Among the diversity of human life, the inner space of the individual remains unknown to many. And this inner life is much more important for a person than the outer one, since the injuries inflicted by the psyche do not heal for decades, in contrast to body wounds. This is well known by psychologists - people whose life is devoted to the study of the secrets of the soul. And, of course, the desire to understand another is valuable.
Whoever has embarked on a path of self-education must go a hard way. What are the main difficulties of studying, why it is not so easy to master the science of psychology; where to start learning? Let's try to figure it out.
Methodology
When a person decides to study a science such as psychology, it is worth thoroughly familiarizing yourself with the methodology of science. And devote a lot of time to reading various literature.
But where do you start to study psychology on your own? How to find that knowledge base on which you can rely further and study science already in depth? Without fundamental ordered concepts, no real science exists. First, the subject of science and methodology is studied. Methodology - a systematic analysis of those methods that are used in this science to obtain knowledge.
Start with yourself. Why and for what
The beginning of the study of human psychology is the comprehension of personal motives. First of all, you need to understand why the first step is being taken to study people's behavior: to understand the development of children well and help them grow harmonious either for their own personal growth, or you want to become a professional and get the opportunity to help outsiders.
It is also important to determine in advance which side of science you will study thoroughly: theoretical or practical. It’s hard to find, not knowing what it is. Especially in the ocean of information.
Psychology books. What a beginner needs
What books to start the study of psychology? Setting out to learn the basics of any science, you need to start with the basics: the most basic categories, terms and concepts - all this can be found in any first-year textbook. Such textbooks are in all city libraries. Although they are not very eloquently written, and are full of definitions and tables, they need to be mastered. Further it will be easier. After reading this first book, it is necessary to find the classics of psychology: C. Jung, C. Horney, A. Adler, E. Fromm and, of course, you need to get acquainted with the works of Freud.
The lighter and more interesting book by I. Yalom “When Nietzsche Cried”. You can then search for any author’s book in the direction that is currently more interesting.
There are a lot of copyright books, it is important to find an author who is professional and has been working in this field for at least 10 years. Then the experience that the author conveys to the reader is authoritative, and you can rely on it in the future.
Do not forget that for a psychologist it is important to know the basics of philosophy and sociology. It is important to shape humanitarian thinking, science - not only theories and theses.
Fiction also contains a lot of useful information for the future psychologist. Classical writers clearly analyzed the nature of the inner world and the actions of their invented heroes. A particularly deep analysis can be found in the books of F. Dostoevsky.
Magazines and publications
In today's incredibly vast space of information, finding an accessible and interesting journal in psychology is not a problem. Many universities publish their journal and post free versions on the Internet quite freely. You just need to find the journal that will be informative and useful for you in the chosen field of science.
- "Russian Psychological Journal".
- Magazine of Higher Attestation Commission “Bulletin of VlSU”
- "Experimental Psychology."
- "Existential and humanistic psychology."
- Online journal psychologies.ru.
- Others.
The online journal psychologies.ru was created for a wide range of readers. If you need scientific publications written by qualified employees of institutes, it is better to read official publications. Such as: "Russian Psychological Journal".
The world of psychology. Main directions
In what areas does modern psychology develop? Where to start studying the development trends of the main directions of this science? You cannot succeed in everything at once, and you need to decide on the direction in which a person will feel most confident that he is closer to know and apply.
Classic directions are as follows:
And there are new directions: psychodrama, coaching, transpersonal psychology and neurolinguistic programming.
Non-verbal communication as the basis
What science is not conceived of as psychology? Where to start learning? A beginner needs to study both theory and practice. And practice accordingly, immediately practice: learn to listen, learn to pay attention to non-verbal signs. This practice is important just as for learning a foreign language it is necessary to immediately pronounce sentences.
Non-verbal messages are a hint to the interlocutor; the theory of non-verbal communication says that gestures of facial expressions and postures of a person speak about the internal state much more than words. A good psychologist immediately "calculates" the state of a person nearby by his appearance. Even if you are not going to study psychology professionally, but are only interested in it, non-verbal signs must be learned to identify. This will simplify communication with loved ones and with colleagues.
What qualities of character need to be developed
Working with people is absolutely impossible without working on yourself. A psychologist is one who studies souls. This is how psychology is interpreted. Where to start studying the behavior and problems of others? With work on your character traits. Because, without knowing oneself, it is impossible to know others.
Psyche - was a goddess-soul, respectively, the science of the soul can not be studied without love for the souls of people. You must be able to put yourself in the place of another and imagine his feelings and emotions. The psychologist also needs good abilities for introspection and self-reflection - that is, the ability to understand one’s own emotional state and behavior. The ability to establish verbal contact with any person.
Indeed, the study of human psychology is not so easy. Where to begin? Develop awareness. For a novice psychologist, this is a key point. If a beginner has a question: where to start studying psychology on his own, then it is better to reformulate it - with whom to start studying. From myself. The psychologist will not be able to solve other people's problems if you do not learn how to solve your complexes, problems, fears and anxieties.
Proxemics
The distance and the need to observe it when conducting a conversation is studied by such a science as proxemics. The concept was introduced into science by Edward Hall.
Edward Hall introduced into the scientific world of psychologists 4 zones that must be observed during communication:
- intimate
- personal
- social zone;
- public.
Understanding the internal state of people is not so simple. It makes no sense to read books if the beginner does not know how to recognize the interlocutor’s mood.
The psychologist cannot put pressure on a person. When he does not keep his distance, the person will close and will not allow him into his inner world.