Define adaptation. Individual and group

English adaptation; German adaptation. 1. Adaptation of self-organizing systems to changing environmental conditions. 2. In the theory of T. Parsons - material-energy interaction with the external environment, one of the functional conditions for the existence of social. systems along with integration, goal achievement and preservation of value patterns.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Adaptation

it is an integrative indicator of a person's condition, reflecting his ability to perform certain biosocial functions, namely:

An adequate system of relations and communication with others, the ability to work, study, organize leisure and recreation;

Variability (adaptability) of behavior in accordance with the role expectations of others (Psychological Dictionary. M., 1997. P. 13).

When studying adaptation, one of the most pressing issues is the question of the relationship between adaptation and socialization. The processes of socialization and social adaptation are closely interrelated, as they reflect a single process of interaction between the individual and society. Often, socialization is associated only with general development, and adaptation is associated with the adaptive processes of an already formed personality in new conditions of communication and activity. The phenomenon of socialization is defined as the process and result of the assimilation of the active reproduction by the individual of social experience, carried out in communication and activity. The concept of socialization is more related to social experience, development and formation of the individual under the influence of society, institutions and agents of socialization. In the process of socialization, the psychological mechanisms of the interaction of the individual with the environment, which occurs in the process of adaptation, are formed.

Thus, in the course of socialization, a person acts as an object that perceives, accepts, assimilates traditions, norms, roles created by society; socialization ensures the normal functioning of the individual in society. In the course of socialization, the development, formation and formation of the personality are carried out, at the same time, the socialization of the personality is a necessary condition for the adaptation of the individual in society. Social adaptation is one of the main mechanisms of socialization, one of the ways of more complete socialization. Thus, social adaptation is: a) a constant process of active adaptation of an individual to the conditions of a new social environment; b) the result of this process.

The socio-psychological content of social adaptation is the convergence of the goals and value orientations of the group and the individual included in it, the assimilation of norms, traditions, group culture, and entry into the role structure of the group.

In the course of socio-psychological adaptation, not only the adaptation of the individual to new social conditions is carried out, but also the realization of his needs, interests and aspirations; a person enters a new social environment, becomes its full member, asserts himself and develops his individuality. As a result of socio-psychological adaptation, the social qualities of communication, behavior and activities accepted in society are formed, thanks to which a person realizes his aspirations, needs, interests and can self-determine.

The process of adaptation in the psychoanalytic concept can be represented as a generalized formula: conflict - anxiety - defensive reactions. The socialization of the individual is determined by the repression of attraction and the switching of energy to objects sanctioned by society (Z. Freud), and also as a result of the desire of the individual to compensate and overcompensate for his inferiority (A. Adler).

E. Erickson's approach differs from the main psychoanalytic line and also assumes the presence of a positive way out of the situation of contradiction and emotional instability in the direction of the harmonious balance of the individual and the environment: contradiction - anxiety - protective reactions of the individual and the environment - harmonic balance or conflict.

Following 3. Freud, the psychoanalytic concept of adaptation was developed by the German psychoanalyst G. Hartmann.

G. Hartmann recognizes the great importance of conflicts for the development of personality, but he notes that not every adaptation to the environment, not every process of learning and maturation are conflict. The processes of perception, thinking, speech, memory, creativity, motor development of the child and much more can be free from conflicts. Hartmann introduces the term "conflict-free sphere of the Self" to denote the totality of functions that at any given moment has an impact on the sphere of mental conflicts.

Adaptation, according to G. Hartmann, includes both processes associated with conflict situations and those processes that are included in the conflict-free sphere of the self.

Modern psychoanalysts, following 3. Freud, distinguish two types of adaptation: 1) alloplastic adaptation is carried out due to changes in the external world that a person makes to bring it in line with his needs; 2) autoplastic adaptation is provided by changes in the personality (its structure, skills, habits, etc.), with the help of which it adapts to the environment.

These two actually psychic varieties of adaptation are supplemented by another one: the individual's search for an environment that is favorable for him.

The humanistic direction of social adaptation research criticizes the understanding of adaptation within the framework of the homeostatic model and puts forward a position on the optimal interaction of the individual and the environment. The main criterion of adaptation here is the degree of integration of the individual and the environment. The purpose of adaptation is to achieve positive spiritual health and the conformity of the values of the individual with the values of society. At the same time, the process of adaptation is not a process of balance between the organism and the environment. The process of adaptation in this case can be described by the formula: conflict - frustration - an act of adaptation.

The concepts of this direction are based on the concept of a healthy, self-actualizing personality, which strives to achieve its life goals, developing and using its creative potential. Balance, rootedness in the environment reduce or completely destroy the desire for self-actualization, which makes a person a personality. Only the desire for development, for personal growth, that is, for self-actualization, forms the basis for the development of both a person and society.

Constructive and non-constructive behavioral reactions are distinguished. According to A. Maslow, the criteria for constructive reactions are: their determination by the requirements of the social environment, focus on solving certain problems, unambiguous motivation and a clear representation of the goal, awareness of behavior, the presence in the manifestation of reactions of certain changes of an intrapersonal nature and interpersonal interaction. Unconstructive reactions are not realized; they are aimed only at eliminating unpleasant experiences from consciousness, without solving the problems themselves. Thus, these reactions are analogous to defensive reactions (considered in the psychoanalytic direction). Signs of a non-constructive reaction are aggression, regression, fixation, etc.

According to K. Rogers, non-constructive reactions are a manifestation of psychopathological mechanisms. According to A. Maslow, non-constructive reactions under certain conditions (under conditions of lack of time and information) play the role of an effective self-help mechanism and are characteristic of all healthy people in general.

There are two levels of adaptation: adaptation and maladjustment. Adaptation occurs when an optimal relationship between the individual and the environment is achieved through constructive behavior. In the absence of an optimal relationship between the individual and the environment, due to the dominance of non-constructive reactions or the failure of constructive approaches, maladjustment occurs.

The process of adaptation in the cognitive psychology of personality can be represented by the formula: conflict - threat - adaptation reaction. In the process of informational interaction with the environment, a person encounters information that contradicts her attitudes (cognitive dissonance), while experiencing a state of discomfort (threat), which stimulates the person to search for ways to remove or reduce cognitive dissonance. Attempts are being made:

Refute the received information;

Change your own attitudes, change the picture of the world;

Find additional information in order to establish consistency between previous ideas and information that contradicts them.

In foreign psychology, the neo-behaviorist definition of adaptation has become widespread. The authors of this direction give the following definition of social adaptation. Social adaptation is:

The state in which the needs of the individual, on the one hand, and the requirements of the environment, on the other, are completely satisfied. It is a state of harmony between the individual and nature or the social environment;

The process by which this harmonic state is achieved.

Thus, behaviorists understand social adaptation as a process of changes (physical, socio-economic or organizational) in behavior, social relations or in culture in general. The purpose of these changes is to improve the survival ability of groups or individuals. This definition has a biological connotation, indicating a connection with the theory of evolution and attention mainly to the adaptation of groups, rather than the individual, and we are not talking about personal changes in the course of adaptation of the individual. Meanwhile, the following positive points can be noted in this definition: 1) recognition of the adaptive nature of behavior modification through learning, the mechanisms of which (learning, learning, memorization) are one of the most important mechanisms for acquiring adaptive mechanisms of the personality; 2) the use of the term "social adaptation" to refer to the process by which an individual or group achieves a state of social equilibrium in the sense of not experiencing conflict with the environment. In this case, we are talking only about conflicts with the external environment and ignore the internal conflicts of the individual.

The interactionist concept of adaptation defines the effective adaptation of a person as adaptation, upon reaching which the person satisfies the minimum requirements and expectations of society. With age, the expectations that are placed on the socialized person become more and more complex. The individual is expected to move from a state of complete dependence to not only independence, but also taking responsibility for the welfare of others. In the interactionist direction, an adapted person is considered to be a person who has not only learned, accepted and implemented social norms, but also takes responsibility, sets and achieves goals. According to L. Philips, adaptability is expressed by two types of responses to environmental influences: 1) acceptance and effective response to those social expectations that everyone meets in accordance with their age and gender. For example, educational activities, the establishment of friendly relations, the creation of a family, etc. L. Philips considers such adaptation to be an expression of conformity to the requirements (norms) that society imposes on the behavior of an individual; 2) flexibility and efficiency in meeting new and potentially dangerous conditions, as well as the ability to give events a desirable direction for themselves. In this sense, adaptation means that a person successfully uses the created conditions for the implementation of his goals, values and aspirations. Adaptive behavior is characterized by successful decision making, taking the initiative, and clearly defining one's own future.

Representatives of the interactionist direction share the concepts of "adaptation" and "adaptation". T. Shibutani believed that each personality can be characterized by a combination of techniques that allow it to cope with difficulties, and these techniques can be considered as forms of adaptation. Thus, adaptation refers to well-organized ways of coping with typical problems (as opposed to adaptation, which consists in the body adapting to the requirements of specific situations).

Such an understanding of adaptation contains the idea of personality activity, the idea of the creative, purposeful and transformative nature of its social activity.

So, regardless of the differences in ideas about adaptation in various concepts, it can be noted that the personality acts in the course of adaptation as an active subject of this process.

S. L. Rubinstein, analyzing the works of S. Buhler, perceived and developed the idea of a life path and came to the conclusion that a life path cannot be understood only as the sum of life events, individual actions, products of creativity. It must be presented as something more integral. To reveal the integrity, continuity of the life path, S. L. Rubinshtein proposed not only to single out its individual stages, but also to find out how each stage prepares and influences the next. Playing an important role in the life path, these stages do not predetermine it with fatal inevitability.

One of the most important and interesting thoughts of S. L. Rubinshtein, according to K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, is the idea of the turning stages of a person’s life, which are determined by personality. S. L. Rubinshtein affirms the idea of personality activity, its "active essence", the ability to make choices, make decisions that affect one's own life path. S. L. Rubinshtein introduces the concept of personality as a subject of life. The manifestations of this subject are how activities and communication are carried out, what lines of behavior are developed on the basis of desires and real possibilities.

K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya distinguishes three structures of the life path: life position, life line and the meaning of life. Life position, which consists in the self-determination of the personality, is formed by its activity and is realized in time as a line of life. The meaning of life value determines the life position and line of life. Particular importance is attached to the concept of "life position", which is defined as "the potential for personal development", "way of life" based on personal values. This is the main determinant of all life manifestations of personality.

The concept of "life perspective" in the context of the concept of the life path of the individual K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya defines as the potential, capabilities of the individual, objectively developing in the present, which should also manifest themselves in the future. Following S. L. Rubinshtein, K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya emphasizes that a person is the subject of life and the individual character of his life is manifested in the fact that the person acts as its organizer. The individuality of life consists in the ability of a person to organize it according to his own plan, in accordance with his inclinations and aspirations, which are reflected in the concept of "lifestyle".

K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya puts forward the main criteria for the correct choice of a person’s life path - satisfaction or dissatisfaction with life.

The ability of a person to foresee, organize, direct the events of his life or, on the contrary, obey the course of life events, allows us to speak about the existence of various ways of organizing life. These methods are considered as the abilities of different types of individuals to spontaneously or consciously build their life strategies. The very concept of a life strategy is defined by K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya as a constant alignment of the characteristics of one’s personality and the way of one’s life, building one’s life based on one’s individual capabilities. The strategy of life consists in ways of changing, transforming conditions, situations of life in accordance with the values of the individual, in the ability to combine one's individual characteristics, one's status and age opportunities, one's own claims with the requirements of society and others. In this case, a person as a subject of life integrates his characteristics as a subject of activity, a subject of communication and a subject of cognition and correlates his capabilities with the set life goals and objectives.

Social adaptation is an integrative indicator of a person's condition, reflecting his ability to perform certain biosocial functions, namely:

Adequate perception of the surrounding reality and one's own body;

Adequate system of relations and communication with others; ability to work, study, organize leisure and recreation;

Variability (adaptability) of behavior in accordance with the role expectations of others (Psychological Dictionary, M., 1997, p. 13).

When studying adaptation, one of the most pressing issues is the question of the relationship between adaptation and socialization. The processes of socialization and social adaptation are closely interrelated, as they reflect a single process of interaction between the individual and society. Often, socialization is associated only with general development, and adaptation is associated with the adaptive processes of an already formed personality in new conditions of communication and activity. The phenomenon of socialization is defined as the process and result of the assimilation of active reproduction by the individual of social experience, carried out in communication and activity. The concept of socialization is more related to social experience, development and formation of the individual under the influence of society, institutions and agents of socialization. In the process of socialization, psychological mechanisms of interaction between the individual and the environment are formed, which are carried out in the process of adaptation.

O. I. Zotova and I. K. Kryazheva emphasize the activity of the individual in the process of social adaptation. They consider socio-psychological adaptation as the interaction of the individual and the social environment, which leads to the correct correlation of the goals and values of the individual and the group. Adaptation occurs when the social environment contributes to the realization of the needs and aspirations of the individual, serves to reveal and develop its individuality.

In the description of the adaptation process, such concepts as “overcoming”, “purposefulness”, “development of individuality”, “self-affirmation” appear.

Depending on the structure of the needs and motives of the individual, the following types of adaptation process are formed:

A type characterized by a predominance of active influence on the social environment;

A type determined by the passive, conformal acceptance of the goals and value orientations of the group.

As A. A. Rean notes, there is also a third type of adaptation process, which is the most common and most effective in terms of adaptation. This is a probabilistic-combined type based on the use of both of the above types. When choosing one or another option, a person evaluates the probability of successful adaptation with different types of adaptation strategy. At the same time, the following are evaluated: a) the requirements of the social environment - their strength, the degree of restriction of the goals of the individual, the degree of destabilizing influence, etc.; b) the potential of the individual in terms of change, adaptation of the environment to himself.

Most domestic psychologists distinguish two levels of personality adaptation: complete adaptation and maladaptation.

A. N. Zhmyrikov suggests taking into account the following adaptability criteria:

The degree of integration of the individual with the macro- and microenvironment;

The degree of realization of intrapersonal potential;

Emotional well-being.

A. A. Rean connects the construction of a model of social adaptation with the criteria of internal and external plan. At the same time, the internal criterion implies psycho-emotional stability, personal conformity, a state of satisfaction, the absence of distress, a sense of threat, and a state of emotional and psychological tension. The external criterion reflects the conformity of the real behavior of the individual with the attitudes of society, the requirements of the environment, the rules adopted in society, and the criteria for normative behavior. Thus, disadaptation according to an external criterion can occur simultaneously with adaptation according to an internal criterion. Systemic social adaptation is adaptation both according to external and internal criteria.

Thus, social adaptation implies ways of adapting, regulating, harmonizing the interaction of an individual with the environment. In the process of social adaptation, a person acts as an active subject who adapts to the environment in accordance with his needs, interests, aspirations and actively self-determines.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

"Adaptation" is an interdisciplinary concept. The concept of adaptation is one of the main ones in the scientific study of the organism, since it is precisely the adaptation mechanisms developed in the process of evolution that ensure the possibility of the organism's existence in constantly changing environmental conditions. Thanks to the adaptation process, the optimal functioning of all body systems and balance in the "man-environment" system are achieved.

The term "adaptation" from lat. adaptare - adapt - in a broad sense - adaptation to changing external and internal conditions.

In foreign psychology, the neo-behaviorist definition of adaptation has become widespread, which is used, for example, in the works of G. Eysenck and his followers. They define adaptation in two ways: a) as a state in which the needs of the individual, on the one hand, and the requirements of the environment, on the other, are fully satisfied. It is a state of harmony between the individual and the natural or social environment; b) the process by which this harmonious state is achieved. Adaptation as a process takes the form of a change in the environment and changes in the body through the application of actions (reactions, responses) that are appropriate for a given situation.

These changes are biological. There is no talk of changes in the psyche and the use of the actual mental mechanisms of adaptation in this purely behavioral definition. Behaviorists understand social adaptation as a process (or a state achieved as a result of this process) of physical, socio-economic or organizational changes in group-specific behavior, social relations or culture. In functional terms, the meaning or purpose of such a process depends on the prospects for improving the survival ability of groups or individuals, or on the way to achieve meaningful goals. In the behaviorist definition of social adaptation, it is mainly about the adaptation of groups, and not the individual.

In Russian literature, the following definition of social adaptation is found (from Latin adapto - I adapt and socialis - public) - 1) a constant process of active adaptation of an individual to the conditions of the social environment; 2) the result of this process. S.S. Stepanov offers a slightly different interpretation of this concept. Social adaptation is an active adaptation to the conditions of the social environment through the assimilation and adoption of goals, values, norms and behaviors accepted in society. The concept of "social adaptation" in our country began to be widely used from the mid-60s of the last century, however, this term itself was understood differently by various authors. N. Nikitina interprets social adaptation as "integration of the individual into the established system of social relations". Such a definition, in our opinion, does not take into account the specific features of social interaction, in which both sides (the social environment and the person) are mutually active. So, according to J. Piaget, the process of social adaptation acts as “the unity of the processes of accommodation (assimilation of the rules of the environment, “assimilation” to it) and assimilation (“assimilation” to oneself, transformation of the environment), i.e. as a two-way process and the result of counter activity of the subject and the social environment” .

In the work of I.A. Miloslavova also notes the objective-subjective nature of adaptation (adaptation and adaptation) and states that, thanks to social adaptation, “a person learns the standards necessary for life, stereotypes, with the help of which he actively adapts to the recurring circumstances of life” . According to T.N. Vershinina, if “the social environment is active in relation to the subject, then adaptation prevails in adaptation; if the interaction is dominated by the subject, then adaptation is in the nature of vigorous activity. S.D. Artemov defines social adaptation as "the process of adapting an individual to existing social relations, norms, patterns, traditions of the society in which a person lives and acts" .

According to M.R. Bityanova, adaptation is not only an adaptation to successful functioning in a given environment, but also the ability for further psychological, personal, and social development. Consequently, an adapted child is a child adapted to the full development of his personal, physical, intellectual and other potentials in the new pedagogical environment given to him.

Adaptation to school - the restructuring of the cognitive, motivational and emotional-volitional spheres of the child during the transition to systematic organized schooling. The main features of systematic schooling are the following:

1. With admission to school, the child begins to carry out socially significant and socially valued activities - educational activities.

2. A feature of systematic schooling is that it requires the obligatory implementation of a number of identical rules for all the behavior of the student during his stay at school.

Children are far from being equally successful in “getting used to” new conditions of life. In the study by G.M. Chutkina, three levels of adaptation of children to school were revealed.

A high level of adaptation - the student has a positive attitude towards the school, perceives the requirements adequately, learns the educational material easily, diligently, listens carefully to the teacher's explanations and instructions, completes assignments without external control, occupies a favorable status position in the class.

The average level of adaptation - the student has a positive attitude towards the school, attending it does not cause negative feelings, understands the educational material if the teacher presents it in detail and clearly, is focused and attentive when performing tasks, instructions, instructions from an adult, but only when busy with something interesting for him, he performs assignments conscientiously, he is friends with many classmates.

Low level of adaptation - the student has a negative or indifferent attitude towards school, there are frequent complaints about health, a depressed mood dominates, there are violations of discipline, the material explained by the teacher is absorbed fragmentarily, independent work is difficult, he needs constant monitoring, maintains efficiency and attention with extended pauses for rest, passive, has no close friends.

It is necessary to highlight the conditions that cause a high level of adaptation: a complete family, a high level of education of the father and mother, the correct methods of education in the family, the absence of a conflict situation due to parental alcoholism, a positive style of the teacher's attitude towards children, functional readiness for schooling, favorable status child before entering the first grade, satisfaction in communicating with adults, adequate awareness of one's position in the peer group. The influence of unfavorable conditions on a child's adaptation to school, according to the same study, has the following sequence: incorrect methods of education in the family, functional unpreparedness for schooling, dissatisfaction in communicating with adults, inadequate awareness of one's position in the peer group, low level of education of the father and mother, conflict situation due to alcoholism of parents, negative status of the child before entering the first grade, negative style of the teacher's attitude towards children, incomplete family.

Subgroup I - "Norm". Based on the psychological diagnosis of observations, characteristics, it can include children who:

cope well with the workload and do not experience significant learning difficulties;

· successfully interact with both teachers and peers, that is, they do not have problems in the field of interpersonal relations;

do not complain about the deterioration of health - mental and somatic;

Do not exhibit antisocial behavior.

The process of school adaptation in children of this subgroup as a whole is quite successful. They have high learning motivation and high cognitive activity.

Subgroup II - "Risk Group" (possible occurrence of school maladaptation), requiring psychological support. Children usually do not cope well with the academic load, do not show visible signs of impaired social behavior. Often the sphere of trouble in such children is quite a hidden personal plan, the level of anxiety and tension increases in the student as an indicator of trouble in development. An important signal of the beginning of trouble can be an inadequate indicator of the child's self-esteem with a high level of school motivation, violations in the sphere of interpersonal relations are possible. If at the same time the number of diseases increases, this indicates that the body begins to respond to the occurrence of difficulties in school life due to a decrease in protective reactions.

Subgroup III - "Unstable school maladjustment." Children of this subgroup differ in that they cannot successfully cope with the academic load, the process of socialization is disrupted, and significant changes in psychosomatic health are observed.

Subgroup IV - "Sustainable school maladjustment." In addition to signs of school failure, these children have another important and characteristic feature - antisocial behavior: rudeness, hooligan antics, demonstrative behavior, running away from home, skipping classes, aggression, etc. In the most general form, deviant behavior of a schoolchild is always the result of a violation of the assimilation of the child's social experience, a distortion of motivational factors, a disorder of adapted behavior.

Subgroup V - "Pathological disorders". Children have an obvious or implicit pathological deviation in development, unnoticed, manifested as a result of education or deliberately hidden by the parents of the child when he enters school, and also acquired as a result of a serious, complicated disease. Such manifestations of pathological conditions include: mental (delays in mental development of varying degrees of emotional-volitional sphere, neurosis-like and psychopathic disorders) or somatic (presence of persistent physical ailments: disorders of the cardiovascular, endocrine, digestive systems, vision, etc.) .

Definition of adaptation

In foreign psychology, the neo-behaviorist definition of adaptation has become widespread, which is used, for example, in the works of G. Eysenck and his followers.

They define adaptation in two ways:

a) as a state in which the needs of the individual, on the one hand, and the requirements of the environment, on the other, are fully satisfied. It is a state of harmony between the individual and the natural or social environment;

b) the process by which this harmonious state is achieved.

Adaptation as a process takes the form of a change in the environment and changes in the body through the application of actions (reactions, responses) that are appropriate for a given situation. These changes are biological. There is no talk of changes in the psyche and the use of the actual mental mechanisms of adaptation in this purely behavioral definition.

Behaviorists understand social adaptation as "a process of physical, socio-economic or organizational changes in specific group behavior, social relations or culture" (3, p. 125). In functional terms, the meaning or purpose of such a process depends on the prospects for improving the survival ability of groups or individuals, or on the way to achieve meaningful goals. The behaviorist definition of social adaptation refers primarily to the adaptation of groups rather than the individual.

Interactionist definition of adaptation. According to the interactionist concept of adaptation, which is developed, in particular, by L. Philips, all varieties of adaptation are due to both intrapsychic and environmental factors.

According to L. Philips, adaptability expressed by two types of responses to environmental influences:

a) Acceptance and effective response to those social expectations that everyone meets according to their age and gender.

b) Flexibility and efficiency in meeting new and potentially dangerous conditions, as well as the ability to give events the desired direction for themselves. In this sense, adaptation means that a person successfully uses the created conditions for the implementation of his goals, values and aspirations. Such adaptability can be observed in any field of activity. Adaptive behavior is characterized by successful decision making, taking the initiative, and clearly defining one's own future.

Psychoanalytic concept of personality adaptation. The psychoanalytic concept of adaptation was specially developed by the German psychoanalyst G. Hartmann, although the issues of adaptation are widely discussed in many works of Z. Freud, and the mechanisms and processes of protective adaptation are considered in the work of Anna Freud, which has become a classic for psychoanalysts.

Interest in the problem of adaptation has increased, according to G. Hartmann, as a result of the development of the psychology of the Self, an increase in the general interest in the personality and its adaptation to the conditions of external reality.

Adaptation, according to G. Hartmann, includes "both the processes associated with conflict situations and those processes that are included in the conflict-free sphere of the Self" (15, p. 13).

G. Hartmann notes that the task of adapting to other people confronts a person from the day of his birth. He also adapts to the social environment, which is partly the result of the activity of previous generations and himself. A person not only participates in the life of society, but also actively creates the conditions to which he must adapt. Increasingly, man creates his own environment. The structure of society, the process of division of labor, and the individual's place in society collectively determine the possibilities of adaptation, as well as (in part) the development of the self. The structure of society, in part through training and education, determines which forms of behavior are more likely to provide adaptation.

In general, the psychoanalytic theory of human adaptation is currently the most developed. Psychoanalysts have created a broad system of concepts and discovered a number of subtle processes by which a person adapts to the social environment.

In Soviet specialized literature, the following (wider) understanding of social adaptation is found: this is the result of a process of changes in social, socio-psychological, moral-psychological, economic and demographic relations between people, adaptation to the social environment.

Social and mental adaptation can be characterized as “such a state of relationship between the individual and the group, when the individual, without prolonged external and internal conflicts, productively performs his leading activity, satisfies his basic sociogenic needs, fully meets the role expectations that the reference group makes of him, experiences states of self-assertion and free expression of their creative abilities. Adaptation, on the other hand, is that socio-psychological process that, with a favorable course, leads a person to a state of adaptation” (15, p. 18).

We consider the following statement to be one of the most important principles of the theory of socio-psychological adaptation of the personality: in complex problematic situations, the adaptive processes of the personality proceed with the participation of not individual, isolated mechanisms, but their complexes. These adaptive complexes, updated again and again and used in similar social situations, they are fixed in the personality structure and become substructures of her character. The study of stable adaptive complexes is one of the ways of developing scientific characterology.

Three main varieties should be distinguished:

a) non-protective adaptive complexes used in non-frustrating problem situations;

b) protective adaptive complexes, which are stable combinations of only protective mechanisms;

c) mixed complexes consisting of protective and non-protective adaptive mechanisms.

Thus, accepting the classification of adaptive mechanisms into protective and non-protective, which is found in the psychological literature, we extend it to adaptive complexes and supplement this classification with an average, mixed type of an adaptive complex, respectively - an adaptive process and adaptability, which are carried out by mixed adaptive complexes. The study of adaptive complexes, therefore, can greatly contribute to the development of characterology, which is the most important, but also the most underdeveloped part of the social psychology of the individual.

The grandiose inventions of the human mind never cease to amaze, there is no limit to fantasy. But what nature has been creating for many centuries surpasses the most creative ideas and designs. Nature has created more than one and a half million species of living individuals, each of which is individual and unique in its forms, physiology, adaptability to life. Examples of organisms adapting to constantly changing living conditions on the planet are examples of the wisdom of the creator and a constant source of problems for biologists to solve.

Adaptation means adaptability or habituation. This is a process of gradual rebirth of the physiological, morphological or psychological functions of a creature in a changed environment. Both individual individuals and entire populations undergo changes.

A vivid example of direct and indirect adaptation is the survival of flora and fauna in the zone of increased radiation around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Direct adaptability is characteristic of those individuals who managed to survive, get used to it and begin to reproduce, some did not stand the test and died (indirect adaptation).

Since the conditions of existence on Earth are constantly changing, the processes of evolution and fitness in living nature are also a continuous process.

A recent example of adaptation is changing the habitat of a colony of green Mexican arating parrots. Recently, they have changed their habitual habitat and settled in the very mouth of the Masaya volcano, in an environment constantly saturated with high concentration sulfuric gas. Scientists have not yet given an explanation for this phenomenon.

Types of adaptation

A change in the whole form of an organism's existence is a functional adaptation. An example of adaptation, when changing conditions lead to mutual adaptation of living organisms to each other, is a correlative adaptation or co-adaptation.

Adaptation can be passive, when the functions or structure of the subject occur without his participation, or active, when he consciously changes his habits to match the environment (examples of people adapting to natural conditions or society). There are cases when the subject adapts the environment to his needs - this is an objective adaptation.

Biologists divide the types of adaptation according to three criteria:

Morphological.
Physiological.
behavioral or psychological.

Examples of adaptation of animals or plants in their pure form are rare, most cases of adaptation to new conditions occur in mixed forms.

Morphological adaptations: examples

Morphological changes are changes in the shape of the body, individual organs or the entire structure of a living organism that have occurred in the process of evolution.

The following are morphological adaptations, examples from the animal and plant world, which we take for granted:

The transformation of leaves into spines in cacti and other plants of arid regions.
Turtle shell.
Streamlined body shapes of inhabitants of reservoirs.

Physiological adaptations: examples

Physiological adaptation is a change in a number of chemical processes occurring inside the body.

The release of a strong scent by flowers to attract insects contributes to dusting.
The state of anabiosis, which the simplest organisms are able to enter, allows them to maintain their vital activity after many years. The oldest bacterium capable of reproduction is 250 years old.
The accumulation of subcutaneous fat, which is converted into water, in camels.

Behavioral (psychological) adaptations

Examples of human adaptation are more associated with the psychological factor. Behavioral characteristics are characteristic of flora and fauna. So, in the process of evolution, a change in the temperature regime causes some animals to hibernate, birds fly south to return in the spring, trees shed their leaves and slow down the movement of juices. The instinct to choose the most suitable partner for procreation drives the behavior of animals during the mating season. Some northern frogs and turtles freeze completely for the winter and thaw, reviving with the onset of heat.

Factors causing the need for change

Any adaptation processes are a response to environmental factors that lead to a change in the environment. Such factors are divided into biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic.

Biotic factors are the influence of living organisms on each other, when, for example, one species disappears, which serves as food for another.

Abiotic factors are changes in the surrounding inanimate nature when the climate, soil composition, water availability, and solar activity cycles change. Physiological adaptations, examples of the influence of abiotic factors - equatorial fish that can breathe both in water and on land. They are well adapted to the conditions when the drying up of rivers is a frequent occurrence.

Anthropogenic factors - the influence of human activity that changes the environment.

Habitat adaptations

illumination. In plants, these are separate groups that differ in the need for sunlight. Light-loving heliophytes live well in open spaces. In contrast, they are sciophytes: plants of forest thickets feel good in shaded places. Among the animals there are also individuals whose design is for an active lifestyle at night or underground.
Air temperature. On average, for all living things, including humans, the optimal temperature environment is considered to be the range from 0 to 50 ° C. However, life exists in almost all climatic regions of the Earth.

Opposite examples of adaptation to abnormal temperatures are described below.

Arctic fish do not freeze due to the production of a unique anti-freeze protein in the blood, which prevents the blood from freezing.

The simplest microorganisms are found in hydrothermal springs, the water temperature in which exceeds the boiling point.

Hydrophyte plants, that is, those that live in or near water, die even with a slight loss of moisture. Xerophytes, on the contrary, are adapted to live in arid regions, and die in high humidity. Among animals, nature has also worked on adapting to aquatic and non-aquatic environments.

Human adaptation

Man's ability to adapt is truly enormous. The secrets of human thinking are far from being fully revealed, and the secrets of the adaptive ability of people will remain a mysterious topic for scientists for a long time to come. The superiority of Homo sapiens over other living beings lies in the ability to consciously change their behavior to meet the requirements of the environment or, conversely, the world around them to suit their needs.

The flexibility of human behavior is manifested daily. If you give the task: "give examples of people's adaptation", the majority begins to recall exceptional cases of survival in these rare cases, and in new circumstances it is typical for a person every day. We try on a new environment at the moment of birth, in kindergarten, school, in a team, when moving to another country. It is this state of accepting new sensations by the body that is called stress. Stress is a psychological factor, but nevertheless, many physiological functions change under its influence. In the case when a person accepts a new environment as positive for himself, the new state becomes habitual, otherwise stress threatens to become protracted and lead to a number of serious diseases.

Human adaptation mechanisms

There are three types of human adaptation:

Physiological. The simplest examples are acclimatization and adaptability to changing time zones or the daily regime of work. In the process of evolution, various types of people were formed, depending on the territorial place of residence. Arctic, alpine, continental, desert, equatorial types differ significantly in physiological parameters.
Psychological adaptation. This is the ability of a person to find moments of understanding with people of different psychotypes, in a country with a different level of mentality. A reasonable person tends to change his established stereotypes under the influence of new information, special cases, stress.
Social adaptation. A type of addiction that is unique to humans.

All adaptive types are closely related to each other, as a rule, any change in habitual existence causes a person to need social and psychological adaptation. Under their influence, the mechanisms of physiological changes come into action, which also adapt to new conditions.

Such a mobilization of all body reactions is called an adaptation syndrome. New body reactions appear in response to sudden changes in the environment. At the first stage - anxiety - there is a change in physiological functions, changes in the work of metabolism and systems. Further, protective functions and organs (including the brain) are connected, they begin to turn on their protective functions and hidden capabilities. The third stage of adaptation depends on individual characteristics: a person either joins a new life and enters the usual course (in medicine, recovery occurs during this period), or the body does not accept stress, and the consequences are already taking a negative form.

Phenomena of the human body

In man, nature has a huge margin of safety, which is used in everyday life only to a small extent. It manifests itself in extreme situations and is perceived as a miracle. In fact, the miracle is inherent in ourselves. An example of adaptation: the ability of people to adapt to a normal life after the removal of a significant part of the internal organs.

Natural innate immunity throughout life can be strengthened by a number of factors or, conversely, weakened by an incorrect lifestyle. Unfortunately, addiction to bad habits is also the difference between a person and other living organisms.

When a person is born, he does not yet possess the knowledge, skills and abilities that are ideal for performing all the actions that lead to maintaining health, self-sufficiency, self-service, etc. A person has to learn everything. This training can be called one of the forms of human adaptation, which is a mandatory process in any circumstances. The article discusses in detail this concept, types and factors of adaptation.

concept

Adaptation is understood as the adaptation of a person to the conditions and circumstances of the surrounding world. The goal of any adaptation is to achieve harmony in the interaction between a person and other people, the surrounding world. This concept is used almost all life, since any change in the familiar environment and getting into new conditions lead to the need for adaptation.

A person adapts to the surrounding world and people, while the surrounding people are also forced to adapt to a person. This mechanism is bilateral. Physiological, personal characteristics, genetic and behavioral factors take part in this.

The concept of adaptation is considered from two sides:

A person gets used to the external circumstances in which he lives.
A person self-regulates and balances against the background of external factors affecting him.

Adaptation always occurs at three levels:

Physiological.
Psychological.
Social.

These levels, both among themselves and within each other, are subject to mutual influence.

In the process of adaptation, a significant role is played by factors that are barriers to achieving the goal. If a person goes through a situation without significant obstacles, then we are talking about conforming behavior. If there were obstacles through which a person passed or not, we are talking about the lack of effective adaptation. A person often shows a defensive reaction to situations when he does not achieve what he wants. Here, the ability of a person to adequately respond to the situation, evaluate, analyze and predict, plan their actions, which can help in achieving harmony, adaptation and purpose, become important.

The defense mechanisms that a person resorts to in a situation of non-adaptation are:

Denial - ignoring unpleasant or traumatic information.
Regression is a manifestation of infantile behavior.
The formation of a reaction is a change from positive to negative, and vice versa.
Repression - erasing from the memory of those episodes that cause pain.
Suppression is the intentional ignoring and forgetting of unpleasant memories.
Projection is the attribution to the world or people of qualities that a person himself possesses.
Identification - attributing to oneself the qualities of another person or an unreal character.
Rationalization is an attempt to interpret the situation in such a way that it would be the least traumatic for a person.
Humor is a way to reduce emotional tension.
Sublimation is the transformation of instinctive reactions into socially acceptable forms.

All these are ways of adaptation that people often use in everyday life.

Kinds

The site of psychotherapeutic help site identifies 4 types of adaptation:

Biological - the process when the human body evolves in order to maximize adaptation to the surrounding world. Health is considered a criterion that indicates the adaptation of the body to current conditions. If adaptation is delayed, then the body becomes ill.
Ethnic - the process of adaptation of a group of people to new social, weather, local conditions. The problem may be the racist attitude of the local population towards new faces.
Social - the process of adaptation to the social environment in which he resides. This includes relationships with other people, work activity, culture, etc. A person can change passively, that is, not change anything in himself and hope for fate that everything will work out by itself, or he can actively act, which is the most effective way. In case of non-adaptation, a person may encounter both an unfriendly attitude, tension, and an unwillingness to do anything.
Psychological - manifested in all types of adaptation. A person is forced to adapt emotionally and mentally to any conditions in order to be able to survive and establish harmony within himself.

A person easily adapts when he is personally ready for any changes and difficulties that he will inevitably face if he does not know something, does not know how, ignores it. Adequate reaction to ongoing changes, readiness to analyze and soberly assess the situation, as well as change the model of one's behavior in new conditions to the most conformal allow a person to adapt to any conditions.

If a person is not able to satisfy personal needs in the existing conditions (disadaptation), then he develops anxiety, which often provokes fear and anxiety. Here, a person behaves differently: from an adequate assessment of the situation and changing his behavior to the inclusion of protective mechanisms and attempts to isolate himself from unsuitable conditions.

If a person reacts inadequately to the situation, misinterprets it, or is affected by factors of insurmountable complexity, then an unacceptable form of behavior may form. She happens:

Deviant - satisfaction of personal needs by actions unacceptable to society. The actions are:

Non-conformist - conflicts.
Innovative - new ways of solving situations.

Pathological - actions that form neurotic and psychotic syndromes. Disadaptation is distinguished here - a form of behavior that does not correspond to generally accepted norms, and also leads to conflicts with people or within oneself.

Deviant behavior is often seen in adolescence, when a person wants to dictate his own behavior. Often there are such types of deviant behavior:

Negative deviation - lies, laziness, impudent and rude behavior, a tendency to physical violence, aggressiveness, abuse of drugs, alcohol and nicotine substances.
Positive deviation - the desire to find new models and solutions to situations, experimentation, creativity.

Factors

Adaptation factors are understood as external conditions to which a person is forced to adapt. These include such factors:

Natural - weather and climatic conditions, territorial location, the occurrence of cataclysms.
Material objects are objects of the external world that a person is forced to be able to use. For example, clothes, trees, land, cars, etc.
Social is the activity and relationships between people.
Man-made - factors that are a side effect of human activities: landfills, garbage, air pollution, etc.

Each person is individual in their pace of adaptation. It is easy for someone to adapt to new conditions, so such people often travel. Someone hard to endure changes, therefore, almost forever retains the habitat in which it is located.

Psychologists note that the adaptability of a person is influenced by such factors:

Subjective, which are:

Demographics - age, gender.
Psychophysiological.

Medium include:

Circumstances and conditions of life.
Circumstances of the social environment.
Mode and nature of activity.

It is difficult to talk about what favors rapid adaptation. For example, it is believed that young people manage to easily adapt to new conditions. Although older people prefer to live in familiar conditions, they have tremendous experience that helps them find a "common language" with the environment much faster than younger people.

The role is also played by emotions, knowledge of a person, his readiness for action and motivation. Education is one of the ways of adaptation, in which a person learns to live in new conditions. A person acquires knowledge and develops skills so that they help him in new circumstances. The more they correspond to reality, the faster a person adapts.

Outcome

Human adaptation is one of the important mechanisms that allow a living organism to live in the conditions in which it lives. Vivid examples of a negative outcome are animals that die as a species if they are not adapted to new climatic conditions. Dinosaurs died out because their bodies were not adapted to the changed conditions. So it is with a person: if he does not adapt at all levels, then he begins to die.

Mental disorders can be called a kind of maladjustment of a person. The psyche has found the most ideal option for adaptation through the formation of a disease. As long as a person lives, he remains sick. Life expectancy with maladaptation is significantly reduced.

How long do people live who have adapted to the environment? It all depends on the period of functionality of their body, as well as the ability to avoid situations where they can become maladaptive.

The more a person is ready for the difficulties and changes in his life, the more favorable the forecast of his life becomes. It should be understood that absolutely all people come into the material world without being adapted to it. The need to learn to walk on two legs and speak human language are among the first necessities that force adaptation.

For almost a lifetime, a person will be forced to adapt. This is no longer due to natural, but to social factors. Changes in the environment, friends, politics and economy, living conditions make it necessary to find new ways to maintain harmony at the physiological and psychological level. This is a natural necessity for every living being, if he does not want to become an "outcast" of society and an object that should be destroyed.