Special consideration must be given to the concept of «negative mental state», which is allocated on the basis of the polarity, the symbol of the described conditions, impacts on human activities. Polarity is emotional characteristic of mental States. Emotions are a critical component of mental States, «reflecting in the form of direct biased experiences the importance of acting on human phenomena in their connection with actual needs associated with the physiological processes of the body and is one of the main mechanisms of internal regulation of mental activity» [1].
We can assume that the negative mental state is a consequence of the disruption of regulatory processes and its cause: the factor undermine the process of the negative state, and this state, in turn, stops and disrupt the actions that led to collision with the given factor; in some cases can be manifested only the tendency to lapse and disorganization. Thus, the negative state is called factor, disorganizing the course of the regulatory activity, and this process has a disruptive effect on the behavior. However, this characterization of the negative state does not take into account one important condition, namely, that it not only leads to the disruption, but it may also encourage the establishment of specific actions: under the influence of negative emotions are formed acts escape, attack or eliminate the negative factor. Negative mental state is a complex phenomenon: it will disrupt those activities, which leads to its occurrence, but organizes the activities aimed at reduction or elimination of harmful impacts. Thus, the negative process contains elements as disorganization and organizations [4].
Physiological explanation for the negative impact of emotions on human activities gave I.P. Pavlov. He believed that in the basis of negative influence of different emotional States lies «...the same physiological mechanism... braking bark from overexcited subcortical center [3].
In General, it can be considered a widespread point of view that mental state is a complex unity of opposite feelings. Laughter can be the laughter through tears, joy is accompanied by sorrow, and anger is to be accompanied by joy. To denote the duality experiences there is a special term – «ambivalence». He interpreted as contradictory feelings and emotional experiences associated with the dual attitude to man or phenomenon. For example – the acceptance and rejection, pleasure and displeasure, sympathy and antipathy. In these cases, only the identification of the leading, dominant emotions allows to attribute them to the group of positive or negative mental States.
The study of the structure of the affective sphere with the use of factor analysis and other mathematical-statistical methods of processing of empirical data has led researchers to the conclusion of a certain independence pleasant and unpleasant emotions. The positive factor of effektivnosti, including the scale of social dominance, motivation to achieve, is associated with positive mental States, while the negative factor of effektivnosti uniting scale aggression and alienation, is associated with negative mental States. The experimental data confirmed the close connection between the two-dimensional state space and the two-dimensional space of a personality in the measurement of extroversion and neuroticism.
In many cases, it is easy to carry emotional state to «pleasant» or «bad», including the experience of pleasure or displeasure, but not always. The ability to clearly assess the polarity of the state is a contentious issue, with more than century history. But the existence of the medium, neutral States may not be an obstacle to that to use this feature, as polarity, i.e. the prevalence pleasant (positive) or negative (negative) emotions. It is necessary theoretical discussion and a useful tool for solving practical problems (diagnosis, prediction, impact assessment).
Very important to describe the mental state has the intensity of the experience emotions – their power, the brightness. Quantitative differences emotions largely determine the qualitative specificity of mental status.
Thus, the description of the mental state can not be complete without reference to its emotional characteristics, the basic can be attributed to the wide range experienced by the individual’s emotions, the dominant emotion, intensity of emotions, polarity – prevalence pleasant (positive) or negative (negative) emotions.
General emotional background should not be regarded as some statistical balance or mathematical integral separate influences of different sign of emotions and feelings. This picture would have been impossible to imagine, even if we analyze the emotions from their biological sense. Biological significance of negative emotions that accompany any unmet needs, is that they encourage the body to overcome the obstacles to the satisfaction of the current needs. Satisfaction of needs leads to another extreme States of organism – positive emotions. Subjectively, it is accompanied by feelings of satisfaction, pleasure, joy.
Background affective sphere of the human being is a synthesis of many emotions and feelings experienced by man. Their appearance and flow due to many needs and motives, their complex relationship. Naturally, in most cases, responding to the different needs in each moment of time is in various stages. Moreover, many human needs, by its very nature cannot be exhausted at the stage of satisfaction (saturation), like the basic vital needs. Therefore, for a man of mixed characteristic gamma of feelings and emotions, far from the dynamics of the algebraic summation, in which positive emotions and feelings extinguish (or weaken) negative, and Vice versa. It so happens that through my tears breaks through laughter, joy mixed with sadness.
This is confirmed by the results of studies using the factor analysis. Two-factor structure affective space is constructed in such a way that one orthogonal axis is positive and the other negative affect. Many terms related to mood, are mixed expressions for these parameters. So, pleasant mood is determined by a combination of high positive and negative affect; unpleasant combination of high and negative low positive affect. The factors of positive and negative affects are highlighted when the factor analysis of the data obtained in numerous studies on self-assessment mood [2].
Thus, we can identify negative mental States as a kind of mental States of a person with a dominance of negative emotional valence, subjectively, accompanied by the experience of dissatisfaction and increase the probability of disruption of its work.
References
- Giessen L.D. Sports mental health and mental prevention // the problems of sport psychology. – M., 1971. – 149 p.
- Kulikov L.V. The Problem of description of mental conditions / Mental state. SPb, 2001. – 512 p.
- Pavlov I.P. Twenty years of experience objective study of the higher nervous activity of animals. – M., 1951. – T. 3. – 256 p.
- Rakovski Y. Experimental psychology of emotions. – M., 1979. – P. 44–45.
Библиографическая ссылка
Gonina O.O. THE CONCEPT OF NEGATIVE MENTAL STATE // European Journal of Natural History. – 2014. – № 1. – С. 82-83;URL: https://world-science.ru/ru/article/view?id=33264 (дата обращения: 22.11.2024).