What is reflection in psychology, pedagogy and philosophy? Reflection: what it is, the meaning for the human personality and ways to develop this quality.

Tolerance, reflection, psychosomatics - the abundance of foreign words is sometimes so frightening that there is neither desire nor opportunity to deal with them. However, these terms denote very, very important and necessary processes for life, which can be quite explained in simple Russian words.

Reflection is the ability to track one's own thoughts, feelings, to understand the true reason for certain actions. Reflection is understanding yourself. Indeed, without self-knowledge, adequate recognition of one's own strengths and shortcomings, it is impossible to move forward. Are there many people who are generally inclined to introspection by nature? The question is rhetorical - to some extent, reflection is inherent in everyone and everyone, but only a few can consciously develop and use it for the purpose of self-development.

The process of self-knowledge is formed in adolescence. Or rather, in the period of youth - on the verge of graduation from school. It is in high school that the student thinks: who am I? What am I really? What is it needed for? As a rule, it is the last question that serves as an impetus for in-depth research of one's own personality. After all, finding one's place in society is the most urgent task of future graduates. And almost everyone believes that great achievements await him ahead, a happy life that he will dedicate to useful deeds for the benefit of mankind. Yes, such dreams are not uncommon among high school students. Later, they are corrected by the material side of the issue, but the desire to find exactly the place where the boy or girl will feel fully realized and in demand remains the strongest.

Reflection is also due to the fact that older students notice in themselves the manifestation of reactions, attachments, inclinations that were not characteristic of them before. Where did they come from, what is the reason for their fixation in the personal profile - answers to these questions can be obtained only on the condition of self-examination.

In general, the process of studying oneself gives senior students great pleasure. They seem to get acquainted with the "I", which was previously hidden from them. That is why boys and girls are so happy to participate in surveys, fill out questionnaires and tests - activities of this kind help them understand themselves.

Why is reflection so important for personality formation? Suppose something remains unknown - what's so terrible about that?

The thing is, everyone wants to be successful. And in adolescence, no one doubts that he will be able to fulfill all his dreams. Therefore, some internal qualities that were left without a “revision” can suddenly let down their owner - and older students instinctively understand this. The better developed personal reflection, the more chances a person gets to adequately determine the goal of his further existence and outline the path to achieve this goal. Indeed, who can better predict where it will be in demand and sold - a person who knows himself well or a person who has an idea only about his primary needs? The answer is unequivocal.

Based on the foregoing, we conclude: reflection as a process that develops to the fullest in senior school age is present in every person. This process is necessary for a successful life, so it must and must be developed. Ways of development - conversations and debates on current topics, discussion of the behavior and thoughts of the characters of classical literary works, and finally, work with a psychologist. The most important thing is not the way to develop reflection, but the result: the formation of the need to constantly and objectively evaluate one's own thoughts, actions and states.

What I diligently, bit by bit, collected over many years of continuous psychotherapy (thanks to my once very not accidental, although mostly intuitively chosen therapists, supervisor, teachers and mentors), and what I now constantly and confidently use in everyday life, in my opinion, it is impossible to acquire through books.

I'm talking about the ability to reflect. In order not to delve into abstruse terms, I will try to explain this concept in a simpler way.

In fact, reflection is the ability of a person to consciously direct attention deep into himself, observe your mental space, focusing on the inner content.

On Wikipedia, for example, you can read that reflection distinguishes a person from animals, and it is thanks to it that a person can not only know or feel something, but also know about his knowledge or experience. This is the ability to track what is happening at different levels of consciousness, with the possibility of further rethinking.

Originating in philosophy, the concept of reflection expanded over time. As a psychologist, the formulation that belongs to the psychoanalyst, Doctor of Sciences A. V. Rossokhin is closest to me. He describes personal reflection as " active subjective process of generating meanings , based on the unique ability of the individual to realize the unconscious ».

In children, reflection is practically absent. Childhood is a time of affect, an impulse, so to speak, a time of direct response or, if it is stopped, for some reason being inaccessible, then an unconscious adaptation to reality through mental defense mechanisms.

No self-observation has yet developed in the child's psyche, since the ability to reflect "matures" precisely in contact with the accessible Other, and then can develop for life if a person is interested and does not stop this opportunity.

Unlike animals and small children, a person who is mentally mature and has a sufficiently developed reflection is able to independently learn and organize self-knowledge in contact with everyone and everything with whom and with what he meets.

Thanks to precisely this developed property, he becomes able not to react affectively, but to observe, track the appearance of one or another of his feelings, states, and explore them, asking all sorts of questions about himself, the individual “device” and the situation that gives rise to such a reaction.

It can detect causal, temporal s e, spatial and other connections (in fact, thanks to the binding, integrity is achieved).

And therefore, for an adult person, in general, everything until the end of life can be an Unlimited Well, a Teacher, and with this approach, a meeting with any creature will endow this person with new facets of knowing “himself-in-the-world”.

Thanks to reflection, a person gradually introverts (you can read about introverts), his personal picture acquires depth, facets and opportunities appear that he had not previously discovered in himself.

Against the background of what has been said psychotherapy is the so-called transitional space in which people who are not yet capable or little capable of reflection have the opportunity to acquire and develop it to the extent that over time the need for therapy will disappear, and a person, having received at his disposal the invaluable ability to “psychotherapy” about everything around, becomes able to extract useful understanding in this way and appropriate life experience.

However, of course, as always, it is easier to write about it than to go through the path of developing awareness.

For example, a person coming from a trauma, having structural personality disorders (any related to the borderline or psychotic level) or a diagnosis, most likely will have to go to this ability more difficult, and therefore probably longer than, for example, a neurotic client (besides certainly not with one therapist).

Reflection develops in contact with the present and reflecting Other.
People who come to therapy in a difficult state of mind cannot rely either on this fact or on experiencing themselves in contact.

They don't know how to do it because no one taught. And besides this scarcity, their past experience speaks either of the absence of an interested loved one, or of the danger, the actual lethality of the Other, who finds himself in close proximity. Therefore, these clients cannot bear either the reflection, or even the very possibility of being perceived, in connection with which their impulse arises to distance themselves and close themselves off from the person sitting opposite (therapist), who creates a “threat” of self-recognition by his presence.

Recently I came across one valuable statement on the net about the predominance of perception over representation (reproduction of what is perceived):

“People with psychosomatic functioning overinvest in perception, which slows down or cuts off thinking. Sometimes this can be detected right in the session, when the patient, instead of walking through his inner world, begins to listen to sounds, noises from outside, look at the wallpaper in the office, etc. Patients resort to perception in order to stop the painful representation.

It is clear that a person who is extremely hurt, feels bad and does not like to discover in the depths of himself those experiences that are hidden there, it is quite painful, scary, ashamed and anxious to be close to the Other. About him, potentially all this can be experienced again. I say “again”, because these are traces of past events that have already happened and preserved in the depths of the unconscious heavy experiences blocked, not processed by the psyche.

It is quite understandable that a person who once endured a little suffering unbearable for him, is primarily drawn to control, follow the therapist, manage, examine him, check and analyze, attack with questions or fill up with personal judgments and assessments - in general, do anything, thus escaping away from oneself, outward. After all, choosing to study the therapist, looking around the walls or your palms as a last resort is much safer than exploring the internal, mental world order, from a meeting with which a threat can certainly come in the form of a reproduced and previously unbearable mental pain.

Having violations in almost all areas: personality structure, thinking, perception, emotional-volitional and behavioral spheres, such clients will need time and some, so to speak, habit to the fact that there is no threat in the office for them (this is the topic of the Ethics of a psychotherapist), it will be necessary " attachment” to the therapist, so that reflection can still be reached, sooner or later.

After all, at first, in the space of therapy, a decent amount of time is spent on adaptation, all kinds of automatic response, as well as the abundant use of defense mechanisms characteristic of a person in ordinary life and manifestations of this in actions.

Take for example night calls (such a strange phenomenon for everyday life, isn't it?). If it is natural for a person to impulsively call someone at any time of the day or night (I'm not talking about force majeure now, that's different), sooner or later, but most likely he will call his therapist at an inopportune time.

When trying to talk about it in a session, the client, less disturbed and more tolerant, more accepting of himself as "imperfect", will probably think and most likely begin to remember not only how it happened and what happened to him, but also probably be able to make assumptions or be able to withstand the therapist's interpretations of needs, times and roles, where this impulse comes from.

That is, this event, this fact can be discussed and explored quite calmly together with the client, bringing it into therapy in order to find an understanding of the unconscious motives and needs that automatically triggered this behavior. In simpler terms, where did it come from (not talking about external circumstances, but exploring internal needs).

This was an example of ongoing reflection where, with the help of the therapist, the client learns to discover and understand himself, and trains to do so.

When there is no reflection, it is precisely because of violations of perception, thinking, the predominance of impulse, affects over rational vision, and against the background of all this - naturally! - the prevailing and oppressive feeling of insecurity, - the therapist's attempts to explore what these actions could mean for the client, he will most likely regard them as persecution, attack, accusation, attack, that is, he will see danger and hostility in the very work of the therapist.

Or he may experience emptiness and observe in himself the complete absence of connections of this event with possible internal motives, which is especially characteristic of patients with alexithymia. Hand against its background, any attempt by the therapist to seek an understanding of what is happening is limited to the answer from the series “I don’t know”, “There is nothing”.

That's why therapy is a space where this ability can develop , and already thanks to reflection, on its basis, many other properties and capabilities of an adult will be able to line up.

As an example, I will cite a life situation that is probably familiar to many in order to describe what can manifest itself outwardly and what happens to a person inside, in his mental reality, with or without reflection.

Let's take a turn. Viscous, slow moving. But it’s necessary for some important reason, which you can theoretically do without, but you wouldn’t want to (withdraw money from the bank, issue a passport, get advice from an important specialist who arrived for one day, in general, anything).

So, for sure, many fell into similar circumstances, and saw how differently people behave in them.

Someone, finding a line, decides to abandon their intention and goal, does not want to stand or cannot take the time, turns around and leaves.Among those whose intention to get what they want still outweighs, people will also manifest themselves in different ways.

Often there will be someone who is extremely annoyed, and does not try to hide it. Such people usually tend to react emotionally, explosively, throwing out all their discontent and intolerance outside (at best, through facial expressions and gestures). As a rule, it is these people who start noisy scandals with someone from the queue, not sparing and smearing the "enemy" from the heart. Or they stubbornly complain and complain about their fate, quickly finding themselves someone who "agrees" to listen to their incessant complaints. It happens that they find like-minded people among other “victims”, who are also dissatisfied and upset, but not inclined to leadership or not so aggressive.

In such suddenly formed groups, whole heated debates can even unfold, built on complaints far beyond the specific situation.

There are very responsible citizens who will cope with their discontent through activity and vigorous activity. They are not inclined to “destroy” anything and do not intend to be at enmity, but inaction is difficult for them. It is they who usually draw up lists and are self-elected in order to establish the order of priority, and then make sure that no one violates it.

Most will bury themselves in all sorts of gadgets, only occasionally breaking away to check the situation. Someone will have a snack, read, listen to music or chat on the phone.

There will be those who will begin to physically relieve tension. More often these are men walking from side to side, measuring the space with steps.
There will be others who will look at the interior or study people, watching what is happening around.

There are also very quiet, standing aside and as if thinking about something people. But this is also an interesting question, because it will not always be a reflection, in most cases thinking turns into a permanent grinding of obsessive thoughts, mental walking in a circle - and this is not any reflection, but rather an obsession.

Often there are people who react somatically. Not realizing their feelings and experiences, they begin to experience bodily discomfort, up to suffering. Someone becomes covered with spots, begins to cough, itch, feel nausea or pain in the stomach. In older people, pressure can often jump up, up to fainting, crises, and even something more serious.

What I described is not reflexive, but rather reflex, scenario, that is, ways of responding that have already become a habit. In particular behavior, unconsciously organized to cope with their aggression.

In short, someone is bubbling and foaming like a boiling pot. Someone avoids unpleasant feelings by distracting themselves in any way possible: eating, listening, thinking, or chatting. Who sublimates, composing satirical verses. Someone is engaged in reacting through movements, bodily states, or more complexly organized actions.

But the essence is the same: to leave, to avoid one's own "dangerous" experiences, to stop contact with one's own sensual content.

I suppose that a reflective person could deal with his aggression a little differently. Being able to withstand his various feelings, for a start he would notice what was happening to him. I would have found irritation, or brighter, downright anger inside myself. After that, he could have already pondered what exactly this reaction arose.

Having assessed the circumstances (there is a real threat to life or not), and having made a decision (I will stand or not), such a person could do research, for example, what exactly is it so difficult for him to endure in this situation?

This is not a question outside, but to oneself, an organized observation of oneself by an effort of will, as if from the outside. But it is precisely the observation of one’s content, one’s reaction to what is happening, and not judgments about the external, from the series “what freaks everyone is”, “what a terrible state”, “what an unfair world”, “how weak and worthless I am” or “how volatile time” .

It may be interesting to answer the question of what I personally cannot stand right now. Why is this so difficult for me? How does my experience of anger manifest outwardly? What does this experience look like in my experience? Under what circumstances did I feel the same way before? From what earliest period of my life is this memory? How and why should I endure it right now, and so that without harm to myself and others?

By asking yourself all sorts of questions, you can pass the time well. And you can study yourself better, thanks to which it will be possible to build some kind of better contact with the world. Find traces of past experience and build connections with the current situation, as this has the potential to reduce the intensity of anger if it was excessive, completely inappropriate in strength to the situation.

For example, in this way a person can reproduce, “remember” some of his very early states and realize that this is his childhood experience. Thanks to symbolic thinking, coming images, an experience may arise that once in childhood he was very bored and was waiting for his mother. But she still did not go, and time dragged on unbearably slowly, and all this was unbearable to him. And those states of intolerance are very similar to this state of despair that has arisen right now in this queue (and is clearly not symmetrical in charge). Then it may turn out that this situation is not so unbearable. After all, it was then that he was small and powerless, but now he is an adult, and an adult is quite capable of waiting an hour without killing anyone “as punishment”. Or even two, for the sake of a passport.

I have just given an example of using reflection to cope with anger through the inclusion of more mature, secondary defense mechanisms instead of primitive avoidance. And this is an example typical for an “experienced user” of one’s inner world, for example, a person who has undergone psychotherapy, or who has trained through other practices that develop awareness.

Naturally, this story can be about any “hard experience” and an automatic impulse to avoid it, whether it is anger or something else, such as boredom, impatience, indignation, tension, apathy, anxiety, disappointment. If a person came, was in the queue, and he is fine, we can assume that there is no internal conflict or it has already been resolved in a way that is successful for the person.

It is important for me to emphasize that the development of reflection is quite accessible (despite the fact that some people may take quite a long time to master it). But when this property of the psyche appears, completely new horizons of life open up, the quality of life improves noticeably, and the person himself is able to be self-therapeutic, and not need any specially organized permanent forms of therapy, except perhaps as anature of a hobby, that is, from interest, and not from the need to be treated and get out of protracted suffering.

Danilkina G.A.

Throughout life, a person continuously searches for his identity, self-determines, fills with new content the already existing forms of ideas about himself. The most acute problem of personal reflection worries young people who have crossed the line of 16-17 years and have not reached the age of 23. If in a given age period the subject manages to positively use the actualizing processes of self-consciousness, then he acquires an effective means of building productive relationships with the world and with himself.

Reflection in a broad sense is a comprehension, analysis of what is happening. Personal reflection is a comprehension, analysis of the content of one's inner world (emotions, feelings, thoughts, character), as well as actions and deeds that the subject performs in the outside world. “F.E. Konkov presented the results of joint work with V.I. Slobodchikov studies of two types of reflection in children: intellectual (subject-operational) and personal (value-semantic) ”(p. 163 Questions of psychology No. 5 1983. Semenov I.N., Stepanov S.Yu. Problems of psychological study of reflection and creativity p. .162-164).

The most significant questions of personal reflection are questions about the meaning of life, about ideals, about the results of development achieved. A number of authors consider the presence of reflection as a certain, mature level of personality development. “And finally, the highest, personal level of development of self-consciousness is associated with such phenomena as awareness of one’s social value and maturity, the meaning of one’s being, place in society, with an assessment of one’s social and personal achievements in the past, present and possible prospects for one’s development” (p. .162 Issues of Psychology No. 5 1984. Chesnokova II Psychological study of self-consciousness, pp. 162-164 - quoted from the book Stolin VV Personal self-consciousness, Moscow: Moscow State University, 1983, 284 pp.).
There are various types of reflection, depending on the selection by researchers of a certain classification basis. If the criterion is the characteristic of emotional experiences that accompany purposeful thinking of a person, then a reflexive dichotomy can be distinguished: positive and negative.

Positive (or constructive-productive) reflection is a subjective means that ensures the process of self-knowledge, the result of which is the enrichment of the "Image-I" and the "personal growth" of the subject, a constructive active-practical change in the ways of activity and communication, building a positive, creative attitude to life in in general.

Positive reflection - reflection that gives practically applicable results, i.e. the subject, with its help, finds out the reasons for his own failures and works to eliminate them. This is the so-called phased reflection, clearly highlighting the goals, objectives and means of solving or achieving the goals and objectives that a person faces.

Negative (or destructive-unproductive) reflection is a subjective means that ensures the process of self-knowledge, the result of which is unproductive reflections that have no actual practical application and act as a means of self-destruction of a person. In this case, reflection is no longer a way to search for alternatives, but actually the use of life's difficulties to “go into reflection” (the result is replaced by a process).

Negative reflection - reflection that does not give practically applicable results. It can be unnecessarily global in its negative assessment of what is happening. “... the reduction of reflection to its extensive form is accompanied by the activation of the manifestation of the personal component of thinking only in a negative form - in the form of mainly negative self-assessments” (p. 100 Issues of Psychology No. 1 1982, Stepanov S.Yu., Semenov I.N. The problem of the formation of types reflection in solving creative problems, pp.99-104).

This reflection, while providing goal setting, does not contribute to identifying the stages of solving the problem, as a result of which the goal, set too high, remains unattainable. It is possible that negative reflection is overly emotionally overloaded (with negative experiences), which is why the subject does not need an active way out of the current situation (“empty philosophizing” is enough). “Another person carries deep dissatisfaction with himself, he is full of regrets that he missed a lot in his time, but does not notice that he continues to live according to the standard chosen once and for all, does not try to change something in his life, although his life is far from over” (p. 12) (Abulkhanova-Slavskaya K.A. Strategy of life. - M .: Thought, 1991. - 299 p.).

In addition, it is possible that there are significant differences between the distinguished two types of reflection in the temporal orientation of each of them. Thus, positive reflection focuses on present events, formulates conclusions based on the subject's past experience, and makes plans for the near and distant future. “Reflection acquires a productive function in the sense that it is now associated with the anticipation and creation of conditions for the deployment of certain reflexive acts. It appears, respectively, in the form of “self-awareness of a person in a problem situation” (p.117. Bolshunov A.Ya., Molchanov V.A., Trofimov N.M. Dynamics of reflexive acts in productive mental activity. p.117-124) .
Negative reflection does not fix the moment of the present time, it is either absorbed in recreating the emotional experiences of the past, or is aimed at projecting possible results in the future without a detailed analysis of the real capabilities of a person (the effect of an overestimated bar).

The legitimacy of our reflections is confirmed by the thoughts of Abulkhanova K.A.: “This bifurcation of the unified is exacerbated by the function of the emotional component, the relational component of representations: it ... can be both positive and negative, contributing to the activation of the intellectual mechanism, awareness, understanding of reality and preventing, blocking it” (p. 158 Psychology and consciousness of personality (Problems of methodology, theory and research of real personality): Selected psychological works. - M .: Moscow Psychological and Social Institute; Voronezh: NPO MODEK, 1999. - 224 p.)

So, both positive and negative reflection reflect the search, the ability of the subject to raise new questions, but only positive reflection is able to find answers to them.

For the full development of the personality, it is important not only to regularly acquire knowledge, but also the ability to realize it, in order to then successfully apply it in practice. Reflexivity helps a person to formulate and process new information. Reflection is the ability of a person to realize his own uniqueness, the ability to form and understand the goals, the purpose of a person.

Reflection is the basis for understanding one's own personality

These two concepts are closely related and are often confused. In fact, there is a significant difference between them. Self-consciousness is the understanding and awareness by the subject of his own thoughts, feelings, actions, social status, interests and motives of behavior. Self-awareness comes through:

• culture (spiritual, material);
• feeling of one's own body (any action);
• formulation by society of norms of behavior, rules, ethics;
• interaction and relationships with others.

With the help of self-awareness, a person is constantly changing, improving or worsening innate and acquired qualities. Life itself teaches a person to exercise self-control and self-regulation with the help of self-consciousness.. Thanks to this, a reasonable person is able to take responsibility for his own actions and the results obtained.

Self-consciousness is very closely intertwined with reflection, self-consciousness affects the phenomenon of reflexivity, expanding it in a peculiar way.

Reflection, what is it?

Reflection is a word of Latin origin, it is translated as "turning back." To understand what reflection is in psychology, you need to know the following definitions: “introspection”, “deliberation”, “self-digging”, “self-observation”. These words are synonymous with reflexivity.

If self-consciousness is a person's awareness of what is happening, then reflection is the ability of the subject to understand and evaluate reality with the connection of his own "I".

The definition of reflection in psychology is a combination of the results of human reflections on one's own personality and its evaluation through the mechanisms of communication. Without society there is no reflexivity. The levels of self-observation are multifaceted: from ordinary, simple self-awareness to deep introspection, with reflection on the meaning of being, the morality of life.

Any human manifestations of conscious activity can become reflexive: thoughts, actions, motives, feelings, emotions. But they become reflections only if they are addressed to one's own consciousness:

• sensations relating to personal feelings;
• thinking about your own thoughts, actions;
• imagination, which affects what someone (the person himself or others) fantasized (imagined).

Only by reflecting on his own consciousness, a person creates an individual understanding of commensurability with the real world, perceiving himself and reality as one whole. Such a reflexive comparison allows the subject to act in life as a certain personality - one of the components of the world where a person exists.

Reflexivity as a psychological part of personality

Reflexivity in psychology is the ability of a person to reflect and analyze his own personality with the inclusion of:

• events that have already taken place;
• actions taken (deeds);
• realizable successes or failures;
• current emotional state;
• characteristics of inherent qualities of character.

The depth of reflective introspection is individual. It depends on the degree of spiritual development of the subject, the level of his self-control, moral qualities, degree of education. Also, reflection clarifies (supports or stops) the ongoing action.

For inner harmony, it is important that these concepts are interconnected. This is confirmed by the following facts:

1. Reflection without action leads to an obsession with the individual's own "I".
2. Action without reflection leads to stupid, frivolous and thoughtless actions.

In the field of psychology, reflection is an important key point. Most psychological research is based on reflexology. The study of this phenomenon (its structure, dynamics of development) helps to understand the deep mechanisms of the formation of the human personality.

Reflection has always attracted the attention of thinkers, philosophers and psychologists. Even Aristotle spoke of this part of human consciousness as "thinking that acts on thinking."

To fully reveal the reflexive processes in psychology, this phenomenon is considered from the level of various approaches in the study:

• personality;
• consciousness;
• thinking;
• creativity.

Reflection as a method of studying the psyche

Reflective processes are successfully used in psychology when conducting introspection. Introspection (translated from Latin “I look inside”) is a way of studying the psychological qualities of a subject. It is based on the observation of personal psychological processes without the use of any standards.

The founder of introspection, the British psychologist and philosopher John Locke, explained that a person has two constant sources of knowledge necessary for the formation of the human psyche:

1. Objects of the surrounding world. As a person grows up, he contacts the outside world with the help of external senses (sight, touch, hearing). In response, he receives certain impressions, which form the perception of reality in the mind.
2. activity of the human mind. This includes the upbringing and formation of the personality with the help of all manifestations of feelings.

These two sources are inextricably linked, and their joint activity is organized by reflexivity. According to Locke: "Reflection is an observation born of activity."

How introspection helps

When a psychologist uses reflection methods in his work, he pushes the patient to look at himself from the outside. As a result of successful work, a person learns to deeply and correctly analyze his own actions and better understands his inner world.

Using reflexive methods in work, a psychologist teaches a person to independently choose the only correct solution to a problem.

In reflective work, the psychologist, analyzing a certain situation, helps the patient to realize the following points:

• what exactly the person feels at the given time;
• what vulnerable spot in one's own mind was affected in the situation;
• how to use the difficulties that have arisen to your advantage.

Independent search for answers determines the essence of the work of a psychologist who uses reflective methods. Reflection helps not only to look at oneself internally, but also to know oneself as a public person (that is, the personality that people around perceive). And also to know yourself improved (the one that a person sees as an ideal).

Reflective methods of psychological work help the patient to realize the six parts of his own personality. Let's list them:

1. I, as the subject myself.
2. I'm like a man on people.
3. I am like a perfect creature.
4. I'm in the mind of an outsider.
5. I am like a person in public in the perception of others.
6. I, as an ideal creation in the perception of outsiders.

To understand what reflexive manifestations are, an example of reflection in psychology helps:

“A person watches an interesting movie and suddenly realizes that the main character resembles him. It is similar in appearance, emotional manifestations, deeds, actions. Or a mother, lovingly looking at her child, is trying to identify familiar traits in character, looking for similar traits. All these are unconscious reflexive manifestations.

Signs of reflection

Psychologists, using the methods of reflexivity in their work, distinguish two differences between this phenomenon in a person. This:

1. Situational. This sign allows the subject to deeply "enter" the situation and comprehend the slightest nuances of what is happening.
2. Sanogenic. It is characterized by the ability to regulate emotional manifestations for the relief of experiences and difficult thoughts.
3. Retrospective. The ability to evaluate past events in order to gain new useful experience by analyzing and realizing one's own mistakes.

Psychologists are convinced that reflection is a direct path to creating inner harmony and self-improvement of the individual. Developed reflexive mechanisms help transform vague and incomprehensible thoughts, "wandering" in the subconscious, into successful ideas that bring well-being.

People who do not know how to work with their own reflexive manifestations are not able to systematically organize their lives. They are unable to take control of what is happening to them and passively go with the flow.

How to develop such abilities

In order to become a successful, harmonious personality, it is important to master reflexive inclinations and use them profitably. Psychologists have developed several exercises that should be performed regularly:

We analyze actions. After making any decision, you should look at yourself with the eyes of an outsider. Consider the act, whether there was another way out of the situation. Maybe he could become more profitable and successful? What conclusions can be drawn from the decision, where it leads, whether there are errors in it, what.

The purpose of this exercise is to understand the fact of personal uniqueness and learn self-control.

Assessing the past. Every day, in the evening, in a relaxed atmosphere, “view” your day anew. But in more detail and slowly, analyze even the smallest episodes of the past day. If you feel that some event caused dissatisfaction, focus on it.

Try to evaluate the past day from the point of view of a disinterested person. This will allow you to identify your own failures and prevent their recurrence in the future.

Learning to communicate. This skill is important for improving and enhancing communication skills. What to do? Expand the circle of acquaintances, trying to communicate with people of different views and points of view. For a sociable person, this is not difficult, but a closed introvert will have to work.

Remember the impression made on you by new people, and periodically check the opinion that develops about them in the future. Such an exercise helps to activate innate reflexivity and improve it.

As a result, a person learns to make informed, competent decisions and determine the most profitable way out of the situation.

Reflection is a powerful psychological weapon that helps you better understand yourself and others. Over time, a person develops the ability to predict events, feel the thoughts of others and predict the outcome of events.

Reflection is understood as a skill that allows not only to control the focus of attention, but also to be aware of one's 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 encroachments of the individual aimed at introspection. They can manifest themselves in the assessment of their actions, thoughts and ongoing events. The depth of reflection will depend on how educated a person is and knows 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 take place in almost every sphere 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 sure that reflection in psychology is one of the sources of knowledge. Thought itself becomes its subject. 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 in order for a person to be able to establish and regulate adequate requirements for himself, which are based on the 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 in the study of 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, not 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 address 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 the change of ideas about the object to more adequate in this situation.
• Personal. It gives you the opportunity to study your own actions, analyze images and the inner "I". It is used in cases where self-disintegration of the personality takes place, correction of self-consciousness and the construction of a new “I” are required.
• Intellectual. 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 personality.
• Sanogenic. The main function is considered to be the regulation of emotional states and the reduction of suffering and experiences.
• Reflection implies 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 involvement of the subject in what is happening and encourages him to analyze and comprehend "here and now".
• Retrospective. It is used to evaluate those 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. Using retrospective reflection, you can identify the reasons for your failures and defeats.
• Promising. It is used to think about future activities, involves planning and determining constructive ways of influencing.

Why reflection is useful

Experts are sure that it is reflection in psychology that is considered a generator of new ideas. It allows you to build a realistic picture and process the information received. As a result of introspection, 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 to go next.

It is very important not to confuse reflection with self-awareness. It implies self-orientation. Reflection focuses 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 is very important in which it is helped to develop, it must be done regularly, only then they will bring results. This will help you change for the better 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, 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 to 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 one's own uniqueness and be able to control one's actions.
• Assessment of the day. A person should make it a habit at the end of each day to analyze all the events and mentally “drive away” the episodes that have occurred in memory. You should focus on those that cause a feeling of dissatisfaction. It is worth looking at them through the eyes of an uninterested observer, perhaps this will help to identify your own shortcomings.
• Communication with people. Social reflection in psychology implies communication with people and constant improvement of one's own. Periodically, it is necessary to check 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 harder on himself.

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

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

Signs of reflection

Psychologists identify several fundamental features 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.
• Extensiveness. This indicator reflects the number of people whose worlds are considered.

What are the processes involved in reflection?

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

With the help of analysis, you can break all the information into blocks and structure it. Equally important is the definition of the main and the establishment of a relationship with the secondary. Synthesis helps to combine all the elements and get a whole new object. Evaluation makes it possible to determine the importance of the material and the goal itself. The criteria may differ, they are determined depending on the situation.

Types of hearing

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

• is active silence. The technique includes encouraging phrases and gestures, as well as those that will encourage the person to open up.
• Reflective listening is feedback from the speaker. It can be achieved using the following techniques: clarifying, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings and summarizing.