We are all social beings. Each person belongs to a particular social group. Developing normally, the child communicates with parents, peers, and other children and adults, and his basic needs are met. If physical or mental development is difficult, then the communication of such a child will suffer, therefore, he will not be able to communicate his needs and will not receive their satisfaction. But there are situations when, with a seemingly normal personality formation , personal contacts and other needs are limited. This phenomenon is called "deprivation." In psychology, this concept is considered very carefully. A deprived person cannot live and develop harmoniously. What does this concept mean and what types of deprivation are there? Let's get it right.
Deprivation in psychology - what is it?
In psychology, deprivation refers to a certain state of the psyche in which a person cannot satisfy his basic needs. This also occurs if a person is deprived of any goods to which he is already very accustomed. It should be noted that such a condition does not arise for all rejected needs. There are a large number of desires and aspirations of a person, but if he does not achieve them, there is no significant damage to his personality structure. Here it is important to meet the vital needs and requirements. Deprivation is not in psychology any deviation from a person’s usual life activity. This condition is a deep experience.
The difference between frustration and deprivation
These two concepts are close in meaning, but are not identical. Frustration is considered in science as a reaction to a personality stimulus. A person can be sad, withdraw for several hours or even days after some stressful situation, then return to normal life. Depression in psychology - this condition is much harder and more painful. It can act on a person with destructive power. It differs from frustration in intensity, duration and rigidity. Deprivation can combine several unmet needs at once, in this case, various types of this condition are observed.
What causes deprivation?
There are certain internal causes of deprivation. This condition is exposed to people who, for whatever reason, have an internal vacuum of values. What does deprivation have to do with this? In psychology, this condition and many others are interconnected. After all, the personality is integral in its versatility. If a person has been alone for a long time, in places of deprivation of liberty, in a painful condition, he loses the ability to follow all the norms, rules and values of society. As a result, his concepts do not coincide with the hierarchy of values of the people around him, and an intrapersonal vacuum arises. In this state, he cannot be constantly, as life goes on and a person needs to adapt to its course and the demands that society places on him. As a result, the individual stands on the path to the formation of new ideals on the basis of the already destroyed hierarchy of needs and values.
Deprivation in the psychology of people has long been considered by scientists in search of methods to neutralize it. After all, such sensations as deprivation, hopelessness, a sense of lost personal dignity, and others, do not carry positive moments for the development of personality.
What are the types of this concept?
Deprivation in domestic psychology is of three types:
These are the main types of deprivation, but in fact there are much more. Probably, there are so many types of this condition that are depressed and unmet needs. But many of them are identical in their manifestation. Psychologically, deprivation is in psychology such sensations as fear, constant anxiety, loss of vital activity, dissatisfaction with oneself, one's life and others, prolonged depression, outbreaks of aggression.
But with the similarity of sensations and experiences, the degree of immersion of a person in this state is different for everyone. It depends on the person's stress tolerance, the degree of hardening of his psyche, and also on the power of the deprivation effect on the individual. But as there are compensatory possibilities of the human brain at the physiological level, the same property of the psyche is manifested. With the complete satisfaction of other human needs, the deprivation state for one unsatisfied one will be less intense.
Emotional Deprivation in Psychology
It happens that this condition occurs due to unexpressed emotions with the complete or partial deprivation of a person various emotional reactions. Most often, this is the lack of attention from other people. This condition rarely occurs in adults, but the psychology of child deprivation pays a lot of attention to this phenomenon. In the absence of love and affection, the child begins to experience the above sensations. Emotional deprivation is very closely related to maternal, which we will discuss below.
For adults, much more destruction is caused by the so-called motor deprivation. This is a condition in which a person is limited in his movement due to injury or illness. Sometimes a disease or physical abnormalities are not so terrible as a person’s reaction to them. It is very difficult for specialists to return to an active life people who are in this state.
Sensory deprivation
Sensory deprivation in psychology involves depriving a person of various sensations. Most often, it is provoked artificially to study a person's ability to resist difficulties. Such experiments are conducted to train aviation professionals, employees of state power plants, intelligence, military specialists, and so on.
In most cases, such experiments are carried out by immersing a person to a depth in a box or other limited device. When spending a long time in this state, a person has a state of mental instability: lethargy, low mood, apathy, which after a short time are replaced by irritability and excessive excitability.
Social deprivation
Deprivation in psychology manifests itself in different ways. Varieties of social groups are also subject to this condition. There are societies or social groups that deliberately deprive themselves of communication with the outside world. But this is not as scary as the complete social deprivation of one person. All members of youth organizations, sects and national minorities that have separated themselves from society, at least communicate with each other. Such people have no irreversible consequences for their psyche caused by social deprivation. The same cannot be said about prisoners for a long time in solitary confinement or people who have experienced psychotic disorders.
Being for a long time alone with himself, a person gradually loses social communication skills and interest in other people. There are also cases when a person stopped talking, because he forgot the sound of his voice and the meaning of words. Social deprivation can also affect people with a deadly disease that can be infected. Therefore, there is a law on non-disclosure of such diagnoses.
Maternal deprivation - what is it?
Such a phenomenon as deprivation is studied quite carefully in developmental psychology , since the consequences of such a condition for an immature person can be detrimental. When an adult experiences this sensation, he is uncomfortable, ill, and lonely. In a child, it causes emotions that are much more intense than those listed. Children are like susceptible sponges that absorb the negative much faster and stronger than adults.
A clear-cut example of maternal deprivation is hospitalism. This is a state of loneliness of a child due to his separation from his mother. This syndrome was especially noticeable after the war in the 50s, when there were many orphans. Even with good care and proper feeding, the children experienced a much later complex of recovery, they started walking late, talking, they had much more problems with physical and mental development than those who were brought up in families. After this phenomenon, experts noted that deprivation in the psychology of children entails great changes in the psyche. Therefore, methods to overcome it began to be developed.
The consequences of deprivation in children
We have already decided that the main types of deprivation in the psychology of children are emotional and maternal. This condition adversely affects the development of cognitive processes in the brain of the child. He grows incongruous, lacking a sense of confidence in love, support and recognition. Such a child smiles less often and shows emotions than his peers. Its development slows down, and dissatisfaction with life and itself is formed. To prevent this condition, psychologists determined that the child needed to be hugged, kissed, stroked and supported (patting his shoulder or arm) at least 8 times a day.
How does deprivation affect adult behavior?
Deprivation in adult psychology can occur on the basis of a long-standing childhood or due to unmet adult needs. In the first case, the harmful effects on the psyche will be much stronger and more destructive. Sometimes, when working with such adults, specialists feel powerless. In the second case, behavior correction is possible when searching for ways to satisfy the deprived need. A person can get out of a state of self-dislike, apathy and depression with the help of a specialist.