What is operational psychology? This is the name of the science that helps to read the signals coming from a person and skillfully use them. There are special methods and techniques that are very effective, although they are not widely publicized. Interesting? Then read the article.
Essence
What does operational psychology study? This branch of science is aimed at controlling your own emotions. This was taught in specialized schools of the KGB, now it is studied in paid courses and in police schools. It would seem, what is so special about operational psychology? But just think, science allows you to understand the thoughts of the criminal, and subsequently catch him. But the task of operatives is not only to catch violators. Law enforcement officers must master psychological techniques in order to talk a witness, convince him to give truthful testimony, and so on.
It turns out that every police officer needs operational psychology. The result of the work depends on its application.
Why are crimes committed?
Every phenomenon in our life has a psychological background. Even crimes are committed on the basis of something. Why is this happening? Operational-investigative psychology has long identified two sides of the crime:
- Internal. These are subjective circumstances that cannot be seen or perceived.
- External. This includes objective circumstances. They are perceptible and observable.
Psychological circumstances in operational-investigative psychology are the goals and motives for committing a crime, the moral attitude, both to the resulting result and to the illegal action.
If we talk about objective circumstances, then they include the place, method, time, tools, the subject of the attack, the actions of the criminal and what happened as a result.
For this reason, every investigator needs to have the skills of psychology.
Basics of Human Action
A good policeman must take into account, first of all, the absence or presence of a psychological mechanism. Depending on this moment, several types of actions are distinguished. They are divided into the following groups:
- Impulsive. This includes actions that discharge tension or some other state of a person. That is, a person wants to do something and does it regardless of how the act is perceived and evaluated. such behavior is inherent in people with a pathological condition who, due to mental illness, cannot perform volitional actions.
- Reflex. Typically, in this case, the action will bereaction to something. It happens automatically, and therefore is not based on goals and norms.
- Volitional. Operational-investigative psychology characterizes them as actions that are distinguished by consciousness. Simply put, a person is fully aware of what he is going to do. Actions have their own goals and motives, which fundamentally distinguishes them from the other three types.
- Instinctive. Characterized by the fact that the person does not predict the results of actions and is not aware of them.
You have already understood what types of actions are, but which of them is inherent in the presence of a mechanism? Since only volitional decisions are made consciously, then the psychological mechanism can be traced only in this form. More on this.
It is important to understand that the psychology of an offense refers only to the volitional conscious actions of a mentally he althy person. If a person is sick, then the moral components of behavior change greatly. Behavioral motives and social attitudes change, any stimuli enter the diseased brain, and the semantic regulation of behavior is disrupted.
For this reason, it is so important for a policeman to know the psychology of operational-search activity. The employee is obliged to pay attention to the correct or incorrect behavior of a person, his interests and statements. It is noteworthy that the subject can behave quite adequately, but the explanations for the motives of behavior will raise doubts about mental he alth.
How to get in touch
The psychology of operational-investigative activity, like the activity itself, involveshaving contact with people. Usually there is a secret communication between objects and subjects of our interest, and it takes place according to specific psychological laws.
Here the police officer feels the need to master the appropriate techniques. After all, the outcome of the case depends on how well he disposes of the criminal or the witness.
To go further, it is necessary to understand some definitions, for example, psychological contact. This term refers to the process of maintaining and establishing mutual sympathy between interlocutors. Contact is considered successfully established if there is trust and interest between people.
Why, who needs it and for what purpose?
Textbooks on operational psychology, as one, speak of the need to establish moral contact. To understand the nature of this process, it is necessary to understand what stages people go through. So, psychological contact develops in three stages:
- Mutual evaluation. It's about first impressions. It is at this stage that people decide whether they want to start communicating or not. The next step will be a gradual convergence.
- Mutual interest. The interlocutors show that they can be useful in something, people are interested in the interlocutor and begin to communicate.
- Separation of the couple from others. If a contact is found, then people find a common topic and have a separate conversation.
All these stages are perfectly visible at any group meetings or in a team. But, nevertheless, the scheme works with any communication. For this reasonan employee of the authorities must own it, since in this case he is an active link. For operational-search activities, you can slightly reformulate the scheme itself, then it turns out that the employee must make an acquaintance, then form an interest in the conversation with the opponent, and then establish a trusting relationship.
How to ensure success?
It is very important for an operative to establish contact correctly, because this person has no right to make a mistake. If the first time this was not possible, then it is unlikely that it will be possible to repeat later. To avoid mistakes, you need to make a plan, following which the contact will be found.
First, you need to think of an excuse that will help you make an acquaintance. This moment is the most important, because a lot depends on the first impression. Textbooks on operational psychology advise not to skimp on flattery, compliments, you can put pressure on self-esteem.
It is equally important to take into account the psychological mechanisms, as well as the cravings of people. Psychologists note that in each case the scheme will be different, because for the most part, communication tactics depend on whether the interlocutors are of different sexes or not. It is necessary to achieve the emergence of sympathy, only it will lead to communication. In the event that the first impression was negative, communication may not happen at all.
Next, law enforcement officers must inspire confidence. It will be expressed in the fact that the interlocutors will mentally generalize themselves with the opponent. If it was possible to establish a trusting relationship, then subsequently all the negative factors formed inthe human psyche will disappear.
The KGB textbook on operational psychology says that even in the case when psychological contact is established, some kind of barriers may arise in one of the interlocutors. This moment may be associated with some personality traits. Barriers are expressed, as a rule, in the form of distrust and indifference, enmity, satiety, incompatibility. Let's try to understand these manifestations.
Psychology of barriers
Experts have found that indifference is inherent in phlegmatic and introverted people. Mostly. An indifferent person pays little attention to some life troubles or troubles. The problem for establishing contact is not indifference itself, but the moment when a person builds a barrier out of it. To destroy this wall, you will have to choose the right excuse for dating or constantly attract attention and maintain interest.
In the KGB textbook on operational psychology, many pages are devoted to mistrust. As a rule, a barrier of this type is built by very emotional personalities. The most rigid boundaries are usually set by those people who have an internal conflict at this moment. Even an outsider can see the imbalance between external behavior and internal experiences. A feature of this type of people is psychological stress and suspicion. It is not easy to build trusting relationships with such personalities, but this does not mean that it is impossible. It is necessary to constantly pay attention to their uniqueness, significance and other positivequality. Flattery will be the main motive in the conversation.
When does the barrier of enmity appear? This type of protection is inherent in authoritarian people. They even have their own classification - liberal-soft and incorrigible. The former usually hide behind some phrase, they like the role of democrats, but the latter use all sorts of ways to put pressure on people in order to achieve their goal. When people of this type are on the defensive, they put up barriers that not only have a touch of hostility, they scream about it. To find contact with authoritarian people, the employee must use such techniques that will elevate the importance of authorities in their own eyes.
The barrier of incompatibility may arise based on various factors. Sometimes reasons force you to completely stop communication. But if the interlocutors behave correctly in relation to each other, then even insurmountable incompatibility can be broken. In such cases, much, if not all, depends on the operative. It is his skills and knowledge of psychology that decide whether there will be contact or not.
If people communicate a lot and often, then there may be a barrier of satiety. The same problem arises if the employee of the authorities does not try to build a conversation taking into account the psychological type of the interlocutor. For this reason, all the blame for the failed contact falls directly on the operative.
How to get in touch
Formation of operational-search psychology begins during the training of future employees. First of all, they are taught how to properly establish contact. This is due to the fact that some people communicate with strangers is given veryhard. Just in such cases, it is necessary to know the whole psychological mechanism.
In order for the acquaintance to be successful, it is necessary to carefully plan it. In this case, it is necessary to take into account not only the social and psychological type of the interlocutor, but also the interest of the object, and the motivation of behavior.
No less important is the pretext for getting to know each other. The task of operational-search psychology is just to find a natural occasion for acquaintance. If there is none, then establishing contact is more difficult.
It's important to understand that an excuse may or may not give a reason to continue the conversation. In such situations, the personal qualities of the operative are very important. For example, a person who has wit, resourcefulness or originality will be able to easily continue communication even with an unsuccessfully chosen pretext. This technique has a name - "indirect motivation of the face." It consists in the fact that the employee expresses some controversial point of view or makes a witty remark that cannot be answered. Thus, the subject becomes interested in the conversation and continues it.
In the psychology of operational-search activities, there is such a thing as "the reception of general interest", which also gives good results at the stage of making acquaintances. Usually it is used at various matches, tournaments, excursions and other events that are characterized by a large crowd of people. In these places, as a rule, groups begin to gather to discuss this or that event. That is, people on the basis of the same or opposite opinion come into contact betweenyourself.
The method of "imaginary loss of things" works very well too. The operative may pretend to have lost or forgotten some of the things. Moreover, the behavior should be built in such a way that the object of interest pays attention. If the latter succumbed and became interested in the plight of the employee and even pointed to the thing, then we can assume that the conversation started. Experienced law enforcement operatives note that in such a situation, a person does not understand whether they are being introduced to him intentionally or not.
One way or another, there are many ways to start establishing contact, but they can also be divided into two groups - when an employee meets, and when an object of interest meets. Choose a method from one group or another should be in accordance with the personality of the person of interest.
Psychology of an operational officer requires that he be able to win over himself, which means he can make the right first impression. What is it based on? Let's take a closer look.
How important is a first impression?
Anyone forms an opinion about other people from the first meeting. Studies have shown that the initial impression is influenced by:
- Appearance of the interlocutor.
- Gestures, facial expressions, gait.
- Speech and voice.
It is no coincidence that such a scheme was chosen. After all, first of all, each person pays attention to how someone looks. For example, people subconsciously perceive a tall person as self-confident, and they consider a full person to be one who indulges weaknesses. One peoplelook older than their years, while others look younger. All this, of course, affects perception. The operational officer is obliged to monitor not only himself, but also the emotional background of the interlocutor. If a person is depressed or irritated, then it is unlikely that you will be able to establish contact with him.
How you move, talk and walk is noticed by every interlocutor. It is a mistake to assume that these moments are of no interest to anyone. On the contrary, it is on their basis that one or another opinion about people is formed. For example, in many psychological books it is written that strong-willed people have a square chin and society continues to think so. Or another example - men with heavy eyebrows, greasy dark skin and a pronounced mouth are perceived by others as brawlers with pronounced vanity.
No less important is the timbre of the voice when meeting and speech. The operational psychology of the FSB just teaches how to speak correctly, as well as control the sounds of speech. The fact is that the voice expresses the whole range of feelings and, moreover, can be simply unpleasant. We can say that this is a method of influencing people, which the operative can control himself. At the same time, with the help of voice, the interlocutor receives the installation already at an early stage of acquaintance.
How to get interested?
The task of operational psychology is, first of all, the interlocutor's interest in further communication. Science itself calls the manifestation of human cognitive needs in the form of any emotions. Simply put, an interested person wants to get to know the interlocutor further, looking for ways to get closer. When making contact, thisthe moment is very important, because it is mutual interest that allows you to continue and deepen communication.
To make it clearer, let's give an example. A person is at some kind of collective event and wants to share his opinion about what is happening. Among all the people, he chooses a few subjects with whom, in his opinion, he could talk about it. At the same time, a person already has a certain opinion about each of the selected people. For example, he considered the first to be impudent, the second to be too smart, and the third to be simply unpleasant in appearance. As a result, he will choose what will provide positive emotions, and efforts will be spent on this to a minimum.
Usually people who have the same views on things or the situation as a whole come together. Most often, they are more willing to make contact with those who are ready to listen more than to express their point of view. If the operative gives this to the object of interest, then communication will be established.
Fundamentals of Psychology
Unfortunately, many law enforcement officers forget about the psychology of operational-search investigative activities. As a result, communication with the object of interest often fails. It is not right. The operative must put all his strength into eliminating all gaps in psychology.
But even if the employee knows all the tricks and nuances of proper communication, it is not a fact that the contact will be established professionally and easily. In addition to theory, you also need to practice. Only then will professional activity begin to bear fruit.
Communication technique
The course of operational psychology contains various methods of establishing and continuing contact. What it is? They are understood as techniques and communicative actions that satisfy certain socially valuable needs.
Many factors influence which side will prevail in communication - interactive, communicative, perceptual. Why do you need to decide? Yes, if only because each side needs a specific set of tools. That is, during the study of communication techniques in different situations, either one or the other elements prevail. There are, of course, universal techniques that are used, among other things, in the psychology of operational and investigative activities. These include a sense of humor, friendliness, tact and so on. It turns out that the operative must develop these qualities in himself, and then delve into the psychological nuances.
It is also important to differentiate the techniques used for communication to certain situations. For example, in a business conversation, one technique is used, but in an informal conversation, another one is used.
We spent a lot of time on how to start communication, but it is equally important to know the methods of influencing the person of interest. Let's take a closer look at this.
How to influence the object of interest?
In investigative-operational psychology, a whole section is devoted to this issue. We will also consider what methods of influencing a person exist. Experts identify several ways:
- Suggestion.
- Infection.
- Imitation.
- Persuasion.
Some methods can be used by a person without realizing it, while others become a balanced method of influence. Let's consider each of them in more detail.
Suggestion
This method involves influencing the emotional background of a person, because of which he begins to act in the right direction for the interlocutor. Suggestion is the persuasion of a person to do as he is dictated with the help of verbal tools.
In order for a person to succumb to suggestion, it is necessary for the opponent to match his own words. For example, if a person teaches the life of another, then he should look so that at first sight arouse a desire to imitate and respect. If a dirty alcoholic does the same, then such messages, except for a smile, will not cause anything.
The operational psychology of the KGB says that suggestion only works when thoughts are delivered in a confident voice. Sometimes it depends on the tone how successful the outcome will be.
No less important is how suggestible a person is. The most malleable are children under 13, as well as insecure people.
The best way to instill something is when a person combines suggested information and familiar and pleasant information.
Infection
This is the most ancient method of influence. This method involves the transfer of an emotional state from one person to another. Everyone knows and remembers that feeling when there was a good mood, until an upset acquaintance came. And now you are already upset and depressed with him. This is what is called infection. It's that simple.
Panic -this is the most effective way of infection. He works only in the crowd. How does this happen? If a certain number of people are in equally unpleasant conditions, and someone starts to panic, then this condition is transmitted to the majority. This does not mean that contagion works only on negative emotions. Laughter, fun, etc. can also be conveyed in this way.
Persuasion
It is considered the most effective and at the same time harmless method of influence. It is based on facts that are understandable through a logical chain of thought. It is important to take into account the intellectual level of development of the interlocutor. This moment is decisive, because it is impossible to prove something to a person who is inferior to you in mental development. The rule works the other way too. It is foolish to try to explain something to a person who is much smarter than you. Funny, isn't it?
How does it work? When a person receives the first information, he is looking for an explanation for it. It is at this moment that everything depends on how much the operative will be able to convince him. It is very important not to deceive the interlocutor. Whatever the suggestible person, he will still feel the lie. In such a situation, one cannot count on further trust.
It is also important to match the opponent's attitude and have the same standard of living.
Imitation
The psychology of operational activity also includes such a method of influence as imitation. What is it? The whole idea is that if a person has achieved something in life and become successful, then otherspeople subconsciously begin to imitate him.
To provoke an individual to copy, you must always maintain the standard of living that interested him so much from the beginning. That is, the object of imitation should always be bright, memorable, admirable.
RAM
In conclusion, I would like to talk about working memory in psychology. This is practically the same as short-term memory. It can't be said that they are exactly the same, but at least they have the same time frame.
What does this mean for operatives? Everything is simple. The object of interest first of all remembers some information of interest to him, but at the same time they are not stored in memory for a long time. That is, in order to establish contact with a person of interest, you need to try to leave yourself in his memory.
It is so simply explained that this is working memory in psychology.
I would like to say that for successful work in law enforcement agencies, one should not neglect various knowledge of psychology. After all, it is from these nuances that work with people consists.
