation of social roles (for example, taking a child to kindergarten and at the same time doing work).
- Mismatch of motives, interests, needs.
- Inconsistency between moral principles(for example, go to war and adhere to the principle of "do not kill").
The most important factor that provokes an intrapersonal conflict is the equivalence for a person of those directions at the crossroads of which he is. If for an individual one of the options does not play an important role, then there will be no confrontation: he will quickly make a choice in favor of the option that is most significant for him. The conflict begins when both options are important, significant and practically equivalent.
Contradictions that arise within a person due to status in a group:
- Physical obstacles that are organized by other people and interfere with the satisfaction of their personal needs.
- Biological problems that do not allow a person to show their full potential.
- The inability to realize their need to achieve the desired sensations.
- Excessive responsibility and limited human rights that prevent him from doing his job.
- Between working conditions and job requirements.
- Between professionalism, culture, norms and personal needs, values.
- Between incompatible tasks.
- Between the desire for profit and moral values.
- Between a clearly defined task and the vagueness of its implementation.
- Between career ambition and personal ability within an organization.
Types of intrapersonal conflict
The classification of intrapersonal conflict was proposed by K. Levin, who identified the following types:
- Equivalent - the need to perform two or more significant tasks. IN this case a compromise is effective when partial substitution occurs.
- Vital - the need to make equally unattractive decisions.
- Ambivalent - when the actions taken and the results achieved are equally attractive and repulsive.
- Frustrating - when actions taken or decisions made help achieve the desired, but contradict moral values, social norms and rules.
Another classification of types of intrapersonal conflicts is based on the value-motivational sphere of a person:
- Motivational conflict occurs when two equally equivalent tendencies come into conflict that contradict each other.
- A moral contradiction (normative conflict) arises when personal needs and moral principles, internal aspirations and external duty oppose.
- A conflict of unfulfilled desires is when a person cannot achieve his goal due to external barriers.
- Role conflict occurs when it is necessary to perform several roles at once, and also when external requirements are not consistent with the internal understanding of the performance of one role.
- Adaptation conflict appears when internal needs and external social demands come into conflict.
- The conflict of inadequate self-esteem is formed when the opinions of others do not coincide with the opinion of a person about himself.
Resolution of intrapersonal conflict
Psychologists not only considered the mechanism of development of intrapersonal conflict, but also looked for ways to resolve it. It is believed that a person is formed during the first 5 years of his life. During this period, he is faced with many negative external factors that develop complexes in him, or a feeling of inferiority.
In the future, a person is only looking for convenient ways to compensate for this feeling. Adler identified two such methods:
- Development of social interest and feeling, which can manifest itself in the development of professional skills, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.
- Stimulation of one's own potential, achieving superiority over the environment. This is done in the following ways:
- Adequate compensation - matching superiority with social interests.
- Overcompensation is the hypertrophied development of a specific quality.
- Imaginary compensation - external circumstances compensate for the feeling of inferiority.
M. Deutsch singled out open and latent forms of resolving an intrapersonal conflict:
- Open:
- Decision-making.
- Fixation on problem solving.
- End of doubt.
- Latent:
- Simulation, hysteria, torment.
- Escape from reality into dreams, fantasies.
- Compensation is the replacement of what is not achieved by other goals.
- Regression - renunciation of desires, avoidance of responsibility, transition to primitive forms of existence.
- Sublimation.
- Nomadism - change of permanent residence, work.
- Neurasthenia.
- Projection - not noticing one's negative qualities, attributing them to other people.
- Rationalization - self-justification, finding selective logical conclusions.
- Idealization.
- Euphoria is contrived fun.
- Differentiation is the separation of thinking from the author.
Understanding these mechanisms is necessary for a successful exit from the intrapersonal conflict that occurs in absolutely all people.
Consequences of intrapersonal conflict
Depending on the ways in which a person gets out of his intrapersonal conflict, this period may be marked by self-improvement of the personality or its degradation. Consequences are conventionally divided into positive and negative.
Positive consequences arise when a person solves his intrapersonal question. He does not run away from the problem, he knows himself, he understands the causes of the conflict. Sometimes it turns out to satisfy two sides at the same time, sometimes a person compromises or must completely abandon one in order to realize the other. If a person resolves his conflict, then he becomes more perfect, achieves positive results.
Negative (destructive) consequences are the results when a person begins to be psychologically suppressed. There is a splitting of the personality, neurotic qualities arise, crises occur.
How more human touched by internal conflicts, the more he is subject not only to the consequences in the form of the destruction of relationships, dismissal from work, deterioration of activity, but also to qualitative changes in his personality:
- Irritability.
- Anxiety.
- Anxiety.
Often such conflicts become the causes of the appearance of psychological diseases. All this suggests that a person does not solve the problem, but suffers from it, avoids it, tries to escape or not notice, but it worries and worries him.
A person is not able to escape from himself, so the need to resolve an intrapersonal conflict is the main one. Depending on the accepted by man decision, he will get one result or another.
Outcome
A person is a complex of beliefs, rules, frameworks, desires, interests, needs and other attitudes, some of which are instinctive, some are personally developed, and the rest are social. Usually a person tries to satisfy all the needs at the same time, which are embedded in him. However, the result of such a desire is an intrapersonal conflict.
Man fights with own desires, interests or needs, because he tries to be everywhere and everywhere, to live for the sake of all desires, not to upset anyone, including himself. However, this becomes impossible within the real world. It is the realization of one's own inability to satisfy all one's needs that provokes negative feelings.
A person must cope with his own experiences in order to begin to deal with the problem that has arisen, and not further cultivate a sense of inferiority in himself .. You should start by studying the two opposing forces that cause internal conflict, and then decide how to eliminate it.
intrapersonal conflict one of the most complex psychological conflicts that is played out in the inner world of a person. It is difficult to imagine a person who would never experience an intrapersonal conflict in his life. Moreover, a person has to deal with such conflicts in his life constantly. Constructive intrapersonal conflict is an integral part of the development of his psyche.
Destructive intrapersonal conflict leads to quite serious consequences, from severe experiences that cause, to an extreme form of its resolution -. It should be emphasized that the internal conflict situation is constantly present in each of us and this should not be feared. For a mentally healthy person, an internal conflict situation at the “background” level is a completely natural state. The German philosopher I. believed that a person who always has a calm conscience and who is not tormented by doubts cannot be highly moral. The great Slavic philosopher V. Solovyov, in contrast to the Western European rationalism of Descartes - "I think, therefore I exist" - opposed his thesis, taking into account the peculiarities of the Slavic mentality - "I am ashamed, therefore I exist." The problem of intrapersonal conflict is the main one for the main characters in the works of A. Pushkin (the famous letter of Tatyana), the novel "War and Peace" by L.N. Tolstoy (the experiences of Pierre Bezukhov, Count Bolkonsky, Natasha Rostova), characters in the novels of F. Dostoevsky, Ya. Kolos, I. Melezh. The problem of the rebellious Slavic soul is central to almost all works of the classics of Russian and Belarusian literature.
The state of a certain intrapersonal tension and inconsistency of the psyche is not only natural, but also necessary for the development and improvement of the personality itself, which cannot be carried out without resolving internal contradictions. The presence of contradictions is the basis for the emergence of conflict. If an intrapersonal conflict situation proceeds at the background level, an intrapersonal conflict is necessary. Dissatisfaction with oneself, a critical attitude towards oneself make a person strive for self-improvement, self-realization and self-actualization, thereby a person fills not only his life with meaning, but also improves the surrounding reality.
The problem of intrapersonal conflict most actively developed and is being developed in Western psychology. The beginning of its scientific substantiation was laid in late XIX century and is associated with the name of the founder in psychology.
Features of approaches to the consideration of intrapersonal conflicts are determined by the peculiarity of understanding the essence of personality, which has developed in various psychological schools. Proceeding from this, a number of main directions for the consideration of intrapersonal conflict can be distinguished.
Z. Freud substantiated the biopsychological, biosocial nature of the intrapersonal conflict. The human psyche is inherently contradictory. Its functioning is associated with constant tension and overcoming the contradiction between the biological drives and desires of a person and socio-cultural norms, between the unconscious and consciousness. According to Sigmund Freud, this contradiction and constant confrontation is the essence of intrapersonal conflict. Own further development this theory received in the work of his followers: - a regression to a lower level of the psyche, - a clash of desires for satisfaction and security, a contradiction " neurotic needs" and etc..
Intrapersonal conflict according to Freud:
- Biological drives and desires (Unconscious);
- Socio-cultural norms (Conscious).
A rather original theory of intrapersonal conflict, called "field theory", was put forward by a German psychologist. According to this theory, the inner world of the individual is simultaneously under the influence of oppositely directed forces. And the subject must make a choice in favor of one of them. These forces can be both negative and positive, or one of them is positive and the other is negative.
The main conditions for the emergence of the conflict, according to K. Levin, is the approximate equality and significance of these forces for the individual.
According to the theory of personality "I-concept", the occurrence of an intrapersonal conflict is due to the discrepancy between the idea of the individual about himself ("") with the idea of \u200b\u200bthe ideal "I". In his opinion, this mismatch can lead to serious mental disorders, up to mental illness.
Quite popular is the theory of intrapersonal conflict, developed by. Since, in his opinion, the structure of the personality is formed by the corresponding hierarchy of needs (5-level pyramid of needs), and the highest of them is the need for self-realization, the main reason for the emergence of an intrapersonal conflict lies in the gap in most people between the desire for self-actualization and the actually achieved result.
IN modern conditions the theory of intrapersonal conflict, developed by the Austrian psychologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, the creator of a new scientific direction of logotherapy, the science of “sense of human existence and search for that meaning. In his opinion, intrapersonal conflict is the result of a disorder of the "spiritual core" of the personality, caused by a spiritual, creative vacuum, the loss of the meaning of life. Intrapersonal conflict manifests itself in noogenic (nusogenic), which manifest themselves in apathy, boredom,.
Among Russian scientists who have made a significant contribution to the development of the problem of intrapersonal conflict, A. Luria (a collision of two strong, but oppositely directed tendencies), V. Merlin (as a result of acute dissatisfaction with deep actual motives and personality relationships), F. Vasilyuk (a collision of two internal motives reflected in the form of independent opposite values), etc. But, first of all, attention should be paid to the activity approach. According to A. Leontiev, intrapersonal conflict is inherent in the internal structure of the personality and is a normal phenomenon. In its structure, any is contradictory. Usually the resolution of these contradictions occurs in the simplest forms and does not lead to the emergence of an intrapersonal conflict. “After all, a harmonious personality is not at all a personality that does not know any internal struggle.” But in some cases, the resolution of these contradictions goes beyond the simplest forms and becomes the main thing that determines the behavior and the whole appearance of a person. As a result, intrapersonal conflict arises. In his opinion, intrapersonal conflict is the result of the struggle of hierarchical, motivational lines of personality. Among domestic psychologists it is necessary to highlight the approaches to the consideration of the intrapersonal conflict of N.F. Vishnyakova.
Having considered the basic concepts of intrapersonal development, it is necessary to formulate its definition. There is no single point of view on this issue in the conflictological literature. Intrapersonal conflict is designated by various authors as personal, internal, intrasubjective, intrapersonal, psychological.
So after all, what socio-psychological phenomenon is understood as an intrapersonal conflict?
Despite the variety of its definitions, there are a number of parameters that unite them all. These should include:
- intrapersonal conflict appears as a result of interaction internal elements structures of the personality psyche;
- the subjects ("S") of the intrapersonal conflict are simultaneously diverse and conflicting interests, goals, and desires existing in the personality;
- intrapersonal conflict occurs only when the contradictions are equal and significant for the individual;
- internal conflict is accompanied by sharp negative emotions.
Thus, an intrapersonal conflict is an acute negative experience caused by a protracted struggle between structures inner world personality, reflecting conflicting ties with the social environment and delaying decision making.
The basis of any intrapersonal conflict is a situation characterized by:
- inconsistency of positions;
- the opposite of motives, goals and interests;
- the opposite of means to achieve goals in specific conditions;
- the inability to satisfy any need and at the same time the impossibility of satisfying it.
Intrapersonal conflict has a number of features that are important to consider when identifying, preventing and resolving it.
Features of intrapersonal conflict:
- Specificity of structural components;
- latency;
- Specificity of forms of manifestation;
- The specificity of the forms of leakage.
The modern classification (typology) of intrapersonal conflict is very diverse.
One of the most common is the 3-level classification of intrapersonal conflict, which is based on the emergence of contradictions between the need and the social norm.
Most full classification intrapersonal conflicts is contained in the work of A.Ya. Antsupova and A.I. Shipilov, who took the value-motivational sphere of personality as a basis for classification.
Depending on which aspects of the inner world of the individual come into conflict, they identified the following main types of intrapersonal conflict (the value-motivational sphere of the individual).
If any of the above conflicts long time is not resolved, it can lead to stress, frustration and its rather dangerous form - NEUROTIC conflict - characterized by the highest tension and confrontation of the internal forces of the personality.
The above typology of intrapersonal conflicts does not fully exhaust their classification. Depending on other grounds, a different typology can be given. So, if we take as a basis the function of an intrapersonal conflict, then it can be classified as: Constructive or destructive.
Constructive (functional, productive) conflict contributes to the maximum development of the subjects of the conflict and constructive personal costs for its resolution.
Destructive (dysfunctional, unproductive) conflict exacerbates a split personality, develops into life crisis, leads, as a rule, to a neurotic conflict.
