Essence and components of the psyche
The psyche is an essential component of human life activity. Its key characteristics include active sensory reflection of the internal state and environmental influences, activity aimed at interacting with the world, and the ability for accumulation and transmission of knowledge, which defines consciousness.
The subjective attitude toward reality is formed through a number of processes:
- Perception and sensations (emotions).
- Memory and recollection.
- Mental representations (imagination) and thinking.
- Consciousness (awareness).
Forms of manifestation of mental activity can be both external (behavioral acts, vegetative and emotional reactions) and internal, occurring without visible external expression.
Information processes and needs
Information processes play a leading role in the psyche. Information here is understood as an ideal entity and the basis of the subjective, reflecting interaction at various levels: from objects to the communication of living beings and neuroglial interactions in the central nervous system.
The primary cause for the generation of any information in the body is a need — a deviation of the physicochemical parameters of the internal environment from the optimum.
Perception of this need is carried out by specialized genetically determined receptors. The main mediators in this process are information molecules (proteins, oligopeptides, fatty acids, lipoglycoproteins) that interact with cell membranes or nerve endings.
Functional systems and adaptive behavior
The dynamics of mental activity rely on the work of functional systems of the body, operating on the principle of self-regulation. Their main task is to maintain homeostasis parameters and ensure behavioral activity to satisfy metabolic needs, and in humans, social needs as well.
The informational content of these systems determines the nature of adaptive behavior:
- If the results of behavior have only physical properties, the systems are built on their physical informational equivalents.
- If the results are verbal in nature, the systems are supplemented with a verbal informational component.
This division is closely related to I.P. Pavlov's teaching on the first and second signaling systems. An important human specificity is that the informational equivalent of the psyche is inextricably linked with speech function. As I.M. Sechenov hypothesized, the morphofunctional basis for this is the neural substrate: neurons, glial cells, and synapses.
Architectonics of mental activity
Human mental informational activity is determined by the isomorphic cerebral architectonics of functional systems. It includes strictly sequential nodal mechanisms:
- Afferent synthesis — the initial stage of information gathering and processing.
- Decision making — choosing a specific behavioral vector.
- Action result acceptor — formation of an ideal mental image predicting the result that will satisfy the initial need.
- Efferent synthesis — formation of commands for effector organs.
- Evaluation of results — continuous comparison of the parameters of the achieved result (via feedback afferentation) with the initially formed action result acceptor.
Features of human mental organization
While in animals system construction is limited predominantly to emotional sensations and metabolic needs, in humans the key difference is the influence of social factors.
This is particularly evident at the stage of afferent synthesis:
- Biological motivations interact closely with socially determined situational afferentation.
- Social memory mechanisms actively participate in the construction of higher motivations.
- Social motives can significantly transform basic biological motives, giving them a pronounced "social coloring".
Briefly: answers to topical questions
What mandatory components are part of the afferent synthesis stage?
The stage of afferent synthesis includes four components:
- Dominant motivation — the leading component of the stage, built on the basis of various metabolic needs; the mechanism is neurohumoral signaling.
- Memory — a component of afferent synthesis; genetic and individually acquired memory participate in behavioral organization.
- Situational afferentation — a component of afferent synthesis; the ratio of dominant motivation and situational afferentation is always dynamic and built on the principle of dominance.
- Trigger afferentation — the stimulus.
What is the difference between the first and second signaling systems according to I.P. Pavlov?
The difference between the signaling systems lies in the specificity of perceived signals, the features of thinking, and their presence in different species.
| Characteristic | First signaling system | Second signaling system |
|---|---|---|
| Type of stimuli | Physical properties of conditioned stimuli (sound, light, smell) | Verbal influences (speech) |
| Type of thinking | Concrete-visual thinking (sensations and perceptions) | Human consciousness (language as a material shell) |
| Signal specificity | Signals arrive directly from special receptors | The word acts as a "signal of signals" (a signal of the first signals) |
| Presence in species | Inherent to both animals and humans | Inherent only to humans |
| Ontogeny | Established first | It is formed on the basis of the first one through learning and communication |
To memorize the key mechanisms of architectonics, use the phrase "PhArmacist ACcurately Assessed Effects": Afferent synthesis, Pecision making (decision-making), Acceptor of action results, Efferent synthesis, Assessment of results.
Class and exam questions
What is the root cause of information processes in the psyche?
The root cause is a need that arises as a result of the deviation of the physicochemical parameters of the body's internal environment from the optimal level for metabolism.
How does the body perceive a need?
It is carried out through special cellular receptors. Various information molecules, such as proteins, oligopeptides, and fatty acids, act as a linking link.
At what stage of systemic organization do social factors play a key role?
Social factors, social memory, and situational afferentation exert the greatest influence at the stage of afferent synthesis.
What is the main feature of the functional systems of the human psyche compared to animals?
Unlike animals, whose systems are directed toward metabolic needs and physical parameters, the informational equivalents of human systems are inextricably linked with the speech function (the second signaling system) and social needs.
What else to study on this topic
- Detailed characterization of mental components: from perception to consciousness.
- Interaction of neurons and glial elements in information processing.
- Chemical diversity of information molecules (lipoglycoproteins, oligopeptides).
- Mechanisms of social transformation of human biological motivations.
- The connection of the architectonics of functional systems with I.P. Pavlov's doctrine of signaling systems.
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