Individual image as a social phenomenon in foreighn psychology

Abstract

B a c k g r o u n d . The relevance of creating a holistic theory of personality image is realised by both practitioners working in this area and psychologists seeking to comprehend the material they have accumulated, but at the same time, it is often based on disparate concepts and facts borrowed from different psychological theories. Undoubtedly, in the history of psychology, the authors of each new theory of personality, seeking to come closer to the disclosure of the most complex problem of psychology – personality and its development, discover more and more new realities. Solving the problem of the connection between two complex realities 'personality' and 'image', the further analysis is aimed at finding points of contact, planes connecting these two phenomena, and finding the most productive way to create a theoretical basis for the study of individual image. Purpose – differential psychological analysis of the phenomenon of individual image in foreign psychology.

M e t h o d s . Content analysis allowed for quantification of the text with further interpretation of the results. The comparison helped to identify similarities and differences in the views of scholars on the essence and nature of the image phenomenon. The use of systematisation made it possible to bring together disparate knowledge about the phenomenon of image into a single scientific system and establish their unity.

R e s u l t s . The authors of each new theory of personality, trying to get closer to the disclosure of the most difficult problem of psychology – personality and its development, discover more and more new realities. The disadvantage of the existing theories of personality is their onesidedness, so personality is proposed to be considered as a complex entity that has three realities: biological, psychological and social, and several projection planes. That is why there are many interpretations of the concept of image, which is a consequence of a non-historical, non-holistic and non-genetic understanding of personality.

C o n c l u s i o n s . A differential psychological analysis of the individual image in foreign psychology as a social phenomenon has been carried out. The genesis of the concept of image in the world psychological thought is analysed; the differences in the semantic content of the concept of image by representatives of different scientific schools and trends in foreign psychology are considered.