The article will provide general information about the concept of internalization. This phenomenon is characteristic of higher mental functions and activity. The term was developed by both Western and Soviet psychologists, especially within the framework of the psychology of activity.
Definition of concept
The concept of internalization was first introduced into scientific circulation by researchers from France. Initially, there was a different meaning of iteriorization. It was a phenomenon that denoted the process of instilling the ideology of the individual, that is, the consciousness of society was transferred to the consciousness of the individual.
Psychoanalysts consider a slightly different definition of internalization. This, in their opinion, is a process that takes place in the psyche and determines the relationship of an individual with an existing or non-existing object, the transformation of an external environment factor into an internal environment factor. This phenomenon still causes discussions in the psychoanalytic direction. At the moment, scientists have not figured out whether such processes as introjection, absorption and identification are identical, or they occur along parallel lines.
Sovietpsychologist L. S. Vygotsky gave the following definition of internalization - this is the transformation of external activity into the internal environment of consciousness. The scientist believed that the initial development of the psyche occurs in the external environment and depends on various environmental factors that are in the environment of the individual. But over time, these external general forms of activity are absorbed by the human consciousness due to the phenomenon of internalization and become the highest mental functions of a particular individual.
How does the process of internalization take place?
It has already been stated above that external relations between people gradually turned into higher mental functions of a person, such as memory, thinking, perception, sensation, imagination. L. S. Vygotsky conducted experiments at school to confirm his theoretical assumptions. As a result of research, the scientist came to the following conclusions:
- You can see the process of building higher mental functions only in genesis, after they are formed. Then the building enters deep into consciousness and becomes indistinguishable.
- Internalization helped to give rise to psychic reality through the transition of external forms into internal ones.
- The formed essence is difficult to explain, especially if we speak from the point of view of physiological processes. To consider it, a different kind of toolkit is needed - psychological.
The process of transforming external relations into internal ones is possible through internalization. This transformation does not occur independently, because it also depends onfrom surrounding people, communication with them. Only thanks to adequate upbringing, the child and his psyche develop correctly. The phenomenon of internalization helps a person mentally make plans, make dialogues, and consider various options for events. Thinking in abstract categories becomes accessible.
Internalization of activity
Each term is a product of human activity. It turns out that it can hardly be taught. But thanks to a properly organized learning process, the internalization of activities will be progressive and phased.
Take, for example, a schoolchild who is learning to read. To begin with, he should learn external forms, that is, letters. Then gradually the student learns the syllables and begins to read aloud. But the process of learning to read does not end there either, because the next stage is the transition of reading aloud to internal reading. This is the process of turning external actions into higher mental functions - the process of internalization.
Besides this phenomenon, there is another opposite concept. Interiorization and exteriorization are like two sides of a coin. One transforms the outside into the inside, and the other transforms the inside into the outside. For example, when an automated skill fails, a person begins to look for what is wrong, and then does it right. Thus, the inner returns to the outer.
Engaged in the study and development of these concepts in the framework of the theory of the stages of development of mental activity P. Ya. Galperin. He considered the highest level of internalization to bethat a person can do certain actions mentally, without resorting to additional manipulations.
Theory of P. Ya. Galperin
The scientist believed that a mental action would be formed only after passing through the following stages:
- Introducing performance requirements.
- External item manipulation.
- Actually, internalization is the mastering of action in the absence of material objects, transformation into an internal plan. Here, external speech is used to refer to external objects.
- The final transition of speech into mental activity.
- Completion of internalization.
This is how the human psyche develops, and external actions become mental activity with the help of internalization.
