The difference between sociology and social psychology. Comparative analysis of domestic and American social psychology

Historically, the question has been the opposite: "how does a sociologist differ from a psychologist?" In the 1890s and 1900s, when sociologists had already decided that they should become a separate science, but still did not really understand what it would consist of, the question "how are we different from psychologists" was literally a matter of survival. Thanks to Wundt, psychologists at that time already had an idea of ​​who they were and what they were doing; for them, as "elder brothers", the question of differences was not so important.

In sociology, depending on the then answer "why are we not psychologists", completely different versions were obtained. social theory which still lead in different directions.

Durkheim in France replied that sociology deals with collective representations, in contrast to the individual representations dealt with by psychology. Individual ideas are formed in a person during his life, and collective ideas were created by the work of previous generations, and for each person they constitute an objective external environment that forces everyone to obey its own rules. My memories are psychology, the history in the school textbook is sociology, my laughter is psychology, the city holiday is sociology.

For Durkheim, the difference was not just quantitative. He believed that social reality relates to the psychological in much the same way as the biological relates to the chemical, as the chemical relates to the physical. From a combination simple elements there emerges, he said, a new, more complex reality of a special kind. Whoever believes what arises is now the typical sociologist.

Plus other answers, also important.

Tarde, Durkheim's main rival in those years, saw the difference in the fact that psychologists deal with people's inner experiences and their perception. inanimate objects, and sociologists should be engaged in "intermental psychology", mutual influence human consciousness Each other. Crying from resentment is psychology, and singing a song that you heard and liked is sociology.

Tarde, however, believed that sociology should not so much be separated from other sciences (psychology, economics, linguistics, etc.), as unite them with their own ideas, and other sociologists who needed precisely the border and their own separate plot, it was not supported and forgotten for about a century, and only recently began to be seriously re-read.

In Germany, Weber, the second recognized classic along with Durkheim, found a difference in the fact that sociology is concerned with meaning. human action, different from emotions, instincts, perceptions and other things that psychologists are busy with. Taking your hand away from a hot stove is psychology, because instinct; frying eggs is sociology, because there is a goal that we consciously pursue.

Simmel, his contemporary, drew the line quite perpendicularly: psychology, together with, for example, economics, deals with the "content", the "material" of human actions, that is, the impulses, needs, goals that make people do something, including in common with each other. with friend; sociology, by contrast, is concerned with the "forms" that human interactions take, regardless of their content: friendship, dispute, contract, struggle, conspiracy etc. Why two guys are vying for a girl is psychology, why two traders are vying for market power is economics. How rivalry works in general, according to what logic it develops - this is sociology.

Simmel was a little more fortunate than Tarde, his ideas were forgotten not for a whole century, but "only" for half a century, now they are also a recognized part of the discipline.

By the middle of the 20th century, the question "what is the difference" ceased to be acute. Everyone just got used to the fact that there are two different disciplines that have diverged a long time ago and now do without the "different or die" marketing drama. The Americans Cooley, Thomas and Mead were retroactively included in the list of authors significant for sociology, and then their successor the Canadian Hoffmann - psychologists also consider them all, and in fact, "their own". A direction has developed in psychology social psychology which freely takes up sociological, as sociologists would say, problems. In the writings of sociologists, one can now freely refer to psychologists (eg James or Erik Erickson) or psychoanalysts (Freud, Lacan), this is no longer shocking to anyone. Everyone has long forgotten (actually not) that the classics answered there a hundred years ago, and they simply deal with their own topics, which are already assigned to sociology or psychology more on the principle of "it happened."

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1. The difference between the subject of sociology andsubject of social psychology

One of the possible definitions of the subject of social psychology can be formulated as follows: social psychology is the science that studies how people think about each other, how they influence each other and how they relate to each other.

At the same time, it is important to distinguish between the subject of social psychology, on the one hand, and the subject of sociology and personality psychology:

Sociology and social psychology really have common interests, studying how people behave in groups. However, each science makes its own emphasis in studying the behavior of people in groups. Sociology studies groups(from small to very large - societies). Social psychology studies - individuals, the people that make up these groups - what a person thinks about others, how they influence him, how he treats them. This includes studying the influence of the group on individual people, and the individual to the group. For example, considering marital relations, the sociologist would focus his attention on the trends of marriages, divorces, etc., and social psychologist, in the first place, would begin to explore why certain people are attracted to each other.

The similarity of social psychology and personality psychology lies in the fact that both of these branches psychological science study the individual. However, personality psychologists focus on individual internal mechanisms and differences between individuals, asking, for example, why some people are more aggressive than others. Social psychologists focus on how in general, people evaluate each other, as social situations can force most people to act humanely or cruelly, to be conformable or independent, etc.

Social reality, expressed in the totality of information about it, social factors form the objects of sociology. It is not separated by an impenetrable wall from the object. The subject is a part of the object, it "grows" out of it, being a set of substantive nodal problems. For example, society as a whole is an object of sociology. Learning it like organic system- thing. The functioning of society is the object of sociological science, and the study of the mechanism of functioning is the subject. Appeal to social institutions (state, property, family) is the subject area of ​​sociology. The study of the regulatory, governing, power functions of these tools is one important element subject of our science.

Accordingly, the concept of the subject of sociology as a science of modern society emerges as complete system, trends in its functioning and changes, the science of the formation and dynamics of social communities, institutions and organizations, the interaction between the individual and communities, the science of meaningful social actions of people, social processes and mass behavior. Accordingly, the main question of sociology can be formulated as follows: what is society as a functioning structural integrity? Answering it, we say that this is the interaction of social communities, personalities, social processes, and people's behavior. We give the most general definition subject area sociology, which we think is the leitmotif various concepts about nature sociological knowledge.

Schematically, the structure of the subject of sociology can be represented as concentric circles. In the center of the "Core" - social communities, including the entire set human individuals and being "society" the exact meaning of this concept. Social communities are the source and driving force social actions and processes. Their interaction leads to institutionalization. The dynamics of social communities, groups, classes, strata, social institutions form social structure society. Society, characterized by stability, dynamism, openness, self-sufficiency, spatio-temporal existence, acts as an integral organic system.

2. Social Consequences privatization of the stateproperty in Russia

In the XX century. privatization state property received widespread, capturing almost all major countries. The first mention of privatization dates back to the 13th century. in England.

Privatization means the transfer of property rights from the state to private individuals on the terms of the complete sale of state-owned firms to private individuals or the sale of part of the assets and the delegation of rights to dispose of state property.

In accordance with federal law "On the privatization of state and municipal property» privatization of state and municipal property means the paid alienation of property owned Russian Federation, subjects of the Russian Federation or municipalities property in the ownership of individuals and legal entities. From these definitions it follows that the main feature of privatization is its compensatory character. Some authors distinguish between the definitions of "privatization" and "denationalization", the latter is understood as the transfer from the state to individuals and legal entities partially or completely (including through privatization) of the functions of direct management of economic entities. Privatization is of a reimbursable nature, and denationalization can take different forms.

Privatization is the process of denationalization of ownership of the means of production, property, housing, land, Natural resources. This phenomenon is carried out through the gratuitous transfer or sale of state-owned objects into the ownership of interested persons with the formation on this basis of private, joint-stock or corporate property.

Privatization in Russia- a more extensive and backbone phenomenon in contrast to the usual sale of state-owned firms. Russia is characterized by two complementary parallel processes: the gradual liberation of the state from certain functions of the regulator of property relations that are not performed by it within the framework of market economy(here we are talking on the process of reducing the possibilities of the state as a legal object of property relations) and the formation of new legal and economic structures and mechanisms, without which it is difficult to fully implement the system private property. It should be taken into account that the last process is an addition to the first and takes place after the self-elimination of the state. The state, while reducing its property rights, must remain in control and regulate the transferred property and the market economy.

3. Social Consequences of Power

social privatization power organization

Organization and power are in many ways synonymous. When we talk about the performance of organizations, we imagine organizations as an instrument of power in the hands of those in power. They are a tool for subordinating people to the rules established in the organization. In terms of resource allocation, they are political systems. Power is shared between the privileged and the disenfranchised. Mintzberg, dealing with the problems of power "in and around" organizations (Mintzberg, 1983), developed the main provisions and terminology that we will use. If we think of power as a consequence of organizational design, then power distribution will be another means by which an organization can achieve efficiency.

In this chapter, we will analyze the nature of power within an organization. The focus will be on the development of power relations over time. In many ways, power is the most confusing phenomenon. On the one hand, power has stability and the ability to self-preserve. Those in power have the resources to keep themselves in power. On the other hand, as events in Eastern Europe and in the USSR in 1989 and 1990, weakened power can be overturned with frightening speed.

Power in an organization can be distributed in different ways. In Chapter 3, in our discussion of centralization, we saw that power can be concentrated in the hands of a few, or it can be decentralized throughout an organization. A good place to start a discussion of how to distribute power is with Morgan's classification of power relations, which consists of 6 types.

The first type includes autocratic organizations in which absolute power is in the hands of one person or in the hands of a small group. The second type is bureaucratic organizations, in which roles are painted and power relations are clearly specified. The third type is technocratic organizations in which the system is controlled by erudition and competence. The fourth type of organizations is managed by code determination (joint determination), in which the oppositional parts of the organization enter the management system. Fifth, organizations of representative democracy, in which officials are elected and serve certain period or for as long as the members of the organization support them. This was the system in former Yugoslavia, which so tragically fell apart. And finally, there are organizations of direct democracy, in which everyone has the right to participate and participate in governance. This system is characteristic of many cooperatives, as well as well-known kibbutzim in Israel. Many organizations belong to mixed types with more than one form of government. Bureaucracy is the predominant type and will be dealt with first.

Bibliography

1. Kravchenko, A.I. Sociology: a textbook for universities / A.I. Kravchenko. - 8th ed. - M.: Acad. Project; Fund "Mir", 2005. - 512 p.

2. Toshchenko Zh.T. Sociology. General course: Uch. allowance. - 2nd ed., add. and reworked. M.: Yurayt-Izdat, 2003. - 527 p.

3. Potapov V.P. Subject, object of sociology and its place in the system of social sciences. - M., 1999.

4. Rutkevich M.N. Society as a system. - SPb., 2001.

5. Sociology: Encyclopedia / Editorial Board: A.A. Gritsanov and others - Minsk, 2003

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Sociology and history

If history focuses on unique unique historical events, processes and individuals, then sociology is more interested in typical in social relationships and events. On the other hand, the historian, by definition, is interested in “things of bygone days”, the past, while the sociologist is primarily interested in modern society and his problems. Past experience is only one source of understanding contemporary phenomena and processes.

The focus of psychology inner world person, the individual human "I", and the focus of sociology is the problem interpersonal interaction, i.e. "We".

There are links between sociology and natural and exact sciences. It was in the process of interaction with biology that he first found his specific expression. systems approach, have been developed social ecology and social medicine. Cooperation between sociology and mathematical science, because today it is difficult to imagine it without special mathematical methods providing efficiency and reliability of empirical sociological research. Achievements are widely used in sociology systems theory, theories of synergetics, game theory and many other theoretical and conceptual models.

Interdisciplinary connections are becoming important in the development of sociology. Social psychology and conflictology arose on an interdisciplinary basis, sociolinguistics and socionics are developing, and some other disciplines are in the process of formation. For all these new directions, the contribution of sociology consists, firstly, in defining their problems from the problem field that is traditionally associated with structural social group carriers of special interests, and secondly, in the wide use specific methods and research methods that make it possible to significantly expand the factual base of all humanitarian knowledge.

So, the meaning of isolating sociology from the entire system of sciences, and, of course, first of all, social science, is to go to the analysis of the consciousness and behavior of people in the unity of objective and subjective factors. This is possible due to the fact that sociology has the following advantages, features and properties.

Signs and properties of sociology:

1. the study of society as concrete reality , in real conditions of space and time, i.e. study of specific connections, interactions, institutions, interests of people involved in social processes;

2. analysis of society in general, how systems , in the unity of all its mechanisms and structures, institutions and relations. This manifests itself:

Ø in the study of societies as a system of connections and relations;

Ø in the analysis of all private social phenomena and processes in terms of their inclusion in the social whole;

Ø in the study and identification of universal social properties, connections, institutions, communities. Sociology, as it were, contains a certain universality, which distinguishes it from others. social sciences;

3. Study both specific and first typical mechanisms, conditions and connections social life;

4. learning orientation motives social behavior and interaction of people, features of their perception and understanding of social phenomena;

5. use research methods not only theoretical but also quantitative, empirical plan .

SOCIOLOGY – This theoretical and applied humanitarian science about the features, trends and patterns of formation, development and interaction of various social communities and systems, about the mechanisms and forms of manifestation of these patterns in the actions of individuals, social groups and society as a whole in the aggregate of certain social relations under certain historical conditions.

Question 3. Structure and functions of sociology

Modern sociology is a complex structured system scientific knowledge, within which there are many theoretical approaches and concepts. None of these concepts - Marxist, structural-functional, field, ethnomethodological, phenomenological, structural, etc. – is not fully adequate and generally accepted. Therefore, at the turn of the 20th - 21st centuries, attempts are being made to develop a general sociological metatheories, i.e. theory of the second order, generalizing the main provisions of existing sociological theories.

When elucidating the essence and content of sociology as a science, in addition to defining its object and subject, it is necessary, firstly, to characterize its structure, levels of sociological knowledge and other differentiating features, which in their totality make it possible to present this discipline as a definite, logically consistent system, especially if we take into account that the structure can be built on various grounds.

Secondly, it is impossible to imagine science without an appropriate conceptual apparatus, categories that would reflect the degree and depth of knowledge of social reality. Categories should, on the one hand, in a generalized form reflect some aspects of social reality, on the other hand, be an expression general scientific theories and at the same time (this is from a third party) to characterize those specific features knowledge that is specific to sociology.

Thirdly, any science does not have a qualitative certainty, if its functions are not precisely singled out and formulated, including those that are characteristic only for it.

There are several ways of structuring sociology. First option - on the nature and level of sociological knowledge and research.

The most common and generally recognized is the division of sociology into theoretical and empirical. As part of theoretical knowledge, sociological theories are developed, typology and classification of available sociological information are carried out. It also includes hypothetical knowledge, which must be further confirmed or refuted. The competence of theoretical knowledge includes the identification of connections and relationships (causal, functional, etc.), regularities (laws), trends and prospects for the development of both the studied social phenomena and processes, and sociological science itself. Great place in sociological theory is given to the conceptual apparatus, clarifying its interpretation both in the light of accumulated data and new theoretical and methodological approaches.

Accordingly, sociological research is divided into two large relatively separate groups according to the nature of the knowledge obtained:

1. methodological research, forming knowledge about knowledge, i.e. about the means and methods of studying the subject of sociology (methods, procedures);

2. non-methodological research, the result of which is knowledge about the subject of sociology, i.e. about society and social relations.

Due to the great complexity and diversity of social reality, disabilities conducting social experiments and using instruments the study of most social phenomena in sociology is carried out mainly on theoretical level.

theoretical knowledge is ambiguous and therefore does not exclude the existence of various concepts, views, approaches and paradigms. This, in fact, reflects current situation in a sociology characterized by a variety of conceptual approaches to study the same problems. Moreover, the existence various theories leads to controversy, which ultimately enriches sociology as a whole.

In the structure of sociology at its theoretical level, the following are distinguished:

ü general sociological theories: theory of socio-economic formations (K. Marx), theory social action(M. Weber), structural-functional theory (T. Parsons and R. Merton), theory social stratification(P. Sorokin), theory social field(P. Bourdieu and N. Luhmann), the theory of social action (P. Sztompka).

ü Along with them develop special sociological theories, for example, theory social interactions(G. Simmel and P. Sorokin), the theory of social movements (G. Blumer, A. Touraine).

ü Widely used branch sociological theories that are formed at the intersection of sociology with other sciences and study the features of the deployment of social processes not in society as a whole, but in its various areas - economic sociology, political sociology, sociology of culture, sociology of religion, etc.

Concerning empirical level knowledge, it is represented by all types and forms of specific social information, including a set of statistical and documentary data, sociological indicators and indicators of the development of the studied social processes and phenomena.

AT recent times gaining more and more popularity theories middle level, the concept and justification of which was proposed by the American sociologist R. Merton. In his opinion, these theories are necessary for sociological analysis particular group facts in certain areas of knowledge. Theories of the middle level are relatively independent and at the same time are closely connected with both empirical research and general sociological theories. This intermediate position allows middle-level theories to play the role of a bridge between "high" theory and empirical (practical) data. Today in our country, more or less, there are more than 30 special sociological theories. Some of them received the status of theoretical, others - applied, and others - theoretical and applied disciplines. Their situation is still not fully comprehended both from the point of view of the perspectives of sociology and from the point of view of social needs.

Middle-level theories can be roughly divided into three groups:

1) theories of social institutions (sociology of the family, army, politics, labor, etc.);

2) theories of social communities (sociology of small groups, organizations, classes, crowds, etc.);

3) theories of special social processes (sociology of conflicts, urbanization, communication processes, etc.).

Second option structures of sociology - by orientation and research function. In other words, this division of sociology answers the question whether this research solves only scientific or practical problems. For fundamental sociology The purpose of the study is to build scientific theory explaining in general terms social reality, for example, the theory of social systems, the theory of social crisis, the theory community development, culture concept. And for applied sociology the purpose of the study is to develop specific recommendations and proposals for improving and transforming social reality.

Ideally, applied sociology should be based on fundamental sociology, which, in turn, should use and correctly explain the materials of concrete sociological research. But this is only ideal. It is rarely possible to do this (in particular, one of the few examples of a successful combination of theory and practice is a series of publications by I.M. Klyamkin in the journal Political Studies for 1993-1996). In fact, in certain periods there is a passion for either abstract theories or narrowly applied studies, for example, polls and ratings, as in modern Russia.

At the same time, the obvious lack of development of the sociological theory of transient processes has a bad effect on the solution of various problems. practical problems Russian society, on becoming rule of law and effective democracy.

Some Russian scholars confuse "theoretical" and "empirical" sociology with "fundamental" and "applied" sociology. The division into theoretical and empirical sociology is due to the level of knowledge (theoretical and empirical), while the division into fundamental and applied sociology is determined by the orientation (function) of sociology, the focus on the actual scientific or practical tasks. So, empirical research can be carried out within the framework of both fundamental and applied sociology. If its purpose is theory building, then it belongs to fundamental sociology; if its purpose is to produce practical advice, then it belongs to applied sociology. The study, being empirical in terms of the level of knowledge obtained, can be applied in terms of the nature of the problem being solved - the transformation of reality. The same applies to theoretical studies.

Third option structures of sociology - according to the scale of the object under study. Macrosociology studies society as a whole social organism, its structure, social institutions, their functioning and changes. BUT microsociology addresses the social behavior of specific individuals and groups, interpersonal communication, motivation of action and reaction, socialization and individualization of the individual, incentives and forms of group actions and group behavior.

Fourth option structures of sociology - on the subject of research. This is the so-called. functional sociology. The basis for functional structure sociological knowledge is the division of the life of society into various areas: economic, social, political and spiritual. In accordance with this, it is customary to distinguish economic sociology, political sociology, the sociology of social life, the sociology of spirituality (culture) and the sociology of management.

Fifth option structures of sociology - according to the research approaches used. When studying and explaining a variety of social phenomena, five main research approaches :

Ø demographic approach involves the study of society and social development through the prism of the processes of fertility, mortality, population migration. For example, the socio-economic backwardness of the third world countries is explained, in particular, by the fact that they have to spend most funds to feed a rapidly growing population. From here demographic structure population and its dynamics is the key to explaining the social processes in these countries;

Ø communicative approach involves the study of social life as a system of human relationships. It analyzes the forms and mechanisms of the relationship of people with each other, due to their status and social roles, as well as ways and difficulties of communication;

Ø collectivist approach It is used in the study of the features and mechanisms of interaction between people in groups and organizations. Within the framework of this approach, collective behavior (audiences, crowds), the influence of sustainable organizational structure on people's attitudes, on their actions and motivations (for example, analysis of relationships in a family, company, team, study of conflicts, etc.);

Ø psychological approach involves an explanation of social behavior and relationships through the prism of its subjective significance for people as individuals. At the same time, motives, thoughts, skills, value orientations and social attitudes, a person's ideas about himself and about the surrounding society ;

Ø cultural approach comprehends the dependence of the interaction and communication of people on the socio-cultural characteristics, traditions and mentality of a given society. Within the framework of this approach, the specifics of the rules of behavior, norms and social values ​​are analyzed as factors that regulate the actions and relations of people in groups. .

The difference between sociology and social psychology.
One of the possible definitions of the subject of social psychology can be
formulated as follows: social psychology is a science that studies
how people think of each other, how they influence each other and how they relate
to each other.
It is important to distinguish between the subject of social psychology, on the one hand, and
subject of sociology and psychology of personality:
Sociology and social psychology do have common interests,
studying how people behave in groups. However, each science has its own emphasis on
studying the behavior of people in groups. Sociology studies groups (from small
to very large societies). Social psychology studies - individuals,
people who make up these groups - what a person thinks about others, how they treat him
affect how he treats them. This includes studying the influence of the group on
individuals, and the individual to the group. For example, considering marital
relationships, the sociologist would focus his attention on the tendencies of marriages,
divorces, etc., and a social psychologist, first of all, would begin to investigate
why certain people are attracted to each other.
The similarity of social psychology and personality psychology lies in the fact that both of these
branches of psychological science study the individual. However, psychologists who
the study of personality, focus on individual internal
mechanisms and differences between individuals by asking, for example,
why some people are more aggressive than others. Social psychologists
focus on how people generally evaluate each other, how
social situations may force most people to act humanely or
cruel, being conformist or independent, etc.
Methodology
Each science, in order to develop productively, must rely on certain starting points that give correct ideas about the phenomena it studies. Methodology and theory act as such provisions. Methodology is the doctrine of the ideological positions of science, the logic and methods of its research. Usually there are three levels of methodology of any science. The general methodology provides correct and accurate ideas about the most general laws of development of the objective world, its originality and constituent components, as well as the place and role in it of those phenomena that it studies given science. A special methodology or methodology of a specific science allows the latter to formulate its own (intra-scientific) laws and regularities related to the specifics of the formation, development and functioning of the phenomena it studies. Finally, a particular methodology is a set of methods, methods, techniques, techniques and technologies (techniques) for studying various phenomena by a particular science, which constitute the subject and object of its analysis.
A method is usually understood as the main way of knowing and interpreting a particular phenomenon, and a technique is a set of methods and techniques by which its study is carried out. Methodology is understood, on the one hand, as the doctrine of the scientific method of cognition and, more broadly, of the methods of cognition in general. On the other hand, it is a set of methods used in any of the scientific branches. This is a system of principles and methods for organizing and building theoretical and practical research activities. The methodology determines how the data obtained in the research regarding the subject and object of research will be interpreted.
In modern scientific knowledge, the term "methodology" refers to three different levels of scientific approach.
1. General methodology - some general philosophical approach, general way knowledge accepted by the researcher. The general methodology formulates some of the most general principles, which - consciously or unconsciously - are used in research. So, for social psychology, a certain understanding of the question of the relationship between society and the individual, human nature is necessary. Different researchers accept different philosophical systems as a general methodology, and so on.
2. Private (or special) methodology - a set of methodological principles applied in a given field of knowledge
3. Methodology - as a set of specific methodological methods of research, which is often referred to in Russian by the term "methodology" Specific methods (or methods, if the word "method" is understood in this narrow sense) used in socio-psychological research are not absolutely independent of more general methodological considerations.
Communication as a communicative activity,
By its nature, communicative activity is a complex multi-channel system of human interaction. The main components of the processes of communicative activity are:
- communicative, providing information transfer;
- interactive, contributing to the regulation of the interaction of partners in the process of communication;
- perceptual, responsible for organizing mutual perception, mutual understanding, mutual assessment and reflection in communication.
In social psychology, two types of communicative activity are distinguished:
- personality-oriented;
- socially oriented.

A.N. Leontiev distinguishes several components of communicative activity:
- the subject of communication is another person, partner, subject with whom the communication process is carried out;
- the need for communication - the desire, the need for knowledge of the evaluation of other people through communication, with the ultimate goal of improving self-knowledge, self-awareness;
- communicative motives - that for the sake of which communication takes place;
- communication actions are units of communicative activity, a holistic act addressed to another person (the two main categories of communication actions are initiative and response);
- communication tasks - this is the goal for the benefit of which various actions performed in the process of communication are directed in a communicative situation;
- means of communication - a set of operations through which communication actions are carried out;
- the product of communication - the result, the "dry residue" of communication in the form of material or spiritual formations.
main
communication characteristics
Any communication is characterized by content, function, manner and style.
Content communication is expressed in the following points:
- transfer from person to person information;
- perception of each other by communication partners;
- mutual evaluation by partners;
- mutual influence of communication partners on each other;
- interaction of partners with each other;
- management of group or mass activities.
The literature highlights the main functions communication.
- Instrumental - characterizes communication as a social mechanism for managing and transmitting information.
- Integrative - reveals communication as a means of bringing people together.
- Self-expression - defines communication as a form of mutual understanding of the psychological context.
- Translational - as a means of transferring methods of activity, assessments, etc.
- Expressive - promotes mutual understanding of experiences, emotional state of communication partners.
- Social control - the function of regulating the behavior and activities of the subjects of communication.
- Socialization - determines the ability to form interaction skills in society in accordance with established norms and rules.
Manner communication is determined by the following factors:
- the tone of communication (calm, domineering, irritated, insinuating, agitated, etc.);
- distance in communication (intimate, personal, social, public, etc.).

Style communication. These are individual typological features of interaction between people, in which they find their expression:
- features of human communication capabilities;
- the established nature of the relationship with specific people or groups of people;
- psychological or social individuality of a person;
- features of communication partners.
Ways of communication. The need for communication
Communication - the exchange of information using language or gestures, as well as other means of contact. Communication is the communication interaction of people or social groups. In the process of communication between the participants of communication, there is an exchange of various kinds of information. (
Mental contact between people can be direct (for example, at a meeting) and indirect, using special means and tools (for example, an exchange of letters). When communicating through letters, telephone conversations also occur mutual exchange information and emotions real people; this is the difference between reading a letter and reading fiction: the latter only gives a person the opportunity to join literature and poetry.
In recent years, the method of communication through electronic means has become more widespread. Its feature is the absence of direct physical contact between people. Therefore, if there is no visual image of speakers using electronic means, most of the information communicated by non-verbal signs (facial expressions, gestures) is lost. In addition, with such communication there is anonymity: when communicating with a person via the Internet, we may not know the real name of the interlocutor, his gender and age, his nationality and religious affiliation etc., just as he knows nothing about us. To make the communication anonymous, its participants use pseudonyms.
Communication by electronic means (over the Internet) is often caused by common interests. Such communication occurs through network conferences and online chats. A conference is a virtual meeting place for people with common interests. It collects messages united by a specific topic. It begins with the fact that one of the users of the Network sends a message (called an article). Other users read these articles and respond to them if they wish. The result is a discussion in which many people can participate. There are thousands of such conferences on the Internet.
Internet chat is an interactive exchange of messages between two or more participants. While conferences publish articles and people send replies to them after a while, in a chat room, the answers appear on the participants' screens immediately.
The need for communication is one of the basic sociogenic human needs. It arises in the process of accumulating experience in interpersonal interaction. It is based on the need for emotional contact, the socialized search for contacts and the corresponding technique of satisfaction. Software manifests itself in the need of an individual to belong to a group, to be a member of it, to interact with it, to participate in joint activities, to be together, to provide and receive assistance. It leads to the rejection of selfish attitudes in order to establish (or restore) harmony and friendly ties between group members. PO is also manifested in the desire to participate in joint action. A person, as it were, seeks to reduce the distance between himself and other members of the group. Thus, the need for communication stimulates, supports and directs a person's activity in communication with other people.

social relations- this is a system of normalized interactions between partners about something that binds them (subject, interest, etc.). Unlike social interaction, social relations are a stable system limited by certain norms (maybe even informal ones). Social relations are a complex system that consists not only of a system of dependencies that arise between partners about the link and their nature of dependencies.
Social relations can also arise between people who contact only indirectly, without even knowing about the existence of each other, in this case interactions between them will be carried out not due to a subjective sense of obligation or intention to maintain these relations, but due to the institutional institutions of larger communities.

Therefore, by social relations we can mean a wide range of social systems. This may be the friendship of two girls, and the relationship between a teacher and a student, and a labor agreement between a worker and an employer, and cooperation between two enterprises, and a union of two states, etc. In this system, the following elements can be distinguished: - subjects of communication - two individuals, or two social groups, or an individual and a social group;
etc.................

What are the similarities and differences between sociology and other sciences?

Sociology is the science of the laws of the formation, functioning, development of society as a whole, social relations and social communities, the mechanism of the relationship and interaction between these communities, as well as between communities and the individual.

At present, sociology occupies a special place in the system of social and humanities. At the same time, in the system of social sciences there are a number of disciplines with which sociology has the closest and even mutually necessary connection. Let us consider how sociology interacts with some sciences and what is their difference.

Philosophy. Sociology, like a number of other sciences, emerged from philosophy. For a long period of time, sociological knowledge accumulated in the depths of philosophy.

For philosophy, the starting point of research is man, and for sociology, society. If philosophy studies the essence of a person, personality, then sociology considers personality as social type. Philosophy decides public problems speculatively, based on a chain of logical reflections, then sociology tries to solve social problems on the basis of scientific methods knowledge of reality.

That public life should be studied not speculatively, but on the basis of the methods of empirical (experimental) science, O. Comte once said.

Story. If history mainly reproduces (describes and explains) the social process post factum, then sociology - in factum, i.e. it is able to better, more adequately reveal the laws of functioning of an already established social system. If historical science studies only what has happened and entered history, then sociology directs its main attention to the present, while engaging in social planning and forecasting.

Political science studies political reality, the political life of society (the state, its institutions and norms, the political behavior of people, power relations between them). Sociology analyzes society from the standpoint of its social structure, social status individuals, classes and other social groups, nations and nationalities, their interaction, etc. There is an interaction between sociology and political science, and it is not by chance that a new one has emerged at their junction. special discipline -sociology of politics.

Sociology interacts closely with economics. After all, the evolution of social activity is influenced by radical shifts in the economy. Many areas of sociological research (sociology of labor, sociology of the city, sociology of the countryside, etc.) are largely based on economic research and carried out within economic sociology.

Sociology as a science has much in common with psychology. The similarities of these sciences arise when the focus of scientific analysis is the human person. However, sociology and psychology also have significant methodological differences. If the main attention of psychology is focused on the study of the individual "I", then sociology is interested in the problems of interpersonal interaction "We". A new science is developing at the intersection of psychology and sociology social Psychology.

Sociology has much in common with such sciences as demography, statistics, anthropology and others. This commonality lies in the fact that they use common methods to obtain knowledge.

Interdisciplinary interactions of sociology with other sciences have led to the emergence of a number of branches in sociology - sociology of work, sociology of education, sociology of culture, sociology of sports and a number of others. It is on an interdisciplinary basis that the sociolinguistics and social pedagogy.

Thus, sociology can be compared to a wide window on the world. There is practically no sphere of public life that has not been subjected to sociological analysis and research, both in theoretical and applied aspects.