Minimizing the negative consequences of extreme situations. The influence of an extreme situation on a person. I. General characteristics of extreme situations

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Introduction

1. Psychology of human behavior in extreme situations

1.1 Extreme situations in human life

1.2 Mental states and human behavior characteristic of extreme situations

2. Dependencies of individual behavior in extreme situations

2.1 Dependency behavior in extreme situation on the type of nervous system and character of a person

2.2 Development of human tolerance to extreme situations

3. Experimental part

Conclusion

References

Applications

Introduction

Extreme situations go beyond the normal events of human life and arise in all areas of life: every person from time to time finds himself in a number of situations that are extreme for him.

The psychology of extreme situations is a fairly new but rapidly developing branch of applied science. psychological science, which studies the characteristics of human behavior during severe stressful situations and their psychological consequences, and also helps to assess, anticipate and optimize mental states and human behavior.

The frequency of exposure to extreme situations on humans is only increasing every year. In addition to various natural disasters that are dangerous to human life, modern man faces new severe trials caused by the activities of human civilization: man-made disasters, accidents, wars, terrorism, crime, difficult working conditions. It is especially important that many complex species human activity can cause tense situations that require precise, quick and error-free actions from a person.

Relevance of this topic course work due to the fact that despite all the demand for studying the psychology of human behavior in emergency situations, it is still in a poorly understood state and therefore requires increased attention

The purpose of the course work is to analyze the materials accumulated by psychological science, containing information about individual behavior styles in the first minutes and hours of an incident, and to determine the general psychological patterns of the impact of extreme situations on a person, to develop tips for developing tolerance to the effects of extreme factors.

Research hypothesis: a person’s behavior style in an extreme situation depends both on the type of the situation itself and on the characteristics of the human personality.

Coursework objectives:

Define the clear content of the concept of “extreme situation”;

Identify the main features of the impact of extreme situations on the human psyche and behavior;

Establish the dependence of behavior in an extreme situation on the type of person’s character;

The object of the study is the characteristics of human behavior.

The subject of the study is personal behavior styles in extreme situations. The material for the study was theoretical and practical literature on the psychology of extreme situations, articles in specialized publications, and publications of research on this topic.

The main research method for course work is theoretical and bibliographic analysis.

This work consists of three chapters: two theoretical and one practical. The first chapter studies and analyzes theoretical materials on the impact of extreme situations on human behavior. The second chapter provides a comparative analysis of the dependence of behavior on the characteristics of the human personality and provides recommendations for developing resistance to extreme situations. In the practical part of the work, an analysis of testing to identify coping mechanisms was carried out using the method of E. Heim. The final part of the work summarizes the overall results of the study.

1. Psychology of human behavior in extreme situations

1.1 Extreme situations in human life

The word “extreme” comes from the Latin word “extremum”, which means “extreme”, and is used to denote the concepts of maximum and minimum. The concept “extreme” is used when talking not about ordinary, normal and customary conditions of activity, but about circumstances significantly different from them. Extremeness indicates extreme, extreme states in the existence of things. In this case, extreme conditions are created not only by maximizing (overexposure, overload), but also by minimizing (underload: lack of movement, information, etc.) of existing factors. The effects on the activity and condition of a person in both cases can be the same. The need to study the influence of extreme factors on the human psyche has led to the emergence and active development of a new field of psychological science and practice - extreme psychology.

The term “extreme situation” in most cases means a sudden situation that threatens or is subjectively perceived by a person as threatening his life, health, well-being, personal values and integrity. It is this kind of threat that makes the situation difficult, stressful and extreme.

It is in extreme situations that a person experiences extreme stress. Let's touch on this term. The word “stress” is translated from English as “pressure”, “tension” and is used to refer to a wide range of human conditions and actions that are a response to various extreme influences, which are called “stressors”. Stressors are usually divided into physiological (pain, hunger, thirst, excessive physical activity, high or low temperatures) and psychological (factors that act through their signaling value, such as danger, threat, deception, resentment, information overload, etc.) .

The level of individual stress in each situation depends on the subjective value of the object, the loss of which is threatened by this situation. A sign of extremeness is also the absence in a person’s social experience of ready-made stereotypes for responding to emerging circumstances. Such situations most often go beyond the boundaries of ordinary human experience; a person is not adapted to them and is not ready to fully act. The degree of extremeness of a situation depends on the strength, duration, novelty, and unusualness of the manifestation of factors in each specific situation. Often, an extreme situation has an important event status in a person’s life path.

The range of problems associated with the concept of an extreme situation is constantly expanding. In addition to natural disasters, armed conflicts, man-made disasters, accidents, extreme situations caused by a certain profession in the work of psychologists in last years There are family crises and conflicts, emotional crises, extreme leisure activities, alcoholism and illnesses of loved ones, business emergencies and much more.

Extreme situations dangerous to humans are caused by the influence of various physical or social factors. external environment.

The physical environment represents the external conditions of human life. It includes factors such as area of residence, climate, living and working conditions, regime and much more. The physical environment itself can pose a threat to human health and life. For example, a person may live in regions where there are earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc. As a rule, people living in regions with an increased risk of natural disasters develop higher alertness and readiness to act in extreme situations.

The social environment includes a person’s environment, the people with whom he interacts. It is divided into macroenvironment and microenvironment.

The macroenvironment combines such factors as:

Demographic (with high population density, especially in a metropolis, the level of dangers increases: higher pace of life, crime, etc.)

Economic (in a bad economic situation, social tension increases).

Sociocultural (characterized by the presence and number of informal movements and groups in society).

Religious (determined by the dominant religious teachings in the region and their coexistence).

National (characterized by interethnic relations in the region).

The macroenvironment is also greatly influenced by mass psychological phenomena inherent in large groups of people (crowd psychology).

The microenvironment is determined by the socio-psychological characteristics of the individual, the person’s interaction with the people around him, the characteristics of his upbringing, traditions, the orientation of the reference group, and the strategy of behavior.

Extreme situations cause significant nervous tension and stress. Sometimes nervous overload reaches its limit, followed by nervous exhaustion, affective reactions, and pathological conditions (psychogenia).

People, as subjects of extreme situations, are divided into the following groups:

Specialists (they, by their own free will or by the call of duty, work in extreme conditions).

Victims (people who found themselves in an extreme situation against their own free will).

Victims (those people who suffered visible losses during the events).

Witnesses and eyewitnesses (usually located in close proximity to the scene of the incident).

Observers (specially arrived at the scene of the incident).

The sixth group is television viewers, radio listeners and all those who are aware of the extreme situation that has occurred and are worried about its consequences.

Some psychologists specifically divide extreme situations into types, depending on their degree of impact on a person. For example, the famous Russian psychologist A. M. Stolyarenko divided such situations into 3 types:

Para-extreme (cause significant nervous tension and can lead a person to failure);

Extreme (cause extreme stress and overexertion, significantly increase risks and reduce the likelihood of success);

Hyperextreme (dramatically change the behavior of an individual, placing demands on her that significantly exceed her usual abilities).

However, a situation becomes extreme not only because of a real, objectively existing threat, but also because of the individual’s attitude to what is happening. Each specific person perceives the same situation individually, so the criterion of “extreme” can be located in the internal, psychological plane of the individual.

Extreme situations can significantly disrupt a person’s basic sense of security, his belief that there is a certain order in life and that it can be controlled. In this regard, anthropogenic (caused by human activity) extreme situations are especially difficult for the individual’s psyche.

The result of exposure to extreme situations on a person can be the development of various painful conditions - neurotic and mental disorders, traumatic and post-traumatic stress. In any case, they do not pass without a trace and are capable of sharply dividing human life into “before” and “after”. The most extreme situations can damage even the basic structures of the entire personal organization and destroy a person’s habitual image of the world, and with it the entire system of life coordinates.

To summarize, we note the most important factors that determine the extreme nature of the situation:

1) exposure to adverse environmental conditions;

2) emotional influences associated with suddenness, novelty, danger, difficulty, responsibility of the situation;

3) extreme mental, emotional and physical stress;

4) the presence of unsatisfied physical needs (hunger, thirst, lack of sleep);

5) lack or obvious excess of contradictory information.

In a person’s experience of an extreme situation, researchers distinguish three main stages:

1) The pre-exposure phase, which includes feelings of anxiety and threat immediately before a dangerous event.

2) The influence phase, which is characterized by the predominance of the emotion of fear and the sensations derived from it. It directly includes the time of intense impact of an emergency situation on a person. This phase is the most important when considering individual behavioral styles and the least studied, since researchers are not often eyewitnesses or participants in many extreme incidents, and if they are, they are not able to conduct accurate research at this time.

3) The after-impact phase, which begins some time after the end of the extreme situation. This phase has already been quite well studied, since this is what most psychologists deal with when working with victims of emergency incidents.

Above we will consider the least studied phase of influence, since we are interested in studying exactly characteristics human behavior at the immediate moment of extreme exposure. As extreme situations, we will consider the most acute variants of events that pose an immediate threat to human life and health.

extreme psyche behavior character

1.2 Mental states and human behavior characteristic of extreme situations

The phase of exposure to an extreme situation is usually quite short and can consist of several stages, which are characterized by mental states unique to them. These stages are well described by domestic researchers. Let us note the stages related directly to the impact phase:

1. The stage of vital reactions lasts up to 15 minutes from the moment an extreme situation occurs that poses a real vital threat. At this time, a person’s behavioral reactions are completely determined by the instinct to preserve one’s own life and may be accompanied by psychological regression. Mental maladjustment occurs, manifested in impaired perception of space and time, unusual mental states, and pronounced vegetative reactions. Characteristic states are stupor, agitation, affective fear, hysteria, apathy, panic.

2. Stage of acute psycho-emotional shock It lasts for 2-5 hours. At this time, the body adapts to a new extreme environment. It is characterized by general mental stress, extreme mobilization of the body's mental and physical reserves, heightened perception, increased speed of thinking, reckless courage, increased performance, and increased physical strength. Emotionally, a feeling of despair may arise at this stage.

Let us consider in more detail the mental states characteristic of the stage of vital reactions. So, the sudden occurrence of an extreme situation that threatens a person’s very existence causes mental disadaptation, which is characterized by three main types of behavior:

1. negative-aggressive;

2. anxious-depressive;

3. a combination of the first two types.

Disadaptation causes regression, expressed in a return to forms of reaction and behavior inherent in man at an earlier stage of life. In other words, the protective mechanisms inherited from our ancestors and the animal world are activated. In this case, affective states often arise.

To begin with, let’s consider the very concept of “affect” (from the Latin affectus - emotional excitement, passion). It is a strong and relatively short-term emotional state, which is accompanied by pronounced vegetative and motor manifestations. Affect is often an “emergency” way of responding to unexpected stressful situations. In a state of passion, a narrowing of consciousness occurs, as attention is concentrated on affectively colored experiences and ideas associated with the traumatic situation. At the same time, the completeness of reflection of the situation decreases, self-control decreases, actions become stereotypical and are subordinated to emotions rather than logical thinking. Particularly dangerous is pathological affect, which is the extreme degree of this condition, in which the narrowing of consciousness can reach its complete shutdown.

The basis of affect in extreme situations that are dangerous to human life is fear. It is a mental state that arises on the basis of the instinct of self-preservation and is a reaction to real or imagined danger. Fear manifests itself in many forms, such as apprehension, fear, horror, etc. The most powerful type of fear is affective fear associated with a vital threat.

Affective fear occurs when a person is unable to overcome an unexpected and extremely dangerous situation. This fear can take over a person’s consciousness, suppress his mind and will, and permanently paralyze his ability to act and fight. From such fear a person freezes, passively awaits his fate, or runs “wherever his eyes look.” After exposure to such fear, a person sometimes cannot remember individual moments of his behavior, feeling depressed and overwhelmed. In a state of fear, there is always an extremely negative emotional background and maladjustment. Severe fear can cause many negative consequences for the body and psyche. Fear limits perception, makes it difficult for a person to be receptive to most of the perceptual field, often inhibits the thinking process, making it more inert and narrow in scope. Fear greatly reduces individual capabilities and freedom of action. The state of fear causes such forms of behavior as flight, demonstrative and defensive aggression, and numbness.

A common state of fear in an extreme situation is individual panic. Panic is distinguished by its inadequacy to a real threat. A person strives to save himself, by any means. At the same time, the level of self-control decreases, a person feels helpless, loses the ability to think and reason sensibly, navigate in space, choose the right means to achieve a goal, interact effectively with other people, a tendency to imitate and increased suggestibility appears. Individual panic often leads to mass panic.

The unexpectedness of a situation, in the absence of readiness for action, often causes affective states, which include agitation and stupor.

Agitation is a very common reaction to a dangerous situation. This is a very excited, restless, anxious state in which a person runs away, hides, thereby eliminating the situation that frightens him. Excitement during agitation is expressed in fussiness of actions, and mainly only simple automated movements are carried out under the influence of random stimuli. Thought processes, during a state of agitation, are significantly slowed down, since under the influence of the hormone adrenaline, blood rushes to the extremities (mainly the legs), and the brain experiences a lack of it. That is why in this state a person is able to run quickly, but cannot figure out where. The ability to understand complex relationships between phenomena, to make judgments and inferences is impaired. A person feels empty in his head, a lack of thoughts. Agitation is accompanied by vegetative disorders in the form of pale skin, shallow breathing, rapid heartbeat, increased sweating, trembling hands, etc.

Stupor is a short-term condition in life-threatening conditions, characterized by sudden numbness, freezing in place in one position. This condition is characterized by a decrease in muscle tone (“numbness”). Even the strongest stimuli do not affect behavior. In some cases, phenomena of “waxy flexibility” occur, expressed in the fact that separate groups muscles or body parts retain the position they are given for a long time. Stupor usually occurs in people with a weak nervous system. Increased level adrenaline paralyzes their muscles, the body stops obeying, but intellectual activity remains.

The stage of vital reactions and the states inherent in it fit well into the “stage of anxiety” described by G. Selye, which is the first stage of the “stress reaction”. According to G. Selye, the stage of anxiety is the initial response of the human body to danger. It occurs to help cope with a stressful situation. This is an adaptive mechanism that arose at an early stage of evolution, when survival required defeating an enemy or escaping from it. The body reacts to danger with a burst of energy, increasing physical and mental abilities. Such a short-term “shake-up” of the body involves almost all organ systems, which is why most researchers call this stage “emergency.”

Further, G. Selye identified the stage of resistance (resistance), which occurs during a longer stressful situation. At this stage, a person adapts to changing environmental conditions. This stage also intersects well with the above-mentioned stage of supermobilization, when adaptation to an extreme situation occurs. Of course, such a stage cannot last for a long time, since the resources of the human body are not endless.

Some intermediate states that are observed between the “emergency” and “adaptive” stages deserve additional attention. These are peculiar states of “discharge” after the initial extreme states of the body. The stage of vital reactions may end in brief states of uncontrollable trembling, crying, hysterical laughter, apathy and even deep sleep.

So, based on the mental states discussed above, distinctive feature Personal behavior in extreme conditions becomes a loss of flexibility and freedom. In this case, complex and coordinated movements are greatly affected. At the same time, patterned and stereotyped movements proceed faster and often become automatic.

At the psychological level, at the first stage of an extreme situation, the following processes occur:

Behavior becomes disorganized;

Previous skills are inhibited;

The attention span narrows;

Difficulty distributing and switching attention

Inappropriate reactions to stimuli appear;

Perception errors and memory lapses occur;

Unnecessary, unjustified and impulsive actions are performed;

There is a feeling of confusion;

It becomes impossible to concentrate;

Psychological stability decreases,

The performance of mental operations deteriorates.

In such conditions, the most important personal characteristic is high emotional stability and the ability to act without tension.

The behavioral response to a stressful extreme situation primarily includes actions to overcome it. In this case, two methods can be used: the flight reaction and the fight reaction.

The human body is not capable of working in “emergency” mode for a long time, so the stage of maladaptation quickly ends, and the human body rebuilds its work, allocating additional reserves to adapt to the increased demands of the external environment. The stage of acute mental reactions of entering an extreme situation is replaced by the stage of mental adaptation, leading to the formation of new functional systems in the central nervous system, allowing to adequately reflect reality in unusual living conditions for the individual. The necessary needs are updated and protective mechanisms are developed to ensure reactions to the influence of extreme psychogenic factors.

2. Dependencies of individual behavior in extreme situations

2.1 Dependence of behavior in an extreme situation on the type of nervous system and character of a person

Numerous studies of domestic and foreign specialists have established the dependence of individual behavior styles in extreme situations on numerous individual and personal characteristics of a person. The main characteristics include:

Age;

Health status;

Type of nervous response and temperament;

Locus of control;

Psychological stability;

Level of self-esteem.

Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Elderly people and children are least adapted to stressful extreme situations. They are characterized by high levels of anxiety and mental stress. This does not allow them to effectively adapt to changing conditions. In their case, a long-term emotional reaction to stress leads to rapid depletion of the body's internal resources.

The health status of the subjects of extreme situations plays a very important role. Obviously, people with good health adapt better to changing environmental conditions and better tolerate negative physiological changes that occur in the body under the influence of a stressor, and also have a greater supply of internal resources. People weakened by diseases of the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, bronchial asthma, hypertension, neuropsychiatric disorders and other diseases, in extreme conditions, experience an exacerbation of these diseases, which can lead to severe consequences.

Type of nervous response and temperament in many ways. determine a person’s individual response to stress. This is due to the fact that it is largely predetermined by the innate properties of the human nervous system: its strength and weakness, balance and imbalance, mobility or inertia. Temperament, as a set of corresponding dynamic properties of human behavior, is an innate biological foundation on which a holistic personality is formed. It reflects a person’s energy, dynamic aspects of his behavior, such as mobility, rhythm and pace of reactions, and emotionality. The classic description of the four main types of temperament, proposed by Hippocrates (choleric, phlegmatic, sanguine and melancholic) no longer reflects the entire set of dynamic properties of human behavior, since their combinations are very extensive and diverse. However, even this typology allows us to see in general terms how temperament influences the development of a stress response in a person. Temperament indicates the energy reserves of the individual and the speed of metabolic processes. Thus, the ways of responding to an extreme situation depend on it. For example, temperament affects the stability and switchability of attention. It also affects memory, determining the speed of memorization, ease of recall and strength of retention of information. The influence of temperament on the thinking process is manifested in the speed of mental operations, while high speed of mental operations is not the key to successful problem solving, since sometimes careful consideration of actions is more important than hastily made decisions.

In extreme situations, temperament even more strongly influences the method and efficiency of activity, since a person is controlled by the innate programs of his temperament, which require a minimum energy level and time of regulation. In other words, people's behavior styles in extreme situations will differ depending on their temperament. Choleric people are prone to display negative emotions of rage and anger, therefore the most violent emotional reaction to stress is characteristic of choleric temperament. Sanguine people are not predisposed to negative emotions; their emotions arise quickly, have average strength and short duration. Phlegmatic people are not prone to violent emotional reactions, they do not need to make an effort to maintain composure, so it is easier to refrain from making a hasty decision. Melancholic people quickly succumb to negative emotions of fear and anxiety and endure stress the most difficultly. However, in extreme situations they have the highest level of self-control.

In general, people with a strong type of higher nervous activity tolerate the effects of extreme situations more easily and more often use active ways to overcome the situation. In turn, people with a weak type of nervous system strive to avoid stress.

As already noted, it should be borne in mind that the specified typology of temperament is a simplified scheme that is far from exhaustive of the possible characteristics of the temperament of each individual person.

Locus of control determines how effectively a person is able to control the environment and influence its change. There are external (external) and internal (internal) loci of control. Externals perceive current events as the result of chance and the action of external forces beyond human control. The internals believe that almost all events are in the sphere human influence. From their point of view, even catastrophic situations can be prevented by thoughtful human actions. They spend their energy obtaining information that will allow them to influence the course of events and develop specific plans of action. Internals can have good self-control and cope more successfully with extreme situations.

Psychological endurance (resilience) shows how resistant a person is to the effects of stressful and extreme situations. It includes a number of factors, including locus of control, personal self-esteem, level of criticality, optimism, and the presence or absence of internal conflicts. Better psychological endurance is also enhanced by beliefs and moral values that allow you to give personal meaning to an extreme situation.

Personality is formed under the influence of the social environment. Therefore, an indicator of a person’s security or his propensity for danger is not only an innate quality, but also a result of development. Insufficient development of a person’s individual characteristics manifests itself in extreme situations (and these are usually the situations preceding and accompanying accidents). Significantly increasing a person’s exposure to danger is emotional imbalance, inability to quickly distribute attention and highlight the main object among a large collection of other objects, insufficient endurance and excessive (excessively large or excessively small) propensity to take risks.

The individual qualities inherent in people with a high degree of protection from danger also affect their position in the social group. Indeed, qualities such as good coordination, attention, emotional balance and others contribute not only to a person’s better security, but also increase his status. As a rule, people who have them are leaders and enjoy respect and authority in the team. They are better able than others to cope with extreme situations and can afford to take risks when necessary.

So, the degree of awareness of the situation and the adequacy of behavior in the event of an unexpected threat to life are largely determined by the innate characteristics of the individual, his attitudes, the type of nervous system and a number of other psychobiological indicators. It is not always possible to teach a person to behave correctly in unforeseen life-threatening situations, so people often find themselves unprepared to act in them.

2.2 Development of human tolerance to extreme situations

An important practical part of research into individual behavior in extreme situations is the task of forming and developing tolerance to extreme situations. The term tolerantia (Latin) expresses several overlapping meanings: stability, endurance, tolerance, permissible value, resistance to uncertainty, stress, conflict, and behavioral deviations.

The psychological portrait of a person with tolerance to extreme situations includes the following features: strength, mobility, balance of nervous processes; activity, sensitivity. Cholerics and sanguine people often underestimate difficulties and show excessive self-confidence.

Psychological personality qualities necessary for developing tolerance to extreme situations include:

High level of development of analytical thinking;

Criticality, independence, flexibility of thinking;

Developed social intelligence;

Reflective and intuitive qualities;

Stability of emotions;

Dominance of positive emotions;

Developed volitional regulation;

Adequate assessment of the load and own resources;

High abilities for self-regulation;

No anxiety.

The following behavioral qualities should be developed:

Organization and externally oriented behavioral activity;

Situational courage;

Calm, confident, unhurried, not tense behavior;

High performance;

A large number of options for overcoming behavior in the individual behavioral repertoire;

Experience in overcoming difficult situations;

Prosociality and behavioral flexibility;

The predominance of coping strategies over defensive ones.

Necessary socio-psychological personality traits:

Development of the social-perceptual sphere of personality;

Active attitude to life;

Self-confidence and trust in others;

Lack of defensive reactions;

Developed social identity, presence social support and social recognition, satisfying status in the group and in society.

The necessary characteristics of the self-image should include stable, positive, adequate self-esteem, consistency between the perceived self and the desired self, self-respect, self-esteem, and belief in self-efficacy.

Value qualities:

High spirituality;

Ability for personal growth

Post-conventional level of development of moral consciousness,

Faith, a sense of meaningfulness in life;

Successful self-realization, internal type of control;

Having ideal and highly valued goals;

Acceptance of duty, responsibility;

The ability to respond to the challenges of fate;

Patriotism, existential tone;

Capacity for existential effort;

Trust in yourself and the world.

Communication qualities: sociability, openness, democracy, fairness, honesty, altruism, open tolerant communication.

The opposite qualities mentioned above, such as tension, hypervigilance, the existence of false stereotypes, “irrational” behavior based on spontaneous manifestation, situational conservatism, do not contribute to the formation of tolerance to extreme situations; numbness and inaction, a high level of partiality of the self-image and its accessibility to subjective distortions; overdependence on the influences of emotional attitudes and evaluations of others; the experience of insignificance, meaninglessness of the world; poorly developed self-awareness, weak structure of ideas about oneself. They do not respond to the “challenges” of fate, are pessimistic, and have low achievement motivation, which they themselves often interpret as a lack of ability. This also includes people with “learned” helplessness.

3. experimental part

The first part of the study is devoted to the study of coping mechanisms, or coping mechanisms (from the English coping - coping), which determine successful or unsuccessful adaptation to a stressful situation. The study used E. Heim's method for diagnosing coping mechanisms (Appendix 1) - a screening technique that allows one to study 26 situation-specific coping options, distributed across three main areas of mental activity into cognitive, emotional, and behavioral coping mechanisms.

The second part analyzes preparedness for extreme situations (ES) using the questionnaire of Nick Rowe and Evan Pill (Appendix 2).

30 employees of the rescue service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations took part in the study.

Research hypothesis: employees of the rescue service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, due to the specifics of their work, special selection and psychological training, are able to adapt well to stressful situations and have an increased readiness for extreme situations (ES).

Research stages:

Selection of methodological literature on the topic being studied;

Questionnaire on coping behavior in a stressful situation;

Questionnaire to identify readiness to survive in the ES;

Data processing, analysis of the results obtained.

Research procedure:

Study participants were given test forms and instructions for completing them. There was no time limit for the procedure. The obtained research results were entered into tables 1 - 5 and final diagrams 1 - 2.

Table 1 - Diagnosis of coping mechanisms, answers in questionnaires

Application No.

Table 2 - Diagnostics of coping mechanisms, summary table of results

Options for coping behavior	Number of responses	Total for a group of options
Adaptive coping behavior options
Cognitive coping strategies


Maladaptive coping behavior options
Cognitive coping strategies
Emotional coping strategies
Behavioral coping strategies
Relatively adaptive coping behavior options
Cognitive coping strategies
Emotional coping strategies
Behavioral coping strategies

Diagram 1 - Final results for coping behavior options

Table 3 - Results of the survey on readiness to survive in the ES

Application No.	Survival amount	Amount Defeat	Final result

Results of the survey:

from 15 to 20 - You can survive almost anywhere - 12 profiles

from 10 to 14 - You have good chances. - 14 profiles

from 5 to 9 - Your chances are low - 4 profiles

from 0 to 4 - Don’t take unnecessary risks - 0 profiles

from -10 to -1 - Look for a guardian - 0 profiles

from -20 to -11 - Most likely you already have a guardian - 0 profiles

Diagram 2 - Final results of the survey on readiness to survive in the ES

Based on the results of the study using two methods, we can conclude that the research hypothesis turned out to be correct: employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are characterized by a predominance of adaptive coping behavior and increased readiness to survive in extreme situations.

Conclusion

When faced with difficult extreme situations, a person daily adapts to the physical and social environment around him. Psychological stress is a concept used to describe a wide range of emotional states and human actions that arise as a response to a variety of extreme impacts.

The development of psychological stress is influenced by numerous factors, among which are the characteristics of the stressful event, the person’s interpretation of the event, the influence of the person’s past experiences, awareness of the situation, and the individual’s individual and personal characteristics. In turn, stress affects a person’s mental processes, in particular higher mental functions.

A person reacts to stress at a physiological, emotional and behavioral level. The type of response, in particular the choice of coping strategy, largely determines what the consequences of each specific stress will be.

The degree of awareness of the situation and the adequacy of behavior in the event of an unexpected threat to life are largely determined by the innate characteristics of the individual, his attitudes, the type of nervous system and a number of other psychobiological indicators. It is not always possible to teach a person to behave correctly in unforeseen life-threatening situations, so people often find themselves unprepared to act in them.

Tolerance to extreme situations is a socio-psychological characteristic of a person, which consists in the ability to endure the extraordinaryness of a situation without any damage to oneself, to be tolerant of various manifestations of the world, other people, oneself, to overcome these situations using methods that “develop ”, improving the personality, increasing the level of adaptation and social maturity of the subject. In fact, this property means the presence of an individual’s adaptive potential, which determines its ability to overcome difficult situations. To prevent the adverse consequences of extreme situations, it is necessary for any person to develop tolerance in the form of a complex of the above-mentioned properties and qualities.

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15. Information portal [ Electronic resource]. Access mode: http://extreme-survival.io.ua/s191364/test_na_sposobnost_k_vyjivaniyu - Access date: 03/15/2012.

Appendix 1. Methodology for diagnosing coping mechanisms by E. Heim

Adaptive coping behavior options

Adaptive cognitive coping strategies:

· A5 - problem analysis (analysis of difficulties encountered and possible ways out of them);

· A10 - establishing one’s own value (deep awareness of one’s own value as a person);

· A4 - maintaining self-control (having faith in one’s own resources in overcoming difficult situations).

Adaptive emotional coping strategies:

· B1 - protest (active indignation towards difficulties);

· B4 - optimism (confidence in the presence of a way out in any difficult situation).

Adaptive behavioral coping strategies:

· B7 - cooperation (collaboration with significant and more experienced people;

· B8 - appeal (search for support in the immediate social environment);

· B2 - altruism (a person himself supports loved ones in overcoming difficulties).

Maladaptive coping behavior options

Maladaptive cognitive coping strategies, including Passive forms of behavior with refusal to overcome difficulties due to lack of confidence in one’s strengths and intellectual resources, with a deliberate underestimation of troubles:

· A2 - humility;

· A8 - confusion;

· A3 - dissimulation;

· A1 - ignoring.

Maladaptive emotional coping strategies:

Behaviors characterized by a depressed emotional state, a state of hopelessness, resignation and exclusion of other feelings, the experience of anger and blaming oneself and others.

· B3 - suppression of emotions;

· B6 - humility;

· B7 - self-accusation;

· B8 - aggressiveness.

Maladaptive behavioral coping strategies:

Behavior that involves avoiding thoughts about troubles, passivity, solitude, peace, isolation, the desire to get away from active interpersonal contacts, refusal to solve problems.

· B3 - active avoidance;

· B6 - retreat.

Relatively adaptive coping behavior options, the constructiveness of which depends on the significance and severity of the overcoming situation:

Relatively adaptive cognitive coping strategies:

· A6 - relativity (assessment of difficulties in comparison with others);

· A9 - giving meaning (giving special meaning to overcoming difficulties);

· A7 - religiosity (faith in God and steadfastness in faith when faced with difficult problems).

Relatively adaptive emotional coping strategies:

· B2 - emotional release (relief of tension associated with problems, emotional response);

· B5 - passive cooperation (transfer of responsibility for resolving difficulties to other persons).

Relatively adaptive behavioral coping strategies, characterized by the desire for a temporary retreat from solving problems with the help of alcohol, medicines, immersion in what you love, travel, fulfillment of your cherished desires:

· B4 - compensation;

· B1 - distraction;

· B5 - constructive activity.

Methodology“Coping behavior in stressful situations”

Last name, first name, patronymic___________ Date___________

Date of Birth: Day _____ Month ______ Year _____

Occupation___________

Education______________

Marital status: married _______ not married _________

(including civilian)

Widow/widower__________ Divorced___________

(including unofficially)

You will be offered a number of statements regarding the characteristics of your behavior. Try to remember how you most often resolve difficult and stressful situations and situations of high emotional tension. Please circle the number that suits you. In each section of statements, you must select only one option with which you resolve your difficulties.

Please answer according to how you have dealt with difficult situations recently. Don't hesitate - your first reaction is important. Be careful!


	I tell myself: in this moment there is something more important than difficulties
	I tell myself: this is fate, you need to come to terms with it
	These are minor difficulties, not everything is so bad, mostly everything is good
	I do not lose composure and control over myself in difficult moments and try not to show my condition to anyone
	I try to analyze, weigh everything and explain to myself what is happening
	I tell myself: compared to other people's problems, mine are nothing.
	If something happened, then God wants it so
	I don’t know what to do and at times I feel like I can’t get out of these difficulties
	I give my difficulties a special meaning, overcoming them, I improve myself
	At the moment I am completely unable to cope with these difficulties, but over time I will be able to cope with them and more complex ones.

	I am always deeply outraged by the injustice of fate towards me and protest
	I fall into despair, I sob and cry
	I suppress my emotions
	I am always sure that there is a way out of a difficult situation
	I entrust overcoming my difficulties to other people who are ready to help me
	I'm falling into a state of hopelessness
	I consider myself guilty and get what I deserve
	I get mad, I get aggressive

	I immerse myself in what I love, trying to forget about the difficulties
	I try to help people and in caring about them I forget about my sorrows
	I try not to think, I try my best to avoid focusing on my troubles.
	I try to distract myself and relax (with the help of alcohol, sedatives, tasty food and so on.)
	To survive difficulties, I take up the fulfillment of an old dream (I go to travel, enroll in foreign language courses, etc.)
	I isolate myself, try to be alone with myself
	I use collaboration with people I care about to overcome challenges.
	I usually look for people who can help me with advice

Appendix 2. Questionnaire for readiness to survive in an extreme situation

How to fill out the form

In column “A”, tick the statement that corresponds to what you have. If it does not match, leave this field blank.

Once you have checked the boxes in Column "A" - check the answers below. There are two groups - “S” (Survival) and “D” (Defeat). In column “B”, opposite the cells that you marked, put “S” or “D” - in accordance with which group your answer belongs to . There is no need to place anything against unfilled cells - “S” or “D” is placed in column “B” ONLY opposite the marked cell.

Count how many “S” you have and enter the answer (number) next to the Survival Amount position (see below). Do the same with the result “D” (position Amount Defeat).

To find out your survival potential, subtract the second number (“D”) from the first (“S”). Look for the resulting figure in the “Your Rating” section.

Survival Group (“S”):

1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 30, 32, 33, 34, 38, 39.

Group Defeat (“D”):

2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 31, 35, 36, 37, 40.

Survival amount:_____

Amount Defeat:_____

15 to 20 - You can survive almost anywhere

from 10 to 14 - You have good chances.

from 5 to 9 - your chances are low

from 0 to 4 - Don’t take unnecessary risks

from -10 to -1 - Look for a guardian

from -20 to -11 - Most likely you already have a guardian

Check the boxes that match your personality

		1. I have a goal in mind that I should strive for.
		2. I take actions without any clear purpose.
		3. I know what is important to me, I have certain priorities.
		4. I live only in the present moment, without thinking about the long term.
		5. I strive for what I want, regardless of obstacles.
		6. I try to exist without spending much effort.
		7. I try to avoid difficult situations.
		8. Mine best qualities are revealed in stressful situations.
		9. I can usually find moments to laugh at.
		10. I mostly notice the negative aspects.
		12. I try to make the most of a difficult situation.
		13. I believe that the outcome depends mainly on luck or fate.
		14. I think that my condition depends on surrounding events or people.
		15. I am in control of my life, no matter what happens around me.
		16. I know that my efforts can make a difference.
		17. I make decisions instantly, rather than analyze them.
		18. I act without thinking about the consequences.
		19. I try to look at things as they are, even if I don't like them.
		20. To achieve something, I plan my actions.
		21. To solve problems, I find new ones or not. conventional methods.
		22. I am capable of improvisation.
		23. I won't do anything I don't like.

1.3 The influence of extreme situations on the psyche and actions of law enforcement officers

Finding yourself in extreme conditions, every law enforcement officer experiences heavy and sometimes extreme stress, observing everything that is happening and performing the necessary professional actions. He thinks a lot and intensely, evaluates, draws conclusions for himself, makes decisions, thinks through ways of behavior and action, mobilizes own strength and opportunities, overcomes internal difficulties and hesitation, subordinates his behavior to duty, solving assigned tasks, etc. What happens in his psyche inevitably affects the quality of his professional actions, and not unambiguously.

It has been proven by experiments and in practice that extreme psychological factors have a positive impact on the psyche of a law enforcement professional if he is well prepared morally and professionally psychologically. His mental activity in extreme situations is characterized by:

* a heightened sense of duty, responsibility and determination, combined with the desire to unconditionally and efficiently solve the problems at hand;

* complete self-mobilization, manifestation of all strengths and capabilities in the process of solving problems;

* combat excitement (within the limits of usefulness), increased energy and activity, greater persistence and perseverance in achieving goals;

* active maximalism, expressed in a passionate desire to achieve results, the highest and most unconditional,

* increased vigilance, attentiveness, observation, fast and clear work of thought;

* composure and constant readiness for any surprises, for quick reactions to changes in the situation and the emergence of danger;

* resistance to temporary failures, etc.

Their actions are therefore distinguished by high quality, increased clarity, shooting accuracy, and effectiveness. Many of these workers experience professional excitement and pleasure in extreme conditions.

Positive changes are not only individual, but also group in nature. Thus, in combat groups, detachments, units, units, distinguished by high preparedness, a strengthening of the moral and psychological climate, healthy public opinion and an optimistic mood are observed, relationships are subordinated to combat and service interests, interaction, mutual understanding, mutual assistance, manifestations of camaraderie, solidarity, mutual support, following professional and military traditions, etc.

However, for workers who are poorly prepared professionally, morally, volitionally and psychologically, extreme situations and their inherent factors have a negative impact. Their mental activity is dominated by:

* transition of the intensity of mental stress beyond the limits of usefulness;

* anxiety, confusion, indecision, slow reactions;

* fear of failure, fear of responsibility, subordination of one’s behavior to the motive of avoiding failure at all costs (instead of striving for the greatest possible success);

* deterioration in intelligence, observation, assessment of the situation, manifestations of memory loss and illusions of perception (“Fear has big eyes”, “The frightened crow is afraid of the bush”);

* decreased activity, persistence, perseverance, resourcefulness and ingenuity in achieving goals, increased tendency to search for excuses (“Who wants, looks for ways, who doesn’t want, looks for reasons”);

* constant feeling of weakness, fatigue, powerlessness, inability to mobilize;

* exacerbation of the sense of self-preservation, which sometimes captures the entire consciousness and becomes the only motivating force of behavior;

* increased irritability, loss of self-control, etc.

These negative manifestations in mental activity are adequately reflected in actions and deeds. When crossing the usefulness limit of tension and the appearance of overstrain (distress), the creative ability and adequate understanding of what is happening are initially lost; actions become formulaic and do not fully correspond to the situation. With a further increase in the intensity of mental stress, under the influence of emerging negative psychological phenomena, errors begin to appear even in well-practiced skills, their number gradually increases, and they themselves become more crude; efficiency is rapidly decreasing. When extreme stress occurs, gross errors appear (for example, the driver of a car presses the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal, and then, if he remains alive, cannot explain why he did this); all sorts of instructions and recommendations “fly out of your head”; manifestations of outright cowardice, refusal to carry out risky assignments, deception, dishonesty, lack of will, etc. arise.

If the overvoltage continues to increase and further passes the critical point TO, extreme tension sets in and a breakdown in mental activity occurs - loss of the ability to understand the environment and be aware of one’s behavior. A breakdown can be expressed in an inhibitory form (stupor, psychological shock, numbness, indifference, complete passivity and indifference, loss of consciousness, etc.) or hysterical (panic, senseless, chaotic behavior).

Negative phenomena also arise in poorly prepared groups: unhealthy and pessimistic moods, rumors, discontent, negative opinions, weakening of discipline, violations of statutory and official standards of behavior, a tendency to immoderate drinking, conflicts in relationships, panic.

In the process of adaptation to extreme conditions, it is customary to distinguish the following stages, characterized by a change in emotional states and the appearance of unusual mental phenomena: preparatory, starting mental stress, acute mental reactions of entry, mental readaptation, final mental stress, acute mental reactions of exit and readaptation. In the genesis of unusual mental states, anticipation in a situation of information uncertainty is clearly traced (the stage of initial mental stress and the final stage); breakdown of the functional systems of analyzers formed during ontogenesis or prolonged exposure to extreme conditions, disruption of the flow of mental processes and changes in the system of relationships and relationships (the stage of acute mental reactions of entry and exit), the active activity of the individual to develop protective (compensatory) reactions in response to the influence of psychogenic factors (the stage of re-adaptation) or the restoration of previous response stereotypes (the stage of readaptation).

Practical experience allows us to assert that with high-quality emotional-volitional and professional-psychological preparation, with serious personal work of the employee on himself, all possible negative influences of extreme conditions on him and his actions can be successfully neutralized.

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