Psychology: where to start learning yourself

Among the diversity of human life, the inner space of the individual remains unknown to many. And this inner life is in many respects more important for a person than for an external one, since trauma to the psyche does not heal for decades, unlike the wounds of the body. This is well known to psychologists - people whose life is devoted to the study of the secrets of the soul. And, of course, the desire to understand the other is valuable.

Who set foot on the path of self-study, must go through a difficult path. What are the main difficulties of studying why it is so difficult to master the science of psychology; Where to start studying? Let's try to understand.

Methodology

When a person decides to engage in the study of such a science as psychology, one should thoroughly familiarize himself with the methodology of science. And devote a lot of time reading various literature.

But where to start studying psychology on your own? How to find that knowledge base that you can rely on further and study science in-depth? Without the basic ordered concepts, no real science exists. First, the subject of science and methodology are studied. Methodology - a systematic analysis of those methods that are used in this science to gain knowledge.

Start with yourself. Why and why

The beginning of the study of human psychology is the comprehension of personal motives. First of all, it is necessary to understand why the first step is taken to study the behavior of people: to understand well the development of children and help them grow harmonious either for their own personal growth, or want to become a professional and get the opportunity to help outsiders.

It is also important to determine in advance which side of the science you will study thoroughly: theoretical or practical. It's hard to find without knowing what it is. Especially in the ocean of information.

Psychology books. What newcomers are needed

Which books begin studying psychology? In order to study the basics of any science, one must start from the basics: the most basic categories, terms and concepts - all this can be found in any first-year textbook. Such textbooks are available in all city libraries. Although they are not very eloquently written, and are full of definitions and tables, they need to be mastered. Further it will be easier. After reading this first book, you need to find classics of psychology: K. Jung, K. Horney, A. Adler, E. Fromm and, of course, you need to get acquainted with the work of Freud.

Easier and interesting book I. Yalom "When Nietzsche was crying." You can then search for any author's book in the direction that is more interesting at the moment.

Author's books are very many, it is important to find an author who is a professional and has been working in this field for at least 10 years. Then the experience that the author brings to the reader is authoritative, and it can be based on it in the future.

Do not forget that it is important for a psychologist to know the basics of philosophy and sociology. It is important to form humanitarian thinking, science - not only theories and theses.

Fiction also contains a lot of useful information for the future psychologist. Writers-classics clearly analyzed the nature of the inner world and the actions of their invented heroes. A particularly profound analysis can be found in the books of F. Dostoyevsky.

Magazines and publications

In today's incredibly vast space of information, finding an accessible and interesting journal on psychology is not a problem. Many universities publish their own magazine and put free versions of the Internet freely. You just need to find the magazine that will be cognitive and useful for you in the chosen field of science.

• "Russian Psychological Journal."
• Journal of VAK "Vestnik VlGU".
• "Experimental Psychology."
• "Existential and humanistic psychology."
• Online-journal psychologies.ru.
• Others.

The online journal psychologies.ru was created for a wide range of readers. If you need scientific publications written by qualified staff of institutions, it is better to read official publications. Such as: "Russian Psychological Journal."

The world of psychology. Main directions

In what directions is modern psychology developing? How to start studying the trends in the development of the main directions of this science? You can not succeed in everything at once, and you need to determine the direction in which a person will feel most confident, which is closer to him to learn and apply.

Classical directions are:

• Cognitive direction;

• Gestalt psychology;

• Associative psychology;

• Humanistic;

• Deep.

And there are new directions: psychodrama, coaching, transpersonal psychology and neurolinguistic programming.

Nonverbal communication as a basis

Without what science of psychology is not conceived? How to start the study? A beginner needs to study both theory and practice. And practice accordingly, immediately work out: learn to listen, learn to pay attention to non-verbal signs. This practice is important just as for learning a foreign language you need to immediately pronounce the sentence.

Nonverbal messages are a hint to the interlocutor; The theory of non-verbal communication says that the gestures of facial expression and the posture of the person speak much more about the inner state than words. A good psychologist immediately "calculates" the state of the person next to him in his appearance. Even if you are not going to professionally study psychology, but only are interested in it, non-verbal signs must be learned to determine. This will simplify communication with relatives and colleagues.

What qualities of character should be developed

Working with people is absolutely impossible without working on yourself. A psychologist is one who studies souls. So psychology is treated. How to start studying the behavior and problems of others? From working on your own character traits. Because you can not know others without knowing yourself.

Psyche - was the goddess-soul, accordingly, the science of the soul can not be studied without love for the souls of people. It is necessary to be able to put yourself in the place of another and to represent his feelings and emotions. The psychologist also needs good abilities for self-reflection and self-reflection - that is, the ability to understand one's own emotional state and behavior. Ability to establish verbal contact with any person.

Indeed, it is not so easy to study the psychology of man. Where to begin? Develop awareness. For a novice psychologist, this is a key point. If a newcomer is faced with the question: how to start studying psychology on your own, then it is better to reformulate it - with whom to begin the study. From himself. The psychologist will not be able to solve other people's problems unless he learns to solve his complexes, problems, fears and worries.

Proxemics

Distance and the need for its observance in the conduct of the conversation is studied by such a science as proxyemics. The concept is introduced into science by Edward Hall.

Edward Hall introduced into the scientific world of psychologists 4 zones, which must be observed when communicating:

• Intimate;
• Personal;
• Social zone;
• Public.

Understand the internal state of people is not so simple. Reading a book does not make sense, if a beginner can not recognize the inner spirit of the interlocutor.

A psychologist can not pressure a person. When he does not observe the distance, a person will close and not allow himself into his inner world.