A person is constantly in society, because of which he has to communicate and interact with other people every day. And this is one of the main factors in the life of each of us. After all, the success of a person and his social position are largely determined by the ability to negotiate with other people, find an approach to them and influence them. At the same time, we ourselves are often influenced by others, which most often contradicts our interests.
Methods of psychological influence on a person are considered in a separate direction of psychology. They consist of a variety of ways to influence that we use almost every day in building professional, social and family relationships. What methods of psychological influence on a person exist, and what goal can be achieved by using them?
Concept of influence
This term is most often used in sociology and psychology. The psychological impact on a person is nothing more than an influence on his thoughts and feelings. It is a process that changes the behavior, attitude, intentions, desires and ideas of someone around. Such a psychological impact on a person bypasses his consciousness, reason and logic. It is carried out using suggestion, appeal to experiences and feelings, to habits and the unconscious, to hidden fears and vivid impressions.
Influence Targets
Among the features of the psychological impact on a person, one can single out its unconscious and spontaneous nature, as well as the lack of social control. Its use is made for certain purposes, which can be both positive and negative.
The topic of psychological impact on other people is of particular interest to businessmen, marketers, advertisers and entrepreneurs. Using the existing mechanisms of such influence, they can profitably sell their goods. The correct use of psychological influence tools allows representatives of these professions to make good profits.
There are other goals of psychological impact on a person. These include:
- satisfaction of personal needs at the expense of others or through them;
- confirmation of the fact of one's own existence and its significance;
- overcoming the spatio-temporal boundaries of one's own "I".
But in any case, the purpose of psychological influence on a person is the desire to make him consciously or subconsciously obey certain requirements, laws, attitudes or norms. For example, using such techniques, the director, influencing his subordinates, seeks to rally the team or give people food for thought so that they act for the good of the company. Parents psychologically influence their children in order to form a full-fledged personality, which will turn out to be an educated and law-abiding citizen of their country and a good person.
Advertising is created in order to force the buyer to purchase a particular product. And this is its main purpose of psychological impact on a person. It can also be set up to get people to vote for a certain candidate, watch a movie whose budget required spending a lot of money that needs to be returned urgently, etc.
The goals of psychological suggestion are not always positive. Suicide bombers are an example of this. Before completing the task, they are subjected to suggestion, hypnosis and processing, convincing them to kill other people, dying themselves. All this is contrary to human nature.
Types of influence
As a rule, people direct their socio-psychological activity to individuals or entire groups.
At the same time, scientists and researchers distinguish the following types of psychological impact on a person:
- Information-psychological. Sometimes it is called ideological and propagandistic. It represents the impact of information or a word. The main purpose of such influence lies in the formation of certain social (ideological) ideas, beliefs and views. Its use evokes both positive and negative emotions in people, active mass reactions, while simultaneously forming stable representations-images.
- Psychogenic. Such an impact is made on the human brain, as a result of which deviations from the norm begin to be observed in the neuropsychic activity of the individual. The reason for this may be, for example, shock effects of any events or environmental conditions. Thus, pictures of numerous victims or mass destruction have such a negative effect on a person's consciousness that he loses his bearings, loses the ability to act rationally, falls into a stupor, panic, etc. A psychogenic effect can also be exerted by color. Thus, experiments have shown that yellow, orange, red and purple speed up the pulse, increase blood pressure and deepen breathing, while purple, blue, cyan and green produce the opposite effect.
- Psychoanalytic. This type of influence is characterized by the influence on the human subconscious by various therapeutic agents. The most striking example of this is the state of deep sleep or hypnosis. There are also methods in which the psychological impact on a person's consciousness excludes the possibility of resistance not only of a single individual, but also of a group of people,awake.
- Neurolinguistic. This type of psychological impact on a person allows you to change his motivation. This happens when special linguistic programs are introduced into the consciousness of the individual. The features of psychological influences on people in this case are influencing the neurophysiological activity of the brain. At the same time, there is a change in volitional and emotional states. The main means of psychological influence on a person in this case are specially selected verbal (verbal) and non-verbal programs, upon mastering the content of which, it is possible to change the ideas, beliefs and views of an individual or groups of people in the right direction.
- Psychotronic. Such an impact on other people is carried out when information is transmitted through unconscious (non-sensitive) perception. For example, there are developments that result in low-frequency and high-frequency brain coding generators, as well as dowsing installations that stimulate certain psychological reactions. The latter are carried out with the help of biological and chemical means.
- Psychotropic. Means of this influence are medicines, as well as biological and chemical substances. So, some strongly smelling elements can influence the psyche. Their use allows you to change a person's behavior and provoke him to perform certain actions.
In sociology and psychology, directional and non-directional influences are also distinguished. The first of these includes methodsinfluence on a person, as suggestion and persuasion. Non-directional influence is possible through imitation and infection.
Persuasion
This method of psychological influence is one of the most harmless, but at the same time the most effective. This method is based on the provision of facts that become apparent in the case of building a logical chain during reflection.
But it should be borne in mind that, using various psychological methods of influencing a person, it is necessary to take into account the level of his intellectual development. To prove anything to an individual who is one step lower in mental development is at least absurd. The arguments given will be incomprehensible to him, and therefore he simply will not accept them. You should also not convince someone who is smarter than you, because it will look just ridiculous.
Only after the human mind has mastered a new piece of information, his brain will begin to look for explanations. At this point, everything will depend on the art of persuasion of the speaker. It’s good if he manages to get the interlocutor to trust him. In this case, you only need to alternate new data in the conversation.
The most important requirement of any methods of psychological influence on a person is that the speaker must not deceive his opponent. If only falsehood sounds in his voice, then the level of trust will immediately begin to fall. In any case, the person who is trying to convince his interlocutor should give the impression of an authoritative person.
Strategiesbeliefs
How to have a socio-psychological impact on people? To do this, you can use one of several strategies:
- Aggressive. It is built on the contradiction of the available facts. This will prove to the interlocutor that the speaker is an extraordinary person. A person immediately has a desire to listen to the arguments to the end in order to unravel the logical chain created during the conversation. A similar strategy is used, as a rule, by professionals of persuasion and words.
- Passive. Such a strategy can only work if a person knows his interlocutor well. In order to convince him of something, he begins to carefully give examples from his own life, comparing them with cases well known to the general public. By this he brings the opponent to the thought that he seeks to convey to him. Such an information-psychological impact on a person is possible only if there are no discrepancies and inconsistencies in judgments. Such oversights will not allow you to get the desired result.
Suggestion
This is also one of the ways of psychological influence on a person. When it is applied, the influence on the opponent is due to the created emotional background. This makes a person act as the interlocutor tells him.
Suggestion is a persuasion that uses verbal tools such as eye contact, words, etc. These tools make a person do as he is told.
Suggestion can become an effective tool only ifwhen a person will live up to his words. If he starts trying to “teach how to live”, talk about the laws of achieving success and the rules of behavior in society, but at the same time his manners and appearance will not inspire respect, then the opponent is unlikely to have a desire to imitate him. The words of an exhausted individual in dirty clothes, who reeks of fumes, will look ridiculous, ridiculous and pathetic. That is why someone who wants to help his interlocutor with advice should first understand the current situation, be imbued with the problem that has arisen and put himself in the place of his opponent. Only this will allow you to start expressing the right thoughts and support those who need it.
What is the success of suggestion?
This method of psychological influence has some nuances. So, a person must inspire his thoughts in a confident voice, without any shadow of a doubt. Sometimes the success or failure of an idea directly depends on the tone of the spoken phrase.
Another factor that determines the result of the impact on a person is his suggestibility. And this indicator is purely individual. For example, a high level of suggestibility is observed in children under 12-14 years old, as well as in indecisive and insecure people.
Such a method will be especially effective when the meaning of the words spoken is combined with external information that is understandable and familiar to the interlocutor.
If you want to prove to a person that by agreeing withavailable arguments, he will be satisfied, you should give an example of some negative result that will certainly await him when he refuses suggested thoughts.
Imitation
Often we use certain methods of influencing a person and do not even suspect it ourselves, because this happens at the subconscious level. So, a person who has reached any heights in intellectual terms or career, certainly becomes the subject of admiration and respect. At the same time, less experienced people begin to take an example from those who managed to realize their aspirations. It should be borne in mind that the object of imitation should always be at a height. In order to use this method of psychological influence on people, it must be delightful, memorable, bright and attractive in any situation. In other words, he needs to satisfy the desire of the people around him to follow his ideal.
Why does a person strive to be like an idol?
The basis of imitation is often an emotional outburst or unconscious envy. So, all children tend to take an example from their parents, and growing up - from their peers or idols. Sometimes a person carries the craving for imitation through his whole life. Sometimes it is this psychological impact that pushes people to positive or negative actions. For example, a teenager picks up a cigarette, as many of his classmates do. Or a young person begins to play this or that sport in an effort to be like his idol.
Such methods of psychological influence are used by people involuntarily. It is unlikely that celebrities set themselves the goal of persuading their fans to gain weight or lose weight. But, nevertheless, they exert such an influence, and sometimes it is quite strong.
Infection
This method of psychological influence on people is the most ancient and most studied. It is based on the transfer of an emotional state from one person to another.
Surely many in their lives have faced such a situation when a good mood was spoiled due to a man who suddenly appeared, who, with tears in his eyes, began to tell his pitiful story. A wonderful state of mind disappeared somewhere. The mood fell and became similar to the one that the interlocutor had. Particularly impressionable natures in such a situation did not even need to hear sad words. Mood began to drop on an emotional level when receiving signals from those who are nearby.
Another striking example that is typical of the infection method is panic. Such a psychological effect is especially striking in the crowd. In the presence of a large crowd of people who are in equal critical conditions, if one of them panics, almost all of those present begin to succumb to this feeling.
However, infection can come not only with any negative emotions. Very good fromfun, laughter and positive mood are transmitted from person to person.
