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149PSYCHOLOGY OF PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES. LEGAL CULTURE
PSYCHOLOGICAL CULTURE OF PERSONALITY AS A FACTOR IN THE PREVENTION OF PROFESSIONAL DEFORMATION
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14420/en.2013.6.5
Ovsyanikova Yelena Alekseyevna, Candidate in Psychological Science, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor in the Developmental and Social Psychology Department of the Belgorod State National Research University, e-mail: ovsyannikova@bsu.edu.ru.
Savelyeva Irina Vladimirovna, Candidate in Psychological Science, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor in the Criminal Law and Procedure Department of the Belgorod State National Research University, e-mail: I_Saveljeva@bsu.edu.ru.
Dolzhenko Natalya Igorevna, Candidate in Juridical Science, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor in the Forensic Enquiry and Criminalistics Department of the Belgorod State National Research University, e-mail: dolzhenko@bsu.edu.ru.
The article presents issues about the psychological culture of members of professions of the “person to person” type, and preventive measures against professional defamation of members of the legal profession using the harmonization or optimization of their psychological culture.
personality development, culture, psychological culture, professional culture, defamation, professional defamation, professional destruction, professional degradation.
The present stage of the development of a society is characterized by the fact that adults devote a major part of their lives to professional activity. The principle of the unity of consciousness, activity and the individual confirms the fact that professional activity, on the one hand, contributes to the formation of professionally important qualities in a person, and, on the other hand, carries a great potential for individual violations.
Any professional activity in the “person to person” system has a significant impact on the formation of the professional identity. The conditions of this activity create a specific inner world for the individual, a system of relationships, peculiarities of reaction to particular events, demeanour, mode of dress, etc.
Abstract.
Keywords:
Certain activities, particularly law enforcement, pedagogical, psychological, medical and other activities, have the specific feature that professional problems often occur in situations that have an unpredictable outcome, situations that involve increased responsibility on professionals to make decisions and a need to communicate with various people, situations that are influenced by mental and physical pressure, and situations that require decisive action and an ability to take risks, etc. These features of activities have a significant impact on the personal characteristics of individuals, and can lead to the development of professional deformation of personality. In the most general form the result of the development this phenomenon can be such behavioural manifestations that entail unsolicited criticism by other people and do not coincide with professional ethics. Thus, the phenomenon of this deformation is potentially present in any professional activity1.
There are currently several points of view on this problem. They all boil down to the fact that professional deformation develops as a result of the professional and individual characteristics of the person.
In many works of national psychologists (A.K. Markova, S.A. Druzhilov, E.A. Klimov, N.S. Pryazhnikov, E.Y Prazhnikova, A.F. Shikun, etc.), terms such as “professional destruction” and “professional degradation” are used (with a similar or identical meaning) alongside “professional deformation”. However, the terms “degradation” and “destruction” etymologically in at least reflect the essence of the changes in the structure of activity, and they have a clearly negative connotation2. Because the definition of “professional deformation” has a wide scope, the phrase may include all sides of the physical and mental human organization that are influenced by the profession, where the influence itself has a distinctly negative nature3.
It is interesting to note that there is no term “psychological deformation” in foreign psychology. The term “burnout”, coined by an American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in 1974, defined a state of physical exhaustion with a sense of uselessness in humans4.
There is a concept in the domestic literature that is close to “asthenia” or “fatigue”. It is assumed that the development of fatigue and muscular weakness is preceded by a more or less lengthy period of strong mental stress and work in exhausting conditions5.
On the basis of the aforementioned definitions, professional deformation
1 Prevention of professional deformation of the individual staff members of the Department of Interior: textbook, edited by Burykin V.M. M.: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, GUK IMC, 2004. - P. 104.
2 Nozhenkina O.S. The role of reflection in overcoming professional deformation of a teacher. -Smolensk, 2012. - P. 54.
3 Gellershtein S.T. Psychological Technique/History of Soviet Psychology of Labour: texts (20-30 years of the 20th century), edited by V.P. Zinchenko, V.M. Munipov, O.G. Noskov, M:, Moscow University Publisher, 1983. - P. 213-222.
4 Orel V.E. Burnout phenomenon in international psychology: empirical research and perspectives // Psychological Journal. 2001. - Vol. 22. - No. 1. - P. 90-101.
5 Bolshakova T.V. Personality determinants and organizational factors of mental burnout among health care workers: The author’s abstract. Doctoral dissertation in Psychology of Science: 19.00.03. -Yaroslavl, 2004.
can be viewed as a negative influence of the profession on the psychological and physiological characteristics of a person that hinders behaviour in the everyday “non-professional sphere”1.
Personal background characteristics that affect the progress of this phenomenon, even when they developed prior to the person beginning the professional activity, play a certain role in the progress of professional deformation.
The position in this paper was based on research undertaken with representatives of professions of the “person to person” type who had various lengths of work experience. The subjects of the research were divided into three groups: those with up to 5 years of work experience, those who been working for between 5.5 and 10 years, and employees with over 10 years of work experience.
The research carried out by us showed that the preconditions for the development of professional deformation lie in the motives for the choice of a profession, and that the expectations at the stage of entering independent professional life become a triggering mechanism. The professional reality is very different from the views that have been formed in the graduate of a professional educational institution. Therefore, during a person's professional career, a transformation of his or her motives from a desire to benefit people to the possibility of being able to supervise others' work occurs.
The reasons for deformation, in the opinion of researchers into this problem, lie in the underdevelopment of both the general and the professional culture. The level of education, level and character of labour motivation, orientations and attitudes, particular stress responses, features of character and temperament, level of empathic abilities, style of relationships within a team, level of intellectual development, properties of the nervous system, level of development of capacities, etc., have been referred to as personal variables in the phenomenon of professional maladjustment2. Thus, the nature and dynamics of the deformation depend on the specific features of the individual3.
On the basis of the inclusion of the aforementioned personal characteristics of the individual into the components of his psychological culture, we can deduce that an underdevelopment of the psychological culture of a specialist is one of the reasons for professional deformation.
Considered as a way to harmonize the inner world (“I”) of the individual with the outside world, where “I” is a backbone constructor, a psychological culture is, on the one hand, the way to build the image “I” as a subject of professional activity, and, on the other hand, a way to establish harmonious relations with others while preserving one's own individuality.
Regarding professional activity, this means not only knowledge of professionally important qualities, but also acceptance of oneself in the profession,
1 Nozhenkina O.S. (note 2). - P. 61.
2 BeznosovS.P Professional deformation of an individual. - St.Petersburg: Speech, 2004.
3 Druzhilov S.A. Professional deformation and destruction as consequences of the distortion of the psychological patterns of occupation and activities. Journal of Applied Psychology. - 2004. - No. 2. -P. 57.
identification of oneself with a professional activity, positive focus on interpersonal communication, creativity, constructive business management, etc.
As noted by O. V. Puzikova, when considering the content of the psychological culture, a problem of psycho-cultural aspirations arises. The high degree of development of certain qualities may not always be interpreted as a positive trend. Thus, in Ms Puzikova’s opinion, too high level of reflection can result in the person keeping track of every step and losing spontaneity in his or her behaviour, and excessive self-regulation may lead to soul-searching and low self-esteem. The question is one of the optimal balance of the components of the psychological culture1. These qualities become obstacles to the harmonious development of the individual, and can lead to personal and professional deformation.
Professional deformation initially begins to emerge in the identity, and is then reflected in professional activity and the immediate environment through behaviour.
Analysis of the condition of the psychological culture of law enforcement officials allows us to talk about signs of professional deformation in all three groups in our research. Employees who have worked for more than ten years are most subject to professional deformation. However, the first manifestations of professional deformation are observed after five years of work in law enforcement. Men are more susceptible to deformation. The first signs of professional deformation in women are noticeable after eight years of work experience.
These signs include the following: an accusatory bias, a lack of desire, and a lack of awareness of how to express “negative” aspirations and emotions (for example, aggression, etc) in a way that is culturally acceptable to other people. In addition, we identified that the aspiration to manage “moods, desires and actions flexibly” and to “keep the development of mental and physical strength in good condition” were practically never found in employees. This is especially clearly seen in those we interviewed whose work experience was longer than ten years.
A focus on self-control and self-discipline is more noticeable in employees whose work experience is between 5.5 and 10 years, regardless of the level of their psychological culture.
This is confirmed by comparing the scoring indicators for the aspirations: “to be engaged in self-education on a regular basis”, “to respond quickly to a poor condition, and find ways to improve it”, and “independently to overcome bad habits and develop positive ones”.
A similar attitude is also detected from an analysis of the scoring indicators for the aspiration “to respond quickly to feeling bad and find ways to improve a condition”. It should be noted, however, that the indicators for this aspiration depend on the length of service and the gender of the employees. Women who have worked for less than eight years are more inclined to want to change their emotional state.
1 Puzikova O.V. Psychological culture as a factor of self-actualization of individuals (for example, teachers): Doctoral dissertation in Psychology of Science: 19.00.03. Khabarovsk, - 2003. - P. 41.
However, high levels of self-control over the emotions and behaviour, communicative competence, steadiness, a low level of aggression and conflict, etc., are, in the view of most scholars, qualities that are indicators of professional suitability for legal activity and that can also lead to the emergence of signs of professional deformation.
For the prevention of professional deformation, the objective should not be to “cure” professional deformation, but to avoid creating the foundations for the development of mental states or contributing to the development of professional deformation, by teaching employees to overcome heavy loads without unbalancing the psyche and destroying the body.
In order to implement professional tasks effectively, it is essential to bring the psychological culture into a condition, objectified in models of activities and behaviour, in which harmoniously functioning components can lead to the success of professional activity, i.e. into an optimal state.
The development of a psychological culture and the achievement of this specific state imply the existence of special conditions. The experience of practical work on the training of specialists and the research carried out by various authors show that the psychological conditions that contribute to the successful development of the psychological culture of a future professional are the following: a developed need for personal self-actualization, an ability to embrace another person’s emotional state, a focus on self-realization in the profession, and emotional reflexivity towards another who is the object of the professional activity.
Thus, the development and realization of programmes for the formation of a psychological culture based on the psychological conditions identified is the essential element for high quality training for professional activities.
With regard to what is mentioned above, the assessment, forecasting and development of a psychological culture as a factor of professional deformation prevention are among the priorities of human resource management and vocational and psychological training for those who give psychological support in occupations of the “person to person” type.
References
1. Beznosov S.P. Professional deformation of an individual. - St. Petersburg: Speech, 2004.
2. Bolshakova T.V. Personality determinants and organizational factors of mental burnout among health care workers: The author's abstract. Doctoral dissertation in Psychology of Science: 19.00.03. - Yaroslavl, 2004.
3. Gellershtein S.T. Psychological Technique/History of Soviet Psychology of Labour: texts (20-30 years of the 20th century) / edited by V.P. Zinchenko, V.M. Munipov, O.G. Noskov - M.: Moscow University Publisher, 1983.
4. Druzhilov S.A. Professional deformation and destruction as consequences of the distortion of the psychological patterns of occupation and activities // Journal of Applied Psychology. - 2004. - No. 2.
5. Nozhenkina O.S. The role of reflection in overcoming professional
deformation of a teacher. - Smolensk, 2012.
6. Orel V.E. Burnout phenomenon in international psychology: Empirical research and perspectives // Psychological Journal. - 2001. - Vol. 22. - No. 1.
7. Prevention of professional deformation of the individual staff members of the Department of Interior: Textbook, edited by V.M. Burykin M.: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, GUK IMC, 2004.
8. Puzikova O.V. Psychological culture as a factor of self-actualization of individuals (for example, teachers): Doctoral dissertation in Psychology of Science: 19.00.03. - Khabarovsk, 2003.
